Seeing Lu Tian standing behind Lin Shirou, her brows knitted together sharply, she rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward.
“You money-wasting brat, all you know how to do is slack off! Big Da and Second Da are already out digging for earthworms, what are you still doing at home?!”
Frightened, little Lu Tian turned pale and instinctively wanted to run, though her first reaction was not to hide behind Lin Shirou. In the past, Lin Shirou would never have helped her; she would only have impatiently brushed her little hands aside. So, the tiny girl knew that whenever her grandmother was about to pinch her ears, her only safe spot was under the bed where her grandmother couldn’t reach her.
Seeing this, Lin Shirou frowned slightly, grabbed the child, and pulled her behind her. “Mom, what are you trying to do?”
Zhang Ximei tried several times to drag Lu Tian out to give her a thorough ear-twisting, but Lin Shirou blocked her every attempt.
“Wretched girl! How dare you hide?!” Zhang Ximei scolded angrily. Then, turning her glare to Lin Shirou, she snapped, “Second son’s wife, step aside! I’m going to teach this lazy little wretch a lesson today whether you like it or not!”
Lin Shirou replied, “I asked her to pour me some water. How old is she? What does she even understand?”
Protected behind her, Lu Tian looked up with a mix of lingering anxiety and sudden, stunned joy—her mother was actually protecting her.
Zhang Ximei stared at Lin Shirou in utter astonishment. In the past, she had never seen Lin Shirou care when she beat or scolded Lu Tian. In fact, in this household, Lin Shirou herself was usually the one who treated Lu Tian the harshest. Had she taken the wrong medicine today? Why was she suddenly acting so different?
“Mom, hurry up, hurry up! The work point recorder is handing out farm tools outside!” a woman’s voice called from the yard.
Zhang Ximei shot Lu Tian a vicious glare and turned to leave. Before heading out, she snapped, “Hurry up and get to work.”
Turning to Lu Tian, Lin Shirou said softly, “Darling, take a nap this afternoon and don’t run around. I’ll be back later.” What could a four-year-old possibly do? Just staying safely at home was already being a good girl.
Looking at this mother, who was so completely different from before, Lu Tian lowered her head and whispered, “Okay, Mama, I won’t wander off.”
Lin Shirou sighed inwardly. Better take things one step at a time. She stroked the little girl’s head, closed the door behind her, and stepped outside.
Not far away stood the small wooden shed where farm tools were being distributed, already surrounded by a noisy, queuing crowd. Under the blazing June sun, Lin Shirou had barely taken two steps before she felt the heat radiating all over her body.
“Well, well, if it isn’t our educated youth Lin. Is your headache gone today?”
The speaker was a rather plump woman. The moment Lin Shirou blinked, the name flashed into her mind: Liu Chunli. She was the female protagonist’s best friend and the one who despised Lin Shirou the most, always making sarcastic remarks whenever they crossed paths.
The surrounding villagers also looked on with amused anticipation; farm work was boring, after all, and everyone loved a good spectacle.
Although Lin Shirou was a villainous supporting character, she was a paper tiger whose aggression was strictly confined to the family—specifically to Lu Tian. Since she couldn’t bully anyone else, and because she was too proud and looked down on the village women, she usually just glared in helpless frustration.
This Lin Shirou, however, was different. A cold smirk touched the corner of her mouth. “If I don’t work, are you going to feed me?”
Liu Chunli choked on her own words. This quiet wallflower is actually talking back?
With a gentle smile, Xu Xiaoying handed a farm tool to Zhang Ximei. “Auntie, the sun is fierce this afternoon, so make sure you watch out and don’t get heatstroke.”
Beaming from ear to ear as she inspected the sturdy, well-balanced tool in her hands, Zhang Ximei said cheerfully, “Oh, I know, thank you so much, Xiaoying.”
Xu Xiaoying smiled modestly, her face radiating a rustic, kind-hearted warmth.
