After walking for about twenty minutes, the group stopped. "Every year when we collect firewood, we collect it from the outside in. Remember, we can only collect fallen dead branches, or cut down dry trees and branches. If we dare to cut down living trees, we might be reported for undermining the country's foundation. At that time, we will be sent to the farm for reform."

Looking at the lush green trees, Shen Mu Ning walked a little further into the mountains. They were all in the same place; why did they need to gather together?

Before she could even begin to cheat using her mental powers, she had just walked a short distance away when she saw a dead tree.

Shen Mu Ning didn't actually like picking up fallen branches. Those branches were sprawling and unruly, and she had to tie them up in bundles to transport them back. The main problem was that they didn't burn well. This dead tree was about the thickness of two large bowls, and that was exactly the kind of tree she wanted. It was easy to transport, easy to store, and burned for a long time.

Shen Mu Ning took an axe from her basket and started chopping. The others heard the noise and quickly moved closer to her.

As Zhuang Xue, Lin Siqi, and the others approached, they saw the thin, frail girl wielding the axe with incredible skill. Before they could even ask Shen Mu Ning if she needed help, the tree fell down right in front of them.

Zhuang Xue and Lin Siqi stared wide-eyed at each other, then each pinched themselves. Hmm, good, it's not a dream.

"Hey, are you guys tired of chopping so quickly? Mu Ning, if there's any more hard work later, just call me. Why don't you take care of yourselves?" Wang Zhu walked over with the other boys, thinking that Shen Mu Ning was tired and wanted to rest.

Shen Mu Ning frowned upon hearing this. Who gave him the illusion that this pretty boy could call her name so intimately?

"Oh, Wang Zhu, you're already showing mercy to the ladies?" Hu Meiling immediately chimed in.

She was already dissatisfied with the female educated youth who came this time. The beautiful and rich Shen Mu Ning and Lin Si Qi stole everyone's attention as soon as they arrived. How could she miss such an opportunity to smear others?

"No, it's just that Mu Ning and the others have just arrived in the countryside, so we still need to take care of them."

"A beautiful lady is sought after by a gentleman. What's there to be embarrassed about, right, Mu Ning?" Hu Meiling had known for a long time that Wang Zhu wanted to find someone to marry, and now that it seemed he had his eye on Shen Mu Ning, she had to help him.

The educated youth understood from their words that they were trying to bring Shen Mu Ning and Wang Zhu together. Although the older educated youth disliked their scheming methods, they had no connection with Shen Mu Ning to begin with, so they naturally remained indifferent.

Lin Siqi was worried, but she believed that Shen Mu Ning would handle it well.

"Did you two ask for my opinion before you started this coordinated effort?"

With a swift turn, Shen Mu Ning's axe pierced Wang Zhu's foot. Wang Zhu's face turned deathly pale, and he didn't dare to breathe. He had only been testing the waters to see if this delicate-looking girl was easy to get, but he hadn't expected her to be so ruthless.

Only Chu Mingxu watched Shen Mu Ning throw the axe with a smile in his eyes. The little girl is quite fierce, that's good.

Shen Mu Ning pointed at Wang Zhu and said, "You, Comrade Wang Zhu, we've never met or spoken before, please call me Comrade Shen Mu Ning. Calling me by my name the first time you speak to me, are you trying to be a pervert? If so, then your moral education is lacking; do you need someone to teach you a lesson?"

Shen Muling then turned her gaze to Hu Meiling: "Comrade Hu Meiling, it's one thing that you didn't stop Comrade Wang Zhu from making a mistake, but why are you stirring up trouble here and ruining my reputation? Do you think free food is delicious?"

Shen Mu Ning's immediate response was to report and call the police, which surprised everyone. This is mainly because in this era, people value a woman's reputation highly, and generally, women can only suffer in silence; no one can directly call the police.

Hu Meiling said in a panic, "I, I didn't do anything, how is it called ruining your reputation? Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you said you'd call the police."

Hu Meiling was initially flustered when she heard Shen Muning say she was going to call the police, but then she remembered that she had only said a few words to stir things up and that the police wouldn't arrest her. So she immediately straightened her back and started arguing with Shen Muning.

"A fair maiden is sought after by a gentleman? Hmm? If I don't refute you today, this saying will spread throughout the brigade tomorrow. Then it will be me who was indecent, and I immediately charmed Comrade Wang Zhu to the point of wanting to pursue me. Right?"

Shen Mu Ning was genuinely angry because of these two people. They knew how important reputation was to a woman, yet they still dared to scheme against her like this. The key point is that she had no grudge against them.

Hu Meiling: "Then can't it be that Wang Zhu wants to pursue you because he likes you?"

"Like? What does liking mean? Does liking mean you can disregard other people's reputation? Does it mean you can force me to submit with rumors? You haven't even said a word, where did you get this liking from?"

Shen Mu Ning glanced at Wang Zhu with an impatient look. Wang Zhu could only think of how Shen Mu Ning had casually thrown the axe, which was somewhat frightening, and she didn't dare to defend herself.

"That's enough for today. If anyone in the team starts gossiping about me and makes me the subject of all the rumors, then I'll get serious. I may not be able to find anything, but the police can always find out where it came from."

Shen Mu Ning knew they hadn't gone too far this time; it was just a few teasing and matchmaking remarks. Even if she complained, the police wouldn't care, so she could only let it go for now. If they did it again, even if the police didn't intervene, she had her own ways of dealing with them.

After finishing speaking, Shen Mu Ning ignored everyone else, picked up her axe, and chopped down all the branches from the dead tree.

Everyone else went about their work, and for a while, only the sound of chopping wood echoed through the woods. But the veteran educated youth all knew that Shen Mu Ning was not someone to be trifled with.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!