Chapter 12

“Enduring hardship leads to success,” Liu Yu thought. She was determined to get back to the way she used to look, she wanted her small apartment, and she wanted her iced coffee from the computer.

Liu Yu channeled all her anger into the mud.

“Well, well, who do we have here? Our family’s young lady actually came down to work in the fields!”

A slick voice sounded, and Liu Yu looked up to see her Uncle Liu Jianmin and his wife.

Uncle Liu was dressed in a blue liberation suit and a pair of liberation shoes, looking quite tidy. Liu Li, his wife, wore a turquoise jacket and had a figure with a waist as thin as a snake’s. Both of them looked clean and neat from head to toe.

—-

In her memory, Uncle and his wife had always been idle. If it weren’t for Chen Shi’s favoritism, they would have never agreed to separate from the family. With their abilities, they’d probably starve.

They could rarely be seen working in the production team. Liu Yu’s father was the team leader, and every member of the team was required to do their share of labor. But Uncle and his wife always fell short in their labor quota, so her father had to cover for them!

What was even more infuriating was that her father worked like an ox, while the main family, the Liu family’s big house, was the poorest. They had no food or money. Her younger brother, Liu Ye, wore a pair of shoes with holes, with his big toe sticking out. He didn’t even look good. He was worse off than the beggars outside.

Meanwhile, Uncle’s family had new clothes every season, and their two sons had three new outfits each year, made from the best fabric from the supply and marketing cooperative, styled as traditional Zhongshan suits! They were never short of clothes!

Why was Uncle’s family so well off while the big house had to support them like a cow?

Liu Yu didn’t want to deal with them and kept her head down, focusing on her own work.

Uncle Liu Jianmin chuckled, “It’s not that bad. With you working in the fields, our family gets an extra laborer! More food and more rations for us! Hey, let me ask you, where’s your dad?”

Liu Ye, busy with his work, didn’t care to talk to them. “My dad’s not here. Uncle, if you need something, just come by our house tonight.”

Uncle Liu Jianmin shrugged nonchalantly. “I just saw your dad carrying a basket, but it’s fine. We’ll wait for him here.”

With that, the couple moved under the shade of a large tree, each finding a spot where they wouldn’t be in the sun. They sat comfortably, chatting and laughing. Liu Li even pulled out a handful of roasted melon seeds and started snacking.

When Liu Ye’s father returned with an empty basket, Uncle Liu Jianmin and his wife leisurely went up to greet him with big smiles. “Big brother!”

Liu Jianmin, his dark skin slick with sweat, set down the bamboo pole and began wiping his face with a towel. “What’s going on?”

Uncle Liu Jianmin still wore his grin. “Big brother, you know it’s not easy for me and Liu Li to raise two half-grown kids. Could you maybe raise our work points a bit?”

Work points in the production team were entirely based on personal labor. The more work you did, the higher your points. Uncle and his wife were always idle, and they wanted more points? This was outrageous!

Faced with his unreasonable request, Liu Jianmin, a man of honesty, looked very awkward. He had always been conditioned by Chen Shi to selflessly help his younger siblings, but he was too tongue-tied to say anything.

Liu Yu was furious upon hearing this and immediately stood in front of the couple. “Uncle, you and your wife each get two work points a day, and my dad has to work tirelessly to make up the difference for you! Why should that be the case?”

Liu Ye had long been annoyed with them. Chen Shi’s favoritism towards the third family was her own problem, but why should the third family be able to take advantage of the big family so recklessly?