Jiang Lin laughed and said, “What are you shouting for?”

Shang Zonghui pointed below. “Brother Rushan is back.”

Really?

Jiang Lin quickly leaned over to look and saw Cheng Rushan standing on the ground, looking up at her.

Was his expression happy?

Surprised?

Or something else?

She still felt a bit awkward about the Zhao family incident.

Besides, her relationship with Cheng Rushan was still ambiguous.

Although she had accepted him in her heart, she hadn’t told him yet, so she remained a bit reserved when they met.

She raised her hand to greet him, “Hi, you’re back!”

Then she forgot she was holding a trowel.

With the greeting, the trowel slipped from her hand and flew towards Cheng Rushan.

Jiang Lin: “…!!”

Shang Zonghui was stunned. “Oh my—”

What’s Jiang Zhiqing doing, attacking her own man upon seeing him?

She’s really feisty!

Cheng Rushan never expected Jiang Lin to greet him so aggressively.

He raised his hand and caught the handle of the trowel, skillfully turning slightly to avoid the splattering mud.

Jiang Lin was mortified.

She quickly turned and shouted to Dabao and Xiaobao, who were playing in the yard, “Dabao, Xiaobao, your dad is back!”

Dabao and Xiaobao were playing peacefully with the Shang family’s children.

Upon hearing this, they immediately dropped their stones and ran.

Dabao: “Dad’s back!”

Xiaobao: “Dongsheng’s back!”

The Shang family’s children also ran over to watch the excitement.

Dabao and Xiaobao ran out and saw their dad standing on the street.

They sprinted over, with Xiaobao immediately clinging to Cheng Rushan’s leg, trying to climb up.

Cheng Rushan handed the trowel to one of the Shang family’s children and lifted both Dabao and Xiaobao.

Xiaobao climbed up onto his shoulders, hugged Cheng Rushan’s neck, and kissed his cheek.

“Dongsheng, we missed you.” He then waved to Jiang Lin, “Linlin, look!”

Dabao, however, didn’t want to climb up.

He wriggled out of his dad’s grip and landed on the ground.

Cheng Rushan, holding Xiaobao’s leg, led Dabao into the Shang family’s yard.

He exchanged a few words with Shang Pozi and Shang Baozhu (Shang Grandma and Grandpa ).

After setting Xiaobao down to play with the other children, Cheng Rushan retrieved the trowel from Shang Xiaoyu, climbed a makeshift ladder to the roof, and joined Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin looked at him awkwardly. “I… didn’t mean to throw the trowel at you.”

Cheng Rushan smiled slightly, “I know.”

Seeing him smile, Jiang Lin felt a bit relieved.

She then asked, “Why did you come back so suddenly?”

“I heard you were busy with the tiles here, so I came to help,” Cheng Rushan replied, starting to work alongside her.

The two of them worked together, making quick progress.

With Cheng Rushan’s help, they finished much faster than expected.

Shang Zonghui exchanged a few polite words with Cheng Rushan and then glanced at Jiang Lin, laughing heartily.

Jiang Lin, still embarrassed about the trowel incident, was relieved it hadn’t hit Cheng Rushan.

She smiled awkwardly and reached out for the trowel. “Why don’t you take Dabao and Xiaobao home first? I’ll come home for lunch soon.”

Unexpectedly, Cheng Rushan didn’t hand the trowel back to her.

Instead, he took the opportunity to hold her hand, not minding the mud on it, and smiled. “I didn’t know my wife was so capable.”

Feeling embarrassed, Shang Zonghui quickly climbed to the north side of the roof to continue working, leaving the south side for Jiang Lin and Cheng Rushan.

Jiang Lin tried to pull her hand away but couldn’t. Feeling a bit anxious, she said, “We can talk at home. Let me finish the work first.”

It’s too conspicuous to be affectionate on someone else’s rooftop.

Cheng Rushan said, “You go down; I’ll handle this.”

“It’s better if I do it,” Jiang Lin insisted, grabbing the trowel back. “Did you finish all the paperwork? Do you need to go to the brigade to check in?”

Cheng Rushan let go of her and began handing her tiles. “Almost done, just need to handle the commune.”

He gestured to Shang Baozhu below to keep tossing tiles up.

Shang Baozhu weighed the tiles and threw them up, which Cheng Rushan easily caught with one hand and handed to Jiang Lin.

Jiang Lin put on a torn glove, took the tiles, and continued working on the roof.

