Chapter 2.2

Meanwhile, Lu Chen had already chopped down several bamboos and showed no sign of stopping.

But just as he was about to continue, a flash of pale pink in the corner of his vision reminded him that the brigade leader had assigned him a rather difficult and troublesome task—teaching someone.

He paused for a moment, hesitated, and was about to turn around to signal her to come closer.

But then, the memory of the frightened look on Meng Yinyin’s face when she saw him earlier at the dam suddenly popped into his mind.

He pursed his lips, lowered his gaze, and went back to chopping the bamboo, ignoring her.

Meng Yinyin, after standing in place for a while and stretching her wrists and arms, steeled herself and prepared to try her best to learn how to chop bamboo. But when she saw Lu Chen working tirelessly, like a machine, her enthusiasm quickly began to fade.

Several times, she thought about calling out to him and asking to try chopping, but every time she took a step forward, it seemed like Lu Chen took a step forward too, as if trying to maintain distance from her.

Though she wasn’t much good at physical work, Meng Yinyin wasn’t stupid. She quickly realized that Lu Chen was deliberately avoiding her.

He was avoiding her and didn’t want to interact with her?

Shocked, Meng Yinyin widened her eyes in disbelief.

Why?

Wait—had she done something wrong? Did she make him dislike her?

At 18 years old, this was the first time Meng Yinyin had been treated this way. She had always been the one people gravitated towards, and this was the first time someone had treated her as if she were a nuisance.

Feeling a mix of shock and frustration, she could only conclude that the problem was with Lu Chen.

If he didn’t want to interact with her, then she wasn’t going to embarrass herself by trying to force a conversation. She had her pride too!

Taking advantage of the fact that Lu Chen had his back to her, Meng Yinyin couldn’t hold back and shot him a glare. Then, she crossed her arms and stood to the side, doing nothing but watching him chop bamboo by himself.

Chop, chop, chop… Hopefully, he’d chop more and wear himself out!

However, the result of this was that when the scorekeeper arrived at noon, he found Meng Yinyin sitting lazily by the bamboo forest entrance, her head drooping, as if she had fallen asleep from exhaustion. She was mumbling something under her breath.

“Mom, I want to eat braised pork…”

The scorekeeper: “…”

The scorekeeper’s forehead twitched, and after a moment of hesitation, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He spoke in a stern voice.

“Educated Youth Meng, “Educated Youth Meng!”

The sudden shout startled Meng Yinyin, causing her to almost jump up from the ground.

“Ah! What? What happened?”

She opened her eyes wide and met the scorekeeper’s gaze, which was full of disappointment and frustration, as if he were saying she was beyond help.

Meng Yinyin: “…”

As she collected her thoughts, Meng Yinyin quickly realized what she had done wrong.

She had fallen asleep in frustration… The bamboo forest was too quiet, the air too fresh, and the sound of bamboo being chopped had a hypnotic effect…

Sigh, it wasn’t on purpose.

Feeling guilty, Meng Yinyin lowered her head. She knew she had made a big mistake—not only had she failed to learn anything seriously, but she had also used work hours to sneak a nap. This was not just about her skills—it was an attitude problem, and she was well aware that she would need to be severely criticized.

The scorekeeper was likely also angry with her. He gave her a stern look, picked up his pen, and made a note in his ledger, probably intending to dock her points for the morning’s work.

“Tell me what you did this morning.”

Meng Yinyin’s face showed a look of utter despair as she lowered her head, unable to say a word.

What could she say? That she had slept the entire morning?

The scorekeeper, seeing her expression of resignation, immediately realized she had probably spent the whole morning doing nothing. He raised his pen, about to mark a zero for her, when suddenly a bundle of bamboo strips dropped at his feet.

The noise startled both the scorekeeper and Meng Yinyin.

Turning around, they saw Lu Chen standing beside him. It was obvious that the bundle of bamboo strips had been placed there by him.

But what did this mean?

The scorekeeper looked at Lu Chen in confusion.

Could it be that Lu Chen was trying to show him that these were his results from the morning’s labor?

But…

The scorekeeper’s gaze fell on the bundle of bamboo strips. He noticed not only was the bundle small, but the strips had been poorly processed, with rough edges and untrimmed excess parts. It was clearly half-finished work.

This was not Lu Chen’s usual standard. After all, Lu Chen was known in the brigade for working quickly and efficiently. He could finish a large bundle of bamboo strips in the morning, and they would be thin, flexible, and perfectly trimmed. There was no way the bundle before him would be so thick and stiff that it couldn’t even bend.

So, if this wasn’t Lu Chen’s work, whose could it be?

Could it be… Meng Yinyin?

The scorekeeper, unable to believe it, glanced at Meng Yinyin, but since she had her head down, he couldn’t make out her expression.

To be sure, he turned back to Lu Chen and, uncertain, asked, “Whose is this?”

Lu Chen just stared at him silently, as usual, offering no response.

The scorekeeper, accustomed to Lu Chen’s quiet demeanor, asked again, “It’s not yours, is it?”

Lu Chen remained silent.

It seemed it wasn’t his after all.

Since Lu Chen hadn’t claimed the bamboo strips, the scorekeeper became more certain that they must belong to someone else working here, and that someone was most likely Meng Yinyin.

Accepting this explanation, the scorekeeper looked at the ugly bundle of bamboo strips on the ground, and everything seemed to make sense now.

“If it’s not yours, then it must be Educated Youth Meng’s,” the scorekeeper said aloud.

After hearing this, Lu Chen happened to lower his head, glancing at the ground, which made it seem as though he was silently agreeing with the statement.

Although the scorekeeper still found it hard to believe, once Lu Chen seemed to acknowledge it, he decided to take him at his word. After all, he never imagined that Lu Chen would lie.

Confirming the number of bamboo strips, the scorekeeper fairly and impartially wrote down a “3” next to Meng Yinyin’s name, indicating that she earned three work points that morning through labor.

As for Lu Chen?

The scorekeeper had already seen the large pile of bamboo laid out on the ground. Just this pile alone was equivalent to a day’s work for several people. So, as usual, he marked ten points for Lu Chen.

“Alright, alright, it’s getting late. You two should go have lunch.”

He then turned to Meng Yinyin and, with a hint of regret, said, “Also, Educated Youth Meng, I owe you an apology for earlier. But you, young lady, still have room for improvement. You’ve done more work, but your attitude needs to stay the same. If you’re tired, take a break, but don’t just sleep so openly. Not many people pass by here, but you never know if someone might see you. If it gets reported to the brigade leader, it’ll cause a big fuss, and that’s not good.”

Clearing his throat, he continued, “Next time you need a rest, find a hidden spot and rest for a bit. Got it?”

After offering his advice, the scorekeeper left, feeling satisfied.

As he walked away, he couldn’t help but think about the miserable work points Meng Yinyin had earned recently, mostly just three or four points at a time. But today, she earned three work points in one morning. If she kept this up, adding in the afternoon, six points would be a given, and maybe with time, she could even reach eight or ten!

Not bad, not bad. A good girl, Educated Youth Meng has a bright future!

The scorekeeper left with a heart full of joy, feeling a sense of pride as though his own daughter had finally grown up.

Once he left, Meng Yinyin slowly came out of her shock and lifted her head. She looked at Lu Chen, standing nearby, blinking in disbelief. “You…”