Chapter 66: Night Gossip – Not a Good Person!

Huang Dalian clicked her tongue twice. “That Liu Zhiqing really likes Qi Zhiqing!”

“In the morning, when they were assigning tasks, Qi Zhiqing was given the job of hauling soil with the villagers. He didn’t want to do it, saying that his shoulder was swollen and he couldn’t manage it.”

“Fang Zhiqing said that this was men’s work, done on rotation, and having a swollen shoulder was no excuse.”

“Qi Zhiqing tried to swap tasks with others, but none of the male educated youths agreed.”

“Liu Zhiqing felt sorry for him right away and immediately offered to switch places with him. Qi Zhiqing would shovel soil, and she would haul the cart instead.”

At this point, Huang Dalian chuckled.

“Who doesn’t know her? The kind of work that others finish in half a day, she can’t complete in a whole day. Not to mention, she often cries, making it seem like someone is bullying her.”

“So, of course, Fang Zhiqing, as the team leader, didn’t agree. Hauling the cart wasn’t a task to be taken lightly. Liu Zhiqing started crying on the spot, saying that Fang Zhiqing looked down on her and deliberately discriminated against female educated youths.”

“Fang Zhiqing found it amusing and simply assigned Cai Zhiqing to haul the cart instead. Then, he told Liu Zhiqing and Qi Zhiqing to carry soil instead, making sure to specify that they should carry the amount meant for men. That way, Liu Zhiqing wouldn’t feel that he was looking down on her.”

“Hahaha! You should have seen Qi Zhiqing’s face at that moment—it was completely dark! Originally, if he had been hauling the cart, he could have switched between pushing and pulling, giving his shoulder a chance to rest. He could have coordinated with the villagers, and when returning with an empty cart, he would have had more opportunities to take a break.”

“But now, he had to carry soil, which was the very task that had caused his shoulder to swell in the first place. I bet it’s even worse now!”

“So, he wanted to switch back to hauling the cart, but Fang Zhiqing refused and made them both continue carrying soil.”

“Qi Zhiqing got angry and accused Fang Zhiqing of targeting him. But Fang Zhiqing wasn’t one to indulge him. He outright said that Qi Zhiqing had capitalist tendencies and was trying to evade his revolutionary duties. That left Qi Zhiqing speechless. He stomped off in a huff, not even staying for breakfast.”

“Then, Liu Zhiqing ran after him with her own breakfast. Apparently, before coming here, she had exchanged quite a few eggs, boiled them all, and brought them along—just to feed Qi Zhiqing.”

Ming Dai suddenly understood. “So they went to the grove to have a private meal.”

Huang Dalian gave her a mysterious look. “You’re still young, you don’t understand. Do they really need to go to the grove just to eat? Tsk tsk, if someone is too eager, it’s not a fair trade. Just wait and see, Liu Zhiqing will be the one to suffer.”

Ming Dai recalled how furious Qi Zhijun had looked that morning. But in the end, he was the first one to turn into the grove.

She wondered whether he was just embarrassed to be seen eating the eggs that Liu Zhiqing had given him, or if he was planning to do something… unspeakable.

If it was the latter, then he truly had no shame—especially since he had just pushed Liu Zhiqing away so cleanly, as if he wanted nothing to do with her.

Huang Dalian poured out the used water, rinsed the basin, and put it away. As she took off her muddy pants, she said, “Anyway, neither of them are good people. One is scheming on the inside, and the other is foolish on the outside. Just ignore them.”

Ming Dai laughed and agreed. “Mhm, they came to ask me to go catch field mice with them earlier, but I sent them away.”

“That’s the right thing to do! Catch field mice? Don’t they have work tomorrow? Ah—what is this? Why is it so warm?”

Ming Dai shrank back into her blanket. “It’s a saltwater bottle. Be careful not to kick it over, Sister Dalian. I filled it with hot water—it’ll keep us warm for half the night.”

Huang Dalian was so touched she almost cried. “Xiao Ming, you’re such a good girl! Even my own sister doesn’t take care of me like this.”

Ming Dai chuckled. “Haha, Sister Dalian, let’s sleep now. We have to wake up early tomorrow.”

Huang Dalian wiped her face. “Yes, yes! Going to sleep right away.”

Ming Dai turned to look at the other side of the firewood pile. “Zhou Sinian, time to sleep. Turn off the light—you can read tomorrow.”

