Chapter 4
Chen Jingbai knew that He He hadn't grasped the key point, so he ignored her feelings and returned to his original position, picking up the sickle again to cut the rice.
He He looked at Chen Jingbai's retreating figure, pouting unhappily.
What's wrong with him?
He He looked up in despair at the fluffy white clouds in the sky, thought and thought, but still couldn't understand what made Chen Jingbai angry.
I never knew Chen Jingbai was so prone to sulking.
This was the first time she had ever realized she possessed such a keen ability to read people's expressions; she could immediately tell that Chen Jingbai was unhappy with a cold face.
Chen Jingbai is so hard to please, she doesn't want to be the female lead anymore.
She didn't necessarily want to be the female lead; she just felt that the female leads in the Book of Worlds all lived well, had money and respectable jobs, which was what she wanted.
She never used to chase after men; it was always others chasing after her.
Ye Minglang was the one who followed her around the most in the compound; he was like a dandruff plaster that she couldn't shake off.
She's already so awful, yet Ye Minglang still follows her around, which annoys her terribly.
Now that He He knows Ye Minglang has turned his attention to He Shuying, she is overjoyed. She has finally gotten rid of the ugly man who can't understand human language.
Under the scorching sun, everyone was working hard and had no time to pay attention to any other chores besides harvesting rice, so no one else saw the two of them struggling.
He He bent down again, speeding up to catch up with the lagging progress. She carried her arms full of rice until she could put it down no more, and then she carried the rice to the pile.
After speeding up, He He finally caught up with Chen Jingbai. She followed carefully behind him. Chen Jingbai would cut a handful of scythes, and she would pick them up. She kept a distance of about two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) from him so that she wouldn't be hurt by his sickle, but she wouldn't be too far away either.
He He watched Chen Jingbai's retreating figure and exhaled a few breaths.
This was the first time He He had seen Chen Jingbai with such a gloomy face, as fierce as the eve of a storm, as if he were about to devour her whole.
He He felt a little scared, afraid of offending Chen Jingbai even more thoroughly. In the two years since she had known Chen Jingbai, it was no exaggeration to say that this was the first time she had ever seen Chen Jingbai angry and speak so fiercely.
When she first got hold of Chen Jingbai's weakness, she threatened him to make him do chores for her, and he wasn't that angry.
At that moment, his deep-set eyes showed only a slight shock, his expression remained calm, as if he were not the one engaging in speculation.
The slight shock on his face was probably because he wondered how she had discovered his and Chen Jingyi's clandestine speculation and profiteering.
When He He goes to the county town, she likes to visit the black market, where there are book stalls where she can buy the books she likes, and sometimes she can even find some surprises.
The books she brought from home were mostly worn out from being turned so many times. There was little entertainment in the countryside, and these books were the only thing she could use to relieve boredom.
If she can't read novels anymore, He He wants to go back every month, no matter how far away, and give He Shuying a good beating.
The black market in the county town was located in a remote residential area. The area was well-connected, far from the police station, with many houses and winding alleys.
There is a small mountain not far away. If the police come to arrest them, people familiar with this area can easily escape by taking advantage of the winding terrain, or at worst, run into the deep mountains.
Some people came here to sell their goods because they saw that there were many customers and many alleys. Over time, it evolved into a black market where many vendors gathered.
The authorities cracked down hard on speculation and profiteering, but people still needed to eat. The city had a ration of grain, and even families with many members didn't have enough. Without grain coupons, even if you had money, you couldn't buy it from the supply and marketing cooperative. So, people could only try their luck at the black market, where they only needed money and no coupons. That's how the business was formed.
He He discovered that Chen Jingbai and his sister were involved in speculation and profiteering because there was a brick factory in a county town near the black market.
The red brick factory is very dusty, and it's easy to get covered in red powder after just one visit. The road leading to the black market for the Qianjin Brigade passes by the red brick factory.
