The Delicate Darling with Her Rough Man

Chapter 76: Chapter 76: A Fast Pace

The moment Gu Jiaojiao saw Aunt Zhao at the door, she knew what this was about.

Now that she’d heard Aunt Zhao out, she smiled and offered an explanation.

”Auntie, it’s really not a big deal. I’m happy to help if I can. I’m just worried my skills aren’t quite up to par and I might end up making things worse instead of better.”

Aunt Zhao nodded. ”That’s a fair point.”

”I only brought it up because I could tell Xu Chongshan is a bright young man.”

”If he were a fool, I wouldn’t have said a single word.”

Of course, Gu Jiaojiao had only offered to help because she also thought well of Xu Chongshan.

Living here with Leng Yuan meant she would inevitably have to interact with the other villagers. Befriending a few people of good character would be a good thing for her.

Besides, she could tell Aunt Zhao only mentioned it because she genuinely thought Xu Chongshan was a decent person; otherwise, she would never have brought any potential trouble to Jiaojiao’s doorstep.

The two of them chatted at the doorway for a bit. Just as Gu Jiaojiao was about to invite her inside, Aunt Zhao hurried off.

She was in a rush to harvest some cabbage for Gu Jiaojiao and planned to bring it over after dark.

The reason she wasn’t delivering it during the day was to avoid stirring up jealousy.

Leng Yuan and Gu Jiaojiao had been conspicuous enough lately. With the work points they’d earned from the thresher, many villagers were already green with envy.

They worked themselves to the bone for that many work points, so why did Gu Jiaojiao and Leng Yuan get theirs so easily? They hadn’t even exerted much effort. Those people were thoroughly disgruntled.

If they were to see the couple spending money freely on top of that, they would probably burst with rage.

Before leaving, Aunt Zhao didn’t forget to remind Gu Jiaojiao, ”The public grain tax has been handed in. Tomorrow is the brigade’s grain distribution day, so make sure you get there early.”

Gu Jiaojiao agreed, watching Aunt Zhao leave before turning to go back inside.

As she turned, she saw Leng Yuan’s figure in the distance, drawing closer with every step.

Gu Jiaojiao decided to wait for him at the door, and the two of them went into the house together.

A glance at the sky told her it was already six o’clock.

School had let out a while ago; it had taken Leng Yuan an hour to walk back.

’Two hours for his round trip every day,’ Gu Jiaojiao thought, and couldn’t help but suggest, ”Why don’t we buy a bicycle?”

Leng Yuan was a bit surprised. ”What made you suddenly think of buying a bicycle?”

Gu Jiaojiao drew some water for him to wash his face, then said, ”You spend over two hours a day on your commute to the township. It’s such a waste of time.”

’It’s not so bad now, but it’ll be even more difficult once it starts snowing.’

Actually, Leng Yuan was quite fast on his feet.

Most people needed over three hours for the round trip. But Leng Yuan, with his long legs and fast pace, could make it home in just two, saving a significant amount of time.

Still, Gu Jiaojiao felt that time could be better spent on other things.

’If this were the future,’ she thought, ’with paved roads and an electric scooter, the trip would take fifteen minutes at most.’

’But for now, with these difficult mountain paths and no decent transportation, the journey was just slow.’

Knowing his wife was worried about him, Leng Yuan’s expression softened considerably, but he still had to raise a very practical issue.

”We’d need a bicycle ticket.”

Bicycle tickets were hard to come by.

At his words, it was only then that Gu Jiaojiao remembered. They didn’t have a ticket.

Seeing Gu Jiaojiao’s adorably clueless expression as she belatedly realized the problem, Leng Yuan couldn’t resist pinching her cheek. It was soft and smooth, even more pleasant to the touch than real silk.

Gu Jiaojiao shot him a playful glare. ”Go wash your hands.”

With that, she went to the kitchen to start dinner.

She chopped up half a pheasant, stewing it with some potatoes, radishes, and wild mushrooms. The staple food was, once again, griddle cakes.

This time, however, the griddle cakes were different. Gu Jiaojiao had added brown sugar and red dates to the batter, making them fragrant and sweet. Paired with the stew of pheasant, potatoes, wild mushrooms, and radishes, the meal was absolutely divine.