The idea of a scumbag reborn repenting and turning over a new leaf only ever happens in novels.
In reality, someone like Zhang Wei would remain an absolute scumbag even if he were reborn. A degenerate gambler reborn would undoubtedly still be a degenerate gambler.
Outside the house stood Zhang Wei’s buddy, Li Qiang, who happened to be the son of the brigade accountant.
Because of this connection, Li Qiang also landed an effortless gig as the work-point recorder.
He barely even needed to record anything; the team members simply monitored and kept track of each other.
“Ah-Wei, how many yuan did you manage to squeeze out of your uncle?”
“Ugh, don’t even ask!
Only got five yuan. The old man is getting more and out of touch.
He’s going to take his money straight to the grave and doesn’t even know to show some filial piety and respect to me, the sole ninth-generation heir of the Zhang family. What about you? How many yuan did your old man cough up?”
“Haha!
I dug through my old man’s stash hidden in some old clothes and hit the jackpot. A whole twenty-six yuan.”
“Damn, you’re a beast, Qiangzi.
Come on, let’s head down to the commune and hit up a restaurant.
The old fossil hoards money and refuses to spend it. It’s up to good-for-nothings like us to contribute bricks and tiles to the motherland’s economy!”
“Spot on! Absolutely spot on. There’s logic to being a prodigal son, haha!
Oh right, Ah-Wei, did your uncle really pick out a mute for you?”
“What do you mean my uncle picked her out? I chose her myself.
For prodigals like us, going out for a drink, playing cards, and staying up all night—aren’t those completely normal things?
But ordinary old broads could never understand the bitter struggle of a prodigal having money with nowhere to spend it.
What’s the most annoying thing about women? All their petty drama, right?
If we pick a mute, won’t there be way less drama?”
“Ah-Wei, brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
I’m seriously impressed with you this time.
Do you know if there’s any kind of poison that makes people mute? I want to get a batch to ‘filially serve’ to my mom and dad.”
“You… you absolute beast!”
“Ha! Look who’s talking, you total animal.”
Exchanging banter and chuckles, Li Qiang wheeled out his father’s ‘Permanent’ brand 28-inch bicycle.
Zhang Wei hopped onto the back rack, and the two wobbled off toward the commune.
Just as they rode past the village entrance, the bike slammed into a sudden emergency stop. Zhang Wei was launched into mid-air, barely managing to grab hold of the seat.
With no time to think, Zhang Wei frantically braced his feet against the ground.
Working together, the two managed to keep the bicycle from tipping over.
Li Qiang had spread his legs too wide and strained his groin, wincing in pain with a grimace.
Without even lifting his head, he let loose a stream of curses:
“Are you blind?!
Don’t you have eyes, or what?
You wanna get yourself run over, you damn country bumpkin?
Wait… Liu… Educated Youth Liu?
Ah, never mind then, all good!”
After spitting that out, Li Qiang shot a knowing, winking glance toward Zhang Wei.
That spineless bootlicker Zhang Wei used to treat Liu Ting like an absolute treasure, and Li Qiang didn’t want to fall out with him over a woman.
Zhang Wei poked his head out from behind Li Qiang. Upon seeing Liu Ting, he started cursing even more viciously than Li Qiang had:
“Liu Ting, you shameless piece of trash, have you got a death wish?
If you want to die, go die on Educated Youth Wang’s bed.
What’s this? Trying to pull a scam and extort some pocket money out of us brothers?”
Li Qiang’s ox-like eyes widened to the size of copper bells, filled with utter shock.
“Whoa, Ah-Wei, did… did you get possessed by an evil spirit or something?
S-she’s Educated Youth Liu, you know.”
“Duh, like I need you to tell me, of course I know it’s Liu Ting.
If she’s not Liu Ting, is she supposed to be a ghost?
I used to be clueless and utterly green when it came to men and women.
But after a single night of intimacy, I finally realized—damn it, blow out the lamp and everyone looks the same.
So what if she’s Liu Ting?
Is she edged in gold or something?”
Li Qiang stood there completely dumbfounded. Zhang Wei must have really lost his mind—that was Educated Youth Liu they were talking about!
Liu Ting bit down hard on her pearls, her teeth clicking together. Beyond furious, her slender body trembled uncontrollably.
