“Comrade Su, thanks to you, I got to taste such delicious candy again.
In the past, my mother would only occasionally manage to buy a few pieces during the New Year for my siblings and me. They were expensive and hard to come by.”
And they had to be purchased with real money.
Even though her family’s living standards in the city were fairly decent and their income stable, they still only bought a small amount to satisfy a craving.
Soon, the candy was gone.
Reluctantly, she glanced at the last piece remaining in her hand. After some thought, she slipped it back into her pocket to save for later.
As evening approached, Shen Jianyang finished his assignments for the day and hurried over to help.
“Comrade Su, you can take a break. I’ll handle the rest!”
He had seen it earlier—the female educated youth had helped Su Meier quite a bit.
If everyone else finished her work for her, what role would he have left?
How could he continue exchanging labor for meat in the future?
Of course, Su Meier wasn’t about to sit around and rest.
Besides, the afternoon’s work wasn’t nearly as exhausting as the morning’s.
Before long, all the rice under her responsibility had been gathered into neat piles, ready to be spread out again for drying the next day.
Su Meier covered the piles with a large sheet of nylon.
Meanwhile, Shen Jianyang found several bricks and placed them around the edges to prevent the cover from being blown away.
Looking at the completed work, Su Meier couldn’t help feeling amazed.
She had never expected to finish the day’s task so successfully.
Clapping her hands together, she declared,
“Done! Mission accomplished!”
Then she grinned mischievously.
“Comrade Shen, thank you for your hard work. See you tomorrow!”
The two exchanged a glance.
Both clearly understood what the other was thinking.
It was nothing but a shared longing for meat.
“See you tomorrow!”
The man dashed away like a whirlwind, as if some urgent matter awaited him.
Jiang Honglian hadn’t expected Su Meier to be so popular.
In the end, even a male educated youth had come to help her.
She teased,
“Comrade Su, your relationship with Comrade Shen seems rather unusual.”
“Nothing unusual at all. More accurately, we’re in a creditor-debtor relationship. He owes me something and is helping me work off the debt.”
Since Jiang Honglian had asked, Su Meier revealed a little.
After all, Shen Jianyang would probably be helping her more often in the future.
It was better to clear up misunderstandings now and avoid unnecessary trouble later.
“Oh, so that’s how it is.”
Jiang Honglian nodded thoughtfully.
Fang Zhaodi rolled her eyes and said sarcastically,
“Oh my, Comrade Su really has the best luck. Everyone, look at this. It’s only her first day, and already so many people are helping her.”
Her gaze swept over Su Meier’s chest, slightly damp with sweat. Her pupils contracted briefly before she narrowed her eyes and sneered.
“Who knows what improper tricks she’s using to charm them.”
That crossed into a personal attack.
Before Su Meier could respond, Jiang Honglian spoke first.
“Fang Zhaodi, your mouth is getting filthier by the day. You’re supposed to be highly educated, but I wonder how much of that education is actually real.”
“Jiang Honglian! How dare you say that to me!”
Fang Zhaodi’s face turned red with anger.
“What? You can criticize me, but nobody’s allowed to criticize you?” Su Meier mocked.
“What are you, some kind of tyrant?”
Although Fang Zhaodi had never heard the term before, she knew it couldn’t be anything flattering.
“You! You’ve gone too far!”
She pointed angrily at Su Meier.
“Who’s going too far? You can’t even handle a few words directed at you. If your heart isn’t strong enough, why provoke others? You’re weak, yet you love stirring up trouble.”
Su Meier loved arguing with people like this.
No need to think too hard.
Just fire back and keep going.
“Enough, both of you!”
Lin Siyu walked over.
“I could hear you arguing from far away. What is it? After a whole day of work, you still have energy left to fight?”
She cast a meaningful glance at Su Meier.
“If you’re not tired, then stay and work overtime.”
Su Meier wasn’t about to take the bait.
She rubbed her aching waist.
“Tired? Extremely tired. I’m heading home to rest. You all do whatever you want.”
Before leaving, she waved at Jiang Honglian.
“Comrade Jiang, see you tomorrow!”
