Chapter 22: Director Zhao’s first time going to work.

Zhao Ke told Zhao Xinshan about the matters related to the commune.

Zhao Xinshan didn’t expect her to handle it this way. If it were up to him, he would have just sent it to the bearing factory and considered it finished, never thinking of any other options.

Not just him—probably most people would handle it the same way.

After all, there wasn’t much else they could do.

Given the current situation, this was already the best outcome within their capabilities.

Zhao Xinshan naturally attributed it to “a woman’s attention to detail,” and praised Zhao Ke a couple of times, saying, “There’s nothing much going on in the production team, you can head home now.”

Zhao Ke didn’t hesitate at all. She went home, changed clothes, and lay down on the kang, stretching out her limbs.

So comfortable~

Zhao Feng wasn’t home; he had gone out to show off his bicycle.

Their family’s first bicycle was bought for Zhao Ke’s convenience, and they used up all their savings to get it, even going into debt a little, which they later paid off using Zhao Ke’s wages.

Zhao Feng could only occasionally ride it, and had to carry Comrade Yu Xiulan with him.

Now, things were different—they had two bicycles!

Although it wasn’t his, Zhao Feng was sure there would be plenty of chances for him to ride.

“Going back and forth, my second sister and I each have one. If I weren’t waiting for her, I could ride back in an hour and a half.”

Zhu Jianyi reached out to touch the bicycle’s front, enviously saying, “Can I borrow it and ride it?”

Others also had similar thoughts, constantly saying flattering things.

Zhao Feng was pleased, raised his chin, and said, “You haven’t ridden before, be careful. If you break it, my mom definitely won’t let you off.”

And she wouldn’t let him off either.

Zhu Jianyi and the others were all a little scared of Yu Xiulan’s loud voice, so they all promised not to damage the bicycle.

As for why it wasn’t Zhao Ke who would be upset, Zhao Ke was indeed tough to deal with, but she was generous and never minded these small things, often bringing them along to have fun. Of course, she would also often take the blame for them.

Zhao Feng, worried about too many people seeing and his mother finding out, moved with Zhu Jianyi and the others to a small path behind the educated youth station.

To protect the tires, the group quickly kicked away any stones on the road before eagerly heading toward the bicycles.

They argued over who would ride first, fiercely competing, and in the end, Zhao Feng set the order, and they stopped fighting.

Zhao Feng stood the whole time, holding onto the back seat. “If you fall, it’s no big deal, but don’t damage the bike.”

The others all agreed, laughing and riding carefully.

Their voices weren’t quiet, so the educated youth inside the station heard and looked out of the back window.

On the male educated youth’s side, Liu Xingxue and Deng Haixin were clearly jealous but still had to comment that the village youth “hadn’t seen the world, it’s just one bicycle.”

Lin Haiyang had been laughing and watching with them, but after hearing a few comments, he became uncomfortable and returned to Fu Hang’s side.

Fu Hang, while reading his notes, didn’t lift his head and said, “The world has many sides. We’re here in the countryside to see the world, too. Just because we were born in the city and have seen a different side of it doesn’t mean we’ve stepped outside the limits of our perspectives. What right do we have to mock others?”

Liu Xingxue and Deng Haixin instantly turned red in the face, embarrassed and angry.

Lin Haiyang immediately understood what made him uncomfortable and nodded in agreement, “Educated youth coming to the countryside are supposed to teach farmers knowledge and learn about agriculture from them, improving agricultural skills together.”

Next door, Su Limei said enviously, “The Zhao family is one of the best in the production team now, right? Two bicycles, 300 yuan, Dad still treats people and works, Mom’s a teacher at the production team’s elementary school, eldest sister works at the factory, second sister’s the women’s director, and Zhao Feng can earn the most work points every day…”

The more Su Limei listed, the more envious she became.

In fact, many people in the city were so poor they couldn’t even afford to eat, like Fang Jing’s family—before coming to Zhao Village, she hardly ever had a full meal, and they even had to ask her to send some food back home when they received their grain ration at the end of the year.

