Chapter 25

Huagou Village had a complex and varied terrain. There were vast fields out front, and nearer the mountains, scattered plots of reclaimed land dotted the landscape.

Every harvest season, the whole village was alive with busy figures working the fields.

On this particular day, the autumn air was crisp, and the sun shone brightly.

A five-mu wheat field near a gully had already been half-harvested in no time.

Jiang Henian crouched motionless on the ground, clutching a handful of wheat stalks in her left hand, while her right loosely held a sickle. Her eyes were hollow, as if her soul had drifted far, far away.

Nine plots…

This wheat field was the ninth one she’d harvested since arriving in this world.

Did I get here by signing up for one of those reality transformation shows?

Her palm was numb from gripping the sickle handle, her fingers ached and stiffened, and her shoulder blades felt like they no longer belonged to her.

As her fingers twitched, the sickle slipped to the ground.

A shadow immediately loomed over her.

“Henian girl, why are you falling behind again today?”

Jiang Henian’s head throbbed the moment she heard that voice. She dropped her gaze and practiced a polite smile before looking up.

“Uncle Ding, working hard again?”

Ding Guangsheng let out a grunt, tapping his labor log book, looking down at Jiang Henian with amusement.

“Well now, learning to greet people? That’s new. But don’t try charming your way out of this. Look at your Aunt Yingzi and the others—they’re almost done, and you’re still dawdling back here like you’re playing in the mud.”

“Just look at these bundles. Not tied properly. You’ll carry it a few steps and it’ll fall apart. What’s going on with you?”

“Been slacking lately, huh? If you don’t finish this afternoon, don’t blame your uncle here for docking your work points again.”

Here we go again…

Docking points, always docking points.

This grown man carried around his little log book like a school disciplinarian, gleefully deducting labor points from hardworking peasants.

And after he docked you, he’d deliver a full-blown ideological lecture on the value of labor and collective productivity—only then did he seem truly satisfied.

No matter what you said, he’d still go “tsk-tsk” and slash your points like he was mourning your failure.

Jiang Henian bent down to lift a bundle of cut wheat. With a loud “heave,” she raised it high—so high that the wheat brushed right past Ding Guangsheng’s face, covering him in a fine coat of harvest dust.

Then she flashed a bright smile and said, “Don’t worry, Uncle—I’ll just take 4 points. Not a bit more!”

Four points was already the absolute maximum she could earn with her current physical limits. Any more would be unreasonable.

Her motto now: Take it easy on yourself, and never let anyone get too comfortable at your expense.

Ding Guangsheng staggered back, coughing as his prepared speech was rendered useless. She wasn’t even afraid of losing points? She thought 4 was too much?

He clasped his hands behind his back and launched into a lecture: “That’s not the spirit of labor! Laziness is a crime! You—”

“Director Ding! Director Ding!”

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over!”

A tanned young man with rolled-up pants came running over and grabbed Ding Guangsheng, dragging him away mid-sentence.

“Hey, hey! What’s the rush? Can’t you see I’m busy?”

“It’s urgent, Uncle! At noon, a pack of wolves came down from Mount Wuling and attacked Shuichuan Village. They killed all the livestock—killed people too! Wild wolves are roaming everywhere. The Party Secretary and the brigade leader are calling a safety emergency meeting, and you’re the last one they need!”

“You damn kid! Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

Ding Guangsheng clutched his glasses and logbook, dashing off so fast he nearly lost a shoe.

Finally… some peace and quiet.

Jiang Henian slumped down onto a bundle of harvested wheat, completely drained.

She didn’t even care that it was prickly. Leaning back against the pile, her eyelids drooped uncontrollably.

So tired… so sleepy…

Even if wolves came now, she wouldn’t budge an inch.

Every day she had to wake up painfully early, sneak around like a creepy weirdo to secretly cuddle with He Jinshan and recharge. Then she had to spend the whole day doing grueling physical labor. After work, she had to sneak off again to the thatched hut to change her bandages and—well, recharge once more.

Yes—recharging to survive.

Then she’d return to the Jiang household for another three hundred rounds of battle with her relatives, and still find time to study her incomprehensible medical texts, looking for some miracle cure to break their life-linked fate.

It had been ten days.

Even the village mule didn’t have it this rough.

Jiang Henian felt both her body and mind teetering on the edge of collapse, and any remaining noble qualities were about to evaporate.

One more spark, and she’d go from the “gentle girl who hit her head and changed” to the “deranged farm lunatic” version of Jiang Henian.

“Look, there she goes, sitting again.”

“Did you hear? She mouthed off to Ding Guangsheng. Said she didn’t even want her labor points. That’s a first.”

