A Young Woman's Heart

"Teacher Qiu, please stop talking. My ears are getting calluses from all this," Wang Jiale teased.

"Huh? Did I say a lot?"

"Does Teacher Qiu eat the same food as us?" Some people were trying to find a loophole so they could get a better lunch.

"Of course they're the same," Qiu Yi said matter-of-factly, picking up a cornbread from the bag and taking a big bite. "Oh—! This cornbread is delicious!"

The advantage of agricultural training over military training is freedom.

When it's time to eat, everyone sits by the field and can chat with whomever they want. Unlike during military training, where we had to sing military songs before meals and not talk while eating, the strict discipline actually reduced our appetite. If the training hadn't been so tiring, we probably wouldn't have been able to eat at all.

"Yaoyao, here you go." Li Wanyan took Mo Xueyao's share and sat quietly beside her.

Hua Yinyin, unusually, didn't 'bother' her. Right now, she was chatting with Wang Jiale and the others about all sorts of gossip.

"Phew...it's still a little hot." Mo Xueyao gently swung her legs and leaned back slightly.

Before her stretched a golden ocean of rice, and the clouds in the sky were so thin they were almost transparent.

The sky was bluer than in the city, like a lake placed upside down in the sky.

In the distance, several birds with broad wings were circling and foraging for food; closer, some sparrows, unafraid of people, were flying close to the students, staring longingly, waiting for a few crumbs to fall from their mouths as afternoon snacks; on the nearest pine trees, a squirrel darted by, carrying two large pine cones and stuffing them into its tree hole used for storing food.

Yes, autumn is here, can winter be far behind?

These little animals also need to start preparing food for the winter.

Mo Xueyao glanced at Li Wanyan, then took a small bite of the cornbread.

The texture was rough, but she was pleasantly surprised. Perhaps because she had eaten too much refined food in the city, she found the rougher food more delicious—because it was also more chewy.

There is meat in beet soup—but only a tiny bit, maybe just a few grains in a cup.

But at least it tasted like meat, which added a lot to the lunch.

The pickled bamboo shoots are flavored with pickled peppers, just like the pickled chicken feet.

At first, I didn't feel anything, but after eating a lot, I got really choked by the spiciness.

The key is that its spiciness has a lingering aftertaste, getting spicier and spicier, and drinking water doesn't help.

Even Mo Xueyao, who is known for her tolerance of spice, couldn't handle it, let alone the others, who were in tears from the heat.

Although Li Wanyan maintained a serious expression—with her brows furrowed—tears from the spiciness of the pickled peppers still streamed down her face, making her look particularly comical.

When food is scarce, chili peppers are truly the best seasoning.

With this, even if you're not hungry, you'll eat several more bites of cornbread just to suppress the spiciness.

Even so, Mo Xueyao could only eat one and a half before she couldn't eat anymore.

This cornbread is solid, unlike those hollow and fluffy steamed buns. What looks like a certain amount is exactly what you eat.

Especially when it gets cold, it becomes very hard, and biting into it is similar to chewing on a soft stone.

After lunch, the farm work had to continue.

In fact, the students' workload is not that heavy. If farmers worked that slowly, they would have no food to eat long ago.

But it still exhausted them.

The combined efficiency of a whole class is not as high as that of five skilled farmers.

Fortunately, it ended relatively early, just as the sun was about to set.

4:30 PM.

The gentle sunset and the magnificent clouds lay across the distant mountains on the horizon.

Smoke was already rising from the farmhouses by the mountainside, and the tiled houses scattered casually among the mountains and plains seemed ready to welcome the sunset.

The streetlights at the agricultural training base were already on, and the rows of neat apartment buildings looked exceptionally beautiful in the setting sun.

As Mo Xueyao walked back, she saw this rural scene and was momentarily stunned.

The countryside seems nice—but only for occasional visits.

If the countryside is really that good, then why would young people need to go to the city to make a living?

It's simply because the income gap is too large.

But if everyone wants a comfortable job and wants to sit in an office, then who will do the work?

A robot?

Mo Xueyao thought with some worry, but if asked if she would be willing to be a farmer in the countryside, her answer would probably be no.

People always want others to do the hard work so they can reap the benefits without lifting a finger.

Perhaps her so-called concern is not for the farmers, but for her own interests.

In the end, she could only console her conscience with the phrase, "Everyone is selfish."

Hua Yinyin had fallen behind for quite some time before she hurriedly ran over.

"What were you doing just now?" Mo Xueyao asked, turning her head.

"Well, I wanted to draw this scenery when I saw it, so I stopped here to memorize it. I'll draw it when I get back!"

"Hmm...it's really quite good. I'll write it down later." Mo Xueyao nodded in agreement.

The students, whose group had become somewhat scattered, returned to the agricultural training base.

However, the teacher led the group not to their accommodation, but in another direction.

The seven classes split into two directions, and no one knew where they were going.

Soon, we arrived at our destination.

Rows and rows of earthen stoves came into Mo Xueyao's view. Compared to the ones built by their own families in the countryside, these were much cleaner and looked relatively new, without much sign of use.

