Chapter 17

First Day at Work

When the tractor arrived back at the village, people who had finished their work were already heading home to cook. Upon seeing the tractor filled with young men and women, they stopped in their tracks and stretched their necks to look at the passengers.

Zhang Shiye was wearing green pants and a blue-and-white striped short-sleeve shirt as he walked toward the field. Zhou Yan shouted at him, “Ye Ge, Ye Ge, are you going to the field to record your work points?”

Zhang Shiye was the accountant and had a dedicated person for recording points, but he still had to be on-site to supervise.

Zhang Shiye caught a glimpse of Summer Wan’ang on the tractor, and his heart couldn’t help but race. His hands, which were tucked into his pockets, involuntarily clenched tightly. “Mm.”

Summer Wan’ang watched as Zhang Shiye walked away, feeling a surge of disappointment and helplessness in her heart. She couldn’t help but think back to her past life. Back then, she was a proud and confident woman who would never have proactively offered herself to anyone.

But now that she had been reborn, she wouldn’t make the same mistakes as in her previous life.

After returning to her room, Summer Wan’ang lay on the kang (a traditional bed), her mind filled with many thoughts. She began to think about how she could get closer to Zhang Shiye, how she could catch his attention. She realized that relying solely on beauty and talent might not be enough. She needed more intelligence and strategy.

As she pondered, she drifted off to sleep. The next morning, she woke up early, got ready, ate two meat buns, and drank a large cup of milk powder. Then, she went out with everyone else to work. It was already 5:30 AM, and they had to work for two hours before breakfast.

Summer Wan’ang wore long clothes and pants. Although the morning sun wasn’t too harsh, she was still afraid of getting sunburned. After all, her skin would turn red and painful after sun exposure, and in her previous life, her skin had peeled off layer by layer.

To protect her face, she wore the sun hat from yesterday and even wrapped half her face in a scarf.

When they arrived at the field, many voices of praise echoed around. “Look at this new intellectual, she’s so beautiful, and her skin is so delicate, it looks like you could squeeze water out of it.”

“She’s dressed so well too—no patches on her clothes.”

Xu Jiaojiao and Wang Jing, hearing these words, immediately straightened their backs, a sense of superiority rising in them.

Zhang Heping, seeing Summer Wan’ang’s attire, couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. She was already so afraid of the sun in the early morning. What would happen when it got hotter? He also recalled his eldest son’s awkward behavior last night, insisting that he take care of Summer Wan’ang. He had reluctantly agreed after his son wouldn’t stop staring at him.

Summer Wan’ang was from the city, raised in luxury, clearly different from them rural folks. Zhang Heping wasn’t sure how to interact with her, but since he had promised his son, he decided to treat her kindly.

“Summer intellectual!” Zhang Heping called out with a smile, “I see you’re dressed so warmly today. Will you be too hot when working? Do you want to change into something lighter?”

Summer Wan’ang shook her head and said, “Uncle, I’m not afraid of the heat.” In fact, she felt helpless inside. She didn’t want to dress like this, but she was really afraid of the sun. Her skin would darken and roughen with exposure, and she couldn’t bear the thought of becoming like charcoal. So, no matter how hot or uncomfortable it was, she had to cover herself up.

Zhang Heping cleared his throat. “Alright, let’s begin the task assignments!” As soon as the words were spoken, everyone immediately stood in line.

“The older intellectuals will continue their tasks as usual. For the new ones, Li Xiang, Chen Qi, and Huang Chen will go to the field to loosen the soil. Zheng Yu, Gu Xiuyuan, Xu Jiaojiao, and Wang Jing will go to the field to pull weeds. Wang Yan and Duan Xiaoyu will go to sprout peanuts, and Summer Wan’ang will go select corn seeds!”

As soon as the words were out, Xu Jiaojiao protested, “Why does Summer Wan’ang get to select seeds while Wang Yan and Duan Xiaoyu go sprout peanuts? Why do I and Wang Jing have to do the same work as the men, pulling weeds?”

Wang Jing stepped forward to make a declaration, “The chairman said that women can hold up half the sky. Work doesn’t have to be divided by gender. I’m happy to pull weeds, Captain!”

Zhang Heping smiled and nodded. “Well said! That’s the right attitude a young intellectual should have! Xu Jiaojiao, if you disagree, I can give you the captain’s position, and you can distribute the tasks, alright?”

