Chapter 3
She doesn't resemble He Shuying at all, so how did He Shuying become her substitute? Ye Minglang is also a disgusting and stupid person.
This world is a rotten world. She didn't kill anyone, set fires, or do anything illegal or disorderly. Why is she considered a villainous supporting character?
Does the world stop turning without her?
He He was fuming, her hands crossed in front of her chest, lying half-dead on the bed.
Zheng Xinxin glanced at He He and realized that He He was homesick, which was why she was so unhappy. She had been worried that He He might not be feeling well today, which was why she had picked a fight with Cheng Sulin at the dinner table.
Hearing He He say that she missed home, Zheng Xinxin also sighed and said with empathy, "I miss home too. I miss my parents and I miss eating the stuffed green peppers from home."
Hehe's sadness vanished as soon as she heard about stuffed green peppers. Stuffed green peppers with pork is a specialty dish from Xinxin's hometown, and it's incredibly delicious.
Around the time of the Lunar New Year this year, Chen Jingyi and Zheng Xinxin made money selling spicy and sour plums. With money in hand, they decided to have a good meal for the New Year and pooled their money to buy three catties of pork.
Zheng Xinxin showed off her skills by making stuffed green peppers, a dish from her hometown.
He He still remembers the first time she tasted stuffed green peppers on the third day of the Lunar New Year. The amazing taste instantly shocked her. It was the best thing He He had eaten since she went to the countryside, apart from the state-run restaurant in the county town.
The tender green peppers, filled with fragrant, crispy fried minced meat, are so smooth and tender—just one piece! Just one piece is enough for her to eat a whole bowl of brown rice.
He He clung to Zheng Xinxin's arms, shaking her arm. "Xinxin, it's all your fault. My mouth is watering. When we have a holiday, can you make me stuffed green peppers? We'll go to the commune's meat processing plant to butcher meat. You can make them for me and I'll treat you to them, okay?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Xinxin's mouth began to water profusely, and she nodded vigorously in agreement, "Okay!"
However, Zheng Xinxin quickly added, "But if it's just the two of us eating, should we share it with the other educated youth?"
He He shook her head earnestly, "No, no, if we don't give them any, they'll be starving to death."
Cheng Surin, in particular, was incredibly envious of him.
Zheng Xinxin felt no guilt or embarrassment about eating alone. She felt that she should eat her food openly and generously! Besides, the meat wasn't bought by her; it was bought by her good friend Hehe. Hehe said she wouldn't give it to her, so she listened to Hehe and could eat a few more pieces of meat. She could eat more stuffed green peppers than during the New Year, which made her happy just thinking about it.
Zheng Xinxin smiled brightly and waved her hand generously, "I'll pay for the green peppers then."
She can't afford meat, but she can still afford green peppers. She can't let Hehe pay for everything herself; one shouldn't be too greedy.
He He knew that Zheng Xinxin was a person who reciprocated, so she didn't insist that she buy the green peppers herself. "Okay, okay, after the busy farming season is over, on the first day of our rest, we'll go to the meat processing plant early in the morning to grab pork. This time we must eat our fill!"
During the Lunar New Year, each person only received one piece, which was not enough for her at all. This time, she wants to eat five pieces by herself!
Zheng Xinxin patted her stomach and mimicked He He's words, "Full!"
Another female educated youth, Li Baiyun, came in after finishing her meal. She happened to hear Zheng Xinxin holding He He's arm with her right hand and patting her stomach with her left hand, saying something about being full. She asked curiously, "What are you doing? What do you mean 'full'?"
He He and Zheng Xinxin exchanged a smile and said in unison, "We won't tell you; it's our secret."
Li Baiyun jumped onto the bed and scratched He He and Zheng Xinxin's stomachs with both hands, but she scratched He He very lightly, afraid of upsetting He He.
"Alright, you two, I knew you were the best. You excluded Jingyi and me, huh? Let me show you what I'm capable of."
He He nimbly rolled to the wall, escaping Li Baiyun's clutches.
Zheng Xinxin wasn't so lucky; she was suppressed by Li Baiyun and kept giggling from being tickled.
He He attacked from behind, scratching Li Baiyun so that he had no time to pay attention to Zheng Xinxin. Zheng Xinxin retaliated by scratching Li Baiyun, but accidentally scratched He He. He He immediately reached out and scratched Zheng Xinxin's waist.
The three of them fought on the bed until they were exhausted, before finally stopping and quietly taking a nap on the large communal bed.
Chen Jingyi hadn't returned by bedtime, and Li Baiyun even asked her where she had gone.
Overwhelmed by drowsiness, the questioning went nowhere, and none of the three noticed that Chen Jingyi had returned just before getting up for work.
In the afternoon, a large group of educated youth went to the warehouse to collect farm tools for their work, and then went to the brigade to collect the assigned fields.
The educated youth were organized into a small team. The boys, who were responsible for heavy labor, were in charge of cutting rice, while the girls were responsible for picking it up behind the team. The boys, who were responsible for heavy labor, could earn ten work points a day, while the girls, who were responsible for light labor, could earn seven.
However, each person was allotted one mu (approximately 0.16 acres) of land to harvest per day. If they didn't finish harvesting or picking up the leftovers, a scorekeeper would deduct their work points.
Work points were the farmers' life-saving money for exchanging grain. In the brigade, strong male laborers could generally earn ten work points a day. Among the educated youth who had been in the countryside for a long time and had strong endurance, they could also earn ten work points if they could complete their daily tasks on time.
Chen Jingbai was someone who could earn ten work points.