Zhou Sinian obediently put away his comic book, burrowed into his blanket, wriggled around until he found the most comfortable position, and then switched off his flashlight.

Just as Ming Dai was about to fall asleep, Zhou Sinian suddenly spoke. “I want to eat eggs.”

Ming Dai rolled her eyes in the darkness. After all that, the only thing he remembered was the word “eggs”?!

“No eggs, only salted duck eggs. I’ll give you one tomorrow.”

Zhou Sinian’s disappointed voice sounded. “Alright then.”

Under her blanket, Huang Dalian sighed to herself—what good fortune that lunatic had, even getting to eat salted duck eggs.

The night passed dreamlessly, and all three of them slept well.

Zhou Sinian slept soundly because Ming Dai had added sleep-aiding herbs to his medicine. Huang Dalian, on the other hand, slept well because Zhou Sinian hadn’t suddenly appeared to startle her, and she was exhausted from the day’s work.

When morning came, Huang Dalian automatically got up to boil hot water, while Ming Dai took out five steamed buns and four pieces of sponge cake, placing them on the small stove to steam.

Zhou Sinian chose stir-fried noodles for himself, scooped half a bowl into his meal bowl, and poured hot water over it using the boiling water Huang Dalian had prepared.

Huang Dalian was stunned to see that the lunatic had even poured her a portion.

After all, he never let anyone touch his things. Even just looking at them too long could get someone beaten up.

Zhou Sinian didn’t acknowledge her surprise. He simply carried his large tea mug to the side of the stove, then picked up a piece of sponge cake and started eating—one bite of cake, one bite of noodles.

Ming Dai finished washing her face and came over. Using chopsticks, she picked up a piece of sponge cake and a red date steamed bun, then handed them to Huang Dalian. “Sister Dalian, try these. I made them with red dates.”

Huang Dalian was still staring at the stir-fried noodles on the stove in a daze. Seeing Ming Dai offering her food, she quickly waved her hands. “No, no, I can’t take this.”

Ming Dai thought for a moment, glanced at Zhou Sinian—who was already eating a red date steamed bun—and then leaned in closer to Huang Dalian, lowering her voice. “Sister Dalian, is your time of the month coming soon?”

Huang Dalian looked at her in shock. “How did you know?”

Ming Dai smiled. “Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes observation, listening, questioning, and touch. Naturally, I could tell. Do you feel pain a few days before it starts?”

Huang Dalian felt a little embarrassed. After all, Ming Dai was still just a young girl. “Yeah, once it starts, I feel awful and can’t do anything.”

Ming Dai nodded. That was exactly why she had prepared the saltwater bottle for Huang Dalian last night.

“Sister Dalian, I added brown sugar to this. It’s good for you. When we get back, I’ll find some medicine for you to take a few times—it’ll be fine after that. It’s a small issue, but if you don’t take care of it, it could become serious when you get older.”

Huang Dalian was a little startled but obediently took the steamed bun and sponge cake.

“Eat it while it’s hot. Also, don’t go to the river to wash vegetables for now—Zhou Sinian and I will go instead. And that saltwater bottle—fill it with hot water in the morning and at night, wrap it in a towel, and keep it on your stomach. It’ll help with the discomfort.”

Huang Dalian blushed and agreed, feeling both amazed and a little in awe. Xiao Ming really was like a miracle doctor—she hadn’t even taken her pulse, yet she knew exactly what was wrong. At the same time, she found it surprising that such a young girl knew so much, even about women’s health issues.

Looking at Ming Dai’s small, youthful face, she figured the girl hadn’t even started her own cycle yet.

She was actually right. This body had never experienced it before. After all, Ming Dai was only 14, and in this era, most girls started at 15 or 16. Those who were malnourished might not start until 17 or even 18.

Lately, she had also been taking care of her own health. By the time she turned 15 next year, she expected it to start, so she needed to prepare in advance.

After finishing breakfast and tidying up, the sky was beginning to lighten.

Liu Guoqiang emerged from the shed where he lived, crossing his arms as he called out to Huang Dalian.

“I’m coming!” she responded.

Grabbing a stack of burlap sacks, Huang Dalian followed as Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian strapped on their bamboo baskets.

The four of them stepped into the morning mist, heading toward the nearby mountain.