Chapter 28: First Day of Work, Idle Talk

Early the next morning, as usual, Ming Dai instinctively reached for her phone upon waking.

After confirming reality, she yawned and got up.

Today was the first day of work!

Stepping outside, she saw Zhou Sinian sweeping the courtyard. Satisfied, she nodded in approval.

Entering the kitchen, she noticed the large pot was already boiling. That pleased her even more.

She scooped out some hot water to wash her face and brush her teeth. Once refreshed, she started preparing breakfast.

Having eaten nothing but cornmeal for the past few days, she was getting tired of it. After some thought, she went to her room and discreetly took out two eggs and a small packet of dried noodles.

A simple bowl of noodles would be perfect for breakfast!

She lit the small stove, heated the pan, and added oil. As soon as the oil was hot, she cracked in two eggs, frying them into golden, crispy-edged perfection. Then, she chopped up the last remaining cabbage heart and tossed it into the pan. Finally, she scooped a ladleful of boiling water from the large pot and poured it in.

Sizzle! A rich, fragrant aroma filled the air.

Soon, the broth turned milky white, bubbling gently.

Ming Dai grabbed a small handful of dried noodles and scattered them into the pot, making sure they spread out evenly.

Before serving, she sprinkled in some salt and ground Sichuan pepper, then added a single drop of sesame oil into the bowl. She poured the steaming noodles and broth over it—what a heavenly smell!

After finishing the bowl of noodles so good even immortals wouldn’t trade for it, Zhou Sinian’s enthusiasm for work skyrocketed.

With her backpack on and the house locked up, Ming Dai led Zhou Sinian to the work site.

When they arrived at the educated youth’s quarters, they saw Fang Mingyang and the others, clearly also preparing to head to work.

Just as Ming Dai was about to greet them, the group caught sight of Zhou Sinian behind her. Terrified, they turned on their heels and left without a second glance—none of them stopped.

Ming Dai was extremely satisfied with this outcome!

Keeping a reasonable distance, she followed along, soon arriving at the grain warehouse in Liujiawan.

A large crowd had already gathered there, waiting in line for work to start.

Having just finished breakfast, people were chatting about various gossip, making the place lively and noisy.

That was until someone spotted Zhou Sinian.

After a gasp of recognition, the entire scene fell into silence.

Some lowered their heads, others stared straight ahead—no one dared to look at Zhou Sinian, who was following closely behind.

The effect was undeniable—instant and absolute!

Knowing how afraid they were, Ming Dai deliberately took Zhou Sinian a little farther from the group.

The people who had been standing near her visibly relaxed.

Liu Dazhu, who was in charge of overseeing the work, was initially pleased with how orderly and disciplined the crowd was today.

Just as he was about to praise them, he caught sight of Zhou Sinian at the back of the group.

All thoughts of official pleasantries vanished. Instead, he simply barked out, “Start working!” before turning around and heading inside first.

Since it wasn’t a busy farming season, the work was simple. Today’s task was to rub dried corn off the cobs. Each person was assigned a pile, and they could leave as soon as they finished.

People rushed inside, scrambling to find the smallest pile.

Ming Dai waited for the crowd to settle before leading Zhou Sinian forward.

By the time they entered, most had already chosen their spots, leaving the remaining piles near the educated youth.

Without hesitation, Ming Dai picked the nearest two spots and settled in.

Anticipating today’s task, she had asked Zhou Sinian to chop two wooden stools the night before. Now, they had the perfect seats to work on.

Instead of working separately, Ming Dai chose to share a pile with Zhou Sinian.

Everyone else was quietly focused on their tasks, but their eyes constantly drifted toward her.

Pretending not to notice their poor attempts at subtlety, Ming Dai sat down and pulled something from her shoulder bag.

A sewing awl.

The crowd watched in confusion, wondering what she planned to do with it.

Ming Dai picked up a dried corn cob and carefully selected a spot near the base. She pressed the awl into it and gave it a firm push.

A neat row of kernels popped right off.

She then moved a few rows over and repeated the motion, clearing another section.

With each cob, she did this five or six times before setting it down and picking up another, repeating the process.

After piercing several cobs, she set the awl aside and grabbed two corncobs, rubbing them together.

The remaining kernels fell off smoothly and effortlessly. Within moments, she had finished five cobs.

The villagers were shocked—this method was far easier than picking the kernels off one by one!

City folks really are clever!

After finishing her batch, Ming Dai picked up the awl again—but instead of using it herself, she handed it to Zhou Sinian.

The crowd gasped. She gave a sharp tool to the madman?!

For a moment, they hesitated, debating whether they should run.

But before they could act, Zhou Sinian had already begun working.

And he was even faster than Ming Dai!

Ming Dai watched for a while. Seeing that he was handling it well, she turned her attention back to rubbing the kernels off the cobs he had prepared.

The villagers quickly caught on. The smarter ones discreetly sent their children home to fetch awls, while the more competitive ones decided to challenge Ming Dai’s team to a race.

The educated youth, being closest, had the clearest view of everything unfolding.

Fang Mingyang watched as Ming Dai’s pile of corn rapidly disappeared, feeling a bit disheartened. Why didn’t I, the leader of the educated youth, come up with such a clever idea?

Fang Rou, on the other hand, looked thoughtful. She was certain that in her past life, she had never heard of a Ming Dai in the educated youth point. Where did she come from?

Liu Yan glared at Zhou Sinian with resentment, but when he noticed and gave her a cold glance, she immediately lowered her head in fear.

