Their task was to weed the potato field. Due to a shortage of tools, not everyone had a hoe—some had sickles, and some had to pull weeds by hand. Those with hoes also had to mound extra soil around the potato seedlings so the potatoes wouldn’t poke out and turn green from the sun.
Lin Jinghong had been a city slicker in her previous life. When it came to farm work, she was nine-tenths clueless.
She scratched her head in frustration.
“Comrade Chunmei, let’s pair up.”
Zhao Chunmei shot her a sidelong glance. “What are you showing off for? Think you’re the only one with a sickle?”
The group of four had been given only one hoe and two sickles. Zhao Chunmei, due to her physical strength, had to work barehanded…
She said irritably, “Get lost.”
Lin Jinghong replied, “Why say that? Who’s showing off? What’s there to show off about?”
“I’m pairing with you to look after you. If you don’t appreciate it, fine. Idiot.”
Zhao Chunmei put her hands on her hips. “You’re the idiot!”
Du Mingkang’s eyes darted around. “Lin Jinghong, I’ll pair with you.”
“Get lost.” Lin Jinghong curled her lip.
What a joke.
“We’re pairing up.” She jerked her chin toward Wu Sankui.
Wu Sankui scratched his head with a simple, honest look. “Alright.”
Lin Jinghong didn’t know farm work, but she had the original body’s memories in her head, and she was a quick learner. She stumbled at first but soon got the hang of it.
Wu Sankui worked like a madman, swinging his hoe with fierce energy.
The two quickly left Du Mingkang and Zhao Chunmei in the dust.
Leaving the other two staring at each other in bewilderment.
But this farm work was truly exhausting. Farmers really had it tough.
Lin Jinghong straightened up, her back aching so badly it broke her heart.
But when she caught sight of that pleasing figure below, she felt… she wouldn’t mind a different kind of backache either.
Su Zhaoying keenly sensed the gaze landing on him.
He suddenly turned around and met a pair of bright eyes.
Lin Jinghong’s skin wasn’t fair—it was wheat-colored. Her figure was thin and slender, but she stood about 1.65 meters tall. Her face was actually a beautiful oval shape, and her nose and mouth were attractive too. It was just that her complexion was sallow, making her look malnourished, which naturally didn’t make her particularly eye-catching.
But at this moment, Su Zhaoying felt her eyes were especially distinctive.
Clear, bright, sparkling like stars—but when you looked closer, you felt like you were staring into an abyss at the bottom of them.
“Youth Su!” Lin Jinghong met his gaze without a hint of shyness, waving enthusiastically.
Su Zhaoying…
The others around them had varied expressions.
“Come find me when we take a break later.” Lin Jinghong said it casually.
Su Zhaoying didn’t respond, just looking somewhat at a loss for words.
The boundaries between men and women were strictly observed. In the countryside, if a man gave a woman an egg or helped her with work, everyone would assume they were dating.
And now this…
Bai Ruoxue had her face covered, but the eyes that were exposed were filled with jealousy and resentment.
Yet she didn’t even have the courage to meet Lin Jinghong’s gaze.
“Scorekeeper! They’re slacking off!” Lin Jinghong spotted the scorekeeper from afar and waved.
Zhao Yuanchao’s scalp instinctively tightened when he heard her voice.
“What nonsense are you talking?!” Zhao Chunmei said in disbelief.
“Brother, she—”
“If you weren’t slacking off, why are you so far behind us?” Lin Jinghong cut her off.
The scorekeeper was Zhao Chunmei’s cousin.
He looked carefully and indeed, Lin Jinghong and Wu Sankui had already reached the far end.
These two were still dawdling.
“You two haven’t weeded properly.” Zhao Yuanchao frowned. “Comrade Du, you’ve been here quite a while. How can you still be so careless with your work?”
Du Mingkang’s expression turned sour.
He looked back and said, unconvinced, “We don’t even have a hoe.”
Before Zhao Yuanchao could speak, Wu Sankui ran over and handed them his hoe.
“Your turn. We’re done mounding the soil.”
Du Mingkang glared at him. That wasn’t what he meant.
Lin Jinghong laughed out loud. Simple, honest people could be pretty amusing when they were being single-minded.
“Scorekeeper, if we finish early, can we rest?”
“Yes.” Zhao Yuanchao could see that the two of them had indeed done a perfect job.
“I’ll come check on you two later. If it’s still not up to standard, I’ll deduct your work points.” He said this to Zhao Chunmei and Du Mingkang.
The two of them…
Furious inside, they still had to keep slogging away.
A lump of anger stuck in their throats.
“Impressive.” Lin Jinghong gave Wu Sankui a thumbs up.
Wu Sankui just kept smiling without saying a word, bending down to pull weeds.
The morning passed quickly. Oh, her waist didn’t even feel like her own anymore.
Lin Jinghong dragged her exhausted body along, but the moment she saw Su Zhaoying, her fatigue vanished completely.
She scurried over. “Su Zhaoying.”
The girl’s voice was nothing special, yet it made Su Zhaoying’s ears tingle.
He was holding a sickle in his hand. When he saw Lin Jinghong running over, he instinctively turned the sharp blade away from her.
“I need to talk to you about something.” Lin Jinghong’s eyes sparkled.
Su Zhaoying wore a white undershirt inside, with a blue shirt over it, unbuttoned.
His work pants were rolled up at the cuffs, revealing a section of sturdy, well-built calf.
Lin Jinghong’s clothes were so patched up that their original color was barely visible, yet standing before Su Zhaoying, she showed not the slightest sign of unease or inferiority.
“What is it?” Su Zhaoying walked forward.
Lin Jinghong followed, leaning in slightly, lowering her voice, and tilting her head, “How do I get my hands on some money?”
“…What did you say?” Su Zhaoying halted.
Lin Jinghong gestured for him to step aside.
The two moved away from the others, leaving behind a crowd of curious gazes.
“What do you want to do?” Su Zhaoying scraped the mud off his shoe soles with his sickle, not even lifting his head.
“I want to marry you.”
His movements froze abruptly, the corner of his mouth twitching wildly as he looked up, “You…” Is there really something wrong with your head?
“Ah no, I mean, I’ll marry you, that works too.” Lin Jinghong even slurped back some drool.
As a seasoned pervert, she could barely hold herself together with such beauty right in front of her.
Su Zhaoying straightened up, not wanting to say another word, and turned to leave, as if he had made some kind of resolution.
“Wait, wait, wait.” Lin Jinghong quickly ran in front of him, “Look at you, I’m being honest and you act like this. We’re already betrothed, so stop being shy. Or do you feel wronged because it hasn’t been made official? Fine, in three days I’ll personally go to the educated youth point to propose properly.”
Su Zhaoying: I must really have something wrong with my brain for stopping to listen to you.
Lin Jinghong was about to drive a man as refined and noble as him to the brink of a breakdown.
Just before Su Zhaoying’s last shred of patience ran out, she knew when to quit.
“My home is bare as a beggar’s—that courtyard, that house, surviving the winter will be tough. I don’t really know much, so I wanted to ask you how I can make money the legitimate way.” Lin Jinghong blinked.
She’d been racking her brain until she nearly went bald.
In these times, doing business was considered profiteering, and the regulations were strict—she was afraid of crossing some red line.
If she relied on sheer strength to do farm work, when would she ever get a house?
Even feeding the family was a problem.
There was a pile of rice in the Spatial Dimension, but she couldn’t take it out—there was no legitimate way to explain it.