Chapter 24 The Wheat Field Catches Fire
"Right?" Zhao Zhiyi asked Gu Qingke again to confirm.
Gu Qingke nodded with a smile, "Yes."
Wu Xiaojia looked at Gu Qingke and said, "Brother Qingke, you guys are so kind."
Gu Qingke simply gave a faint "hmm" and didn't say anything more.
Shen Yingying, who was standing to the side, was already fed up with Wu Xiaojia and Zhao Zhiyi. They themselves had to pay fifty yuan a day to rent a harvester, but these two didn't pay a cent and acted as if it were their right.
Su Tangtang's gaze swept over them, and seeing the wonderful expressions on their faces, she was overjoyed.
Zhao Zhiyi and her partner are truly masters at making people feel upset.
Not long after the director finished speaking, the roar of harvesters could be heard outside. Everyone went out to hear the sound and saw that five big machines had already driven out of the yard.
The weather in early June was already quite hot, especially at midday when the sun was so strong it made your skin feel hot. Su Tangtang, afraid of getting a tan, had wrapped herself up tightly early on, wearing a hat and a mask. The others were doing the same, each taking extra precautions against the sun.
"These five harvesters were rented by the production team at a high price," Dao Yang emphasized again, "Everyone must take good care of them."
Everyone responded enthusiastically, and then each of them boarded a combine harvester, heading towards the wheat field in a grand procession.
When the villagers saw so many big machines driving by from afar, they excitedly gathered around to ask questions. One old woman shouted, "How much does it cost per acre?"
Su Tangtang raised her voice in response, "Auntie, it's free! No money required!"
The old woman was skeptical. "Really?"
Su Tangtang laughed, her tone certain, "Really, it's free!"
After she finished speaking, several villagers whispered among themselves and quickly made a decision: "Okay, let's go home and get the plastic sheeting now!"
Su Tangtang nodded, "Okay, Auntie, please take your time."
She watched the villagers hurrying home and couldn't help but smile. Then she drove the harvester to the field.
Before long, the group arrived at the wheat field. Gu Qingke and the others drove the harvester straight to their plot of land, with Shen Yingying, Wu Xiaojia and Zhao Zhiyi following behind.
Qu Xian and his group also harvested their own wheat first.
Su Tangtang looked at Huo Yizhou, but before she could speak, he took the initiative to say, "Then I'll go collect ours, and you stay here to help the villagers?"
Su Tangtang thought for a moment and hesitated, "Can you manage all this by yourself? The main problem is the harvested wheat; there's no one to cover it with plastic sheeting in the field."
Huo Yizhou replied casually, "It's alright, I'll find someone to lend a hand when I'm too busy."
Su Tangtang finally nodded, "Okay."
Soon, everyone got busy.
The sun scorched the earth, and the heat waves rising in the air could be vaguely seen.
The roar of harvesters echoed through the fields, mingled with the joyful laughter of villagers as they harvested.
Su Tangtang drove the combine harvester, harvesting wheat acre after acre.
Just as they were about to finish harvesting the land, an old man suddenly shouted, "Stop! Stop! Stop! You've veered a little off course and harvested this section of our land! You'll have to make up for the shortfall when you finish harvesting from their land!"
The farmer who was harvesting was unhappy. "I've been watching closely, it didn't deviate at all! Old Cao, are you going to try to take advantage of me again like last year?"
The old man called Old Man Cao immediately straightened his face and said, "I said it's off-center, so it's off-center!"
"No deviation! We'll measure it later if you don't believe me!"
The two of them argued back and forth, getting into a huge fight.
Someone nearby advised, "Aunt Zhang, you know what kind of person he is. If you don't give in, he can argue with you all day long. If he wants to go his way, then so be it."
Aunt Zhang was filled with grievances. "Why should we? He does this every year, and we always give in to him. Isn't this just blatant bullying? This year, I'm not going to give in!"
Upon hearing this, Old Cao simply sat down on the ground and started throwing a tantrum. He even deliberately sat directly in front of Su Tangtang's harvester, preventing her from driving it forward. Aunt Zhang had seen Old Cao act like a rogue before, but she had tolerated it year after year and had been holding back her anger for a long time. Today, she was determined not to suffer this loss again.
The two were locked in a stalemate. Seeing that his tantrums were useless, Old Man Cao yelled at the top of his lungs, "You damned widow!"
These words completely ignited Aunt Zhang's anger. She rushed forward and slapped Old Man Cao across the face, yelling, "If you swear again, I'll smash your mouth!"
She lost her husband when she was young and raised her two children on her own. She hates it when people talk about her as a "widow".
Old Cao was stunned by the beating. After a while, he threw a tantrum, saying, "Oh no, someone's been hit! Someone's been hit!"
Su Tangtang was stunned. She never expected that she could have such a good gossip while harvesting wheat.
But life can't stop forever.
She carefully examined the plot of land that had just been harvested. The harvest lines were straight and neat, without any deviation. So she said, "Once it's all harvested, you can measure it yourself and see for yourselves."
Old Cao knew better than anyone that there was no bias, but he insisted on taking advantage. "I don't care! It's biased! This area in front can't be charged anymore, it has to be mine!"
Seeing that he was refusing to leave, Aunt Zhang was both angry and anxious. She turned to Su Tangtang and said, "I won't take this piece for now!"
"But I don't see any deviation, there's still so much left," Su Tangtang said hesitantly, "Are we just going to give it to him like this?"
She could also see that this old man Cao was simply being a scoundrel.