Each stove has two burners, one for cooking rice and the other for cooking vegetables.

There is a small round hole between the two, and you can pour water into it by opening the lid, so you can boil water while cooking rice.

"Alright, dinner's ready! Everyone cook yourselves!" Ye Wen, who was walking at the front, put her arm around Qiu Yi's shoulder and stood on a large stone block. "You can form groups of three and choose the stoves you like to use. But don't rush, because the instructor will teach you how to use these earthen stoves. You all learned how to cook in home economics class, right? It will be easy to cook some dishes later!"

"Uh..." Qiu Yi supported Ye Wen with one hand to prevent her from falling. "Each group has a fixed amount of rice and vegetables. If you feel that you don't have enough or that you have too much, you can exchange with other groups. For example, girls who eat less can give more rice to the boys."

"Where are the vegetables!" Ye Wen swayed and almost fell, but luckily Qiu Yi caught her in time. "Each group can choose their own vegetables. There are all kinds of vegetables available. Take them here, but you have to finish them. If you don't finish them, you won't get lunch tomorrow! As for the meat, it's all the same: one piece of pork and one piece of chicken breast. You can cook them however you like, but you're not allowed to waste any."

"Are you down now...?" Qiu Yi turned to look at Ye Wen.

"Carry me on your back!"

Qiu Yi helplessly covered his forehead, but still carried her down on his back in front of everyone, and the students immediately started to jeer.

Compared to romances between students, romances between teachers are more exciting for everyone.

The uncle who had previously been in charge of guiding agricultural learning gathered everyone together again and then demonstrated using a stove.

"First of all, cooking rice over a wood fire is different from cooking rice in an electric rice cooker. When cooking rice over a wood fire..."

"Gao Yuan, listen carefully." Li Wanyan glanced at Gao Yuan, who was joking around with the others in the back, "Otherwise, you won't be able to make dinner later."

"Ugh, why do guys have to cook? It's so annoying..." Gao Yuan sighed, echoing the sentiments of many other guys.

Mo Xiaoxiao was quite familiar with cooking on a traditional earthen stove. The earthen stove in the container house was built with the help of Mr. Xue, and she often used that stove to cook rice and dishes. She could easily do it herself now, but she still listened carefully to her uncle's instructions.

"You can put water in it. You draw water from the well, pour it in, and then you'll have hot water. You can use it to drink or wash dishes..."

"Uncle, can we throw a sweet potato or potato into the fire?" Zhou Yong raised his hand.

"Of course you can, haha. If you like sweet potatoes or potatoes, you can put them in and take them out after the fire goes out. But be careful not to bake them for too long, or they won't taste good if they burn. Generally speaking, the sweet potatoes can be eaten when the rice is almost cooked."

"Okay!" Zhou Yong nodded excitedly, looking like he wanted to try it right away.

……

Chapter Sixty-Seven: The Fragrance of Osmanthus

The evening breeze carried away the smoky aroma of the food and brought with it the delicate fragrance of osmanthus blossoms.

Mo Xueyao sat alone under an osmanthus tree, gazing at the students who were busily working at the earthen stove over there.

Her group was almost finished, and Li Wanyan and Hua Yinyin were in charge of making the remaining soup, so she took a break from her busy schedule and came to sit here.

Osmanthus flowers are always small, and if you don't look closely, you won't think they are flowers. Instead, they look like the seeds or stamens of some kind of plant.

But its fragrance can travel very far.

A gentle breeze blew by, and a few more osmanthus blossoms fell softly, adorning Mo Xueyao's short, jet-black hair.

"Mom is probably picking osmanthus flowers again right now, isn't she?" Mo Xueyao muttered, leaning against the tree trunk. The newspaper she was using as a cushion was blown up by the wind, making a 'rustling' sound.

Every year, my mother would pick the osmanthus flowers, or rather, shake them down.

All you need to do is use a burlap sack or plastic sheet to catch it.

At those times, there are often long stretches of good weather, and the bright sunshine is perfect for drying osmanthus flowers.

Some of the dried osmanthus flowers are made into osmanthus cakes, while the excess are used to brew wine, which is then enjoyed during the Mid-Autumn Festival of the following year.

The evening breeze in the countryside is much cooler than in the city, but it doesn't make you feel cold.

Although it's not as bustling as the city, the constant chirping of insects and birds keeps it from feeling deserted.

She sat there, feeling somewhat sleepy even though she hadn't had dinner yet.

A large yellow dog raised by a farmer came over, sniffed her scent, and then walked away without looking back.

For it, the constant influx of strangers here must be something it's already used to.

So this sniffing was just a perfunctory act, as if it were merely to complete a task.

"Little Yao!" Hua Yinyin shouted at her from a distance, "Dinner's ready!"

"Oh..." Mo Xueyao was sitting comfortably, but now she was a little reluctant to get up. She patted off some grass seeds on her skirt, then put the newspaper away and took it back.

There will likely be times when I use it frequently recently.

After all, in rural areas, people often sit on the ground.

"You have the newspaper? Hurry up and bring it over to tide us over. Where are we going to eat?" Hua Yinyin asked impatiently. "Finally—we can eat! I'm starving!"