From a distance, Li Jing called out to them to start working in the fields.
After all, they were a bunch of pampered city people. Once they arrived at the Educated Youth Station, they had all sorts of trouble adjusting. They had all kinds of complaints when it came to working, and taking leave every few days was a common occurrence. But gradually, they discovered that taking leave was useless, because there was always more work to do in the fields. Even if they took the day off, they would still have to continue working the next day.
The endless fields stretched as far as the eye could see, just like their lives. From a distance, there seemed to be no end.
“Come on, I’ll assign you your work. Three people to a group. You go over there. Yuan Jinfeng, you and Liu Li go over there. Everyone, make sure you know which section is yours. I’ll be recording your work points later.”
The educated youths reluctantly divided up the work and began working.
“All right, all right, hurry up and get to work. If you’re late, they’ll deduct your work points again.”
Li Jing came over and handed the task over to Liu Dalong. Everything soon returned to normal.
But the women in the village were not about to stop talking.
Sun Qiaozui laughed with the people beside her. “These educated youths really are city people. Their skin is so fair and delicate. They don’t look like they can do any work at all. Just look at the way they’re working. No matter how you look at it, they don’t seem cut out for it.”
Someone beside her said, “They’re educated youths, after all. It’s normal that they don’t know how to work. How could they be like us? We were born to work.”
Sun Qiaozui was displeased. “So what if they’re educated youths? Isn’t Lin Yi, the second daughter-in-law of the Zhou family in our village, also someone who doesn’t know how to work in the fields? Her skin is even more delicate than theirs! I really don’t know what the Zhou family is thinking. They won’t even let someone like her remarry. Are they planning to keep her around until the New Year?”
Her words were so sour they made people’s teeth ache.
Most of the villagers thought the same way. No matter what, if a daughter-in-law married into the family and didn’t work in the fields, people would gossip about her. Even if no one said anything, after a while, the women themselves would sense everyone’s hostility toward them, and they would gradually start working in the fields.
That was how the women here usually were. At first, they didn’t want to work, but eventually, they slowly integrated into the collective. If they didn’t work, they wouldn’t have food to eat. But Lin Yi had no such awareness. So much time had passed, yet she still hadn’t gone down to the fields.
Which woman in the village didn’t talk about how lazy Lin Yi was behind her back?
Liu Huilan overheard them from a short distance away. She was just about to curse them out when she happened to see Lin Yi and Yingzi approaching with water jugs.
“Lin Yi, what are you doing here in the fields?”
Liu Huilan was so happy that she could hardly stop smiling. Ever since her son had died, Lin Yi had never once taken care of anything concerning their family. They would never even have dared imagine her bringing them water like this today.
“The sun is strong in the fields. Hurry back once you’re done.”
Zhou Xiangdong said this in what seemed like a stern tone.
But who couldn’t tell that he was taking his daughter-in-law’s side?
Sun Qiaozui was so angry that the corners of her mouth nearly twisted. Wasn’t she just bringing them some water? Did the Zhou family really have to get so excited? This was just too—
Lin Yi had spotted the black words above Sun Qiaozui’s head jumping around excitedly from far away, but she pretended not to see them.
She wasn’t going to care about other people’s opinions.
“Dad, Mom, I just boiled this water. You must be thirsty, right?”
“We are. I wanted some water earlier. The food was a little salty today.”
Liu Huilan hurriedly took the water, handed it to Zhou Xiangdong, and spoke to Lin Yi with a beaming smile.
She was grinning so widely that there wasn’t a trace of hypocrisy on her face. Even the panel above her head was filled with words like: My daughter-in-law is so wonderful, so beautiful! Come and look, everyone! This is my daughter-in-law!
Lin Yi: “……”
She hadn’t expected that simply bringing them some water would make Liu Huilan this happy. Then how had the original owner managed to make things so strained with the Zhou family in the past, to the point of even trying to smash her head against a wall?
Lin Yi no longer believed any of the memories the original owner had left behind.
In the original owner’s memories, her mother-in-law and father-in-law were terrible. They controlled her, refused to give her money, and wouldn’t let her pursue her own happiness. In her memories, the Zhou family was a huge prison. They wouldn’t let her work in the fields because they wanted to keep her confined, and they even had her sister-in-law, Yingzi, watch her in case she ran away.
But now, looking at things, her mother-in-law and father-in-law really didn’t want her to work!
Lin Yi saw that her father-in-law, Zhou Xiangdong, had cheeks and a neck that were red from the sun, and his back was soaked with sweat. She couldn’t help feeling a little sorry for him.
“Dad, how much work do we still have at home? Yingzi and I can help you with it too.”
She simply didn’t know how to work. It wasn’t as though her hands and feet were disabled.
Her words startled everyone in the entire Third Production Team.
They had never seen Lin Yi work before. Who knew how many people had been green with envy over this? The women in the village had certainly talked about it plenty, saying all sorts of things. Of course, they would never admit that they were jealous.
“What’s going on? Did the sun rise in the west today?”
