Chapter 14: Does She Never Take a Break?

In less than half an hour, the once fully packed field had cleared out a large section, and the basket on her back was already filled with corn cobs.

The yellow kernels gleamed golden under the sunlight, a truly delightful sight.

Huan Ya glanced at them twice, her eyes sparkling, then returned to her work.

“Hey, Old Song’s girl, take a break!”

A strange voice called from behind. Huan Ya looked back but didn’t recognize the speaker.

Remembering her mother’s earlier advice, she simply lowered her head and kept working.

“Hey, who’s that girl? Never seen her before,” one person said.

“No idea.”

“If you don’t know, why call out to her?”

“I thought it was Song Tiancheng’s mother, but turns out it wasn’t.”

“...”

Several people sat on the ridge of the field, watching Huan Ya’s nimble hands and feet, their thoughts stirring once again.

“Could it be that she’s the bride Song Tiancheng’s mother found to bring him good luck?”

“Never heard of that. Didn’t see her yesterday either.”

“That’s right. Song Tiancheng’s mother went to town early yesterday and only came back late at night. She went straight to look for Old Song then.”

“Could it be she’s unwell?”

“Probably, been lying down so long and no one has come out. Hey, Old Third’s family, you went to their place last time. Did you see anyone?”

The woman shook her head but her eyes gleamed as she watched Huan Ya busily working in the field.

“Tell me, if this girl really was brought by Song Tiancheng’s mother to bring him luck, and if Song Tiancheng gets better, would he still have to marry her?”

“Who knows? But Song Tiancheng was already rejected in marriage. Whether he marries or not, who cares?”

“Is that so?” The woman blinked, fell silent, and kept staring at Huan Ya.

Huan Ya kept her head down, working hard until her throat burned fiercely. Only then did she stop, removing the cloth covering her face and taking a deep breath.

“Ah, that’s better!”

She grabbed a nearby pile of corn stalks, piled them up, and sat down heavily.

After shifting around to find a comfortable spot, she took out a flatbread wrapped in her clothes, took a sip from the water bottle hanging at her waist, and slowly bit into the bread.

Though a bit cold, the crispy bread was still delicious.

So fragrant!

Huan Ya closed her eyes in satisfaction. It had been so long since she’d had something tasty she made herself. Her aunt was so kind!

In just a few bites, she finished the bread, drank more than half a bottle of water, rested for a while, and then resumed working.

Most of the field was harvested now. She was determined to finish before her aunt returned!

Clenching her fists, she energetically began chopping the corn stalks.

What Huan Ya didn’t notice was the group of people sighing with relief as she took her break.

“Finally resting. I was about to fall behind her.”

“Yeah, this girl never seems to get tired!”

But the moment didn’t last long. Huan Ya started working again, and the group’s sighs turned back into gasps.

“Good heavens, she never stops!”

“Who knows! Come on, let’s hurry and finish so we can go back!”

“Heavens, my hands are numb!”

Thus, in just half a day, news spread throughout Apricot Blossom Village of a girl in the Song family who worked with remarkable speed.

At the end of the Shen hour, Song’s mother, rubbing her aching legs, was stopped at the village entrance by an elderly woman.

“Hey, hey, Song family! Come over and sit for a bit!”

Song’s mother frowned; she didn’t like mingling too much with the villagers and shook her head.

“I’m going home. There’s still work to finish.”

But the woman heard this and exclaimed, “What work? You only have those two acres, right? That girl, whatever her name is, finished it all for you!”

“That’s right! I just went to see. Goodness, the field’s spotless—only corn stalks left!”