The people in the brigade had spoken up for Bai Su just yesterday, yet today they had turned against her, afraid of having anything to do with her. Bai Su immediately knew that Lu Chunya was behind it.
After all, Chunya and her father had spent quite some time whispering together behind closed doors yesterday.
That foolish and malicious girl had probably taken advantage of arriving early for work to spread the news that Bai Su had reported her family to the commune authorities, making everyone in the brigade think she was ruthless and not someone to be crossed.
In any case, everything Bai Su was doing was aimed at escaping that family of bloodsuckers. If Lu Chunya wanted to spread the word that she was not someone to be trifled with, that suited Bai Su perfectly.
Once she and her daughters separated from the Lu family and established their own household, everyone would know better than to provoke her.
After all, she was someone who would actually go to the commune authorities and file a complaint!
Bai Su didn’t care in the slightest that Lu Chunya was ruining her reputation. She cheerfully agreed, “Xiao He is a good lad. We’d be happy to work with him.”
He Yan’s face reddened slightly when Auntie Bai not only accepted him but even praised him.
When Lihua stole a glance at him, his face grew even hotter. He hurriedly coughed to cover his embarrassment. “Auntie, I’ll go bring over the rice seedlings.”
What Bai Su feared most was waiting for her.
Even while standing on the paddy ridge, she could clearly see soft, squirming leeches wriggling through the rice paddy, where the planting grids had already been marked out.
Leeches didn’t just attach themselves to people’s feet and suck their blood. They could also burrow into flesh and survive inside the human body. Bai Su believed these creatures reproduced at an alarming rate, couldn’t be killed by burning, and could even turn into several smaller leeches if torn apart.
Back when Bai Su practiced medicine, she had heard fellow doctors tell stories about patients suffering from headaches, only for surgeons to open their skulls and discover them full of leeches. There were also stories of people experiencing unbearable itching on their backs, and when their skin was cut open, masses of leeches were supposedly found feeding inside.
Ever since then, she had developed a deep psychological fear of the creatures.
The rice paddies of the 1970s had received little pesticide or chemical fertilizer, and leeches were especially abundant.
Bai Su rolled up her trouser legs and cautiously lowered one foot into the paddy. When she spotted a leech right where she was about to step, she nearly jumped straight back onto the bank.
But Lihua was watching from the side, and even timid little Hehua had already entered the field. Bai Su could only force herself to endure it, although the discomfort made goosebumps rise all over her body.
Finally unable to bear it any longer, she waited until Lihua and Hehua were distracted by their conversation, then picked up a piece of dry grass from the paddy ridge and hurriedly brushed the little creature away from her foot.
But as soon as she brushed one away, another appeared.
Was there no end to them?
When He Yan approached carrying a shoulder pole loaded with rice seedlings, he found Auntie Bai standing in the paddy, furiously jabbing at a leech with a piece of dry grass.
As soon as He Yan arrived, Bai Su dropped the grass.
“Ahem. Just poking at it for fun.”
He Yan: “…”
Auntie Bai, who dared to attack people with a sickle and report them to the commune authorities, was actually afraid of a few tiny leeches?
He mustn’t laugh!
If he offended Auntie Bai, his chances of dating Lihua would become even slimmer.
“These little things really are annoying!”
He Yan bent down, picked up the leech Bai Su had been poking, and tossed it into the neighboring rice paddy where the educated youths were working. He then scattered the seedlings from his shoulder pole across the paddy and stepped into the water to work alongside Bai Su.
“Auntie, I climbed over the wall and put your things inside Old Mr. Bai’s house.”
Bai Su had deliberately left her basket on He Yan’s tractor because she wanted him to keep her purchases safe for the time being. Her maiden family’s old house was empty, and the He family lived next door. Once she and her daughters moved there, they could simply collect the supplies. It would save trouble and prevent the Lu family from benefiting from them.
Goodness!
He had actually climbed over the wall and put everything away for her.
Bai Su felt the excitement of having found an ally, and this ally happened to be a powerful villain from the original novel.
“Young man, you’ve got a bright future ahead of you. I have high hopes for you!”
Bai Su praised He Yan with a smile. Her compliment made him feel rather uncomfortable, and he lowered his voice.
