My heart skipped a beat in shock, but I immediately shook off his hand and returned to the dining room.
Channing was done with his meal and was having a chat with Leedon when he saw me enter. He smiled and said, “Where did you go? You didn’t really eat, so Ashton ordered you some clam chowder.”
I was stunned for a while, then saw that there really was a bowl of clam chowder on the table.
I gave him a faint smile and replied, “Thank you!”
Then, I sat down to drink the soup. Around ten minutes later, Ashton arrived with Rachel by his side.
“Wow, you have only left for a while, but the two of you are already holding hands and have even changed your clothes. Where did you go?” said Channing as he laughed. Since he always loved to joke around, the rest of the table was unbothered by his comments.
I was drinking my soup with my head down but subconsciously looked to the two as Channing spoke. Indeed, just like he said, they were holding hands and had both changed their clothes.
They looked a lot more intimate now.
Although I knew that they had changed because they fell into the water, the others did not.
Thus, I had expected Ashton to explain himself to the others. However, he simply smiled and kept quiet.
Rachel stood beside him shyly, without a word as well.
At first, the others had misunderstood them. However, looking at them now, everyone felt that they were indeed a couple.
I lowered my head and continued eating without paying too much attention to them. After all, when I was done eating, I still had work to do in the afternoon.
Leedon had previously given me a heads up, saying that I would be busier in the afternoon as many jobs in the base required manpower, but we were short-handed. Thus, it would be especially tough to do those jobs.
To me, that was quite a good thing since physical exertion could help take my mind off of my troubles.
At the base that afternoon, I squatted as I helped to select the equipment and organize the materials. Just then, Leedon carried a large box into the base. When he walked past me, he jokingly said, “Ms. Stovall, it’s the first time a woman has ever entered the base. Everyone intended not to let you do any work, but you’ve been helping us for most of today. Thanks for your hard work!”
I smiled slightly then looked up at him. My legs were numb from squatting and my shoulders hurt. “This is my job. Didn’t I say that there’s no distinction between men and women in the workplace?”
Everyone laughed. That afternoon, Ashton would take Channing to see the construction of the base. Basically, it seemed as though he wanted the Oberick family to participate in the project as well.
Rachel tagged along, explaining some professional concepts from time to time. The two of them indeed looked quite compatible working together.
When they headed toward my direction, I lowered my head and focused on my work.
I had initially thought that they would leave as soon as they were done looking at the area. However, Rachel suddenly spoke. “Mr. Oberick, you must be tired after walking for so long. There’s somewhere nearby where you can take a rest. Why don’t we go there first, and you can have a taste of the pears here later!”
The old man seemed to like fruits, especially those that were freshly picked from the trees.
Thus, as soon as Rachel had spoken, Channing gladly agreed to stay on and rest.
As she helped him into the lounge, Ashton then turned to look at me.
I had thought that he would only take a glance at me before leaving. However, he suddenly said, “Ms. Stovall, please help to pick some fruits from behind the base.”
I froze, then instinctively said, “I’m not familiar with the roads here!”
He raised his eyebrow as if to say that that was not his problem. “I think Mr. Murphy had said that you needed to cooperate with our work to the best you could.”
On the surface, his words seemed irrelevant. However, they basically implied that if I did not go, I would be seen as uncooperative.
Thus, I nodded and put aside whatever I was doing then. “Okay, please wait for a while!”
After searching for a few plastic bags, I left the base. As most of Lavelian Village’s lands were orchards, it was not difficult to find fruits to pick.
However, heavy rain from the night before had caused the orchards to become muddy. They were also fenced up to keep out livestock and to delineate each family’s land.
The fences were lined with thorny rattan, so people could easily get injured if they tried to climb over without using the proper entrance.
I was walking around the orchard in search of its entrance when Leedon followed after me and smiled. “The entrance is on the other side, so you’ll have to go around the fence. It rained last night and there are many construction sites here, so it won’t be an easy walk. Be careful!”
I nodded and headed in the direction he pointed out. After a while, I finally found the entrance.
Since it was August, most pears in the orchard were ripe and suitable for eating. However, some ripened a little slower and therefore tasted a little sourer. Hence, since I was picking pears for the elderly, I had to find those that were riper and sweeter.
Luckily, it was already afternoon, so there were no longer any water droplets left from the rain last night. Thus, when I heard others chatting nearby, I stopped in my tracks and eavesdropped on their conversation.
