Jiang Zhonglin quietly brought her two more empty baskets. Yu Yao picked two more baskets of white strawberries, and she and Jiang Zhonglin left the greenhouse with four small baskets.

On their way back, they encountered other association members who were curious about where they had picked the strawberries. After learning the location, they rushed to pick strawberries themselves.

Yu Yao, who hadn’t eaten much for lunch, felt a bit hungry. She washed the strawberries and sat on a large stone near the lotus field to eat them. Some young association members passing by noticed them and whispered excitedly, “Look! Teacher Jiang is actually eating strawberries with his wife!”

Yu Yao: “…” It’s just eating strawberries, not planting them. Is it that surprising?

Seeing how many strawberries she had eaten, Jiang Zhonglin had to stop her, “Enough with the strawberries for now. Save the rest for later. If you’re still hungry, let’s go to a small restaurant nearby and get a bowl of noodles, okay?”

Yu Yao agreed and stood up, taking his hand. The young girls who had been watching whispered excitedly, “Ah, they’re holding hands!”

Yu Yao: “…” It’s just holding hands, young people.

While eating noodles at the farm’s restaurant, Jiang Zhonglin sat beside her. Yu Yao offered him some noodles, serving a small portion in a bowl.

A few association members passing by nearby saw this scene and commented, “Teacher Jiang and his wife really have a great relationship.”

Yu Yao didn’t understand why people whispered so loudly that the people involved could hear clearly. But seeing that Jiang Zhonglin had no reaction as he ate his noodles, she began to suspect that perhaps her hearing was just too good, and Jiang Zhonglin hadn’t actually heard any of it.

This was manageable, but after dinner, when they went to the mountain spring spa for a bath, Yu Yao was immediately surrounded as soon as she and Jiang Zhonglin separated.

In the women’s bath area, which was mostly occupied by family members and students of the association members, some of the bolder young people approached her. One of the young students came up close and, after carefully observing her expression, asked, “Teacher Jiang’s wife, is it true that you’ve traveled through forty years?”

Yu Yao smiled at her, “Yes, that’s right.”

Seeing her friendly attitude, the others grew bolder and began asking various questions, such as, “Was Teacher Jiang very handsome when he was young?” “How did you and Teacher Jiang get together?” and “What was it like forty years ago?” “What’s traveling through time like? Did you feel dizzy? Did it feel like traveling through space?”

Yu Yao could barely keep up with all the questions. Soaking in the flowing heated spring water, she chose to answer a few of them.

“Forty years ago? You can find that in history books; it was pretty much like that. Many things were not as convenient as they are now. The older generation knows.”

“Traveling through time happens in an instant; it’s over as soon as you blink.”

“Jiang Zhonglin was indeed very good-looking when he was young.”

“As for how we got together, we first met during a matchmaking event…”

Several young girls exclaimed in surprise at this old-fashioned courtship method and strongly urged her to elaborate.

Actually, this matter was a bit complicated. Yu Yao had known Jiang Zhonglin for a long time and thought that their meeting during that matchmaking event was their first encounter. It wasn’t until after their marriage that Jiang Zhonglin mentioned his middle school years that Yu Yao realized that meeting him at twenty-six during the matchmaking event was their second meeting. Jiang Zhonglin said that he recognized her immediately because the first meeting had left a deep impression on him.

The matchmaking event was originally set up for Yu Yao’s good friend Yang Jun, who was supposed to meet Jiang Zhonglin’s cousin. However, Yang Jun had no time and wasn’t interested in the match, so Yu Yao stepped in to help. Coincidentally, Jiang Zhonglin’s cousin, a workaholic, had an urgent meeting and couldn’t make it, so he sent his cousin, Jiang Zhonglin, in his place.

Thus, the intended matchmakers didn’t show up, and the friends and family who came instead unexpectedly ended up together.

……

After dealing with the overly enthusiastic young women and exchanging a few pleasantries with some elderly ladies, Yu Yao quickly left the bath area. As Jiang Zhonglin had said, she was indeed surrounded by people; it was quieter with him around.

She left the mountain spring spa and sat on a small bridge by the water, enjoying the breeze. On the bench there was an elderly lady with white hair. The lady had an elegant demeanor, clearly well-versed in literature in her younger years, giving off a refined and composed aura.

The elderly lady glanced at Yu Yao and smiled slightly, “Would you like to take a walk with me nearby?”

Yu Yao initially thought she was someone from the association, but upon closer inspection, she realized she didn’t recognize her and hadn’t seen her today.

“Who are you?” she asked in confusion.

The elderly lady smiled warmly, “My name is Cao Qingling.”