“Auntie, there’s something I wanted to tell you. That’s why I came to work with you today.”
“Didn’t you notice how Lu Chunya went straight over to Liu Laizi’s mother this morning? And that Lu Dajun has disappeared?”
Bai Su couldn’t be bothered with Lu Chunya’s petty tricks.
But after He Yan pointed it out, she realized that she hadn’t seen Lu Dajun all morning. Something was indeed suspicious.
“Where did he go?”
“To the county town.”
He Yan explained, “I asked the brigade leader about it. Lu Dajun went to him yesterday to get a letter of introduction.”
Bai Su carefully recalled the original novel’s plot and remembered that Old Madam Lu had a daughter living in the county town. The man she married was a worker there who later became a workshop director at the food-processing factory.
That woman was jealous of her second sister-in-law’s beauty and constantly tried to compete with Bai Su. She had frequently shown off in front of the original owner of Bai Su’s body, flaunting her supposedly superior circumstances.
Bai Su understood immediately. “So he’s gone to the county town to find reinforcements.”
“That’s why, Auntie, you should make up your mind about moving out as soon as possible.”
He Yan warned her, “If Liu Laizi and Old Madam Lu insist that the money was a bride price, the police won’t necessarily be able to establish a crime. And today Lu Chunya went straight to Liu Laizi’s mother again. Who knows what underhanded scheme they’re discussing to plot against you and Lihua?”
“I’ve thought it over, and I reckon they’ll only be able to keep those people detained for a few days. If Lu Dajun really finds someone who can get a message through to the commune authorities, they’ll probably be released.”
As expected of a meticulous and calculating villain, He Yan had reached exactly the same conclusion as Bai Su.
She had arranged for the troublesome Old Madam Lu and her eldest daughter-in-law to be detained at the commune precisely so she could gain leverage over the eldest son of the Lu family and seize the opportunity to establish a separate household.
Bai Su looked at He Yan appreciatively, the corners of her lips lifting into a smile.
“Lihua’s eldest uncle is full of schemes. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he takes the bait soon so we can settle everything quickly.”
“I can help you too, Auntie…”
He Yan moved a little closer and whispered something into her ear.
Bai Su’s eyes lit up. Xiao He had once again come up with exactly the same sort of idea she had been considering. As expected of someone who liked to strike from the shadows, his schemes were wonderfully ruthless and underhanded.
What a devious mind he had!
But Bai Su liked it very much, and she found herself appreciating him even more.
Although this fellow was ruthless when dealing with outsiders, deep down he was an exceptionally devoted son. Once he regarded someone as family, he would go to extraordinary lengths to help and protect them.
Someone like that would make an excellent addition to the family!
With He Yan working beside her, Bai Su even forgot about the leeches in the paddy.
Each section of the planting grid contained six rows of rice seedlings.
He Yan worked quickly and efficiently. Whenever Bai Su fell behind, he helped transplant the seedlings in the two rows assigned to her.
With such a capable helper, Bai Su appeared to be working at a reasonable pace. She didn’t reveal any signs of inexperience that might make the brigade officials inspecting the fields think she was deliberately slacking off.
Lihua and Hehua, who were accustomed to farmwork, were also quite efficient.
Before the scheduled end of the workday, they had finished transplanting rice seedlings across more than one mu of paddy.
By contrast, the educated youths assigned to the neighboring field were working at a painfully slow pace. At that rate, they probably wouldn’t finish their assigned paddy even by the time work ended.
The paddy assigned to the educated youths bordered an irrigation ditch. After finishing her work, Bai Su was washing her feet in the ditch when she noticed that the female educated youth planting crooked rows of seedlings looked rather familiar.
Wasn’t that the educated youth who had ridden on the same tractor as her when she returned from town yesterday?
Presumably, the woman had only arrived at the brigade yesterday and registered, rested for a day, and was now working in the rice paddies for the first time. Not only was she slow, but she clearly had no idea how to transplant rice seedlings properly.
Judging by the way she kept hopping around in the paddy, Bai Su could tell that, just like herself, the woman was also afraid of leeches.
“Ah! There’s a bug!”