The two looked at each other for a long while, then both broke into radiant smiles. Everything was understood without a word.
Before dawn the next day, soft footsteps sounded outside.
Pan Yun had just completed a circulation cycle. Hearing them, she stopped her cultivation and opened her eyes.
She turned to glance at Chun Lian lying beside her, quietly lifted the covers, got out of bed, slipped on her shoes, and soundlessly walked to the window to look outside.
The farmhouse had no spare rooms, so Pan Yun and Chun Lian had slept together the previous night. Xue Shao and Xi Jin had slept in Chun Wang's room, while Chun Wang slept with her parents.
Outside the window, the old man hunched over as he carried a bundle of straw to spread before the three tethered horses in the yard. He stroked their necks enviously, then took up a sickle from the corner and headed out.
Not long after he left, the young couple also rose one after the other. One carried a hoe out the door, while the other took a sickle and hurried after her father-in-law.
Pan Yun stood quietly for a while. Only after hearing movement from next door did she turn back, get dressed, and go out.
She had deliberately changed into narrow-sleeved clothes, with a short top and trousers, looking exceptionally neat and capable.
Xue Shao had also shed his robe and changed into coarse hemp clothing, likewise wearing a short top and trousers. His hair was tightly wrapped and bound in a cloth kerchief, making him look like a farmer.
The two opened their doors at the same time and came out. They looked at each other and could not help smiling.
In a farming household, there was not even an extra sickle