Wu Guohua remained silent for a while, and did not dwell on the matter further. He knew there was no point in saying more, as he had a clear conscience.
"Alright, hurry up and eat and go to work! The new educated youth, go to the brigade first and collect your grain."
After he finished speaking, he turned and left, not wanting to look at these disgusting things again!
Even after the brigade leader left, the atmosphere at the educated youth compound did not ease.
Zhang Wenwen finally stopped mentioning that she had been beaten. She wasn't that stupid after all; she knew that money couldn't outweigh the fact that she would have to work for someone else in the future!
After the meal, Xia Wan returned the food and offered to cook for herself from now on, instead of eating with them.
This time, no one stopped her; on the contrary, everyone seemed to be watching the show!
After all, if one person starts cooking, it means that she will have to do all the chores herself, such as fetching water, gathering firewood, cooking, and taking a bath!
Working in the fields every day is exhausting, not to mention the other chores I have to do when I get home.
Yang Lijian and the others showed mockery on their faces. They thought that the more Xia Wan acted up now, the sooner or later she would have something to cry about!
Breakfast was already a bit late today, and with work starting soon, everyone rushed out the door!
"Wanwan, don't mind what they said. If you need any help in the future, just let me know!" Huang Qiujie whispered in Xia Wan's ear when no one was paying attention to them.
Xia Wan didn't even glance at her, and walked straight ahead. The work bell had already rung, and everyone was gradually gathering at the field.
The villagers all knew that the brigade leader went to pick up the new educated youth yesterday, so today the villagers were all curiously looking into the educated youth's group!
Their eyes were so direct that Xia Wan's old habit of feeling awkward kicked in again!
Xia Wan was assigned to a corn-picking group, and everyone had their own area to be responsible for! Picking corn wasn't difficult, but Xia Wan was a new educated youth, so someone had to teach her how to do it at first!
The person who taught her how to do chores was Aunt Cuihua, who had a sharp tongue but a kind heart. She complained about Xia Wan in every way, but she was very serious when it came to teaching her!
Fortunately, Xia Wan was thick-skinned. She worked efficiently, and with a barrage of flattery, she managed to make Aunt Cuihua beam with joy!
"Thank you so much, Aunt Cuihua! If you hadn't taught me, I wouldn't know how I would have completed my task today!" Xia Wan looked at the aunt who taught her how to husk corn with a face full of gratitude!
Aunt Cuihua pulled her to sit down and rest: "Have a drink of water first, then continue working. At this rate, we'll finish today's task very quickly!"
She really didn't expect that Xia Wan, who looked so thin and frail, was so efficient at working. She was actually not much slower than her at breaking corn cobs.
This is only at the beginning, and we're not familiar with each other yet. Once we get used to it, we might be able to catch up with her!
"Auntie, have a piece of candy. My godmother brought it for me. It's a fruit candy to sweeten your mouth!" Xia Wan took out two fruit candies from her pocket, gave one to Aunt Cuihua, and ate one herself!
To be honest, she didn't feel tired from the work she was doing, but the cornfield was so prickly that it made her feel very uncomfortable!
"Oh, keep it for yourself!" Aunt Cuihua didn't take the candy from her hand, and it took her a lot of effort to look away from the fruit candy.
Not only children love sweets, but adults do too. It's just that they don't have the means to afford them and save the best for their children!
"Auntie, don't mind that my hands are dirty. Have a piece, and you'll have more energy to work later!" Xia Wan peeled the candy and held it to her lips.
"Hey, Xia, you're talking nonsense! How can it be dirty if you put it in my mouth through the wrapper? Besides, even if the candy fell on the ground, it's still good stuff, not dirty!" Aunt Cuihua smiled broadly and became even more affectionate towards Xia Wan!
"You city people are so particular, treating you so well even after becoming godparents!"
In the countryside, even getting food is difficult. If there's candy, people will give it to their own children. Who would give it to a goddaughter? After all, she's someone else's child!
Xia Wan instantly switched to a dejected expression: "Sigh... I was forced into this situation. My adoptive father treated me badly, and my adoptive mother passed away when I was very young. If I hadn't accepted this godparent, I probably wouldn't be alive today!"
She deliberately emphasized the words "foster father" and "foster mother," and sure enough, Aunt Cuihua seized on that word and looked like a gossip!
"Foster parents? Xia, your biological parents are gone?"
Xia Wan shook her head: "I don't know. My adoptive parents and I were switched at birth. After my adoptive father found out I wasn't his biological daughter, he tried to sell me to a mentally challenged man! I had no choice but to sign up to go to the countryside!"
"Oh dear, what bad luck!" Aunt Cuihua looked at her with pity in her eyes!
"Sigh... There's nothing I can do. More than ten years ago, hospital conditions were poor, and many babies were switched at birth. I'm just one of them! I was just unlucky!"
Xia Wan lowered her head, looking very sad and aggrieved!
Upon hearing this, Aunt Cuihua slapped her thigh and said excitedly, "You know what, there's a baby in our brigade who was switched at birth. But that girl is luckier than you. Even though she grew up in the village, she's never worked in the fields! Xia Jianguo spoils her rotten!"
Xia Wan paused for a moment, then looked surprised: "Really? There are still children in the village who don't work in the fields?"
Xia Jianguo? Then the child he's talking about must be Qiao Qiao! She always said that woman didn't seem to have suffered, at least she was living a much better life than the original owner!
Not a single word of the truth!
"She's the only one in our brigade. When Xia Jianguo was a truck driver, he gave all his wages to his family so that his daughter wouldn't have to work!"
Later, Xia Jianguo took over the business, and Xia Tao continued to pay the girl every month without fail, without letting her do any work!
Seeing that Xia Wan was listening attentively, Aunt Cuihua became even more enthusiastic about sharing gossip. She pouted and continued, "Look, the other day she was making a fuss about not being Xia's biological daughter and was going to the city to find her biological parents."
"Huh? How did she know she wasn't his biological daughter?" Xia Wan asked, greatly satisfying Aunt Cuihua's desire to share.
"Who knows? But with her gone, Xia Tao still has to go to work and won't have time to take care of her! Xia Jianguo's life will be even harder! Sigh... good people don't always get good rewards!" Aunt Cuihua sighed, feeling sorry for Xia Jianguo.
"Is Xia Jianguo really paralyzed? His children are busy, but why isn't his wife taking care of him?" Xia Wan asked calmly, her face showing an attitude of detached gossip.
She didn't remember Qiao Qiao mentioning any brother, but she did remember her saying that she had a biological mother!
"Tsk tsk, his wife only knows how to take things from her parents' home, she has no interest in Xia Jianguo. A wife like that is worse than no wife at all! How could such a good person like Xia Jianguo end up like this!"
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