Zhuang Lan wasn’t much better off, but if she married Zhao Feng, her future would certainly be better than hers.

Fang Jing turned to look at Zhuang Lan, her eyes filled with jealousy.

Su Limei was even a bit jealous and looked at Zhuang Lan, saying, “Zhao Feng’s the only son in his family. Everything will be his in the future. If you marry him, you’ll definitely have a good life.”

Zhuang Lan bit her lip and frowned.

Fang Jing couldn’t help but sneer, “Taking advantage and then acting coy? You’re quite hypocritical.”

Su Limei wasn’t happy, “Who are you calling hypocritical?”

Fang Jing: “What’s it to you?”

Zhuang Lan intervened, separating Su Limei and Fang Jing, and seriously explained to Fang Jing, “I’m not taking advantage and acting coy. I just think what Limei said isn’t completely accurate. Zhao Feng’s family really values their daughters. They might not…”

Fang Jing sneered, “How is that possible!”

Zhuang Lan knew her thoughts seemed a bit strange, which was why she had acted the way she did earlier.

She had always believed that in the whole world, people were like her family—sons were the most precious, while daughters were like grass, housemaids, tools to be “sold” when needed to bring in money…

But Zhao Feng’s family seemed different.

Zhuang Lan turned back toward the window. “Is it possible? We’ll see.”

Zhao Feng seemed to sense something and turned to look at the educated youth station, then waved his hand vigorously.

When Zhu Jianyi and the others saw the female educated youth by the window teasing him, Zhao Feng turned red and rushed over to hit them.

A group of young men in the prime of youth wrestled with each other, laughing and joking.

Zhuang Lan watched enviously. She envied Zhao Mian for having a family that supported her, and she truly hoped their family was different.

At least it would show her that the world wasn’t as messed up as she had once thought.

Around five o’clock, many chimneys in the village began to emit smoke.

Zhao Feng called everyone to stop, saying it was time to go home and cook.

Others were still reluctant, with Zhu Jianyi muttering, “Your second sister is a girl, she should be the one to cook. Why don’t we ride a bit longer?”

Zhao Feng pushed him aside. “You go say that to Er Jie.”

Zhu Jianyi didn’t dare, so he could only watch reluctantly as Zhao Feng rode off on his bicycle.

When Zhao Feng got home, he peered around cautiously. Only Zhao Ke’s bicycle was quietly standing in the yard, and his tense face immediately broke into a smile.

He had come back just in time—his parents hadn’t returned yet.

Zhao Ke’s window was tightly shut, but suddenly a voice came from inside, “Remember to wipe it clean. Don’t let Mom catch you with your little tricks.”

Zhao Feng acknowledged her and happily parked the bicycle. During the cooking time, he hummed a song while polishing both bicycles until they were shining.

Yu Xiulan and Zhao Jianguo came back before dinner, and the first thing they did was head straight for the bicycles.

Zhao Feng had even oiled the bicycles, walking boldly back and forth between them.

As expected, Yu Xiulan didn’t find anything wrong to scold him for.

At dinner, the family sat together, and when they mentioned Zhao Mian’s situation, smiles spread across everyone’s faces.

Zhao Ke casually brought up the incident of falling into the water, “It seems like Jie has forgotten that it was her who saved me, and she’s been holding onto it in her heart.”

Yu Xiulan got angry, “Why didn’t she say anything about it? Why keep things hidden in a family? She’s always thinking too much!”

But Zhao Mian was just that kind of person, and the whole family knew it.

And whenever Yu Xiulan brought up old matters, she couldn’t stop her anger. “Your grandma, don’t be fooled by her small feet. She probably did the hard work, but at least she served your grandfather. But now, she expects other women to be like her.”

“I’ve said it a hundred times. She had no time to do household work. She was just waiting for me and your father to come back from work and do it. But she, afraid of your maternal grandmother, didn’t dare to say anything to me, yet she secretly made your sister do everything.”

