Chapter 3.1

She wanted to ask, why did he lie?

He had always avoided her before, so why had he suddenly stepped in to help her now?

But before Meng Yinyin could voice her confusion, Lu Chen had already bent down, picked up the bamboo strips, and turned to leave.

Meng Yinyin watched him place the bamboo strips back beside the pile of cut bamboo, then grab a machete and walk out of the bamboo forest.

As she watched his figure fade down the path, still not saying a word or even acknowledging her, she couldn’t help but feel that her impression of him had changed after he had helped her.

Perhaps, although he seemed cold and distant, he was actually a good and helpful person deep down?

He was truly difficult to understand.

Meng Yinyin stood up, brushed off her clothes, and quickly followed Lu Chen’s back as they made their way back to the brigade.

On the way back, thinking about the three work points she had earned so easily, her lips couldn’t help but curve into a smile, her eyes bright with joy.

Although those three work points had come through dubious means, she was determined to find a way to repay Lu Chen. She would exchange it for work points in return.

She wouldn’t take advantage of others.

By the time they returned to the Educated Youth point, her cheerful mood had caught the attention of the girl from the next bunk, Yu Xiaoyu, who couldn’t help but ask in confusion, “It’s rare to see you smiling after finishing work. Did something good happen?”

Meng Yinyin, of course, couldn’t tell her that Lu Chen had given her three work points. Not only would it be embarrassing, but it was also against the rules.

And if she said it, there would surely be questions about their relationship.

In this day and age, it was still expected for men and women to maintain a certain distance between each other, or else people would start gossiping.

So, Meng Yinyin shook her head and said nothing, determined to keep this matter to herself.

Seeing that she wasn’t responding, Yu Xiaoyu didn’t ask further. However, recalling what she had overheard on the way back, she glanced at Meng Yinyin. After a brief hesitation, she quietly asked,

“Yinyin, I heard people saying that you worked with that person named Lu Chen this morning…”

Upon hearing Lu Chen’s name, Meng Yinyin’s eyelids twitched, and she felt a pang of guilt.

“Wh-what’s wrong?”

Could it be that they found out about Lu Chen tricking the scorekeeper this morning?

Nervously swallowing, Meng Yinyin was relieved when Yu Xiaoyu’s next question was,

“You didn’t get into any trouble, did you?”

“Ah? What trouble?” Meng Yinyin looked confused.

“Aiya, I mean, you weren’t bullied by him, right?” Yu Xiaoyu stomped her foot when she saw Meng Yinyin’s clueless expression. She lowered her voice and started recounting the rumors she had heard about Lu Chen.

“That Lu Chen, he’s a posthumous child! His father died in battle a month before he was born. His mother was deeply affected by the loss and died right after giving birth to him. I heard from others in the brigade that Lu Chen is a natural-born jinx, and he caused his parents’ deaths.”

What kind of nonsense is this?

Meng Yinyin frowned involuntarily.

Having been raised with a semi-Western education due to her parents studying abroad, and with her maternal grandparents living overseas, Meng Yinyin didn’t believe in superstitions and had more faith in science. The talk about “jinxes” and “causing parents’ deaths” seemed utterly absurd to her.

“Of course, I don’t really believe in all that,” Yu Xiaoyu continued. “But I’ve seen Lu Chen a few times. The first time, I managed to look him in the eye, but after that, I was too scared to even glance in his direction. Yinyin, don’t you think he’s terrifying?”

“And they also say Lu Chen has a terrible temper. He always bullies his cousin. When he was ten, he almost drowned his cousin in a basin!”

To be so violent at just ten years old—it was chilling just to think about it.

Yu Xiaoyu, for one, would never dare to be alone with him.

If Yu Xiaoyu had told Meng Yinyin this before this morning, she would have likely agreed with her views.

However, after thinking about how Lu Chen had specifically prepared that bundle of bamboo strips for her, and the three work points he had given her, she found it hard to fully support Yu Xiaoyu’s perspective.

