They were all good at working, so they couldn't stand seeing them slacking off. In addition, the personalities of these new educated youths were really unpleasant. Not only did they lack manners when talking to adults, they also spoke to the village children in a condescending manner. When the children came home and told them about it, who would be happy?
So they didn't hold back when they spoke.
"Hey, what's wrong? Can't do the work, so you're trying to find excuses to blame others again?"
"If you want to compare yourself to someone, find someone similar. What are you thinking comparing yourself to Jian Zhiqing?"
Wang Hongmei is a chatterbox and doesn't think things through; it's hard to respond to that.
But then they compared her to someone simpler, which made Tang Cui even angrier, and she blurted out a question.
"Why can't she be compared to her? What does she lack? Is she adorned with gold and silver? Why are you all protecting her? Just because she's pretty?"
Hearing the lavish words, the two women and the scorekeeper all took a few steps back, glancing back to see if anyone else had heard. As soon as she finished speaking, the scorekeeper reprimanded her sternly.
"Tang educated youth, if you're going to court death, don't drag us along. We've all been sent to the countryside, don't you know what you can and can't say?"
Tang Cui immediately broke out in a cold sweat, forgetting that the outside world was not very friendly towards any talk of gold and silver these days.
An auntie continued,
"Exactly! Can't you even control your own mouth? You're not even as good as us illiterate old women from the countryside. Don't you know that trouble comes from the mouth?"
Actually, they often talk about anything, even crudely, in private. But isn't this giving us leverage?
Tang Cui was immediately silenced by a single mistake, her face flushed with anger. She was further ridiculed by her two aunties before the scorekeeper finally kindly offered a reminder.
“I know that Jian Zhiqing and the others have gone back. The same goes for you. Once you have finished your work and I have checked it, you can leave.”
Tang Cui's eyes narrowed immediately.
"Are they done? All done?"
"Of course it's all done. Go see for yourself if you don't believe me. But you can't neglect your own work, otherwise your work points for today will be zero."
Tang Cui didn't believe it, but she stumbled over to check and ended up returning to work overtime, feeling utterly dejected. It can only be said that she underestimated Li Yan's obsession with food and also underestimated the determination of her friends to act together and have fun.
Seeing them return, her anger naturally flared up again, and her words became sarcastic and pointed. Li Yan turned around and stared at her for a while, making Tang Cui feel uneasy all over.
"What are you looking at?"
Li Yan felt that she was a person who had experienced a lot, and she couldn't afford to get angry with her. She chuckled, ignored her, and turned around to go back to her room.
Lin Zhaodi and the other two behind her were afraid that Li Yan's hot temper would cause her to rush forward, and this reaction surprised them for a moment.
They exchanged glances, then ignored them and went straight back to their rooms.
Tan Yajun was the first to give a thumbs up.
“Li Zhiqing, you really surprised me. I thought you wouldn’t be able to hold back. I didn’t expect you to be so petty. You don’t even care about her at all.”
Li Yan blinked her eyes.
"Really? Do you think so?"
Lin Zhaodi put down her basket and smiled.
"Yes, yes, it's not that your straightforward temper is bad, it's just that sometimes being straightforward is bound to cause you to suffer losses."
See, ignoring them is one way, isn't it? Besides, don't you think that will only drive them even crazier?
Li Yan looked out the window in confusion, following their gaze. Sure enough, Tang Cui was clenching her fists in anger, her face contorted with rage, and even the veins on her forehead were bulging.
Seeing this, Li Yan was even happier.
There is no deep-seated hatred between the old and new educated youth.
The new educated youth couldn't stand the old educated youth getting close to the peasants, feeling that it lowered their own status and made them lose face.
The older generation of educated youth felt that the new generation of educated youth couldn't see reality, were unrealistic, looked down on this and that, but when they actually tried, they were really useless, good for nothing, and couldn't even finish their meals. And yet, they still held grudges against this and that.
Tanya sighed.
"I think Tang Cui's eyes are a bit off. Let's be careful."
Having experienced it once, Tanya Jun knew a little about the darkness and filth in the world.
Lin Zhaodi nodded; Li Yan was in high spirits.
"Do you think I'm afraid of her? If she messes with me again, I won't be polite and I'll just take matters into my own hands."
Tan Yajun wanted to offer some words of advice, but after thinking about it, she decided against it.
"You guys start tidying up, I'll go cook."
Seeing her instantly fall down, Lin Zhaodi tugged at Li Yan.
"What's wrong?"
Lin Zhaodi gestured and whispered,
"Have you forgotten why she was forced to come here? Why are you so indifferent? To put it bluntly, if someone really wanted to scheme against you, are you confident you could defend yourself?"
"I,"
This was only the beginning of our trip to the countryside. The darkness and filth in various places were still well hidden. Just because they weren't publicized didn't mean they were completely secretive. There were people like Tan Yajun who dared to make a big fuss, but not many. Most people were too concerned about this and that, and in the end, they swallowed their bitterness alone.
To put it bluntly, it's about compromising and making concessions.
There were a few people in Li Yan's neighborhood who had been sent to the countryside, and they had mentioned it in their letters. Li's mother had specifically inquired about it, just to scare Hu Chaochao's daughter. Hearing this, Li Yan suddenly remembered what her mother had said before she left, and cold sweat broke out on her forehead instantly.
Looking back at Tang Cui, I still have some doubts.
"She wouldn't dare, would she?"
Lin Zhaodi angrily reached out and punched her.
"What do you care if she dares to do it or not? Do you actually hope she'll actually make a move?"
"No, no..."
"I'm telling you this so you can be more careful. This isn't home. These people aren't friendly to us. If you're not careful, what will you do if you fall into their trap one day?"
Even though Jian, a former educated youth, is capable, they still gossip and are jealous. Shouldn't we be more careful? They live so close by; they could easily tamper with our things. If something goes wrong, can you explain yourself?
Besides, once jealousy takes hold, what wouldn't one dare to do?
"right,"
Tanya peeked out from the kitchen.
“Lin Zhiqing is right. I was too careless with the people around me, which is why I almost fell victim to this. If I hadn’t been so determined to die to prove my innocence and hadn’t made a big scene out of nothing, I might already be in that family, tortured beyond recognition.”
Speaking in the most calm tone about her darkest and most painful experiences, Tan Yajun was almost expressionless. Li Yan immediately felt a surge of guilt, jumped up, and ran to Tan Yajun's side.
"I'm so sorry, it's all my fault for reminding you of these things. Don't worry, I will be extra careful and attentive, and I will never let insects, ants, snakes, rats, or any filth touch us."
Lin Zhaodi also quickly expressed her opinion.
"Yes, yes, we all need to be more careful and protect ourselves."
I heard Chen Jianguo tending the fire at the stove pit, but should I say something?
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