The familiar comfort of waking up in his own room made Chen Yang briefly question his own sentiments.
Although the home in Jinling was where he had lived for seventeen years, he felt a greater sense of intimacy upon returning to Shenjiaba, a fact that was truly exasperating.
"Awake? Get up and eat. I made red date porridge with raisins."
"Yanyan and Haohao have already finished. They went with their parents to collect the fish. Brother Lei also went along, saying it was a good opportunity to see our area."
As Chen Yang woke, Shen Xue was pulling back the bamboo curtain, and the bright sunlight dappled across his face through her wind-blown hair.
It was warm, exuding a languid charm.
Chen Yang savored this feeling immensely.
The older man slowly got up, walked behind the woman pulling the curtain, and embraced her slender waist from behind, greedily inhaling the unique fragrance of her body.
This scent, he knew, would never tire him in a lifetime.
"Stop messing around, it's broad daylight."
Shen Xue paused, her hand on the curtain. Chen Yang's heavy breaths on her neck caused her heart to race.
"I just want to hold you, what are you thinking?"
A wicked smile played on the older man's lips as his hand moved up half an inch.
Shen Xue immediately felt Chen Yang's mischievous hands. She knew all too well that her husband was adept at saying one thing and doing another, a sly character.
She struggled to get away, but how could Chen Yang let her? He pulled the curtain shut, blocking the window.
"Let me down, quickly, let me down."
Lifted from behind by Chen Yang, Shen Xue's face instantly flushed.
It was broad daylight, and even with the curtain drawn, the room was bright. How could she be so brazen?
"That's not up to you."
"Who told you to come to me?"
Chen Yang chuckled wickedly. Before Shen Xue could even let out a surprised cry, she felt a chill, and by the time she realized what was happening, her clothes were gone, leaving her like a lamb to the slaughter.
The newly built wooden bed in the house was sturdy, not even a creak escaping it.
An hour later, Chen Yang, refreshed, brushed his teeth, washed his face, and was drinking red date porridge. It wasn't until half a day later that Shen Xue emerged from the room, carrying a bedsheet.
"Still laughing? You can keep blaming me. I have to wash bedsheets as soon as I get home."
Shen Xue glared at Chen Yang, who, admitting fault, quickly swallowed the porridge in his bowl and hurried to fetch water for his wife to wash the bedsheet.
"Who was making those 'wow wow wow' noises earlier? You're usually not this energetic."
Chen Yang pouted. Hearing his words, Shen Xue's pretty face turned scarlet, her ears even burning.
It was so stimulating in broad daylight; how could she not be nervous?
"Today you can take your bedding and sleep with Lei Baoguo. I was yelling too loudly, so I didn't disturb your sleep."
Shen Xue was a little embarrassed and angry. She would never admit that it was she who had made those sounds earlier.
"Wife, I was wrong, I was really wrong."
"Please, be magnanimous and forgive me this once, so I can continue to serve you tonight. Without me, you wouldn't sleep soundly."
Chen Yang quickly lowered his stance, having gotten a bit carried away earlier and been careless.
"Hmph, that's more like it."
Shen Xue scrubbed the bedsheet with all her might. She was only saying it verbally; she wouldn't feel right if she didn't keep an eye on her husband for a day.
While Shen Xue was washing the bedsheet, Chen Yang washed the pots and bowls. Usually, Shen Xue wouldn't let him do these chores. He was a grown man with hands and feet; he couldn't just watch his wife do everything.
"I'm going to check on the double-cropping rice and the free-range loach in the fields, and get some information from Technician Zhou and the old village chief. Do you want to come?"
Chen Yang helped Shen Xue wring the water out of the bedsheet, preparing to hang it on the line to dry.
"I won't go. I still have to cook later. This afternoon, we'll take some vegetables to Er Ni, and then take the afternoon bus to Qinghe City."
"I know you're anxious about business. I see there aren't many fish to collect. Why don't we bring my parents along to see Rongrong, and then they can come with us to Qinghe City for a bit?"
"My grandfather's winery used to be in Qinghe City. My father grew up there when he was a child. He hasn't been back in so many years; it would be good for him to see it again."
Shen Xue glanced at Chen Yang. She knew he had been thinking about the radio business since they disembarked the train yesterday. It was only because she and the children missed home that they had returned directly.
Missing home, however, was only missing family. Now that they were bringing their parents along, home was wherever they went.
Shen Xue had often heard her father talk about his family's winery in his childhood, and she could sense some of his regret.
Winemaking was their family's ancestral trade. In these years of poverty, when survival was a struggle, her father would sparingly save grain to brew wine occasionally.
This showed that her father had always held this ancestral trade in his heart, but his capabilities were limited. Now that he was older, people tended to become nostalgic.
Shen Xue thought that since Chen Yang was also concerned about the radio business in Qinghe City, they might as well go back there with him to see the family's former winery, thus alleviating his worries.
As for reviving the ancestral trade, Shen Xue dared not even consider it. Her father was already so old; he couldn't withstand such a disturbance. Chen Yang had his own career, and she didn't want him to be preoccupied with this.
"Alright, having them go with us to Qinghe will help them look after the two little ones. They'll surely be happy."
The old couple had been missing their grandchildren for a long time. It would naturally be difficult for them to part with the children immediately after their return.
Letting them accompany them to Qinghe would allow them to care for the children, see their younger daughter in the county town, and most importantly, Shen Xue's family's ancestral winery was in Qinghe City, which would fulfill her father-in-law's wish.
It was truly killing three birds with one stone.
"Okay, you hurry up and go check the fields."
"We should go to the county town early. There are only two buses from Liuhe County to Qinghe City. The last bus in the afternoon is at three o'clock. Don't miss it."
Thinking of this, Shen Xue glared at Chen Yang with annoyance. The time was pressing, yet he insisted on wasting it in the morning.
Chen Yang dared not retort and quickly ran towards the fields. It was already this late; if he went to the brigade office now, he wouldn't find anyone.
If he wasn't in the fields by this time, then Zhou Jingqiu was just playing around. That girl wasn't that kind of person.
As expected, when Chen Yang reached the fields, he saw Zhou Jingqiu with her trousers rolled up, observing the rice seedlings.
This girl's legs were as white as her skin. She had been here for so many days and hadn't gotten much darker. Chen Yang found it strange, looking at her posture, she didn't seem like someone who avoided the sun, only wearing a straw hat.
The double-cropping rice had already been planted. The seedlings were nurtured by Zhou Jingqiu's efforts, contacting comrades from the county agricultural station to work overtime. This time, a total of one hundred mu of land near the irrigation channel had been planned. Based on various water levels and loach species, ten groups were set up for comparison.