Chapter 18
Zhou Cuihua immediately tried to pull He He, using a lot of force, and directly grabbed He He's arm.
Just as Chen Jingbai was about to step forward to help, He He nimbly shook off Zhou Cuihua's hand. He then put his leg down and quietly watched He He perform.
He He said with a stern face, "Auntie, what do you mean by this? Why are you pulling me? If there's anything, we can go to the team leader's house together after today's production task is finished. Don't delay our production now."
“Your sickle is being repaired by Uncle Zhou. I don’t have your hoe here, so don’t come to the wrong person. If you stop us again, we’ll tell the brigade leader that you’re being unreasonable and delaying the brigade’s production tasks.”
Zhou Cuihua was surprised that the seemingly weak and frail educated youth could shake off her hand. She had used all her strength just now. How could a girl from the city shake off her hand so easily? She looked at He He with some doubt in her eyes.
Before she could even speak, Zhou Cuihua noticed that the other three educated youths had surrounded her, including two men. She knew that as a woman, she couldn't possibly fight off two men, so she didn't dare to utter a sound.
Then there's this shrewd female educated youth who only knows how to use her position as the brigade leader. Everyone knows that their brigade leader favors this group of educated youth, saying things like that the young people from the city are here to support the countryside, so they should be treated well, that there should be no conflicts, and that they should get along amicably.
Every time there was a large meeting, the brigade leader would always mention that he wanted to get along well with the educated youth. But no matter how nicely the brigade leader spoke, everyone knew that these educated youth were just there to take their food rations.
However, no one dared to disobey the brigade leader. The brigade leader was serious and fair, had been on the battlefield before, and held a senior position. He was also a master at managing production, so who would dare to offend him?
So she said sullenly, "Oh, I was just kidding with you. I didn't expect you to be so strong. We'll just wait for Zhou Laosi. You guys go ahead and don't delay the production."
He He pursed her lips tightly: "Oh, so you really love to have fun."
"You!" Zhou Cuihua was clearly surprised that He He would be so disrespectful, and she was panting heavily.
Zheng Xinxin stood united against the outsiders: "What do you mean 'you'? Don't think we're easy to mess with."
Zhao Dechuan stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Auntie, please don't take offense. Xinxin and Xiao He are still young, and sometimes they speak bluntly. After all, I've seen more of life than they have. Please be understanding. We'll be leaving now. If we keep talking, it will really delay the team's production tasks."
Zhao Dechuan was among the first group of educated youth sent to the countryside. He's thirty-two this year, unlike He He and Zheng Xinxin, who are only in their early twenties. Zhou Cuihua's son is about the same age as He He and Zheng Xinxin. It's really disrespectful of an elder for her to fight with the younger generation over a sickle.
He wasn't kind to Zhou Cuihua either, but he still had to put on a show. After speaking to Zhou Cuihua, Zhao Dechuan said to the other educated youth, "Let's go."
Zhou Cuihua still had resentment in her eyes. She was tired of hearing the production task of the brigade mentioned one thing after another, but this was the one thing that could hold her back the most.
If anyone really delays the production of the brigade, the brigade leader is not someone to be trifled with.
Zhou Cuihua was afraid of these quick-witted educated youths, but she was also furious. She winked at Granny Wang, hoping that Granny Wang would take advantage of her age and shamelessly whine to take back the sickle and hoe.
Seeing that Zhou Cuihua, who had taken the lead, hadn't gained any advantage, Granny Wang was about to rush forward when she heard Zhou Dahe shout that the hoe was fixed. Instantly, she forgot about snatching the hoe from the educated youth and happily took it.
Granny Wang: "Cuihua, my hoe is ready, so I'll be going now. You wait for your sickle, it should be ready soon too. Old Zhou is still quite nimble."
Granny Wang abandoned her so quickly, Zhou Cuihua couldn't bear to look at her and said irritably, "Go, go, all of you go."
Seeing that only she and Zhou Laosi were left in the farm tool shed, Zhou Cuihua was furious, but she had nowhere to vent her anger, so she could only keep it bottled up inside.
After waiting for ages, Zhou Laosi finally finished sharpening her sickle. Zhou Cuihua was furious. "You're so slow! You're even dawdling over sharpening the sickle."
Zhou Cuihua pursed her lips and left without saying anything. She didn't have time to listen to Zhou Laosi's nonsense and rushed to the field.
When they arrived at the field, the team members had been working for who knows how long. The scorekeeper frowned and asked Zhou Cuihua, who was late, "Why are you so late? You've already wasted a quarter of an hour. This is your first warning today. If you do it again, you'll lose half a work point."
The scorekeeper is not someone to be fooled. They are even fiercer and stricter than the team leader. They don't care what caused your delay. If you are late, you are late. They show no leniency whatsoever. It is precisely because of this impartiality that they were selected as scorekeepers.
Not daring to offend the scorekeeper, Zhou Cuihua forced a smile, quickly explained the situation, and then went to the fields to work, still seething with resentment.
When calculating work points in the afternoon, she wasted some time and was thinking about other things, which caused her to not complete the task and was deducted one work point.
When Zhou Cuihua returned home and saw her son lying on the bed like a cripple, her face drooped to the floor.
Wang Xiaojun has caused her a lot of trouble since he was a child. He was living a good life, but then he went to the casino. When he came back halfway, he was beaten up by the casino people and couldn't get out of bed for a week. He was just wasting rice at home.
