Chapter 17

Looking at the red wound on Chen Jingbai's hand, He He felt a strange feeling. She quickly unscrewed the red medicine and applied it with a cotton swab.

Chen Jingbai extended his other hand, "Let me help you carry it."

He He handed the mercurochrome to Chen Jingbai, and with his help, screwed the cap back on. Then, she carefully applied the mercurochrome-soaked cotton swab to Chen Jingbai's hand.

Knowing it might be a little irritating, she moved very gently. After applying the mercurochrome to the entire scratch, He He said, "Okay, here's the mercurochrome. Remember to apply it."

Chen Jingbai nodded. "Give me the dirty cotton swab, I'll take it and throw it away. Thank you."

He looked at He He's smooth hair whorl and wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he shut his mouth.

He He looked up and happened to see Chen Jingbai looking hesitant. She asked, "What's wrong? Is there anything else you want to say to me?"

Chen Jingbai shook his head. He couldn't understand He He's feelings, and he didn't want to understand them anymore. He didn't want to ask or say anything more, as if He He's statement a few days ago that she wanted to date him was just a joke.

She would tease him when she was in the mood, but would leave in a huff whenever she was unhappy. He didn't want to play this boring game with her anymore.

He He frowned slightly. "Really not? Then I have something I want to ask you."

Seeing that Chen Jingbai wasn't impatient, she questioned him somewhat reproachfully, "Why were your answers so cold tonight when I asked you questions? You were fine just a few days ago."

Chen Jingbai stared intently at He He and slowly uttered, "I'm tired."

In the dim light, He He could see the fatigue on his face.

She thought he was just physically tired; he had overworked himself transplanting rice seedlings that day and then went up the mountain to pick herbs that night. Even the strongest person gets tired.

After understanding the situation, He He smiled again, "I'm really tired today. I feel like my arm is going to break. You should get some rest tonight. I'm going home now."

After the two parted ways, He He returned to the girls' dormitory.

When Zheng Xinxin saw her return, she quickly asked, "Did you finish delivering?"

Chen Jingyi and Li Baiyun also looked at her.

“I’ve delivered it all, and I gave him the mercurochrome too.” He He took off her coat and stepped onto the bed.

Chen Jingyi: "Xiao He, thank you."

He He: "It's nothing. If it weren't for him going up the mountain to pick herbs for us, Chen Jingbai wouldn't have gotten injured."

Zheng Xinxin chimed in, "Yes, yes, if it weren't for him, we wouldn't be able to drink herbal tea tonight, or even tomorrow."

Chen Jingyi knew that everyone was grateful, and she was quite happy. Everyone had seen what Xiao Bai had done for them, and they remembered Xiao Bai's kindness, which was enough.

Chen Jingyi: "It's all mutual, so let's go to sleep early. We have to get up early tomorrow."

Zheng Xinxin: "Yes, yes, go to sleep early, especially Hehe, you need to go to sleep even faster. I was so scared when I heard you had heatstroke this afternoon. We really need to get some rest and be fully energized so we won't get dizzy."

He He lay down and agreed wholeheartedly: "Let's go to sleep now, goodnight everyone."

This afternoon, while she was planting rice seedlings, her head started spinning and her body swayed. She even thought she was going to die.

If Chen Jingbai hadn't noticed her unusual behavior and had Zheng Xinxin help her sit on flat ground, she would have fallen headfirst into the paddy field.

Exhausted after a long day, He He fell asleep almost immediately upon hitting the bed. Before drifting off, she muttered, "Thank goodness Chen Jingbai was here today."

Zheng Xinxin smiled when she heard He He's words. He He used to dislike Chen Jingbai so much, but now that she was treating him better, she was happy.

Since being sent to the countryside, her biggest worry has been conflicts among the educated youth. Every time she saw He He targeting Chen Jingbai, she was terrified, fearing that it would cause other trouble. Fortunately, Chen Jingbai was not the type to hold grudges.

No matter what, Chen Jingbai had contributed a lot to the educated youth settlement. He handled many things, such as the snake tongue grass for preventing heatstroke tonight, which he dug up from the mountain overnight.

In the educated youth settlement, only Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi knew a little about herbal medicine. Usually, if the educated youth had a cold, fever, or a fall and injury, they didn't need to spend money to go to the clinic for treatment.

Chen Jingbai would take the initiative to help, going up the mountain to collect some herbs and brewing them into a medicinal soup.

Because of him, the educated youth rarely went to the clinic in recent years. At first, everyone doubted that Chen Jingbai only knew a little bit, and they dared not entrust him with serious injuries like falls. But later, everyone found that Chen Jingbai was really capable.

