Once the salaries were all paid, the accountant glanced at Holly Winslow. "If something like this happens again, you don’t need to go verify it right away. Prioritize what’s important."

She paused for a moment, then added, "It’s the same with other tasks. You’ll meet all sorts of people and run into all sorts of situations. Don’t panic. Just follow the standard procedure."

’The accountant wouldn’t have just said that to me for no reason,’ Holly Winslow thought as she nodded earnestly. ’Dad must have put her up to it.’

A wave of warmth washed over her.

During lunch, Wyatt Winslow had Holly join him in his office. After they finished eating, Wyatt handed her a napkin. "Still getting used to everything?"

"I am," Holly Winslow nodded.

Wyatt Winslow pursed his lips. "Keep learning. You’ll be dealing with more of this in the future."

"I know, Dad." Holly Winslow understood the concern behind his words.

...

This year, Walter Winslow and Joan Sawyer had planted an acre of rice. When it was time to harvest, Wyatt Winslow and Holly Winslow made a special trip back to the countryside.

When Walter Winslow saw them, he was clearly very happy but still said gruffly, "What are you doing back here? I don’t need your help with my acre of rice."

"You don’t even know how to harvest."

"Grandpa, I do! I harvested once when I was little," Holly Winslow said sweetly, a wide smile on her face.

Walter Winslow laughed. "You call that harvesting? That was just yanking. You were so naughty as a kid, you pulled up all my scallion sprouts."

"Your dad was afraid you’d get a spanking, so he went to Grandma Lester’s place to buy new sprouts for me to plant."

Holly Winslow had a vague memory of it and couldn’t help but laugh. "Grandpa, that won’t happen again."

The four family members and their housekeeper headed to the field. After Walter Winslow showed them how it was done, Wyatt Winslow and Holly Winslow began to harvest the rice.

Just a few minutes after they started, the phone in her pocket rang. It was Mortimer Quincy. "You’re back?"

Mortimer Quincy, who had just gotten home himself, took a sip of water. "Yeah. Are you working at the factory?"

Holly decided it was time to mess with her husband. A mischievous glint in her eye, she said, "I’m having dinner at my grandparents’ place. Hurry over. Grandma said she’s making fish for you."

"Okay."

Mortimer Quincy didn’t think much of it and asked, "Should I bring anything?"

"Bring an extra set of clothes. We probably won’t be going home tonight," Holly Winslow said, suppressing a laugh.

Mortimer Quincy raised an eyebrow. "Do I get to sleep in the same room as my wife?"

Holly Winslow: "..."

"In your dreams."

After she hung up, Joan Sawyer looked at her with a smile. "Holly, why did you call Moira over? You should have waited a couple of days to invite him, I haven’t even bought groceries yet."

"In a couple of days, we won’t need him," Holly Winslow said with a sly chuckle.

As an adult, Joan Sawyer naturally couldn’t think like her. She looked at Wyatt Winslow. "Dex, go into town and buy a chicken and a duck. Get a toothbrush and a pair of slippers, too."

Wyatt Winslow grunted in acknowledgment.

When he got to the Winslow family’s house and saw the courtyard gate was closed, he called Holly Winslow. A few minutes later, he saw her bouncing over, wearing a straw hat and rubber boots.

He had a good idea of what was happening.

Harvesting rice.

This wasn’t the first time. The first time he’d harvested rice, he’d struggled badly, but his wife had just laughed her head off.

He teased her wryly, "Time for dinner, honey?"

Holly Winslow nodded shamelessly. "We’ll eat after we finish harvesting."

"I’ll go get your gear."

She opened the door and went to the storage room to get a hat and rubber boots. After searching for a while, she only found the hat. "I’ll go to Grandma Lester’s to borrow a pair of boots."

"No rush." Mortimer Quincy wrapped his arms around her and lowered his head to kiss her. He only released her after a minute or two, his voice husky yet magnetic. "Did you miss me?"

Holly Winslow looked at him, tilted her head, and huffed. "Guess."

"Another kiss and I’ll know." Mortimer Quincy lowered his head and kissed her again, but quickly pulled back. "I’ll ’take care of’ you later when I have time."

"Let’s go. Time to harvest rice."

