As they talked, the mother and daughter got up to boil water for the dishes, make tea, cook, and feed the pigs and chickens.

Her aunt got up as well and said to Juhua, "Juhua, you didn’t sleep well? Those three men snore like thunder. I was woken up several times last night myself."

The men were getting up too. Juhua’s second uncle, Yang Dezhi, laughed. "Don’t worry. Tonight, we’ll just tie up our necks before we sleep. That’ll stop the noise."

This drew a round of laughter from everyone, chasing away the early-morning grogginess.

Zheng Changhe said to Juhua, embarrassed, "I can’t control my snoring. Tonight, I’ll sleep a little farther away with your uncle so we don’t disturb you."

Mrs. Yang shot him a look. "What are you going to do, sleep in the next village over? We’re all in the same small space; it’s impossible not to hear. It’s fine as long as we don’t wake up in the middle of the night. Besides, we’re so tired from the day’s work that once we’re asleep, it’s not easy to wake us."

Over on the side, her cousin Laifu and Qingmu were already busy with various chores.

Juhua led the ox to the riverbank to graze and herded the ducks down to the water as well.

While the ox grazed, she cut a large bundle of fresh grass from the riverbank. Then, she tied the ox to a tree at the foot of the hill, piled the grass in front of it, and headed back to help wash vegetables and cook the meal.

On the path, she ran into Zhang Huai, who was hurrying over. "Brother Huai Zi," she called out, "what brings you here so early?"

Zhang Huai stopped and waited for her to catch up. Then he smiled. "I hurried over for breakfast. You haven’t eaten yet, have you?"

Seeing that he was teasing her, Juhua laughed along. "Nope, we haven’t. In fact, everyone’s been waiting just for you!"

Zhang Huai couldn’t help but laugh at that. He slowed his pace to walk alongside Juhua, asking her if she was tired and other such things.

Lately, Juhua had noticed a distinct change in Zhang Huai. The affection in his eyes was impossible to hide.

She wasn’t truly the thirteen-year-old she appeared to be. On the contrary, she was much older, so of course she could sense the boy’s feelings for her. She had simply never paid attention before.

Ever since he had inadvertently reminded her last time, she had sifted through the original Juhua’s memories and gained a deeper understanding of the boy.

However, she was an adult. She had been here for a year and had more or less integrated into the family and the village, but she still couldn’t bring herself to interact with these boys, who were so much younger than her, as an equal. As for developing any romantic feelings for them... that was out of the question.

Even with Qingmu, it was only because he had protected her from the start and doted on her every day that she had slowly developed a sense of familial affection for him, finally coming to see him as a true older brother.

’Well,’ she thought, ’this body is still young. If I have to get married someday, these village boys are obviously the best choice. They’re simple and honest. Marrying one of them wouldn’t be so bad.’

’Even without love, with my current detached state of mind, I could surely live a happy life.’

’Besides, who can really predict a thing like love?’

’Meizi and Li Changming seemed like they had absolutely nothing to do with each other, yet they ended up together. It’s not impossible that I could find love in the future, too. And... maybe even fall in love with someone!’ 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

’Who might that person be? Why rush to figure it out now?’

’I might be an "ugly girl," but that doesn’t mean just anyone can marry me. As I grow up, won’t experiencing how others truly feel about this "ugly girl" be the best way to find a husband?’

’Marrying my ideal man as an "ugly girl"... now that’s a challenge. And one I’m actually looking forward to.’

With this thought in mind, she continued to interact with Zhang Huai as she always had—calmly, neither avoiding him nor fawning over him.

’She also wanted to know if the boy truly understood his own feelings. For her, the "ugly girl" he had cared for since they were small, was it the affection one feels for a sister, or was it romantic love?’

’After all, he did reject the idea once! Now that he’s come around, is it because he can’t let go of his feelings, or because he can’t let go of his pity?’

’Has he really made up his mind?’

’A boy his age, back in my previous life, would have been a rebellious high school student. Emotions at that age are anything but stable.’

’I need to see things clearly before I make any choice. I also need to figure out if I have any feelings for him myself. If circumstances allow, falling in love with someone is certainly better than just blindly marrying whomever.’

Just as these thoughts were running through her mind, she heard Zhang Huai say, "My mother said that once she’s finished with her work at home today, she’s going to come over and help with the cooking. Making a meal for this many people isn’t like your usual cooking, so you should just help them out with the small stuff. Otherwise, just stir-frying one big wok of vegetables and swinging the spatula will make your arm sore. Your body can’t handle that."