Chapter 14

With Captain Huang’s words, it was settled that Wu Xiaoxiao would go out to the fields to earn work points.

Although Zhang Fang felt heartache, seeing her daughter persist and knowing that Captain Huang had already spoken to the relevant people, she had no choice but to relent.

As for Wu Laosan, although he felt a little uncomfortable with the idea of Wu Xiaoxiao earning a full six hours of work, he wasn’t overly resistant. After all, he was in charge of the whole village and giving her a few work points wasn’t a big deal.

—-

On the other hand, Wu Xiaoxiao was his brother’s child, so he didn’t want to make things too difficult for her. However, Ning Mei and Wu Ningfang didn’t see it the same way.

As the third aunt, Ning Mei couldn’t get over the fact that a little girl like Wu Xiaoxiao had overshadowed her. It made her furious.

Wu Ningfang, meanwhile, felt that Wu Xiaoxiao was already standing out in the village—good grades, pretty, and everyone doted on her. Now, with this whole idea of going to the fields to earn work points, she was getting more praise from others.

They were the same age, and Wu Ningfang was even a few months older, but in others’ eyes, she was a lady of the house, being supported by her family, while Wu Xiaoxiao had become an example of someone who was contributing to the village’s development. How could this be?

Additionally, she had been ignored by the young intellectuals recently. Even though Wu Xiaoxiao wasn’t going to the youth group anymore, Gu Zhenghong still paid her no attention. The more Wu Ningfang thought about it, the angrier she became. She went to Ning Mei and grumbled, “Mom, I want to go to the fields and earn work points too. I don’t want to sit at home and eat without doing anything.”

Ning Mei tapped her forehead and said, “You, don’t just do what Wu Xiaoxiao does. Look at her family’s situation and ours—there’s no need for you to compare yourself with her. Besides, what’s wrong with going to the fields to earn work points? Just wait and see how I handle her.”

“Mom, what are you going to do?” Hearing Ning Mei say that, Wu Ningfang’s eyes immediately lit up. She knew her mom must have a plan.

Ning Mei smiled and said, “Just wait and watch.”

—-

The next morning, Wu Xiaoxiao had prepared the food for lunch.

She arrived early at the task assignment place. Although the team had already made arrangements, she knew she had to be thorough to avoid any complaints.

“Hey, Xiaoxiao, why are you here so early? You’re such a thoughtful child. No matter what, Third Uncle won’t skimp on your food. You don’t have to work so hard,” said Wu Laosan, sounding like a caring elder.

“The work in the fields isn’t too much, you should know that by now. Just go with the others to weed, and you’ll get six points for a full day’s work. If you’re tired, you can take a break,” he added.

The others didn’t say much either. As for the weeding, it didn’t really matter if it was done a day early or late—no one was going to check on it.

They knew Wu Xiaoxiao’s family was struggling, so it didn’t matter much if she was with them. Besides, the six work points given to Wu Xiaoxiao were allocated to the whole brigade, not just for one or two people. No one felt like they were losing out.

Wu Xiaoxiao followed the group to the field and began preparing for weeding.

Ning Mei came over and said, “Hey, Xiaoxiao, you don’t have much experience, so you won’t be able to weed much. If you’re with your mom, she’ll have to help you out later.”

She pulled Wu Xiaoxiao aside and added, “Listen to me, Xiaoxiao. I’ll arrange a new small team for you, and you can work with Aunt Xiumei. The land she’s weeding, she just did a few days ago, so the grass isn’t too thick. You two can just do this area.”

Ding Xiumei heard this and pouted. She had been eyeing this patch of land for a while, and her mother-in-law, Zhang Fang, had just weeded it a few days ago.

All the grass had been pulled out, and it would take a few days before any new roots would form. Now, it was easy to weed, and it looked like they’d gotten a large area done. She’d worked hard to claim this spot, only to have it go to Wu Xiaoxiao.

There was nothing she could do—after all, these people were all family.

She reluctantly said, “Alright, Xiaoxiao, just stick with me. We haven’t talked much before. You’ve mostly been at home, and I’ve only seen you when you brought food to your mom. What did you make for her today? That meal you brought the other day smelled so good, Auntie almost couldn’t swallow the dry biscuits after that!”

Ning Mei gave her a light slap. “Stop teasing our Xiaoxiao. You know how precious food is these days. Their meals can’t be shared with everyone. Let’s look after Xiaoxiao. She’s delicate and hasn’t been in the fields much.”

The way Ning Mei spoke made it sound like Wu Xiaoxiao was only there to get credit for everyone else’s hard work.

Wu Xiaoxiao didn’t argue. After all, Ning Mei was her aunt, and it wouldn’t be proper to talk back to an elder. If she did, someone might think she was being disrespectful.

She took a cucumber out of her basket and handed it to Ding Xiumei. “Aunt Xiumei, our family doesn’t have much food to share, so we can’t offer it to you. But this year, our melons grew really well. Try this cucumber—it’s sweet and refreshing, perfect for this weather.”