After returning to her room, Su Meier immediately began tinkering with her project.
First, she used screws to attach two slightly curved pieces of wood to the upper and lower ends of a third straight wooden board.
She deliberately left a bit of looseness so that after the rubber bands were installed, the pieces could rotate and form a force-storing triangular shape when pulled back.
Knock, knock—
A soft knock came from the door.
Su Meier set down her half-finished creation and got up to answer it.
“Mom, you’re here.”
She had just reached the final step and was in urgent need of rubber bands.
“Meier, here are the rubber bands you wanted.”
Mother Liang handed her a bundle of rubber bands.
“I noticed you barely ate any dinner, so I secretly boiled an egg for you.”
A boiled egg was placed in her palm along with the rubber bands.
She had spent the past hour completely absorbed in her work and hadn’t even realized she was hungry.
But the moment she saw the egg, a wave of hunger immediately hit her.
“Mom, this isn’t really right. Sister-in-law and the others will have opinions about it.”
Su Meier felt this couldn’t continue forever. Judging from her sister-in-law’s attitude earlier, she was already quite unhappy with this spoiled younger sister-in-law.
“They won’t know. Your father knows about it too, and he hasn’t said anything. What are you worried about?”
The implication was clear: the head of the household had already approved of her actions.
“You’re going to the threshing ground tomorrow to dry rice. How can you work if you don’t eat enough?”
The moment Mother Liang mentioned it, her face filled with worry.
Su Meier didn’t refuse and accepted the egg.
The original owner had probably been treated this way for eighteen years already. One more time wouldn’t make much difference.
“Meier, go to bed early. You need to get up early tomorrow.”
Mother Liang yawned and closed the door for her.
“Okay, Mom. I know.”
After her mother left, Su Meier began adjusting the rubber bands.
The bands were too thin, so the results were less than ideal.
Fortunately, Mother Liang had brought plenty of them.
After wrapping multiple layers together, the elasticity finally reached the effect she wanted.
Taking a deep breath, she aimed at her bed frame and pulled back the bow with all her strength.
Then she suddenly released her right hand.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot forward.
Su Meier walked over to inspect the penetration power.
The entire arrowhead had sunk into the wooden frame.
That kind of force would undoubtedly pierce straight through a living target.
Rubbing her chin, she nodded in satisfaction.
“Tomorrow, I’ll definitely return with a full harvest.”
Her gaze shifted to the remaining ten arrows on the table.
After considerable effort, she pulled the embedded arrow out of the bed frame.
Making each arrow had not been easy.
She couldn’t afford to waste them.
At dawn, the crowing of a rooster echoed through the yard.
Rustling sounds filled the courtyard as everyone began their day.
Meanwhile, Su Meier remained immersed in a beautiful dream.
“Meier, get up! It’s your first day at work. Don’t be late.”
Mother Liang practically dragged her upright.
With sleepy eyes half-open, Su Meier grumbled,
“It’s not even daylight yet.”
“The early work shift runs from five to seven-thirty. Your father and the others already left.
If you get up any later, you’ll have to wait until the eight-thirty shift.”
She had said all along that Meier wasn’t suited for this.
Yet she insisted on working.
“Meier, why don’t you just stay home? Can’t your mother afford to support you?”
Mother Liang frowned.
“No. I’m going.”
Su Meier was fully awake now and immediately jumped out of bed.
“You child! You nearly scared me to death.”
Seeing how determined she was, Mother Liang laughed.
“Who would have thought our Meier would ever become this hardworking?”
Su Meier hurriedly got herself ready.
Then she wrapped her compound bow in an old cloth and slung it diagonally across her back.
“Meier, what are you carrying?”
Mother Liang asked curiously.
“A little hunting toy.”
Then she added,
“Oh right, Mom. I might come back late for lunch. I need to go to the foot of the mountain.”
“What are you doing there?”
Mother Liang looked puzzled.
“How about I bring lunch to you? That way you won’t have to run back and forth in the midday heat.”
“No, no. I’ll come back myself. Whatever you do, don’t bring food to me.”
Otherwise, who knew what people would say?
She still cared about her image.
She absolutely could not let herself be labeled a mama’s girl.
“Mom, I’m running out of time. I’m leaving!”
Before Mother Liang could say anything else, Su Meier rushed out the door like a gust of wind.
Hurrying along, half-running and half-walking, Su Meier finally arrived at the threshing ground.
Seven women had already gathered there.
Some wore twin braids, while others had neat ear-length haircuts.
They stood together discussing something.
But what truly caught Su Meier’s attention was the size of the threshing ground.
It was unimaginably huge.
Roughly fourteen thousand square meters.
About the size of nineteen standard basketball courts combined.
And yet…
There were only a handful of people.
There was no way they could finish all that work.
Could she still back out now?
Suddenly, one of the girls waved at her and jogged over.
Su Meier had no choice but to brace herself and walk forward.
As the girl approached and got a clear look at Su Meier’s fair, rosy face, she froze for a moment.
Then she smiled warmly.
“You must be the helper Captain Su sent over, right?”
Su Meier was also observing the girl.
She had a small oval face, bright almond-shaped eyes, and a youthful smile brimming with energy.
She looked every bit like a college student.
“Yes, that’s me.”
Glancing nervously at the enormous worksite, Su Meier answered softly.
“What’s your name? I’ve never seen you before. Are you from this village?”
Lin Siyu asked.
Su Meier was momentarily surprised.
This girl didn’t know her?
But the male educated youths she met yesterday clearly recognized her.
“Yes, I’m from the village. My name is Su Meier. You can just call me Meier.”
Suppressing her confusion, she answered gently.
Su?
Lin Siyu looked puzzled for a moment but didn’t think much of it.
There were plenty of people surnamed Su in Dali Village.
Still, this was the first time she had seen a village girl raised so delicately.
“Alright, Meier. Come with me. You’ll be taking over the area that Comrade Chen Qingqing used to manage.”
Lin Siyu led her toward the other six women.
“This is the helper Captain Su assigned to us. Her name is Su Meier.”
The six girls looked at her curiously.
At the same time, they all seemed visibly relieved.
“Finally, someone’s here to take over Chen Qingqing’s work. These past few days have exhausted us.”
“Hello, Comrade Su. My name is Jiang Honglian.”
A short-haired girl stepped forward first to greet her.
Soon, the others introduced themselves as well.
After the round of introductions, Su Meier gained a basic understanding of everyone.
Lin Siyu was from Kyoto.
Fang Zhaodi and Huang Yurong were from Haicheng.
Li Dandan and Xu Jiahui came from Yangcheng.
The tall and thin Yao Qiongying was from Qiqihar.
And Jiang Honglian, the short-haired girl Su Meier found most likable, was from Hecheng.
After everyone had been introduced, Lin Siyu took her to the work area.
“This is the section Comrade Chen Qingqing used to be responsible for.”
Lin Siyu pointed to the open space before them.
Holding a shovel, Su Meier stared blankly at the area.
It covered nearly two thousand square meters.
All the excitement she had felt on the way here instantly vanished.
Only fear of labor remained.
After adjusting her emotions and forcing a natural expression, she replied,
“Alright, Comrade Lin.”