A Young Woman's Heart

We set off together at 7:30 in the morning, and arrived here at almost 9:00.

The sunlight, which had been 'delicate', became bright and clear, filtering through the gaps in the leaves and casting irregular patches of light.

"Hey, you're here!" A middle-aged man who looked very energetic greeted Huang Zhengyang with a loud laugh. "Heh heh, you said you were going to bring your brother's classmates to play, but they're all girls. Aren't they all minors? You'd better watch out for breaking the law, kid."

"It's okay, I can wait until they grow up." Huang Zhengyang also made a nonchalant joke.

"They're all so pretty, tsk tsk. Oh my, is that blue-eyed one a foreigner? Or what? A mixed-race person?" Mo Xueyao's unique eye color always made her the first person others noticed.

"I'm of Russian descent," Mo Xueyao introduced herself with grace and confidence. "Hello, my name is Mo Xueyao."

"Hello, this is the first time I've ever met a mixed-race person!" The middle-aged man, who had already gained weight, stretched out his hairy arm, seemingly wanting to shake hands, but quickly withdrew it. "Everyone can wander around here as they please. Zhengyang knows this place well, so you can let him show you around. I'll go get you a barbecue grill."

"You even have a barbecue grill?"

"Of course! If you come to the farm and don't have a barbecue, wouldn't that be a wasted trip?" The uncle chuckled, gave some instructions to the others, and then rode his electric scooter to get the barbecue grill.

"You want to ride an electric bike? Is it that far?" Wang Jiale stood on the back of the bike, closed his eyes, and lightly jumped to the ground, but lost his balance and almost fell. "Ouch!"

"Are you alright?" Fortunately, Huang Zhengyang was right next to her and quickly helped her up.

"It's too high..." Wang Jiale breathed a sigh of relief. "I should have climbed down slowly."

“You can get off easily by stepping on the wheels, Lele is so clumsy!” Hua Yinyin mocked, climbing off the car with great ease.

"Because the farm is very big, you often have to ride an electric bike. If you walk from one end to the other, it would probably take an hour."

"So big?"

“Actually, it’s considered small to medium-sized.” Huang Zhengyang scratched his head. “That was the farmer here, but not the biggest boss—there are other major shareholders who don’t come here often.”

Wearing jeans, Cha Li walked up to a truck and watched as people loaded fruit onto the truck bed.

"What, want to try some?" a burly man with a white towel around his neck asked with a smile. His eyes were not big, but his face was large, and his smile made him look particularly honest, like a kind and simple ox.

"No, I'm just curious. Aren't apples a fall fruit?"

"Hahaha—haven't city kids ever seen apples in spring? If apples are only available in autumn, where do the apples sold in fruit shops come from?"

"I thought they were all frozen."

"Apples are available in both spring and autumn, just different varieties." The honest-looking, burly man smiled and took an apple the size of a fist from the basket, handing it to Cha Li. "Try it? It's very sweet."

"Aren't you afraid the boss will say you're wasting fruit?" Cha Li asked doubtfully.

"What's the big deal? It's just an apple, how much is it worth? The damage from spoilage is much greater!" The other person waved his hand dismissively. "Have fun, little girl!"

"Well, you're not that much older than me, are you?" Cha Li said helplessly.

"Come on, everyone gather around! We're about to go into the farm!" Huang Zhengyang clapped his hands vigorously, like a teacher taking a primary school student on a field trip, signaling everyone to come closer to him. "Don't wander off, you'll get lost. If you accidentally get lost, just ask someone for directions out, and then wait for us outside."

……

Chapter 236 The Farm (Part Two)

The farm is located in a valley, surrounded by mountains on three sides. Terraced fields have been cultivated on the mountains, where tea trees and some shrubs and climbing crops are planted.

The farm's roads are intricate and seemingly endless, and they are all narrow, only wide enough for one small car to pass at most.

There are farmlands on both sides, and at the entrance there is a large expanse of lush green rice paddies.

"Hmm, what is this? Is it wheat or rice?" Mo Xueyao patted Huang Zhengyang on the shoulder and asked curiously.

