After a thorough beating that left Wang Dafen crying for her parents and begging for mercy, repeatedly promising she would never again gossip about the brigade leader’s family, Liu Cuihua finally stopped.
Grinding her teeth, Liu Cuihua warned her,
“Make sure your words mean something and don’t treat them like a fart blown away by the wind! You’ve already disgusted that good girl Wen enough. And let me tell you, I’m a lot harsher than Educated Youth Wen!”
After giving Wang Dafen a scathing lecture, Liu Cuihua took her grandson and left.
Wang Dafen slowly struggled to her feet, clutching her dizzy head.
Her forehead, already covered in bruises, was now smeared with blood.
She had originally planned to storm over to the brigade leader’s house and make a scene. After this beating, however, she had been thoroughly cowed.
Furious and humiliated, she paced in circles for a while before kicking pebbles all the way home.
But the delay had cost her precious time.
Just as she reached her courtyard, the work bell rang.
Hungry, angry, and miserable, Wang Dafen dropped onto the ground and wailed while kicking and flailing her limbs.
“Oh, heavens above! Why is my life so bitter?!”
Unfortunately, one of her kicks landed squarely against the water vat.
With a loud crash, the vat shattered.
The muddy water inside splashed all over her from head to toe.
The work bell had already called everyone back to the fields.
As people passed Wang Dafen’s courtyard and saw her miserable state, not a single person offered comfort.
Instead, they burst into laughter.
“Well now, Wang Dafen, what special occasion is it today? Taking a bath outdoors in broad daylight?”
After teasing her, the group ignored the murderous expression on her face and cheerfully continued toward the fields.
People had little sympathy for the unpleasant Wang Dafen.
But when they saw Wen Ranran bringing water to Lu Shi’an in the fields, everyone immediately started teasing her in a much friendlier manner.
They joked that Educated Youth Wen really doted on her boyfriend.
Not only had she cooked something delicious for lunch, she had even come all the way to the fields to bring him refreshments.
Wen Ranran wasn’t embarrassed by the teasing.
No one meant any harm.
Although she and Lu Shi’an ate together, they always kept the door open. Everything between them was aboveboard, leaving little room for gossip.
When Lu Shi’an saw Wen Ranran making her way across the uneven ground toward him, he immediately spread a piece of clothing on the ground to create a clean place for her to sit.
“Ranran, sit here.”
Already accustomed to his thoughtfulness, Wen Ranran obediently sat down.
She handed him one of the cups she was carrying.
“Why are you standing so far away? This one’s for you. Hurry up and drink.”
Lu Shi’an was standing nearly a meter away.
“I’ve been working and sweating. I don’t smell very good.”
After saying that, he quickly took the cup and retreated again before tilting his head back and taking a large gulp.
The moment the water entered his mouth, he noticed something unusual.
For some reason, the water Wen Ranran brought tasted different from ordinary water.
There was the faintest trace of sweetness.
The cool liquid spread through his body, instantly making him feel refreshed.
He looked at Wen Ranran with surprise and gratitude.
“Ranran, did you put sugar in the water? I don’t really like sweets. You should save the sugar and make sweet water for yourself.”
As a soldier, he’d drunk muddy water during field exercises before.
He wasn’t picky about such things.
Only because Ranran cared about him would she go to the trouble of making sweetened water.
In reality, Wen Ranran had secretly added two drops of spirit spring water.
His observation startled her.
She hadn’t expected him to be so perceptive.
Fortunately, Lu Shi’an had already provided an explanation himself.
Keeping a calm expression, she said,
“I only added a tiny bit. If you don’t like it, I won’t do it again.”
Afraid he might ask more questions, she immediately changed the subject.
“Oh, right. I’m thinking about drying some of the beef into jerky and having you take it to Xiao Yanming’s family. What do you think?”
Wen Ranran hadn’t suffered many hardships in life, but she wasn’t completely ignorant of how relationships worked.
Xiao Yanming’s family had treated Lu Shi’an well, and she didn’t mind returning the favor.
The weather was hot, and ten jin of beef wouldn’t keep for long.
It might as well be used to strengthen relationships.
When Lu Shi’an heard how thoughtfully she was considering things on his behalf, a smile immediately appeared on his face.
Xiao Yanming and his parents truly had been very good to him.
Not only had they lent him their bicycle, but they had even wanted to pack meals for him every day.
Still, he didn’t think this was a debt Wen Ranran should repay for him.
“You don’t need to do that,” he said.
“Xiao Yanming and I are brothers who’ve been through life-and-death situations together. We don’t bother with formalities like this. Even if someone needs to repay a favor, it should be me. How can I let you work so hard?”
Wen Ranran smiled.
“It’s not just for your sake. I’m doing it for myself too.”
“You know I don’t really know how to handle farm work. I want to do someone a favor now so that after you return to the army, I might be able to get myself an easier job.”
The idea had only occurred to her again today when she heard Jiang Yue would be returning.
The novel had mentioned that more than two months passed between Jiang Yue’s affair with Zhou Musheng after the social gathering and the day they officially registered their marriage.
Yet during those two months, Jiang Yue hadn’t suffered much from farm labor.
Shortly after returning from the county, she had temporarily filled in for Chen Yinghua, the brigade’s scorekeeper.
Because scorekeeping was much easier work, Jiang Yue had even been able to meet Zhou Musheng from time to time.
By the time they got married, she was already pregnant.
Wen Ranran didn’t care what happened to Jiang Yue.
But the scorekeeper position was incredibly attractive to her.
Looking at Lu Shi’an, she said,
“But I’ll need your help too. When you come from the county tomorrow, can you see if you can get some cooking oil?”
Making beef jerky required a lot of oil.
But oil required both money and ration coupons, so she could only turn to Lu Shi’an for help.
The dependence shining clearly in her eyes made Lu Shi’an feel immensely satisfied.
“Mission accepted.”
Then he added,
“I’ve never made beef jerky before, but I can learn. Tomorrow I’ll ask the brigade leader for some leave. You can supervise from the side, and I’ll do the actual work.”
Lu Shi’an worked quickly.
He could finish in half a day what took most people an entire day in the fields.
As long as he earned full work points, the brigade leader probably wouldn’t object.
Seeing him agree so readily, Wen Ranran suddenly felt like teasing him.
With amusement dancing in her eyes, she asked,
“Don’t you only have ten yuan left? How exactly are you planning to get cooking oil?”
Knowing Lu Shi’an’s personality, she was certain he wouldn’t ask her for money.
The fact that he had agreed immediately without asking any questions meant he must already have a solution.
Surely he wasn’t planning to use the money he’d set aside for transportation tickets?
Lu Shi’an coughed lightly and avoided her gaze.
When she continued staring at him and gave him no chance to escape, he finally squeezed his eyes shut and confessed.
“I may not have money… but there’s still Xiao Yanming.”
He paused.
“I’ll borrow it from him first!”
His tone somehow managed to sound both embarrassed and perfectly justified at the same time.
Wen Ranran couldn’t help laughing.