Sun Qiaozui deliberately raised a hand above her eyes to shade them as she looked at the sun.
The people around her burst into laughter.
“Lin Yi, do you know how to work? If you don’t, I can teach you!” Sun Qiaozui called out smugly.
The implication was clear: Let’s see if you’re willing to learn.
The commotion on their side also attracted the attention of the educated youths working not far away.
The educated youths working in the fields were already enough to attract attention. They hadn’t expected there to be someone even more unusual than them.
Yuan Jinfeng also stood up and looked in Lin Yi’s direction.
Ever since they had parted that day, he had been holding himself back from going to see her. He wanted to give her some time to think things over and reflect on herself. He hadn’t expected Lin Yi to actually come to the fields today. Could it be that she had finally come to her senses?
That was possible! There was no way Lin Yi didn’t like him.
A glimmer of hope rose in Yuan Jinfeng’s heart.
Lin Yi said, “Sure. Then teach me.”
She even took out her clothes and put on an earnest, eager-to-learn expression.
Sun Qiaozui: “……”
She had only been running her mouth, intending to make Lin Yi embarrass herself. She hadn’t expected Lin Yi to agree so readily.
There was nothing she could do. Sun Qiaozui could only step forward and demonstrate for Lin Yi.
She picked up a hoe and began chopping at the weeds.
“Look, it’s like this… Hold the hoe like this…”
Sun Qiaozui demonstrated several times, while Lin Yi watched carefully beside her. Sun Qiaozui worked for more than twenty minutes, until sweat appeared on her forehead from exhaustion, before Lin Yi finally learned.
“Auntie, I’ll take over now. You should get some rest.”
Lin Yi spoke so politely that Sun Qiaozui felt awkward saying anything nasty.
“All right. Just do it the way I taught you.”
Sun Qiaozui felt that she had finally won an argument for once. She had taught Lin Yi how to work, and from now on, Lin Yi would be able to get up early and work late in the fields just like the rest of them. Wouldn’t that be great?
Why should everyone else have to work while Lin Yi didn’t?
Lin Yi walked over to Liu Huilan with the hoe. “Dad, Mom, you rest for a bit. I’ll work for a while.”
As she spoke, she bent down and imitated Sun Qiaozui, using the hoe to clear the weeds around the corn seedlings.
To be fair, Lin Yi had a slender, well-proportioned figure, and even the way she cleared weeds looked rather graceful. But she had only removed a few weeds when Liu Huilan couldn’t bear to let her continue.
“Lin Yi, I just remembered something. We haven’t fed the chickens in the backyard yet. You and Yingzi go pick some vegetables and feed them. Otherwise, we won’t have any eggs tomorrow.”
Just like that, she stopped her from working and sent her home to feed the chickens.
Lin Yi froze for a moment and looked up at Liu Huilan.
The black words above Liu Huilan’s head began bouncing around.
【It’s so hot today. How exhausting is this work? It’s better to let Lin Yi go home and feed the chickens. It’s all Sun Qiaozui’s fault, stuffing herself until she had nothing better to do than teach our Lin Yi how to work.】
Zhou Xiangdong looked at Sun Qiaozui, his gaze clearly unfriendly.
Sun Qiaozui: “……”
What was this supposed to mean? She had spent so long teaching Lin Yi how to clear weeds, and Lin Yi had only worked for a few minutes before stopping?
“Liu Huilan, aren’t you spoiling Lin Yi a little too much? She’s only cleared a few weeds! I just spent half the day teaching her, and now you’re letting her stop after barely doing anything?”
Liu Huilan’s expression turned cold. “She’s my daughter-in-law. Do you think I don’t know how to teach her myself? Do I need you? Look at you, acting so capable. No one’s feeding our chickens, so why don’t you go feed them for us?”
Sun Qiaozui: “……”
Oh, was she ever angry!
The people around them joined in the commotion, making Sun Qiaozui’s cheeks turn bright red.
“You just keep spoiling her! Look at everyone else’s daughters-in-law. Who else has it like yours?”
“What my daughter-in-law is like is none of your business.”
Sun Qiaozui said one thing, and Liu Huilan shot back another, like a mother hen fiercely protecting her chicks.
“You…”
Sun Qiaozui had truly never expected Liu Huilan, who looked so honest and easygoing, to be even more sharp-tongued than she was.
“My daughter-in-law is my business. Lin Yi, you and Yingzi go home.”
Lin Yi: “……”
She really was desperate to protect her chick, wasn’t she? And this was the same mother-in-law who, according to the original owner’s memories, had treated her so harshly?
The educated youths watching from the side were completely dumbfounded.
They didn’t want to work, but they had no choice and had come here to take part in the labor. Now look at Lin Yi! If she didn’t want to work, she didn’t have to. Her mother-in-law was even urging her to go home. Tell me, where was the justice in that?
Yuan Jinfeng, watching from the side, nearly popped his eyes out. He could see it now. Lin Yi had fallen out of love with him! Was she greedy for the Zhou family’s comfortable life and unwilling to suffer with him? Or had she taken a fancy to another man outside?
