Chapter 16

“It’s fine, Aunt Tian, I’m not tired at all, I’m full of energy.” Wu Xiaoxiao took the water bottle and gulped down a few sips. “I’ll hurry and finish this plot of land, then it’ll be done.”

Aunt Tian chuckled. “You’re such a child, take it slow. What’s the rush? You’ve got all the time in the world, take a break before continuing.”

Ding Xiumei also said, “That’s right, take a break. You’re not like those young intellectuals eager to show off. It’s fine.”

Everyone said the same, so Wu Xiaoxiao had no choice but to agree. “I’ll go check on my mom.”

She ran over to her mom’s side, helped clear a large piece of land, and returned after a while, with Zhang Fang following behind her.

As soon as Aunt Tian saw Zhang Fang, she said, “Your daughter is too hardworking. We kept telling her to take it easy, but she wouldn’t hold back.”

Zhang Fang smiled and said, “This child just has a good heart. Xiaoxiao, take a break. It’ll soon be time for dinner.”

Wu Xiaoxiao had no choice but to sit down with them.

At this time, everyone was in the same situation. No matter how much work they did, it was the same amount of grain by the end of the year, so there was no real urge to do extra work. It was just a day-by-day routine.

Earlier, she had asked indirectly, and Aunt Tian had said she could earn more work points, but that was just a joke. When it came to actual work, the points for the day were set, and it wasn’t easy to change that.

Aside from not being able to earn extra work points, the days working in the fields were actually in line with her expectations. On one hand, it eased her mother’s burden, and on the other, using her ability to remove weeds in a detailed way was just the right kind of training for fine-tuning her powers.

Unlike before, when her ability was used for combat, she now focused on her abilities, guiding them gently into the soil, sensing the surrounding land. She could clearly perceive which crops needed to grow well and which weeds needed to be uprooted.

After a day of work, she felt the familiar exhaustion of her powers, a state that brought her joy.

Now, without any zombie crystals to absorb, the only way to improve her abilities was through the most basic method—draining her powers, allowing her mental strength to grow, and her abilities to get stronger.

This method of training her powers was simple, tiring, but the most solid way to improve.

Wu Xiaoxiao cleared the weeds quickly, and the others didn’t have to put in much effort. By the evening, they had cleared more land than they had in previous days, and everyone was very happy as they finished work.

Wu Xiaoxiao packed up her things and handed them to Zhang Fang. “Mom, you go back first. I’m going to the brigade office, I’ll be back soon.”

Zhang Fang pulled her aside and asked, “It’s this late already, why are you going to the brigade office? It’s time for dinner. You should rest today, I’ll make dinner. You’ve worked hard all day.”

Because of overusing her powers, Wu Xiaoxiao’s face was a bit pale, but she didn’t feel tired at all and was full of energy.

“Mom, I’m fine. I can get full work points here, and it’s thanks to Captain Huang’s help. I’m just going to thank him.”

After speaking, Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t wait for her mother to say anything more and quickly ran off.

“Hey, you can’t just go empty-handed when thanking someone. At least bring something in your hands!” Zhang Fang shook her head, but after a full day of work, she was tired and couldn’t catch up with Wu Xiaoxiao.

Wu Xiaoxiao had considered bringing something when thanking others, but she felt it would be inappropriate to bring fruits and vegetables to Captain Huang, as if they were offering him just those things.

Aunt Dong had also mentioned that Captain Huang took good care of martyrs’ families and was a fair person, so she didn’t feel the need to put extra effort into this.

Besides, she had an even more important matter to attend to at the team office today.

Right now, she only knew that people in the production team worked together, and at the end of the year, they counted work points and grain. She didn’t know much about other matters.

And the current policies? Not only was the original owner uninterested, but also few villagers actively sought out information. They just followed what the higher-ups said.

She didn’t want to be so passive, so understanding the current situation was crucial to knowing how things would develop in the future.

The most convenient and reliable source for policy information was reading the newspaper.

Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t stop walking and soon arrived at the team office.

It was quite a coincidence; just as she arrived, Captain Huang was coming out, ready to lock the door, with a lit cigarette in hand.

Wu Xiaoxiao called out crisply, “Captain Huang!”

Seeing her coming, Captain Huang quickly extinguished the cigarette: “Ah, Xiaoxiao, what brings you here? How was your day? Worked in the fields all day, are you tired?”

“No, no, it’s not tiring. The team arranged for us to weed today, and I, along with a few other aunts, weeded six acres. I’m so happy to be able to contribute to the production team,” Wu Xiaoxiao said, her voice filled with joy.

“That’s good, that’s good. Six acres is quite a lot. You must be exhausted. Go home and rest early. Oh, by the way, here’s some candy for you to take home and sweeten your mouth.”

Captain Huang said, taking a small paper package out of his pocket and handing it to Wu Xiaoxiao.

The candy had been brought back by someone in the team from the town’s provisions store and distributed to everyone. Wu Xiaoxiao was clever and considerate, and as the family of a martyr, Captain Huang had a good impression of her. He treated her like his own child, and upon remembering the candy in his pocket, he took it out to give to her directly.

“No, no, I can’t accept that!” Wu Xiaoxiao waved her hands, “I just came to thank you for calculating my full work points. This has been a great help to our family. Also, there’s another thing I’d like to ask you, Captain.”

After speaking, she shyly scratched her head.