Zhang Yunxi glanced at him.

The man was half-bent, revealing his sturdy arms. With each hammering motion, the muscles in his arms looked rock-solid.

Zhang Yunxi averted her gaze.

She continued working.

She had learned this part relatively quickly. After completing the preliminary work, she started making the soles of the heels.

Later, she also helped with the coloring.

Zhao Rencheng was surprised by how efficiently she worked. Thanks to her presence, they had managed to produce at least six more pairs of shoes.

He didn’t understand how she worked so fast.

He remembered how she had been in the fields, holding a sickle, looking as if a strong swing of it would make her collapse on the ground.

Yet, when it came to cutting fabric, she was even faster than him.

By the time they finished at half past twelve, Zhang Yunxi was ready to head back.

Zhao Rencheng walked her out.

Zhang Yunxi asked, “Are you rushing to meet a deadline?”

“Yes.”

Since he had already brought her into the fold, Zhao Rencheng didn’t mind being honest. “I need to finish the shoes in nine days.”

“That’s so rushed!”

She looked at Zhao Rencheng’s materials. There must be enough for hundreds of pairs.

“If I don’t finish them, I won’t get paid,” Zhao Rencheng said.

If he lost the old leader,
even earning this sum of money would become meaningless to him.

“What?!” Zhang Yunxi was shocked. “Shouldn’t you deliver them a bit earlier to allow some buffer time? You can’t cut it so close. What if the other party thinks you’re insincere, or something unexpected happens and they decide to make things difficult for us? Then we’d end up with nothing!”

Even though she was only getting ten yuan, ten yuan was still money!

As someone who currently earned only twenty cents a day, she valued those ten yuan immensely!

Zhao Rencheng suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Zhang Yunxi, who had been talking to herself, almost bumped into his back. “What are you doing?”

“We might only have eight days left.”

“What?”

Zhang Yunxi looked up at him in disbelief.

“It’s not your concern. Get some rest, don’t overwork yourself in the fields, and eat well these next few days. Here are some eggs, for you.” Zhao Rencheng handed her fourteen eggs.

“Thank you, boss.”

Zhang Yunxi accepted the gift without hesitation. Ever since leaving his house, she had been eyeing the eggs in Zhao Rencheng’s hands, hoping he would give them to her. Now that he finally had, she was thrilled.

Yay!

“Go back now.”

They had reached the foot of the mountain.

Zhao Rencheng couldn’t accompany her any further.

“Alright, you should rest early too,” Zhang Yunxi reminded him.

Zhao Rencheng nodded.

But he didn’t take it to heart.

He went back to work.

Time had become even more pressing, and he had to speed up. Initially, he had calculated the timeline based on the day the military doctor left, factoring in the time the doctor would need to perform surgery on the old leader.

But there was one assumption he hadn’t accounted for: he hadn’t left any buffer time for the military doctor. If the doctor happened to have a surgery scheduled that day and couldn’t make time, then even if he earned the money, there would be no time to complete the task!

The military doctor had come to the provincial capital to teach others how to perform surgeries, so his schedule was dictated by the organization. Zhao Rencheng had assumed the doctor would only have time in the evenings.

But what if the doctor was on night shift that day?

The thought terrified Zhao Rencheng!

He hammered the nails even more fiercely.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yunxi lay in bed, fast asleep.

He Xiaoxiao got up.

After Zhang Yunxi fell asleep, she gently pulled open her collar.

Nothing had happened.

He Xiaoxiao breathed a small sigh of relief.

She didn’t know where Zhang Yunxi had gone, especially so late at night. She had been worried that she had gone to meet a man. It was hard not to think that way at this hour.

When she got up in the middle of the night, she noticed Zhang Yunxi was gone.

She had thought about going to look for her.

But she remembered clearly that they had all gone to bed together.

She decided to wait.

She was afraid that if a female educated youth went out late at night, it could damage her reputation, especially given past incidents.

She wanted to see if Zhang Yunxi would return on her own.

And she did.

He Xiaoxiao secretly made up her mind.

Tomorrow night, she wouldn’t go to bed early. She would follow Zhang Yunxi and see who she was meeting and what she was doing.

Deep down, she trusted Zhang Yunxi.

Zhang Yunxi was beautiful, but she was also smart.

Unlike Deng Damei, or that other person from before.

The next day, He Xiaoxiao told Deng Damei not to wake Zhang Yunxi: “Last night, she said she was feeling uncomfortable because her period was coming. Let her rest a bit longer. We’ll call her when it’s almost time to start work.”

“Oh, okay.”

Deng Damei didn’t mind.

Zhang Yunxi slept well and even caught up on some sleep in the fields later.

The brigade leader noticed.

“Comrade Zhang,” Brigade leader Zhao said, hands behind his back, at a loss for words. “What am I going to do with you…”

He didn’t know what to say. If she was so tired, why didn’t she just work as a temporary worker in the city? Why come here to suffer?

“Brigade leader, I’ve really been feeling unwell lately. Once this period passes, I promise I’ll work hard. I’ll strive to be a model worker! You’ll see a brand-new Zhang Yunxi!” Zhang Yunxi started her usual smooth-talking routine.

Brigade leader Zhao shook his head.

He turned and walked away.

Er Gouzi scurried over. “Auntie, Zhao Mo came to my house today to help with the sweet potato vines. I’m here to help you with your work. You can take a break.”

“You’re so kind!”

Zhang Yunxi sat down on the ground, took off her straw hat, and fanned herself. She watched him dig up sweet potatoes with ease and praised him, “You work so fast! You’re the fastest boy I’ve seen working. I don’t know how you do it. You’re amazing!”

Er Gouzi sped up even more.

Brigade leader Zhao: “…”

So easily swayed by a few words.

Fortunately, Zhang Yunxi didn’t have any ill intentions and often gave the kid some treats.

Brigade leader Zhao went to the accountant and asked him to keep an eye on Zhang Yunxi, making sure she met the target of four work points.

The accountant smiled. “This girl isn’t pretentious. She’s pretty, from a big city, and a high school graduate, yet she doesn’t put on airs. She can joke around and is always cheerful.”

“Yes, she’s not a bad person at heart. She’s just lazy,” Brigade leader Zhao said, shaking his head with a smile.

In the fields, Zhang Yunxi discussed with Er Gouzi, “I’ve been feeling unwell lately. If you help me earn one work point, I’ll give you six cents. This is our little secret, okay? You can’t tell anyone.”

“Really?”

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“No, you’re the most trustworthy adult in our brigade. Don’t worry, I’ll finish one work point for you in no time!”

Er Gouzi put all his strength into it.

He completed one work point in an hour, matching the speed of the strongest laborers in the brigade!

Zhang Yunxi was completely stunned. “I’ve never seen you work this fast before!”

“I have to work fast so people won’t criticize you,” Er Gouzi said with a strong sense of professionalism.

Auntie had said not to tell anyone, so he couldn’t explain to others that she had paid him.

If people saw him staying in her field for so long, they’d think she was lazy. He had to work quickly so no one would think she was taking advantage.