Luo Xi thought for a moment before saying, “The minimum is ten yuan.”
Song Xingui shouted furiously, “Are you robbing me?!”
Luo Xi glanced at her. “Look at you. You clearly have no intention of admitting your mistake!”
“If we don’t punish you severely enough, you won’t realize what you did wrong. You might even do it again in the future. I’m only doing this for your own good.”
Everyone looked at Song Xingui’s twisted expression and actually felt that Luo Xi’s words made a lot of sense.
Guo Jiandang nodded. “Then we’ll do as Comrade Luo suggested. Ten yuan in compensation.”
“Comrade Song ambushed her fellow comrade for personal reasons. Although she failed, the nature of the incident is extremely serious and has caused a major negative impact.”
“You are to write a 3,000-word self-criticism, read it aloud in front of everyone, reflect on your actions publicly, and apologize to Comrade Luo.”
Song Xingui opened her mouth. “I refuse to accept this! You’re all taking her side! Sob… You’re all bullying me…”
Guo Jiandang remained expressionless. “If you’re dissatisfied with this decision, then report it to the police. Once the police handle it, it will no longer be up to us to decide. Think carefully.”
“I’ll report you, then! All of you—” Song Xingui screamed hoarsely.
Yuan Jiansi couldn’t help but scold her, “Enough! If you really report this to the police, there’s physical evidence and witnesses. Do you think you’ll get away with it?”
Guo Jiandang was right about one thing. Once the matter reached the police station, it would no longer be up to them.
Song Xingui’s deliberate attempt to harm someone could very well result in a criminal sentence. That would be a stain on her record for the rest of her life.
Song Xingui stared at him in shock, her lips trembling as she suddenly didn’t know what to say.
She was so aggrieved she could have vomited blood.
If she had actually done it, she might have felt better. The problem was, she hadn’t done anything!
Looking at the scratches on her palm, she knew that even if she didn’t end up dead, she was still screwed. No one was going to believe her!
Though unwilling and unconvinced, she had no choice but to accept the situation.
In the end, Song Xingui’s medical expenses came to one yuan and twenty cents, while Luo Xi’s were fifty cents.
Luo Xi had actually made a profit of nine yuan and thirty cents.
The matter was resolved perfectly.
Of course, as far as Luo Xi was concerned, it was perfect.
Back in the shabby room, Shi Yanlan’s heart was still pounding.
“I never would’ve thought Comrade Song could be so vicious. We’d better stay away from her from now on.”
“I never thought she’d try to attack me either. She scared me to death.” Luo Xi said she had been scared to death, but in her heart, she was thinking that something like this could happen a few more times.
She had worked so hard, secretly drawing five little adult booklets just to make ten yuan.
And now, she had casually gotten into a fight and made nine yuan and thirty cents.
No matter how she looked at it, fighting was a much faster way to make money.
Unfortunately, things like this couldn’t be forced. Opportunities like this depended on luck.
Shi Yanlan was still a little shaken. “Where were you going so late at night? Next time you go out at night, bring me with you. If people see the two of us together, they won’t dare make a move.”
Luo Xi smiled. “I made more than a hundred yuan today, so I was thinking of building a new house and moving out.”
Shi Yanlan was startled. “You’re building a house and moving out?”
Luo Xi nodded.
Shi Yanlan was extremely reluctant.
They had only just arrived in this new environment, and after finally becoming familiar with Luo Xi, Luo Xi was already planning to move away.
Luo Xi looked around the room. “Quite a few of the roof tiles have fallen off, and the wooden frame around the window is gone too. Forget about the leaking rain—this place isn’t even safe. You really need to think of something.”
Shi Yanlan’s expression fell. “When I have time, I’ll go up the mountain and get some wood to nail over the window. But there’s nothing I can do about the roof tiles.”
Luo Xi suggested, “Why don’t you ask the brigade leader?”
“Would he even bother with us?” The timid Shi Yanlan sounded uncertain.
Luo Xi thought about it. “He should. We educated youths assigned to this brigade are his responsibility. Let’s ask him tomorrow.”
The next day, it was Luo Xi and Shi Yanlan’s turn to cook.