Cheng Rushan didn’t disturb her, silently passing tiles to her while keeping his eyes on her.

Unlike other female intellectuals who braided their hair into pigtails or cut it short like other women, Jiang Lin had shoulder-length hair tied into a ponytail.

It looked a bit unusual because only elderly women in the area tied their hair like that and then put it in a hairnet.

Her movements were nimble and efficient, with an indescribable sense of coordination.

She was slender and not particularly tall, but not short either, and surprisingly strong.

He remembered feeling that strength when she slapped him at the supply and marketing cooperative.

Cheng Rushan’s constant gaze made Jiang Lin feel pressured.

She turned to him and asked, “Do you not recognize me?”

Cheng Rushan suddenly squatted down, holding her slender wrist, his dark eyes fixed on her. “Do you have something to tell me?” Like saying you missed me?

Jiang Lin’s heart skipped a beat, but she quickly smiled. “Yes, did you go to the Zhao family?”

Cheng Rushan nodded, a faint smile on his face as he looked at her. “Yes. Do you mind?”

Jiang Lin replied, “Why would I mind? It’s not like you’re the only one who’s been there. Besides, I…”

She turned her head to look at Cheng Rushan and asked, “Do you think I went there to sell my son?”

Cheng Rushan responded, “Do you think your man is a fool?”

Jiang Lin burst into laughter. “But everyone else says I went there to sell my son.”

“I think you went there to stir up trouble,” Cheng Rushan said, gently rubbing her wrist with his thumb.

Feeling the heat from his palm, Jiang Lin became a bit flustered and tried to pull her hand back.

Cheng Rushan’s demeanor was different from her ex-boyfriend’s.

He seemed gentle but was actually quite assertive and had an air of dominance she wasn’t used to.

She preferred relationships that were calm and easy to control.

Of course, that turned out to be a joke.

Bian Haitao seemed harmless but was actually… well, she was blind to his true nature.

Cheng Rushan didn’t let go of her hand and continued, “Do you really want to return to the city?”

His long eyebrows and dark eyes reflected the blue sky and bright sun, adding to his already commanding presence.

Jiang Lin met his gaze with clear, honest eyes and said, “Not return, but enter the city. The city is more convenient than the countryside, better for young people to strive, and more suitable for Dabao and Xiaobao to study. Of course, we want to make money and move to the city if we have the chance.”

Cheng Rushan felt relieved.

She talked about moving to the city with the family, not just returning herself, which was a good sign.

He lifted her hand and wanted to kiss the back of it, but Jiang Lin playfully stopped him by pressing her finger to his forehead.

He smiled at her, licked his lips, and released her hand.

“I’ll take care of making money in the future, and you…” He glanced at the rooftop they were working on, his handsome face showing a mix of reluctance and disapproval.

“Don’t do this kind of work anymore.”

Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow, her tone challenging, “What, you look down on women? Women can hold up half the sky, you know. Look at those female soldiers, female leaders, and female labor models…”

Cheng Rushan replied “No, no, I don’t look down on women. Absolutely not.”

Cheng Rushan quickly surrendered, “I absolutely don’t look down on women. Whether you’re up on the roof or down in the trenches, I support you.”

Jiang Lin burst out laughing, causing Dabao and Xiaobao below to jump up and look at her. “Mom, what funny things are you saying to Dad? We want to hear too!”

Jiang Lin called out, “Dad said he misses you guys.”

Dabao and Xiaobao immediately responded, “Dad, we miss you too!”

Cheng Rushan nodded in acknowledgment, then lowered his eyes to Jiang Lin, whispering softly, “I miss you too.”

Jiang Lin’s heart warmed at his words.

She raised her eyes and caught a glimpse of Shang Zonghui opposite them.

She hadn’t done anything yet, but Shang Zonghui’s youthful face immediately blushed as if on fire, and he quickly shrank back.

Shang Zonghui tried to cover up loudly, “Uncle, I need some roof tiles over here too!”

Jiang Lin couldn’t help but laugh and scold Cheng Rushan with a glance, “Can you please go down? Don’t delay our work.”

Cheng Rushan replied, “I’m just looking, not causing any trouble.”

Shang Zonghui suggested he go down first, so Jiang Lin continued to work on his side of the roof.

Cheng Rushan returned to help her fetch roof tiles.

When they had enough, he came over to help with the laying.

Jiang Lin’s hands were busy, and she said, “That day, I thought about trying to cheat Zhao’s family for money. Later, I realized it was wrong, so I stopped in time.”