Turning around, Zhang Ximei frowned the moment she caught sight of Lin Shirou’s face. “Hurry up and grab yours once you’re done dawdling! There’s plenty of work waiting in the fields!”
Sister-in-law Xu Guihua had also received her tool. Raising her voice just enough for everyone nearby to hear, she called out, “Mom, some people spend all day slacking off and avoiding work, but I guess you finally managed to drag her out. You really know how to handle things!”
Watching Lin Shirou’s fair cheeks and rosy lips, Xu Xiaoying felt a strange pang of irritation.
“Educated Youth Lin, here is your tool,” Xu Xiaoying said, handing over a hoe. Lin Shirou took it.
“Just sign here,” Xu Xiaoying said, pointing to a spot in the ledger. Lin Shirou picked up the pencil and wrote her name directly.
Her handwriting was fluid and full of energetic flair—so much so that Xu Xiaoying paused in surprise. Why do I remember Lin Shirou’s handwriting looking completely different before?
Liu Chunli trotted over for a look. “Tsk, Xiaoying, why did you give her such a nice hoe? She won’t do any real work anyway, it’s just a total waste!”
Farm tools in the village were limited; those who went first got the good ones, leaving the poorer ones for whoever was at the back of the line. The hoe in Lin Shirou’s hands happened to be quite a decent one, sparking murmurs and discussion among the people still waiting in line.
“Just putting on a show, what a waste to give her a tool that good!” “Seriously! You’d be better off giving it to me!”
A glint flashed in Xu Xiaoying’s eyes as she quickly chimed in, “Don’t worry, everyone, there are still plenty of good tools left! Educated Youth Lin doesn’t usually do much farm work, so giving her a substandard tool would just make it even harder for her to work.”
Lin Shirou carefully studied the female protagonist of the novel. Why does it feel like her words are just adding fuel to the fire and specifically targeting me?
Still, she had to hand it to the book’s heroine—she really pulled off the look. With that pure, delicate innocence, she looked just like a little white flower. No wonder she still had so many admirers even after her husband’s death. Just look at the young men in line; quite a few of them were staring right at Xu Xiaoying.
Under Xu Xiaoying’s gentle, persuasive tone, several men chimed in, “It doesn’t matter what tools real men use. Even digging with our bare hands is faster than the womenfolk anyway.”
As he spoke, the man casually flexed his sturdy, muscular arms, causing several young women and brides to blush furiously.
Looking thoroughly embarrassed, Xu Xiaoying felt a rosy flush creep up her cheeks, making her look even purer and more endearing. It made several villagers and male educated youths flush as well.
Lin Shirou glanced at those tanned, muscular arms. Hmph, nothing special. Way worse than my ex-boyfriend’s.
“Second son’s wife, are you coming or what?! What’s with all the dilly-dallying?”
Zhang Ximei’s voice rang out from outside, and Lin Shirou hurried out. As she passed by, she stirred up a faint breeze, and many eyes followed her retreating figure in secret.
Though Lin Shirou remained oblivious, Xu Xiaoying caught every bit of it. Her heart sank. Such a vixen—all she knows is how to seduce men!
And catching sight of the pale, milky-white expanse of skin on Lin Shirou’s exposed forearms, she thought it looked nothing like the skin of a woman who had spent years toiling in the countryside.
After enduring the blazing sun for about an hour, Lin Shirou felt completely drained.
Xu Guihua looked up, raised her voice, and shouted loudly, “Second sister-in-law! You’ve barely worked for a minute and you’re already slacking off?!”
Sitting in the shade of a tree, Lin Shirou was panting heavily, her face flushed red as large beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
Xu Guihua pressed on, “Mom, look at her! She barely did a lick of work before taking a break. How many work points is that going to earn us?”
Zhang Ximei glared at Lin Shirou under the tree. “Second son’s wife! Get over here and get to work right now! Otherwise, neither you nor that wretched little brat are getting any dinner tonight!”