Rabies is now being spread like wildfire, with symptoms like red eyes, barking like a dog, and biting people being fabricated as if they were real.

Although Bai Jiaojiao felt comfortable leaning against Shen Heng, it was inappropriate to do so in public, so she removed Shen Heng's hand from her shoulder.

"You little wench, I'm worried about you."

Shen Heng pinched Bai Jiaojiao's waist, and was satisfied after being glared at by her.

Yu Wenli and Liu Ying are highly educated, and their self-criticisms were so pedantic that they fooled the villagers. In reality, they were just empty slogans, lacking any depth or meaning whatsoever.

Bai Jiaojiao felt disgusted just listening to it. She turned to look at Shen Heng and found him dozing off on a small stool.

Her eyes softened, and she reached out to rest Shen Heng's head on her shoulder.

Shen Heng definitely didn't sleep well; he woke up as soon as Bai Jiaojiao touched him.

But who knew that Bai Jiaojiao would let him sleep next to her? Shen Heng felt that it would be impolite to open his eyes again.

But he had no desire to sleep. He was distracted by the scent of osmanthus soap on Bai Jiaojiao's body.

The village chief and the brigade leader took turns speaking, and even the old accountant had to go up and say a few words.

The old accountant explained to everyone why he hadn't made more sickles, taking the blame upon himself.

He's over seventy, who can argue with him?

Bai Jiaojiao pouted.

It must have been that Li Lide overheard the village gossip about him and then had the old accountant come out to clean up his mess.

The conference started at six o'clock and lasted for two hours.

Bai Jiaojiao's shoulders were much shorter than Shen Heng's. Shen Heng's neck was so sore that he couldn't stand it anymore, so he pretended to yawn.

"Heng-ge, you're awake?"

"Um."

Shen Heng turned his neck and took Bai Jiaojiao's hand on his thigh: "Why isn't this over yet?"

"If it's not over yet, then it's not over yet." Bai Jiaojiao wished these people would talk more so she could do less work.

Shen Heng noticed Bai Jiaojiao's little scheme and sighed helplessly.

He told her she didn't need to go to work, but she insisted on doing so.

Let her do it, she's trying to slack off again.

Shen Heng couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped thinking about it.

He looked down and played with Bai Jiaojiao's hand, thoroughly enjoying himself.

The meeting was about to end, and none of the members had heard these people mention Bai Jiaojiao even once.

Someone started whispering, "Bai Jiaojiao didn't mention it at all this time. If it weren't for the rules she came up with, our village wouldn't be in this state."

"Exactly, what kind of situation is this?"

Although no one in Shili Village really liked Bai Jiaojiao, they all had their own opinions.

The whispers among the villagers created quite a commotion.

Li Lide was in a predicament, and Zheng Xu glared at him, giving him a meaningful look: 'What do we do now?'

Zheng Xu had previously planned to publicly praise Bai Jiaojiao at the conference and even wanted her to come on stage and talk about the importance of this subject.

Now, almost half of the villagers are illiterate. The previous literacy classes were not very effective, and the children in the village are all running around. Few of them like to go to school.

Zheng Xu had attended high school, but he didn't finish due to various reasons. He knew the importance of education. Now that Bai Jiaojiao had showcased her skills to everyone, Zheng Xu wanted to take this opportunity to improve the atmosphere in the village.

But Li Lide found him and told him that Bai Jiaojiao's former arrogance in the village should not be encouraged. Moreover, now that Bai Jiaojiao is married to Shen Heng, with such a powerful backer, wouldn't she be able to do whatever she wants in the village?

Furthermore, Li Lide said that although Bai Jiaojiao had offered suggestions for the harvest, she hadn't done much work, so her merits and demerits canceled each other out, and he neither praised nor criticized her.

Zheng Xu thought it made sense, so he listened to Li Lide's advice.

Who knew that the two of them would be so embarrassed and talked about on stage?

Bai Shihai couldn't stop Bai Shiqing. She stood up and asked, "Village leaders, I'd like to ask, why didn't you mention at all the contributions Comrade Bai Jiaojiao made to this harvest?"

"Yes, why is there only criticism and no praise?"

Bai Shiqing took the lead, and others echoed her; private discussions turned into condemnations.

"If it weren't for Bai Jiaojiao inventing that big sickle, our village would be lucky to harvest half of its wheat. If we don't praise her, we'll disappoint her!"

"Exactly, let's put one thing at a time. Bai Jiaojiao really wasn't anything before, but now we really have to thank her!"

"How can you, as a high-ranking leader, have such prejudices?"

Their specialty was stirring up trouble, and Zheng Xu, with a dark face, was ready to give up.

Li Lide likes to be in charge, so he doesn't care anymore!

Zheng Xu leaned back in his chair.

The other members of the leadership team felt extremely uneasy. The village party secretary whispered through gritted teeth, "Village chief, say something."

Li Lide glanced at Zheng Xu, but Zheng Xu wouldn't look up. Li Lide felt a bit confused, sat up straight, and said, "Comrade Bai Jiaojiao did make a contribution by opening up new ideas for everyone during this autumn harvest and developing a new type of sickle. However, this sickle was only used for two days, accounting for only a small part of the harvest. Moreover, she showed signs of laziness and shirking during the harvest. Therefore, I discussed with the brigade leader that Comrade Bai Jiaojiao's merits and demerits should be offset."

He spoke with such seriousness that the voices below actually quieted down.

Bai Shiqing hadn't even sat down yet when she heard this explanation and objected: "My younger sister is in charge of our family's logistics. As long as our family gets the work done, that's fine. Why do you care how we divide the work? If you were to single out one person, my older brother and my brother-in-law would have done far more work than anyone else, and I haven't seen you praise them!"

Bai Shiqing was a well-known feisty woman in Shili Village. Li Lide would get a headache whenever she stood with her hands on her hips.

“My second sister is right. I can accept that merits and demerits should be offset, but for this harvest, the outstanding individuals should be praised.”

Bai Jiaojiao was deeply moved to see her second sister standing up for her.

Li Lide frowned even more deeply: "In all my years as village chief, I've never seen a family like yours that so eagerly seeks credit and rewards!"

No wonder the Bai family's lineage isn't thriving; their daughters are all incredibly capable, and their sons are being overshadowed.

“We’re just pursuing fairness.” Bai Jiaojiao walked forward a bit, with Shen Heng following behind. The people in front of them consciously moved their small stools to make way for them.

Bai Jiaojiao walked up to the stage and looked up at Li Lide: "Village Chief, our family doesn't ask for anything else. It's just that during the autumn harvest, Li Hongtao made a bet with my brother Heng, saying that if our family could harvest thirty acres of wheat, he would give my older brother the position of team leader."

Bai Jiaojiao went up and handed the voucher she had been carrying in her bosom since early morning to Zheng Xu. She deliberately bypassed Li Lide, clearly showing her distrust, which made Li Lide's face even darker.

Bai Jiaojiao knew Zheng Xu well. He usually had a stern face and criticized everyone in the village, but he was fair and genuinely worked for the benefit of the people.