The two collaborated and quickly filled half a bag with green grass.
Luo Yang received a call from his father, asking him to come back immediately to help deliver fish to the restaurants at Xiaoshulin Market.
"Sister Piao, thank you for helping me cut the grass. My dad called, and I have to go," Luo Yang said gratefully.
"Is this little bit enough?" Qin Piao asked, lifting her lotus-like arm to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"Yes. Sister Piao, use a tissue to wipe the sweat." Luo Yang took out a small roll of tissue from his pocket and passed it over.
"Hey, I help you cut the grass, you help me wipe my sweat, is that fair?" Qin Piao said with a smile.
He hesitated for a moment, looked around, and seeing no one else nearby, Luo Yang stepped closer and gently wiped the sweat from Qin Piao's forehead with a tissue. Standing in front of her, he could smell her faint fragrance.
"While you're at it, could you wipe my neck too?" Qin Piao lifted her head, and her chest suddenly thrust forward.
"Okay."
As Luo Yang wiped her sweat, and she looked upwards, his gaze firmly fixed on the pale, smooth slope beneath her neck.
Gradually, he noticed that the deep valley between her collarbones seemed to draw his gaze irresistibly, and he thought to himself that a woman's curves indeed had endless charm.
Qin Piao suddenly turned her eyes, squinting down to see Luo Yang retract his gaze and couldn't help but laugh heartily, "Hey, Niu Zai, why do you always make such a fuss?"
Luo Yang felt his ears burning and chuckled, "No, not at all."
The two laughed together for a while, and then Qin Piao said, "Hey, I also want to go to Xiaoshulin Market to buy some things. Can I hitch a ride with you?"
Luo Yang nodded, "Sure."
Qin Piao smiled charmingly, "Then I'll go home to get some money, and I'll wait for you at the village entrance. If you get there first, wait for me. By the way, what's your mobile number?"
As she spoke, she handed the sickle back to Luo Yang.
Luo Yang repeated his mobile number, but Qin Piao couldn't remember it, so she asked him to write down the number and text it to her.
Once Luo Yang sent the text, Qin Piao stood up and jogged toward home, her steps light and joyful.
In the twilight, Luo Yang watched Qin Piao's graceful figure disappear into the distance before picking up the snakeskin bag and sickle and heading home.
Reaching the fish pond, he dumped the half bag of grass into the water, washed his hands, and then entered the simple bungalow by the pond side. A bucket in the corner held several silver carp, which the restaurant had ordered.
Luo Zhihai gave several instructions, which Luo Yang committed to memory, and as for the matter of leasing the land, it would have to wait until dinner.
He lifted the bucket and went out, asked his mother for the motorbike key, got on the bike, placed the bucket in the space on the front rack, tooted the horn, and headed toward the village entrance.
From a distance, he saw Qin Piao standing under the tree, obviously having waited for a while.
Seeing that Luo Yang really did arrive, Qin Piao thought to herself, "I thought he was deceiving me, but it seems he's quite honest. It would be nice to have him as a confidant. Without someone reliable to talk to in the village, I've got so much pent-up frustration. Am I truly cursed with a Husband Cursing fate? Why did this terrible thing have to happen to me? It's so exhausting."
When Luo Yang arrived, Qin Piao climbed onto the back seat of the motorbike, sitting close to Luo Yang.
"Sister Piao, sit tight," Luo Yang cautioned.
With a toot, the motorbike dashed forward, riding against the wind, feeling quite cool.
A provincial road ran through Hongyun Brigade, the asphalt winding its way to Xiaoshulin Market. Both sides of the road were lined with blooming crape myrtle trees, and during March and April, when the flowers were in full bloom, the road looked like a ribbon inlaid on the earth, very pretty.
There were no streetlights on the provincial road, but the road was illuminated by the lights from the villagers' self-built houses, hardware stores, restaurants, or rice mills lining the roadside.
Qin Piao asked Luo Yang to slow down and after a bit of chitchat, she changed the subject, "Niu Zai, do you want to be good friends?"
Her warm breath teased the nape of his neck, ticklish, and numb, like ripples spreading throughout his body.
Luo Yang readily agreed, "Of course."
Qin Piao was overjoyed and thought to herself, "I've lived so depressingly in Hongyun Brigade these past few months. Finally, I've found someone I can trust and talk to!"
Then she said sweetly, "Niu Zai, from now on, we're confidants. We'll share our joys and face our troubles together. If one of us is in trouble, the other must extend a helping hand, okay?"
Luo Yang responded, "Sure. If there's anything you need help with, Sister Piao, just tell me."
Qin Piao giggled, "Not right now."