The voluptuous and beautiful nanny, Technician Shen fell for her.

With a blush, Su Nianhe went to the cupboard and took out two clean enamel bowls and two pairs of bamboo chopsticks, then turned and walked out of the kitchen.

On the square table in the main room, Shen Huai brought out the pot of fish head and tofu soup. The white broth was bubbling, with a few bright green scallions floating on top, and the leftover braised pork from yesterday was placed next to it.

Su Nianhe served two bowls of rice and handed one to Shen Huai.

The two sat down facing each other.

"Eat more fish." Shen Huai picked up a large piece of fish belly meat, removed the bones, and put it in her bowl. "It's good for your brain. Don't make mistakes when doing the accounts this afternoon."

Su Nianhe lowered her head and ate her fish, retorting softly, "I didn't make a mistake in my calculations."

Shen Huai took a bite of tofu. "Hmm, the two hundred yuan worth of goods have arrived. Let's give it a try."

Su Nianhe stopped talking and focused on eating the rice in her bowl.

She had a good appetite today, and ate most of a bowl of rice with fish soup and braised pork, finishing it all.

She put down her chopsticks and got up to clear the table.

Shen Huai leaned back in his chair, watching her carry the bowls and chopsticks to the kitchen to wash them.

In June, the midday sun is the hottest.

There wasn't a breath of wind in the yard, and the leaves were curling up.

After washing the dishes, Su Nianhe dried her hands and went back to the main room.

Shen Huai hadn't left yet. He sat in a chair, his head tilted back, his long legs casually stretched out, looking somewhat tired.

Su Nianhe walked over and noticed two dark circles under his eyes.

This morning I had a technical meeting at the factory, and at noon I even came over to cook. Even the strongest person couldn't handle that.

"Aren't you going to the factory this afternoon?" Su Nianhe asked.

"Go at 2:30." Shen Huai's voice was a little hoarse.

Su Nianhe glanced at the clock on the table; it was just past one o'clock.

"Then lie down on the bed and take a nap," Su Nianhe said, pointing to the mat next to her. "Take a nap before you leave."

Shen Huai didn't move, but turned his head to look at her.

"Will you come with me?"

"I'm not sleepy." Su Nianhe blushed and quickly waved her hand. "You go to sleep, I'll study my reading book."

Shen Huai stood up without forcing anyone to do so.

He walked to the bedside, took a long stride, and lay down directly on the cool mat.

He was tall, and the straw mat looked a little cramped on him.

"Bring that stool over there." Shen Huai pointed to a small stool in the corner.

Su Nianhe carried the stool over.

"Sit here." Shen Huai patted the empty space beside the bed.

Su Nianhe obediently put down the stool and sat down next to him.

The two were very close; Shen Huai could touch her leg with just a slight lift of his hand.

Su Nianhe took out the old literacy book from the drawer and placed it on her lap.

The notebook contained some commonly used characters and arithmetic formulas that Shen Huai had taught her before.

The room was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of cicadas coming from outside.

Su Nianhe turned to the first page, pointed to the words with her finger, and silently read them in her mind.

Shen Huai closed his eyes, and his breathing gradually became steady.

His white shirt was wrinkled, and the collar was open, revealing his strong collarbone.

Su Nianhe looked at the words for a while, then couldn't help but let her gaze drift to his face.

When this person is asleep, they don't look as fierce as they usually do.

"Look at the words, not at me."

Shen Huai didn't even open his eyes before speaking.

Su Nianhe was startled and quickly looked away, focusing on the notebook.

"You're not asleep?"

"Your fragrance is so strong it's practically wafting into my nose, how am I supposed to sleep?" Shen Huai rolled over, lying on his side facing her.

Su Nianhe had just finished eating, and since the room was small, all the smells were mixed together.

She moved the stool back a little.

"I'll sit further away."

"No need." Shen Huai reached out, grabbed the leg of the stool, and pulled it back. "I'll sit here."

