Chapter 27

Song Jinping coughed awkwardly a few times, explaining: “The child was behind the tree just now and suddenly called me, cough cough… I didn’t know whose child she was. I just checked quickly in case something happened to her since she’s so small. That’s basically what happened.”
“Niuniu! How could you call Educated Youth Song ‘Daddy’?”
Bai Xinmei glared at Song Jinping and pinched Niuniu’s cheek in her arms.
“Daddy, daddy, pretty, candy…”
So it was her daughter’s fault. Bai Xinmei blushed, feeling like she was about to pull out a two-room apartment’s worth of hair.
But she quickly regained her composure. It must have been this Song Jinping luring her daughter with candy. Normally, Niuniu wouldn’t behave like this.
The brigade leader, seeing the awkward situation, came forward to smooth things over.
“The child is too young to remember; it’s normal. It’s getting dark, and everyone will have to work again tomorrow.”
With the brigade leader speaking, Bai Xinmei naturally didn’t say anything more.
She put on a face and walked off, ignoring Song Jinping and the others.
But she was attractive, and the village young men were willing to accommodate her. Some women looked down on her.
Besides, her temper had always been like this. The brigade leader wiped his sweat in relief. If it weren’t for the glory of her late husband, she’d have faced criticism for her background.
Even though her husband had passed, he had left her with a martyr’s name, which indirectly helped her.
He had to speak up for her. His little brother could join the army thanks to her late husband. He was a good man, such a pity…
“She’s a widow just over twenty, raising a child alone. Song Jinping, don’t overthink it. By the way, if you’re missing anything, I’ll talk to the village secretary and see if we can help.”
“It’s fine, thank you, brigade leader. Jinping will be troubling everyone for a while.”
The villagers who came to help thought that Song Jinping spoke very pleasantly. Unlike some other educated youths who despised the village when they first arrived, he seemed considerate.
That night, lying in bed, Song Jinping planned how to find Old Master Zhao. That group was vigilant, and whether he made a big show of searching or approached the old master, it would be tricky.
As his thoughts wandered, his mind flashed to the day’s farce, and the widow’s beautiful yet slightly haggard face, with a small mole on her cheek, and her temper…
What am I thinking…? Song Jinping suddenly realized he was thinking about the widow. His face shifted from pale to calm again. He blamed it on encountering her too many times that day.
The next half month, the two had almost no contact. Only a few encounters when delivering food, with Bai Xinmei walking away coldly each time.
At first it was fine. Later, Song Jinping couldn’t help wondering, was she still upset with him? But he really had done nothing wrong. He had never encountered a female comrade who, through such unreasonable methods, made him suffer silently and put him in his place.
[What’s the streamer doing? Isn’t it time to start flirting? So fake, boring]
[Freebie love isn’t worth anything. Does the netizen even understand?]
[+1, upstairs, this flattery is experiencing the lethal power of a beautiful lady’s tease. Otherwise, could it be flattery? Almost hooked.]
[Haha, crying over the flattery, feeling personally targeted…]
Several times, Song Jinping wanted to say something, but Bai Xinmei’s beautiful, charming phoenix eyes were full of impatience.
He could only give up. Why argue or entangle with a widow?
A month passed, and the busy farming season arrived. Everyone had to work to earn points. Lotus Village had a large fish pond. The fish couldn’t be caught until the end of the year, but the lotus roots had to be harvested.
During the rush harvest, it was so busy that many educated youths couldn’t keep up.
Actually, Bai Xinmei didn’t like these few days every year either. During this time, everyone with labor had to rush to harvest, and she had to go too.
The sun wasn’t strong, but her delicate skin would redden and peel after a bit of sun, making her look like she had some illness.
Holding a sickle, she cut rice for a while before her waist ached terribly. Every time she worked, she wanted to curse Qin Yuanzheng, dead too soon, breaking his promises.
If she couldn’t go on, she would sit on the field edge, lost in thought.
She was only assigned a small plot of paddy, but still couldn’t finish. If she didn’t finish, she couldn’t go home.
By evening, she still hadn’t finished. Song Jinping returned from harvesting lotus roots, his clothes soaked, intending to rest, when he saw her sitting alone on the field edge, looking pitiful.
Looking at the nearby paddy, he immediately understood the situation.
He hesitated, wondering whether to help her, then scolded himself for even considering it.
He decided to leave quickly.
Suddenly, a clear, slightly aggrieved voice called out:
“Educated Youth Song, there’s a leech on your ankle.”