Zheng Xinxin didn't want He He and Chen Jingbai to develop a rift. When they were away from home, the only people they could take care of were the educated youths, so getting along amicably was always her principle.

The kerosene lamp had been extinguished. By the moonlight shining through the window, Zheng Xinxin glanced at the sleeping He He and sighed that it was quite nice that she was so carefree.

At dawn, the roosters crowed first, and the educated youth got up one after another.

After washing up, He He went into the dining hall and heard Li Baiyun say, "We'll have to eat breakfast a little later today. I don't know what happened, but the firewood went out twice today. The first time, I didn't notice and the fire went out. I only realized the sweet potatoes weren't cooked when I was about to lift the lid. Everyone, please wait a bit."

Zhao Dechuan frowned and asked, "What happened? Is there enough time?"

Chen Jingbai said calmly, "The pile of firewood is too compacted. It smothered the fire, but it's still not too late."

Everyone sat upright in the dining hall for quite a while before the sweet potatoes, cooked over a high flame, were finally done.

Li Baiyun picked the sweet potatoes into a basin and brought it to the dining table. "Everyone, please eat quickly. I was not paying attention today and took up your time."

Zheng Xinxin said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. We'll just be more careful next time."

He He didn't join their conversation; she was still a little sleepy and slowly poked at the biscuits soaking in malted milk powder.

Hearing that the sweet potatoes wouldn't be cooked quickly, she made herself a cup of malted milk powder and then soaked the dried biscuits in the malted milk powder.

The soft biscuits paired with sweet malted milk powder were much more delicious than sweet potatoes. She finished the biscuits and malted milk powder, and everyone else had almost finished eating. He He kept the sweet potato that belonged to her for a late-night snack.

Today, everyone was assigned different production tasks, so the educated youth went in two batches.

Li Baiyun, Chen Jingyi, Cheng Sulin, and Sun Jiabao are going to plant rice seedlings; they don't need to go to the farm tool shed to get tools.

He He and Zheng Xinxin were assigned to weed, while Chen Jingbai and Zhao Dechuan were assigned to cultivate the land. All four of them needed farm tools, so they went to the farm tool shed together.

Breakfast took a while, and most of the people in the brigade had already received their farm tools. There were only two or three people at the front, and even fewer at the back. The educated youth were the last to arrive.

When it was He He's turn, a few aunties came up behind them, making a ruckus.

"Old Zhou, get me a new hoe, this one is broken."

"And me, what's wrong with me these past few days? My farm tools keep breaking, and my sickle isn't sharp anymore. Get me a new one first, so as not to delay the production tasks."

The two women, speaking with strong voices, bypassed the educated youth and came to Zhou Laosi, who was in charge of farm tools.

Zhou Laosi was a middle-aged man with a square face. He looked very honest. Half of his body was disabled. A few years ago, he suddenly became paralyzed for some unknown reason. The brigade leader took pity on him because he had a large family to take care of, so he let him look after the farm tool shed.

Watching over the farm tool shed was a relatively easy job, earning four work points a day. Some people in the brigade even envied Zhou Laosi for getting four work points just by sitting around.

Just as Zhou Laosi was about to hand the sickle to Zheng Xinxin, he heard Zhou Cuihua and Wang Pozi's words and quickly said, "This sickle and hoe are just enough for you. Wait a moment, I'll fix them for you later."

After receiving her sickle, Zheng Xinxin stood aside. He He was next. Hearing what the two aunties said, she had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, the next moment, Granny Wang pointed to the farm tools on the ground and said, "Aren't there still some on the ground? Give these to me and Cuihua, we can't delay our production."

Zhou Laosi looked at Wang Pozi and Zhou Cuihua, then at the educated youth lining up to receive farm tools, and his face showed embarrassment.

He couldn't afford to offend the people in the brigade, and Wang Pozi and Zhou Cuihua were the most outspoken and difficult to fool. But the educated youth were already lining up, and it wouldn't be right for him to give the best farm tools to Wang Pozi and Zhou Cuihua.

He He's gaze shifted from Granny Wang and Zhou Cuihua to Zhou Laosi, and she said politely, "Uncle Zhou, please give me the sickle first."

Who wouldn't want good farm tools? These two aunties' tools are so badly damaged that the iron tip and the wooden stick are separated. Who knows when they'll be able to get them fixed? She can't afford to wait that long. Besides, she's already in line. Why should she just hand over the farm tools she's about to get?

