A Young Woman's Heart

"Can I try?" Mo Xueyao asked expectantly.

"Of course you can, but little girl, you probably won't be able to push it."

"How will you know if you don't try!" Mo Xueyao became even more enthusiastic. She rolled up her sleeves, found an unused millstone, grabbed the handle, and started pushing it in one direction. "Hey—"

"Push harder."

"Is it going in the wrong direction...?" Mo Xueyao felt her shoes were slipping, but the millstone didn't move much.

"That's right, turn it like that, use your right hand to exert force, it saves energy."

“How can it not be pushed…” Mo Xueyao gritted her teeth and finally got the millstone moving slowly.

This thing doesn't look heavy, especially when farmers demonstrate it, it looks so easy and effortless. But when you actually do it yourself, it feels more tiring than exercising.

"Ugh—" But once the millstone started turning, it became a little easier, but only relatively speaking. After walking a few laps, her hands were so sore that they were trembling, and she couldn't use any strength at all.

"Take a break? Are you tired?"

"It's alright... phew..." Mo Xueyao actually wanted to continue, but she couldn't pretend anymore. She tried to act nonchalant, shook her hand, and stepped aside. "If you grind soybeans like this, wouldn't it be very tiring?"

"So, in the past, you had to get up very early to make soy milk, but now it doesn't matter because we have machines. Just plug it in and it will do its own thing, which is very convenient."

"What an ancient tool..."

"Don't let its cumbersome appearance fool you; when you don't have power tools, this is the most efficient tool you can use!"

Upon hearing this, Mo Xueyao sincerely expressed her gratitude for all kinds of modern technology.

Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to afford soy milk.

Modern tools are gradually entering rural areas.

Perhaps in a few years, most farmers will be able to afford combine harvesters. Then we'll see farmers chatting and laughing as the harvesters cut down vast fields of rice...

While it's true that many young people have moved to the cities, the existence of advanced technology has provided a solution to the manpower shortage.

"Can we drink the freshly ground soy milk directly?" Hua Yinyin appeared beside Mo Xueyao at some point, and together with Li Wanyan on the other side, they each took one of her arms.

Although they are both arm in arm, there are still some differences.

Hua Yinyin was practically glued to Mo Xueyao, while Li Wanyan was just casually holding on, with a considerable distance between them.

"You can drink it if you want, but it won't taste very good. You have to boil it first before you can drink it."

"This is so troublesome." Hua Yinyin dragged Mo Xueyao away to the other side. "Little Yaoyao, let's go look at something else."

"There's nothing much to see here..."

"You can go pick aloe vera! Not only can you eat it, but you can also make tea! Or you can apply it to your face or something."

"Don't put everything on your face!" Mo Xueyao covered her forehead. "Wanyan, let's ignore her."

Let's go together.

"Huh—wait, wait a minute, what's going on? Why is Wanyan standing on Yinyin's side?"

"The others too."

"Alright alright……"

"Hmph, I've bribed Wanyan." Hua Yinyin winked and said jokingly.

"Really? How were you bribed?"

"Of course, she was won over by my gentle embrace! Speaking of which, little Yaoyao actually stole both my and Wanyan's blankets last night! Luckily, I won't catch a cold, or you would have to take responsibility!"

"Don't talk about this like you're pregnant, okay..." Mo Xueyao slapped Hua Yinyin's forehead.

"Tsk, Xiao Yaoyao has no sense of romance at all."

"Please use this kind of fun on your boyfriend!"

“I’m not interested in that kind of thing.” Hua Yinyin rolled her eyes and rested her chin on Mo Xueyao’s shoulder.

Li Wanyan led her to join the other girls.

Once everyone was present, they set off together towards a low hill behind the lake.

It can't even be called a mountain, it's more like a mound, maybe seven or eight stories high. You can reach the top of the mountain in no time by following the path people have made.

Mr. Xue was surrounded by girls as he introduced them to different flowers and herbs. He seemed to know a little about traditional Chinese medicine, at least some of the basic effects of herbs.

"Ah, aloe vera!" Hua Yinyin found what she wanted not far from the stream and shouted with delight. Without hesitation, she broke off a piece, peeled off the outer skin, and put it in her mouth.

"...Uh, how is it? Is it good?" Although Mo Xueyao had drunk aloe vera yogurt before, she had never actually eaten fresh aloe vera. Seeing Hua Yinyin's constantly changing expression, she couldn't help but ask.

"Hmm...it doesn't taste like anything, it's not good, and it's a bit bitter and astringent," Hua Yinyin muttered.

"Then don't waste it. It's not easy for a child to grow up like that."

"No way, we've come all this way, how can we leave empty-handed? At least it can beautify and nourish the skin, so let's make aloe vera juice and use it to wash our faces."

"What a waste... You might as well just wash your face with apple juice."

"That's different! Aloe vera is aloe vera, and an apple is an apple!"

