Chapter 22: The Young Lady Has Arrived, Make Way!

That afternoon, Ming Dai searched every corner of the area but only managed to gather a small pile.

However, she had already done her best.

Rubbing her sore waist, she looked up at the sky. There was still some time left to work.

With no more fallen branches to collect, she started using her axe to chop off some of the lower, longer branches.

Zhou Sinian had been sitting the whole time, supervising her. It wasn’t until the sky darkened that he finally stood up. Climbing onto a tree, he swiftly snapped off a pile of firewood with ease—without even using an axe.

Watching from the side, Ming Dai, who had been struggling with her axe to chop branches, couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.

The difference between people… was truly vast!

Zhou Sinian gathered the firewood into his arms and prepared to climb down without even needing a rope.

Seeing that Ming Dai was still jumping to reach the branches, he frowned and stared at her, as if blaming her for not going home yet.

Ming Dai adjusted her headscarf and said, “I need to fill up the cart. Otherwise, when I go to work, I won’t have firewood to burn. I’ll freeze to death, and you won’t have anything good to eat.”

What?!

Zhou Sinian immediately panicked. He dropped the firewood and started circling her, examining her as if trying to figure out how she could possibly die.

Ming Dai felt like she had used up all her patience on Zhou Sinian today.

“I mean, if I don’t have firewood, I’ll be cold, get sick, and die. Then I won’t be able to cook for you.”

Zhou Sinian stared at her for a long moment before suddenly snatching the axe from her hands.

Ming Dai was startled. That was a dangerous weapon! If it ended up in the hands of a madman, who knew what would happen?

Before she could react, a blur flashed before her eyes as Zhou Sinian shot up the tree.

The branches she had struggled to chop earlier now fell from the tree like scattered petals.

A sudden chill ran down Ming Dai’s neck. She quickly dodged away, retreating a safe distance before looking back.

Sure enough, a thick broken branch had crashed down right where she had been standing moments ago.

Just as she caught her breath after narrowly escaping disaster, she looked up and saw that Zhou Sinian had already climbed to the very top of the tree. The highest branches swayed dangerously under his weight.

“Zhou Sinian! Get down! Come down now!”

Zhou Sinian completely ignored her and insisted on chopping off the uppermost branches before descending.

In just a few minutes, the once lush and full tree had been stripped bare, now standing like a lone, barren trunk, trembling in the cold wind.

Ming Dai took a sharp breath. Zhou Sinian had definitely gone easy when hitting people. With that kind of strength, he could probably smash a skull with one punch!

Under her stunned gaze, he felled the tree, then hacked at the thick trunk a few times. Without even using a saw, he split it cleanly apart.

Moreover, he seemed to have an obsession with symmetry—he divided the entire tree into five equal parts with absolute precision.

Satisfied with his work, he picked up the axe and neatly trimmed off the smaller branches, arranging them in perfect order.

It was only when she saw the evenly stacked branches that Ming Dai finally snapped out of it.

Wait—did he just cut down the whole tree?!

Wasn’t that… a serious offense?

Oh well, whatever. A madman did it. The team leader would probably understand, right?

Going along with it, she pulled out a rope, but Zhou Sinian snatched it from her and tied it up within seconds.

It was… quite warm and thoughtful, actually.

By the time they finished, the sky had already darkened.

Zhou Sinian’s entire demeanor was heavy with exhaustion, clearly reaching his limit.

Ming Dai took out a piece of candy, unwrapped it, and stuffed it into his mouth. “Let’s head home. We’ll take the firewood down the mountain, load it onto the cart, and we’ll be done.”

The sweet White Rabbit milk candy soothed his irritated mood. He took the candy wrapper from Ming Dai’s hand, studied it carefully, and solemnly placed it into his jacket pocket.

Then, carrying the cut logs, he started down the mountain ahead of her.

Ming Dai dragged a bundle of branches and carried her tools as she followed behind.

Halfway down, Zhou Sinian had already returned for another load.

By the time she made one trip, he had already done three.

And in the process, Ming Dai discovered another one of Zhou Sinian’s strengths.

This guy had incredible hands-on skills. He loaded the firewood onto the cart perfectly—nothing scattered, and the weight was evenly distributed. Everything was packed just right.

After bringing down all the firewood, Zhou Sinian even carried the entire dead tree that Ming Dai had only chopped a small piece from.

