Chapter 26

After verifying the functionality of her portable space, Liu Yu casually stole a cucumber from the Liu family’s vegetable plot. Chewing as she walked, she headed toward the production team headquarters—she had work to do.

At the team office, her father was busy assigning tasks.

Liu Yu reported in obediently, refraining from her usual playful antics. Work was work, and life was life. She wanted to draw a clear line between the two, ensuring no one accused her father, Liu Jianjia, of favoring his daughter, sparking unnecessary gossip.

Since she had already talked to her father beforehand, Liu Yu made it clear she could handle any task that the other female workers did, requesting no special treatment.

“Comrade Liu, your task today is to cut green fodder for pig feed. Go collect your tools at the office.”

As soon as the words were spoken, a wave of suppressed laughter rippled through the crowd.

The urban “educated youth” and the local villagers couldn’t hold back their amusement. They had never seen Liu Yu do manual labor—only her gluttonous displays and waddling figure. From the bottom of their hearts, they believed this pampered, chubby woman couldn’t handle any task. Without her loving parents, she would’ve likely starved on her own.

Liu Yu was well aware of their assumptions. Changping a deeply ingrained image wasn’t easy. She didn’t argue or make a scene; she simply grabbed a sickle, determined to prove herself through her actions. She’d show these people that she wasn’t the same Liu Yu anymore!

The commune’s farm raised pigs, slaughtered at year-end to distribute meat among the workers. Naturally, the task of gathering pig feed fell to the laborers.

Liu Yu knew where to find abundant pig fodder. When she arrived at the spot, she was surprised to see a familiar figure.

“Wang Changping? Hey, Comrade Wang!”

She greeted him warmly.

Wang Changping noticed her and gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

“You haven’t fully recovered from your illness. Why are you already back to work? Are you that eager to earn work points?”

Liu Yu started slicing through a patch of dense pigweed with practiced efficiency, her hands moving deftly as she spoke. She thought to herself, this guy really is all about money, even at the expense of his health.

While working alongside her, Wang Changping replied calmly, “Comrade Liu, I feel much better now.”

Acknowledging his response with a simple “Oh,” Liu Yu focused entirely on cutting. Fully absorbed, her efforts began to yield noticeable results.

However, no matter how fast Liuyu worked, Wang Changping was even faster!

His sickle moved with such speed and precision that the pigweed fell in clean, swift rows. In no time, he had far outpaced Liu Yu, leaving her trailing behind.

Liu Yu gasped in astonishment. Isn’t this guy an urban educated youth?

City folks typically didn’t grow crops or do farm labor. Many of the wealthier ones had soft, lily-white hands. A lot of the educated youth in the production team had barely carried a bamboo basket before. Yet Wang Changping’s work efficiency was something else entirely—better than hers, no less!

Determined not to be outdone, Liuyu gritted her teeth and sped up, unwilling to embarrass herself as a woman.

But no matter how hard she pushed herself, she simply couldn’t keep up.

The production team used particularly large bamboo baskets—big enough to fit a young boy inside. Wang Changping had filled an entire basket, stacking the pigweed high and securing it with a rope to prevent spillage. Meanwhile, Liu Yu had only managed to fill half a basket. What’s more, Wang Changping even had time to wait for her!

Feeling a mix of admiration and frustration, Liu Yu exclaimed, “Comrade Wang, you’ve been hiding your skills, haven’t you? You’re even better at this than I am!”

Wang Changping didn’t respond, but inwardly, he found himself reevaluating Liu Yu. The Liu Yu described by others was supposedly a lazy glutton, incapable of anything.

Yet, the woman in front of him was entirely different—no trace of pampered delicacy, just a straightforward, bold personality that he found quite admirable.

When breakfast time rolled around, the two returned to report their work to Liu Jianjia.

Half-jokingly, Liu Yu told her father, “Dad, is Wang Changping really from the city? I only managed half a basket this morning, but this guy filled an entire one—he’s a beast!”

Liu Jianjia chuckled, “You can’t compare yourself to him! He’s the most capable worker among the educated youth. There are barely a handful of people in our production team who can keep up with him!”