Meat tickets were rare treasures. City workers had a few ways to get them, but for rural people, they were almost unattainable. Some villagers might get only one meat coupon a year. Rural folks did have one advantage, though—living near the mountains or raising chickens at home meant they had other sources of protein.

Song Wei, casting a quick look around, cleared her throat and swiftly slipped the meat ticket from Gao Le’s hand.

“Are you sure about this? Even if I do all your work, it’s not worth a meat coupon.”

Gao Le rubbed his hands, eyes filled with hope. “Well, actually… I was wondering if you could help me out for a few more days. Winter’s coming, and my buddy and I need to gather firewood, but…”

He wore a pitiful expression. “We… we can’t carry it.”

He couldn’t have made his uselessness more obvious.

“Wait—so money isn’t an issue for you?” Song Wei raised an eyebrow.

Gao Le shook his head quickly. “My friend and I were sent down here because we just sat around at home, annoying our families. So they shipped us out together, but our families still send us plenty of stuff every month.”

So, even though Gao Le and Zhao Su barely earned two work points a day, they didn’t worry. While the older villagers frowned upon these two young men for their lack of work ethic, Gao Le and Zhao Su were perfectly content to put up with the scorn.

Song Wei guessed that their families must have had their reasons for sending these two pampered boys to the countryside, though neither seemed to realize it.

“Since money isn’t an issue, I’ll give you a tip. Try hiring the village kids to bring you firewood, and just pay them by the bundle,” Song Wei suggested.

Gao Le’s eyes lit up. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Just pay a kid about one mao per bundle if it’s around ten pounds,” she advised.

“Only one mao?” Gao Le asked in surprise.

Without replying, Song Wei turned back to her task. In the sunlight, her pale skin almost glowed, giving her a delicate appearance, but she wielded the hoe with surprising strength and skill.

Nearby, the villagers couldn’t believe their eyes.

“Wait… is that really Song Zhiqing?”

They were starting to wonder if their eyes were playing tricks on them.

“I think so?”

Just then, Song Wei came over, beaming at the aunts and greeting them cheerfully.

“Song Zhiqing, how are you so fast?” one of the women asked.

“Oh, I’m strong! Just one good swing, and the soil is ready,” Song Wei replied easily.

Her skills weren’t just in brute force—her endurance was exceptional, too. Even her frail-looking frame didn’t hold her back.

“Alright, I’ll get back to work,” she said with a wave, moving on and leaving the others in stunned silence.

The aunts looked at each other, dumbfounded.

Who knew she’d be this capable?

Gao Le trailed behind, grinning goofily.

“Gao Zhiqing, aren’t you going to hurry up and catch her?” someone teased him.

The villagers who had turned down the chance to pair with Song Wei were starting to regret it. She might have seemed weak, but she’d proven them all wrong with her speed and strength.

After finishing one acre, Song Wei was still going strong and ran back to help Gao Le plant seedlings.

With her handling most of the work, Gao Le was left doing the bare minimum, which was just tossing the seedlings into the holes.

Unlike digging, planting required constant squatting, which wore on her lower back. They had only committed to planting one acre, so the job didn’t take too long, though they added another half-acre to earn a full five work points.

The scorekeeper: speechless

For Gao Le, this was the first time he’d finished work so quickly. He practically strutted around, proud as a rooster. Meanwhile, Song Wei hurried off to the mountains, and Gao Le decided to leave the hard work to others. With Song Wei’s advice in mind, he strolled off with his hands behind his back to find his friend.

“Zhao Su! Brother, I’m here!” he called cheerfully.

Zhao Su was baffled. “Aren’t you supposed to be working?”

Zhao Su was exhausted, his shoulders slumped as he planted seedlings. His partner—a seasoned village woman—looked at him with an expression bordering on despair.

“Zhao Zhiqing, pick up the pace! We’re falling so far behind!”

She was on the brink of losing her precious work points and seemed ready to explode.

“I’m going as fast as I can,” Zhao Su replied, nearly in tears. “Can’t you go a little slower?”

The woman scowled at him. What a waste of good height and muscle!

Gao Le chuckled, enjoying his friend’s misery. “Come on, Zhao Su! You’re falling behind by a good eight meters!”

Zhao Su shot him a glare. “Mind your own business, Mr. Two-Points-a-Day.”

With a smug grin, Gao Le said, “Not today. Today, I earned three points, and I’m done with my work.”

“What?!”

Zhao Su was so shocked he practically yelled, drawing the attention of everyone around.

“You got three points and you’re done?”

“No way!”

Knowing his friend well, Zhao Su could hardly believe it.

Gao Le puffed up with pride and whispered that Song Wei had done most of the work. “She’s crazy strong.”

The other educated youths had already picked up on this; they’d seen her hauling trees down the mountain and carrying loads that seemed way too heavy for her frail frame.

It’s like some real-life ‘delicate Lin Daiyu uproots a willow tree’ situation, he thought.

“She’s fast and even took care of my share of work,” Gao Le added, amazed.

Zhao Su looked envious. “Do you think if I offered her some coupons, she’d work with me?”

Gao Le shrugged. “Probably not. I think she likes going into the mountains more.”

Zhao Su glared at him with jealousy that was almost tangible.

“Zhao Zhiqing, are you going to work or not?” the woman snapped, seeing that Zhao Su had paused his planting again.

Under her fierce gaze, Zhao Su ducked his head and continued. “I… I want to go home…”

He was miserable, to say the least.

Meanwhile, Gao Le chuckled. “You have fun. I’m off to find some village kids to help us with the firewood.”

Ignoring Zhao Su’s resentful look, Gao Le slipped away, happy to leave his friend to fend for himself.