Chapter 49 : Courtesy

“Hello, Comrade Yun, my name is Jiang Laosan. I’m here to help you with your work. It’s really hot under this blazing sun, why don’t you go rest under that tree for a while? I’ll finish up here in no time.” Jiang Laosan was tall and skinny like a bamboo pole, with a sharp, calculating glint in his eyes.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I don’t need your help,” Yun Siying replied as she watched several young men digging diligently at the wasteland, working with unusual enthusiasm, almost as if they were in a competition.

“Comrade Yun, I’m Zhu Tieniu. I volunteered to help you out, so please don’t turn me down,” said Zhu Tieniu, a sturdily built man about 1.85 meters tall, with an honest and simple look on his face.

Yun Siying was well aware that there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Everyone in the village already knew she was carrying a large sum of money, and her beauty didn’t go unnoticed either, so she could more or less guess their true intentions. Her expression immediately turned cold: “What’s this? Are you trying to bully the two of us new educated youths? Trying to steal our assigned land and our work points?”

“No, no, not at all! I—I’m Wang Erniu, and I definitely don’t want to steal your work points!” Wang Erniu became flustered by the misunderstanding and started stammering in his panic.

“Comrade Yun, you’re mistaken. We really meant no harm. We’re just kind, honest, hardworking farmers we’d never bully you educated youths. It’s just that this kind of labor is exhausting, and we thought we’d help lighten your load. That’s all there is to it,” Jiang Laosan said earnestly, with the others chiming in to back him up.

Yun Siying’s face grew darker as she listened. Did they think she was an idiot? Her tone turned sharp: “Thanks, but I can manage just fine. Please leave, otherwise you’ll be sabotaging my patriotic enthusiasm for helping build the motherland.”

“Jiang Laosan, who doesn’t know what’s really going on in that head of yours? Comrade Yun isn’t someone you can scheme against. Leave now, before you ruin her reputation,” Li Hongying stepped in, sensing it was time to act.

“Jiang Laosan, you bastard! Get the hell out of here!” a voice roared. “Do you think the Xue family is dead? How dare you hit on my third brother’s fiancée and try to steal his woman! Swallow your schemes right now or I’ll feed you my fists!” It was Xue Zhigang, who came storming over, fists clenched and face livid.

Li Hongying moved closer to Yun Siying and whispered, “Siying, that’s Xue Zhigang, the fifth son of the Xue family. His third brother, Xue Zhiqiang, is Shu Ruxue’s fiancé. But last year, he got injured in a way that affected his fertility. So the Li family has been postponing the wedding. Then there was the whole mess with the real and fake daughters, and now the marriage is in limbo.”

“Aunt Hongying, do they think I’m the real Li family daughter and now they’ve set their sights on me?” Yun Siying was genuinely surprised that marriage could be handled this way.

“Everyone in the brigade knows you’re carrying a lot of money. And folks in the surrounding villages are aware of Xue Zhiqiang’s health condition. No family wants to marry their daughter to him, so the Xue family is desperate to cling to you,” Li Hongying said calmly.

“Tsk tsk tsk… So I’m just a fat sheep in everyone’s eyes now,” Yun Siying said sarcastically. Beauty and wealth, such powerful forces of attraction throughout history.

Yun Siying sat down next to Li Hongying and handed her a handful of spiced melon seeds. “Aunt Hongying, the power of money really does lure out all kinds of creatures.”

“Hey, you’re really such a carefree child,” Li Hongying sighed. She didn’t know what to say. With that much money on her, Li Hongying was genuinely worried that some lawless people might try to take advantage of her or worse, threaten her life.

Although she was also envious of the money, she knew one had to stay alive to spend it. Siying looked kind and easygoing on the surface, but the coldness in her eyes was hard to detect. It wasn’t easy for ordinary people to get close to her heart, she was a person with a cold disposition.

Shu Ruxue had always appeared to be a good child, but unfortunately, her heart was not. The reason she stirred up such a fuss over this matter was clear, her intentions were far from pure.

As the two talked, Xue Zhigang still couldn’t manage to drive the others away. He called out, “Future third sister-in-law, don’t pay attention to these bastards. My third brother is an officer, he gets a salary every month, he’s good-looking and kind. If you marry him, you won’t be taken advantage of. You’ll even get to follow the army and enjoy the good life.”

“Don’t shout nonsense! You’re ruining my reputation. Be careful, or I’ll make you pay for it,” Yun Siying snapped, giving him no face at all.

“I’m just telling the truth, future third sister-in-law. You’ll understand when my third brother comes back,” Xue Zhigang said with a grin as he kept working, clearing wasteland and removing grass roots and stones with the others.

Standing to the side, Shu Ruxue looked extremely unhappy. No one came to help her, and she glared at Yun Siying with hatred. “You vixen, all you do is seduce men all day long!”

“Comrade Yun, are we still going to work in the fields?” Lin Zikang looked around at the already-occupied land and felt a bit helpless.

“Let’s sit and rest for a bit. Ah, beauty and wealth really are double-edged swords. Attractive, yes, but such a burden too.” She sat under a large tree, activated her supernatural powers, and began to cultivate. Only by becoming strong could she truly feel secure.

“Comrade Yun, will their behavior damage your reputation?” Lin Zikang was taken aback. He had never heard someone speak about themselves like that before.

“Reputation? How much is that worth? Can you eat it?” Yun Siying said with a smile, watching the people still lingering in the field. She wasn’t sure what they were thinking. They had come together, it was likely many villagers were already scolding her behind her back.

“Well… I guess you can’t eat it. But it might make it harder for you to find a husband,” Lin Zikang muttered. As he said this, his face turned red.

“It’s fine. I’ll just stay single for the rest of my life.” Yun Siying leaned lazily against the tree trunk, completely unconcerned.

An hour later, she stopped cultivating. Seeing that the fieldwork was nearly complete, she turned and walked to the edge of the field to find the team leader. “Team leader, are you here?”

“Comrade Yun, have you finished your work?” The scorekeeper asked suspiciously, noticing how refreshed and composed she looked.

“Team leader, you have to stand up for me! Our assigned land was taken over by several male comrades. They’re trying to steal our work points!” Yun Siying’s face, usually calm, suddenly took on an aggrieved expression.

The team leader clearly saw the change in her demeanor, and hearing her complaint made the corners of his mouth twitch uncontrollably. He had been a team leader for years, but he had never met a female comrade with such an unexpectedly unique way of thinking. She had interpreted the male comrades’ attempts to help and win favor as stealing work points, it showed just how much she disdained their behavior.

He also didn’t believe that she didn’t know the real reason behind their actions. Most female comrades would jump at the chance for male help in the fields. But he actually admired her personality, though he was also helpless in the face of certain villagers who had no sense of propriety and dared to scheme against anyone.