To be honest, Luo Xi had never cooked before.
Neither had the original owner.
But for someone with a photographic memory, it wasn’t much of a problem.
When Shi Yanlan came into the kitchen carrying a bundle of firewood, she saw Luo Xi dumping all the vegetables and rice into the pot.
“What are you doing?”
Luo Xi turned to look at her. “Aren’t we making vegetable porridge today?”
Shi Yanlan blinked twice. “You’ve never cooked before?”
Luo Xi frowned in confusion. “Is there a problem? Rice plus vegetables, and then it becomes vegetable porridge.”
Shi Yanlan: “…That makes sense. But that’s not how it works.”
Luo Xi: “…”
At breakfast, the educated youths looked at Luo Xi a little differently, especially the female educated youths.
Xu Qian sneaked over to her and asked in a lowered voice, “Comrade Luo, have you trained before?”
Luo Xi blinked twice before understanding what she meant. She couldn’t help laughing.
“No. It was just an instinctive reaction because I was nervous. I was scared to death at the time.”
“Oh.” Xu Qian looked disappointed. She had thought there was a “master” hiding among them.
Although they were speaking quietly, the room was extremely quiet, so everyone heard their conversation.
The female educated youths were all somewhat disappointed, while most of the male educated youths secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Come to think of it, the way she had fought clearly looked like she had just been swinging wildly. Not a single blow had landed anywhere vital.
Chu Yan was eating his breakfast very seriously, as though he were savoring some exquisite delicacy. He didn’t even raise his head.
Yuan Jiansi, however, secretly glanced at Luo Xi several times.
He was unwilling to give up on Luo Xi just like that. He still had to think of a way.
The task Luo Xi received that day was weeding.
As she lined up to collect a hoe, she heard the village women and young girls discussing what had happened the previous night.
“Comrade Song looks so delicate and gentle. Who would’ve thought she could be so vicious?”
“Exactly. I heard she was holding a stone as big as a human head and was planning to smash Comrade Luo to death. What kind of grudge could they possibly have?”
“Hey, you don’t know? Apparently it was because of Comrade Yuan.”
“Seriously? For a man, she actually tried to hurt her own comrade?”
“Wait, that doesn’t make sense. What does Comrade Luo have to do with it?”
“I heard Comrade Yuan is interested in Comrade Luo, and Comrade Song couldn’t stand it. That’s why…”
“No way. We’ve never even seen Comrade Luo pay any attention to Comrade Yuan. How can she blame her for that?”
“Who knows?”
“Serves her right for getting beaten up. I heard Comrade Song even has to write a self-criticism and reflect on her actions. Hey, where is she today?”
“I heard her face is so swollen you could probably cut off two jin of pig’s head meat from it. How could she possibly show her face? She’ll probably need a few days to recover.”
Listening to the rumors getting more and more outrageous, Luo Xi didn’t even know what to say.
Shi Yanlan nudged her. “I heard Comrade Song cried all night.”
Luo Xi gave a soft “Mm.” “Maybe she was worried she wouldn’t be able to write her self-criticism.”
Shi Yanlan burst out laughing. “Makes sense.”
It wasn’t the busy farming season yet, so the educated youths generally did things like weeding, clearing wasteland, cleaning irrigation ditches, and fertilizing fields.
The work wasn’t particularly exhausting, and they usually finished fairly early.
During the lunch break, Guo Jiandang brought several villagers who knew how to build houses over to discuss the location with Luo Xi.
Luo Xi asked somewhat sheepishly, “Can you make the plot a little wider? I want to grow some vegetables.”
Guo Jiandang pointed toward a certain direction and smiled. “If you want a larger plot, then build over there. It’s all wasteland.”
“However, it’s a little farther from the educated youth compound, and it’s close to the foot of the mountain, so there are more mosquitoes and insects.”
Luo Xi looked over.
It was about a hundred meters from the educated youth compound and around seventy or eighty meters from Qi Le’s house, which was also being built behind the educated youth compound.
“I think it’s fine. Let’s do as the brigade leader suggested.”
She actually thought the location was quite good.
It was quiet.
As the two were talking, a figure sneakily approached.