Cheng Ling and Qi Fang returned again with empty sacks. Seeing yet another pile of weeds already stacked up, they couldn’t help but let out a miserable wail.
“Why is there so much? I’m about to die from exhaustion!”
Over on the boys’ side, some had already nearly finished their work. Among the girls, Lin Erxia was also close to wrapping up, and Xu Ru wasn’t slow either. The rest, however, were struggling.
Especially Wang Gaoli and Xie Xiaolian—Wang Gaoli would shovel once and sigh once, while Xie Xiaolian was outright slacking, squatting there for ages without moving.
While resting, Lin Erxia glanced around and happened to meet Lin Zhuer’s eyes from the next group over. Zhuer had only finished about half her work.
With one muddy hand, she wiped the sweat continuously pouring down her face. Dirt mixed with sweat, leaving her face sticky and smeared—each wipe only made it worse.
Her classmates around her were chatting and laughing, but she worked alone, still slower than the others. She stood quietly off to the side, watching everyone else.
When her gaze met Lin Erxia’s, it was as if she had suddenly suffered a great grievance—her eyes welled up with tears. She lowered her head awkwardly and kept working, clumsily wiping away the tears that slipped from her eyes as if she were just wiping sweat.
Lin Erxia frowned. What was wrong with Lin Zhuer? Why did she suddenly look so aggrieved?
Meanwhile, seeing how exhausted Qi Fang and Cheng Ling were, Xu Ru took the initiative.
“I’ll switch with you two. You can come cut weeds. Does anyone else want to switch?”
She turned and asked the others.
Xie Qinglan wanted to raise her hand, but Xie Xiaolian stopped her, signaling her to look at how much work they still had left.
Wang Gaoli, who had long grown tired of cutting weeds, immediately threw down her shovel and called out loudly, “Me, me, me! I’ll switch with you!”
Qi Fang and Cheng Ling exchanged a glance. They had no issue switching with Xu Ru, but Wang Gaoli still had a lot of unfinished work.
Seeing their hesitation, Wang Gaoli quickly added, “Don’t worry, we’ll switch back later. I’ve just been squatting cutting weeds for too long—my hands and back hurt.”
That reassured them, and the two happily agreed.
“Thank you, Sister Xu Ru—and Gaoli too!”
Xu Ru and Wang Gaoli took over the task of transporting weeds. Although Wang Gaoli was lazy, she was chubby and did have some strength, so Xu Ru had no complaints working with her—though it would’ve been better if Wang Gaoli toned down the look of disgust on her face while stuffing weeds into the sack.
As soon as Xu Ru and Wang Gaoli dragged a sack of weeds away, Xie Xiaolian spoke to Xie Qinglan.
“Sister Qinglan, are you thirsty? I’ll go get your lunch box and fetch some water.”
“I am really thirsty. Get a bit more—we’ve got so many people here.”
Xie Xiaolian rolled her eyes and lowered her voice. “Sister Qinglan, I’m going just for you. If you drink enough, you’ll have the strength to work. Why worry about others?”
Xie Qinglan smiled awkwardly. “Alright, alright, do as you see fit.”
Xie Xiaolian disappeared in a flash.
When Xu Ru returned and didn’t see Xie Xiaolian, she was a bit curious. Xie Qinglan simply said she had gone to fetch water. Xu Ru glanced at the patch of weeds Xie Xiaolian hadn’t even finished half of, then looked up at the sun drifting toward the west, frowning slightly.
When Xie Xiaolian came back, she held a lunch box and handed it to Xie Qinglan, saying loudly:
“Sister Qinglan, you’re really thirsty—drink up quickly. Don’t let yourself overheat.”
Xie Qinglan wanted to let others drink first, but couldn’t refuse her. She was too thirsty, and the lunch box wasn’t big—before she knew it, only a little water was left at the bottom. Seeing how little remained, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Everyone else’s throats were parched too. Under the scorching heat and after sweating so much, they swallowed hard and looked expectantly at Xie Xiaolian.
Xie Xiaolian smiled. “Oh dear, sorry! I meant to bring water for everyone, but there’s not much left now. I’ll go fetch more for you all.”
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced at Lin Erxia. Lin Erxia found it inexplicable, looking back at her strange smile.
Xie Xiaolian even added, “Erxia, you look the most overheated. I’ll let you drink first when I get back.”
Xu Ru, who was loading weeds, was no longer just frowning. Wang Gaoli snorted coldly.
“I don’t need you to bring me water. I can’t drink cold water anyway—I only drink boiled water.”
The water here was drawn straight from the tap. But in this era, the water hadn’t been industrially polluted like in later times; it even had a faint sweetness, and many people drank it directly.
Xie Xiaolian’s expression turned awkward. She looked again at Lin Erxia.
Lin Erxia clapped her hands, stood up, and said:
“Alright, I’m done with my work anyway. I’ll take care of everyone—let me fetch water for you. I’ll go back to the dorm to get lunch boxes. Who needs some?”
Unknowingly, Lin Erxia had already finished all her work—the first among them to do so. Many others on the field were still working hard with their heads down.
All five of Xu Ru’s group raised their hands. Cheng Ling joked, “Me, me, me! Get me extra—I feel like I could drink a whole river!”
Lin Erxia laughed brightly. “No problem—leave it to me. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied with my service!”
Cheng Ling and the others smiled as they thanked her.
“Thank you so much, Comrade Erxia—Top Ten Outstanding Youth!”
Lin Erxia dusted off the dirt on her clothes, leaving behind a dashing figure and the envious gazes of the others. How was she so fast and efficient at work?
She went to the dormitory. Since she couldn’t carry too many at once, she made two trips—naturally prioritizing her own lunch box first.
There were quite a few people at the taps, lining up for water. Fortunately, there were several taps. While filling the containers, Lin Erxia first took a good drink from her own lunch box.
The cool, faintly sweet water slid down her throat, so refreshing it made her sigh in satisfaction. Her blissful expression was a delight to see.
After filling three lunch boxes and carefully covering them, she carried them back to the field. Xu Ru and Cheng Ling drank first. She set the boxes down, then returned to the dorm to get Qi Fang, Liu Xiaomei, and Wang Yanyan’s lunch boxes.
As for Xie Qinglan, since Xie Xiaolian was taking care of her, Lin Erxia didn’t bother.
Once everyone had water to drink, they lay back on the ground, so comfortable they could almost fall asleep.
Watching everyone thank Lin Erxia and gather around her, Xie Xiaolian reached out and viciously tore a weed leaf in front of her.
Seeing this, Xie Qinglan couldn’t help but remind her, “Xiaolian, you need to use the shovel to dig out the roots. Pulling leaves is useless—it’s just wasted effort.”
“Alright, I know! Hurry up and work, or we won’t even finish before dinner,” Xie Xiaolian replied sullenly.
Xie Qinglan sighed inwardly. If not for helping Xiaolian, she herself would have nearly finished by now. Because of her, she might still not be done even after another hour.
Yet Xiaolian still couldn’t accomplish much on her own. Qinglan couldn’t bring herself to say it directly—it would hurt Xiaolian’s pride. After all, they had grown up together, and Xiaolian had always been in poor health. Qinglan could only help her more. At school, she was Xiaolian’s only close friend.