Chapter 17 Scheming Against He Meiling

He Meiling also spoke up for Du Ruoxia for the first time: "That's right, you two have such foul mouths, all you do is gossip all day long. Our Du educated youth are so amazing! Otherwise, why aren't you the ones treating and saving people?"

"You educated youth only know how to bully us rural women, brigade leader..."

"Shut up. Du Zhiqing will be an outstanding educated youth in our Yuxi Brigade from now on. You two should go back and reflect on your words and actions."

Lin Meifeng and He Chunhong were unwilling, but they could only slink back to their respective homes.

At this moment, He Meiling asked Du Ruoxia with a fawning expression, "Comrade Du, are you really going to become a doctor at the hospital? When will you learn how to treat and save lives?"

Given He Meiling's personality, she would never have stood up for Du Ruoxia if she hadn't weighed the pros and cons and felt that speaking up for Du Ruoxia would benefit her.

When He Meiling learned that Du Ruoxia had been handpicked by Dean Hu, she couldn't help but think that if she curried favor with Du Ruoxia, perhaps Du Ruoxia would put in a good word for her, and she, He Meiling, could become a doctor in the future!

He Meiling felt very happy just thinking about it.

Du Ruoxia had no idea what He Meiling was thinking. She just felt that He Meiling was acting strangely today and that she wasn't being kind.

"Your eyes aren't on my body, of course you wouldn't know when I learned it."

"Hehe." He Meiling gave an awkward laugh. "I was just showing concern for you. By the way, that county hospital is so big, it must be short-staffed, right?"

Du Ruoxia suddenly realized, so that's what they were planning!

"Maybe!"

"Then what do you think of me? I think I'm very skillful and not suited for farming in the countryside at all. I'm more suited to being a doctor and doing delicate work."

He Meiling said with a smile.

“But you don’t farm in Yuxi Village either, do you? You have the easiest job in Yuxi Brigade! Besides, I think being a scorekeeper is a meticulous job, we can’t do without you,” Du Ruoxia replied.

“No…” He Meiling’s mind raced. “That… the scorekeeper job is Su Fen’s job, I gave it to Su Fen.”

"Huh?" When did you give it to me? How come I didn't know?

Wang Sufeng looked surprised.

He Meiling blinked at Wang Sufeng and said, "Sufeng, I think you work very hard every day to earn work points. We are friends, so why don't you become the scorekeeper from now on?"

"Since the captain is here too, why don't we have him be a witness?" Du Ruoxia pressed her advantage, trying to bring He Meiling down.

“Captain, Comrade He Meiling voluntarily gave up her job as a scorekeeper; we didn’t force her.”

At that moment, He Meiling felt a little regretful. Why did her mouth go faster than her brain and blurt it all out? What if Du Ruoxia didn't take her as a doctor?

He Meiling looked embarrassed and stammered, "I...I..."

"Don't hesitate. You have to give up something to gain something. There's no such thing as having it all in this world."

Du Ruoxia's casual remark acted like a shot in the arm, leading He Meiling to mistakenly believe that Du Ruoxia was giving her a guarantee.

He Meiling naturally had to decisively give up her job as a scorekeeper.

“Captain, I am willing to give the scorekeeper job to Comrade Wang Sufeng.”

Jiang Dezhu: "Okay, then from now on, Wang Sufeng, the educated youth, will be the scorekeeper."

Wang Sufen was still a little confused, but even she, in her naiveté, could see through He Meiling's intentions.

Seeing that Wang Sufeng was still in a daze, Du Ruoxia quickly said to her, "Wang Zhiqing, hurry up and thank Comrade He Meiling and the brigade leader."

"Oh, thank you, Captain, thank you... thank you so much, Meiling."

Regardless of He Meiling's intentions, Wang Sufeng is now a scorekeeper, which makes her very happy. After all, the job of a scorekeeper is easy and doesn't require working in the fields.

He Meiling was still dreaming when she asked Du Ruoxia, "Ruoxia, when are you going to take me to work at the county hospital?"

"Dean Hu told me to get my certification before taking up the post. He Zhiqing, you've never studied medicine before. If you want to become a doctor, isn't that like the blind men and the elephant? We can't cure diseases and save lives, but we can't harm people either, can we?"

Du Ruoxia spoke slowly, but He Meiling couldn't hold back any longer, "Are you kidding me?"

"How am I messing with you? I need to get certified before I can go, let alone you?"

"Here's what we'll do: find a couple of medical books to read first. If you can learn them on your own, that would be great. If there's anything you don't understand... just figure it out yourself. I believe you can earn work points while you're learning, right, He Zhiqing?"

"You're kidding me! Du Ruoxia, why didn't you say so earlier if you couldn't take me to the county hospital?"

He Meiling suppressed the urge to punch Du Ruoxia and turned to the captain, saying, "Captain, can I still be the scorekeeper?"

Of course not!

Jiang Dezhu: "Yuxi Brigade isn't a big village, there's no need for two scorekeepers. He Zhiqing, you were the one who had to give up the scorekeeper job, and now you can't back out."

He Meiling grabbed Wang Sufeng's arm again, "Sufeng, can you give me back my job as the scorekeeper? I really need this job. Look at me, I'm so delicate, with thin arms and legs, how could I possibly do all that work in the fields!"

Du Ruoxia could tell that Wang Sufeng really wanted to be a scorekeeper, but kind-hearted people can't help but wonder if they had taken advantage of her to get the job.

Wang Sufeng did indeed think that way. She was torn about whether to return the scorekeeper job, but she was also genuinely reluctant to do so.

Du Ruoxia decided to help Wang Sufeng one more time. She coughed and said, "He Meiling, the brigade leader said there's no going back. Once the arrow is released, there's no turning back. Since you've already given up the scorekeeper job, just accept it."

Greed knows no bounds; even a snake cannot swallow an elephant.

Humans are never satisfied and always yearn for something better.

He Meiling fought back her tears, "Fine, fine, Du Ruoxia, you just wait."

He Meiling returned to her dormitory in tears.

Wang Sufeng looked somewhat guilty, but Du Ruoxia comforted her, saying, "Comrade Wang Sufeng, you didn't steal or rob. She gave up the scorekeeper job voluntarily. You just need to tell the captain if you're confident you can do it."

"Yes, I'm confident!" Wang Sufeng nodded.

Du Ruoxia is right. He Meiling says she treats her as a friend, but isn't she just using her?

Jiang Dezhu investigated thoroughly and found that there were still two empty houses in Yuxi Village. They belonged to his nephew and niece-in-law. Two years ago, his nephew went to work in a glass factory, and the whole family moved to the city to settle down.

He then had someone tidy up the two rooms, and Du Ruoxia happily moved in.

Jiang Dezhu thoughtfully asked his wife to bring Du Ruoxia two new cotton quilts.

Du Ruoxia happily thanked her.