Living life shouldn’t always be about bringing up old matters, but when Yu Xiulan spoke, Zhao Jianguo didn’t dare to say a word.

As her real son, he couldn’t oppose her, and if he took a side, his mother would dislike his wife and daughters even more. So, he could only make sure to treat Yu Xiulan and the two girls well in private.

Zhao Feng, the beneficiary of all this, didn’t dare to lift his head and kept his eyes down, eating his meal eagerly.

Yu Xiulan, feeling irritable, couldn’t help but shout, “Are we in a famine or something!”

Zhao Feng immediately slowed down and smiled at his mother, trying to please her.

Yu Xiulan, still upset, wiped away a tear, “That river is only shallow in that one spot. The production team dug a deep trench below it. If you’d fallen in, you definitely wouldn’t have made it.”

In the novel, this child did indeed die, and the Zhao family was deeply affected by it.

Maybe it’s all connected… cause and effect…

Zhao Ke patted her on the back, “But everything’s fine now, and it’ll only get better from here.”

Yu Xiulan felt embarrassed to cry in front of her children, so she sniffed hard, trying to hold back her tears. “You two sisters were saved, but both had fevers. Your Jie had it worse. Your maternal grandmother said she was scared out of her wits and kept pressing her back. I said that bruise on her back must have been from her pinching, but she won’t admit it.”

Zhao Ke’s brief surge of emotion quickly disappeared, and he couldn’t help but twitch his lips.

“You don’t believe me?” Yu Xiulan was completely unaware of how off-track her thoughts had gone, speaking with conviction. “I have proof. When Shuan Zhu was just adopted by your Uncle Jianfa’s family, she used to get startled every night, and her back would be bruised. Everyone knew about it.”

Zhao Ke was skeptical about such unscientific claims.

But Liu Sanni, now away from the village, still had a legendary presence here.

Zhao Feng was curious, “Did Shuan Zhu’s brother have a bruise on his back too?”

Yu Xiulan replied confidently, “Definitely.”

Zhao Feng, now even more curious, made a special trip the next day to get closer to Zhao Shuan Zhu and asked, “Shuan Zhu, do you have a bruise on your back?”

Zhao Shuan Zhu, hearing such a strange question, looked completely confused, his honest face filled with bewilderment. “Huh??”

Zhao Feng’s gaze lingered on his back, “Can I take a look?”

Zhao Shuan Zhu, still bewildered, froze, unsure whether he should cover himself up.

Of course, he wasn’t going to strip off in front of everyone for Zhao Feng to inspect his back, so he hurriedly dashed toward the fields, flustered.

Zhao Ke, as the head of the Women’s Federation, couldn’t leave her post, so she was assigned work for the day.

She appeared calm, but when passing Zhao Shuan Zhu, her gaze couldn’t help but drift toward his back.

Was there a bruise or not?

Standing nearby with the other young workers, Fu Hang noticed Zhao Ke and, without realizing it, started paying more attention to her. He saw her constantly looking at a tall, honest young man, and it made him feel oddly uncomfortable.

The day’s work involved replanting seedlings and weeding, with everyone heading off to their assigned areas.

Zhao Ke, unable to handle the more technical tasks, was left with the weeding.

She had to walk along the ridges, weeding both the left and right sides of each furrow in one go.

At first, Zhao Ke walked quickly, bending down to pull the weeds as soon as she saw them.

To her left was Zhao Pingping, who was from the same family as Zhao Shuan Zhu and had even helped Zhao Ke with some errands before.

Several times, Zhao Pingping crossed over to pull weeds Zhao Ke had missed and finally reminded her, “Zhao Ke, you’re not finishing the weeding.”

Zhao Ke turned around and saw Zhao Pingping standing in her section with a large weed in hand. Embarrassed, she rubbed her nose, “Thanks, Ping Jie.”

Zhao Pingping smiled, “It’s nothing, but if you don’t finish weeding, all your work will be for nothing.”

