Chapter 12: Going to Work

Li Lin immediately understood the unsaid part of Zhang Xia’s words. She quickly responded, “The price is not an issue, as long as we can get them.”

“Alright, you wait in the alley ahead. I’ll bring them over to you in a bit,” Zhang Xia said. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stopped and turned around, as if she had remembered something. “I also have some hot water kettles. Would you like them?”

“Yes, yes! Two kettles and two iron pots,” Li Lin said, pleasantly surprised by the extra offer. They needed the kettles, as even if she didn’t use them, Hu Yingying definitely would.

“Great! I’ll bring them to you shortly.” Zhang Xia nodded and walked away to handle the items.

As Li Lin made her way back to the alley, Hu Yingying was already waiting for her. “Did you get them? What did she say?” she asked eagerly.

“We got them. They’re a little pricey, but I told her it was fine as long as we can buy them,” Li Lin explained. She then leaned closer to Hu Yingying and whispered, “She also has some hot water kettles, so I asked her to bring two of those as well.”

“Really? That’s amazing! Finally, I’ll be able to use hot water!” Hu Yingying exclaimed, hopping up and down with excitement.

“Alright, let’s go. That lady asked us to wait in the alley ahead,” Li Lin said, trying to manage all the items they’d bought.

“You wait here, I’ll go see if I can find any pork. If I can, I’ll bring some back,” Hu Yingying said, handing Li Lin two big “Dazhongjie” bills. She then dashed off without waiting for a response.

“Don’t forget to bring me some!” Li Lin called after her, but Hu Yingying was already too far ahead to hear.

“That girl…” Li Lin shook her head with a smile, and just as she thought she was going to be waiting for a while, Zhang Xia showed up, carrying two hot water kettles and accompanied by a middle-aged man holding the iron pots.

“Here you go, two iron pots with lids and two hot water kettles. I won’t give you a receipt. The iron pots are ten yuan each, the kettles are five yuan each. Altogether, thirty yuan,” Zhang Xia said as she placed the items on the ground.

“I’ll give you thirty-one yuan. I can’t let you go through all this trouble without something in return. One extra yuan, please use it to buy a popsicle for you and your brother,” Li Lin said, understanding that Zhang Xia was helping them out because of the team leader. She knew that if anyone else had come, the price might have been much higher, not to mention that they probably would have had to pay for the receipt too.

Li Lin didn’t want to take advantage of Zhang Xia and knew that, in the future, they might need her help again, so she made sure to show her gratitude.

“Alright, I’ll accept it. If you need anything else, just come find me,” Zhang Xia replied, not being modest at all. She pocketed the money and exchanged a few polite words before heading back to the supply and marketing cooperative.

“Li Lin, I’m back!” Just as Zhang Xia returned, Hu Yingying came running back with two chunks of pork in her hands.

“Did you get the meat?” Li Lin asked, looking up at the two pieces of meat Hu Yingying proudly waved in front of her.

“Yep! And I even had to snatch it from someone else,” Hu Yingying said smugly, shaking the pork in her hand. “I also found a bullock cart to take us back to the team. It’s coming soon, so let’s gather our stuff and get ready to head back.”

The two of them quickly packed up the items and, not long after, the bullock cart arrived. They loaded their purchases onto it and set off, bouncing along the road on the way back to the team.

“Let’s drop the stuff off at the house first, then we’ll get to work. We don’t want to be late, or someone might start complaining,” Li Lin said as they arrived back at their temporary lodging.

After unloading everything, Li Lin changed into her work clothes—dusty and worn—and applied some sunscreen. It was going to be a long day.

Li Lin took the leftover money from buying the pots and locked the door behind her as she went out.

“Yingying, here’s the remaining money from the pots. It’s yours,” Li Lin said, handing the money to Hu Yingying as they prepared to head to the fields.

“Alright, let’s go!” Hu Yingying quickly put the money inside, locked the door, and grabbed Li Lin’s arm as they headed to the fields.

However, they quickly realized that they were unfamiliar with the area. With most of the team members already working in the fields, they couldn’t find anyone to ask for directions. Eventually, they had to ask a carpenter named Zhao for help before they finally stumbled their way to the right field.

As they approached, a young woman in her twenties, who had been taking a break after working, looked at them and sneered, “Oh, the new young educated youths? You look good, but it’s already midday, and you’re just now showing up? Don’t know what you’re thinking.”

Li Lin, having grown up in the countryside, was used to these kinds of women’s sharp tongues, so she immediately retorted without hesitation: “Auntie, we took leave from the team leader. And by the way, didn’t you take a break too? Or else how would you have time to stand around gossiping?”

The woman was taken aback by Li Lin’s sharp response and shot back, “Hey, you little girl, don’t speak nonsense. I’m just stretching my back after working! Where do you see me gossiping?” 

Li Lin, undeterred, responded coolly, “I’m not talking nonsense. Everyone can see whether you’re gossiping or not. The eyes of the people are clear.”

With that, she grabbed Hu Yingying’s arm and headed toward the team leader’s office, not wanting to waste more time with the woman.

The woman, fuming from the sharp retort, thought to herself, *If I ever get the chance, I’ll make sure this little girl regrets it.*

—

“Team leader, we’re back! What should we do now?” Li Lin and Hu Yingying found the team leader, Chen Jun, and asked him what they should do next.

“That field in front is for the educated youths. Go over there. If you don’t understand anything, just ask the older educated youths,” Chen Jun said nonchalantly, pointing to the field not far away.

“Got it. We’ll head over now.” Li Lin nodded and, after bidding goodbye to the team leader, they made their way toward the field where they were supposed to work.

From a distance, Lin Meina, one of the older educated youths, spotted them. She waved at them as she stood up. “Li, Yingying! Over here! You two, come over and start working!”

“Meina, how do we do this? We don’t know anything. Can you teach us?” Hu Yingying asked, looking at the sea of green crops with a puzzled expression.

“Alright, listen up,” Lin Meina explained patiently as she crouched down and pulled up a weed. “This here is a weed. We need to pull it out by the root. Make sure you don’t leave any roots in the soil, or it’ll keep growing back.”

She pointed to a small corn sprout and continued, “This is corn. The rest of these are all weeds. Just pull up the weeds and leave the corn sprouts alone.”

“Got it,” Hu Yingying nodded seriously. She immediately got to work, crouching down to pull the weeds. But after just a short while, her legs started to ache, and her arms grew sore.

Li Lin wasn’t doing much better. Even though she had worked in the fields in her previous life, the body she inhabited now was spoiled and hadn’t been used to manual labor. Her legs and arms were sore before she could even pull up a few weeds.

Lin Meina, seeing their struggles, laughed and called out to them from the side, “You two should bring small stools in the afternoon, like I do. Sit on them while you work. That way, your legs won’t get so sore.”

Li Lin looked around and noticed the older educated youths sitting on small stools, working much more comfortably. She nodded, taking in the advice.