Chapter 17

The afterglow of the sunset still lingered, casting a warm light over the entire Dongfeng Brigade. Wei Yanzhen led Deng Zhilan through a dense cluster of reeds.

“Why are we coming here?” she asked.

Wei Yanzhen didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he gently instructed, “Wait here for me. Don’t wander off.”

Then he turned and disappeared deeper into the reeds.

A moment later, Deng Zhilan saw a small boat appear.

“…Where did you get the boat from?” she asked in surprise.

Wei Yanzhen paddled the boat toward the shore and reached out a hand to help her aboard.

“I overheard some folks from the brigade talking about it while we were working earlier today. Let’s go pick some lotus pods. We can have lotus seed porridge in the morning!”

Deng Zhilan sat at the front of the boat, the evening breeze brushing across her face.

The boat gently drifted over the water and soon reached a dense area of lotus plants.

Wei Yanzhen steadied the boat and began picking lotus pods while Deng Zhilan excitedly gathered lotus leaves.

“Honey, I want to eat lotus leaf chicken,” she said.

“Alright,” he replied. “We’ll grab some meat later and trade with the Luo family for a chicken!”

After they’d collected a large bundle of lotus pods, Wei Yanzhen paddled the boat to the center of the lake.

Then, he stopped.

He pulled out two fishing rods and handed one to Deng Zhilan.

“Since we’re already here, let’s do some fishing,” he said.

Deng Zhilan took the rod and mimicked his technique, casting the line into the water. The two of them sat quietly on the boat, waiting for a bite.

Soon, there was a tug on her line. Deng Zhilan pulled hard.

“I got one!” she shouted. “Honey, it’s a big fish!”

She jumped up with excitement, but lost her balance and fell backward—right into Wei Yanzhen’s arms.

Startled, she suddenly remembered—she was still pregnant!

She turned her head, locking eyes with him.

Neither could tell who leaned in first, but the distance closed quickly. Wei Yanzhen’s eyes darkened with intensity as he captured her lips in a kiss.

He tilted his head and kissed her more deeply, his strong nose brushing her cheek. His cool breath filled her senses. Deng Zhilan wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, lost in the moment.

Just then, the fishing rod twitched again.

The fish had escaped.

Startled, Deng Zhilan pushed Wei Yanzhen away and exclaimed, “Ah! It got away! The fish got away!”

Wei Yanzhen couldn’t help but laugh.

He rarely saw this lively side of her. She had always been somber and distant. This time in the countryside had brought a rare sense of ease and joy.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. If one gets away, we’ll catch another!”

He turned back and took out a small can of bait, rehooked her line, and helped her cast again.

Not long after, the rod began shaking again.

This time, Deng Zhilan held on tight, not daring to let go.

Wei Yanzhen softly coached her, “Don’t rush, reel it in slowly.”

Following his lead, she steadily reeled in the line until a plump grass carp surfaced. Wei Yanzhen moved quickly, wrapping his arms around her to keep her steady.

Together, they pulled in a fat fish!

The couple wasn’t greedy.

With the big fish and a bundle of lotus pods, they paddled the boat back to shore.

Wei Yanzhen first brought Deng Zhilan home, then returned to the riverside to collect the washed laundry.

By then, night had fully fallen.

A flickering flashlight beam shone near the riverbank. Wei Yanzhen spotted a shadowy figure sneaking around.

Before he could get closer, the shadow was startled by a sudden loud voice, stumbled on a rock, and fell with a thud.

“Who’s there?”

“Up to no good in the middle of the night?”

“Doing something shady, aren’t you?”

Song Yitao had just finished washing clothes and was holding a wooden basin. She hadn’t used any detergent, so she’d been scrubbing until it was pitch dark.

She turned around and saw a woman hurrying past the riverbank, carrying something bulky.

Startled, Song Yitao called out, and the woman tripped and fell right in front of her.

Song Yitao burst into laughter.

She’d been the one constantly making a fool of herself in front of Deng Zhilan these past few days. Who’d have thought someone could be even more unlucky—falling flat while walking!

“Well? Cat got your tongue?”

Song Yitao was about to step closer for a better look.

But the woman on the ground suddenly threw down a burlap sack and fled in a panic.

Song Yitao was baffled.

She meant to walk over and see what was in the bag, but a sharp, eerie bird call suddenly echoed across the sky.

Goosebumps rose. She patted her chest nervously and muttered, “God, what kind of bird sounds that awful!”

Frightened, she clutched her laundry and quickly ran off.

From behind a rock, Wei Yanzhen stepped out, eyes dark and sharp.

In his hand—

He was holding the burlap sack.

“You’re back?”

“I washed the clothes today, so I’ll hang them up too,” Deng Zhilan said, opening the door.

But her gaze stopped on the sack in Wei Yanzhen’s hand.

He came in and immediately locked the courtyard gate.

He glanced toward his parents’ room—lights off. His younger sister Wei Jinyue’s room was dark too.

“They’re asleep,” Deng Zhilan said. “Didn’t you just go to get the laundry? Where’d the sack come from?”

Wei Yanzhen pulled her into the kitchen and began opening the bag as he spoke. “I found it by the river.”

Deng Zhilan asked in surprise, “What’s inside?”

“Termitomyces mushrooms,” he replied.

A whole sack full of them. Of course, Deng Zhilan recognized them.

But the problem was—according to the original story, the female lead found them. So how did they end up in Wei Yanzhen’s hands?

“Are you sure you just found them?”

“Maybe someone dropped them? Did you see what the person looked like?”

Wei Yanzhen shook his head. “I only saw a shadow. They tossed the sack and ran, so I picked it up.”

Deng Zhilan couldn’t help but marvel—if this wasn’t fate between official soulmates, what was? Even a randomly tossed sack landed right in his hands. It had to be the original female lead’s doing.

“Honey, this kind of thing technically belongs to the brigade—it’s shared collective property. Same with the fish and lotus pods we picked today.”

Wei Yanzhen instantly caught her meaning and nodded in sync.

“I’ll go to the militia station tomorrow after work.”

The lake near the reeds in Dongfeng Brigade was normally under the management of the local militia.

“We’ll give them some money—count the fish and lotus pods as purchased. That way, no one can complain.”

Wei Yanzhen nodded.

Then Deng Zhilan looked back into the sack of mushrooms. This… was a bit trickier.

They couldn’t just leave them out—it would spoil.

But if they ate them, they’d have to do so in secret.

So then…

“Honey, I changed my mind. I don’t want lotus leaf chicken tomorrow,” Deng Zhilan said.

Wei Yanzhen immediately responded, “Then let’s have chicken soup with mushrooms.”

They exchanged a knowing smile, perfectly in tune.

However, the person who lost that sack tonight… would have a hard time sleeping peacefully.