Song Wei was incredibly fast. When she called the scorekeeper over, the scorekeeper was completely bewildered.
"How could you be so fast!"
she blurted out upon seeing Song Wei's 'achievements'.
Good heavens, this scorekeeper looked strangely familiar—wasn't that her 'love rival,' Jiang Xiaowan?
The moment Jiang Xiaowan appeared, her face immediately matched the woman's in her memory.
Jiang Xiaowan had a beautiful face and fair skin. Her two long black braids and floral dress made her look youthful and radiant.
She even looked more like a city dweller than some of the female educated youth in the educated youth compound.
Song Wei had an oval face. The original owner's brows always carried a hint of melancholy, making her appear sickly and weak.
But now, with her soul replaced by Song Wei from the wasteland, her brows held a touch of heroism, and she looked more dignified. However, her face still retained the gentle beauty of Jiangnan, making them completely different styles standing together.
But in terms of appearance, Song Wei was still more refined.
Jiang Xiaowan gave Song Wei a completely unfriendly look: "Since you can thresh the corn so quickly, it means your illness is probably not a problem anymore. This kind of work is for the elderly and children, why don't you do something else?"
This was clearly accusing Song Wei of shirking her responsibilities and refusing to do the important work.
Song Wei rolled her eyes and retorted, "Are you blind? Didn't you see the obvious bandage on my head?
The team leader kindly chose a shady spot under a tree for me to thresh the corn, and you made me work in the blazing sun until I fainted? Are you going to take responsibility?"
Jiang Xiaowan was speechless for a moment.
Wang Da Niang and the others, having chatted with Song Wei for a while and seemingly developing a camaraderie, chimed in with their own comments.
"This Song, the educated youth, is just quick with her hands. She just came out of the hospital, so she's really not suited to working in the fields. The sun is so strong, she might bump her head and get hurt. Educated youths from the city are delicate; it would be terrible if something happened
to her." "Yes, Jiang, the record clerk, you'd better record it quickly. Song, the educated youth, still needs to go up the mountain to gather firewood. We need to prepare her properly since she
just arrived, otherwise she won't survive the winter." Jiang Xiaowan stomped her foot angrily: "Are you on the side of the village or the educated youth? I'm the villager." Would the old women
like Aunt Wang be afraid of her?
"Jiang, the record clerk, that's not right. How are we on the side of the educated youth? What, can't we old folks speak the truth?"
Song Wei nodded: "That's right, that's right. The old women are clearly acting bravely to help the weak. What a noble quality!"
The old women immediately puffed out their chests.
This Song, the educated youth, is quite nice to talk to.
Jiang Xiaowan's face flushed with anger. "You're the weakling, so what am I?
" she thought. "Oh, it's nothing. Song Zhiqing has finished her work, just write it down. Why are you arguing? Be careful the brigade leader comes and scolds you!"
Seeing Jiang Xiaowan almost crying, Aunt Xiu immediately stepped in to smooth things over.
Jiang Xiaowan fell silent, only glaring angrily at Song Wei. She was clearly looking for trouble. Song Wei had indeed done a good job, so she could only angrily write down her marks in the notebook.
Song Wei craned her neck to take a look.
She was afraid Jiang Xiaowan would be petty and give her fewer marks.
"What!"
Jiang Xiaowan glared at her. Song Wei grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth. "I was just looking. The handwriting is quite good, very much in the style of Wang Xizhi, very skillful."
She had clearly put in considerable effort, but hadn't given her fewer marks.
Jiang Xiaowan rolled her eyes at her and haughtily walked away like a swan.
As soon as she left, the women quickly huddled together and started whispering.
Song Wei also hurried over.
"Why do you all dote on this village secretary's daughter so much? They let her study until high school, don't let her do any farm work, and even made her the scorekeeper."
The scorekeeper's job is so easy and prestigious, yet this little brat got it. It's not like everyone else in the village is illiterate.
She just benefits from having the village secretary as her father!
"She's the youngest of four young men in that family, of course she's spoiled."
Indeed, Jiang Xiaowan was incredibly lucky to be born into such a family. Her father is the village secretary, she has four older brothers, and her mother, who gave birth to four sons, stands tall and proud. This youngest and only daughter is certainly not spoiled.
Song Wei interjected, "But her eyesight isn't very good, how did she fall for Luo Zhiqing?"
Several older women's eyes all fell on her.
They seemed to be saying, 'How dare you say such a thing?'
Wasn't it you who chased after Luo Zhiqing before?
Song Wei remained unfazed: "My eyesight wasn't good either, and my brain wasn't very sharp either, otherwise I wouldn't have done things like giving him those tickets and then giving him bicycle tickets."
Seeing her self-deprecating humor, the older women didn't say anything more, only giving her a sympathetic look.
"It's good that you understand, but... how can you give me a bicycle ticket? It's a bicycle!"
Aunt Wang seemed to empathize, even smoothing her chest as if the bicycle ticket were hers.
Song Wei's lips twitched. "I'll ask him for it back. Well, aunties, I'll be going now. Let's chat again next time."
With that, she got up and strolled away.
The mountains... I'm back again!
This time, Song Wei not only carried a basket on her back but also two large sacks into the mountains.
Yesterday, she saw a pine forest further in; she wanted to collect more pine nuts.
They taste delicious, but collecting them is troublesome; a single pine cone yields a pitifully small amount of pine nuts.
It's too much effort; only the children in the village collect them. Adults wouldn't waste the time and energy.
Coincidentally, she saw that child again this time in the mountains.
He was so thin you could see his bones, his clothes were tattered and dirty, and he had no shoes.
His exposed skin still bore some purplish-blue marks.
Most families in the village, though poor, wore relatively neat, patched clothes. This little guy, dressed like a beggar and so thin, was only comparable to some girls from families with a strong preference for sons.
The little boy, though wary of her, didn't run away like he had yesterday.
He was wolfing something down his throat.
Upon closer inspection, it was a small wild fruit called *Gynostemma pentaphyllum*, also known as lantern fruit.
When ripe, it hung bright red like little lanterns, looking rather festive.
The child quickly picked all the lantern fruits and stuffed them into his tattered clothes.
Song Wei, seeing his wariness, didn't want to approach, but suddenly her ears twitched.
A grayish creature darted out of the grass.
The child was startled at first, then his eyes lit up. He abandoned the lantern fruits in his arms and ran barefoot.
But he was no match for the wild rabbit.
Seeing the rabbit about to escape, he became frantic, his eyes turning red.
"Whoosh..."
A pebble flew past and struck the rabbit directly on the head. Its body was propelled forward a short distance by inertia, but it quickly collapsed to the ground.