It seemed that Song Wei’s lively energy—whether skillfully shelling corn or arguing with the old women over gossip—had given everyone the impression that she was anything but sick. So this time, even with her head wrapped in bandages, the team leader didn’t let her sit and do easy work with the grannies.

“Song Zhiqing, your head’s healed up, right?”

Song Wei blinked innocently. Should she nod or shake her head?

“Good. Then go join the others in the fields. You’ll be helping plant cabbage seedlings today.” The team leader left no room for discussion.

Song Wei sighed, “Oh, alright.”

Oh well, work is work.

Planting required two people: one to dig the holes, the other to place the seedlings. For every two acres planted, each pair earned ten work points. To earn the maximum points, they’d have to plant four acres in one day.

Since it was Song Wei’s first time planting, the team leader paired her with someone experienced. But with her delicate looks and fair skin, it was clear that nobody wanted to pair up with her, fearing her inexperience would cost them precious points.

When the leader pointed to two women to partner with her, they both flat-out refused. Everyone else kept their distance, like she had the plague.

Song Wei: smiling on the outside.jpg

The team leader sighed, noting her strange resilience, and finally paired her with Gao Le, another Zhiqing (educated youth). “You two can work together.”

He quickly assigned them a local woman to show them the ropes, then made a quick exit.

The Ping’an Brigade was split into four squads, with the educated youths scattered across each. In Song Wei’s third squad, there were three educated youths in total. Besides her and Gao Le, there was an older youth who, while not quite up to local standards, still earned six or seven points a day.

Gao Le, on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment. Tall and broad-shouldered, he looked every bit capable. But neither he nor his friend Zhao Su had lived up to expectations.

At first, the third squad’s leader had been thrilled to get Gao Le. Now he wished he could go back and slap himself for ever being so excited. Working with Gao Le was like dragging a ball of chain.

Not only was Gao Le useless, but he dragged everyone else down. They’d tried talking, yelling, even threatening him, but nothing worked. He was as slow as ever, acting as if the tiniest bit of work might kill him. Worse, whenever someone got frustrated with him, he’d tear up like he was the victim.

Now that Gao Le had been paired with Song Wei, the others were visibly relieved. They could finally relax without worrying about being stuck with him. “Good luck out there, Song and Gao Zhiqing!” they called out, barely hiding their grins.

Song Wei and Gao Le exchanged uneasy glances.

“You’ve done this before, right?” Song Wei asked, eyeing him doubtfully.

Seeing the happy faces of the villagers, Song Wei had a sinking feeling.

Gao Le, looking sheepish, replied, “A little.”

He even held up his fingers to indicate just a little bit.

Song Wei hadn’t yet realized how bad it was going to be. After watching the woman’s demonstration, she thought, How hard could it be? Gao Le, eager to help, picked up a hoe to start digging the holes, while Song Wei followed with the seedlings.

But no sooner had Gao Le raised the hoe than—

“Whoa, almost took my foot off!” Gao Le gasped, patting his chest in relief as the hoe barely missed his toes.

Song Wei: speechless

Yep, karma had found her in the worst possible way.

Taking a deep breath, she asked, “Didn’t you say you could do this?”

Gao Le shrugged sheepishly. “I said a little.”

To emphasize, he held up his fingers, barely spaced apart.

Song Wei wanted to roll her eyes. He really wasn’t exaggerating.

“Move over. I’ll do it.”

Gao Le obediently handed her the hoe.

“So, how many work points do you manage in a day?”

Puffing up proudly, Gao Le held up two fingers. “I earn two! All by myself!”

Song Wei’s eyebrow twitched. “Fantastic.”

With that, the others finally saw what “don’t judge a book by its cover” really meant.

Song Wei took over the hoe with surprising speed and strength, quickly making her way down the row. By the time Gao Le had planted a single seedling, she’d already moved a good five meters ahead.

Gao Le’s jaw nearly hit the ground. “Slow down, Song Zhiqing!”

You’re making me look like a weakling, he thought miserably.

Song Wei: Why isn’t this a solo job? Now, thanks to her “helpful” partner, it would take forever. She’d planned to go to the mountains, maybe hunt, or visit the black market to exchange goods for her brother.

Helping Gao Le was costing her big time.

But leaving him to struggle on his own would only drag things out longer, and the brigade had a rule: everyone had to finish before anyone could leave. Glaring at him with increasing intensity, Song Wei gripped the hoe.

Gao Le shivered under her look. “Uh… if you need me to do something, just say it.”

He forced a fawning grin, worried she might accidentally clobber him with the hoe.

“Get moving. The faster we’re done, the sooner I can go to the mountains.”

Gao Le looked miserable. “I’m trying, but my body just won’t keep up.”

“Maybe you don’t need that body,” she said coolly.

“C’mon, Song Zhiqing! Let’s be reasonable. I’ll talk to the leader—how about I just take two work points, and you get the rest?”

Seeing that he knew when to compromise, Song Wei gave a dignified nod.

Gao Le scurried off to ask, only to return a moment later, looking dejected.

“Leader said no.”

Song Wei: sigh

Under her increasingly dangerous stare, Gao Le suddenly pulled a ticket from his pocket, his survival instincts kicking in.

“Song Zhiqing… want a meat coupon?”

She looked down. It was a ten-pound nationwide pork ticket.

In this era of scarce resources, pork was a luxury that people scrambled to buy whenever it became available. And to purchase it, you needed a meat ticket, which she didn’t have.