"Haha, this is clearly rice, don't you recognize it?"

"I grew up in the city... I don't recognize it very well, but as for the rice, there's no water, right?"

"There are two kinds of rice paddies: paddy rice and dry rice. The ones grown here are dry rice, which is for the farm's own consumption and is basically not sold." Huang Zhengyang picked up a green foxtail grass and scratched Huang Yuxi's ear, making her face turn slightly red from the tickling. Then, she angrily grabbed Huang Zhengyang's clothes and banged her head hard against his chest.

—Even so, you have to stand on tiptoe to bump into it.

Along the country lanes, some areas have unroofed sheds, which are just the frames.

The frames are covered with windmills, which make a 'whooshing' sound when the wind blows through them.

"Woof, woof!" A big yellow dog led several dogs of different colors to dash out of the field and bark loudly at Mo Xueyao and the others behind Huang Zhengyang.

"Shut up, they're all guests." Huang Zhengyang said sternly, scolding the country dogs.

"So many dogs..." Mo Xueyao subconsciously took a few steps back.

"Good dogs~ come here~" Wang Jiale boldly squatted down and clapped his hands at the dogs.

The big yellow dog standing at the front stopped, seemingly understanding Huang Zhengyang's words, and then wagged its tail vigorously.

Girls seem to have no resistance to furry animals. As long as the other party shows friendliness, they are not afraid and will even affectionately rub their heads.

On the contrary, Mo Xueyao, who used to be a boy, hid behind the girl and dared not approach her.

She was afraid of getting bitten by accident.

As the saying goes, "Once bitten by a snake, twice shy."

Unless it's a dog that's very familiar like the one from Grandma Jin's house next door, and that she's watched grow it up from a puppy, Mo Xueyao wouldn't feel scared.

Hmm... I don't want to admit it, but I am indeed scared.

After passing through the not-so-large rice paddies, there are rows of orchards.

Someone is placing a ladder on the fruit tree and pruning its branches to encourage it to grow horizontally rather than taller.

"Little Yaoyao, look! Apple blossoms! Just as cute as you!" Hua Yinyin picked up an apple blossom from the ground and placed it on Mo Xueyao's hair. "It's a natural decoration!"

"Apple blossom? It has fruit and still has flowers?" Mo Xueyao picked up the tiny apple blossom from her hair and examined it closely. "It's so small, an apple blossom."

"So white and tender." Hua Yinyin smiled sideways and deliberately shook her chest.

"Tsk..." Mo Xueyao turned away in disgust, choosing to ignore her.

“Of course there will be flowers, because these are apple trees that bear fruit in the fall,” Huang Zhengyang replied. He had been teasing Huang Yuxi, and now he was carrying her on his shoulders, while she was scratching his hair in a mess as she resisted.

"Why did they pick the flowers?" Wang Jiale asked, puzzled.

"Is this so that the fruit will be bigger?" Cha Li answered first. "If you flower too much, you will grow a lot of apples, but they will be small and won't fetch a good price."

"That's right, that's the principle. Basically, on a small branch, you only need to keep one or two of the largest flowers."

The orchard has a refreshing fragrance. It grows not only apples, but also peaches, oranges, and even bananas.

"Hey, look, a bunch of mushrooms have grown here!" Huang Zhengyang suddenly called out to everyone, putting Huang Yuxi down from his shoulder. "These mushrooms are all edible. They're very fragrant after being dried and soaked."

"Why don't we just eat them? I've noticed that mushrooms are usually dried before we eat them. Isn't it better to eat them fresh?" Mo Xueyao put her hands on Li Wanyan's shoulders, letting her carry her like a train, as if that would save her some energy.

"Because dried mushrooms smell better, but I don't know the specific reason why... Haha, I'm not as educated as you guys, I only went to junior high school and then stopped going to school." Huang Zhengyang scratched his head and chuckled.

"Hey, Huang Zhengyang, here for a blind date." Hua Yinyin nudged Huang Zhengyang with her elbow. "I'm warning you, Xiao Yaoyao is mine! As for the others, you can choose whoever you want."

