Chapter 11.2

The brigade leader glanced at Meng Yinyin, then at Lu Chen, who stood patiently waiting nearby. With a resigned wave of his hand, he said, “Go find your teacher. Do whatever he does!”

Teacher?

Meng Yinyin was momentarily puzzled before realizing what he meant.

“Alright, I’ll go find Lu Chen then. Goodbye, brigade leader!”

She cheerfully ran toward Lu Chen, leaving the brigade leader baffled by her sudden excitement.

It was the first time he’d seen Meng Yinyin so happy about doing farm work. Was he dreaming? Or had Educated Youth Meng truly reformed under Lu Chen’s guidance, shedding her “reluctant worker” label?

If so, it was certainly a good thing.

The brigade leader couldn’t help but glance in the direction of Lu Chen and Meng Yinyin before leaving, feeling gratified.

Meanwhile, when Meng Yinyin reached Lu Chen, she greeted him enthusiastically.

“Good morning, Lu Chen!”

Lu Chen, seeing that no one was nearby, responded softly, “Good morning.”

Noticing that Lu Chen had glanced around before speaking, Meng Yinyin pouted unhappily.

“Are you afraid of being seen talking to me?”

She guessed he didn’t want to implicate her, but she didn’t believe in such superstitions and didn’t let them bother her.

Besides, she was determined to “win over” Lu Chen. Building a closer relationship and changing the way they interacted was now her priority. If Lu Chen treated her as cautiously as everyone else, what advantage would she have?

So, she wanted to ensure she received special treatment from Lu Chen.

Lu Chen frowned slightly, hesitating as if about to admit it, but before he could, Meng Yinyin lifted her chin and declared defiantly, “Hmph, I don’t care!”

Lu Chen froze, clearly not expecting such a response from her. As he tried to decipher her words, she impatiently shielded her face from the sun and urged him, “Didn’t the brigade leader say you should take me to work? So, where are we going today?”

Though Lu Chen didn’t think the morning sun was too harsh, seeing how much she disliked it, he collected his thoughts and replied, “To the fields.”

He then turned and led the way, with Meng Yinyin quickly following behind.

However, as she processed the words “to the fields,” her expression turned sour.

Heavens knew how much she hated water fields, especially after seeing leeches in them with her own eyes. Those horrifying creatures clung to people’s legs and sucked their blood—utterly disgusting and terrifying.

Since then, Meng Yinyin avoided even walking near water fields, let alone entering them, constantly on high alert to prevent accidentally falling in.

Thankfully, since rice farming was a major task affecting the brigade’s livelihood, novices like her weren’t yet required to plow or sow in the fields. She had managed to escape thus far.

But to her dismay, she had avoided the brigade leader, only to be stuck with Lu Chen—who now wanted her to enter the fields!

At the thought of the dreaded leeches, Meng Yinyin’s face turned pale, and she immediately refused.

“I’m not going! I don’t want to go into the fields. Can we go somewhere else?”

Her voice trembled as she spoke, revealing just how frightened she was.

Lu Chen hadn’t expected such a strong reaction and, seeing her on the verge of tears, grew concerned.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I’m scared of leeches,” Meng Yinyin admitted, suppressing her fear.

Realizing the issue, Lu Chen paused before saying, “You don’t have to go into the fields.”

Hearing this, Meng Yinyin sighed in relief. But then she thought about how others might notice her idleness and report her.

With a meek voice, she asked, “But what if someone sees me not working…?”

Though she’d given up on earning work points, she hadn’t yet won Lu Chen over, leaving her vulnerable to the brigade leader’s potential scolding or even expulsion. To avoid any unnecessary trouble, it was best to keep a low profile.

At the very least, if she wanted to slack off openly in the future, she’d have to wait until things between her and Lu Chen settled down.

When Lu Chen first said that sentence, he had already thought of a solution.

“Don’t worry, I’m here.”

He said it without much thought, almost unconsciously.

However, those words left Meng Yinyin momentarily stunned. The fear she had felt a second ago from thinking about leeches suddenly subsided significantly because of his reassurance.

