Chapter 50: Explosive News

Song Yue had just opened her mouth when—

A voice suddenly chimed in from the side. “Yang Chunhua, your mother-in-law is really something else, huh? You’re about to give birth, and she’s still making you work in the fields?”

“Does she want you to have the baby right there in the dirt?”

Aside from the personal attack, the rest of the words were exactly what Song Yue had wanted to say.

She turned toward the speaker—an older woman.

Judging by her expression… she didn’t look easy to deal with.

Sure enough.

The next thing that came out of the old woman’s mouth was, “You know, if you had married my son Hongjun back then, I would never have let you work in the fields while heavily pregnant. What a pity!”

Song Yue: “…”

Yang Chunhua’s face changed immediately.

The onlookers all had the same amused expression, as if they were watching a good show unfold.

Yang Chunhua opened her mouth to retort.

But before she could, a loud, scolding voice cut through the air.

“Chen Juhua, you shameless old hag, of course you wouldn’t let your daughter-in-law work in the fields!

Because your son—your plague-ridden son, Li Hongjun—has already beaten his wife so badly she can’t even get out of bed!”

That voice… if it wasn’t Chunhua’s mother-in-law, Aunt Chen, then who else could it be?

Song Yue turned to look and saw Aunt Chen marching over in a huff, cursing nonstop.

“He married two wives, and both ran away from him! And yet you still have the face to talk?”

Song Yue: “…”

What a morning. Absolutely explosive.

Chen Juhua hadn’t expected Li Xiujuan to pop up out of nowhere.

She had targeted Yang Chunhua because she couldn’t win an argument against Li Xiujuan on a normal day. So she had wanted to take it out on Yang Chunhua instead—to get revenge for her son being rejected back then.

But now… Li Xiujuan had shown up!

Chen Juhua sneered, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“My son may be tough on his wives, but at least he knows how to make money and have sons! Unlike some people, who have so many sons but not a single one that’s worth a damn…”

Li Xiujuan rolled her eyes so hard they almost flipped over. “Oh, your son is useful all right. Beating his wife every day at home—of course that’s useful! So useful that the poor girl had to crawl out and scream for help… now that’s impressive, huh?”

Chen Juhua trembled with rage. “Li Xiujuan! You—”

Li Xiujuan continued chanting like a mantra, “Your son beats his wife, your son beats his wife…”

Song Yue: “…”

That was a kill shot.

At that moment, the brigade leader strode over.

When he spotted Song Yue in the line, he paused, looking rather pleased.

But when his gaze landed on Chen Juhua and Li Xiujuan, his expression turned sharp as he snapped,

“What’s with all the yelling first thing in the morning? If you keep this up, I’ll deduct your work points! The new educated youths are watching, and all you do is embarrass yourselves!”

The scolding worked instantly.

The crowd fell silent.

Chen Juhua and Li Xiujuan both lowered their heads, saying nothing.

But the moment the brigade leader left, they raised their heads again, glaring daggers at each other—silently cursing each other’s ancestors.

They glared for a good while.

Then, Chen Juhua’s eyes landed on Song Yue.

Oh? This new educated youth was quite pretty.

Her eyes gleamed, and she suddenly reached out to tug at Song Yue’s sleeve.

Song Yue turned and met Chen Juhua’s beaming face.

That smile… nothing good could come from it.

Chen Juhua asked, “You’re a new educated youth?”

Song Yue nodded.

Chen Juhua leaned in. “Young lady, do you have a fiancé? A boyfriend?”

“Would you like me to introduce you to someone?”

Song Yue: “…”

As expected.

If an old lady was being extra friendly, she was definitely trying to set you up with someone.

Yang Chunhua wanted to warn Song Yue that this woman was unreliable.

But before she could, her mother-in-law beat her to it. “Chen Juhua, can you stop ruining young girls’ lives?

How many of the couples you’ve set up are actually happy? How many don’t fight every single day at home?”

Chen Juhua snapped back, “So what if they fight? That’s still better than the matches you arranged, where the girls end up running off with someone else!”

The moment Yang Chunhua heard that, she knew things were about to go south.

Her mother-in-law hated that topic. No matter who brought it up, she would explode.

And sure enough—

Li Xiujuan’s voice rose. “Who ran off with someone else?! Who introduced a match like that?!—”

“Do you two want to lose your work points?!” The brigade leader had returned, fuming. “One more word and I’ll have the scorer dock you both a full day’s wages!”

Silence fell once again.

Chen Juhua smirked, triumphant.

Li Xiujuan gritted her teeth so hard they nearly cracked. She looked about ready to lunge at Chen Juhua and claw her face off.

After all, that shameless old hag deserved it!

A few minutes later—

People had mostly gathered.

The team leader began assigning tasks. “Men, grab your hoes and start digging pits. Women, you can choose between spreading fertilizer or planting seeds.”

“Go collect your tools from the warehouse first. Once you’ve got them, we’ll form teams.”

“That’s it—go get your tools.”

The moment the leader finished speaking, Song Yue bolted toward the warehouse!

She had to get the seeds! She’d rather plant seeds!

There was no chemical fertilizer in this era—everything was organic.

And it was too organic for her liking. She really didn’t want to deal with that. Better to hurry and grab the seeds.

Song Yue dashed ahead.

The four other female educated youths followed closely behind.

Even the village girls sprinted toward the warehouse.

Liu Wei saw Song Yue and the other girls running like mad and sensed that something was off.

So she quickly pulled Li Xinyue along and ran after them.

The older women and aunties watched this unfold.

One of them couldn’t help but comment, “There’s work to do either way. What are they fighting over?”

“What else? They’re obviously rushing for the seeds.”

“Seeds aren’t dirty or smelly, after all.”

“For us older folks, it doesn’t matter. But if we were their age, we’d definitely prefer planting seeds too.”

“Let them young ones fight for it. We don’t care—we’ve got gloves anyway.”

…

Song Yue ran like the wind and reached the warehouse first.

The seed distributor glanced at her, slightly surprised. “Are you one of the new educated youths? What’s your name?”

Song Yue panted lightly. “Yes. Song Yue. I’m here for the seeds.”

The distributor nodded and wrote it down. “Alright.”

As Song Yue waited, more people queued up behind her.

Once her name was recorded, she grabbed a large cloth bag filled with seeds.

The seeds were packed into sturdy canvas shoulder bags.

Convenient for planting.

After getting her seeds, Song Yue turned to leave—only to spot Liu Wei and Li Xinyue at the very back of the line.

She glanced at the number of people ahead of them.

Liu Wei and Li Xinyue had a very low chance of getting the seeds.

Either only one of them would, or neither would.

Well, that wasn’t her problem. She already got hers.

Song Yue turned and walked away.

Meanwhile, Lin He, Zhao Zirui, and the other male educated youths stood nearby, each holding a hoe.

Lin He invited Song Yue to join their team later.

Before she could reply, the older educated youths spoke up.

The veterans would team up together.

The newcomers didn’t know anything and needed guidance.

There was no way they’d let the rookies form their own group.

So much for that plan.

…

Back at the warehouse—

It was finally Liu Wei and Li Xinyue’s turn.

Liu Wei told the distributor, “We’re here for the seeds too.”

The distributor pointed at the last remaining bag. “Only one set of seeds left. The other person will have to spread fertilizer.”

“You two decide—who’s planting seeds and who’s handling fertilizer?”