In addition to completing his own tasks, he can also help He He complete hers.
However, He He didn't have high demands for work points. She had more than enough money from her family to eat and drink, so she only asked herself to get the same three work points as the other children in the brigade each day.
The other female educated youth were all diligent and hardworking. Although they were not as physically strong as the young girls in the brigade who had been doing farm work since childhood and could only earn seven or eight work points, Zheng Xinxin and the others were much better than He He. They could earn five or six work points a day, and sometimes even seven.
There were also women in the brigade who could earn ten work points. They also had the task of harvesting one mu of land per day, so they could earn ten work points.
Aside from He He, the other female educated youth admired these women in the brigade the most; they were incredibly capable, even stronger than some of the men.
Women hold up half the sky; this is absolutely true, and what Chairman Mao said is the truth.
The sun hangs high in the sky, and in the fields, little figures hunch over, sickles in hand, as stalks of golden rice, which once stood upright, now lie flat on the land.
He He followed behind Chen Jingbai, picking rice for a while, then carrying a large handful of rice, bending over and resting it on her thighs, glancing left and right to slack off for a bit.
She can no longer be said to be following Chen Jingbai's footsteps. Chen Jingbai is much faster than she was, picking things up for a while and then slacking off. He has already left her far behind.
He He placed the rice in the designated rice-growing area. When she had some free time, she noticed that the other educated youth around her were all focused on harvesting rice and no one was looking in her direction. So she secretly took out some sweet fruit candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
Her mouth tasted sweet, but her heart was bitter. He He sighed as she looked at the rice piled up to her knees on the ground.
Can't she lie comfortably in this field like the rice?
I envy rice.
Under the blazing sun, He He suddenly regretted the words she had added yesterday. She wanted to slap herself for speaking so quickly. She had said Cheng Sulin's mouth was useless, but her mouth was useless too!
She shouldn't have been so assertive at noon, blurting out that she didn't need Chen Jingbai to help her with the work.
There are more ways to befriend him than just this.
She chose the stupidest and most tiring method. If she could go back to noon, she would definitely grit her teeth and keep her mouth shut.
I hate Chen Jingbai! How could he agree so quickly? Couldn't he have put it off a little longer?
It's all Chen Jingbai's fault, it's all his fault.
He He thought bitterly.
While He He was slacking off, Chen Jingbai had already finished collecting one column and started collecting the next.
When he looked up, he saw He He squatting on the ground, holding a stalk of rice in her hand, sweeping it back and forth in the field, her mouth moving constantly, and a small dot occasionally bulging out from the corner of her mouth.
She didn't pick up much rice from the ground, she was too busy playing. She even said she would do the work herself in the afternoon and didn't need his help. He really believed He He's nonsense at noon and thought she had changed her personality. In the end, she just came to the field to slack off in a different way.
Chen Jingbai let out a chilling laugh.
It would be better not to come at all; it's a waste of time and it also affects other people's rice harvesting.
She wouldn't even choose an open space after the rice harvest to squat; she always had to squat with her back to the unharvested rice. Wasn't she afraid that the rice harvesters wouldn't notice her and would swing their sickles at her?
Seeing Sun Jiabao, who was just a few feet away from He He, working hard to harvest rice with a sickle, Chen Jingbai was furious. He took a long stride and quickly walked up to He He.
He He felt the sun being blocked, and a cool shade appeared before her eyes. Then, a rough, forceful hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her up.
He He winced in pain, her face contorted with displeasure. She sullenly snapped, "Anyone who dares to pull me, I'll tie your hands up with rope!"
She looked up and saw Chen Jingbai, whose face looked even more droopy than hers.
He He was startled to see Chen Jingbai so serious and with such a dark expression for the first time. Her body trembled, and the messy tuft of hair on her head shook. Her voice trembled as she asked, "What... what are you doing!"
He He's wrist was still being held, and she dared not shake it forcefully. She could only wiggle her wrist, trying to break free from Chen Jingbai's grip. Just as she regained her composure and was about to speak fiercely, she remembered:
You must be on good terms with Chen Jingbai and not speak harshly to him.
He He could only soften her voice slightly: "Chen Jingbai, let go, it hurts so much."
Chen Jingbai pulled He He away from that piece of land and dragged her to an empty field with no rice plants for several feet around before letting go of He He's hand.
He said in a fierce tone, "Look back at yourself and see where you were just squatting."
He He stared blankly, then turned around as Chen Jingbai spoke, only to see Sun Jiabao's sickle, used for cutting rice, almost reaching the spot where she had just been standing.
If Chen Jingbai hadn't pulled her away from that spot, and if Sun Jiabao hadn't noticed someone squatting there, wouldn't the sharp sickle have been slashing at her?
He He had a vivid imagination, and in an instant, she pictured her bloodied body lying on the ground, her face turning pale.
In my imagination, she really was lying on the ground like a stalk of rice.
He He turned around and faced Chen Jingbai, "I...I don't know...I was standing in such a dangerous place."
She kept her head down, not daring to look at Chen Jingbai, feeling incredibly guilty.
He He didn't expect that she had misunderstood him. She thought that Chen Jingbai had seen her slacking off and wanted to teach her a lesson, but in fact, he had saved her life.
She doesn't appreciate kindness.
He He's nose twitched, and she looked miserable: "Thank you, Chen Jingbai. I shouldn't have scolded you just now."
Chen Jingbai's indifferent expression darkened further, and he retorted, "If you want to die, don't drag Sun Jiabao down with you."
A note from the author:
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