Meng Yinyin didn’t understand why Lu Chen’s words gave her such a strong sense of security.

Maybe it was because the brigade leader had openly praised him in front of her, or perhaps, in the few days they’d spent together, she had already realized that Lu Chen was indeed reliable.

No matter the reason, with his promise, Meng Yinyin was no longer afraid.

The two then started walking toward the work site.

On the way, Meng Yinyin, feeling a bit bored, let her gaze wander around. Suddenly, she spotted a frail figure not far away, working diligently in the field.

It was Lin Xiuzhi, whom she had met just yesterday.

Her entire demeanor radiated exhaustion, inside and out. Even her eyes were swollen, evidence of crying for a long time.

Thinking about it, it was understandable. Her husband hadn’t been home for a long time, and when he finally returned, he ended up with a broken leg. It must have been hard for her to accept such a blow.

On top of that, she had two children to care for, and now her husband was bedridden. The pressure on her was undoubtedly immense.

Yet, despite what had happened yesterday, she still managed to pull herself together and come out to work today.

Meng Yinyin couldn’t help but feel sorry for her, but at the same time, she admired her resilience and determination.

Just then, Lin Xiuzhi’s body suddenly swayed, and it looked like she was about to collapse into the field. Out of the corner of her eye, Meng Yinyin saw Lu Chen’s figure flash by as he quickly ran to Lin Xiuzhi’s side to catch her.

At that moment, only one thought crossed Meng Yinyin’s mind—Lu Chen is fast!

Thanks to Lu Chen’s quick reflexes, he managed to hold Lin Xiuzhi by the arm and prevent her from falling headfirst into the muddy field.

Once she regained her balance, Lin Xiuzhi retracted her hand and gave Lu Chen a weak smile.

“Thank you, Xiao Lu.”

She was a few years older than Lu Chen, so calling him Xiao Lu didn’t feel out of place.

What puzzled Meng Yinyin was that Lin Xiuzhi and Lu Chen seemed to know each other. This was the part that confused her the most.

After making sure Lin Xiuzhi was stable, Lu Chen released her arm, frowned, and hesitantly suggested, “Take leave?”

Though Lu Chen only said two words, and it sounded a bit abrupt, Lin Xiuzhi understood his meaning. Without even a moment of hesitation, she shook her head.

“It’s fine, I just lost my footing…” She forced a smile, then noticed Meng Yinyin standing on the ridge of the field and said to Lu Chen with a smile, “Educated Youth Meng is waiting for you. Don’t keep her waiting too long, go on.”

Lu Chen opened his mouth slightly as if to say something but ultimately remained silent. He turned and left.

The two spoke quietly, Meng Yinyin couldn’t hear what they were saying. That didn’t stop her from noticing their lips moving.

This scene surprised her even more.

She had thought that besides her and Lu Dashan’s family, Lu Chen barely spoke to anyone.

It seemed their relationship was better than she had imagined.

As Meng Yinyin pondered this, Lu Chen returned.

Seeing that Meng Yinyin’s eyes were still on Lin Xiuzhi, Lu Chen looked at her blankly, as if curious about why she kept staring at Lin Xiuzhi.

Seeing that Lin Xiuzhi had resumed her work, Meng Yinyin finally withdrew her gaze and curiously asked Lu Chen,

“You know that woman?”

Strictly speaking, this question was weird.

After all, Lu Chen had grown up in the Nanjiao Brigade. Even if he didn’t like interacting with people, he would still recognize the members of the brigade. So knowing Lin Xiuzhi wasn’t surprising.

However, both of them understood the underlying meaning of her question. She was asking how someone as reserved and antisocial as Lu Chen had any connection with Lin Xiuzhi, and why she, too, was willing to interact with him.

Lu Chen hesitated but eventually nodded.

“You really do know her.” Meng Yinyin muttered, her curiosity about how they knew each other growing.

Unfortunately, this time, Lu Chen didn’t answer her. Instead, he avoided her gaze and changed the subject.