Once the main person involved had left, Fang Zhaodi became even more furious.
“Comrade Lin, you’re the leader of our educated youth team. Are you going to do something about this?”
Jiang Honglian snorted.
“Give it a rest. You started the trouble yourself. Otherwise, why would she criticize you for no reason?”
“I just can’t stand her fox-like appearance. She’s got all of you falling over yourselves to help her!”
Fang Zhaodi blurted out.
“That’s her ability. If you had the same ability, you’d probably be even more arrogant. To put it simply, you’re jealous.”
Jiang Honglian’s words struck directly at the heart of the matter.
“You’ve hit the nail on the head.”
“Enough,” Lin Siyu said, rubbing her temples.
“She’s not even part of our educated youth team. There’s only so much I can say.”
“So we’re just going to let her do whatever she wants?” Fang Zhaodi asked unwillingly.
Xu Jiahui, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke up.
She was equally displeased with Fang Zhaodi’s behavior.
“What exactly do you want? Chase her away and then have all of us share Chen Qingqing’s workload again?”
“I never said I wanted to drive her away.”
Fang Zhaodi’s voice weakened considerably.
“Then keep quiet and stop causing trouble,” Jiang Honglian snapped.
Her voice was so loud it was practically blowing directly into Fang Zhaodi’s face.
Fang Zhaodi glared at her.
“You tomboy! Your temper is worse than a man’s. Being stuck among the female educated youths is such a waste.”
“You troublemaking stick! If you don’t stir trouble, you’re wasting that stick-thin body of yours!”
She was as skinny as a pole, after all.
Fang Zhaodi hadn’t expected Jiang Honglian to actually curse at her.
She instantly exploded.
“Crude! Just as expected from someone from a backward place!”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re so great.”
Jiang Honglian stepped closer.
Her sturdy frame immediately overshadowed Fang Zhaodi’s tiny body, making it look as if she could lift her up at any moment.
Fang Zhaodi swallowed nervously.
“Y-You’re not actually thinking about fighting, are you? Aren’t you afraid of losing work points?”
Seeing the situation spiraling out of control, Lin Siyu stepped between them.
“Enough. Aren’t you hungry after working all day? Let’s go back and eat.”
Only then did the two reluctantly stop.
But as soon as they thought about Chen Qingqing’s cooking, both of their faces turned pale.
Honestly, life was unbearable.
After an exhausting day of labor, they still had to suffer through terrible food.
Meanwhile, Su Meier was in an excellent mood.
She skipped happily all the way home.
“Su girl, why didn’t you bring back any wild game this time?”
A middle-aged woman carrying a basket approached her.
It almost seemed as though she had been waiting specifically for her.
Su Meier searched her memories, trying to identify the woman.
Unfortunately, she didn’t recognize her.
At that moment, she wished Su Dabao were beside her.
Smiling, she greeted the woman.
“Auntie, I was working today. I just got off work and haven’t even gone home for dinner yet. Where would I find time to hunt?”
“But didn’t you bring back a wild rabbit at noon?”
The story had spread rapidly throughout the village.
By now, practically every household knew about it.
The woman had specifically come here carrying half a basket of eggs, hoping to exchange them for a rabbit.
Unfortunately, Su Meier’s hands were empty.
Su Meier’s eyes shifted slightly.
“That rabbit was caught before lunch.”
She sighed dramatically.
“I was so busy catching it that I nearly missed work in the afternoon. Losing work points is probably unavoidable.”
Most people enjoyed a little schadenfreude.
Seeing Su Meier’s disappointed expression, Aunt Chunwang felt considerably better.
She smiled.
“You’re still young, Su girl. Losing a few work points isn’t a big deal.”
“That’s true. I’ll try not to be late next time.
Anyway, Auntie, my mother is waiting for me to come home for dinner.”
Before the woman could respond, Su Meier darted away.
Only after she had disappeared into the distance did Aunt Chunwang realize something.
She had forgotten to discuss the important matter she had come for.
Whether Su Meier had caught that rabbit by skill or pure luck didn’t matter.
Reserving a rabbit in advance couldn’t hurt.
After all, she had nothing to lose.