Why didn’t Ming Dai get beaten up? she thought angrily, feeling a mix of frustration and disappointment.

Meanwhile, the rest of the villagers were astonished. Zhou Sinian was not only obedient to Ming Dai but was even helping her with the work!

Before long, their entire pile of corn had been prepped. Zhou Sinian handed the awl back to Ming Dai and started rubbing the kernels off at a speed that seemed almost mechanical. With just a few swipes, each cob was stripped bare.

Ming Dai picked up the awl, moved her wooden stool to another pile, and continued working.

Seeing how fast they were, the other villagers felt immense pressure and began working feverishly to keep up.

In no time, Zhou Sinian finished his pile as well. He picked up his stool and walked over, effortlessly snatching the awl from Ming Dai’s hand.

Ming Dai stood up and began collecting the stripped corn cobs.

One of the benefits of husking corn was that whoever processed the cobs got to take them home. This created an opportunity for some people—if they intentionally left a few kernels on each cob, they could collect enough over time to make a full meal.

As long as they didn’t overdo it, the village leader wouldn’t interfere.

However, both Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian worked thoroughly. Their cobs were stripped completely clean, not a single kernel left behind.

In less than a morning, they had finished two whole piles of corn, while everyone else had barely gotten through half of theirs.

They packed up all the loose kernels and managed to collect four large sacks of corn cobs.

With the awl in her hand and Zhou Sinian carrying the wooden stools, Ming Dai walked toward Aunt Huang under the eager gazes of the educated youths.

“Auntie, here’s the awl for you to use,” she said.

Having interacted with Zhou Sinian the day before, Aunt Huang was more at ease this time.

Her family only had one sewing awl, which had already been given to her daughter-in-law. Naturally, she wouldn’t refuse the chance to borrow another from Ming Dai.

“Thank you, Xiao Ming. You’re heading to the commune, right? Go quickly—the note is with the old man. Just leave the wooden stool here. Later, we’ll bundle it with the leftover corn cobs, and I’ll have someone send it over to you.”

The first time she had been called “Xiao Ming,” Ming Dai had tried to resist. Since childhood, her nickname at school had been “Xiao Ming,” and she had grown tired of hearing it.

But resistance was futile. The aunts still called her “Xiao Ming“ with warmth and familiarity.

Since she wouldn’t have to make an extra trip, Ming Dai gladly accepted with a smile.

As soon as she and Zhou Sinian left, the place erupted into lively chatter.

“Oh my, the lunatic has changed! He’s actually working now!”

“He started working a while ago. These past few days, he’s been helping that little educated youth haul firewood.”

“I saw it too! Several large carts of firewood—this winter, the little educated youth won’t have to worry about running out!”

“Why is he only helping her and not us?”

“Exactly! Say what you will, but the lunatic works pretty well.”

“Do you think the lunatic likes Ming Zhiqing? Maybe he wants her to be his wife?”

“That’s right! Otherwise, why didn’t he drive her away like the others and only kept her?”

“Well, he may be a bit crazy, but he’s still a young man in his twenties. It’s only natural for him to want a wife!”

“Haha! I wonder if the lunatic will invite us to his wedding banquet?”

“He doesn’t get to decide; we have to ask Ming Zhiqing.”

“Alright then, we’ll wait for Ming Zhiqing to come back and ask her!”

As the conversation grew more outrageous, Aunt Huang became furious and started scolding them.

“Ask my ass! You bunch of gossiping old women, you’ve got nothing better to do!”

“What the hell do you know?!”

“The lunatic listens to Ming Zhiqing because she feeds him!

The new educated youths just received their grain rations. Ming Zhiqing got fine grain—20 pounds of cornmeal—and the lunatic has almost eaten it all!

She gives him food, so he listens and works for her. If any of you want to do the same, say it now! I’ll send the lunatic to your house tonight for dinner, and he can work for you!”

The crowd was stunned.

“Oh my heavens, 20 pounds of fine grain in just three days!”

“I don’t want that! I really don’t! My family doesn’t have that much grain.”

“Exactly, exactly! If I had that much grain, wouldn’t it be better to eat it myself?”

Aunt Huang snorted coldly.

“Don’t think I don’t know what’s going on in your little scheming minds. Listen up—if any of you have the ability to make the lunatic obey, then go ahead. We won’t interfere.

You don’t know how to appreciate good fortune! Do you think the lunatic is so easy to handle? Haven’t we tried before? As long as he doesn’t cause trouble, that’s already a blessing for us!”

Besides, Ming Zhiqing didn’t agree to this willingly—the lunatic latched onto her.

She had to sacrifice so many things just to keep him from hitting her and to make him work for her. She’s an orphan, surviving on her father’s military pension. And now, she’s stuck with this huge trouble. Isn’t that pitiful enough?

Yet you all still have the nerve to gossip about her? Shameless!

If I catch anyone stirring up trouble again, I’ll personally teach them a lesson!”

Everyone quickly shook their heads, signaling that they didn’t dare to continue the conversation.

After listening to Aunt Huang, the women realized that having the lunatic under control was actually beneficial to them. And knowing how much food Ming Dai had lost in the process made them feel better—not envious anymore, but instead sympathetic toward the young educated youth.

Even the other educated youths, upon hearing about Ming Dai’s “misfortune,” strangely felt more at ease.

Only Fang Rou furrowed her brows. She didn’t want any unexpected variables to arise.