So Zhao Ke slowed down and carefully examined her section. However, after bending over repeatedly, she couldn’t keep it up. Especially as the sun climbed higher, and with her big straw hat on, sweat was running down her face. The combination of sweat and dirt left streaks all over her, making her look a mess.

Zhao Feng came over to check on her. From a distance, standing at the edge of the field, he shouted, “Jie—take your time. Do as much as you can, and I’ll come help you later.”

Laughter echoed around them, and some of the women directly mocked Zhao Ke, “A student girl can’t do it, right?”

Zhao Ke could really understand how the young workers felt now, giving a wry smile.

She was both hot and tired, no longer caring about her appearance. In the midst of everyone’s laughter, she simply knelt down and, like some of the other villagers, crawled on the ground to pull weeds.

Kneeling to the sky and the earth didn’t mean her knees were weak.

But, truth be told, her back didn’t ache as much anymore.

As for speed, she couldn’t force it. She was just no good at the work.

Later, Zhao Yunyun, dressed in old clothes, asked around at the edge of the field and followed the directions given by a person to search for Zhao Ke in the field.

After looking for a while, she still hadn’t found her, so she shouted, “Zhao Ke!”

“Eh?”

At the position a few furrows ahead of Zhao Yunyun, someone, using all fours, suddenly straightened up, like a mole popping out of its hole.

Zhao Yunyun didn’t expect it to be Zhao Ke. Seeing her dirty face, she burst out laughing, “Look at you, haha…”

Zhao Ke plopped down on the ground, took off her straw hat, fanned herself, and weakly asked, “What are you doing here?”

Zhao Yunyun, rarely seeing her this disheveled, laughed even harder. She walked over, squatted down, and casually pulled a weed, saying proudly, “I came to see Fu Zhiqing.”

Zhao Ke glanced into the distance, unable to clearly see who was who, but she could be certain of one thing, “Fu Zhiqing just came to the countryside not long ago. He probably doesn’t work any better than I do. You came to see him? Aren’t you afraid of ruining your image?”

Anyone working in the fields ended up covered in dirt.

What could the male lead do? Could he stand out in the field like a crane among chickens?

Zhao Ke imagined it—

The green mountains in the distance, the west wind brushing the willows, a cultured and handsome young man working gracefully, every movement like a scene from a painting…

Crazy, right?

Zhao Yunyun covered her ears as she listened to Zhao Ke’s description, shaking her head vigorously like a rattle drum, “I’m not listening, I’m not listening! Take it back! Quickly!”

After catching her breath, Zhao Ke put her straw hat back on, “At this moment, my aesthetic is the strong muscles of our hardworking farmers, their dark, shiny skin. I admire the robust figures of the working people, full of strength and solid beauty.”

Zhao Yunyun: “…”

Zhao Ke slowly moved forward, “If you want to see Fu Zhiqing, go ahead. The later you wait, the more your image will be shattered.”

Zhao Yunyun wasn’t really here to see Fu Zhiqing anyway, and now she didn’t want to go even more. She mumbled softly, “I’ll go help you pull weeds up front.”

Zhao Ke was deeply grateful, “I’ll give you half of my work points for today.”

Zhao Yunyun scoffed, “Do you think you’ll earn six work points today?”

Zhao Ke didn’t know, so she responded with her own words, “You don’t think six work points are worth anything? That’s all real sweat.”

“Hmph, showing off.”

Zhao Yunyun confidently walked toward the edge of the field.

Zhao Ke glanced at her retreating figure, hoping she’d be just as bold later on.

Zhao Yunyun reached the edge of the field and turned around to start pulling weeds.

As expected, the land that nurtured the hardworking people ultimately defeated all those who had been stubborn.

Zhao Yunyun knelt down too.

Not long after, the two lazybones bumped heads. “Eh-yo~”

Zhao Ke and Zhao Yunyun both covered their heads, looked at each other face to face, and stood silent for a few seconds before bursting into uncontrollable laughter: “Hahahahaha…”

After laughing, Zhao Yunyun whispered, “Aren’t the other members tired?”

