Zhao Tiezhu was stunned at first, then immediately overjoyed. “Good! That’s what you said. Everyone heard her. She, Cheng An’an, is going to challenge the three of us by herself.”
“We’ll testify!”
“This woman must be crazy!”
Brigade Captain Zhao Weiguo hurried over, hoping to smooth things over. “An’an, don’t be impulsive…”
“Captain.” Shen Yu cut him off. “Let’s begin.”
Zhao Weiguo looked into “Cheng An’an’s” calm yet determined eyes.
For some reason, he swallowed the words of persuasion that were on the tip of his tongue and nodded. “All right, then… Get ready—begin!”
The moment the command was given, Zhao Tiezhu and the other two men let out a roar and charged into the wheat field, sickles in hand.
They put every ounce of strength into their bodies, determined to teach this woman who clearly didn’t know her own limits a lesson.
However, after they bent their heads and charged forward for more than a dozen meters, they looked back mockingly—and the expressions on their faces instantly froze.
Behind them, that slender figure had not only failed to fall behind them, but was actually keeping pace at an unbelievable speed.
No.
She wasn’t keeping up.
She was overtaking them.
“Cheng An’an” gathered the wheat with her left hand while swinging the sickle with her right.
“Swish—”
A crisp, clean cutting sound rang out.
Then came another series of—
“Swish, swish, swish, swish—”
The wheat behind her collapsed in neat swaths.
“My goodness! She… she passed them!” one of the villagers shouted in disbelief.
Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Cheng An’an’s figure swiftly overtook the man bringing up the rear.
“Fuck!”
The man cursed, his face turning bright red as he pushed himself to his absolute limit and desperately chased after her.
But it was useless.
Within just a few breaths, “Cheng An’an” had overtaken the second man as well.
All he felt was a gust of wind beside him. When he looked again, all he could see was a figure disappearing farther and farther ahead.
Now, only the strongest of them, Zhao Tiezhu, remained in front.
But the distance between them was visibly shrinking at an astonishing rate.
Zhao Tiezhu could feel the pressure closing in behind him. He didn’t dare look back, clenching his teeth tightly.
Sweat blurred his eyes, stinging them painfully.
He, Zhao Tiezhu, was the number-one laborer of the Red Star Production Brigade. Never before had he been pushed to such a desperate point.
Yet those “swish, swish” sounds were getting closer and clearer.
Finally, a shadow swept past him on his right.
From the corner of his eye, Zhao Tiezhu caught only a glimpse of “Cheng An’an’s” expressionless profile, with barely a drop of sweat on her face.
She had overtaken him.
“AAAAAHHHHH!!!!”
Zhao Tiezhu let out an unwilling roar, increasing the frequency of his sickle swings.
He sped up.
But the figure ahead responded by moving even faster.
Under the stunned gaze of the entire village, “Cheng An’an” surged ahead, leaving the three strongest male laborers far behind.
By the time she finished cutting the last row of wheat, she straightened up and planted her sickle into the ground.
Zhao Tiezhu had only just reached two-thirds of the field.
The entire wheat field fell silent except for the wind and the sound of heavy breathing.
Shen Yu turned around and wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand.
Looking at the three men collapsed from exhaustion behind him and the stunned villagers surrounding them, he calmly announced:
“I won.”
Zhao Tiezhu supported himself with both hands on his knees, gasping heavily.
He stared fixedly at the slender figure not far away.
He had lost.
He, Zhao Tiezhu, the renowned powerhouse of the Red Star Production Brigade, had actually lost to a woman.
And it wasn’t even a close loss.
He hadn’t even managed to touch the back of her heel.
Someone in the crowd finally broke the silence.
“She… really won?”
Those words instantly ignited the entire crowd.
“She really beat three people by herself! Cheng An’an actually won. She left Zhao Tiezhu and the other two completely in the dust.”
“At that speed, even my father’s tractor couldn’t keep up with her.”
