The June rain comes without warning. As people are busy in the fields, the clear sky suddenly fills with dark clouds.

A torrential downpour suddenly drenches Qin Yao, who is weeding in the vegetable garden, leaving her no time to react. She quickly drops the sickle in her hand and runs home.

The two new brick-tiled rooms in the backyard are already roofed with tiles, as the workers finished up and left yesterday evening.

Large raindrops patter on the newly tiled roof, then flow down from the eaves in lines.

Mrs. Li brings a dry cloth, glances at the new house in the backyard, and teases, "This rain comes at the perfect time to test the roofer’s skills."

Qin Yao takes the cloth, wipes the rain off her head and shoulders, and instructs Mrs. Li to check for leaks in the new house once the rain stops. She returns to her bedroom, taking advantage of the rain to lie down for a while.

The work in the vegetable garden is the lightest, but for Qin Yao, it’s only slightly better than tilling fields.

Unfortunately, she promised Ah Wang to take care of his vegetable garden. She has to keep her word and tackle the task despite her reluctance.

However, Qin Yao’s gardening skills are so poor that even Mrs. Li, who seldom works the land, finds it unbearable to watch.

Luckily, the vegetables in those few acres are hardy, growing slightly taller than the weeds, so they should last until Ah Wang the steward returns.

This morning, Liu Zhong returned from the county, bringing a letter from Liu Ji from the Prefecture.

At that time, Qin Yao had just dropped the children at school and was busy tidying up Ah Wang’s precious vegetable garden, so she hadn’t had a chance to read it.

After all, the arrival of a letter indicates both of them are fine. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

With time to spare now, and past nap time, Qin Yao picks up the letter, lies on the bed, listening to the rain outside the window while reading.

The letter’s content is unexpectedly brief. Liu Ji says they have successfully arrived at the Prefecture and met up with Qi Xian and others, all is well, reassuring her.

Although the letter is in Liu Ji’s handwriting, there’s a darker water stain in the corner of the envelope.

Qin Yao raises her eyebrows, recalling something, gets up, approaches the candlestick, lights a candle, and holds the envelope above the flame.

Soon, a line of black handwriting appears.

It’s in Ah Wang’s handwriting, stating: All is well, no spies are following.

Wait!

There’s another sentence.

[Madam, remember, cucumber seedlings should be fertilized once a month—over-fertilizing harms them.]

"Hiss~" Qin Yao takes a deep breath, looking towards the vegetable garden in the backyard. She’s already fertilized it twice this half-month. What now?

Too bad!

Qin Yao pretends nothing happened, puts away the letter and envelope, locks them in the drawer.

The heavy rain comes fast and goes fast. It has stopped, so she rolls up her sleeves and continues weeding.

She wondered why the weeds in the vegetable garden grow so fast—turns out they absorbed the fertilizer meant for the vegetables.

Soon she has to go to town and pick up the children. Time for weeding is short.

Qin Yao swings the sickle energetically. Among the weeds by her feet, she can’t tell if there are more innocent seedlings or weeds.

Sunlight returns, baking the rainwater on the ground, sending a peculiar earthy, restless scent into the air.

In the stationery factory canteen, Yin Le takes a deep breath—she loves this post-rain earthy scent, it brings a special sense of peace.

Taking two deep breaths of this air, Yin Le changes into old clothes and heads towards the small courtyard on the hillside across the river.

At the bridge, she unexpectedly sees a somewhat unfamiliar figure.

"Liu Yang?" Yin Le calls uncertainly.

Holding something in his hand, Liu Yang turns around, sees it’s Yin Le, and nods at her a bit awkwardly.

"You’re also going to Master’s house?" Yin Le asks curiously.

Liu Yang nods, raises the booklet in his hand, "Yes, need to talk to the village chief."

Yin Le suggests they go together.

Liu Yang lets her go ahead, staying about fifty meters behind, breathing a sigh of relief.

Yin Le looks back at him, thinking he seems as stiff as a log, and not wanting to be polite, quickly arrives at Master’s house, greets Mrs. Li in the yard, and goes to the woodshed to start today’s chopping work.

After she has chopped several logs, Liu Yang reaches the door, knocks, and loudly asks, "Is the village chief home?"

Mrs. Li, hanging clothes out, quickly puts down her work and comes out, seeing it’s Liu Yang, invites him into the living room while speaking:

"Madam has gone to town to pick up the young master and miss, but should be back soon. If it’s not urgent, I’ll brew some tea, and you can wait here for a while?"

Liu Yang nods, finds a spot in the living room to awkwardly sit and wait.

Mrs. Li brings cool tea and a plate of snacks, then goes back to her work.

The yard is very quiet, and the sound of chopping wood is quite clear. Curiously, Liu Yang looks towards the sound, but the woodshed is partly blocked by the kitchen. He can only see a pair of arms with sleeves rolled up high, revealing two fair arms wielding an axe, raised high and striking down hard!

The force makes the muscles on those fair arms instantly tense, exuding a powerful sense of strength.

Liu Yang takes a sip of tea, a saying suddenly coming to mind: "Never judge a book by its cover, the sea cannot be measured with a bucket."

The sound from the woodshed continues for two whole quarts before stopping.

Yin Le puts down the axe, glances at the shadow cast by the wall to estimate the time spent today.

Delightedly she smiles, "Faster than yesterday by half an incense stick!"

Clapping her hands, she notifies Mrs. Li and strides towards the living room.

There’s a teapot on the table. She pours a full cup herself, drinks a bowlful, wipes the water from her lips, and smilingly runs outside.

She still has a five-kilometer run and hopes to be back for dinner tonight.

Liu Yang silently sits by the living room door the whole time, and when her figure has run out with a smile, he somewhat regains his senses.

Puzzled, he frowns slightly and asks Mrs. Li, "What’s she doing?"

"Huh?" Mrs. Li is busy steaming buns, not realizing who he means, and seeing Liu Yang pointing outside, she laughs, "Oh, Miss Le, she’s gone for a run, five kilometers a day as long as it doesn’t rain."

"What?" Five kilometers? Liu Yang recalls her petite figure, "She can run five kilometers?"

Mrs. Li chuckles, "What’s so surprising? If I practiced daily, I could too. Too bad Madam doesn’t take on new disciples anymore."

Mrs. Li sighs regretfully. If she were ten years younger, she’d go for it, even if Madam says she doesn’t take disciples anymore.

Sensing the envy in Mrs. Li’s voice, Liu Yang stays stunned for a long time, realizing that whether men or women, both yearn for strength.

He used to think they only liked embroidery, cooking, housekeeping, and caring for children. Now he sees he was narrow-minded.

No wonder his father keeps urging him to learn from the village chief.

The sound of a carriage comes from the gate, Mrs. Li peeks out and joyfully says, "Madam is back!"

Liu Yang quickly rises to greet her. When Qin Yao finishes attending to the horses and carriage, he promptly hands over the booklet he’s holding.

"Chief, the task you entrusted to me is done. I’ve compiled all the out-of-town workers’ registration details in this booklet."