Su Nianhe was pulled so hard that she swayed and her knee hit his arm.

The man's body heat emanated through his straight-leg trousers.

Su Nianhe dared not move and lowered her head to continue reading the notebook.

Turning to the third page, there was a word she couldn't remember how to pronounce.

She stared at that word for a long time, her brows furrowed in worry.

"Which character do you not recognize?" Shen Huai asked.

Su Nianhe handed the notebook to him and pointed to the word on it.

"This... You taught me this last time, but I forgot."

Shen Huai opened his eyes and his gaze fell on the notebook.

"Run. The 'run' in 'profit'."

"Oh, right, profit." Su Nianhe repeated it, then quickly drew a circle next to it with a pen.

"How do you write this character? Do you know how?" Shen Huai asked.

Su Nianhe took the pen and scribbled a couple of times in the blank space, writing crookedly.

Shen Huai couldn't stand it anymore.

He sat up from the mat and leaned his upper body against her.

"Bring me a pen."

Su Nianhe handed over the pen.

Shen Huai didn't take the pen; instead, he grasped her hand.

His large hand enveloped her small hand, guiding her to write stroke by stroke in the notebook.

"Three dots of water, a door next to it, and a king inside." Shen Huai wrote as he spoke, his warm breath falling on her cheek.

Su Nianhe felt a little dizzy and had no intention of reading.

Shen Huai was standing too close.

The two were almost touching, his soapy scent mingling with her sweet fragrance.

After writing the character "润" (run), Shen Huai did not let go.

He turned his head and looked at her reddened earlobes.

"Did you learn it?"

Su Nianhe nodded, "I've learned it."

"You're lying." Shen Huai exposed her without any mercy. "You didn't even look at the notebook just now."

Su Nianhe was caught red-handed and tried to pull her hand away, but it was held even tighter.

Shen Huai simply snatched the pen away and threw it on the table.

With a little effort, he pulled Su Nianhe up from the bench.

Su Nianhe lost her balance and fell directly onto the mat.

Before she could even get up, Shen Huai had already pressed half of his body over her, trapping her in the corner of the bed.

"What are you doing, in broad daylight?" Su Nianhe lowered her voice, placing her hands against his chest.

"Checking your homework." Shen Huai said matter-of-factly, his gaze fixed on her lips. "Recite the words I just taught you ten times in your mind."

Su Nianhe was both ashamed and annoyed by his tone of lecturing a primary school student.

"Get out of my way, I need to do laundry," she said, making up an excuse.

"I'll wash the clothes." Shen Huai didn't move.

"Then I'll go sweep the yard."

"The yard isn't dirty."

Su Nianhe was speechless and could only stare blankly.

Shen Huai chuckled softly as he watched her look so embarrassed.

He lowered his head, his lips brushed against the corner of her lips, and finally stopped on her chin, where he gently bit it.

Su Nianhe shuddered and gripped the fabric of his shirt tightly with both hands.

"You're not paying attention to recognizing characters, you deserve punishment." Shen Huai's voice was hoarse as he pressed his fingers on her lower back.

Suddenly, a clanging sound of pots and pans came from outside.

"Collecting scrap metal—trading old newspapers and books for matches—"

The shouts of scrap collectors echoed through the courtyard wall.

Su Nianhe felt as if she had been granted a pardon and gave him a hard push.

"Someone's coming!"

Shen Huai was very annoyed by this sudden interruption.

He straightened up, sat down on the mat, and rubbed his temples.

Su Nianhe quickly got out of bed, straightened her clothes, and picked up the literacy book that had fallen to the ground.

"I won't bother you anymore, go to sleep." She grabbed her notebook and ran straight out of the main room.

Shen Huai watched her fleeing figure, then leaned back and lay back down on the mat.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

Shen Huai got out of bed on time.

He walked to the water trough in the yard, turned on the tap, and scooped up some cold water to wash his face.

