Chapter 15: No Need for You to Work  

“I bet the little girl won’t last an hour before she sits down in the field and cries.”  

“She doesn’t even know how to hold a sickle, let alone swing a hoe. If she goes to work in the fields, she’s bound to make a fool of herself.”  

“If I had money, I wouldn’t suffer like this. I’d just stay home and lie around all day.”  

Chattering voices buzzed incessantly in her ears.  

Shen Jiaojiao paid them no mind.  

They weren’t wrong—if she had money, who would willingly toil under the scorching sun in the middle of summer?  

But she was about to get married and needed to maintain her reputation.  

She had no intention of bringing shame to her future in-laws.  

That said, she couldn’t spend her days endlessly bent over the fields either. She needed to find an opportunity to secure an easier job.  

She didn’t need to earn a full ten work points.  

Two or three a day would be enough.  

At the very least, it would prove that she was capable of working—that she wasn’t just a delicate ornament, unable to lift or carry anything.  

Besides, if her reputation in the village remained poor, it would affect her future.  

She still wanted to take the college entrance exam—no, she wanted to take it together with Xu Mo.  

So, her social classification couldn’t be bad.  

The Captain swept a glance at the idle village women who were gossiping but not working.  

“What’s the matter? Do you all have enough grain at home? No need to work anymore?”  

The women scurried away in embarrassment.  

The Captain looked at Shen Jiaojiao with satisfaction.  

“Educated Youth Shen, your awareness is commendable. Right now, we need to uphold the spirit of hard work and simplicity. Only those who endure hardship can rise above others.  

How about this—since it’s your first day at work, I’ll assign you an easier task.”  

The more the Captain looked at this young girl, the more he liked her.  

Shen Jiaojiao hesitated and said: “Captain, just so you know, I might only be able to earn two or three work points a day.”  

The Captain hesitated. “…Well, this…”  

Even half-grown children could earn two or three work points just by gathering pig fodder.  

“Do as much as you can. Today, it’s two or three work points. Tomorrow, it’ll be four or five. Before long, you might even earn a full day’s worth of points. That way, our production team’s grain output will soar.”  

The Captain continued painting a grand picture for Shen Jiaojiao, but she remained unmoved when it came to labor.  

She had already set her limit at two or three work points—definitely not more.  

Doing more meant exhausting herself!  

She wasn’t about to work herself to death for a few extra points.  

If she had that much energy, she would rather find a way to make money.  

“Captain, what’s my task?”  

“You’ll be weeding the soybean field—the one on the north side of the hill. It’s just two plots of land, not too big. Once you’re done, you’ll get two work points.”  

“Alright.”  

Weeding should be simple enough.  

But… how big were two plots of land exactly?  

She had no concept of it.  

Just then, the Captain lifted his head and saw Xu Mo walking in from outside.  

“Perfect timing. Xu Mo, take Shen Jiaojiao to the soybean field. But make sure to teach her what the seedlings look like—she better not pull out the wrong plants.”  

Shen Jiaojiao turned around and saw Xu Mo approaching.  

He was so tall that, standing in front of him, she felt like a child.  

He could probably lift her with one hand and swing her around a few times without breaking a sweat.  

Xu Mo glanced at Shen Jiaojiao, his brows slightly furrowed.  

But he said nothing. After collecting the farm tools, he led the way out.  

Shen Jiaojiao also picked up a sickle.  

The blade had been sharpened to a fine edge.  

Seeing these tools, she was rather curious.  

After all, in her past life, she had never even touched farm equipment.  

So, holding the sickle by its handle, she swung it back and forth, hacking at the wild grass by the roadside.  

The sharp blade sliced through the grass effortlessly, making the stalks bow down in submission.  

Feeling amused, Shen Jiaojiao swung the sickle again with more force.

Unfortunately, her sickle struck a rock.  

The impact sent the blade rebounding forcefully. Startled, Shen Jiaojiao’s grip loosened, and the sickle flew out of her hand.  

“Ah—”  

She hurriedly took a few steps back. The sickle landed right near her feet—dangerously close.  

Her heart pounded wildly.  

Xu Mo turned around and saw the sickle on the ground.  

Without a word, he stepped back, picked it up, and held onto it.  

He didn’t return it to her. Instead, he said coolly: “You’re not a child anymore. Stop playing around.”  

Shen Jiaojiao stuck out her tongue, originally wanting to act cute and coax him.  

But with people around, she didn’t dare to be too bold.  

“It was fun!” she murmured weakly.  

Xu Mo remained silent for a moment before asking, somewhat awkwardly: “Did you hurt your hand?”  

Shen Jiaojiao obediently held out her fair and delicate palm in front of him. “Nope.”  

Xu Mo’s gaze lingered on her hand for a few seconds.  

Her fingers were slender and pale, her skin smooth and radiant.  

Her complexion was so fair that the veins on the back of her hand were clearly visible.  

With hands like these, how could she be meant for farm work?  

Wouldn’t that be a waste?  

Xu Mo found himself thinking this.  

“Let’s go.” he said, turning around and continuing forward.  

Shen Jiaojiao glanced at the sickle in his hand and almost pointed out, Aren’t you going to give that back to me?  

But then, she realized—Xu Mo had been worried about her!  

That must be why he wasn’t returning the sickle. He didn’t want her to hurt herself again.  

At that moment, Shen Jiaojiao felt as happy as a child.  

Could it be that Xu Mo… liked her a little?  

After the two of them left—

The onlookers immediately began gossiping.  

However, they were standing too far away to hear what was being said, only able to make out the silhouettes of Xu Mo and Shen Jiaojiao.  

As a result, their conversation went something like this:  

“Did you see that? Xu Mo was just scolding Shen Jiaojiao. He looked so fierce—Shen Jiaojiao nearly burst into tears!”  

“Of course, Xu Mo must be disgusted by Shen Jiaojiao for having been with Fang Qinghe before. What man would like a vixen?”  

“Sigh, the Xu family is in for a lively mess in the future. What terrible luck.”  

At that moment, Fang Qinghe’s mother was also present.  

She was harvesting wheat in the field. Upon hearing the gossip, she lifted her head.  

Glancing around to make sure Liu Xiaolan was nowhere in sight, she raised her voice boldly.  

“My son, Qinghe, would never be interested in such a useless woman! She can’t carry anything on her shoulders or lift anything with her hands. Keeping her in the house would be a waste of food.  

Let me tell you—back then, Shen Jiaojiao was the one crying and begging for my son to marry her! But I refused, and naturally, my son listens to me. If I say no, then it’s no!  

And mark my words, that girl is still not over my son. Just wait—she might end up regretting her engagement and try to force my son to marry her again! Hmph! That little vixen Shen Jiaojiao—she can dream on! She’ll never step foot into my Fang family’s home.”  

Meanwhile, Xu Mo led Shen Jiaojiao to the soybean field.  

Two plots of land turned out to be quite large, approximately 30 by 40 meters.  

The field was overgrown with weeds, some even reaching waist height.  

Xu Mo crouched down and began cutting the weeds with his sickle.  

His hands were large.  

His fingers were long.  

When he exerted force, the veins on the back of his hands became particularly prominent—full of strength and tension.  

“Third Brother, is this my task?”  

Without even looking up, Xu Mo replied: “You don’t need to work.”  

Shen Jiaojiao was stunned.  

Was he feeling sorry for her?  

Did he not want her to work, so he was doing it for her?  

A warmth spread in her heart.  

She glanced around.  

This part of the field was quite secluded, with no one nearby.  

So, she crouched beside Xu Mo and, without hesitation, kissed him on the cheek.