Chapter 18 – Get Up, I’ll Take You Along
It wasn’t that she was greedy…
Here, the rations were monotonous to the extreme. Fruit and snacks didn’t even exist. Wanting to taste some jujubes once they ripened—surely that wasn’t too much to ask?
Fu Jingyou’s gaze lingered on her deeply. Instead of answering, he said, “Did you see the house behind the tree?”
Lu Miao gave the house a sidelong glance. “What, are you trying to show off your house?”
“……”
Lu Miao had no desire to talk about this subject.
The earthen house at the educated youth station was low and shabby, with dirt crumbling from the walls whenever she slept—it was already bad enough.
The Fu family home was so much better than the educated youth station, but so what?
It wasn’t hers, and she couldn’t live there anyway.
Lu Miao’s rosy lips puffed in a pout as she stomped her foot and walked ahead.
Her expression changed constantly, sometimes eight hundred times a day.
Fu Jingyou couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, nor why she was suddenly sulking again. He could only follow silently and say:
“Jujubes won’t be sweet until midsummer.”
Lu Miao slowed her steps a little but didn’t stop.
Fu Jingyou continued, “If you want to eat them, I’ll pick them for you when the time comes.”
Lu Miao turned her head, her moist black eyes reflecting his slightly uneasy expression. “Really?”
“Mm.” Fu Jingyou gave a slight nod.
Lu Miao’s lips curved into a bright, sweet smile. “Since you’re so considerate, Fu Xiaoliu, you’re officially my friend!”
Fu Jingyou suddenly pressed his lips together again, silent.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to be friends with me?”
Lu Miao’s arched brows knit together, her voice tinged with displeasure.
Back then, whenever people wanted to be her friend, who didn’t beg her and coax her?
But here with Fu Jingyou, he didn’t want to?
Fu Jingyou’s large hand curled slightly. His voice was low and muffled: “That’s not what I meant.”
Lu Miao immediately brightened. “That’s fine then.”
They had already reached the open space in front of the Fu family house. Lu Miao’s fingertips, as tender as spring locust buds, pointed at the doorway. “Alright, go grab your things, I’ll wait here.”
Fu Jingyou leaned his hoe against her shoulder. “Hold this for me. I’ll be right back.”
The Fu family’s gate wasn’t even locked, just tied shut with a thick hemp rope.
Fu Jingyou ran back, untied the rope, went inside, and soon returned.
Now he carried more gear than before: one hoe, one shovel, a small waist basket, and a straw hat.
Taking the hoe back from Lu Miao, Fu Jingyou nudged the basket slung across his hip toward her.
Lu Miao understood and quickly put her sweet potatoes and peach crisps into it.
Noticing two mottled yellow lumps already inside, she asked curiously, “What’s in your basket?”
“Steamed cornbread, mixed with purslane.”
Lu Miao knew cornbread but had never heard of purslane. She was curious. “Is it good?”
To him, anything that filled the belly was good. Fu Jingyou nodded without hesitation. “Good.”
Lu Miao thought for a moment. “I want to try some. At noon I’ll trade you a peach crisp for it, okay?”
Fu Jingyou shook his head firmly. “You won’t be able to stomach it.”
“No way!” Lu Miao refused to give in. “I haven’t even tried it yet—how do you know I won’t like it?”
Her spoiled temper was flaring again. Fu Jingyou fell silent for a moment, then compromised. “Fine, you can try it at noon.”
Now that was more like it!
Satisfied, Lu Miao hummed a little tune as she headed toward the threshing ground path.
Fu Jingyou called from behind, “This way.”
“Oh!”
The two of them walked up along the bamboo path beside the Fu house.
Morning dew still clung to the earth, leaving the forest floor slightly damp. The fragrance of soil and bamboo filled the air, mingling with a faint trace of moisture.
Lu Miao twitched her nose, and Fu Jingyou reminded her quietly:
“Watch your step.”
The bamboo path was narrow—just wide enough for one person with room to spare, but too tight for two to walk abreast.
The ground sloped downward, from high to low. Fu Jingyou worried that if she kept glancing this way and that, she might slip and tumble into the ditch.
With that thought, he sighed softly and said:
“You walk in front.”
“I don’t know the way!”
“Just follow the path straight ahead. When there’s a turn, I’ll tell you.”
That… worked, she supposed.
Lu Miao skipped forward, brushing past him.
The closeness made Fu Jingyou uncomfortable. Stepping back, he found no space behind him. Losing balance, he swayed dangerously, barely saving himself by bracing against a bamboo stalk.
The bamboo shook, sending its leaves rustling. Lu Miao turned back just in time to see him steady himself. “What happened? I don’t think I bumped you.”
“My foot slipped. It’s fine… Keep going. Soon it’ll get hot.”
They started walking again. Lu Miao hummed petulantly:
“And you told me to be careful. Looks like you’re the one who needs to watch it.”
“……”
A cuckoo called “cuckoo, cuckoo.” The bamboo grove leaned against the back hill. As they stepped out of the bamboo’s shade, Lu Miao recognized the surroundings. “If we head west from here, isn’t that the cornfield I worked in a few days ago?”
Fu Jingyou nodded.
Lu Miao fanned her little hand. “Your house is so close to the back hill. From the educated youth station, I have to walk ages just to reach the cornfield.”
It was early May, the weather just turning hot. The back hill basked in sunlight, and wildflowers bloomed everywhere.
Lu Miao inhaled deeply, savoring the refreshing fragrance, darting about more busily than a diligent little bee. “What’s this flower?”
“It’s wild rose.”
“And this one?”
“Honeysuckle.”
“So fragrant!”
Lu Miao rose slightly on her toes, her perky nose dipping toward the honeysuckle twined around a sapling.
In the sunlight, her little face shone fair and translucent. With her cheeks flushed red by the warmth, the marks of her earlier sunburn looked far less noticeable.
She stood there admiring the flowers, while Fu Jingyou stood in the shaded slope, quietly admiring her.
“Lu…”
He paused, lips parting, about to say something—when Lu Miao suddenly looked up at him, her smooth face breaking into a lively, radiant smile.
“Fu Xiaoliu, I want a flower crown. Do you know how to weave one?”
“……”
The walk continued with all sorts of interruptions. Lu Miao asked for a flower crown, then a bouquet. And just when they were finally near their destination, she flopped down like a lazy snake, whining that she was tired and refusing to go further.
Fu Jingyou, helpless, sat with her a while. Then he got up, snapped off a relatively smooth tree branch, stripped away the extra twigs, and held one end out toward her.
“Get up. I’ll take you along.”
“…What’s the use of that?”
Lu Miao puffed her cheeks, but seeing how full his hands already were, she couldn’t bring herself to dawdle more. Slowly, she reached out, grasped the branch—and in the next moment, he pulled her up and forward.
“Why’s it so far? Haven’t we been walking forty minutes already?”
Fu Jingyou said nothing.
Lu Miao continued: “With this field so far from the team, aren’t you worried other teams will steal the harvest when it’s ready?”
(End of Chapter)
