The morning passed in the blink of an eye. Not long after sending off Zhou Yinghuai and the others, Cheng Fangqiu realized it was almost time to go to the educated youth point to cook. She wiped away the faint blush at the corner of her eyes with a damp towel, then carefully admired in the mirror the delicate, pitiable charm that carried a hint of green tea scheming.
Tsk tsk, being pretty was truly an advantage. No matter what one did, it always came with benefits—especially when it came to seduction.
Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t foolish. She and Zhou Yinghuai had only just begun interacting, and they were still in the heat of the moment. How could she be so stupid as to create a rift between them for no reason?
Everything she had done and said at the Cheng family today was intentional. At the root of it, it was all to make Zhou Yinghuai feel guilty, to make him feel distressed for her.
And once a man started feeling those emotions toward a woman, he wouldn’t be far from being completely conquered.
At first, she had indeed been furious over what Sun Jiayang had said. But once the anger subsided, she realized that this was a golden opportunity. If she used it well, it could greatly advance her relationship with Zhou Yinghuai.
She had originally been worrying about how to find a chance to restore her fragile, delicate image in Zhou Yinghuai’s heart. Who would have thought that he would personally bring Sun Jiayang to her door? Since that was the case, she naturally wouldn’t hold back.
Moreover, from the very beginning, she had been playing the role of a young girl who had “fallen in love at first sight” with her savior. She had never even tried to hide her so-called affection. Given Zhou Yinghuai’s intelligence, he must have already realized that she was “interested” in him.
Yet, he neither resisted nor rejected her advances. And what did that mean?
It meant that even if he hadn’t developed feelings for her yet, he at least had a favorable impression of her. At the very least, it showed that there was hope! That there was a chance!
Right now, the key was to force Zhou Yinghuai to confront his own feelings, to make him come to her of his own accord. The switch between active and passive roles was too important—it could even be said that it directly determined whether she could successfully carry out her plan to marry him.
Snapping out of her thoughts, Cheng Fangqiu quickly tidied herself up, put on her straw hat, and headed straight for the educated youth point. By the time she arrived, He Shenghui hadn’t come yet, and everyone else had gone to work on the road repairs. The entire educated youth point was eerily quiet, with not a single sound.
Following the plan she had discussed with He Shenghui in the morning, she started by cleaning the ingredients. Just as she finished washing a basket of potatoes, He Shenghui arrived, leaning on a crutch. Or rather, it was just a thick wooden stick cut from the mountain—rural folks weren’t particular about such things, as long as it worked.
“You’re here so early?” He Shenghui had thought she was already quite early herself, but seeing Cheng Fangqiu here before her left her a little surprised, her eyebrows raising slightly.
Cheng Fangqiu helped her sit down on a chair while smiling and replying, “I just got here too.”
He Shenghui didn’t believe that, but she didn’t call her out on it either. She simply chuckled, and the two of them tacitly avoided mentioning what had happened earlier that morning, instead silently focusing on their tasks.
The weather was hot, and when Cheng Fangqiu saw a bag of green beans in the cupboard, she decided to make some mung bean soup. After soaking it in well water to cool, it would be the perfect refreshment to bring to the technicians later as a cooling treat.
Once the meal was ready, Cheng Fangqiu pushed a small cart to the construction site.
By the time she arrived, everyone was hard at work, the scene bustling with activity and dust flying everywhere. She found a quiet spot and scanned the crowd for a familiar face. After a moment, she finally spotted someone she knew and immediately called out, “Comrade Zhao!”
Zhao Zhigao had been directing an excavator when he instinctively turned his head upon hearing his name. Spotting Cheng Fangqiu pushing a small cart, he quickly stepped forward to help her push it to the designated meal area.
“We’re still busy right now. It’ll be a while before we can eat. Comrade Cheng, you’ll have to wait a bit.”
With that, Zhao Zhigao left.
Cheng Fangqiu found a clean rock to sit on and waited. But after a while, instead of seeing the workers return for their meal, she saw Ding Ximei approaching in the distance, laughing and chatting with a woman who looked somewhat familiar. They seemed to be heading elsewhere, so Cheng Fangqiu quickly stood up and called out.
“Mother!”
Hearing the shout, Ding Ximei turned toward the voice and immediately spotted Cheng Fangqiu standing under the shade of a tree, drenched in sweat. It was unclear how long she had been waiting there. Upon seeing this, Ding Ximei hurried over, pulling out a handkerchief and handing it to her with concern.
“Aiyo, hurry and wipe the sweat off your face!”
Cheng Fangqiu’s own handkerchief was still with Zhou Yinghuai, and she hadn’t gotten it back yet. She had been unable to wipe her sweat, so Ding Ximei’s gesture was truly a timely rescue.
As the mother and daughter exchanged a few words, they finally remembered the woman standing nearby.
“This is your Aunt Li Er. We ran into each other on the way, so we came over together.”
After exchanging greetings, Cheng Fangqiu suddenly realized why the woman looked familiar—it was indeed Aunt Li Er. The moment she put a name to the face, her mind automatically started searching for information about the person standing before her.
The most famous matchmaker in the village, Li Lifen especially loved playing the role of a matchmaker, pairing people up.
Just as this thought crossed Cheng Fangqiu’s mind, she saw Li Lifen smile and say, “Isn’t this just perfect? Your Fangqiu is right here—let her take a look herself and see if she likes him.”
As she spoke, Li Lifen pulled out a photograph from her pocket and, without a second word, stuffed it into Cheng Fangqiu’s hand. The latter, caught completely off guard, hadn’t even reacted before she was forced to take it.
It was a black-and-white photograph, clearly aged, with visible creases and wrinkles. The man in the picture wore a military uniform, had a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. His upright and righteous appearance fit the common impression of a soldier perfectly.
“He was discharged from the army just last year and received a large sum in subsidies. Now, he works at the commune. His parents are farmers, and he has two younger brothers and two younger sisters.”
“It’s just that his home is a bit far from our village—he’s in the neighboring commune. But it’s convenient now, only a half-hour bus ride away.”
All this information came crashing down on Cheng Fangqiu at once, leaving her dizzy. She hadn’t even fully processed it when Ding Ximei and Li Lifen started discussing the matter right in front of her.
“He does sound good, but how old is he?”
“Five years older than your Fangqiu. That’s a good thing! Older men know how to cherish their wives. His parents insisted that he marry someone nearby, which is why they didn’t let him marry while he was in the army. They kept delaying, and now here we are.”
At that moment, Cheng Fangqiu finally snapped to attention—this was a matchmaking session for her!
“Wait a moment…”
Before she could finish speaking, Li Lifen’s loud voice interrupted her, “Just take a look! What do you think? I went through a lot of trouble to find you this match—I wouldn’t introduce just anyone!”
But she didn’t need this! Right now, her mind was completely occupied with how to win over Zhou Yinghuai. She had zero interest in some soldier suitor.
And as if summoned by thought, speak of the devil and he shall appear.
At that moment, from the corner of her eye, Li Lifen noticed something and quickly beamed. “Comrade Zhou, you’re done with work?”
These three words sent a jolt through Cheng Fangqiu. Her hands trembled, and she failed to hold onto the photograph. Caught by the wind, the photo floated gently and—just her luck—landed right at Zhou Yinghuai’s feet.