Xu Jiaojiao was furious, but she didn’t dare to argue further.

“No need, Captain. I’m willing to pull weeds,” Xu Jiaojiao said through gritted teeth. Her family had something going on, and she couldn’t make trouble now.

Summer Wan’ang raised an eyebrow and walked toward the warehouse area, where several older women were already working. Aunt Qiao cheerfully greeted her, “Which new intellectual is this? Why are you so bundled up?”

The warehouse was positioned in a spot that shielded from the sun, so Summer Wan’ang took off her scarf. Before she could respond to Aunt Qiao, Qian Guilan suddenly jumped up, shouting, “So it’s you, you little thief! Tell me, did you steal my shoes on the train?”

Summer Wan’ang nearly laughed but quickly held it in.

“Big Aunt, are you joking with me? Why would I steal your shoes?”

Qian Guilan stormed up to Summer Wan’ang, hands on hips, angrily shouting, “You little brat, who knows what you would do with my shoes. I walked barefoot for five hours to get back to the team. If I hadn’t been looking for my shoes, I would have never missed the tractor back!”

Summer Wan’ang could no longer hold back her laughter, nearly crying with amusement. Laughing, she waved her hand and explained, “I’m not laughing at you, it’s just that something funny came to mind, hahaha…”

Seeing her like this, Qian Guilan’s fury only intensified, her chest heaving in anger. She pushed Summer Wan’ang, accusing her angrily, “You little vixen! If you hadn’t teamed up with that family of three to cheat me out of five yuan, I wouldn’t have had to walk so long! I could’ve just paid for a ride home!”

The push was strong, and Summer Wan’ang stumbled back several steps. Just as she was about to get angry, she heard Zhang Shiye’s voice call out, “Aunt Qian, what are you doing?”

Summer Wan’ang pinched her own thigh discreetly, and instantly, tears of pain appeared in her eyes, making her seem fragile and pitiful, her reddened eyes looking like those of a poor little rabbit that had been bullied.

Zhang Shiye glanced at Summer Wan’ang. “Are you alright?”

Summer Wan’ang shook her head, still gazing at him. Aunt Qiao, noticing her eldest son had arrived, also stood up. “Old Four, why are you here?”

Zhang Shiye handed her a paper-wrapped package and cleared his throat, saying, “Mom, I thought you might be hungry since you got up early. I brought you some food.”

Aunt Qiao was about to say something when Zhang Shiye quickly interrupted, “What’s going on here, Aunt Qian? Why aren’t you working properly? Why are you bullying the new intellectuals? This kind of behavior affects the unity of our team!”

Qian Guilan, hearing this, became even more upset. “It’s this little girl! She meddled on the train, teamed up with a family of three, tricked me into paying them five yuan, and then stole my shoes when we got off the train! Zhang Shiye, you must report this to the police and catch this thief!”

Aunt Qiao, seeing how fiercely Qian Guilan was attacking a young girl, also became fired up. “Qian Guilan, are you blind? Just look at what Summer Wan’ang is wearing! Do you know who she is? You think she would steal your old shoes? Did you see her steal them?”

A few other older women working nearby chimed in, “Yeah, Guilan, maybe you’re mistaken? Just look at how she’s dressed. You really think someone from a family like hers would steal your shoes?”

“Exactly! Aunt Qian, you need to provide evidence for your claims. If you keep slandering her, she might sue you, and you’ll end up making trouble for your son!”

Qian Guilan immediately fell silent, like someone had choked her. Summer Wan’ang, noticing everyone was watching Qian Guilan, pinched herself again, wincing from the pain.

She quickly wiped away her expression and stepped forward with teary eyes, taking small steps. “Zhang Shiye, Aunt Qiao, here’s what happened. On the way to the village, I happened to be sitting next to Aunt Qian on the train. She had placed her shoes in the aisle, and a little girl accidentally stepped on them. Aunt Qian became very angry and scolded the girl harshly.”

“I just felt sorry for the little girl and spoke up for her. I wasn’t the only one, there were others who helped too. In the end, Aunt Qian paid the girl five yuan for medical expenses because the poor thing was so scared she couldn’t even speak.”

Summer Wan’ang spoke in a slow, delicate voice, gesturing as she spoke. Zhang Shiye, watching her from the side, almost burst out laughing.