Chapter 12

“Why am I only getting three work points? I plow the land and harvest rice—should those really be worth just this little?” Wu Xiaoxiao protested.

“Silly child, what nonsense are you talking about? Do you think plowing is work that women can do? Even the two strong young men from Lao Liu’s family spend the entire day working from dawn till dusk, exhausting themselves to the point where they can barely walk straight. Even then, they can only plow one acre a day, and they can’t do it every single day—otherwise, they’d completely wear themselves out.”

Wu Xiaoxiao sighed inwardly. In reality, she could do this work every day without breaking a sweat. If she weren’t afraid of startling everyone, she could even summon plants to till the soil for her, guiding their roots deep into the earth to absorb energy.

This land was naturally fertile, so growing three or even four crops a year wouldn’t be a problem. But unfortunately, she could no longer openly use her abilities like before. Instead, she had to work slowly and deliberately, wasting time. However, earning just three work points a day was something she simply couldn’t accept.

Wu Xiaoxiao argued, “Even if I’m just weeding, I should be able to earn six work points a day. It doesn’t make sense to only give me three.”

“I know what you mean, and I believe you can weed just as much as I do,” Zhang Fang said, trying to persuade her. “But that’s just how things are right now. So there’s no need to push yourself—just stay home and rest. If you’re bored, go chat with the other village girls. Don’t they like to make clothes and embroider handkerchiefs together? You can join them. Besides, it’s not common for young unmarried girls to be working in the fields.”

Wu Xiaoxiao ignored this and asked, “Mom, how much land can you weed in a day, and what does it look like when you’re done?”

Seeing that she wasn’t giving up, Zhang Fang stood up and took her to the field. “If I work the whole day, I can weed about 1.3 acres. If the weeds aren’t too hard to pull, I can manage 1.5 acres. That’s already the fastest in the village. Weeding may sound easy, but you have to stay bent over the whole time—it’s exhausting. Look at those creeping vines—if you leave even a little behind, they’ll spread all over the place in just a few days. Their roots dig deep, making them even harder to remove later.”

Wu Xiaoxiao had always used her powers before, so she had never weeded by hand. Hearing her mother’s explanation, she realized that this seemingly simple task was actually quite tiring. After thinking for a moment, she said, “If I can weed 1.5 acres a day, they can’t still count it as just three work points, right?”

Before Zhang Fang could respond, Aunt Dong, who was nearby, chimed in, “Of course not! Even if you only weeded one acre, if they still tried to give you just three work points, I’d argue with them myself. They have to count it as full work!”

Seeing Aunt Dong approach, Wu Xiaoxiao greeted her and handed her a water bottle. “Aunt Dong, you’ve finished your lunch too? Here, have some water. I added a bit of mint and salt—it’s scorching today, so this should help cool you down.”

Aunt Dong took the bottle without hesitation and drank a few gulps. “Ah, this girl really knows what she’s doing! Why didn’t I think of that? This is so refreshing—way better than plain boiled water!”

Wu Xiaoxiao smiled. “If you like it, Aunt Dong, I’ll bring an extra bottle tomorrow. We still have a few military canteens at home.”

“That would be great! Thank you in advance, my dear.”

—-

After taking another sip, Aunt Dong turned to Zhang Fang and said, “Your daughter is so filial—you shouldn’t hold her back. If you ask me, you should let Xiaoxiao work alongside you. I know you love her, but your husband has been gone for two years now. And with how stingy Old Wu’s third son is, I can’t believe you have much savings left.”

Aunt Dong had made up her mind to persuade Zhang Fang. No matter what, they had to consider the child’s future. “How long can you stretch out the little money Old Wu left behind? The child is still growing, and if the money runs out and you don’t have enough food, what will you do? And you still have to save up for her dowry! That all comes from the hard work we put into this land. Xiaoxiao is trying to help you, and you should think about her too. It’s not just about eating enough every day—if you don’t earn enough work points by the end of the year, you’ll owe the collective even more, and that debt will just keep piling up.”

Zhang Fang fell silent. She understood the family’s situation well, but the thought of letting her daughter work in the fields made her heart ache.

Cooking, washing clothes, and cleaning the house—those were chores for a young girl. But doing hard labor in the fields? That would be making Xiaoxiao suffer!

However, Aunt Dong’s words made sense. Zhang Fang hadn’t thought about it that way before. Their savings were indeed running low, and she couldn’t let her daughter’s future be ruined just because she lacked a decent dowry. No matter what, she had to set aside enough for Xiaoxiao to have a respectable dowry when she got married.

Noticing that her mother was softening, Wu Xiaoxiao quickly thanked Aunt Dong. “Thank you, Aunt Dong! If it weren’t for you, my mom wouldn’t have come around—she might’ve even gotten mad at me.”

Aunt Dong chuckled. “Of course she’d be mad! Your mom just loves you too much. But the reality is, this work is tiring, and your mom isn’t wrong about that. Still, if you’re going to put in the effort, you should get the work points you deserve. Don’t worry—when they calculate work points tomorrow, I’ll go with you. No way am I letting them take advantage of you.”

“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Aunt Dong!” Wu Xiaoxiao said sweetly.