“Let’s get to work.”

Meng Yinyin: “?”

Faced with such an obvious dodge, Meng Yinyin could only let out a huff of frustration to express her dissatisfaction.

Hmph, one day she’d make Lu Chen tell her the truth himself!

Finally, the two arrived at their work site.

When Meng Yinyin saw that the field Lu Chen had brought her to was a bit further away from where the rest of the brigade members were working, and there was a large patch of thorny bushes nearby, she let out a sigh of relief.

She glanced around furtively, like a thief, and once she confirmed that hiding behind the thorny bushes would keep her out of sight, a smile spread across her face.

Lu Chen watched as she crouched down beside the bushes on her own, without showing any surprise. It was as if he had anticipated her actions.

After all, the reason he deliberately led her to this spot was because of the hidden cover provided by the thorny bushes.

Seeing Meng Yinyin settle herself in, Lu Chen went down into the field to start working.

His task for today was quite heavy. He had to plow the entire field on his own. The entire Nanjiao Brigade had only one old ox, which was being used elsewhere to plow the fields. For the other plots, the members had to endure the hard work of doing it manually.

Initially, the brigade leader intended for him to take Educated Youth Meng along and teach her while working. However, after Meng Yinyin’s embarrassing wailing tantrum two days ago, Lu Chen thoughtfully went to the field alone without calling her.

Yet, as he worked for a while and his gaze swept over to Meng Yinyin—who was neat, clean, and even wearing shoes—his brows instinctively furrowed.

By noon, the scorekeeper would come by. If they saw Meng Yinyin like this, it would be evident that she hadn’t gone to the field, and she would undoubtedly receive zero work points.

Worse, she might be criticized and end up crying again.

Just thinking about her crying gave Lu Chen a headache.

So, after some thought, he decided to have Meng Yinyin do something—anything—so that when the scorekeeper arrived, she wouldn’t end up with another zero.

Lu Chen quickly left the field and returned to the small mound by the thorn bush where Meng Yinyin was drowsily leaning.

The shadow cast over Meng Yinyin’s face made her groggily open her eyes. The moment she did, she saw Lu Chen standing in front of her, looking down at her.

As soon as she saw him, fragmented scenes from her dream flashed through her mind:

Lu Chen stood outside the Dou family’s door, guarding Lin Xiuzhi. Opposite him was a stern-faced man leaning on a cane, glaring coldly at him. The two men stared each other down like wild beasts in a silent confrontation.

Meng Yinyin shook herself from the odd dream and found Lu Chen standing expressionlessly before her. For a moment, she couldn’t distinguish reality from the dream.

Thankfully, Lu Chen spoke in the next second. His familiar tone dissipated the strange feeling in her heart, though she couldn’t help but grumble inwardly. How could she have fallen asleep for such a short time and had such a bizarre dream that even included Lu Chen? It was too strange.

“Can you go to the bamboo forest and bring back some bamboo strips?”

Lu Chen’s words successfully pulled Meng Yinyin from her thoughts. She asked uncertainly, “Huh? Right now?”

Lu Chen nodded.

“Alright then. Wait for me here. I’ll be quick. But let me make it clear, I might not be able to carry much.”

Lu Chen nodded again.

After glancing at Lu Chen’s legs covered in wet mud, Meng Yinyin finally got up, dusted off her clothes, and headed to the bamboo forest she had visited the other day.

Luckily, the bamboo forest wasn’t far, and she quickly arrived.

Yesterday afternoon, Lu Chen had finished the remaining work here, leaving behind a pile of processed bamboo strips. These strips would later be inserted into the fields and covered with plastic sheeting to cultivate seedlings.

Though the bamboo strips looked like a lot, they were lightweight, albeit sharp enough to cut her hands.

Cautiously, Meng Yinyin pulled her shirt sleeves over her palms, ensuring the fabric protected her hands from the sharp edges. She then picked up a small bundle and began walking back to where Lu Chen was working.

Unexpectedly, as soon as she left the bamboo forest, she spotted Song Yue coming down a nearby path.