Zhou Laosi hesitated for a moment, but decided to give the sickle to Zhou Cuihua, thinking that the educated youth would be easier to talk to.

He said that if he said something nice, the educated youth wouldn't mind, unlike the troublesome Granny Wang and Zhou Cuihua.

Old Zhou recognized He He. "Young He, how about we give the sickle to Zhou Cuihua first? They're in a hurry. I can fix it quickly."

Hearing Zhou Laosi's biased words, He He's face turned cold, and she said firmly, "No, they should take responsibility for the sickles they broke. They are anxious, and so am I. Uncle Zhou, you can't protect your own brigade just because we are educated youth. That's not fair."

Zheng Xinxin chimed in, "That's right, Uncle Zhou, aren't you blatantly bullying us? How can you do this?"

Hearing the argument, Chen Jingbai and Zhao Dechuan also came over early in the morning, standing behind He He and Zheng Xinxin to support them.

Old Zhou hadn't expected this young female educated youth to be so resolute, and the sickle he was about to hand out was caught in a dilemma.

Zhou Cuihua was annoyed to see the sickle she was about to get gone gone again. She pointed at He He and scolded, "Hey, you little brat, how can you talk like that at such a young age? The sickle was already broken. What do you mean we broke it? Don't talk nonsense. I already said we were in a hurry. Why are you arguing with us? Can't you just give in a little? Why are you being so formal?"

Without any hesitation, He He snatched the sickle from Zhou Laosi's hand. Zhou Laosi's grip was unsteady, and seeing He He's hand reaching out to grab it, he didn't dare to hurt her and quickly let go.

“If you’re not going to be so formal, then Auntie, please let me have my way. Don’t argue with a little kid like me.” He He then looked at Zhou Laosi, “Uncle Zhou, could you please give us the other two hoes as well? I believe that the kind-hearted aunties are willing to wait.”

When Granny Wang saw that the hoe she wanted had been given to the group of educated youth by Zhou Dahe, she immediately objected and grabbed the hoe stick from Chen Jingbai's hand.

"What's wrong with you young people giving way to us? We've been working in the fields longer than you, and we're faster at it. If you go ahead with your farm tools, won't that delay production?"

Chen Jingbai forcefully pulled the hoe back, saying, "In the time it takes to talk, you could have fixed all the farm tools you broke."

After saying that, he gestured for the other three to make a quick getaway.

He He dodged Zhou Cuihua's hand that was grabbing the farm tools, "We are young and strong. Although we are not as experienced as you, we are quick. You can take advantage of the time while we are repairing the farm tools to rest more. Don't tire yourselves out, aunties."

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhou Cuihua and Granny Wang turned red with anger. Wasn't this brat implying that they were old and inferior to the young people?

A note from the author:

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My upcoming novel, "The Original Wife Abandoned by a Historical Fiction Master," will be available for pre-order in January. Please check out my author page and add it to your favorites! [hugs]

Copywriting:

Shen Yunzhu dreamed that she was the first wife of the male protagonist in a period novel who was about to be divorced.

Startled awake, she looked at Zhou Weiquan, who was fast asleep beside her but whose hand was firmly around her waist, and recalled the blind date where he had offered her help in her time of need.

The young man in military uniform, with a cold and stern look in his eyes, said to her, "If you find someone you love in the future, we can get a divorce."

In the book, Zhou Weiquan's sweetheart actually appears. The usually aloof Zhou Weiquan smiles only at her, and in dangerous moments, he chooses her as his partner.

After struggling for a while, Shen Yunzhu didn't want to wait any longer. She packed her bags, took what she was entitled to, and took the initiative to file for divorce.

But before she could even step out of the room, Shen Yunzhu was dragged back.

＊

Zhou Weiquan found himself out of control.

He speaks coldly to his wife but shows great care and concern for other women.

Between his wife and other women, he watched helplessly as he walked towards another woman.

With bloodshot eyes, Zhou Weiquan slashed himself repeatedly in a fit of rage to gain a brief moment of clarity. After tending to his wounds, he pulled his beloved wife back into his arms, comforting her again and again and begging her not to leave.

＊

People in the military compound thought Shen Yunzhu and Zhou Weiquan were getting a divorce. One was delicate and sweet, the other was tall and aloof; they seemed like an odd couple.

Who knew what would happen later...

Reading reminder:

1. The male protagonist is pure in both body and mind; very pure, extremely pure.

2. The male and female leads have children, a brother and sister.

3. The difference in body size between men and women is 30, and the age difference is 3.