The Secret of the Yoga Club: The Women's Identity is Not Simple

"Uncle, you're too kind. Just call me Xiao Lin. Qingqing is doing very well at the company, and she took this opportunity to come and see you. I've heard from her that the goji berries you grow are of particularly high quality, and I've always wanted to see them for myself."

"Alright, alright, come inside, come inside!" Uncle San pulled Lin Feng's arm and walked into the yard, then turned back and shouted to Aunt San, "Old woman, hurry up and bring the food up!"

The courtyard is small, a typical Northwest farmhouse courtyard. The clean and tidy courtyard is surrounded by mud walls, with a few jujube trees planted in the courtyard and a few low tables and benches placed under the trees.

My aunt brought out several dishes from the kitchen—cold cucumber salad, eggplant with minced garlic, tomatoes with sugar, hand-pulled mutton, and a large bowl of steaming hot mutton noodles. On the table were also several bottles of chilled beer and a large pot of wine infused with goji berries.

Ma Qingqing helped set out the chopsticks, her movements were very practiced, clearly she was used to helping out here since she was a child.

As she bent over, the hem of her trench coat lifted slightly, revealing a section of her slender legs wrapped in black stockings. Several young wives from the neighborhood couldn't help but glance at her several times, whispering something to their aunt.

"Third Aunt, Qingqing is quite successful now. She's a white-collar worker in a big city. Look at her outfit, she looks just like a celebrity on TV."

"That's right. She used to catch grasshoppers in the fields when she was little, and now she can go on business trips with the boss. This girl has been resourceful since she was a child."

Ma Qingqing turned around and smiled at them, her ears slightly red.

After setting out the chopsticks, he went to the kitchen and brought out several dishes, moving very efficiently.

Lin Feng watched from the side and felt that Ma Qingqing at this moment was completely different from the nervous and reserved girl she usually was at the company.

Here, she is a good child praised by her elders and a promising role model in the eyes of her neighbors, and she feels much more relaxed.

"Xiao Lin, come sit down, come sit down. We don't have anything fancy at home, just some simple home-cooked dishes. Please don't mind." Auntie San invited Lin Feng to sit down and poured him a full bowl of mutton noodles, the bowl almost overflowing.

"Auntie, you're too kind. This dish is even better than what you get in restaurants. I had some hand-pulled mutton in Sichuan, and I thought it was delicious enough, but yours is even more fragrant." Lin Feng picked up a piece of hand-pulled mutton and put it in his mouth. It was indeed delicious; the meat was tender, and the seasoning was just right. He looked up at his auntie and asked sincerely, "How was this mutton stewed? What seasonings did you put in it?"

"There's no secret recipe. It's just slow-cooked over a wood-fired stove with a little peppercorn and salt. That's all." His aunt was beaming with pride at his praise and kept saying that he should eat more, adding several more pieces of mutton to his bowl.

Uncle San opened two bottles of beer, handed one to Lin Feng, and the two chatted while drinking.

Uncle asked about some company matters and how Ma Qingqing was doing there. Lin Feng said that Qingqing was very hardworking, and she was the one who built the new product line. Sales of black goji berries and angelica were increasing every week, and customer feedback was excellent. Her reputation in the company was getting better and better.

After hearing this, Uncle San picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp, his wrinkles crinkling into a smile.

"This girl has been smart since she was little. I'm really happy to hear the boss praise her like this today. Mr. Lin, Qingqing is working under you now. Every time she calls, she says you treat her well, that the company's benefits are good, and that her colleagues take good care of her. Although her father and I aren't blood brothers, this child is like my own daughter."

Ma Qingqing ate silently with her head down, her ears turning slightly red. She picked up a piece of cucumber salad and put it in her mouth, but chewed for a long time without swallowing. Out of the corner of her eye, she secretly glanced at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng held his wine glass, listening attentively to his third uncle's words, his gaze open and honest.

"Qingqing is not only smart, but also hardworking. When she first came to the company, she didn't know many things, so she worked overtime and stayed up late to learn. Now she oversees the entire process of the new product line, from procurement to sales. The company is going to set up a branch at the end of the year, and I plan to let her take charge there. Don't worry, Uncle, I won't treat her unfairly. Every achievement she makes in the company will be rewarded with real opportunities for development."

……

After dinner, Ma Qingqing offered to take Lin Feng for a walk around the village.

The two walked along the village road. Several old women were sitting by the roadside peeling corn. When they saw Ma Qingqing coming, they put down what they were doing and greeted her in their thick dialect.

"Qingqing's back! Wow, this girl has grown even more beautiful! Is that young man next to you your boyfriend? He looks so dashing!"

"Grandma, don't talk nonsense. This is my boss. He's here to inspect goji berries, not my boyfriend."

"Boss? Such a young boss? I think they're a good match. If you could find someone like that, your third uncle would be laughing in his sleep."

Ma Qingqing quickly waved her hand, her ears turning as red as goji berries.

Lin Feng greeted the elderly men with a smile, then took out cigarettes from his pocket and offered them around. One old man with a missing front tooth took the cigarette but couldn't bear to smoke it, tucking it behind his ear and holding Lin Feng's hand, looking him up and down for a long time.

"Young man, how old are you this year? Are you married? I think you and Qingqing look quite well-matched. Qingqing is the most promising girl in our village. If you don't have a boyfriend yet, you should consider her."

"Grandma, I need to think about what you're saying." Lin Feng smiled and glanced at Ma Qingqing. Ma Qingqing quickly lowered her head and pretended to look at her phone, but her ears were so red they were almost bleeding.

Although he had some difficulty understanding the dialect, the old woman's enthusiasm and the strength with which she held his hand made him feel the heartfelt affection that everyone in the village had for Ma Qingqing.

Outside the village are vast fields of goji berries.

The setting sun dyed the entire field golden red. Ma Qingqing walked ahead of Lin Feng, step by step along the ridge of the field, her shadow stretching long in the sunset.

The beige trench coat I wore today fluttered gently in the evening breeze, and my long legs, wrapped in black stockings, moved crisscrossingly along the ridge of the field. My slender waist looked exceptionally supple thanks to the trench coat's fitted cut.

"Mr. Lin, look, that's my third uncle's land over there. He's been farming it for almost twenty years. Every year during harvest season, the whole family works together. Brother Zhiping and Auntie Zhiping go to the fields before dawn and work until sunset. Before express delivery, he had to ride his bicycle for several hours to town to sell it. Sometimes, if he couldn't sell it all, he would just dry it and store it until the next market day. Later, I helped him contact SF Express, and he didn't have to go through all that trouble anymore." She stopped on a field ridge, looking at the goji berry field dyed red by the setting sun, her voice gradually lowering. "My third uncle is someone who never wants to trouble others. When I was little, I asked him why he didn't ask the villagers for help, and he said that he wouldn't owe anyone a favor if he could do it himself. But when he helps others, he never hesitates. He's the first to go to anyone in need."

"So that stubbornness you have, you learned it from your third uncle?"

"I guess so. My third uncle always says, 'Poverty shouldn't diminish one's spirit.' Although I grew up in the city, I really enjoy coming here because my third uncle is so good to me." She turned to look at Lin Feng, her eyes reflecting the golden light of the setting sun. "Mr. Lin, I genuinely want to help him. Not just my third uncle, but everyone in this village who grows goji berries. Their goji berries are of really high quality, but they lack distribution channels and can't get a good price. If the company could set up a purchasing station here, handling unified purchasing, processing, and sales, their income would increase several times over, and they wouldn't have to put up with those peddlers anymore."