Every time He He went to the black market, she would carefully check her body for any red powder dust. Chen Jingbai was either too careless or just forgot occasionally, but he got red powder dust on his body a couple of times, and he happened to be away from the educated youth settlement on those occasions.
Actually, He He wouldn't have suspected anything if she had been involved with the red powder, since passing by the red brick factory might have led her to other places in the county. However, she accidentally overheard Chen Jingbai and Chen Jingyi talking behind the house one day.
He He swore she hadn't eavesdropped; she just wanted to go to the mountain behind the house to pick plums. Her mouth was so sweet and sour that she could only blame the two siblings for being too careless and not knowing to keep their conversation private.
With just a quick contact, He He deduced from the money, the danger, and the red powder on Chen Jingbai's body that they were engaging in speculation and profiteering. He He originally did not want to use this matter to threaten people, but she had only been in the countryside for a short time and was not good at farm work at all.
Farm work was heavy and tiring. She knew that Chen Jingbai's family was a low-ranking intellectual, and she didn't like Chen Jingbai. She also had something on Chen Jingbai, so she used this to threaten him. Many times afterward, when she didn't want to work, she would dump the work on Chen Jingbai.
After all, Chen Jingbai was so easy to talk to and so easy to order around.
Seeing how easy he was to talk to, He He felt bad, so every time Chen Jingbai helped her with chores, she would treat him to a meal.
Chen Jingbai is too easygoing and has no temper, which allows He He to take advantage of him.
He was so easygoing that when a group of men called him deaf to his face, Chen Jingbo remained calm and didn't get angry. He was like a scarecrow without emotions, not fighting back no matter how much birds pecked or bit him.
When He He first arrived, she would stand up for Chen Jingbai when she heard someone call him deaf. But after standing up for him a few times, she realized that Chen Jingbai didn't care whether anyone spoke up for him or not, so He He stopped caring.
Even he didn't care anymore, so He He didn't want to bother with it. She could tolerate being treated kindly like a fool once or twice, but she wouldn't be happy to do it too often.
She's not a bodhisattva; she's not that kind-hearted.
Strangely enough, when she bumped into the group of men who had called Chen Jingbai deaf a few days later, almost every one of them would grimac and bar their teeth every few steps, looking like an idiot.
She secretly laughed about it for a long time, and then she and Zheng Xinxin tried to imitate their expressions to see who could imitate them the best.
At first, I thought the group of boys were injured, but upon closer inspection, I couldn't find any injuries.
After thinking it over, He He felt that they must have gone mad, or that some strange posture was circulating among the boys, but the isolated educated youth settlement was unaware of it and no male educated youth had learned it.
The thought of Chen Jingbai grinning like that made He He laugh even harder.
Now, the more He He thought about it, the more she felt that Chen Jingbai, who was usually so cold and indifferent, suddenly became so emotional, as if he was really angry about this.
So He He reluctantly took out a piece of milk candy, wanting to give it to Chen Jingbai.
She only took two candies with her when she went out today: one fruit candy and the other, which is even tastier, milk candy. She was reluctant to eat the milk candy first, so she ate the fruit candy instead. Now Chen Jingbai is really getting a good deal.
Holding the candy, He He mustered her courage, walked to his side, and whispered, "Chen Jingbai, are you angry?"
Not receiving a reply from Chen Jingbai, and suddenly realizing that she was speaking too softly and that Chen Jingbai wouldn't be able to hear her, He He boldly reached out and grasped Chen Jingbai's right forearm, which was holding the sickle, so that no one else could hear her.
After she had restrained Chen Jingbai's moving arm, she leaned close to his ear and spoke very softly, making sure it was a volume he could hear: "Chen Jingbai, are you angry? I know I shouldn't have stood in such a dangerous place just now. Please don't be upset."
A note from the author:
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My next book is "The Abandoned Original Wife of a Historical Fiction Master," please add it to your favorites, everyone! [Please][Pity][Please]
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