The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man-Chapter 54: A Stirring of the Heart

Leng Yuan was used to being alone, but now with someone else by his side, his life had become much more lively.

He found that Gu Jiaojiao always knew how to lift his spirits.

Sometimes, a single admiring glance from her was enough to make his blood boil with excitement.

’He had probably, truly fallen for her.’

Leng Yuan touched his chest over his racing heart. It felt scorching hot.

’So this is what it feels like to like someone.’

As for Gu Jiaojiao, who had fled in a panic, she couldn’t help but pat her cheeks after running out of the room.

’She hadn’t even really done anything, so how... how had she managed to stir him up like that!’

She couldn’t figure it out, so she decided not to think about it.

Gu Jiaojiao went to prepare lunch. She stewed the leftover bones into a soup, with sweet potatoes as the staple food. She also made two small cold side dishes, which tasted quite good.

Leng Yuan came out of his room wearing a gray jacket and black trousers. He had an upright posture, and if he had been wearing glasses, he would have perfectly fit the "gentlemanly scoundrel" archetype.

Although he was clearly a cultured man, he didn’t look out of place at all when doing farm work. He was just like a genuine, rugged village man.

But when he dressed up properly, that air of nobility about him emerged. He walked over, sat down across from Gu Jiaojiao, and began to eat.

Gu Jiaojiao noticed that Leng Yuan had excellent manners. He ate at a steady pace, yet was very refined. Every move he made was governed by etiquette. Thinking of his grandfather, it was no surprise that Leng Yuan was like this.

After lunch, Leng Yuan took Chen JianShe into the mountains.

Meanwhile, Aunt Zhao came by to ask if Gu Jiaojiao wanted to go gather wild vegetables.

At this time of year, there were mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and all sorts of other wild vegetables in the mountains. A good harvest could feed them for several days.

As for the vegetables they grew at home, there weren’t actually that many. If they ate from their private plot every day, they’d finish them in just a few days.

Most people grew Chinese cabbage and radishes, which were meant to be pickled in preparation for winter, so everyone was reluctant to eat them fresh.

If they could forage for wild vegetables, people would choose to do that instead.

Of course, Gu Jiaojiao wanted to go.

Their private plot in the backyard didn’t have much left. The green vegetables would only last a few more days. There were also a few heads of Chinese cabbage that she planned to pickle. Leng Yuan hadn’t planted any radishes or the like.

She also planned to gather some mushrooms to dry for making soup in the winter.

Gu Jiaojiao grabbed a basket that Leng Yuan had woven and came out of the courtyard.

"Auntie, let’s go!"

Aunt Zhao led Gu Jiaojiao in another direction.

Because Gu Jiaojiao lived relatively close to the foot of the mountain, it didn’t take them long to get there.

When the two of them arrived, there were already quite a few people there.

A few of the older women knew Aunt Zhao, and upon seeing her, they immediately waved her over.

Aunt Zhao walked over with Gu Jiaojiao.

"Gu Zhiqing, you’re here to gather wild vegetables too."

They greeted Gu Jiaojiao with a smile.

Gu Jiaojiao nodded. "Yes! We’re running low on vegetables at home, so I came out to gather some."

The gazes of the other aunties instantly became much friendlier. They had originally thought that Leng Yuan’s life would surely be difficult after marrying such a spendthrift wife, but who knew that Gu Zhiqing would change so much after getting married.

First, she figured out how to build a thresher, then she came up with using bamboo to shell peanuts, and now she even knew to come out and gather wild vegetables. The change was simply earth-shattering.

They couldn’t help but advise her, "Mr. Leng is a really good person. You can’t go wrong if you live a good life with him."

"That’s right, Leng Yuan is no worse than that Yun Zhiqing."

She left some things unsaid. If the Leng Family hadn’t fallen from grace, someone like Gu Jiaojiao would never have been able to marry up to Leng Yuan.

A few of them started lecturing Gu Jiaojiao. Some meant well, while others simply wanted to flex their status as elders. Gu Jiaojiao didn’t get angry at all, simply smiling and agreeing to everything.

Seeing Gu Jiaojiao’s agreeable attitude, they found it boring to lecture her after a few sentences and started chatting about village gossip instead.

They first chatted about some of the scandalous affairs in the village, then moved on to domestic matters, and finally ended up on the topic of their chickens laying fewer eggs.

Listening to them was truly an eye-opener for Gu Jiaojiao.

Finally, the group started talking about the production brigade’s grain harvest. One of the aunties looked at the sky and said, "You know, the weather has been gloomy for two days now, but it just won’t rain. I wonder if it’s going to or not."

"Whether it rains or not, our grain is all harvested and stored, so we’re not that worried anymore."

"Isn’t that the truth. It’s all thanks to Gu Zhiqing this time."

The women all looked at Gu Jiaojiao with goodwill in their eyes, and one by one, they began to praise her.