Chapter 381 – Just a Shrew

“Alright, that’s enough out of you. We’re all here to do a job—stop being so petty.” The male comrade beside her finally couldn’t take her increasingly unpleasant words and tried to step in and mediate.

“Who asked you? Go take a piss and look at yourself in it!” the woman snapped back viciously. After tossing him a disdainful glare, she turned and marched off in the direction of the parked plane without another word.

The man was so furious that his face turned green and black with rage. It took him a while to finally curse under his breath, “What a shrew. A total shrew.”

Li Yiyi watched the whole exchange unfold and secretly sighed in her heart. The trip hadn’t even officially begun yet, but judging from what had just happened, she had a sinking feeling—it was going to be one hell of a frustrating journey.

As she followed the group toward the plane, she suddenly heard a male voice behind her.

“Comrade, don’t take Liu Caifeng’s words to heart. She only got here because of her connections—has no real skills at all.”

Li Yiyi turned around and saw that it was the same man who had stood up for her against that sharp-tongued woman earlier.

“Thanks for speaking up for me back there,” she said, appreciating his kind gesture.

“No need to thank me. We’re going to be working together from now on—of course we should stand united. I’m Wu Lai, a professor from the Agricultural Institute. I heard you’re a doctor?”

Li Yiyi nodded slightly. “Yes, I’m a doctor. Didn’t expect you to be a professor at the Agricultural Institute.”

“That’s right. The province we’re going to has a lot of potential for research. When the organization decided to send a team, our school asked for volunteers from the agriculture department. I thought it was a great research opportunity, so I signed up,” Wu Lai explained with a smile.

Li Yiyi nodded in understanding. Thinking about that mysterious province, she could see why so many people were intrigued by it.

Soon, everyone had boarded the plane.

Planes really were different from trains. Although the takeoff was a bit bumpy, the flight soon leveled out and became incredibly smooth—it barely even felt like flying.

She’d only taken a nap, but by the time she was woken up, Wu Lai told her they had already arrived.

The speed impressed Li Yiyi once again—so fast, such a time-saver. Unfortunately, in this era, not just anyone could fly.

After getting off the plane, Li Yiyi, having caught some rest, felt refreshed and clear-headed.

Shen Zhou, the team leader for this trip, waited for everyone to disembark. He did a quick headcount to make sure no one was missing before explaining the next steps with a friendly smile.

“Everyone, the place we’re going to is quite remote, so we’ll be resting here for two days first. Once we’re all well-rested and our security team has arrived, we’ll depart for our destination.”

As soon as he finished, a few people started grumbling.

“Comrade Shen, our time is valuable—how can we waste it here?”

“Exactly. We’re not like some people who have all the time in the world. For us researchers, every minute counts. If this trip gets delayed, who’s going to take responsibility?”

Li Yiyi glanced calmly in the direction of the voice—and sure enough, it was that same woman again.

She was already tired of her. Why did this woman seem to be everywhere? Seriously annoying.

But Shen Zhou handled it with a practiced smile, clearly used to dealing with unreasonable types. “I understand your time is precious, but this is how the arrangements have been made. It’s not ideal, I know. But once we head out, the conditions we’ll face are going to be tougher than you can imagine. I believe resting now is a wise choice. Also, I suggest everyone use the next two days to prepare whatever you might need over there.”

“Comrade Shen is right,” Wu Lai chimed in. “Being well-rested is a responsible attitude toward the trip ahead. If we rush in and something goes wrong, who’ll take the blame then?”

Seeing him speak up again, Liu Caifeng rolled her eyes. “Why do you always have something to say? If you like talking so much, go find somewhere else to talk! So annoying.”

Wu Lai blinked at her harsh words, then took a deep breath and replied, “Forget it. I’m not going to argue with someone like you.”

Just as it looked like Liu Caifeng was about to pick another fight, Shen Zhou quickly cut in.

“Everyone, the vehicles picking us up are already waiting outside. Let’s head over. Also, for your safety, there will be a local guide from that area in the vehicle with us. He’ll explain what we need to prepare for the journey.”

Although everyone had flown in, the flight had still lasted two hours, and people were starting to feel a bit tired.

Soon, under Shen Zhou’s direction, everyone boarded the minibus waiting outside.

Calling it a “minibus” was generous—it was old and worn, both inside and out.

As soon as Liu Caifeng got in and caught a whiff of the interior, her face turned green. The smell was so bad it almost made her vomit everything she’d eaten the night before.

“You call this a car? It reeks—smells like piss or something. So disgusting! I want a different vehicle!” she immediately shouted.

Shen Zhou walked over with an apologetic expression. “Comrade Liu, I’m really sorry. This is the only vehicle we could get in this area. Please bear with it. If I could get a better one, I would.”

Seeing his tone and words, Liu Caifeng found herself unable to keep complaining and could only grumble under her breath as she took a seat by the window.

Li Yiyi, who was sitting up front, glanced back briefly but quickly lost interest in the drama.

She’d thought she might get a moment of peace—but no, the person sitting next to her, Wu Lai, turned out to be quite the chatterbox. And for some reason, he really liked talking to her.

“Doctor Li, don’t you think that Liu Caifeng is a total pain? We actually come from the same school. Her family has connections, which is the only reason she got to come along. She’s not actually capable—she’s just here to pad her résumé.”