"Why is the captain out again? Why is the captain so busy lately? He doesn't have time to take care of everyone."
"Yeah, if the captain doesn't want to be the captain anymore, he can give himself to me. I promise to stay in the team every day and watch everyone work!"
"Pah, you're dreaming! With your small frame, small eyes, and short temper, you think you can be the captain? Dream on! Wouldn't it be better if the captain didn't care about us? Anyway, this time I can slack off!"
Everyone was talking about it. Although they seemed to obey Yu Jiu's management on the surface, she was ultimately powerless, and there were bound to be some who were outwardly obedient but inwardly resentful. Sure enough, they had already decided to slack off.
Yu Jiu knew what some people were thinking, but she didn't say anything and pretended not to see it. She cleared her throat, and her loud and clear voice immediately carried far.
"Everyone, do your part well and try to finish harvesting the corn within two days. Dog and I will be patrolling in place of Xu Zi for the next few days. If you need anything, you can come to us. Okay, get to work."
She said a few simple words and then told everyone to disperse and go back to work in the fields.
The dog looked at the route the lazy men were taking and realized they weren't heading to the fields, so he got anxious.
"These guys are going to slack off again while the team leader's not around! Don't worry, Yu Zhiqing, I'll keep an eye on them. You go patrol the other areas first!"
"No need, don't worry about them for now. We'll go on patrol this afternoon. You come home with me first."
Yu Jiu shook her head, stopping the angry dog. The dog was stunned. Why wouldn't it follow them, not even to patrol? Why?
"But if we don't patrol, a lot of people will slack off. Even the team leader often encounters people slacking off during patrols!"
Some people just coast along, not caring about how many work points they get, and prefer a leisurely life. Others want to slack off and make trouble to get more work points. Anyway, being a work point clerk isn't as easy as people imagine. Although you don't have to work in the fields yourself, you're often harassed and cheated by others. Some petty people will even retaliate because you didn't give them extra work points.
Therefore, the scorekeeper is usually an older, respected elder, so that people are less likely to cheat. When Xu Zijiang has time, he will also personally serve as the scorekeeper for a while to check everyone's actual work habits and to prevent the scorekeeper from being bribed.
Now that Xu Zi is away, the scorekeepers will probably have a lot of trouble these next few days. If Yu Jiu goes on patrol, they probably won't dare to go too far.
"It's alright, we'll talk about it this afternoon. The two of us can't keep an eye on everything. After we finish patrolling this place, there's another place to go. We also won't have time to come back and continue patrolling this place, so there's no rush."
Yu Jiu waved her hand calmly and gestured for the bewildered dog to follow her.
The dog scratched his head, still not understanding what Yu Jiu meant. But that's why they need to patrol even more. At least everyone knows they will patrol, so no one dares to be too obviously lazy.
However, Gouzi was obedient; he did whatever Yu Jiu told him to do, even though he didn't quite understand. So the two of them spent a relaxed morning at Xu Zijiang's house. At noon, Yu Jiu even made him a plate of fried rice with eggs. After they finished eating, it was past three in the afternoon before they put on their hats and went out.
Yu Jiu was holding a notebook and a pen in her hand. The wide brim of her hat hung down, blocking out all the sun. She slowed her pace and walked leisurely into the field, not like she was going on patrol, but more like she was going on vacation.
On the other side, in the field.
"Oh dear, I'm exhausted. I worked so hard this morning, but Yu Zhiqing and Gouzi didn't come to patrol here. What's wrong? Are they patrolling westward first? Usually, the team leader patrols from here first. I can't take it anymore, I'm dying of sun. I'm going to rest for a while."
"I'll go too. I'm too tired to work. It's so hot under the sun. It's a rare treat that the team leader isn't here, so I need to rest for a bit."
"Hey, Yu Zhiqing and Gouzi didn't come to patrol at all! I've asked several people on different plots of land, and they said they didn't see Yu Zhiqing and Gouzi come this morning. They haven't come here yet either. I think they're probably just afraid of the sun and are being lazy, so all their efforts have been wasted."
The group quickly took off their hats and went to the shade to cool off.
These three belonged to the group of people who wanted to slack off but were too timid and still wanted work points. That's why they were trying to put on a show in front of Yu Jiu to earn some recognition and avoid having their work points deducted. As for the work in the fields, the three of them were also dawdling, working incredibly slowly. At their usual pace, they could have completed three-quarters of the work, but now they had only completed half of it, and they wanted to slack off and didn't want to do the rest.
"That's normal. Yu Zhiqing has delicate skin, it would be strange if she could stand this scorching sun. Come to think of it, Yu Zhiqing has only been working here for a few days before the team leader took a liking to her. Come to think of it, she really hasn't worked in the fields for many days. No wonder she's still so fair and tender!"
"Of course! He's lucky. We can't compare. Let's slack off a bit. Gouzi should be recording the work points later. I heard Uncle Yu wasn't feeling well today and has been lying at home. I'm going to make Gouzi give me ten work points! Look how neatly I did my work today! I've done my best!"
"You're too greedy. Out of ten work points, I only need eight. That way it won't be obvious. They usually come to patrol and record work points around four or five o'clock. It's still early now, so I'll go back and cook some rice, then rest for a while before coming back. The sun outside is too strong and it's too hot. I can't stand it."
Are you leaving?
Aunt Qi asked with a smile.
“Let’s go together. I’ll come back around 4 o’clock too. My home is nearby, I can go back and take a nap.”
The three immediately decided to leave early. They quietly lowered their voices and prepared to slip into the nearby bushes to leave. They walked in a line, one in front, one in the middle, and one at the back, with Aunt Qi at the very end.
The two people in front of her had already disappeared into the bushes. She was bending over, her bottom sticking out, about to follow when suddenly, someone patted her shoulder from behind. Aunt Qi impatiently brushed the hand off her shoulder.
"Hey, I'll go first, you follow behind me, don't rush!"
The person behind her didn't hear her and patted her shoulder again. Aunt Qi got angry, straightened up, and was about to yell when she suddenly saw two moving figures in front of her. Oh right, she was already at the back of the line, so there was no one behind her! Who was patting her shoulder?!
Aunt Qi's face stiffened. She turned around shakily and saw Yu Jiu, whose skin was still as white as snow, with red lips and white teeth, beautiful and charming, even under the sunlight.
Yu Jiu gave her a slight twitch of her lips, her beautiful almond-shaped eyes curving into a cool, clear voice.
"Aunt Qi, where are you going?"
The voice sounded strangely cold, and for some reason, Aunt Qi shivered. She awkwardly emerged from the bushes and greeted him timidly.
"Yu Zhiqing, Gouzi, what brings you here? I was just about to go into the bushes to relieve myself, haha."
She gave an awkward laugh, trying to find an excuse for herself, but Yu Jiu didn't believe her at all. She just smiled brightly as well, her eyelashes slightly curved, and said quietly, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.
"Aunt Qi, call them back. Even if they need to relieve themselves, they don't need to go home. We need help harvesting corn right now. If you're all slacking off, you'll lose all your work points for today!"
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