Holly Winslow huffed again, then went to the Lester family’s house to borrow the boots. Grandma Lester was in the yard drying cowpeas. When she heard they needed to borrow boots, she yelled into the house, "Shane! Bring out your dad’s boots!"

"Coming!" Shane Lester called back.

Grandma Lester glanced at Mortimer Quincy, then turned to Holly Winslow with a wide smile. "Is this the young man you’re engaged to?"

Holly Winslow nodded.

Grandma Lester immediately added, "He seems very nice. Make sure you treat each other well."

Shane Lester came out with the rubber boots. He glanced at Holly Winslow and Mortimer Quincy, then handed the boots to Holly. "Need any help?"

Holly Winslow shook her head. "No thanks, we only have one field."

The two of them went to the field. After Mortimer Quincy greeted Joan Sawyer and Walter Winslow, he started harvesting the rice. As an experienced married man, he looked like he knew exactly what he was doing.

Walter Winslow couldn’t help but stare, chuckling as he said, "Miles, have you done this at home before?"

Mortimer Quincy glanced at Holly Winslow. "No, but I’ve watched."

Walter Winslow praised him from the heart, "No wonder your grandfather says you’re so smart."

’Shameless,’ Holly Winslow secretly stuck her tongue out at Mortimer Quincy. ’He’s "watched," has he? I wonder who was stumbling all over the place the first time they harvested rice.’

Mortimer Quincy just raised an eyebrow and continued harvesting. When Wyatt Winslow got back, Joan Sawyer and the housekeeper went home to cook.

A good amount of rice was already piled up in the field. Mortimer Quincy and Holly Winslow started carrying it back to the house. The stalks probably brushed against Holly’s neck, because it started to get itchy. The more she scratched, the itchier it got.

Mortimer Quincy, of course, noticed. "Don’t touch it."

When they got back to the Winslows’ house, he got a basin of water to wipe her neck. He wiped lower and lower, until Holly smacked him. "What do you think you’re doing!"

Mortimer Quincy hadn’t been thinking along those lines at all, but now that she mentioned it, he glanced down her collar and saw her flesh-colored underwear and the expanse of snowy-white skin.

Noticing his gaze, Holly Winslow was speechless: "..."

She clutched her collar, her face red as she scolded him, "Pervert."

Mortimer Quincy just smiled without explaining.

The group of them worked on the acre of land until past five in the afternoon. They took turns showering, and Holly Winslow was so exhausted she didn’t even want to blow-dry her hair.

Her brain was probably tired too. "Hubby, dry my hair for me."

Meeting the gazes of Walter Winslow and the others, Mortimer Quincy nodded calmly, then went to get the hairdryer for her.

Joan Sawyer said disapprovingly, "Holly, dry it yourself." She secretly shot her a look, signaling her not to be so willful.

"Grandma, it’s fine. I like drying Holly’s hair," Mortimer Quincy replied as he worked.

Holly Winslow chimed in with a grin, "See, Grandma? He likes doing it."

Joan Sawyer just smiled and didn’t say anything more.

Mortimer Quincy’s room was next to Holly Winslow’s. In the middle of the night, he snuck into her room. This wasn’t his first time doing this.

So the whole operation went off without a hitch.

After entering the bedroom, he quickly got onto Holly Winslow’s bed and wrapped his arms around her. Before she could even react, a dense shower of kisses rained down on her.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded from outside the door. They both froze. A second later, a knock came. "Holly."

Mortimer Quincy and Holly Winslow: "..."

Holly Winslow gave Mortimer Quincy a push. "The closet."

Mortimer Quincy: "..."

He didn’t want his father-in-law to see him in this situation either, so he quietly slipped into the closet.

Holly Winslow checked the bed to make sure everything looked normal before opening the door. Wyatt Winslow glanced into the bedroom, his gaze seemingly seeing right through everything. "Go to bed early." With that, he turned and left.

Holly Winslow closed the door, patting her chest in relief. Then she opened the closet. Their eyes met, and they both started to laugh.

Mortimer Quincy pinned her on the bed again, complaining resentfully, "Honey, I’m tempted to go to the Civil Affairs Bureau and steal our marriage certificate."

He paused, then added, "So we can ’sleep’ together legally."