“Hey, I’m warning you, don’t you dare try to weasel out of this,” Zhang Yunxi said, her actions driven entirely by a gamble.

A gamble for an easy job.

Hmm.

Who told her to be lazy? She really didn’t want to do fieldwork.

It was too exhausting. Every day, as she looked up at the sky from the fields, she felt her soul gradually drifting away with the weariness of her body.

Zhao Rencheng let out a vague “Hmm” from his throat.

His hands kept moving, applying the outer layer of leather, then securing it with steel nails to ensure even adhesion.

The clanging sounds continued.

Zhang Yunxi also lowered her head, focusing on her work. She was faster today than yesterday, and they had to rush to meet the deadline.

Her ten yuan was at stake.

Several hours later, Zhao Rencheng brought her a bowl of malted milk. “Have some water.”

“Wow, malted milk! How do you have such a treat?” Zhang Yunxi exclaimed in surprise.

“Brigade Leader gave it to me.”

“The brigade leader is so kind,” Zhang Yunxi said, amazed. She took a small sip, then looked up at Zhao Rencheng with a smile. “It’s so sweet, really delicious.”

The warm yellow light softened her features, and her sweet smile suddenly appeared before Zhao Rencheng’s eyes. He heard a “thud.”

It was the sound of his heartbeat.

“If you like it, I’ll make you some tomorrow.”

“Thank you, boss!”

Zhang Yunxi finished the bowl of malted milk, feeling reenergized to continue working.

Zhao Rencheng pinched the bridge of his nose, his expression slightly subtle. He had been acting a bit unusual just now!

The two of them continued working together on the shoes.

Even though they were staying up late, their speed didn’t drop.

As the old saying goes, “When men and women work together, the work doesn’t feel tiring.”

There was some truth to that.

When he walked her down the mountain, Zhang Yunxi repeatedly reminded him, “Next time you come looking for me, don’t just appear out of nowhere, got it?”

Zhao Rencheng nodded.

When he came up the mountain earlier, she had scolded him like he was a child.

And now she was at it again.

Zhang Yunxi saw that he seemed to have remembered, so she was satisfied and returned to her dorm.

The malted milk was really sweet. She should buy some for Zhao Mo to try when she got the chance.

He Xiaoxiao, waited for Zhang Yunxi to return.

Finally, she could sleep peacefully.

For several days in a row, He Xiaoxiao had been waiting for Zhang Yunxi to come back.

She had a watch and kept track of the time. Zhang Yunxi spent about five hours with Zhao Rencheng.

Zhao Rencheng had asked the brigade leader for a leave of about ten days, so this strange situation should be over in about ten days.

But on the seventh night.

It was almost one o’clock, and Zhang Yunxi still hadn’t returned. He Xiaoxiao began to feel anxious.

Up on the mountain, Zhang Yunxi and Zhao Rencheng were also feeling anxious.

They had stumbled upon a couple having an affair, and now they were stuck—they couldn’t leave, but staying wasn’t an option either.

Zhao Rencheng’s brows were furrowed. This was such a waste of his time!

Zhang Yunxi whispered, “We really missed our chance.”

Originally, it was a pair of lovers doing their thing here. At first, the man had been chased away by the woman.

The two of them had planned to wait until the woman left before making their move.

But then!

Another man showed up.

In the darkness, the man grabbed the woman’s shoulders, and before she could react, he pinned her to the cold ground behind her.

He lowered his head and covered her soft lips with his own. His hot, agile tongue forcefully invaded her mouth, plundering its sweetness. She gasped in surprise, “Mmm… no… no…”

The woman pretended to resist but ultimately allowed his passionate kisses, wet kisses, and tongue kisses, which continued to stir her mouth.

The man reached up and tore the fabric of her clothes with a loud rip.

In a few quick moves, he exposed her curvaceous body. The woman covered her chest, but the man, seeing the marks on her body, grew even more aroused.

The woman turned her head away. “Ah, be gentle.”

“Who’s your man? Say it!” the man roared.

The woman whimpered, “It’s you, it’s you!”

Zhang Yunxi yawned.

She was so tired.

Really.

If this had happened when she was full of energy, she might have had the interest to watch.

But she was so sleepy.

She just wanted to sleep.

Zhao Rencheng noticed the little fox in front of him nodding off in this situation. Knowing she had been exhausted lately, he reached out to support her head and gently laid her down on the ground.

They stood there, waiting for the couple to finish their passionate exchange.

After they finally left.

Zhao Rencheng gently patted her. “Time to get up.”

Zhang Yunxi squinted, disoriented. She only slept seven hours a day and had been doing physical labor all day. Her body really couldn’t handle it.

“What time is it?”

“Time for you to go down the mountain,” Zhao Rencheng said, ruffling her hair. “Wake up.”

“Oh,” Zhang Yunxi mumbled as she stood up unsteadily.

Zhao Rencheng clenched his palm.

Just now, when he touched her soft, fluffy hair, a slight itch had spread through his palm. That tingling sensation was like a small flame burning in the palm of his right hand.

And that flame was growing stronger. The heat spread from his palm, traveling up through the meridians in his hand, making his breathing quicken.

It was a tension that even two dramatic scenes couldn’t match.

“Two more days,” Zhao Rencheng said.

Zhang Yunxi nodded, waving goodbye as she walked away.

Zhao Rencheng watched her swaying figure, turned off his flashlight, and followed behind her to make sure she safely returned to the educated youth dorm before heading back up the mountain.

At their current pace of making 22 pairs of shoes a day, plus his savings, they could just barely finish in nine days.

These past two days, he had also been a bit out of it, pushing himself to keep working.

If it were ten days, even with Zhang Yunxi’s help, he could have taken it easier. But with nine days, even with her help, he wasn’t getting much relief.

After this was over.

He would need to sleep for two days to recover.

When Zhang Yunxi returned to the dorm.

He Xiaoxiao, who had been worried all this time, finally relaxed.

Rubbing her temples, she hoped Zhang Yunxi could quickly finish her secret mission with Zhao Rencheng so she could get a good night’s sleep too.

Two days later.

The task was completed.

Zhang Yunxi was so exhausted that she collapsed onto the sewing machine, her face smeared with black machine oil.

“Let’s go, I’ll walk you back. Get some good sleep. In two days, you can go to town, and I’ll treat you to a nice meal.”

“With Zhao Mo and Er Gouzi,” Zhang Yunxi quickly added.

“Alright,” Zhao Rencheng agreed.

Zhang Yunxi went down the mountain.

After Zhao Rencheng saw her off, he slung his gun over his shoulder and went to deliver the goods.

He made trip after trip, transporting the goods.

After moving everything to the drop point, Zhao Rencheng called over the middleman.

The middleman counted out 1,700 for him.

“Bro, are you in some kind of trouble?”

“Yeah, can you lend me fifty?”

“No problem,” the middleman readily agreed.

Zhao Rencheng took the money and went to find the military doctor.

The military doctor breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m on night shift tomorrow. A group of soldiers got injured, and they’ll be brought in tomorrow night. I’ll need to operate on them, so I’ll only be free during the day. Good thing you came early, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to help.”

Zhao Rencheng shuddered.

All he felt now was immense relief!

He pulled out a bag of money. “Here’s two thousand.”

The military doctor’s eyes welled up. Seeing how worn out Zhao Rencheng looked, he patted his shoulder. “Xiao Zhao…”

Even though he had so much to say, he didn’t know how to express it.

He had never seen someone so genuinely dedicated.

“Don’t worry, I’ll do everything I can to save the old leader.”

“I’ll be waiting for good news!”

“Definitely.”