Du Jianshan was incredibly fierce, swinging his shovel like a whirlwind, turning over the hard yellow soil as easily and quickly as tofu in his hands.

"Brother Shanzi, your speed... even livestock would kneel down and call you 'Dad'!"

Wang Tieniu worked hard alongside him, panting and sticking out his tongue from exhaustion, but he was still much faster than usual.

Du Jianshan grinned: "Stop joking, hurry up and finish the job!"

He didn't stop working, and also took the opportunity to clear out the toughest spot on Wang Tieniu's side.

Before noon, before the sun was even overhead, the section of ditch that Du Jianshan was in charge of met all the standards in terms of depth, width, and length!

Wang Tieniu also benefited, and by rushing ahead, he finished his quota a few minutes before Du Jianshan put away his shovel.

"Come on! Tie Niu, let's take a rest!"

Du Jianshan slung the shovel over his shoulder and called to Wang Tieniu.

"Hey! Here comes Brother Shanzi!" Wang Tieniu followed happily.

The two men, carrying their tools, swaggered past the crowd who were still working hard, heading straight for the shade of a tree to rest.

Ma Chunmei was working on the land right next to Du Jianshan's, and her back was aching from exhaustion.

His hands were covered in blisters, and his eyes were red with anger as he watched Du Jianshan and Wang Tieniu finish work so early.

"Pah! Some people, relying on their strength, finish their quotas and run away, they have no sense of collectivism whatsoever!"

"Your ideological awareness is so low!" She straightened up and spat sourly at Du Jianshan's retreating figure.

Wang Tieniu wasn't going to tolerate her, and immediately turned around to retort, "Hey! Representative Ma, what are you saying!"

"The quota was set by the company. Once we've finished our work, it's only right that we rest! What? You're not happy about it? Go talk to the company commander if you're not happy!"

He deliberately raised his voice so that everyone around could hear: "Back when we were working together, you slackers took advantage of everyone!"

"Now it's all separated. If you don't finish, you get points deducted! If you're slow, you deserve it!"

"I think the company commander's method is excellent! It's brilliant! It's a perfect way to deal with lazybones like you who only want to take advantage and don't want to put in any effort!"

Ma Chunmei's face flushed red and then turned pale with anger, her chest heaving as she shouted, "You...you're talking nonsense!"

"I'm talking nonsense? Everyone's eyes are sharp!" Wang Tieniu said, hands on his hips. "Don't you know whether the little bit of work you and your brother did before was enough for work points?"

"Now you've been caught, haven't you? Those blisters on your hands are the price of dawdling! Get to work! Stop babbling and save your energy, or your work points for today will be in jeopardy!"

After saying that, he ignored her and quickly walked a few steps to catch up with Du Jianshan, leaving Ma Chunmei standing there, glaring angrily.

Ma Chunmei looked at the blisters on her hands and almost burst into tears.

When has she ever been treated like this before?

Ma Jinbao heard it from afar, his face turned as black as ink, he could only grit his teeth and desperately swing the shovel, his hands burning with pain.

Du Jianshan and Wang Tieniu walked to the shade of a tree. They had just sat down and taken a sip of water when Du Jianshan's eyes swept to a spot not far away.

Aygul was alone, digging a particularly hard, compacted patch of ground.

That place looked difficult to work on. As a young woman, her strength was limited. She was so tired that her face turned red, and beads of sweat streamed down her temples. Her movements slowed down noticeably.

Without saying a word, Du Jianshan picked up the shovel and stood up again.

"Brother Shanzi, where are you going?" Wang Tieniu asked.

"Give me a hand," Du Jianshan said, then strode over.

“Comrade Ayiguli, this ground is too hard, let me do it.” Du Jianshan walked to her side, his tone quite natural.

Aygul was taken aback, then looked up, her face still flushed with sweat and exhaustion: "Comrade Du? No need, no need, I can manage on my own..."

"Don't mention it." Without waiting for a reply, Du Jianshan's shovel had already plunged deep into the rock-hard ground with a "thud".

With a flick of his wrist, he easily pried up a large clod of hardened earth, his movements clean and efficient.

"This job is strenuous, you should take a break."

As he spoke, he pulled a pair of slightly worn work gloves from his pocket and handed them over: "Here, put these on so your hands don't get blistered."

Aygul watched his quick movements, then looked at the gloves offered to her, her face flushing even more. She whispered, "Thank you..."

Du Jianshan didn't say anything more and got straight to work.

With his strength, dealing with this kind of hard ground was like child's play for him; the shovel flew, fast and skillful.

Ayiguli, who was supposed to be working on tough tasks for most of the day, became relaxed and easy to work on in just half an hour under Du Jianshan's guidance, and the trenches he dug became deep and straight.

"Alright, you can handle the rest yourself, but be careful." Du Jianshan shoveled the shovel into the ground and wiped his sweat.

"Comrade Du... thank you so much!" Ayiguli looked at the smooth ground, feeling extremely grateful.

"It's nothing." Du Jianshan waved his hand, a strange feeling creeping into his heart.

These girls from southern Xinjiang are so beautiful, with big eyes and oval faces.

He spent seven or eight years in prison in his previous life, and he had never experienced what it was like to get married.

What would it be like to marry a woman from Xinjiang?