Only then did Brigade Captain Zhao Weiguo come back to his senses. He was so excited that the wrinkles on his face spread into a broad smile.
Although the village’s strongest laborers had lost, the work points were being recorded under the production brigade’s account. Who earned them didn’t matter.
More importantly, Cheng An’an’s dedication and ability brought honor to the entire production brigade.
Zhao Weiguo quickly walked to the center of the field, cleared his throat, and shouted, “Quiet! Everyone, quiet down.”
The crowd gradually fell silent, and more than a dozen pairs of eyes turned toward the people in the middle.
Shen Yu casually wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, his expression indifferent, as though he didn’t care in the slightest about his victory.
In the villagers’ eyes, this unruffled attitude toward victory and defeat was the demeanor of a true expert.
Zhao Weiguo loudly announced, “Everyone saw the competition just now.”
“Comrade Cheng An’an won the wheat-cutting competition by an overwhelming margin.”
“Good!”
Someone started applauding, and immediately afterward, thunderous applause erupted throughout the crowd.
Although Zhao Tiezhu was unwilling to accept the result, he had lost in front of the entire village. If he dared to go back on his word, he would never be able to hold his head up in the village again.
He gritted his teeth, straightened up, and said to Shen Yu, “Cheng An’an, I, Zhao Tiezhu, accept my loss. You get today’s work points.”
The other two men who had lost also hung their heads dejectedly and admitted defeat.
Zhao Weiguo turned to the work-point recorder. “Recorder, calculate the total.”
The abacus in the recorder’s hands clicked and clacked rapidly, but his hands were trembling.
“Captain, I… I’ve calculated it.”
“Read it out.”
The recorder swallowed nervously, his voice trembling. “Comrade Cheng An’an, the basic full-day work points are 10 points!”
“You exceeded today’s quota, so that’s another 2 bonus points.”
“You beat Zhao Tiezhu this afternoon, earning 10 points.”
“You beat Li Dazhuang, earning 9 points.”
“You beat Wang Ergou, earning another 9 points.”
“And add Widow Li’s six work points for the day.”
“Altogether…” The recorder took a deep breath. “Forty-six points.”
The moment that number was announced, the entire crowd erupted.
Forty-six points.
What did that even mean?
In this era, when even a strong male laborer could barely earn ten points in a day after exhausting himself, Cheng An’an had done the equivalent of four and a half days’ work in a single day.
Was she even human?
“My goodness, forty-six points! How much grain could that exchange for?”
“The Shen family is going to be rolling in it!”
Hearing the astonished voices around him, the corner of Shen Yu’s mouth twitched slightly.
Forty-six points.
The reputation belonged to Cheng An’an.
The work points belonged to Cheng An’an.
And Shen Yu was nothing more than an emotionless labor machine.
Just then, a figure suddenly rushed over.
“An’an! My dear daughter-in-law!”
Wang Xiulan charged over and threw her arms around Shen Yu, squeezing him so tightly that she nearly knocked the breath out of him.
“Mom…” Shen Yu called stiffly.
Wang Xiulan’s eyes were brimming with tears as she held Shen Yu’s face in both hands, looking him over again and again.
“You’ve made us so proud! You’re the greatest contributor to our Shen family!”
“Come on, let’s go home. Mom will make you something delicious. Today, no one is allowed to stop me from spoiling my daughter-in-law.”
Wang Xiulan held her head high as she grabbed Shen Yu’s hand and dragged him home.
Along the way, the villagers all stepped aside, their eyes filled with envy.
“Auntie Xiulan, you really struck gold with this daughter-in-law!”
“You’re going to enjoy the good life from now on!”
Wang Xiulan beamed from ear to ear. “Of course! Our An’an is the most sensible and filial girl there is.”
Shen Yu was dragged along by Wang Xiulan as he listened to everyone’s praise, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
Sensible?
Filial?
Cheng An’an was probably sleeping at home right now, drooling all over her pillow.
When they reached the front door of the house, Shen Yu’s legs suddenly went weak, and he nearly collapsed to his knees.