"That's right, we'll do exactly what they do. We just don't believe the team leader will give us fewer work points."
Standing in the courtyard, Chen Junjie heard their words and thought to himself, "Let's see how much they can accomplish if we work with these three!"
The next morning, the three of us left on time, while several educated youths from the neighboring compound had just come out of their rooms looking bewildered. When they found the brigade leader, they heard:
"Scorekeeper, no matter how many work points they earn today, deduct two from my score. If that's not enough, deduct from tomorrow's score. If that's not enough, deduct from the day after tomorrow's score."
When you first arrived, we told you that the first call was a reminder, and the second call was the start of work. You were to arrive within 10 minutes to collect today's tools and tasks.
Do you all just ignore what I, the brigade leader, say?
"Captain, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"
"Alright, you guys are new here today. Since the soybeans here are ripe, you can help harvest them! Two ditches per person, four ditches in a morning, that's four work points."
To ensure fairness, our brigade assigns work points based on the amount of work done, which then determines the amount of grain distributed. There are no cheaters or slackers in our brigade; it's all about willingness to work. As long as you're willing to work, you won't go hungry.
"Fourth brother, you take these few with you."
"yes"
"But, Captain, we don't know how," Ruan Yuanyuan said.
"This is not difficult. Just watch how others do it and follow suit." After saying this, the team leader put his hands behind his back and went to inspect the other people's work.
Why should the three of us care about them? We've almost reached the end of both ditches by ourselves, and Chen Enpeng and his partner have also finished most of their work. The other male members of the production team are at about the same pace as Chen Enpeng and his partner.
It's not just this one brigade; it's pretty much the same throughout Fusong County. The sideline businesses of each brigade are basically collecting Chinese medicinal herbs and raising pigs.
In the past, those who went up the mountain to collect herbs were children from families who couldn't go to school. But ever since the three of us took the lead and finished our work ahead of schedule to collect herbs, everyone saw that we not only earned money but also a lot of receipts. As a result, the members of the production team were very enthusiastic about going to work every day and were trying to finish as soon as possible. They went up the mountain in the morning because going there didn't mean there was nothing left; it just meant that they had to go as far as they could to dig up herbs. This was relatively dangerous, so everyone was very enthusiastic.
When Ruan Yuanyuan and her group arrived at the edge of the field, they saw that everyone else had already worked quite a distance, and there was no one nearby. They didn't know where to start. Gu Zhenggui, the scorekeeper who was following behind them, said, "You guys keep working. I'll go to the team leader and ask him to find someone to guide you."
When the captain arrived with his men, he saw the five of them sitting on the edge of the ground. The more he looked, the angrier he became. He said to the five of them:
"No matter how much easier their work is today, deduct another work point from my score. This is a matter of attitude!"
"yes"
"Captain, we..."
"Aunt Hua, you'll be in charge of leading them this morning, teaching them how to harvest soybeans. No matter how much you do, I'll give you 4 work points."
"Alright, Captain, you four young comrades can just call me Aunt Hua. I promise I'll teach you."
But Aunt Hua never expected to be proven wrong so quickly. Less than half an hour later, she heard the woman named Chen Xi say:
"My hand, my hand is bleeding, boohoo!"
Then Liu Wenwen said, "Oh dear, Chen Zhiqing, won't your injured hand leave a scar? That wouldn't be pretty."
"Yes, Chen Zhiqing, do you want me to take you to the hospital?" Upon hearing the news, Bai Jiaming threw down his sickle and ran to Chen Xi, showing concern and care.
Not far from Chen Xi, Ruan Yuanyuan saw the person she liked fawning over someone else and whispered, "
"It's just a cut on my hand! So what if I bleed a little? I won't die!"
But she was so busy talking that she didn't rest her sickle, and she accidentally cut her calf. Blood immediately flowed out. When Ruan Yuanyuan felt the pain in her leg and saw the large bloodstain on her trouser leg, she screamed in fright:
"I'm going to die, so much blood. So much blood, I'm going to die," she said, then fainted from fright.
At first, Aunt Hua didn't think much of it, but after hearing:
"Oh no! Oh no! Yuanyuan has fainted!"
Upon hearing this, Aunt Hua rushed over and, seeing the previous bloodstains on Ruan Yuanyuan's pants, immediately cried out in alarm:
"Help! Help! The newly arrived educated youth has fainted. It looks like he cut his calf and is bleeding a lot!"
The brigade leader happened to be nearby, and everyone who heard the news rushed over to see what was happening. Even Yuan Yuanyuan had a bloodstain the size of a bowl on her trouser leg. The brigade leader was furious and said:
"Hey lady, carry Ruan Zhiqing to Old Wang's place for a look."
"Okay, I'll do it," said Gu Zhengfu's wife.
At first, neither Chen Enpeng nor I knew about this. By this time, I had already finished my work and started working backwards, while Chen Junjie and the others still had a third left to go. They would be finishing these two ditches of soybean stalks soon.
When we finished work in the morning, we heard people saying that the newly arrived educated youth had caused so much trouble.
There were all sorts of rumors, but the most common one was that the pretty-boy educated youth, Bai, liked the most beautiful educated youth, Chen, who had just arrived. The educated youth, Ruan, who had fainted from fright after bleeding a little, liked Bai.
I've only been here a short time and haven't looked around much, yet everyone already knows all this. No wonder they say the eyes of the masses are discerning.
I didn't have to work in the afternoon, so I steamed some buns at home. It wouldn't be right for me not to do anything when Chen Enpeng and the others did it.
Meanwhile, Ruan Yuanyuan, who was lying in the educated youth compound next door, was feeling terrible. Not only did she eat some biscuits in the morning, but at noon, it was the accountant's aunt who, seeing that they didn't know how to cook, taught them how to make porridge. She was already starving, and now the aroma of food in the air made her even hungrier.
At 5 p.m., the aroma of food in the air grew stronger, and Ruan Yuanyuan could no longer lie still. She got up and slowly walked to the entrance of the educated youth compound. She didn't know whose door to knock on, but she was so hungry! She was too embarrassed to knock on the doors of the two male educated youths. With no other choice, she mustered up her courage and knocked on the door of the easternmost household.
Just then, I had finished picking out the last batch of steamed buns in my spatial dimension. I planned to let them cool slightly before putting them in my basket so I could take them out whenever I wanted to eat them. Then I heard someone knocking on the courtyard gate. I wondered who it could be, since most people were either working in the fields or in the mountains.
But since someone was knocking on the door, there was no choice but to quickly leave the space. Upon opening the door, she saw Ruan Yuanyuan, and before she could even speak, she heard her say:
"Mianmian, can you give me something to eat?"
"Huh! What did you say?"
"Could you give me something to eat?" Ruan Yuanyuan asked loudly, thinking that she hadn't explained herself clearly.
Chen Junjie and Chen Enpeng, who were drying cornbread in their yard, overheard this and were about to go out to see what was happening when they heard Li Mianmian from next door say...
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