Chapter 46 Chapter 46 (Revised) In the threshing ground...
The threshing ground was bustling with activity.
The men were strong and took on the heavy responsibility of carrying the corn. Baskets of soaked corn were steadily moved to the designated locations.
The women were carefully doing the screening work. They sat side by side on small stools with rows of large baskets in front of them. They sorted the corns according to the good and bad ones.
The children were not idle either, they chattered and moved among the crowd to help, bringing a touch of liveliness to the busy adults.
Cheng Xin supervised the key steps of corn processing.
Watching the busy figures of the villagers, she knew that there were still many problems to be solved. She walked to Aunt Li who was washing corn and squatted down to carefully check the corn washing situation.
"Aunt Li, you need to rinse the corn several times to remove all the dirt."
Aunt Li moved skillfully, constantly pouring out the turbid well water and replacing it with clear new water, which was cleaner than what she drank at home.
Geng Yunye and several young people built wooden racks for drying corn. They found wood of uniform thickness and tied them tightly with ropes to build layers of drying platforms.
Geng Yunye instructed everyone: "The wooden frame must be built firmly and well ventilated, so that the corn can be dried quickly and well."
With everyone's concerted efforts, the screening and cleaning work was completed smoothly.
The next step is drying. The women carefully spread the washed corn on clean cotton cloth, evenly spreading it out to ensure that every grain of corn can get enough sunlight.
Cheng Xin and Geng Yunye began to prepare to apply to the commune for collective business. They knew that this step was crucial, and only with the approval of the commune could the subsequent plans be carried out smoothly.
Cheng Xin picked up the pen and wrote a few words before putting it down again. "You should write it. I haven't written for a long time, so my handwriting is not good."
In fact, she forgot how to write many words.
Geng Yunye just smiled and sat opposite her to help her write the application.
Cheng Xin asked him to elaborate on the plan to process the affected corn into popcorn and corn juice, emphasizing that this was a collective self-help behavior aimed at helping the affected villagers tide over the difficulties, rather than a simple speculative behavior.
She sat at the table, staring at the pen in Geng Yunye's hand without blinking. His strokes were steady and powerful, and his handwriting was like flowing water, strong and graceful, which formed a sharp contrast with her crooked handwriting.
"Your handwriting is so beautiful, just like what is printed in a book." Cheng Xin praised generously, her eyes full of envy, "I will practice calligraphy when I'm done with my work." She intertwined her fingers and looked at Geng Yunye shyly, "I also want to go to night school to learn more knowledge."
Geng Yunye stopped writing, looked at Cheng Xin tenderly, and nodded seriously: "As long as you want to learn, I will support you unconditionally. Going to school can broaden your horizons and will be helpful for whatever you do in the future. Calligraphy is not difficult, I can teach you."
After Geng Yunye finished writing the application for Cheng Xin, Cheng Xin was still immersed in her yearning for beautiful handwriting. Suddenly, she had an idea and said to Geng Yunye: "Yunye, write your name on the table for me to see, right next to the application."
Geng Yunye smiled slightly, picked up a pen, and wrote his name neatly next to the application form.
The three words on the table are vigorous and powerful, with a heroic spirit between the strokes.
Cheng Xin moved closer to take a closer look, and as she looked, her expression changed slightly.
She recalled that when Yingying taught her to write Geng Yunye's name, the writing method was completely different from the one Geng Yunye was writing now. The writing method Chen Ying taught her was complicated and strange, and she felt a little awkward at the time, but because she trusted Chen Ying, she didn't ask any more questions. Now that she saw the correct writing method, she realized that she had been misled.
Cheng Xin secretly felt lucky that she had never written his name in front of Geng Yunye, otherwise it would be embarrassing. But doubts followed in her mind. She recalled the moments she spent with Chen Ying. Chen Ying could read letters from home in a few seconds and knew more characters than she did. How could she make a mistake in writing such a simple character?
The more Cheng Xin thought about it, the more she felt something was wrong. She began to speculate on Chen Ying's motives. Did she deliberately teach her wrongly to embarrass herself? Or did she have other intentions towards Geng Yunye and didn't want her to get too close to him?
Cheng Xin raised her eyes to look at Geng Yunye, hesitated for a moment, and decided to tell him this: "Yunye, Chen Ying taught me to write your name before, and the way you wrote it was different from what you just wrote. I just realized that she taught me wrong."
Geng Yunye frowned, and a sense of vigilance towards Chen Ying flashed through his mind. He didn't know what Chen Ying's real purpose was, but he must not let Cheng Xin get hurt.
He asked calmly, "How did she teach you to write?"
Cheng Xin wrote "Fire Ear Yunli Spear" on the table.
Geng Yunye looked at these strange words, his heart was in turmoil, but his face was very calm. He spoke carefully, with just the right amount of doubt in his tone: "Cheng Xin, I have met Chen Ying a few times, and she gives me the impression that she has her own calculations when doing things, and she doesn't seem like someone who would be confused about this kind of thing."
He spoke calmly, his eyes always paying attention to Cheng Xin's reaction, and his words were somewhat guiding, "She stopped me at your door before and told me about the news policy in the newspaper. Since she didn't even have any trouble reading the newspaper, she was so wrong."
Cheng Xin was confused. Could it be that Chen Ying also liked Geng Yunye? Was she deliberately teaching him the wrong spelling to embarrass herself?
She bit her lower lip, her doubts growing stronger, and she couldn't help muttering to herself: "Yeah, she always advised me to develop several suitable partners at the same time, saying that this way I would have more choices. At that time, I just thought she was kind, but now I think..."
Halfway through her words, Cheng Xin raised her eyes and looked at Geng Yunye, with a hint of certainty in her eyes.
Geng Yunye was annoyed by Chen Ying's behavior, but his expression was gentle: "Maybe she has her own considerations. She probably thought that giving you more choices would allow you to find a more suitable person, but she used the wrong method. However, it's always a good idea to be more careful when encountering things in the future."
Chen Ying's behavior was strange. In her previous life, wherever she was, there would be a sense of being watched. Who knew what secrets she was hiding behind her? No matter what her intentions were, Cheng Xin must not be put in danger. She had to see Chen Ying's true face and keep her distance from her.
Geng Yunye's face was flawless. He did not directly point out Chen Ying's feelings for him, but only mentioned it briefly, leaving Cheng Xin room to think. He knew that as long as Cheng Xin planted the seeds of doubt, he only needed to wait for the right time, and these seeds would take root and sprout, completely changing Cheng Xin's view of Chen Ying.
Cheng Xin thought back to the days she spent with Chen Ying. She treated her like her own sister, but in return she ended up being schemed against behind her back!
"This is so bullying! Does she take me for a fool?"
Cheng Xin was filled with anger and grievance of being betrayed. In retrospect, Chen Ying's seemingly caring advice was full of traps, and she was fooled by her. Cheng Xin felt that her sincerity had been fed to an ungrateful person, and her trust and kindness were shattered at this moment.
She secretly vowed that she would never trust Chen Ying again and would always be vigilant and would never let her have the chance to plot against her. Her strong self-esteem drove her to study hard and quickly get rid of the label of illiteracy.
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