Hehua froze for a moment.
Niu Niu continued.
[Humans have a saying: It’s better to rely on yourself than on others. That’s exactly why the first step in my plan for you was to obtain the Strength Pill. Even if you’re not very clever, as long as you’re strong, you’ll have excellent means to protect yourself in a rural environment like this. Even if I run out of energy and fall into dormancy one day, I’ll feel much more at ease.]
It truly worried itself sick over this girl.
Hehua was touched.
[Thank you, Niu Niu.]
She stopped looking dejected, turned around, and looked up at her mother.
Seeing the teasing amusement in her mother’s eyes, without the slightest hint of anger, Hehua suddenly felt her nose sting.
That’s right.
The person standing in front of her was her mother.
Her mother, who loved her.
If she still needed Niu Niu’s help just to get along with her own mother, then she was truly hopeless.
Getting along with family…
Getting along with the people in the production brigade…
Every interaction required wisdom.
She had to learn.
If she couldn’t even handle her own family and fellow villagers, how could she go to the military, deal with the vicious supporting female character, and change her family’s tragic fate?
She couldn’t depend on Niu Niu for everything.
Taking a deep breath, she quickly thought about how to answer…
She didn’t know whether it was the Intelligence Awakening Pill taking effect, but an answer came to her very quickly.
Grinning mischievously at her mother, she smiled.
“Hehe… It hasn’t been that long. It’s just that the older I got, the stronger I became. It’s only reached this level recently. Back when we all lived together before the family split, I didn’t want to do extra work, so I never told anyone. But now that we’ve moved out…”
Meng Chunxing raised an eyebrow.
“So you’re not completely foolish after all. If your secret had gotten out back then, your eldest aunt would’ve forced you to earn a full day’s work points. Do you think you would’ve still been able to go to school?”
As she spoke, she headed toward the kitchen. Passing by Hehua, she lightly smacked her on the back.
“All right. Go fetch some water while I make dinner. If you don’t want to work in the fields, you’d better keep acting outside. You’ve already graduated from high school. There are always people in the village who can’t stand seeing others do well. If they find out you’re this strong but still aren’t working, they’ll start talking and pressure you into field work. Once those rumors spread, even the brigade leader would have to make you work to protect your reputation.”
Hehua hadn’t expected the problem to be solved so easily!
Her mother wasn’t angry.
She didn’t lose her temper.
She didn’t scold her.
She had even complimented her!
???
Completely unable to believe it, Hehua grabbed the bathtub and hurried after her.
“Mom, you’re really not angry? I’ve been hiding my strength all this time. I was so lazy that even if an oil bottle tipped over, I wouldn’t bother standing it back up.”
Meng Chunxing laughed.
“So you know you’re lazy?”
“I’m a little angry, of course.”
“But it’s not a big deal. Honestly, I never expected you to be hardworking in the first place. I’d rather you spend your whole life without having to work hard. I’d rather you simply enjoy life.”
“When I think about it, hiding your strength back then was actually a good thing. Besides, now that we’ve split from the main family, I caught you so easily only because you’ve relaxed. You don’t guard yourself anymore.”
“Back when we lived at the old house, I came home unexpectedly more than once. Didn’t you always manage to hide it perfectly?”
“In the end, it’s only because you’ve stopped being on guard around your own family.”
As she finished speaking, she looked at Hehua with eyes full of affection.
Hehua: “…”
Well…
Her mother had even completed the explanation for her.
Now it sounded like she had endured humiliation and hidden her abilities for years.
Lowering her head to avoid her mother’s gaze, she guiltily rubbed her nose.
When people felt guilty…
They often wanted to make up for it.
Looking up again, she spoke earnestly.
“Mom, from now on, if there’s any heavy work you can’t handle, just tell me. I’ll do it.”
She patted her chest confidently.
Warmth filled Meng Chunxing’s eyes, and her voice was full of satisfaction.
“Good. My Hehua has finally grown up. I didn’t spoil you for nothing.”
“I’ll remember what you said.”
Smiling broadly, she turned and walked into the kitchen.
Meng Chunxing was delighted.
Hehua instantly regretted it.
Because before entering the kitchen, her mother glanced back and gave her a mysterious half-smile.
Three seconds of silence…
Then Hehua finally understood.
She stomped her foot.
Then stomped it again.
“Oh no…”
“Oh no, no, no…”
“I fell for it!”
Experience really did come with age.
She had expected her mother to scream, scold her, complain, or even cry.
Instead…
Her mother had played the emotional card.
She had simply used a mother’s unconditional love.
And Hehua had walked straight into the trap herself.
Hehua shut down completely.
Inside the kitchen, Meng Chunxing stood with her hands on her hips, laughing silently.
