The squad leader's face immediately darkened.
He's over forty years old, why are you still calling him by his childhood nickname?
Fine, let them call him that. Who told him to be of a higher generation than him? He can't afford to offend them, so he can at least avoid them.
He didn't genuinely want them to rest, nor was he afraid of anyone. It was just that these three were always hanging around his team, earning less than five work points a day. It annoyed him. Watching them work was worse than letting them rest while he did the work himself.
Seeing that the squad leader had already bent down, Qin Xiaoxiao and the other two immediately got up and left.
Where does it hurt? Not at all. We told you to rest, and you're making such a fuss. You're asking for trouble!
The three of them quickly ran to the bottom of the big tree and sat down in a row to "supervise" the team leader as he worked.
"So, who is the captain and who is the team member?"
The three of them sat under the shady tree, staring at the squad leader who had been working for half an hour. Aunt Song felt a little embarrassed.
Aunt Liu also felt embarrassed and coughed awkwardly, "Well, we've been resting for a while now, shouldn't we... I'm not afraid of anything else, but I'm afraid of being retaliated against by this kid. We'll be working under him in the future."
Qin Xiaoxiao's face darkened. "What are you two aunties saying? We are all ordinary people, the vast working class. We can't talk about class distinctions."
What's wrong with the squad leader? Does the squad leader not have to do any work?
The squad leader is showing concern for us; he's helping the poor. This selfless act deserves praise. I'll tell my uncle to report it to the commune; they should at least give the squad leader a banner or something.”
Aunt Liu and Aunt Song immediately came to their senses, and upon recalling what they had said, they broke out in a cold sweat. They quickly nodded in agreement, "Xiao Xiao is right. We were wrong. The team leader should be praised."
Seeing that the two had changed their tone, Qin Xiaoxiao breathed a sigh of relief.
It's no wonder she's making a fuss; she can't say anything carelessly right now, or the three of them will be in big trouble.
It wasn't until noon that the team leader, wiping away sweat, walked to the big tree. "Alright, you've finished your work. Don't come over this afternoon unless you have to."
It's annoying to look at, so I'd better not get in his way.
Qin Xiaoxiao and her two companions quickly stepped forward, one offering a towel, another offering water, and the third offering words of comfort.
"Squad leader, thank you so much for today. If it weren't for you, we would probably all be unconscious in the field by now."
"Or I could say that our squad leader is kind-hearted. Look at all the other squad leaders, they're like our squad leader, they even help us with our work."
"That's right, that's right, our squad leader really knows how to care for people."
The squad leader wiped his sweat, didn't drink any water, and twitched his lips. "It's nothing. I was just worried something might happen. In this blazing sun, I don't want to faint from the heat."
There are only three elderly and frail people in the whole village. How can he not keep an eye on them?
He wouldn't have brought this up a few years ago, but ever since Qin Xiaoxiao came home last year, Aunt Song and Aunt Liu have become increasingly "weak," and people who don't know better might think it's because Qin Xiaoxiao is a jinx.
He used to be able to earn six work points, but now he can't even earn four. What can he say? He just has to put up with it, since he doesn't have to eat at his house anyway.
"That's settled then. You can rest at home this afternoon and come back tomorrow morning. See that half-acre plot over there? That's your work for tomorrow. Three of you, one work point each. It's a small amount, but there's not much work, and you can finish it before noon."
The three of them followed the squad leader's finger and couldn't help but twitch their lips.
Haha, you really know how to find us work. It's true, we only have half an acre of land, and the soil is soft, but...
Is one work point a bit low?
The three looked at each other for a while, then nodded in unison, "It's settled then, this is it."
The squad leader couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth twice more.
You actually agreed!
Well, what else could he say? He just had to put up with it.
The four of them walked back together. Qin Xiaoxiao glanced at the sun and then looked at the top of the squad leader's head.
I should wear a sun hat tomorrow; the straw hat I knitted last year looks a bit worn.
She wanted to go back to her grandfather and ask him to make her a nice straw hat.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Xiaoxiao leaned closer to Aunt Liu and Aunt Song and whispered, "Sigh, it would be even better if we could bring umbrellas when we go out."
The squad leader's face had twitched until it was stiff.
You even brought an umbrella? Should I get you a deck chair and some tea too?
The squad leader's eyes were practically rolling to the sky. Luckily, he was tall and had long legs, so he walked in front. If he were parallel to Qin Xiaoxiao, she would definitely ask him, "Aren't you afraid your eyes will fall out with them rolling like that?"
After finishing work, Qin Xiaoxiao went straight to Old Qin's house.
Qin Feng had already arrived home by then. When he saw Qin Xiaoxiao come in, he looked at her meaningfully.
Qin Xiaoxiao felt uncomfortable being stared at, touched her face, and asked Qin Yue in confusion.
Is there anything on my face?
Qin Yue looked at it carefully for a long time, then shook her head, "It's nothing special except that it's still as beautiful as ever."
Qin Xiaoxiao chuckled and gently pinched Qin Yue's nose. "This little mouth of yours, how come it's so good at talking? Here, have a candy to sweeten your mouth. Say more of these kinds of things in the future, I love to hear them."
Qin Yue smiled, took the candy, peeled off the wrapper, and put it into Qin Aiguo's mouth. "Grandpa, you eat it."
Qin Aiguo was stunned for a moment after being given candy, then looked at Qin Yue with a smile and asked, "Why aren't you eating any?"
Qin Yue smiled and shook her head, "Master, eat. My mouth is already very sweet, I don't need any candy. Master, your words are the most unpleasant in the whole family, so please sweeten your mouth."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaoxiao's heart tightened, and she subtly shrank back, glancing at Qin Aiguo.
Qin Aiguo's smile was still frozen on his face, and he narrowed his eyes with a forced smile, "Is that so? I spoke rudely?"
Qin Yue hadn't realized she'd offended the person with the most authority in the family. She nodded and said, "Of course. You're usually quiet, but when you do speak, it's like a nail being struck. I'm always afraid of you."
Qin Xiaoxiao twitched her lips and secretly gave Qin Yue a thumbs up.
You're really brave, you dare to say that? I admire you!
Qin Xiaoxiao shuffled back again, moving away from the eye of the storm.
Sure enough, no sooner had Qin Yue finished speaking than Qin Aiguo slapped her.
"I told you to study hard, but you wouldn't listen. Look what you've learned! You've learned nothing but what you say, which means that you're a person of your word and never do anything half-hearted. But look at you, bringing it up here."
Does this mean the same thing?
"You think I'm being mean? Your dad's got a nice way of speaking, so go home and listen to him."
I thought my little granddaughter had become sensible, so I gave her candy. Turns out it was because of this.
Oh dear, his old heart can't take this!
Qin Aiguo was so angry with Qin Yue that he wanted to slap the idiot to death.
Qin Yue wasn't angry at being slapped; instead, she looked at Qin Xiaoxiao for the correct answer.
"Sister, is Grandpa right? What Grandpa said wasn't what I meant?"
Qin Xiaoxiao looked at Qin Yue with a complicated expression and nodded, "What Grandpa said is right. That's not how you describe things. Xiaoyue, let's not say you're the most learned, but shouldn't you at least know some proverbs and sayings? We're country folk, after all. If we don't even know these, wouldn't we be laughed at?"
Qin Xiaoxiao was impressed. This brat didn't know anything but dared to talk nonsense. She had never seen anyone so brave.
I got home late because of some family matters. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I finish writing it.
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