“Her personality really has changed. She smiled at me the other day! She’s even growing into her looks a bit. Didn’t seem this pretty before. Too bad she’s still hopeless at farm work. Poor Mincheng’s family must be anxious.”

“Oh yeah, I heard Springfang tried to arrange a marriage for her before New Year’s. But when they met, the guy thought she was mute! Said her face was gloomy, skinny, probably hard to bear kids. Said she was only good for hard labor. Couldn’t even agree on the dowry. Now look—her brain’s broken. Always smiling like a fool. And she’s even worse at work. Who’d want to marry her now?”

“Seriously, the way she moves, you’d think she was some pampered city missy sent down for reform. Even the actual educated youths aren’t as delicate as her. What a disgrace.”

“Every day it’s like it’s her first time in the fields. Maybe she really is possessed? Though those things probably wouldn’t bother doing farm work.”

“Hmph, nonsense. I think she’s just playing tricks. Got a bit of a pretty face and now she wants to act all seductive and lazy. Just like her dead mother! If it weren’t for that woman, Springfang would’ve—”

Jiang Henian paused mid-swipe as she wiped sweat from her brow and turned sharply toward the group of loudmouthed village women with towel-wrapped heads.

They quickly turned away, pretending nothing had happened.

Her lips pressed into a tight line. She glared at their backs.

Then, without a word, she stood up, grabbed a massive, messy bundle of wheat—one she’d just been sitting on—and staggered toward them with unsteady steps.

The women, still gossiping and nudging each other, were suddenly pelted with an armful of wheat.

“Hey! Who the hell threw that! Watch where you’re swinging!”

Bits of wheat husk and stalks flew everywhere, landing on their faces and falling down their collars. They jumped up, scratching like monkeys.

“Say it again. Say it to my face,” Jiang Henian snapped.

“So long-tongued, you must be bored out of your minds.”

“You crazy girl!”

“Yes! I am crazy! Isn’t that what you’ve been saying? Possessed, cursed—whatever! If I don’t go a little nuts, it’d be a waste of all your gossip!”

She grabbed another handful of wheat and whacked it against them. The whole group ended up in a brawl, pulling hair and wrestling in the straw.

“What are you doing?! Stop fighting!” Villagers dropped their sickles and rushed over to break up the scuffle.

Ma Guihong happened to be passing by carrying manure buckets. She charged over and started whacking the older women with her carrying pole.

“You bunch of thick-skinned old shrews! Ganging up on a young girl—have you no shame?!”

“She started it!” Chen Cuihua shouted, her hair a mess, covering her swollen eye. “She’s built like a damn iron egg!”

“You call this starting it? You’ve been badmouthing her mother every day! Spreading rumors she’s possessed! Even if we take this to the commune, I’ve done nothing wrong! Let’s get the Party Secretary and see who’s really spreading feudal superstitions!”

Jiang Henian panted heavily, fixing her disheveled clothes. Scratch marks ran down her neck, her bright eyes full of defiance.

“You better not talk nonsense!” Chen Cuihua yelled. “Look at her sharp tongue! Pretending to be mute before—what an act!”

“If you hadn’t been stirring up trouble and mouthing off every day, would such a sweet girl fight back like this?” Ma Guihong barked. “You foul-mouthed nags could piss off a rock. Now shut up and get back to work!”

She chased them off with a few more scoldings.

“Henian girl, are you alright? You look pale. Still not fully healed from that head injury?” Ma Guihong asked as she helped her up.

Jiang Henian took a shaky breath, pulled the wheat stalks from her hair, and shook her head. “I’m okay. Thank you, Auntie.”

Seeing she wasn’t seriously hurt, Ma Guihong patted her shoulder, looked around, then quietly asked, “Henian girl… that night… did you really fall on your own? Did someone hurt you?”

She had been the one who found Jiang Henian unconscious that night.

So someone really did see Song Wenqing that night… No wonder he came running to shut her up.

Jiang Henian rubbed the corner of her eye, which was itchy from the wheat chaff. With a stubborn look, she replied, “The one who hurt me—I’ve already paid them back.”

“Thank you for carrying me home that night.”

“You silly girl. Don’t be so polite with me.”

Ma Guihong sighed inwardly. Jiang Henian’s real mother had been a good woman, but had suffered in silence and died young, leaving her daughter to bear the brunt.

Maybe it was a good thing—this new attitude of the girl. Her old self was too easy to bully, and her stepmother was no saint.

“Well then. If anything ever happens again, come straight to my house, alright?”

Jiang Henian looked at her kind, honest face and concerned eyes, and her own eyes welled up with warmth.

She nodded obediently.