Wait. Although the Zhou family’s second son was gone, they still had a third son. He was seventeen or eighteen this year and seemed to still be in school. Could it be… Could Lin Yi have taken a fancy to the third son?
“Second Sister-in-law, let’s go, shall we?”
Yingzi took Lin Yi’s hand and led her away.
Lin Yi deliberately glanced toward the educated youths and immediately spotted Yuan Jinfeng.
Yuan Jinfeng was tall, but at that moment he was bent over like a giant shrimp, sweat streaming down his cheeks. His hair, which he had carefully combed until it gleamed, was now a complete mess. He looked absolutely miserable.
Their eyes met, and Lin Yi immediately looked away.
She had no reason to sacrifice herself just to help someone else avoid labor.
Yuan Jinfeng still wanted to call out to Lin Yi, but with so many people watching, he didn’t dare say anything. He could only watch helplessly as she walked away.
“What the hell? He doesn’t want to work, and he especially doesn’t want Lin Yi to see him looking this miserable.”
Just then, the educated youths beside him began whispering.
“That was Lin Yi, right? Her skin is so fair and delicate. She really doesn’t look like someone who works. Unlike us, who have endless work to do every day.”
“Isn’t that the truth? But let’s not think about it. Otherwise, we’ll get criticized again later.”
They had said the chickens hadn’t been fed, but what was so difficult about feeding chickens? After Yingzi got home, she found some wild vegetables, chopped them up, mixed them with a little cornmeal, and put the mixture in the chicken coop. That was all there was to it.
“Sister-in-law, are you hot? Let’s make some mung bean soup to drink.”
Yingzi quickly found the mung beans at home and boiled them in water.
“Mung bean water is really delicious. It also helps cool you down.”
Lin Yi watched Yingzi’s flushed little face from the side, her heart warming.
“All right. Then I’ll have a good taste.”
After the two of them finished making the mung bean water, they drank their fill. Lin Yi had to admit that it was really delicious—better than any milk tea she had ever had before.
That evening, after Zhou Xiangdong and Liu Huilan returned, they hurriedly ate a little and then said that the production team was holding a meeting and everyone had to attend.
Lin Yi and Yingzi followed them out to the meeting as well.
The meeting was held at the village elementary school.
The village elementary school had five rooms in total: three classrooms, where students from first through fifth grade attended classes, one office, and one teachers’ dormitory.
There were only three people at the school: one principal and two teachers, who covered all the classes from first through fifth grade.
Although the classrooms were a little cramped, the school was already the most spacious place in the village.
Whenever the village loudspeaker announced a meeting, the villagers knew it was time to gather.
Everyone returned from the fields, hurriedly ate a few bites of food, and came here to assemble.
“Why do you think we’re having a meeting?”
“Did the higher-ups announce some new policy?”
“Who knows? Auntie Wu, Auntie Bai, have you heard anything?”
The village’s information network consisted of those two women. There was practically nothing happening in the village that they didn’t know about.
“Don’t know!” Auntie Wu said coldly.
“Then you don’t know! Why are you acting like a dog? Are you going to bite someone?”
Auntie Bai quickly cut in. “We really don’t know! Who knows what’s going on? You girls, just leave her alone.”
The “her” she was referring to was Auntie Wu.
Auntie Wu had been worn out these past few days from fighting with the matchmaker, Auntie Liu.
Everyone had seen what she was like, so they gave her a wide berth whenever they saw her, afraid she might bite them a couple of times.
By the time Lin Yi and Yingzi arrived, quite a few people were already there. The two of them were young, and no one noticed them hiding in a corner.
After all, the meeting was an adult affair and had basically nothing to do with children like them. They were just there to join in the excitement.
Yingzi said, “Second Sister-in-law, you don’t need to take the meeting seriously. Let the captain say whatever he wants. We’ll do whatever we want. Just pretend you can’t hear him.”
Lin Yi: “……”
“How many people from the village have arrived?”
Liu Dalong cleared his throat and asked solemnly.
It was pitch-black in the courtyard, and no one knew how many people had actually come. Liu Dalong was just asking casually.
“All right, no need to wait. I’ll tell everyone something first. Our commune has recently launched a campaign to improve village conduct and appearance. As for our village, fighting, cursing, and hitting people will all be subject to serious criticism.”
“Our village is small, after all. The women of the village, you need to pay attention. From now on, you must learn to be civilized and polite, so that you can make a proper contribution to the country’s development in the future.”
Everything he said at first sounded quite reasonable, but by the end, hardly anyone was listening. Wasn’t he practically calling people out by name?
Would Auntie Wu agree to that? It was true that she had been cursing people these past few days, but the matchmaker, Auntie Liu, had started it by cheating her.
But the man standing on the platform was Liu Dalong, so Auntie Wu could only endure it again and again.
Liu Dalong continued, “The habit of cursing people in our village needs to change. Otherwise, in the future, our village girls won’t be able to get married, and all our young men will end up as bachelors.”