Chapter 50: Washing Dishes

Village Head Sun had a complicated look on his face.

In all the surrounding villages for miles, not a single chief had ever received such deferential treatment from Village Head Lin. Yet today, thanks to Qiu Yinuo, he had. It was truly unexpected.

After a few village officials saw off Village Head Lin and Secretary Yang, they turned to look at the calm and composed Qiu Yinuo. Unable to hold back, one of them asked, “Can you really fix tractors?”

Their village didn’t even have a tractor. How on earth had she learned to fix one?

It must have been something she picked up during the two years she spent away from home. With this thought, the villagers looked at Qiu Yinuo with admiration.

She was the only person in several surrounding villages who could repair a tractor!

That was something to be proud of in Ping’an Village!

“Just a little,” she replied, not lying. She indeed knew a bit, but if she were to be honest, she was actually more skilled in car modification.

The Qiu family had built its fortune in the auto parts business. Her older brother had been a car enthusiast, and as his devoted little shadow, she had tagged along wherever he went and naturally picked up all kinds of mechanical skills along the way.

Later, when the burden of the company fell on her shoulders, she even worked side by side with engineers in the workshop and research labs to retain the technical expertise.

So, if you asked her what she was really good at? It wasn’t just fixing, it was modifying vehicles.

“Where did you learn that?” one of the villagers asked.

“From books,” she replied confidently.

The others were silent for a moment. “…” They weren’t sure if she was joking or serious.

Qiu Yinuo couldn’t care less about what others thought of her. Just then, she noticed her younger aunt had finished eating and was preparing to pack leftovers to take home. Right in front of everyone, she shouted, “Auntie, didn’t you say you were going to stay and help clean up with Big Aunt?”

Aunt Qiu hadn’t even made it to the door when the sudden attention forced her to awkwardly pull back her step.

In rural villages, when a family hosted a banquet, relatives usually helped out voluntarily. She had only come to enjoy a ready-made meal today. Now, not only was she not helping, but she even wanted to sneak off with leftovers? Uncle Qiu found it utterly embarrassing.

He shot a fierce glare at his wife and snapped, “We’re all family here—what’s the harm in doing a bit more?”

Aunt Qiu froze, desperately wanting to ask him, “Then why don’t you help?”

But she had to preserve her husband’s pride.

“I was just planning to take the kids home first and then come back to help… Never mind, they’re old enough now—they know the way home.” In the end, she could only roll up her sleeves and head into the kitchen to wash dishes.

Halfway there, she remembered what Yinuo said earlier—there was no way she was going to let Big Sister-in-law off the hook either.

With a loud voice, she hollered into the house, “Big Sister, haven’t you finished eating yet? The dishes in the kitchen are piling up like a mountain!”

Qiu Yinuo raised her brows—her aunt was pretty savvy after all.

Big Aunt Qiu was fuming. Couldn’t the third daughter-in-law just do a little more herself? Why drag her into it?

She had planned to dawdle a little longer, waiting for the crowd to thin out before slipping away. But now? That was impossible. She could only force a stiff smile and mutter, “Coming, coming.”

Before the village officials left, Village Head Sun felt it necessary to remind her, “I don’t know your skill level, but just a friendly reminder—take things according to your ability. It’s not embarrassing if you can’t fix it.”

“I understand,” Qiu Yinuo replied. She also saw this as an opportunity to make some extra money, so she never took on tasks she wasn’t confident in.

After the village officials left, Qiu Yinuo immediately became lazy.

Yawning, she said, “Mom, Dabao and Erbao must be tired by now. I’ll go put them down for their nap.”

Cheng Hongying stared at her, unimpressed. “Are you sure it’s not you who’s tired?”

In the past, when she had tricked Jinzi into doing work, she had been sneaky. But never had she been so openly lazy like this.

Before leaving, Qiu Yinuo quietly reminded her mother, “You should sneak over and gather up the leftover food my aunts packed. Wait until they finish washing the dishes and then give it to them. That way, they won’t leave early.”

“…” Not only lazy, but also very crafty.

“You’re right,” Cheng Hongying replied, jogging to the kitchen. In front of the two sisters-in-law, she said, “Big Sister-in-law, Younger Sister-in-law, you two keep washing the dishes. I’ll go pack some more food for you to take home to your families for dinner.”

The two sisters-in-law secretly competed against each other, planning to slip away when there were fewer people. Who would have thought that Cheng Hongying would so cleverly take the food they had packed?

How could they leave now?

It would be embarrassing to go home empty-handed!

…

When Qiu Yinuo woke up, it was already dark outside.

She stretched, feeling every bone in her body crack and pop.

Jinzi’s voice came from outside. “Sis, are you awake? Mom says to come eat.”

“Okay, I’ll be right there.”

Looking around, Dabao and Erbao were nowhere to be seen. Apparently, her mom had taken them away while she was sleeping.

No wonder she had slept so soundly; all the shopping the past few days had really worn her out.

She went into the dining room, where a table of leftover food awaited her. Qiu Yinuo felt reluctant to eat someone else’s leftovers.

She forced herself to eat half a bowl of rice, but soon felt sleepy again.

Cheng Hongying nudged her. “If you’re tired, go back to sleep. Didn’t you say you need to go to Taolin Village tomorrow?”

“Mm.”

“Don’t forget what the Village Head said: it’s not embarrassing if you can’t fix it, just don’t take apart the tractor,” Cheng Hongying added, waving her hand. “Dabao and Erbao will sleep with me and Qingqing tonight so they won’t disturb you.”

Her mother was so overly considerate it was almost uncomfortable.

Jinzi followed her into the room in the dark and whispered, “Sis, you still haven’t taught me how to win over Qian Zhiqing.”

“Get lost!”

 She never imagined that Jinzi still had a head full of romantic ideas.

“Tomorrow, wake up early and come with me to fix the car,” Qiu Yinuo said.

Jinzi sulked. “What does that have to do with you teaching me how to chase after Qian Zhiqing?”

“It’s got everything to do with it. Stop asking so many questions. Are you coming or not?”

 “Fine, I’ll go!”

…

The Taolin Village Committee was bustling early in the morning.

Everyone who could be there had arrived.

Small groups gathered, mostly discussing the woman who was coming to repair the tractor.

It was said that the village head himself had gone to Ping’an Village to personally invite her, which was quite an honor for Qiu Yinuo.

“Village Head, do you think this young woman is reliable? I hope she doesn’t break our village’s only precious tractor.”

Village Head Lin furrowed his brows. “When she arrives, you all better be on your best behavior. Comrade Qiu is my guest. Whether she can repair it or not, be polite.”

“If your village’s tractor is already broken, then I won’t be the one to make it worse,” a new voice suddenly interjected.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the voice.

Qiu Yinuo walked over calmly. “Hello, I’m Qiu Yinuo.”

“…”

Being caught badmouthing someone right in front of them—what did that feel like?

The man who had just been talking badly turned red with embarrassment, and, seeing everyone staring at him, quickly ran off.

Although the other village officials still had doubts, since the Village Head had approved, they would work together and cooperate.

At the very least, they had to restore the face of their village leader.

When Village Head Lin saw her, he immediately walked up. “Comrade Qiu, you’ve arrived. Would you like to rest before we go check the tractor?”

“No need. I’ll take a look at the tractor first.” She wanted to make it back in time for lunch since her mom was making roasted potatoes.