The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 26: Love by the Stove _1

She had armored herself very thoroughly today, wearing long pants and long sleeves, and even donning a sun hat, carrying a bag of chicken eggs in her hand.

"I knew this lazybones wouldn’t be up yet," Han Mei said with a light laugh, sidestepping into the house and heading straight for the kitchen.

"Sister-in-law, how come you’re here?" Li Qing asked, delighted.

Han Mei was already bustling about near the stove, "The wheat you’ve got should be about ready to harvest by now; you can’t wait any longer."

"If you keep waiting, the ripe will overripen, and what’s not ripe is still not ripe; you won’t be able to handle the harvest."

"With the situation this year, you can’t count on machines for harvesting; it’s just not possible."

"By the way, do you want your eggs fried or steamed?"

"Boiled!" Li Qing said with a grin, "I checked them the day before yesterday, and the wheat still needs a few more days!"

"You haven’t seen how fierce the sun has been these past two days; it’s definitely almost ready by now," Han Mei said.

"That’s true," Li Qing nodded in agreement.

He hadn’t gone to check these past two days, but it should indeed be about that time.

After breakfast, the two went down to the fields together.

With Han Mei by his side, Li Qing felt like he had transformed into an indefatigable little donkey.

While admiring Han Mei’s glorious beauty and graceful figure, Li Qing unconsciously got all the work done.

He usually managed to cut only about fifty or sixty sheaves, but today he had cut nearly eighty.

They worked until the sun set behind the mountains and then stopped, heading home.

Under the sunset, Han Mei, standing at the edge of the ridge, seemed to be cloaked in a layer of holy radiance.

Her figure, curvaceous and lithe, was perfectly outlined by the light and shadow.

Li Qing stared dumbfoundedly, presenting her with a bunch of wildflowers he had stealthily picked.

"Sister-in-law, you’re truly beautiful," Li Qing praised sincerely.

Even someone as pure as Wu Xingxing could not match Han Mei’s spiritual energy.

It was a resilience that bloomed stubbornly under the heavy pressures of life, like an indomitable snow lotus.

Han Mei’s face turned instantly red, "Stop it, what if someone sees us?"

Although she said that, Li Qing could tell that she liked it.

"Everyone’s hurrying home; no one has the time to pay us any attention. Even if they did see us, I’d just say it was a joke," Li Qing said with a laugh.

"Someday I’ll probably die at your hands," Han Mei, clutching the bouquet of wildflowers tightly, smiled coquettishly and chided lightly, "It would be one thing if you were just healthy, but I don’t know when you learned how to charm girls."

Li Qing reached out and grasped Han Mei’s delicate hand, "Sister-in-law, I’m not flattering or deceiving you; all of this comes from my heart, because I like you, I love you."

With a shy face, Han Mei bore a sweet smile, "Sister-in-law knows."

"Let go quickly, if we’re seen it won’t be good."

Li Qing had no choice but to release Han Mei’s hand.

Sister-in-law really was wonderful in every way, just a bit too cautious.

"Let’s go, come to my house for dinner, I’ll make you something delicious," Han Mei said with a sweet smile.

Li Qing rarely saw such a smile on Han Mei’s face, he paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

When the two arrived back at Han Mei’s house, they saw a woman standing outside the gate wearing a kerchief.

"Big sister, I guessed you’d be about to come back," the woman came forward with a laugh.

"Yue’er, what brings you here?" Han Mei asked with joy.

This woman was named Tian Yue’e, and Li Qing was also familiar with her.

Her parents had passed away early, leaving her and her sister to rely on each other.

Tian Yue’e had been working outside for years to support her sister’s education, only returning to the village last year.

She and Han Mei were about the same age, but even now she had not yet married.

Some said it was because she did not want to marry while supporting her sister’s education.

Others gossiped that her work outside was not respectable.

But her relationship with Han Mei was extremely good.

Tian Yue’e glanced at Li Qing, then said to Han Mei, "I’m here to borrow your scale."

"Sure, I’ll get it for you. Come inside," Han Mei replied with a laugh, opening the door as she spoke.

"Okay."

Han Mei brought the scales and invited Tian Yue’e, "It’s still early, stick around for a meal before you go back."

