The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 45: Collision in the Orchard_1

Li Qing left the hospital feeling blue and had just got home when he received a call from Hu Wei.

But the voice on the other end of the phone was Wu Xingxing’s.

"Hey hoodlum, are you busy this afternoon?"

Li Qing was planning to go collect wheat, but since it wasn’t urgent, he asked, "What’s up?"

"Auntie Yu Lan said she wants to spray the fruit trees with pesticide this afternoon. The dummy Hu Pangpang doesn’t know how to do it. I know how, but I can’t lift a bucket of water that heavy. Could you come and help out?" Wu Xingxing said.

Auntie Yu Lan had done him a big favor, one that actually let him get a good feel of her, so he figured he ought to help her out.

After all, his wheat harvest wasn’t an immediate concern, and spraying pesticide could be wrapped up in just half an afternoon.

"Okay, I’ll come over in a bit," Li Qing agreed.

Thinking of Auntie Yu Lan’s straightforward manner of stripping whenever she said so, Li Qing couldn’t help but feel a warmth in his heart.

The female doctor had told him he should practice more to increase his endurance.

Tian Yue’e’s situation probably wouldn’t improve anytime soon, and he had yet to find an opportunity with Yang Xuelan.

Auntie Yu Lan, on the other hand, was an excellent choice.

Especially since Hu Youyu had been mysteriously absent from home recently.

After resting a bit at noon, Li Qing hurried to Hu Youyu’s house.

Before he even entered, Li Qing saw Yu Lan, Hu Wei, and Wu Xingxing busily at work outside the door.

Hu Wei had borrowed someone’s three-wheeled motorcycle again and was currently loading buckets of water onto it.

"Qingzi, I was just about to call you. We should take advantage of the lack of wind to get spraying done earlier so we can finish up," Hu Wei shouted.

"Don’t forget to include my pay!" Li Qing said.

"Of course, it’ll go on my dad’s tab," Hu Wei chuckled.

"You don’t even have two hundred bucks?" Li Qing cursed impatiently.

"Two hundred? Oh, I have that!" Hu Wei replied.

Li Qing was immediately shocked. "What did you think it was?"

"I figured this job would at least pay four or five hundred when it’s done," Hu Wei pondered aloud.

"Your dad should have put you in charge of the accounts," Li Qing shook his head.

It was truly regrettable that Hu Wei hadn’t earned the title of the family’s wastrel.

"Let’s get moving," Hu Wei, picking up on Li Qing’s sarcasm, waved him off impatiently.

The Hu family’s orchard was up in the hills, directly opposite Tian Yue’e’s house.

Hu Wei drove the three-wheeler up to the orchard, hauling both the water and the pesticide with him.

"Make sure everyone’s wearing a mask. This stuff is nasty if it gets up your nose," Li Qing warned before they got to work.

Wu Xingxing volunteered energetically, "You carry the sprayer, I’ll do the spraying."

"Can you handle it?" Li Qing asked.

"What do you mean can I handle it? I’m perfectly capable. It’s just spraying pesticide," Wu Xingxing said dismissively.

"Alright then," Li Qing agreed, seeing her determination.

In truth, Wu Xingxing wasn’t really needed; Li Qing could handle the task on his own.

But Wu Xingxing was clearly a girl who loved to play.

Since the work wasn’t strenuous, Li Qing decided to just let her be.

Li Qing, with a sprayer full of water weighing tens of pounds on his back, followed Wu Xingxing to spray each fruit tree.

The hose of the sprayer was only a little over a meter long, so the two were almost stepping on each other’s heels as they moved.

It was easy to bump into one another.

Wu Xingxing was wearing the same beige dress as always, and the thin fabric meant that every contact was distinctly felt; her buttocks were soft and incredibly bouncy.

After several collisions, Li Qing started to respond without making a sound.

Wu Xingxing seemed to notice it too.

Li Qing clearly saw her ears turn red.

Perhaps in an attempt to mask her embarrassment, Wu Xingxing suddenly asked, "What were you doing this morning? Hu Pangpang and I went looking for you, but you weren’t there."

"Went to town," Li Qing coughed and said.

"...Oh."

Not far away, Yu Lan and Hu Wei were placing buckets of water they had brought up every few trees apart.

"Qingzi, you guys keep spraying. Auntie and I will go get another load!" Hu Wei shouted from a distance.

"Sure!" Li Qing called back, accidentally bumping again.

The soft, bouncy sensation made him shiver involuntarily.

Following that, Wu Xingxing seemed to be doing it on purpose, bumping into him again and again.

The situation made Li Qing feel like the heat inside him hadn’t settled down before it surged back up again.

He wanted to deliberately avoid it, but couldn’t anticipate Wu Xingxing’s sudden stops.

Wu Xingxing walked ahead, her cheeks a flushed red, her eyes darting and shimmering.

"Qingzi, what do you think about... about me?" Wu Xingxing suddenly said in a soft voice.

Li Qing was taken aback, "Huh? What did you just say?"

"Nothing... I mean, I don’t think it’ll work out with Hu Pangpang," Wu Xingxing spoke up.

"Why?" Li Qing asked. "Is it because Hu Pangpang is handsy with you?"

When he arrived today, seeing the three of them so cheery together, he thought Hu Wei’s plan would surely fail.

But from what Wu Xingxing was saying now, it looked like there were other complications.

"He’s already been scared off by a beating I gave him. I told Auntie Yu Lan about it right in front of him, and now he doesn’t even dare speak to me," Wu Xingxing laughed. "If it weren’t for Uncle Hu being away so long, I would’ve gone home already."

Li Qing was at a loss for words.

By that account, Hu Pangpang had pretty much succeeded already.

Thump!

A faint sound arose between their bodies.

Li Qing and Wu Xingxing had collided again.

Wu Xingxing suddenly turned around and said, "Brother Qingzi, take a break."

As she spoke, she quickly glanced at the spot she had just bumped countless times, her face turning beet red.

It’s swollen so high, how scary...

No wonder it felt so intense just now.