"Who used the firewood? How are we going to cook?"
Zhou Han's noise in the kitchen last night continued until the early hours of the morning. In addition, everyone was new to the place and hadn't yet adjusted to the new environment. It felt like we had only slept for a few hours when we heard the rooster crowing.
The older educated youth were too tired. Yesterday's commotion didn't affect their rest. They all got up quickly this morning. The brigade leader was a very strict person, and they dared not be late.
This was tough on the new educated youth. They were already exhausted and just wanted to finish breakfast quickly so they could go to the fields, but then the firewood disappeared.
Lin Haiping, understanding that they hadn't had time to gather firewood in the first few days, distributed firewood to them, enough for only two or three days.
"How could it be gone? Firewood isn't anything valuable."
"Yes, how could someone steal firewood? Did they put it somewhere else?"
Everyone looked dejected and listless, huddled in the kitchen discussing where the firewood had gone.
"After Comrade Lin Haiping gave me firewood yesterday, I put it here and haven't touched it since."
Bai Rongjun, who came along to see what was happening, then realized that the firewood they had used yesterday was the same firewood they were going to use to cook today.
"Did you use it yesterday?"
Everyone immediately realized that Zhou Han and Bai Rongjun must have run out of firewood because they had been making so much noise outside last night.
"What are we going to do with our food after you've used it?"
"Why didn't you tell us before you used it?"
Everyone started criticizing the two of them, saying they'd used up all the firewood and were going to have to cook for the next couple of days.
"We were wrong about this, but it's just a little firewood, there's no need for everyone to make such a fuss. I can just collect it after work today."
What do you mean by "there's only a little firewood"? You've delayed everyone's breakfast.
Seeing that the group was about to start arguing, Lu Ronghui took out some biscuits from the package she had brought.
"There's no use arguing now. There's no time to make breakfast. If you have any food with you, bring it along to tide you over."
After she finished speaking, she walked straight to the door, and only then did everyone realize that the work bell had already rung.
"Hurry, hurry, let's go!"
Everyone had emergency rations in their packs, so they took out some, ate as they walked, and quickly ran to the fields.
Although they were a little late, the captain was quite satisfied, considering it was good that they could get up on the first day.
"This is your task for today. If you don't know what to do, just look at the people next to you."
Their task was simple: the land had already been plowed, and all they had to do was dig holes and plant melon seedlings.
Lu Ronghui observed what the other women were doing and concluded that the fastest way was for one person to dig and another to plant the seed.
“Let’s divide this land into sections, and each person will be responsible for their own section.”
Everyone was clueless, but they all nodded in agreement when they heard her words.
After the land was divided, she went to find Liu Ruo to work with. Others followed suit. Bai Rongjun went with Zhou Han, and one boy was left out. He went to find one of the boys and the three of them worked together.
This job looks easy, but it's quite a challenge for them. The person digging the hole has to keep bending over and using their hands, and the person planting also has to keep bending over. After working for a while, they are exhausted and have backaches.
Bai Rongjun's clothes are mostly various kinds of skirts, which are beautiful but not suitable for wearing on the ground. She only has two sets of pants, one of which she is wearing, and she is wearing a white shirt on top.
A white shirt paired with military green pants, plus her two ponytails, made her look very youthful and vibrant, just like a female college student in a movie poster.
When she arrived, many young people in the village secretly sized her up.
When it came time to work, the clothes didn't fit anymore. The pants were too tight, and it was tiring to bend over. Plus, the white shirt got dirty too easily, and soon I was covered in dust and looked quite disheveled.
"Why don't you go sit under the tree for a while?"
"If I leave, can you finish everything by yourself?"
Zhou Han's suggestion was indeed very tempting. They had been working in the fields all morning, and the sun was already high in the sky, but the bell for finishing work had not yet rung.
Bai Rongjun was covered in sweat from the sun, and her hair was stuck to her face.
"It's okay, I can do it all by myself." Zhou Han felt sorry for her.
So she walked to a tree not far away and sat down to rest. Liu Ruo looked at Bai Rongjun with envy, as she also had a sore back.
"When will we be finished?" What she really wanted to ask was when they could stop working.
"Didn't the team leader tell us to finish all this work in one morning? We can leave work whenever we finish."
"What?! This is a whole morning's work?"
Liu Ruo sighed. It felt like so much time had passed, but she had only done half of the work.
While the others were working hard in the field, Bai Rongjun sat under a tree watching them. After a while, she seemed to have rested enough and slowly walked over to Zhou Han.
"It's all my fault for being unwell; I've caused you trouble."
"You're my boyfriend, this is what I should do. Okay, it's too sunny, don't come over, go sit under the tree, I can finish this by myself."
Zhou Han refused Bai Rongjun's offer to help, believing he could handle all the work and take good care of her on his own.
Bai Rongjun shook her head. She was also reluctant to let Zhou Han do all this by herself, but she was already panting heavily after helping plant a few seedlings.
"Go and rest!" Zhou Han's attitude was somewhat forceful.
Only after Zhou Han reassured her did she walk down and sit under the tree.
Zhou Han was indeed physically strong, but he was definitely slower than others to do the work of two people. By the time the bell rang to signal the end of the workday, he had not finished. At this time, the team leader was already preparing to come and inspect their first day's results.
Bai Rongjun was a little anxious; she wanted to make a good impression on the captain on the first day.
"The captain is coming soon. You guys hurry up and help Zhou Han finish the last bit."
If they don't finish, it will definitely affect the captain's impression of them.
The others also considered this and were ready to help. Lu Ronghui simply plopped down under the tree.
“We’ve already assigned the work, and everyone’s share is the same. Everyone has finished their own work, so why should we help him?”
"That's right, he's dragging us down. We'll tell him when the captain asks me later."
The others then realized what was happening.
Bai Rongjun had been resting under the tree all morning and was only now starting to get anxious. Zhou Han was helping her with the work, which was why everyone else was being slowed down.
"How can you do this? Aren't we all a team? If Zhou Han doesn't finish, the captain will criticize us all."
Bai Rongjun was so anxious she was almost in tears. Almost everyone around her had left, and the scorekeeper and the team leader would be arriving soon.
“If the captain criticizes us for this, Zhou Han will still help you next time, and we still won’t be able to avoid it.”
"Yes, we need to explain the situation to the captain and ask him to separate us again next time."
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