"No need, I’ve already eaten. You just got back from the fields; you must be tired too. I won’t bother you. Another day when we’re both free, we can have a chat," Tian Yue’e said with a smile, sneaking a glance at Li Qing.

Li Qing had been silent the whole time, just watching from the sidelines.

Tian Yue’e was considered one of the most fashionable women in the entire village, having been to big cities and seen the world.

The makeup she wore was something most of the women in the village could not imitate.

And her choice of clothing was always bolder than that of the other women in the village.

Today she was wearing a one-piece short dress, so short that Li Qing could almost see the lower half of her snow-white buttocks.

Li Qing thought that dressing like this must be quite convenient for getting things done.

You just need to pull the top part to the sides, and you wouldn’t even need to lift the skirt to get in.

After a brief exchange, Han Mei finally saw Tian Yue’e out.

Upon her return, she fastened the door from the inside and said to Li Qing, "Go wash up, then help me with the fire."

"Got it!" Li Qing chirped.

He had worked all day yet didn’t feel tired.

Probably because his relationship with his sister-in-law had made substantial progress, he was actually quite excited.

In the past, once it got dark, he would not expect to stay long at Han Mei’s place.

He washed up hastily, tidied himself, and sat down next to the stove to start the fire and assist.

"Sister-in-law, I heard that Tian Yue’e’s job outside wasn’t exactly respectable, is that true?" Li Qing asked casually.

Han Mei, who was standing next to Li Qing putting away the dishes, scolded gently, "Don’t listen to the village gossip. She’s still a virgin, yet the villagers have spread such rumors about her."

"Then why hasn’t she found someone to marry?" Li Qing mumbled.

Han Mei shook her head and sighed softly, "With the gossip that’s going around the village, who from around these parts would come asking for her hand? Even if someone unaware did make a proposal, if they heard this idle talk, they would likely have second thoughts."

"That’s why you’ve always told me not to linger around here, to avoid any rumors. Idle talk can be a murderous blade without a traceable culprit. Yue’er is pretty much ruined by these rumors. Unless she leaves the village someday..."

Li Qing had not expected that an innocent conversation would turn towards himself, and he suddenly felt downhearted.

"Sister-in-law, I’ve been very careful," he said.

Han Mei looked down at him, a smile flashing in her eyes: "I’m not trying to drive you away, hurry up with the fire."

"Oh..."

"What I mean is, we still need to be extra careful in the future; do you understand?" Han Mei said softly.

"I’ve always understood, sister-in-law," Li Qing nodded and replied.

Han Mei nodded and began fussing with dinner preparations. But the cooking space was so limited, with Han Mei standing and Li Qing seated by the fire, her pert buttocks were just level with Li Qing’s head.

When Han Mei was chopping vegetables on the other side, it wasn’t an issue. But now, as she switched to stir-frying, she was so close her backside was nearly bumping into Li Qing’s face.

Gazing at Han Mei’s close, round and perky backside, he couldn’t help but reach out his hand.

"Stop that, I’m cooking!" Han Mei chided, giving Li Qing’s hand a gentle slap.

Li Qing chuckled, "Keep cooking, sister-in-law; let me just touch a little."

"You naughty thing, what’s so good about touching a butt?" Han Mei scolded playfully.

"Oh, there’s a lot good about it. Sister-in-law, I simply can’t keep my hands off your butt; I’ve even dreamt about it several times," Li Qing professed earnestly.

He really had dreamt about it several times.

But in those dreams, he was grasping Han Mei’s perky backside, going in and out.

Han Mei, resigning to the inevitable, let Li Qing knead and massage her buttocks in any way he pleased.

"Just touching over the clothes is enough, why are you becoming so bold!" Han Mei suddenly stepped away as Li Qing’s hand slipped inside her trousers, glancing at him reproachfully, "If you keep this up, I won’t let you touch at all!"

Li Qing stood up, cradled Han Mei’s cheeks and kissed her, "Sister-in-law, I want to..."

"Mmph, I’m... Mmm... cooking..." Han Mei struggled for a moment, then gave up.

Li Qing, panting heavily, led Han Mei’s delicate hand to his own tenting pants, uttering passionately, "Sister-in-law."