Zhao Ke replied, “Is there any work that isn’t tiring? They might be used to it.”

Sigh—

Zhao Yunyun picked up a clod of dirt, crushed it, and sighed, “Just after this short while, I already want to escape…”

Zhao Ke sat in the furrow, surrounded by fields and green crops, with the farmers walking in the fields, “If only we could mechanize, or buy pesticides and fertilizers, we wouldn’t have to pull weeds along each furrow like this…”

“How much would that cost? Our production team doesn’t have money.”

Right, no money.

When you’re poor, you have to work harder.

Zhao Ke stood up, dusted off the dirt from her knees, and went to the next furrow.

Zhao Yunyun, torn between laziness and loyalty, chose the latter with great difficulty and walked in the opposite direction to the next furrow.

As noon approached and the workday came to an end, the two met again, their footsteps heavy as they headed back.

Zhao Yunyun said, “I won’t come back this afternoon.”

Her loyalty to Zhao Ke only went this far.

Zhao Ke nodded, “For today’s work points, I’ll give you a quarter.”

Zhao Yunyun, upset, said, “Wasn’t it supposed to be half?”

“You’re the work recorder. Not a single work point can be wrong. You only came this morning, not the whole day. I’m already being generous with a quarter.”

Zhao Yunyun huffed in anger, her face, with a few small freckles, turned even redder from the sun.

Zhao Ke reached out and touched her shoulder with one hand, while pointing to the ground beneath their feet with the other, “Do you see this? It’s watered by my sweat, and these work points are hard-earned.”

Zhao Yunyun slapped her hand away, storming ahead, careful not to step on the crops.

On the path at the edge of the field, a bicycle was riding toward them from a distance.

The young man in front was dressed in a well-tailored Zhongshan suit, his hair slicked back with oil, and wearing a pair of glasses. He looked slightly out of breath, and his hair was a bit messy.

His name was Liang Hui, and he was Duan Shuyi’s suitor. He worked in the town and, at Duan Shuyi’s request, had ridden her here to visit her classmate in the countryside.

The villagers who had finished their morning work and were heading home looked at them curiously as they passed by.

Liang Hui looked at their dirty clothes with distaste, even able to smell the sweat on them.

Duan Shuyi also felt disgusted, but since they were Zhao Ke’s fellow villagers, her disgust was tempered. She jumped off the bike and stopped someone, asking, “Excuse me, is Zhao Ke further down?”

The villager had never seen a girl as beautiful as Duan Shuyi, someone who looked like she stepped out of a magazine. He stammered in reply, “S-She’s behind, you… you can wait for her.”

Duan Shuyi thanked him and stood on the road, waiting.

Liang Hui took a handkerchief to wipe his glasses, put them back on, and looked quite impatient.

About ten minutes later, Zhao Ke appeared in front of them, looking dusty. Her clothes were dirty, her hair damp with sweat, and her face covered in mud… a sharp contrast to the fresh and radiant Duan Shuyi.

Zhao Ke didn’t speak first. Duan Shuyi didn’t recognize her at first. She stared at Zhao Ke in disbelief, “What happened to you?”

Liang Hui furrowed his brows and blurted out, “This is your classmate?”

Behind Zhao Ke, Zhao Yunyun looked at them, then at her own clothes. She was annoyed about appearing like this in front of strangers. It was so embarrassing.

Everyone from Zhao Village, including the educated youth, stood in stark contrast to Duan Shuyi and Liang Hui.

Fu Hang didn’t feel embarrassed about meeting them. Instead, he looked at Zhao Ke with an inexplicable feeling of pity. She should have been like that young woman… 

Zhao Ke didn’t pay attention to the expressions of others. She now saw herself as a proud member of the working class and didn’t feel inferior at all. Her eyes were clear as she naturally asked Duan Shuyi, “What brings you to our village?”

Zhao Yunyun, feeling somewhat down in front of Zhao Ke’s classmate, quietly slipped away.