Yet, a second later, Liu Ting let out a cold laugh.
“Zhang Wei, do you really think playing this little stunt is going to make me look at you differently?
Fine, I admit it—you’ve caught my attention.
Now, make that mute crawl back and hand the seed selection job over to me.
Then I’ll agree to go steady with you, alright?”
As she spoke, her expression was dripping with absolute contempt.
Zhang Wei burst out laughing as well.
“Ha!
Things I couldn’t get after sucking up to you and kissing your feet for two full years… Just because you picked tea seeds for half a day, you Liu Ting are suddenly willing to be my girlfriend?
Looks like farm work really builds character!
Oh, Liu Ting, Liu Ting, you really are shameless.
Prefer the hard way over the soft way, huh?”
In the past, Liu Ting would have flipped out instantly.
But spending half a day picking tea seeds had practically driven her out of her mind.
The blazing sun had baked her cheeks until they burned with fiery pain, and the prickly dust and chaff from the tea trees had settled all over her clothes, causing an agonizing, unbearable itch.
What broke her even more, though, was the endless stream of cold ridicule and mockery from the villagers.
God knows she hadn’t climbed as many trees in her entire life as she had that very morning.
Liu Ting took a deep breath and played what she thought was her ultimate trump card.
“Zhang Wei, i-if you keep talking to me like this, I’m really going to get mad!
Aren’t you afraid I’ll actually hook up with Educated Youth Wang instead?”
“Is that so?
Then I’ll just have to set off two strings of firecrackers to celebrate!
I wish the two of you scumbags lock yourselves together and stop coming out to plague everyone else.
Liu Ting, I’m advising you to stop trying to provoke me.
Otherwise, you’ll find out that picking tea seeds was the absolute easiest chore you’ll ever do.
Now, right this second, get the hell out of the way.
Or else, you can choose between shoveling nightsoil and clearing wasteland.
No, wait—I changed my mind. You don’t even get a choice.
Qiangzi, do you want to see Educated Youth Liu shovel manure or clear wasteland? You pick for her.”
Li Qiang still hadn’t fully recovered his wits, looking back and forth between Zhang Wei and Liu Ting.
“Educated Youth Liu, well… I guess I’ll pick for you then.
You’re tall, so bending over to dig trenches for clearing wasteland is too exhausting and murders the lower back.
You might as well go shovel nightsoil. Since you’re tall, you can carry the big buckets.
Considering your relationship with Ah-Wei, as the work-point recorder, I definitely won’t shortchange you on your work points.”
With his hands shoved deep into his pockets, Zhang Wei coldly stared Liu Ting down.
He wasn’t joking around. If Liu Ting kept acting up, the worst possible chores would definitely fall on her shoulders.
Feeling the chill in Zhang Wei’s sharp gaze, Liu Ting instinctively took a small step backward.
In that moment, the person in front of her felt utterly, terrifyingly unfamiliar.
“Humph!
Screw you, get the hell out of my way!”
With a flick of his hand, Zhang Wei shoved Liu Ting, sending her stumbling back step after step.
“Qiangzi, hurry up and get on the bike.
If we’re late, all the good dishes at the state-run restaurant will be sold out.”
Only when Zhang Wei delivered that push did Li Qiang finally shake off his doubts, realizing Zhang Wei had truly turned a new page.
“Haha!
Hold on tight!
We’re rolling out~ Ah-Wei, it is so damn great that you managed to dump that deadweight Liu Ting.
Let’s buy a bottle of good liquor to celebrate properly.”
“You, oh you… you’re still way too naive.
Do you seriously think I’ve completely let Liu Ting off the hook?”
“Huh?
Then what was all that just now?
Aren’t you worried she’ll hold a grudge against you?”
“Hehe!
So what if she holds a grudge? Do you really think a delicate little flower like her can actually handle hard farm labor?”
“Well, she should be able to, right? Isn’t that how everyone gets through it?”
“What if… I crank up the pressure and dial up the intensity for her a bit more?
Haha! That’s right, I want her to come crying and begging me for mercy.
Then I’ll act magnanimous and reluctantly take her back!”
“Wait, you can actually play it like that?”
“She’s the one who started playing games with me! I’m going to pay back every single ounce of misery she put me through these past two years, with interest.”