But to be fair, even though Lu Chen had helped her, she still had to admit that he was indeed intimidating.

She admitted that she owed him a favor, but that was all. They weren’t close, and she wasn’t about to sing his praises to others or try to change their perception of him.

As for the story about Lu Chen fighting with his cousin at the age of ten, Meng Yinyin didn’t want to get involved. After all, it was just a childish quarrel. She also didn’t feel comfortable telling Yu Xiaoyu that she used to bully her older brother when they were kids.

After thinking for a while, Meng Yinyin could only sternly respond, “I wasn’t bullied, anyway.”

Yu Xiaoyu let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but still whispered a warning.

“If he bullies you, you must shout for help, then report it to the brigade leader. We educated youths are here to help them build the countryside, not to be bullied for nothing.”

Meng Yinyin mumbled an ambiguous response, feeling guilty inside. Perhaps Yu Xiaoyu and the others were here to benefit the farmers, but she was only here to escape.

Ah, what a difference in perspective.

Thinking about it, Meng Yinyin was even more aware of how difficult her situation was.

If any other educated youth misbehaved in the brigade, they could be sent back to their original places of residence with just a letter from the brigade.

But her?

She had no home to return to, so where could she be sent back to?

That was why she had to stay in the Nanjiao Brigade and couldn’t let the brigade leader expel her. Her future actions were crucial!

Originally, she had planned to make one last effort to struggle, but after this morning’s events, Meng Yinyin suddenly came up with a bold idea—asking Lu Chen to help her with work, and paying him with money or other things as his reward!

The next moment, she told Yu Xiaoyu she was going to the dormitory, then turned and walked in. She retrieved her key, opened her suitcase, and began rummaging through it. Soon, she found her small wallet at the bottom of the case.

When the family crisis had occurred, it had been so sudden, and her departure for the countryside had been rushed. She didn’t have time to pack much, but thankfully, her mother had given her this small wallet before she left, telling her to take good care of it. If all went well, this would probably be the only money she had for the next few years in the countryside.

She had opened it before and saw that there was quite a bit of money—300 yuan in total. While that might be a lot for some people, for someone like Meng Yinyin, who had never had to worry about money, this would usually last her only about six months, especially if she bought a few dresses.

The only good thing was that the Nanjiao Brigade was so far from the nearest town—two hours of walking, with no other means of transportation.

For a lazy person like her, walking two hours was practically a death sentence.

Since leaving home, she hadn’t bought anything for nearly a month. In the past, that would have been unimaginable.

Thinking about it, she felt a small sense of satisfaction, as if she had finally grown up.

But now, she had no choice but to use this money. After all, she couldn’t ask for help without offering something in return.

After some thought, Meng Yinyin first took out a piece of large unity paper.

In the Nanjiao Brigade, one work point was roughly equivalent to eight cents. So, if she aimed to earn a passing amount of work points every day—about six work points—she would only need to pay Lu Chen fourty eight cents per day!

After a month, she would only have earned 14.4 yuan. But once she negotiated with him, maybe 10 yuan could cover the whole month!

At this rate, the 300 yuan would last her two to three years!

With that thought, Meng Yinyin suddenly felt hopeful about her future. She no longer had to worry about being sent back to the brigade because she couldn’t do the work!

There was just one thing—while others could make money by joining the rural work teams, she was the one spending money.

Meng Yinyin sighed.

But, well, money couldn’t compare to life’s importance.

Meng Yinyin brushed off her worries, soon calming herself down. She packed her wallet, locked her box, and was just in time for Yu Xiaoyu to call her for dinner.

However, her good mood came to an abrupt halt when she saw the three plates of wild vegetables and the plain sweet potato porridge on the table.

Reluctantly, she sat down beside Yu Xiaoyu. She stirred her chopsticks in her bowl, and the rice inside could be counted grain by grain.

Pouting, she sighed again, her voice pitiful. “I really want to eat meat…”

Yu Xiaoyu echoed her bitterly. “Who doesn’t?”