A leech? Song Jinping stopped, looked down, and indeed saw a flat, black worm-like creature attached to his ankle, moving slightly.
A chill ran through him. What was this thing?
He kicked his foot hard, but it seemed to cling tighter.
“If you don’t mind, I can help you get it off.”
Bai Xinmei glanced at the paddy fields beside her, then looked at Song Jinping, a glimmer of light in her eyes.
Hearing her say that, Song Jinping instinctively wanted to refuse, he could just get rid of the leech himself, but the words that came out were, “Then I’ll trouble Comrade Bai.”
His feet, as if guided by some force, stepped toward her.
He gave himself a reason: he could also ask about Old Master Zhao. This widow had probably been in the village for years; maybe she knew something.
“Actually, I didn’t know how to do this before either. Over time, I learned myself. When I first arrived at Lotus Village, I was very scared. My father and mother were burned alive by them, I hated…”
Realizing she might have said too much, Bai Xinmei stopped and shifted to saying that the first time she went into the paddy and encountered a leech, she had cried from fright.
She lowered her head, tapping the muscles around the leech on Song Jinping’s leg with focused seriousness. Her flushed cheeks looked like the clouds at sunset, the last rays of the sun scattering across her hair.
It reminded Song Jinping of his high school days, reading Byron in the Beijing City library: she in the sunlit night, among rocks, meadows, and the solitude of the mountains.
Perhaps that description wasn’t entirely fitting for this widow, but that was all he could think of.
This close contact also forced him to face a fact: this widow truly possessed a beauty that allowed her a certain indulgence. And yet, she hadn’t remarried, making things easier for him. Song Jinping found himself somewhat distracted.
“All done, Song Jinping.”
Bai Xinmei raised her head, a small, proud smile on her face, as if to say, See, I’ve got it.
“Thank you.”
Song Jinping murmured, then glanced at the paddy assigned to Bai Xinmei. Without thinking, he said,
“I’ll help you. Sit down and rest for a bit, you’ve worked hard already.”
After saying this, he felt a twinge of regret, not for the labor itself, but for what others might say if they saw him.
It was fine for a man like him, but how could a female comrade endure it?
Song Jinping was completely unaware of how his mind and words were slipping out of rational control. Normally, he treasured his spotless reputation.
If it were any other time, facing a woman with a questionable background, or a widow, he probably wouldn’t even lift an eyelid, keeping a polite distance.
Hearing this, Bai Xinmei thought, Finally got him hooked. These rice fields were impossible to finish alone, but she still wore a shy, hesitant expression.
“Th-this… isn’t really appropriate…”
“It’s fine. You help me remove the leech, I help you cut the rice. Think of it as thanks. It’s not hard work anyway. After all, I should thank you for reminding me.”
Song Jinping waved his hand, rolled up his pant legs, and picked up a sickle to enter the field.
Tall and long-legged, he wasn’t as rough as a farmer but neither entirely delicate. After a month of training, he was surprisingly efficient. Bai Xinmei couldn’t help feeling a twinge of envy. She had taken a long time to adapt when she first arrived at Lotus Village.
“Song Jinping, you’re so fast! I’ve been cutting rice all afternoon and only did a little.”
Hearing this, Song Jinping didn’t respond, but his hands unconsciously moved faster.
[Male lead’s affection +15. Sympathy. Encourage the trainee to keep it up.]
Bai Xinmei heard the system and comforted herself, at least there was some progress.
[What’s up with the male lead? Seems like he’s enchanted.]
[Enchanted? Probably just dazzled by the streamer’s beauty.]
[LOL, Niuniu’s “Daddy” call was so prophetic.]
[The streamer worked for half an hour, slacked for three, hahaha, and the male lead still says: Take a rest.]
[Poor little Song, dug lotus roots all day, then has to cut rice, well done. Here’s a lollipop for encouragement.]
After finishing the rice, Bai Xinmei kept thanking Song Jinping over and over: “Song Jinping, you’re so kind…” It made Song Jinping reflect, these years after her husband’s death, she hadn’t had it easy.
After that, the two returned to their own routines.
That night, back at the Educated Youth station, Song Jinping was starving. Ming Xiaoxiao, noticing him return, brought a bowl of noodles through the teasing eyes of everyone around.
“Jinping, you must be hungry. These noodles are saved for you; it’s been a tough day.”
Song Jinping’s eyebrows, perfectly shaped, slightly furrowed. Jinping? He didn’t know this female comrade well, and being tired, he appeared indifferent.
“Thank you, Comrade Ming, but I just want to rest first. I’ll eat something later on my own.”