Chapter 41: Sending a Letter

However, these chaffs wouldn’t go to waste. The village would use work points to buy them back from the Educated Youth to use as feed for the production team’s cattle and pigs.

Since the Educated Youth had no use for the chaffs, they naturally agreed, and Jiang Pan Yu was no exception.

After the grain was distributed, the north wind blew, and a light snow fell, bringing with it the desolate atmosphere of winter.

This was the first time Pan Yu had seen snow, and she discovered that winter in the northern province had a distinct smell.

Especially after the snow, it smelled like… mint candy with a hint of firewood! The fresh air was particularly soothing, the coldness of the snow was refreshing, and the faint sweetness in the air made everything feel exceptionally comfortable.

Next to the brigade office in Lianshan Village was a large courtyard, a spacious area where the hemp that had been fished out of the water pits and left to ferment was stored.

The women of the village spent most of the winter here, twisting hemp into rope.

Jiang Pan Yu and the others were no exception, though Pan Yu had never done hemp rope twisting before. She was a complete novice and had to learn from scratch.

Then, she realized that twisting hemp wasn’t much easier than working in the fields. First, the hemp had to be stripped into fibers, then twisted and spun into rope.

Moreover, the varieties were divided very finely, including “sole-sewing rope,” thick “old rope (i.e., cable),” as well as “pulley well rope,” “mung bean rope,” “small single rope,” “tobacco leaf rope,” “livestock lasso stick rope,” “livestock muzzle rope,” and “peddler’s eight-strand rope.”

The sheer variety left the newcomers dazzled, and when they started learning, they realized that twisting hemp wasn’t just about using their hands—it required their feet as well.

Especially in winter, when the skin was dry, it was almost routine to end up with swollen calves and bleeding palms from the work.

However, this job wasn’t mandatory. You could do it or not, as much or as little as you wanted.

Though it was hard, Jiang Pan Yu, Tan Yanlu, and the others persevered.

Since they were the type who only had to worry about feeding themselves and not their families, they didn’t work as frantically as the other village women.

Jiang Pan Yu led Tan Yanlu to join the Gossip Sisters Squad of Lianshan Village, chatting about this and that while they worked.

“Hey, have you heard? Jin Bei is back from her grandfather’s house,” Yang Guiying said, twisting a hemp rope as she shared the latest news.

Chen Lamei instinctively lowered her voice, speaking mysteriously, “I heard she was supposed to come back. She’s been staying there for over a month.

You know my family is from the same village as Jin Bei’s grandfather. My sister-in-law told me,

Jin Bei has really been spoiled by her parents. She’s good at nothing, eats everything, and has a terrible temper. Who would want to marry a rural girl like that?

Her grandfather’s family all lives together, so how could they treat Jin Bei like a precious gem? That’s why they sent her back.”

Another auntie nearby sighed, “I don’t know what Accountant Jin is thinking, raising his daughter like this. It’s not helping her, being neither here nor there!”

Yang Guiying chimed in, “Maybe she has big ambitions! Maybe she doesn’t want to stay in the countryside and wants to marry into the city!”

“What? Who told you that? Is Jin Bei going to marry into the city? I haven’t heard anything about that,” someone from the Gossip Sisters Squad asked.

Yang Guiying shook her head, “I was just saying, Accountant Jin dotes on his daughter so much that he hasn’t let her work in the fields even though she’s already a teenager. Do you think he would let Jin Bei work in the fields after she gets married? So I reckon they probably want to marry her off to someone in the city!”

“That makes sense. Accountant Jin is quite capable, so Jin Bei might really become a city girl someday!” The crowd began to whisper among themselves.

Jiang Pan Yu and Tan Yanlu listened quietly as they worked. Jiang Pan Yu was the type who loved to stir the pot, while Tan Yanlu was just beginning to discover the joy of gossip. As they listened, they found that their work seemed to finish effortlessly, and the monotony of labor was no longer dull. No wonder Jiang Pan Yu always referred to it as “mental pickled mustard tuber”—it truly lived up to its reputation!

By early October, the Educated Youth residence had started receiving packages from home, and Jiang Pan Yu’s group was no exception. Lian Xiuran received the most packages, with a large one arriving every two weeks since he had come to the countryside. This had become a common sight at the residence, making him even more intriguing to some of the girls who were interested in him.

The only one who didn’t receive a package was Jiang Pan Yu. Given the conditions of the orphanage, it was already a miracle that they could support the children there. She didn’t dare expect any packages for herself.

Tan Yanlu received a package and found a letter inside. No one knew what the letter said, but after reading it, Tan Yanlu wrote a reply to send back to the city. To mail the letter, she had to go to the town. Jiang Pan Yu calculated the timing and realized that the incident where the local hooligans would harass Tan Yanlu was about to happen.

In the Mermaid’s memory, Tan Yanlu had fallen into the water and was heroically saved by Gao Shaolin, but this incident had led to rumors that tarnished her reputation. Because of this, Tan Yanlu had no friends, either at the Educated Youth residence or in the village, and she always kept to herself. This emboldened some daring hooligans to take an interest in the beautiful Tan Yanlu.

When Tan Yanlu went to town to mail her letter, they intercepted her on the road, making lewd comments and even attempting to lay hands on her. Gao Shaolin, who was returning home, appeared just in time to save her once again. Being saved twice by the same man, Tan Yanlu couldn’t help but soften her resentment toward Gao Shaolin for deceiving her in the past, and she began to consider forgiving him.

Then, Tan Yanlu’s clothes were torn, and Gao Shaolin took her to the hospital to borrow a needle and thread from a nurse to mend them. Later, Gao’s Sister-in-law went to the hospital with her child to find Gao Shaolin and witnessed the scene. After letting her imagination run wild, she and her husband got into a fight.

Although Jiang Pan Yu’s intervention had already altered the earlier events, and Tan Yanlu hadn’t been subjected to rumors, the predetermined course of fate still led to the hooligans harassing Tan Yanlu. How could Jiang Pan Yu stand by and watch?

She certainly couldn’t let Gao Shaolin steal the spotlight alone. As a Gossip Civil Servant, she couldn’t directly interfere with Tan Yanlu’s fate, but she could find someone to compete with Gao Shaolin for the spotlight. If she could steal all his scenes, that would be even better!

So, Jiang Pan Yu persuaded Tan Yanlu: “Since we’re going to the town, why don’t we take a day off and have a proper bath? It’s been a while since we’ve had a decent wash.”

Tan Yanlu was tempted: “That sounds good. The weather is so cold, a hot bath would be really comfortable.”

Seeing that Tan Yanlu had no objections, Jiang Pan Yu continued: “Should we ask the others if they want to join? It would be more fun with more people!”

Tan Yanlu thought about how the Educated Youth residence had stood up for her last time, and her heart warmed. She nodded: “Sure, I’ll ask them if they want to come along.”

Tan Yanlu didn’t expect that just by asking, everyone would agree to her invitation.

Although they still had to go out to work every day, it wasn’t as strict as before the autumn harvest, and they could take time off more easily.

Some of them also needed to go to the town to send things back to their families.

After discussing, they decided to go together the day after next. First, they would go to the bathhouse for a bath, and then they would split up to do their own things.

Jiang Pan Yu was very satisfied. There’s a saying that many hands make light work, and another that there’s strength in numbers.

When they all go out together, if those little hooligans dare to lay a hand on Tan Yanlu, hmph! They’ll all rush in and break their legs, see if they dare to harass girls again.

As for whether Gao Shaolin can catch up and get some screen time to show his presence, it depends on whether his old arms and legs can keep up with the agility of these young folks.