The past was already the past.
What good would it do to scold or beat her daughter now?
Nothing could change what had already happened.
Besides, she truly believed it had been a good thing that her silly daughter had hidden her strength instead of letting the eldest branch of the family take advantage of it.
Most importantly…
She couldn’t catch her daughter.
She couldn’t outargue her daughter.
Even if she managed to catch her…
She couldn’t bear to hit her.
So why waste the effort?
She wasn’t interested in dwelling on Hehua’s past.
She cared about Hehua’s future.
Her daughter might be unruly…
But she had a soft heart and always kept her promises.
Now that she had made this promise today, no matter how lazy she became in the future, as long as Meng Chunxing reminded her of today’s conversation…
Hehua would do whatever work she was asked.
Hahaha…
Trying to outplay your mother?
You’re still too inexperienced.
Now you’ll see whether all these years of your mother’s life experience were for nothing.
In an excellent mood, Meng Chunxing began humming the same revolutionary song Hehua had been singing earlier.
“Fish cannot live without water…
Flowers cannot live without sunshine…”
Outside, Hehua sat beside the washbasin, rinsing her clothes.
Hehua: “…”
She pouted.
And now she’s singing!
Just sing, sing, sing!
She’s really pleased with herself!
With a dark expression, she aggressively scrubbed her clothes.
The fabric rubbed harshly against the washboard.
Scrub.
So what if she knows?
Scrub.
What can she do?
Scrub.
What’s there to be afraid of?
Scrub.
I’m an unruly troublemaker. What if I just refuse to do it?
Scrub, scrub, scrub!
Scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub, scrub!
I’m so annoyed…
Niu Niu snickered.
Very good.
She was finally showing signs of developing morally, intellectually, physically, aesthetically, and through labor.
Look how efficiently she was working now.
Hahaha…
Hehua twisted the clothes with all her strength, as though trying to wring them completely dry.
After hanging them up, she poured out the dirty wash water and started carrying fresh water.
While Hehua sulked through her chores…
Over at the educated youth station, Wu Laidi had completely come to hate Hehua because of what had happened the previous night.
Wu Laidi and Li Hao chatted idly about Hehua.
“I can’t swallow this humiliation.”
Wu Laidi’s face was as dark as thunder.
Li Hao lazily glanced up at the sun.
“Whether you can swallow it or not, you still have to. Don’t underestimate the people of Xiangyang Production Brigade. They may argue among themselves all the time, but if educated youths or outsiders from another brigade cause trouble, they’ll unite in an instant.”
“If you want to court disaster, don’t drag me into it.”
“I still need to stay here and find some village girl willing to support me.”
Wu Laidi looked at Li Hao with undisguised contempt.
She genuinely looked down on men like him.
He had no ability whatsoever.
All he wanted was to live off a woman.
If he didn’t happen to have a decent face, no woman would even spare him a glance.
Li Hao noticed the look on her face and immediately became displeased.
“What’s with that look?”
“Who are you glaring at?”
“What gives you the right to look down on me?”
“No matter how worthless I am, at least I only want to trick one village girl into supporting me.”
“Unlike you.”
“Not only are you shamelessly clinging to someone, you’re trying to make them support your entire family.”
“Hmph.”
Li Hao snorted coldly.
If Wu Laidi hadn’t promised to help him scheme against Zhao Xiaomei and given him food, he would’ve never gotten involved in this mess.
And now look what had happened.
He had been forced to publicly criticize himself in front of the entire brigade first thing in the morning.
He also had to apologize to Shen Jiandang and Zhao Xiaomei.
Now Zhao Xiaomei and Shen Jiandang were together.
He no longer had any chance with her.
On top of that, he had been assigned to clean pig pens and collect cow dung.
He had truly lost both the lady and the soldiers.
He could already imagine how miserable his life would be from now on.
Fortunately, he still had the food Wu Laidi had given him.
At least he hadn’t come away empty-handed.
Furious, Wu Laidi kicked at Li Hao.
Li Hao easily dodged the kick.
Knowing she couldn’t hit him, Wu Laidi stopped.
Besides…
She still needed him for what she planned next.
She couldn’t afford to completely offend him.
Her gaze slowly swept across Li Hao’s fair, handsome face.
A dark look flashed through her eyes.
Li Hao was fairly good-looking…
Pairing him with that little barrel-shaped Shen Hehua wouldn’t be a loss for her.
This time…
She planned to go much further.
She would make sure the two of them actually slept together.
Once the rice was cooked, the Shen family would have no choice but to swallow their anger.
The corners of Wu Laidi’s lips curled upward.
She was in an exceptionally good mood.