The moment Shen Yu stepped out of the house, he became the center of attention in the entire village.
“Oh my, isn’t that the Shen family’s pampered little wife? Has the sun risen in the west today?”
Everyone in the Red Star Production Brigade knew that Cheng An’an was a delicate young lady who couldn’t carry anything heavy or even lift a finger for manual labor. In the month since she had married into the Shen family, aside from eating and sleeping, no one had seen her leave the house.
So what was going on today?
Several sharp-tongued women who had gathered at the village entrance to head out for work exchanged disdainful looks when they realized it was Cheng An’an.
“Look at how soft and delicate she is. A gust of wind could knock her over, and she thinks she can work?”
“I bet she’s just putting on an act. She was probably scared into behaving after Sister-in-law Xiulan beat her yesterday.”
A woman named Liu Guifen was notorious in the village for having a big mouth.
She planted her hands on her hips, deliberately raised her voice, and called out sarcastically, “An’an, you’d better hold that sickle tightly. Don’t cut your own hand. Your husband is bedridden, you know. There’s no one to pay your medical bills if you get hurt!”
The surrounding villagers immediately burst into laughter.
Shen Yu’s face was as cold as water. He ignored the gossiping women and followed Wang Xiulan toward the wheat fields.
Wang Xiulan listened to the snide remarks, her face burning with embarrassment and worry.
She glanced back at her “daughter-in-law” and said quietly, “An’an, if you’re not feeling well, you can go home. I’ll tell the team leader.”
She was genuinely afraid that once this daughter-in-law got to the fields, she would start throwing a tantrum and making a scene, which would only make things even more embarrassing.
“No need.”
Shen Yu’s face remained cold as he walked straight toward the big locust tree where everyone was gathering.
To Liu Guifen and the others, his silence meant he was feeling guilty.
“Hey, everyone, look! She’s actually going to get a work assignment.”
“She’s putting on quite an act.”
When they reached the wheat fields, Production Brigade Captain Zhao Weiguo was assigning everyone’s tasks for the day.
It was harvest season, so everyone had to race to bring in the crops, and the work-point rewards were higher as well.
Cutting wheat was physically demanding. A strong laborer could earn a full ten work points in a day, while women and older children were lucky to earn five or six.
When Zhao Weiguo saw “Cheng An’an” approaching, he looked just as surprised.
“An’an, you…are you feeling better?”
In Zhao Weiguo’s impression, this Shen family daughter-in-law was always either suffering from a headache or complaining about stomach pain. In any given month, she took days off for nearly twenty days.
“I’m fine.”
Shen Yu squeezed the word out through clenched teeth.
“Then…all right.”
Zhao Weiguo was still half doubtful, but he assigned her a row of wheat.
“Over there. Just take care of yourself and don’t push too hard.”
Shen Yu accepted the straw hat Zhao Weiguo handed him and walked silently toward the wheat field assigned to him.
Behind him, Liu Guifen’s mocking laughter grew even louder.
“Hahahaha! Look at her! She’s swaying just from walking, and she thinks she can cut wheat?”
“I bet she won’t even earn one work point today!”
Another woman chimed in, “One work point? You’re giving her too much credit. I bet she’ll be crying and running home within half an hour.”
Liu Guifen let out a disdainful snort and loudly announced to everyone around her, “I’ll put it right here. If Cheng An’an manages to earn two work points today, I’ll eat that pile of cow dung over there!”
Shen Yu couldn’t be bothered to respond.
He gripped the sickle and walked over to the patch of wheat assigned to him.
As an elite scout, what kind of work hadn’t he done during wilderness survival training?
Cutting wheat?
Piece of cake.
The moment he bent down, however, he stumbled and nearly fell straight into the wheat field.
This woman’s body was even weaker than he had imagined!
“Hahahahaha!”
Liu Guifen burst out laughing.
“See? I told you she couldn’t do it! She hasn’t even started, and she’s already tripping over herself.”
The villagers laughed along with her.
Shen Yu’s face turned completely black.
He steadied himself, and his eyes suddenly changed.
He grabbed a handful of wheat stalks.
Swish!
The sickle flashed, and an entire patch of wheat fell neatly to the ground.
Then—
“Swish! Swish! Swish!”
“Swish! Swish! Swish!”
Everyone watched in stunned silence as the sickle flew through “Cheng An’an’s” hands at incredible speed.
He moved forward at an astonishing pace, leaving behind rows upon rows of neatly cut wheat stubble, as though a machine had passed through the field.
The villagers who had been laughing moments ago were now completely dumbfounded.
Was this really Cheng An’an?
The pampered young lady who thought even walking was too tiring?
At this speed, with this kind of momentum, she was even faster than the strongest men in the village by a good margin!
It had to be an illusion.
It definitely had to be an illusion!
Even Production Brigade Captain Zhao Weiguo was so shocked that the tobacco pipe fell from his hand.
He rubbed his eyes and stared again.
There was no mistake.
It really was the Shen family’s daughter-in-law, Cheng An’an.
But how was this possible?!
“My goodness,” one of the men muttered. “Did she take some kind of strength pill?”
Wang Xiulan was stunned as well.
She stared at her “daughter-in-law” massacring the wheat field and felt as though she were dreaming.
Was this really the same Cheng An’an whom she had chased around with a broom yesterday, screaming and crying for her parents?
Under the blazing sun, “Cheng An’an’s” slender figure swung the sickle tirelessly. Sweat soaked through her clothes, clinging to her body and outlining her graceful curves.
But no one thought she looked weak anymore.
At this moment, “Cheng An’an” radiated an intimidating, ferocious aura that made everyone uneasy.
By the end of the morning, when everyone else had only finished cutting a small portion of their assigned fields, Shen Yu had already cleared his entire patch of wheat, leaving behind nothing but a neat expanse of short stubble.
He straightened his back, wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand, and expressionlessly looked toward the completely stunned brigade captain.
“Captain, I’m finished.”
Zhao Weiguo opened and closed his mouth several times before finally finding his voice.
“Good, good, good! Comrade An’an, you…you’ve really made everyone look at you in a whole new light.”
He hurried over to the edge of the field and crouched down to inspect the harvested wheat.
Good heavens.
Not only was she incredibly fast, the quality of her work was astonishing as well. The wheat stubble had been cut extremely low, with not the slightest bit of crop wasted.
“Beautiful! You did an incredible job!” Zhao Weiguo said excitedly. “Based on the amount you’ve done, I’ll give you five work points for the morning.”
Five work points!
She had earned in one morning what most people would need more than half a day to earn!
A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
“Guifen, what are you waiting for?”
A woman who usually didn’t get along with Liu Guifen shouted.
“That pile of cow dung is still sitting in the furrow. If you don’t hurry over, it’ll dry up!”
“Hahahahaha!”
The crowd erupted in laughter.
The corners of Liu Guifen’s mouth twitched as she desperately wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but not a single word came out.
Eat cow dung?
Just imagining it made her stomach churn violently.
“I…I was just joking. Everyone, don’t take it seriously. I was only joking.”
She forced out a smile that looked worse than crying and waved her hands repeatedly.
“Joking?”
The woman who had just stirred up the crowd wasn’t having it.
She planted her hands on her hips and strode forward.
“Liu Guifen, why do you talk like you’re farting? Everyone in the entire brigade heard you! You said it yourself. You can’t just spit out your words and then expect to lick them back up, can you?”