Chapter 14: Sarcasm

“Village leader, we know you’re saying all this for our own good, but we still want to go cut pig grass. If we regret it later, we can still go back to doing fieldwork, right?”

Hu Yingying knew that the village leader was only looking out for them, but right now, they both still wanted to go cut pig grass, so she thanked the village leader for his concern.

Li Lin nodded heavily from the side, making it clear that she was determined to go cut pig grass.

“Alright then, but let me make it clear upfront: You two can cut pig grass, but during busy farming times, after you finish cutting the grass, you’ll still need to work in the fields. That’s a must, and you’ll get additional work points for it,” Zhang Jun said, realizing he couldn’t convince them otherwise. He gave them a clear warning.

He then told them that they each had to cut four baskets of pig grass to take to the pigsty each day. For the rest of the time, they were free to do whatever they wanted, and the village wouldn’t interfere.

“Thank you, village leader! We’ll finish up work now and go cut pig grass this afternoon.”

The two of them didn’t expect such good news, and they happily agreed. They turned to leave right away.

“Don’t forget to go to the warehouse to pick up your baskets and sickles this afternoon, then head to the pigsty to find Sister Liu. Ask her what kind of grass the pigs eat.”

“Make sure you don’t pick the wrong grass and make the pigs sick. The pigs in our village are meant to be distributed to the villagers after the year’s tasks are completed.”

Zhang Jun gave them a thoughtful reminder, clearly worried that they might pick the wrong kind of grass and get into trouble with the villagers.

“Thank you, village leader! We’ll make sure to ask clearly and won’t make a mistake with the pig grass,” they both promised seriously.

“Go on, go on, you two are delaying my dinner time,” Zhang Jun said as he waved them off. He then leisurely walked home, hands behind his back.

—

On the way back, Hu Yingying grabbed Li Lin’s arm and thanked her sincerely, “Linlin, thank you for bringing me along for this great opportunity.”

“Oh, no big deal. It’s good that we’ll have each other’s company while cutting pig grass,” Li Lin replied. But seeing that Hu Yingying still wanted to say something, she quickly interrupted, “Let’s hurry back. The house is a mess, and the stove still isn’t set up.”

Hu Yingying swallowed her thanks and decided not to say any more. From then on, she treated Li Lin even better. Whenever there was something good to eat, she would always save some for Li Lin, and whenever something needed to be done, she made sure to help out first.

—

When the two of them returned to the youth station, the other intellectual youths had already finished eating, and only then did they return. 

This prompted Liu Lan to sarcastically comment, “Oh, are you two so tired from working that you couldn’t even walk? I’m telling you, if you really can’t handle it, just come eat with us. That way, you won’t have to go hungry when we’re off to work.”

“Liu Lan, can’t you control that mouth of yours? I see, since you have to hand over six yuan every month, it must feel like a loss if you don’t eat a bit more, right?” Li Lin, seeing Liu Lan pick a fight, stopped in her tracks and shot back sharply, even taking it a step further by pushing into Liu Lan’s chest.

Then Li Lin added, “I heard your settlement allowance was halved by your parents, right? Based on that, you should have about 25 yuan in your pocket. With six yuan to hand over every month, doesn’t that mean you’ll only be able to partner up for four months? By the fifth month, your wallet will be empty.”

“Aiya, how pitiful! By then, all you’ll be able to eat is plain soup. Meanwhile, I have my parents’ support, so I can eat whatever I want. I can’t wait for time to pass so I can see how miserable you’ll be.”

After saying all this, Li Lin didn’t even look at Liu Lan’s face, which had turned pale with anger. She turned around and headed back to her room to start working.

—

“Li Lin, don’t get too cocky! I’ve seen your brother get married. Once you have a sister-in-law, do you think your parents will still help you out? Don’t be surprised if, one day, you end up worse off than I am!” Liu Lan, truly enraged now, didn’t even bother to eat. Instead, she shouted out angrily, completely losing her composure.

“That’s not something you need to worry about. If it comes to that, I won’t be begging for scraps from your bowl,” Li Lin said as she carried her enamel basin outside to fetch water. She didn’t even raise her eyelids, responding coldly in a nonchalant tone.

Liu Lan, even more infuriated by Li Lin’s indifferent attitude, decided to ignore her. She grabbed her chopsticks and quickly finished the meal in her bowl.

When she went back to refill her bowl, there was no rice left in the pot—only the clean plate, as if it had just been washed.

Liu Lan rubbed her growling stomach and turned to find Zhao Li, who was lying on the kang (a traditional heated bed), “Sister Zhao, I’m still hungry. How come there’s no more food?”

“We saw you arguing so much, and we figured you were really upset and wouldn’t be able to eat. So, we finished your food for you,” Zhao Li answered without opening her eyes, still lying there with a slight movement of her eyelids. She spoke lazily, almost mumbling.

“But I never said I wouldn’t eat! You ate my food without asking. Now, what am I supposed to do? I’m still hungry!” Liu Lan was furious, but she held her anger in and asked through gritted teeth.

“Alright, alright. You’ll have extra food tonight. Don’t be so petty. Go wash the pots and pans, come up, rest for a bit. We still have work later,” Zhao Li replied, finally opening her eyes briefly, before closing them again and pretending to sleep, clearly uninterested in continuing the conversation.

“Wait, why do I have to wash the pots and pans? I didn’t even cook today!”

Liu Lan was even angrier at this, but she had no choice. She reluctantly began to clean up the mess on the table.

Li Lin didn’t know how frustrated Liu Lan was. If she did, she would have definitely had another laugh at her expense.

At this point, Li Lin had washed her hands and face after fetching water, cleaned up the room, and, remembering how her grandmother used to seal the pots back in her previous life, she began to do the same, carefully pressing the pot in place.

Then she fetched more water, found some mud, and smeared it over the seam of the pot. Only then did she consider it fully sealed.

“Wow, Linlin, you’ve sealed the pot? Teach me, I want to seal it too!” Hu Yingying, who had been struggling to figure out how to seal the pot, rushed over to Li Lin. She was impressed and eager to learn.

“I learned it when I used to visit my grandmother’s house. I saw her do it a few times. Otherwise, I wouldn’t know how either,” Li Lin said, explaining as she skillfully sealed the pot for Hu Yingying. Once done, she clapped her hands and said, “There, all done. After we finish cutting pig grass this afternoon, we should collect more firewood. Otherwise, if it rains, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Alright! I have some leftover buns. You can eat here with me. Afterward, you can rest for a bit, then we’ll go cut pig grass,” Hu Yingying said as she pulled out the buns she had brought from the commune earlier that morning.

“You eat them. I still have plenty, and if I don’t eat them, they’ll go bad by evening,” Li Lin replied, turning to leave.

“Fine. But you’d better rest after you eat. Tonight, I’ll make you some stew,” Hu Yingying said, while she dug into the buns herself.

Li Lin nodded and went back to her room, locked the door, then took the buns into her space. She drank a glass of milk, ate a bowl of Kung Pao chicken rice, then lay down on the kang to sleep.