Su Nianhe was sitting at the stone table, taking out the cloth bag she would need for tomorrow to check it.

"I'm leaving." Shen Huai wiped his face with a towel and draped it over the wire.

Su Nianhe stood up. "Don't fall asleep during the meeting this afternoon."

"I can't sleep." Shen Huai walked over, picked up the briefcase from the stone table, and said, "He Jianjun will arrive around eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Don't wander off; wait for him in the yard."

"I see."

"He'll unload the goods and leave. When the distributors come to pick up the goods, make sure you keep accurate records," Shen Huai instructed in detail. "If anyone causes trouble, just mention Li Tiejun's name."

Su Nianhe nodded in agreement.

Shen Huai pushed his bicycle and opened the wooden door.

"Go inside and lock the door."

Su Nianhe closed the door and inserted the wooden bar.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, workers on their way to work were seen pushing their bicycles through the alley.

Su Nianhe got up early.

She swept the yard and boiled a kettle of water.

Around eight o'clock, a car horn sounded at the entrance of the alley.

Not long after, someone knocked on the red lacquered wooden door.

"Sister-in-law, open the door, it's me," He Jianjun shouted from outside.

Su Nianhe quickly pulled out the latch and opened the door.

He Jianjun was wearing a floral shirt and sunglasses, and carrying a bulging package in his hand.

"All the goods are here." He Jianjun carried the package into the yard and placed it on the ground in the main house.

"Thank you for your hard work, Brother He." Su Nianhe poured him a glass of water. "Was the journey smooth?"

"Everything went very smoothly." He Jianjun took off his sunglasses and gulped down his water. "Old Shen told me yesterday to leave all of this latest batch to you. These are the latest designs from the south; you definitely won't find another like them in Jiang City."

Su Nianhe untied the opening and peeked inside.

Inside were colorful hair ties, all wrapped up tightly.

"Sister-in-law, count them first." He Jianjun opened the bag. "Two hundred yuan worth of goods, a total of one thousand. The purchase price was two mao, I didn't make a penny more."

Su Nianhe knew this was because of Shen Huai.

She took out the two hundred yuan she had prepared and handed it to He Jianjun.

He Jianjun took the money, didn't even count it, and stuffed it directly into his pocket.

"Sister-in-law is so efficient. Okay, I have something to do over there, I'll be going now." He Jianjun waved and turned to leave.

"Take care, Brother He."

After seeing He Jianjun off, Su Nianhe locked the door and returned to the main room.

She poured all the hair ties onto the mat.

Red, pink, beaded, sequined—they were piled up into a small mountain.

Su Nianhe divided the hair ties into bundles of ten according to color and style, and neatly stacked them on the open ground next to her.

Around noon, the gate was knocked on again.

"Nianhe! Open the door!" Zhu Yuanyuan's voice rang out from outside.

Su Nianhe opened the door, and Zhu Yuanyuan led three young girls in.

These three girls didn't look very old, around twenty years old, and they were dressed quite simply.

"This is Sister Li's younger sister from my workshop, this is Sister Wang's cousin, and this is Aunt Zhang's daughter," Zhu Yuanyuan introduced them one by one. "I've already explained everything to them and made the rules clear."

The three girls looked at Su Nianhe and greeted her somewhat reservedly.

"Please come in and sit down, everyone." Su Nianhe led everyone into the main room.

The pile of colorful hair ties on the mat immediately caught their attention.

"It's so pretty, you can't buy this at the supply and marketing cooperative," a girl whispered.

Su Nianhe picked up a notebook and a pen and sat down at the table.

"Yuanyuan should have told you all the rules." Su Nianhe opened the notebook. "The wholesale price is three cents per piece. When you sell them outside, the minimum price is forty-five cents. You keep all the profit."

The three girls nodded repeatedly.

"It's the first day, so everyone can bring a little to test the waters," Su Nianhe said, holding a pen. "Who wants to go first?"