As time passed, the sunlight grew brighter, dispelling the last of the mist.
In the tea garden, four figures moved slowly between the green rows.
The initial novelty was soon replaced by the fatigue of repetitive labor.
Spending so long bending over, raising their hands, and concentrating on the tiny buds and leaves was no small test for the three city-raised girls.
Wen Zhixia was the first to reach her limit. This was her first time doing farmwork in all her life, after all, and with the heavy burden on her chest, she straightened up and thumped her lower back, feeling as though her little waist was about to snap...
"Oww... my back's so sore. Taoist, how much have we picked?"
Her apron pocket had just filled with tea buds, and it looked like so much, but when she finally poured them into the bamboo basket, they seemed so insignificant. It gave her the illusion that farmwork would never end, and for the first time, she experienced its hardships firsthand.
Lin Meng Qiu was hardly doing any better. Fine beads of sweat seeped from her temples, sticking to a few strands of black hair. Even with a straw hat on, her fair cheeks were flushed from the approaching midday heat.
The Class Monitor stubbornly refused to say she was tired, but her occasional back-thumping said it all.
Li Wanyin had far more stamina than either of them, and she had done the most work, too-roughly as much as the two younger girls combined. She had not slacked off in the slightest, working as earnestly as if she were in her own family's fields.
Still, after several continuous hours of labor, her breathing had grown noticeably quicker, and a healthy flush colored her cheeks. She raised her arm and gently dabbed