“From a scientific point of view, how different are they really… If aloe vera has a lot of water, why don’t you try mixing vitamin tablets with water and using it to wash your face? There’s plenty of it…” Mo Xueyao teased.

Hua Yinyin seemed to be losing the argument, so she brought in reinforcements: "Wanyan, look, Xiaoyao insists that aloe vera is useless! She's bullying me with her unreasonable arguments!"

"Hey, what's wrong with you lately? You never used to call for help."

"Hmph, because I know only Wanyan can handle you."

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" Mo Xueyao muttered, her eyelids drooping.

"Xiaoxue, can we eat this flower?" Chali asked, holding a small pink flower. "There are so many here."

"That's... let me see, hmm, it's a magnolia, a pink magnolia. It seems quite rare. Where can I find many more?"

"Over here, though the color is a little different, they look pretty much the same."

“Those are white magnolias, which are relatively common.” Mr. Xue gently fiddled with a magnolia flower but did not pick it. “They can be used to stir-fry meat slices or deep-fry them, which are both delicious. They also have medicinal value and can detoxify and relieve pain.”

"Let's pick some to take home? We can stir-fry a side dish for dinner tonight," Cha Li said excitedly.

But Wang Jiale, standing to the side, felt it was a pity: "These flowers are so beautiful...is it really a bad idea to pick them?"

"It's alright, it will wither on its own even if you don't pick it. As long as the seeds are sown, it will grow again next year," Mr. Xue comforted him. "It will grow again in autumn and spring."

"Will they all bloom?" Mo Xueyao asked doubtfully.

“Yes, they all bloom, and their growth cycle is relatively short,” Mr. Xue said modestly. “I only read this in a book, so it may not be entirely accurate.”

"Let's pick some flowers~ Xiaoxiao, we'll make stir-fried pork slices later." Cha Li squatted down and stuffed all the flowers she had picked into her pocket.

"Okay."

The other girls also joined in the help, and just as everyone was having a good time, Ye Wen's shout came from below the small mound.

"Second class—get down—here—!"

Mo Xueyao looked down and saw Ye Wen standing with one hand on her hip and the other holding a megaphone, angrily shouting.

"Oh no, oh no, Wen is angry!" The girls laughed and joked without any concern, and started running downstairs.

Why did you guys travel so far?

"It's not that far," Wang Jiale argued.

"What if there are wild animals or poisonous snakes on the mountain? The squad leader even led the way to go play there. Who bribed her?"

"It was clearly the class monitor who wanted to go too!"

"I don't believe it," Ye Wen scoffed. "Alright, everyone come back here and stop running around. It's getting dark soon, and everyone can start preparing dinner."

"Is Awen going to freeload again?" Lu Chengyuan chuckled and winked, making the girls laugh.

……

Chapter 81 Lying on Mr. Xue's Lap

It was still Wednesday afternoon.

Beside the winding stream outside the agricultural training base.

The girls from Class Two had all been called down the mountain by Ye Wen, and now they simply split into different groups, found places to sit down and chat.

Actually, learning to farm isn't that tiring.

Rather than 'doing the work,' the focus was more on broadening the students' horizons.

If we really had to do farm work, it would be the busy season right now, so there wouldn't be much time to rest.

Those busy farmers in the fields are the ones who are truly doing the work!

Mo Xueyuan left the crowd and sat alone on a rock by the river. Across the river was a small, leveled area with rows of persimmon trees planted neatly on it.

The instructor of Class Two was busy picking persimmons, carefully taking each one off and putting it into a basket.

His father, the old man, was smoking a pipe, occasionally tapping the ash on the tree trunk before stuffing more tobacco into it.

Because they were separated by a river, Mo Xueyao couldn't hear their voices, but she could sense that her uncle and grandfather would glance at her from time to time. If their eyes met, they would give each other a kind smile.

The fish in the river didn't seem afraid of people, especially the small ones. When Mo Xueyao put her hand in the water, they would gather around her.

Larger fish don't usually get close, but occasionally they'll surface slightly, slap their tails hard, splashing water and creating ripples.

Under the bright sunshine, you can occasionally see small rainbows formed by splashing water. If a fish happens to swim by, it will make the fish look like they have become colorful as well.

Perhaps someone has actually seen a seven-colored carp—but that was just the color reflected from a specific angle.

She distanced herself from the crowd because she was feeling sleepy and wanted some peace and quiet.

Li Wanyan originally wanted to come along, but she was held back by the other girls.

If it were during her first year of high school, the other girls definitely wouldn't have insisted on keeping her to chat, or rather, they wouldn't have dared to talk to her about things unrelated to studying or school activities.

Perhaps she's just become more approachable lately?

Hmm... not really, maybe it's just that I'm not as serious as before.

It's not just Mo Xueyao who's gradually adapting to her new identity as a girl; everyone else is growing and changing too.