Aunt Zhang sighed. She didn't want to delay Su Tangtang's work. "I won't give it to him. At worst... we'll collect the rest ourselves."
No sooner had she finished speaking than two young men walked along the path by the field, calling out to Aunt Zhang from afar, "Mom!"
Upon hearing the sound, Aunt Zhang's face lit up with joy. She looked towards the source of the sound and saw her two sons striding towards her. She was both surprised and delighted, "Why are you back?"
The older son said, "We talked on the phone a couple of days ago, and they said the wheat harvest had started, so we took leave and came back to help."
Upon seeing her two sons, Aunt Zhang suddenly felt reassured and confident. Pointing at Old Man Cao, she said, "You two have come at the right time! Quickly pull this Old Man Cao away! Every year during the wheat harvest, he tries every means to take advantage of our family!"
Before she could finish speaking, Old Man Cao had already stood up, sheepishly retreating to the side, a forced smile on his face, and said, "Never mind, never mind, it's fine if I suffer a little loss..."
Now that someone was backing her up, Aunt Zhang was exceptionally assertive. "Stop pretending to be a good person! That's not what you were saying just now!"
Old Cao glanced furtively at Zhang Da Niang's two tall sons, feeling uneasy and afraid they would make a move. He quickly lowered his voice and apologized, "Yes, yes... I wanted to take advantage of them, it was my fault, I'm sorry..."
Aunt Zhang's youngest son stepped forward and warned sternly, "If we see you bullying my mother again, my brother and I will beat you to a pulp!"
Old Cao was so frightened that he took several steps back and waved his hands repeatedly, "Don't worry, it won't happen again, it really won't happen again..."
No one stopped her anymore, and Su Tangtang successfully finished harvesting the remaining wheat from Aunt Zhang's house. After finishing with Aunt Zhang's house, Su Tangtang went on to harvest the next house, and so on, until midnight.
It was lunchtime, so she finished cleaning up the last shop and stopped to have lunch.
Lunch was boxed meals prepared by the production team, and everyone squatted down by the field to eat.
After the meal, the group sat on the ground for a short rest.
Zhao Zhiyi took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and had just stood up when Wu Xiaojia grabbed him, saying, "Don't smoke."
Zhao Zhiyi lowered his voice, "I'll avoid the camera when I slap."
Since joining the show, he has rarely smoked, and he has to avoid the cameras every time, which is really hard for him to hold back.
Wu Xiaojia sighed helplessly, "Fine."
Zhao Zhiyi stood up, glanced at Gu Qingke and the other boys, and asked, "Want one?"
Qiu Nan shook her head, "I don't smoke."
Zhao Zhiyi glanced at him listlessly, then turned his gaze to Gu Qingke. He had argued with Qu Xian, and he also disliked Huo Yizhou. He couldn't be bothered with the men from those two families.
Gu Qingke hesitated for a moment, then stood up.
Shen Yingying frowned as she looked at him, but ultimately said nothing.
The two walked to the side.
The photographer following them didn't approach, since smoking is a matter of personal privacy.
Zhao Zhiyi, with a cigarette between his fingers, blew out a smoke ring and complained, "This show is really exhausting. In this heat, isn't it more comfortable to just lie at home?"
He is the kind of person who sweats very easily. When it gets hot, he'll be soaked in sweat as if he's been drenched in water. At this moment, his shirt is already completely drenched in sweat.
Gu Qingke, however, said calmly, "I think it's great. Experiencing a different life allows you to see different lives."
Zhao Zhiyi scoffed.
He quickly finished his cigarette and casually tossed the butt into the wheat field.
Gu Qingke frowned. "Why didn't you put it out?"
Zhao Zhiyi didn't care at all, "It's okay, it'll be taken down by itself in a bit."
Gu Qingke said seriously, "In this hot weather, the wheat stalks are completely dry. What if they catch fire?"
Zhao Zhiyi chuckled, "No, besides, I threw it on my own land, not someone else's."
Gu Qingke was speechless for a moment.
He was completely unyielding, and he couldn't be bothered to try to persuade him anymore.
After finishing his cigarette, he threw the butt on the ground and carefully stomped it out.
Zhao Zhiyi put his arm around his shoulder like they were best buddies, and the two of them walked together toward where Shen Yingying and the others were resting.
As soon as Gu Qingke returned, Shen Yingying said in a low voice with dissatisfaction, "You promised me you would quit smoking, and you lied to me again."
Gu Qingke put his arm around her shoulder and said gently, "I've been so tired these past few days, have a smoke to relax."
Shen Yingying snorted and turned her face away.
Gu Qingke quickly coaxed, "Okay, okay, I promise I won't smoke next time. Besides, look at me, I used to smoke three or four cigarettes a day, but now I only smoke one every few days. That's a big improvement."
Hearing his assurance, Shen Yingying's expression softened, and a smile appeared on her face.
Just then, Su Tangtang suddenly wrinkled her nose and turned to Huo Yizhou, asking, "Do you smell anything? It sounds like something is burning?"
Huo Yizhou sniffed carefully and nodded, "Indeed."
He glanced around, his gaze suddenly settling on the spot where Zhao Zhiyi and Gu Qingke had been smoking, where black smoke was faintly rising.
He jumped to his feet and pointed in that direction, "There's a fire over there!"
Before he finished speaking, everyone stood up.
What started as wisps of black smoke suddenly burst into flames the moment they stood up, spreading rapidly. With a gust of wind, the fire intensified, turning what was just a small patch into a raging inferno in the blink of an eye.
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