As time passed, under the scorching sun, sweat soaked through Xie Yuyao's bangs.
She looked at the dense corn stalks in front of her, broke off a few leaves, spread them on the edge of the field, and sat down to rest.
She took off her gloves, untied her headscarf, revealing her stunningly beautiful face. She took out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead and gulped down the spiritual spring water.
After sitting for two or three minutes, Bei Xiao complained, "You've been sitting for so long, why aren't you getting up and doing some work!"
Xie Yuyao glanced at her coldly, "Am I someone you hired?"
"What?"
"You haven't paid me a salary, what right do you have to tell me what to do!"
Upon understanding this, Bei Xiao jumped up in anger, "You're damaging the image of educated youth; this is the behavior of a capitalist rich girl!"
"Does the young lady still want to get out of bed?" Xie Yuyao mocked. She neither caused trouble nor was she afraid of it.
Your body is your own. If you overwork yourself and suffer long-term health problems, you will be solely responsible for the consequences.
Farmers, having worked year-round, have mastered the skill of balancing work and rest, and know how to coordinate their labor. Only a few impetuous and headstrong educated youth, however, relentlessly strive for approval, not only exhausting themselves but also damaging their health in ways that are difficult to heal for a long time.
The eldest sister, Wu Aihong, spoke up to persuade them: "Alright, everyone, say less. Bei Xiao, just do your job well. Yu Yao, hang in there. In another month, we'll start hibernating, so there will be plenty of free time. Besides, if there's no work in winter, you won't get work points. Take advantage of this opportunity to earn more work points."
Xie Yuyao didn't rely on work points to earn food, and she didn't lack food, clothing, or other necessities, so she didn't need to work hard to earn work points.
In this era of egalitarianism, work points were only worth a few cents. Adult men could earn 7-10 points for working, while adult women could earn 5-8 points. Only those with outstanding performance could earn 10 points.
For those who have connections, the difference between doing more or less work is really not that significant.
Looking around, most people were just dawdling, and some were even cheating, only returning under the pretense of needing to use the restroom after the squad leader's attention had shifted away.
This is one of the reasons why people who ate from the same pot were generally poor; it was only when the policy changed and land was distributed to individual households that their enthusiasm for labor was stimulated.
Xie Yuyao put the kettle back on and got up to continue working. Actually, given her financial situation, she could easily have slacked off and given up, but she didn't want to be passive; she wanted to at least persevere today.
She had it all planned out: she would stay in the countryside for two years first, and then take the college entrance examination to go to university.
Ren Fei, who came with her, was full of enthusiasm and moved nimbly. In comparison, Xie Yuyao seemed clumsy and lazy, but she didn't care about that; as long as she was passable, that was fine.
*
The work bell rang, and the workers went home.
In the educated youth compound, the staple food for lunch was cornmeal dumplings. Perhaps the pot wasn't washed properly, because there was a layer of black foam floating on the soup.
Xie Yuyao stared at the dumpling soup in the basin with a heavy heart, not daring to scoop it into her bowl and taste it.
She looked around and saw that everyone else was eating heartily, and some of the male educated youth who ate quickly had even finished a bowl.
"Xie Yuyao, why aren't you eating yet? There won't be any left soon." Wu Lihong finished her bowl and, seeing that she was still sitting there, reminded her.
When you're dining together, whoever eats the slowest loses out.
Xie Yuyao stood up. "I'll cook some noodles, you guys eat."
After saying that, she went back into the house, unlocked the door, and took out a packet of noodles from the box (space).
"Who among you makes the best noodles? I'll treat everyone to some dried noodles."
As soon as he finished speaking, the educated youth who were eating widened their eyes. This was a rare treat to eat thin noodles!
"Me! I can make noodles." Yang Shumei immediately stood up, but she also found it difficult to swallow the dumpling soup.
Jiang Yanhong then said, "I'll start the fire."
The others happily went to the vegetable garden and picked some greens to wash.
The vegetable noodles were quickly prepared, and everyone was given a large bowl.
For a moment, all that could be heard was the slurping sound of everyone eating noodles, and they were still enjoying their meal.
These past two days, seeing that Xie Yuyao has been eating less, the other educated youths guessed that she must have been secretly getting special treatment, but who told her to be picky about food?
*
After lunch break, everyone packed up and got ready to go to work.
In the afternoon, Xie Yuyao continued harvesting corn, doing what she could as she did in the morning.
After getting tired again, she sat on the edge of the field, picked up her water bottle and drank some water. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zhao Honghui pushing a wheelbarrow toward her.
He was wearing the blue work clothes of the transport team. The ordinary clothes looked special on his clothes hanger-like body, exuding a strong sense of masculinity.
Upon seeing Xie Yuyao sitting down, Zhao Honghui nodded and greeted her, hearing her warm voice.
"Comrade Zhao, do you remember me? My name is Ren Fei. Thank you for giving us a ride yesterday." Ren Fei also noticed her, her eyes widening in surprise, a smile blooming on her face as if flowers were blossoming in her heart.
Zhao Honghui nodded expressionlessly at her, then looked at Li Weidong standing next to the corn pile: "I'll come and work with you."
Upon hearing the purpose of his visit, Li Weidong quickly expressed his gratitude.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Zhao Honghui put down his car and squatted down to pick up corn cobs.
Seeing this, Ren Fei put down her sickle and, ignoring Zhao Honghui's refusals, helped him load the truck, constantly trying to find topics to chat with him.
Zhao Honghui, however, maintained an icy demeanor, mostly listening without saying a word.
After filling the cart, he got up and pushed it away.
Ren Fei pouted and hung her head dejectedly, then went back to break off corn cobs.
Not long after, Zhao Honghui returned with an empty cart, and she went over again, showing that she never gave up despite repeated failures.
Zhao Honghui's attention, however, was focused on Xie Yuyao. He had finished his work at the transportation team that day, and seeing that he still had time, he told his supervisor and left early.
In those days, workplace management was lax, and being late or leaving early was commonplace. As long as it didn't cause any problems, you could leave your post with just a word.
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