She couldn't help but mutter, "Junzi, look at you, you had to get involved with your cousin. You're all injured now, and you can't even earn work points. Do you still want to get married?"
Wang Xiaojun and Zhou Dahe are cousins, and their families live close by. They've been playing together since they were little. They were mischievous as children, and now that they're older, they're capable of all sorts of outrageous things. Zhou Cuihua can't bear to look at her son, but she has no choice but to discipline him.
"Okay, Mom, hurry up and cook. I'm in so much pain, and you're still saying these things." Wang Xiaojun was in excruciating pain all over his body with the slightest movement, and he spat out a curse.
Those guys at the casino are really ruthless. He just won some money, why did they have to kill him? Once he recovers, he'll definitely settle the score with them.
Fortunately, he and his cousin were clever and hid the money in a box, so the thief didn't steal it.
Wang Xiaojun felt resentful when he thought about that night. If his cousin and Gouzi hadn't been able to move and dragged him back, he might have lay on that road until the next day, not knowing whether he would be alive or dead.
Of the three, he was the most seriously injured, probably because he won the most money. The people at the casino were jealous. Thinking about winning money, Wang Xiaojun chuckled softly. It was worth getting beaten up if he had money.
That night he had a lucky streak and won fifty yuan. Fifty yuan was two or three months' salary for a city dweller. No wonder the casino staff wanted to rob him; they were just jealous of how much he won. But unlike those fools who won money before, he didn't hide his money properly and got robbed on his way home.
Zhou Cuihua looked at her son laughing again and felt confused. "Junzi, what are you laughing at? Your laughter is making me confused."
Wang Xiaojun suppressed a smile, "It's nothing, you go and cook, Dad will be back soon."
He had worked hard to earn this money, and he only wanted to use it for himself. How could he possibly tell Zhou Cuihua about it?
After a few more days of calm, the discussion about Wang Xiaojun and his two companions being beaten so badly they couldn't even get off the ground was quelled after a bit of mockery from the group.
The excitement subsided, the rice seedlings in the brigade were almost planted, and the busy farming season was almost over. However, He He still couldn't win over Chen Jingbai, and even felt that Chen Jingbai's attitude towards her recently had a subtle coldness about it.
The rice planting has been progressing quickly lately, and we've been back earlier than before.
That evening, it was Chen Jingbai's turn to cook. The other educated youths were all in their rooms, but He He cornered Chen Jingbai in the woodshed where the cooking was done.
The faint glow of the setting sun shone through the trees of the mountains and through the wooden-framed glass window, illuminating Chen Jingbai's hard profile and casting warm red light on his body.
He He stood still for a moment, then quietly walked forward. Looking at the dish that was almost ready, she decided to wait a little longer for Chen Jingbai to finish cooking it.
When Chen Jingbai finished stir-frying the vegetables and was about to turn around to get a plate, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that He He had come in at some point and had been there for a while.
He He didn't make a move, so Chen Jingbai pretended not to see it, calmly picked up the plate, scooped the food from the pot into the plate, and placed it in an empty space on the stove.
Seeing that Chen Jingbai was about to prepare the next dish, He He nudged his arm and called out to him, "Chen Jingbai, I have something I want to ask you."
No matter how much she praised him these past few days, Chen Jingbai remained unmoved. She had long wanted to ask him why he had suddenly backed down.
The distant, warm light shone on Chen Jingbai, making him appear gentle, a stark contrast to his usual aloof demeanor.
Looking at Chen Jingbai's slightly red lips, He He swallowed, the words stuck in her throat.
She was initially attracted by Chen Jingbai's superior appearance. Even when she learned that Chen Jingbai would become a big shot in the future, she immediately decided to become Chen Jingbai's leading lady. A big reason for this was that Chen Jingbai met her requirements for the appearance of her other half.
As if possessed, He He blurted out her long-held question, "Chen Jingbai, may I kiss you?"
He He's voice wasn't loud, but Chen Jingbai heard it clearly. In order to know what He He was saying, he had focused his gaze on her lips and made sure he could see it clearly.
Chen Jingbai's heart skipped a beat, and disbelief flashed in his eyes. "Do you know what you're saying?"
Chen Jingbai's words calmed He He down. She belatedly realized what she had just said, and her cheeks instantly burned. "I...I..."
Chen Jingbai looked at her flushed face without saying a word.
The atmosphere turned cold. He He looked up at the indifferent Chen Jingbai, and the slight coldness Chen Jingbai had shown her these past few days welled up in her heart again.
She was determined to go all out, staring into Chen Jingbai's eyes and saying firmly, "I said I want to kiss you."
Chen Jingbai chuckled lightly, "What kind of relationship do we have? You think you can just kiss me whenever you want?"
Since he caught her and Cheng Surin being affectionate behind the house, he has calmed down and his attitude towards He He has returned to what it was before.
He He's frivolous words were like a small piece of firewood thrown into a haystack, crackling and popping awake, and igniting a strange fire within him.
What does He He really think of him? Why can she say these things so calmly? Why is it not enough that she's already so close to Cheng Surin, but she also has to provoke him?
Before He He could speak, Chen Jingbai burst out like a cannonball, veins popping on his forehead, "You and Cheng Sulin are getting so close, so don't come to me saying things like that. What do you take me for? Do you really like me, or do you just enjoy playing with me?"
"Who taught you to be so fickle and frivolous?"
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Author's Note: The Cold War is about to begin, and the stubborn guy, who's been holding it in for so long, has finally blurted it out. [Sunglasses]
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