She really had no idea where such a thin and wiry body got so much strength.

This was probably why the teams tolerated his antics—because he was just too capable!

Not entirely trusting the load, Ming Dai tied a few extra ropes around it. After securing her tools, she looked at the cart handle, which had tilted up from the heavy load. She hesitated for a moment before deciding to jump onto it.

And then…

She was left hanging in midair.

Awkward.

Push!

Push harder!

Push with all my strength!

No matter how hard she stomped, the handle wouldn’t budge.

In the end, Zhou Sinian simply pressed it down with one hand, and the handle finally lowered.

Ming Dai turned around, got into position, and grabbed the cart, ready to pull it forward.

Forward.

Forward?

Uhh… she had overestimated herself.

“Zhou Sinian, help me push the cart, okay? When we get home, I’ll make you something delicious.”

She had considered letting him pull the cart, but knowing his unpredictable ways, what if he suddenly decided to climb down a cliff midway?!

Seemingly understanding her, Zhou Sinian ran to the back of the cart.

Ming Dai braced herself, thinking that with his help, they’d be able to get down the mountain in no time.

And they did.

The problem was…

On the mountain path, Ming Dai found herself airborne, clinging to the cart handle as it sped downhill at full force, her screams echoing through the valley.

The flatbed cart, even when fully loaded with firewood, somehow managed to reach breakneck speeds.

The sight terrified the other villagers who were making their way down with their own firewood.

The little educated youth’s screams acted as a warning siren—everyone who heard it quickly jumped out of the way!

With a whoosh, the cart disappeared in an instant.

All that was left was the sight of the madman, butt in the air, pushing the cart at full speed downhill.

“Oh no! The little educated youth is suffering!”

“Yeah, the poor girl’s voice cracked from fear. What a tragedy.”

…

The people on the mountain path sighed as they discussed the cart that had already vanished from sight.

Ming Dai was on the verge of a breakdown. Watching the scenery blur past, feeling the cold wind howl in her ears, and seeing the villagers scrambling to get out of the way, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind:

The young lady has arrived—make way, everyone!

She quickly shook her head, not daring to let her thoughts wander. She focused all her energy on steering the cart, praying that they wouldn’t crash.

Fortunately, they made it to the main road without any accidents.

The cart finally slowed down. She wasn’t sure if Zhou Sinian had gotten tired or if he had simply decided that they had reached the village.

Her green headscarf had been blown off and was now hanging around her neck.

At this moment, she was grateful that she had tied it tightly. If she hadn’t, after that wild roller-coaster ride, who knew where it would have ended up?

Now that the chaos had settled, she hung limply onto the cart handle, her face expressionless, as Zhou Sinian continued pushing her into the village.

The villagers watched her, looking like she had been through a disaster, their eyes filled with sympathy. But no one dared to step forward to help, fearing that the madman would turn on them instead.

And so, the cart continued rolling forward until it reached the educated youth compound.

Just as Ming Dai was wondering how to unload all the firewood from the cart and move it inside, Zhou Sinian didn’t stop. Instead, he kept pushing forward.

Before she could react, the cart suddenly turned on its own, heading down a small side path.

Huh?

So… he was the one controlling the direction the whole time?

Then what was she doing hanging onto the cart handle? Acting as a good-luck charm?

Soon, the cart came to a stop, and only then did Ming Dai realize where they were.

It was right outside the wall of their courtyard.

So there was a back door here.

Zhou Sinian walked around from behind the cart and looked at Ming Dai, who was still hanging in midair. He paused for a moment before pressing down on the cart handle to help her get down.

Ming Dai let go and landed smoothly.

Aside from her legs feeling a little weak, she was fine.

“You move the firewood inside, and I’ll cook, okay?”

Zhou Sinian didn’t reply. He simply turned and started carrying the firewood.

Ming Dai quickly went to open the door.

The door was a heavy wooden one, but it wasn’t locked. A simple push was enough to open it.

Once inside, she realized this entrance was right next to the kitchen’s outer wall.

She pointed to a spot.

“Put the dry firewood here, and the damp ones over there.”

Zhou Sinian, without saying a word, lowered his head and continued working.

He placed the firewood exactly where she had told him to before walking off to get more.

Ming Dai glanced at the neatly stacked pile—it was the dry branches she had gathered.

Clearly, he had listened to her instructions.