As for her change in temperament, she pretended to have gone through a human nature test, and people would grow up after all, so that’s a reason.

Cheng Rushan smiled, “Good attitude of admitting mistakes and correcting them. Zhao’s family has forgiven you.”

Jiang Lin also thanked him, “Thank you for helping me handle it.”

His black eyes fixed on her, “How do you plan to thank me?”

His gaze was so quiet and deep that it made her a little flustered.

Jiang Lin coughed lightly, trying to dismiss the sentimentality.

She smiled slightly, “Come, I’ll teach you how to lay ridge tiles for free. Although you all know how, I guarantee mine will be the best.” She said proudly.

Cheng Rushan: “…”

Watching her busy figure, he believed she had learned her lesson.

Whatever she went to Zhao’s house for, whether to sell her son or cheat money, the result was that she couldn’t bear it and had sincerely started to be a new person.

And those who wanted to take advantage of her were exposed because of this incident and no longer had the opportunity to manipulate her.

When Yan Runzhi finished cooking, she went to find Jiang Lin and the others on the street.

From afar, she saw Cheng Rushan and Jiang Lin on the roof, and she clapped her hands in joy.

Just as Ma Kaihua returned from work, carrying some sorghum spikes on a shoulder pole, he glared fiercely at Yan Runzhi.

Yan Runzhi teased, “Are you not satisfied? Didn’t the loudspeaker work enough? Want me to give you a few more days?”

Ma Kaihua’s face changed color, and he didn’t dare to argue with Yan Runzhi, quickly walking away.

Yan Runzhi felt a sense of satisfaction at her triumph as a petty person.

She looked forward to bringing back Cheng Rushan’s father and others from Ruzhou, and then the good times would begin.

With Cheng Rushan’s help, Jiang Lin made much faster progress.

They finished laying the roof, and as she stretched her neck, she saw Yan Runzhi below.

“Jiang Lin, dinner’s ready!” Yan Runzhi waved at her.

Jiang Lin smiled and waved back, then said to Cheng Rushan, “Let’s go home for dinner.”

Cheng Rushan went down first.

Jiang Lin carefully descended from the roof to the wall and then climbed down the creaky makeshift ladder.

Cheng Rushan reached out to help her up from the ground.

“No need, I can manage myself,” she said, waving him off, but Cheng Rushan simply lifted her up.

His large hand wrapped around her waist almost completely.

He whispered softly, “Eat more, a thin waist is prone to injury, especially with all this climbing up and down.”

Feeling his hand gently rubbing her waist, Jiang Lin quickly moved away, said goodbye to Dabao, Xiaobao, and Mrs. Shang, and headed home.

Mrs. Shang wanted to invite them to stay for dinner, but Jiang Lin politely declined, washing up before leaving.

Dabao and Xiaobao immediately stuck to Cheng Rushan.

Jiang Lin gestured for Cheng Rushan not to let Xiaobao climb on his head, warning that the child would get overexcited as soon as his father returned.

Cheng Rushan chuckled, carrying both children on his arms, saying, “If I can’t hold them, they’ll fall.”

Dabao and Xiaobao held onto Cheng Rushan’s elbows tightly with their fingers intertwined as he carried them home.

Halfway there, Xiaobao grew tired and let go, but then tried to climb back up, his legs kicking awkwardly.

Cheng Rushan laughed and lifted him up with one arm while carrying Dabao with the other.

He noticed Dabao’s resilience; despite his trembling arms from fatigue, he stubbornly held on without letting go.

Cheng Rushan couldn’t bear to see the children so tired, so he ended up carrying Dabao too.

Jiang Lin said, “Let them walk by themselves.”

Cheng Rushan smiled and said, “It’s fine. With you here, I can carry them both. Want to join us?”

Xiaobao smiled at Jiang Lin, “Come, come.”

Jiang Lin hurried to walk with Yan Runzhi, who had been watching them playfully and accidentally slipped on a small stone.

Jiang Lin quickly helped her up.

Jiang Lin linked arms with Yan Runzhi, ensuring Cheng Rushan wouldn’t come to bother her.

Because Jiang Lin was tired from work, Yan Runzhi cooked different meals every day, ensuring they were delicious and nutritious.

Today’s dinner included stewed preserved duck with bamboo shoots and black fungus, stir-fried loofah with a hint of dried shrimp, and braised eggplant with flat beans. When Cheng Rushan returned, she also added stir-fried eggs with chives.