Chapter 97

Logan said, "This is the best I could manage with what we have."

He used a spent matchstick to melt some of the candle wax and used it to secure the paper circle. He also added a few spots of wax at the bottom to stick it to the table.

He blew out the kerosene lamp, leaving only the rabbit lantern on the table. The candle flame flickered inside the paper, making the rabbit face dance with light.

Though the lantern was simple and rough, with jagged edges on the rabbit ears, Summer loved it. She felt a wave of gratitude and her eyes became a little misty.

Smiling, she looked at the lantern for a while, then turned to Logan, "Thank you."

She then quickly unwrapped the mooncakes and handed the whole package to Logan, smiling, "You showed me a lantern, so I'll treat you to mooncakes."

Logan took a mooncake without hesitation.

They sat there, eating mooncakes and chatting casually, occasionally looking up at the moon.

When the candle burned out, they had finished their mooncakes.

The festival was complete, and with work the next day, they tidied up the table, returned it to the kitchen, and called it a night.

While Summer and Logan were washing up and getting ready for bed, Henry's group finished their mooncakes and cleaned up. The ten of them then headed out for a night walk under the moon.

After they left, the dormitory quieted down.

Lying in bed, Summer couldn't help but think of home.

But the memory of the rabbit lantern filled her heart with warmth.

Turning on her side, she thought about her time with Logan. They had developed a good rapport. Logan had made the rabbit lantern when he saw she was homesick. Were they friends now?

After a moment, she dismissed the thought. Getting along with Logan was already a significant achievement. Wanting more, like a deeper relationship, would be too much trouble.

Her goal had always been to benefit from his energy. She should maintain their current relationship without overstepping.

Satisfied with this thought, she let herself drift off to sleep.

Later, she was briefly woken by Grace and the others returning from their walk. Turning towards the wall, she ignored their chatter and fell back asleep.

Since they returned late and still had to get up early for work, Grace and her group didn't make much noise for long and soon went to bed.

They had enjoyed the best day since arriving in the countryside.

Lying in bed, they chatted a bit longer.

Grace sighed contentedly, "It'd be great if every day could be like this."

Lily responded, "That's impossible. The team doesn't have enough pigs to slaughter every day."

Grace rolled her eyes, "Don't spoil it. Just a little wishful thinking."

With that, they soon fell asleep.

The next morning, the alarm clock woke them earlier than usual, and none of them wanted to get up.

They lingered in bed until they couldn't delay any longer, then reluctantly got up, yawning and grumbling.

By the time they were up, Summer and Logan had already left for school, leaving the dormitory to themselves.

Their morning routine was the same: washing up and preparing breakfast.

They had finished the last batch of steamed buns but still had enough flour for a few more meals, so they mixed more dough for steaming.

The remaining grains were washed by the boys, who took the last of the sorghum and corn.

After breakfast, Grace sighed, "White flour is better. It would be nice to have it every day."

Immediately, Mike retorted, "Be thankful for what we have. Soon, we might not even have this."

His comment reminded everyone of their dwindling food supply. They turned to Henry.

Lily asked, "What about our food situation?"

Henry replied, "Finish eating first. I'll handle it."

Trusting him, they didn't press further and hurried through breakfast before heading to work.

Though not officially the harvest season yet, the team had started collecting soybeans and peanuts.

Today, they began with corn. For the next two months, they would be harvesting nonstop, first corn, then sweet potatoes, and finally sorghum.

They spent the morning in the fields, picking corn under the sun.

Sophia, as usual, did the least work, following Henry around and holding the bags for the corn. Even this tired her, and she often sat down to rest.

At noon, they returned to the dormitory for lunch, exhausted and eager for a break.

They napped after lunch, skipping the mill to grind more flour.

In the evening, after dinner, they finally took the dried grains to the mill.

The ten of them worked together, with the boys turning the millstone and the girls feeding the grains into the mill.

After a while, Henry called Charlie and Gabe outside.

They let two other boys take over and followed Henry out.

"What's up?" Charlie asked.

"We're going to see Leonardo," Henry replied.

Charlie and Gabe realized he meant to discuss their food situation.

The team office was nearby, so they soon arrived. But Anthony and Leonardo were not there.