Chapter 80: She Might Have Guessed Wrong

Jiang Xun noticed the bewildered look on Lin Jingyue’s face and couldn’t help but want to laugh. But fearing she might explode, his strong survival instinct made him stifle it.

...

The next day, Lin Jingyue marched confidently to work with everyone else, as if she were especially diligent, though anyone unaware might have thought so. During autumn harvest, no one returned home for lunch; families with someone available would bring meals, while others simply packed something in the morning to get by. When mealtime arrived, everyone ate in the fields, and that was when the meals of every household were laid bare.

Li Cuihua came to deliver lunch, just in time to see Jiang Xun and Zhou Yan not far away. She paused, then instinctively stepped forward.

“Cuihua.” After only two steps, she suddenly heard her mother’s voice and quickly stopped.

“You’ve got it wrong; we’re over here.” Aunt Chun’s gaze at her daughter was full of disappointment. She was clear-headed herself—how had she given birth to such a single-minded girl?

Li Cuihua saw Jiang Xun looking calmly her way and was about to turn back when, in the next moment, Jiang Xun abruptly stood up, revealing a radiant smile. The scattered starlight in his eyes made her lose herself.

Jiang Xun smiled at her.

“What brings you here?” His voice was cool and mellow.

“I...”

“To deliver lunch, of course.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than a crisp voice sounded behind her, freezing Li Cuihua’s expression in place.

A slender figure swept past her straight to Jiang Xun.

The two exchanged smiles, and in his eyes, it seemed Lin Jingyue was all he could see—everything else faded into insignificance, herself included.

Li Cuihua couldn’t quite tell what she felt inside, only that it was hard to breathe.

“Give me the food, Cuihua. If you’re not feeling well, go home and rest. No need to bring us lunch,” Aunt Chun said, taking the basket, her gaze tinged with disappointment.

With so many people watching, Cuihua was still so lacking in tact.

Aunt Chun didn’t realize her attempt to cover for Li Cuihua only left her daughter-in-law with a knot in her heart.

The sister-in-law never needed to work the fields, yet even her cooking was poor, and when she brought food, she couldn’t read the room.

Li Cuihua wandered home in a daze. She knew she shouldn’t feel this way, but her heart was not hers to command; she couldn’t control it.

“How did you find time to cook?” Zhou Yan asked Lin Jingyue as he ate the hot food.

Twice-cooked pork, cabbage with shredded meat, and egg soup, with steamed buns made from mixed flour.

“When you finish, you can help me with what I didn’t finish this morning,” Lin Jingyue replied, sitting beside Jiang Xun, using clean chopsticks to place a portion of pork in his bowl.

With fresh, hot food, Zhou Yan was in high spirits. “Alright, next time you go cook when it’s time, we’ll take care of your work.”

“Mm, then you two eat more,” Lin Jingyue said with a bright smile.

“Not bad, your pork is really well-cooked,” Zhou Yan said, stuffing meat into his bun.

“It’s all thanks to Jiang Xun’s teaching,” Lin Jingyue shamelessly replied.

Jiang Xun paused for a moment, a bit helpless. He hadn’t taught her at all; as long as he was around, he’d do his best not to let her cook.

As the three ate, more people gathered around, sniffing the air desperately, gnawing on their own dry buns.

...

The three sped up their eating and finished quickly. Lin Jingyue took the basket and left.

“I don’t know what our little sister is thinking—how could Jiang Xun be interested when Lin Jingyue is right there...” The brigade leader’s daughter-in-law muttered as she ate, but suddenly stopped, remembering something.

She glanced at Aunt Chun, whose expression had soured.

“Mom, I didn’t mean it like that,” she said, deciding to be direct. “Little sister isn’t young anymore. If this marriage doesn’t work out, it’ll be embarrassing. I’m not looking down on her, Mom, but think about it—Sun Lanlan from the secretary’s family is getting married, and our little sister isn’t any worse. Now...”

“Eldest daughter-in-law!” Aunt Chun warned her with a look, though she was troubled inside.

A grown son should marry; a grown daughter should wed.

A daughter can’t be kept at home; keep her too long and resentment builds.

“Mom, you know I’m right. If little sister doesn’t settle down and keeps staring at Jiang Xun, everyone’s laughing. It’ll only get harder to find her a match later. I’m doing this for her sake. If you’re willing, I have someone in mind—he’s from my mother’s side...”

Aunt Chun’s face was grim, but she didn’t stop her daughter-in-law from rambling.

Meanwhile, Li Cuihua, who had locked herself in her room at home, was oblivious that her family had decided to marry her off as soon as possible.

On the hillside, Lin Jingyue broke off a corn cob and sat by the field ridge to rest.

Sun Lanlan hadn’t come today—she said she was heading into town to buy things for her wedding—and Lin Jingyue felt a rare loneliness.

Her mind wandered. Cai Jinzhou and Sun Lanlan... Cai Jinzhou’s family, upright and honest, had chosen Sun Lanlan and hadn’t called off the engagement even when her family had trouble.

Everyone saw this marriage as Sun Lanlan marrying above her station.

It was true; every girl in the brigade envied and resented her. They gossiped, but Sun Lanlan ignored them all.

She was getting married, after all.

Thinking about it, Lin Jingyue smiled.

Sun Lanlan, that firebrand, was quite fierce when it came to a fight.

...

Autumn harvest passed in the blink of an eye, and with the work finished, Lin Jingyue climbed the mountain twice, gathering medicinal herbs to plant in her space. Two acres, one of which she used for growing herbs.

After harvesting the rice, it was threshed and stored in the warehouse.

She didn’t plan to sell the rice grown in her space—she’d keep it for herself, as its quality was even better than the warehouse’s.

During this time, Lin Jingyue visited Tianyang again, delivering two hundred pounds of pork, but sold nothing else.

She sent another set of medicine to Guo Yutong, and in return received some news.

Xu Caixia... was trying to find a way to bring her back to the city.

Upon hearing this, Lin Jingyue was stunned. Bring her back to the city?

That was a hefty price.

Even Guo’s mother hinted that her mother’s friend was exceptionally kind; ordinary people, let alone friends, wouldn’t do this—family wouldn’t either.

After hanging up, Lin Jingyue felt complicated.

Could she have guessed wrong?

“One day the truth will come out. Don’t overthink it,” Jiang Xun said as they walked by the river, seeing her deep in thought.

“Mm, I just want to figure it out,” she replied, cursed by her compulsive need to know.

Lin Jingyue felt frustrated—the feeling of being kept in the dark was infuriating.

“I’ll help you,” Jiang Xun said softly. “I have news from the Song family you asked me to look into.”

“Hmm?” Lin Jingyue stopped. “Did you call home?”

“Yes. I’m not unfamiliar with the Song family, but I know too little about the specifics. I had someone investigate carefully. There should be some information you want.” Jiang Xun gazed at Lin Jingyue, his heart filled entirely with her.

Lin Jingyue’s skin was thick; she didn’t blush at all. She blinked, “What news?”

Her unreserved manner softened Jiang Xun’s heart.

“Madam Song is a stepmother. The Xu Caixia they found is the daughter of Mr. Song’s first wife. Back then...”