"Huh? Haha... that was just a joke."

"If you had to choose seriously, who would you pick?" Hua Yinyin asked mischievously.

Huang Yuxi's brother is probably around twenty-three or twenty-four years old. Actually, he's not much older than the girls, maybe five or six years older.

If it really comes down to blind dates, an age difference of five or six years is still possible...

"You want me to choose? You really want me to choose?"

"Of course, but it's just a selection process. I think you definitely have no chance." Hua Yinyin didn't give him any face at all.

"How about I choose you?" Huang Zhengyang said with a mischievous smile, putting his arm around Hua Yinyin's shoulder.

"Ugh—" Hua Yinyin quickly retreated to the side, "Men, disgusting."

"Why did you choose Hua Yinyin?" Mo Xueyao was very curious.

“She looks like she’d be good at raising children,” Huang Zhengyang answered honestly. “Like…like her…”

"Wang Jiale," Mo Xueyao said on Wang Jiale's behalf.

"Oh right, someone like Wang Jiale will probably need a nanny in the future."

"Hey!" Wang Jiale shouted in dissatisfaction, "Why are you dragging me into this again! Besides, I don't like older men like you. I have a boyfriend! He's young and handsome, much better than you!"

"Ah...am I already considered an old man?" Huang Zhengyang felt hurt. "I don't have a beard...I think I'm still very young..."

"You're not young anymore," Cha Li added, "If you don't find a girlfriend soon, you might not even be married by thirty."

"Well, a man at thirty is alright... not old..."

"But the older you get, the harder it is to find someone, right? Dating also requires that youthful, passionate impulsiveness, doesn't it?" Cha Li asked very rationally, causing Huang Zhengyang's expression to immediately fall.

"Sigh, youth is so wonderful. I wish I could go back to my youth too—" Huang Zhengyang lamented. "Why don't any of you take pity on me and make do with me?"

"You're thinking too much about minors, or we'll call the police!" Wang Jiale threatened, pouting.

"When you were in school, didn't anyone like you?" Mo Xueyao asked curiously, waving her left hand to shoo away a bee. "Why do I feel like there are so many bees?"

“There must be bees on the farm, right? Bees are needed to pollinate the fruit trees, and we can also eat the honey later, killing two birds with one stone.” Huang Zhengyang pointed to a wooden box under a big tree. “Look, there’s a beehive over there. There are beehives like this all over the farm. They don’t take up much space, so they’re just placed everywhere. It’s just a little troublesome when harvesting the honey. By the way, have you ever eaten honeycomb?”

"A honeycomb—?" Wang Jiale asked in surprise, "Can you eat that stuff?"

"Haha, of course! It tastes pretty good. I'll get you some to eat later."

What flavor is it?

"Sweet, soft and chewy, with a slight chewiness," Huang Zhengyang said, swallowing hard. "Ah, it tastes really good, haha."

"Uncle, you still haven't answered." Hua Yinyin nudged Huang Zhengyang's arm. "Why didn't you date when you were in school?"

"I'm really not that old, am I..." Huang Zhengyang covered his forehead with a headache. "Ugh, don't expose my past."

"How pitiful. Actually, you're not that ugly, are you?" Hua Yinyin continued to ask.

“Your words hurt me even more, haha…” Huang Zhengyang took a deep breath. “Actually, there were some, but… after that earthquake, they were gone.”

"Hey, Hua Yinyin, look at you, why are you tearing open other people's wounds?" Mo Xueyao glared at her with displeasure. "Sorry, Huang Zhengyang."

"Didn't you ask first?" Hua Yinyin pouted.

"Haha, it's nothing. It's been a long time, and I don't feel much anymore. Maybe I'm just a heartless person." Huang Zhengyang laughed generously and changed the subject. "Look, this field is planted with cabbages. They were planted in batches, and some of them can be harvested and sold."

"Speaking of which, if so many vegetables are sold every day, this farm doesn't seem that big, does it?" Mo Xueyao finally realized that this farm was indeed a small to medium-sized farm.