Chapter 51: My Fate Is Harsh, It Curses Men

Li Xinyue looked eagerly at Liu Wei. “Weiwei…”

Liu Wei didn’t want to carry manure. She opened her mouth to refuse, but just as the words were about to leave her lips, she hesitated. If she refused Li Xinyue now, Li Xinyue probably wouldn’t share anything with her in the future…

She still wanted to move out with her.

After weighing her options, Liu Wei stepped behind Li Xinyue and said, “Xinyue, you spread the seeds, I’ll handle the manure.”

Li Xinyue jumped up in excitement. “Thank you, Weiwei! You’re the best.”

Zhu Jing and Wu Yun, who had been standing at the back of the line, unable to get any seeds, overheard their conversation.

Zhu Jing reminded her, “Comrade Liu, you’re giving up your seeds. You’re definitely going to regret it later.”

Wu Yun glanced at Liu Wei and scoffed, “Zhu Jing, why are you even bothering to explain? If she wants to give them up, let her. What does it have to do with us?”

Liu Wei found their words strange. It was just carrying manure—what was there to regret?

She asked, “Aren’t you both carrying manure too?”

Zhu Jing pulled out a pair of gloves. “Yeah, we are. But we have gloves.”

Liu Wei: “…”

Li Xinyue happily claimed the last bag of corn seeds.

As for the manure, it had already been transported to the fields. Liu Wei just needed to scatter it later.

Back at the assembly point, the team assignments began.

Each group had four people—two men, two women.

One man dug the holes, the other covered them with soil.

One woman planted the seeds, and the other spread the manure.

In Song Yue’s group, the two men were a middle-aged farmer from the village and a tall former educated youth named Li Tao.

Li Tao was the same man who had stopped her from fetching water yesterday, insisting he would do it for her.

The two women were Song Yue and Chen Juhua, who was assigned to spread the manure.

Once the groups were formed, they grabbed their tools and headed to the fields.

Chen Juhua smiled warmly at Song Yue. “Little Song, right? We meet again! Looks like we’re in the same group.”

Song Yue replied flatly, “Mm.”

Chen Juhua was taken aback by her indifferent response and didn’t know what else to say.

When they reached the fields, each group was assigned a section. They just had to finish planting by the end of the day.

The middle-aged farmer, Yang Dashan, squatted down after digging a few holes and explained to Song Yue,

“In simple terms, I’ll dig the holes up front. You, the seed planter, will place the corn here.”

“The manure spreader will…”

Chen Juhua impatiently cut him off. “Yang Dashan, stop wasting time and just do your work. I’ve been doing this for decades. You think I need you to teach me?”

Yang Dashan: “…”

He didn’t argue. “Alright, let’s begin.”

“Comrade Song, don’t rush to plant yet. Let me get ahead first, or you might get hit by the hoe.”

Song Yue nodded. “Okay.”

Yang Dashan started digging.

Song Yue waited.

Since Song Yue wasn’t planting yet, Chen Juhua didn’t scatter manure either.

Li Tao, who was supposed to cover the seeds with soil, had nothing to do but wait.

They all stood there watching Yang Dashan dig.

During this waiting period, the sound of retching came from nearby.

“Ugh—”

“Ugh…”

The voice sounded familiar to Song Yue.

She turned to look.

What a coincidence.

Liu Wei was nearby, carrying a woven basket just like Chen Juhua’s.

Inside was fermented, dried, natural farm manure.

The smell was… overpowering.

Liu Wei dry-heaved, drawing complaints from her groupmates.

“Tsk… City folk are so delicate. As if you don’t shit too.”

“?” Liu Wei frowned. “What do you mean?”

The girl planting seeds, Zhang Jiaojiao, rolled her eyes. “It means that’s shit. Animal shit.”

Liu Wei’s face turned pale as a sheet. She gagged again. “Ugh—”

“Ugh…”

She threw the basket onto the ground. “I’m not doing this! I’m not—ugh…”

Zhang Jiaojiao scowled, clearly unimpressed.

She despised these pampered educated youths, acting like they were superior to country girls like her.

She sneered. “Not doing it? Fine! No work, no work points. No work points, no food. No food, no meals.”

“I can call the record keeper over for you…”

The moment Liu Wei heard “no food,” her expression turned even worse.

Now she finally understood what Zhu Jing had meant earlier.

She regretted it!

She regretted it so much!

If regret could kill, she’d already be dead!

Liu Wei gritted her teeth and shook her head. “N-no need.”

But when she glanced at the dark, clumpy contents of the basket, her stomach churned again. “Ugh—”

Since she hadn’t eaten breakfast, there was nothing to throw up.

Zhang Jiaojiao smirked, satisfied that she’d put this delicate city girl in her place. “No need? Then hurry up and get to work!”

Tears welled up in Liu Wei’s eyes, but she had no choice. Holding back her nausea, she picked up the basket and started scattering manure while dry-heaving the entire time.

Her expression… was pitiful beyond words.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

Chen Juhua withdrew her gaze and turned to Song Yue. “Comrade Song, you’re lucky you got the seeds.”

Song Yue replied coolly, “Auntie, I rely on my own strength, not luck.”

She had run fast enough to be first in line.

Li Tao, listening to her words, smiled slightly.

This educated youth looked soft and frail, but when she ran, she was like the wind.

Chen Juhua didn’t quite understand. She frowned, confused.

Since she didn’t want to admit she hadn’t understood, she changed the topic.

“Comrade Song, you never answered my question earlier.”

Song Yue responded absentmindedly, “What question?”

Chen Juhua: “About whether you have a fiancé.”

Song Yue withdrew her gaze and looked directly at Chen Juhua.

Then, she slowly said, “Auntie, my fate is harsh. I curse men.”

Chen Juhua: “???”

Li Tao: “?”

Chen Juhua frowned. “What do you mean you curse men?”

Song Yue glanced at Li Tao, then beckoned Chen Juhua closer.

“Auntie… put your basket down and come here. I’ll tell you in secret.”

Chen Juhua quickly set her basket down and leaned in.

“Alright, go ahead.”

Song Yue lowered her voice and whispered into her ear,

“When I was little, my mother arranged a childhood engagement for me. One day, my fiancé suddenly died.”

“Later, when I was in school, a male classmate said he wanted to date me. That same day, he got hit by a car—flew several meters. He was gone on the spot.”

She paused deliberately.

“!”

Chen Juhua’s heart skipped a beat. She stared at Song Yue, a hint of fear in her eyes. “He… died?”

Song Yue shook her head lightly. “No. They rescued him in time. He survived… but lost a leg.”

Chen Juhua: “…”

Li Tao, who had overheard bits and pieces: “…”

Song Yue didn’t stop there. “Before I was sent here, my mom didn’t want me to leave. She wanted me to get married instead.”

“She had matchmakers introduce me to several men. One got into a dispute and was killed on the spot. The others either ended up in prison… or got hit by cars.”

“So I had no choice but to come to the countryside.”

She let out a heavy sigh, looking somewhat sorrowful.

Chen Juhua’s eyes flickered with fear. “…”

Li Tao, still processing: “…”

Song Yue looked downcast. “So, Auntie… men can’t get close to me. If they do, at best they’ll be crippled. At worst, they’ll die.”

Chen Juhua gulped and took several steps back. Then she asked timidly, “What about women?”