Chapter 10

He Xianqiu’s wrist was being gripped so tightly that it hurt. She tried to shake the woman off, but the other party was strong from years of farm work—she couldn’t break free.

And she still had to listen to this hot-tempered woman argue with the work point recorder.

“You must’ve moved one of my work points to hers. No way she earned three points working that slowly!”

“What are you even talking about? I score fairly and objectively.”

“You’re just docking my points!”

“Chen Sufen, I even gave you more than you deserved—do you know how long you slacked off this afternoon?”

He Xianqiu had been trying to get the woman to let go of her wrist the entire time, but she wouldn’t listen—just kept on fighting with the point recorder.

Fine, argue if you must, but why drag me along?

Listening to the shouting made He Xianqiu’s ears ring. Her temper, which she had been holding back all this time, flared up.

“Auntie, do you not understand human language? If you want to argue, do it on your own. Why are you dragging me into this? I earned my points fair and square. Let go, or I’ll report you to the police. You’re being completely unreasonable.”

She was absolutely furious, but still tried to maintain her image, refusing to sink to the level of a shrew.

The woman was stunned by her outburst. He Xianqiu glanced at her and said coldly:

“Let go. If you don’t, you can spend ten days in detention. And who knows? When you come back, maybe people will throw vegetable leaves at you out of shame—if not, they’ll still think you’ve disgraced yourself.”

At the mention of detention, the woman finally released her grip.

He Xianqiu was speechless. She had said the same thing over and over again, and the woman just ignored her. But the moment she mentioned the police, she let go and didn’t dare say a word.

Hearing the commotion, the brigade leader came over. He had assumed He Xianqiu had caused some trouble, and was about to speak up when she beat him to it:

“Brigade Leader, I didn’t start this. This auntie thinks I didn’t deserve three work points and claims that the extra point was taken from her. Isn’t that completely unreasonable? She also grabbed my wrist and hurt me. She must compensate me. Besides, isn’t this a bad look for your leadership? After all, the point recorder works under you. What if this had happened when the secretary came to inspect us? And what if it happens again next time?”

She didn’t finish the sentence, but the implication was clear.

As she spoke, she rolled up her sleeve to show her wrist, which was bruised in a complete circle. The contrast against her fair, smooth skin made the injury stand out.

“I’ve never been bullied like this in my life. She dragged me out of nowhere, and now my wrist really hurts.”

The brigade leader was both angry and embarrassed.

“Chen Sufen! She earned her three points fair and square. What kind of nonsense is this about stealing your points? If you keep this up, I’ll send you to shovel manure for a month! Think the work’s too easy now? And since she’s asking for compensation for her injury, hand over the money—right now!”

“What compensation? It’s just a bruise! I’m not giving any money! It’ll heal in a few days. This is extortion!” the woman snapped, glaring at He Xianqiu.

He Xianqiu was furious. She had no intention of letting this go. This woman had even mocked her before—how could she forget so soon?

“My wrist is bruised, which affects my ability to earn points tomorrow and the next day. Work points mean money and food. Look at my wrist—you’re definitely paying up. If not, I’ll report you to the public security bureau. Just give me fifty cents, or go shovel manure for a month!”

“Fifty cents?! Why don’t you just rob me? That’s a lot of money! I’m not giving you a cent!” the woman shouted, glaring furiously.

He Xianqiu didn’t care about the money, but after all the nonsense, she had to take something from the woman to feel better. This was completely unprovoked.

The brigade leader thought fifty cents was a bit much and frowned. “Comrade He, that’s a bit high.”

He Xianqiu smiled. “Honestly, I wouldn’t ask for anything if she had shown any remorse. But she’s still so aggressive, so it’s necessary. Brigade Leader, you can decide how much is fair. But I do think there should be a penalty—otherwise people will start getting out of hand.”

The brigade leader thought for a moment. “How about ten cents?”

He Xianqiu nodded. “Fine. Then Auntie, please pay me ten cents for the medical expenses.”

To Chen Sufen, handing over ten cents was like losing a piece of flesh. She sat on the ground and threw a tantrum.

“I don’t have money, and ten cents is too much. It’s just a bruise!”

He Xianqiu was at a loss for words. This woman was beyond shameless.

The brigade leader was completely embarrassed. This was someone from his brigade! Even the onlookers who hadn’t left yet felt ashamed—Chen Sufen was really too thick-skinned, actually sitting on the ground to act like a rogue.

“Chen Sufen! Pay Comrade He her medical expenses. You hurt her wrist. And you’re shoveling manure for a whole month!”

“Shameful. I can’t believe I’m in the same brigade as her.”

People began whispering. The brigade leader wasn’t even directly involved, yet he was feeling secondhand embarrassment.

He glared at Chen Sufen, furious. “Are you going to pay or not? If not, I’ll call in Old Man Tian.”

Old Man Tian? That’d be the end of her. He cared about appearances and would definitely beat her if he got involved. She didn’t want to pay, but now she had no choice.

He Xianqiu watched from above as Chen Sufen reluctantly got up and, with a heartbroken expression, handed over a wrinkled ten-cent bill.

She didn’t mind—it was still money. She took it, then turned to the brigade leader.

“Thank you, Brigade Leader.”

The brigade leader didn’t want to speak. He waved his hand and left with his hands behind his back. Mediating this kind of mess was exhausting—he didn’t want to say another word.

The others, seeing that the show was over, also left.

He Xianqiu took the money and immediately handed it to a cute little boy nearby.

“Here, this is for you. Buy yourself some candy.”

The boy’s eyes went wide, not daring to accept it.

He was around five years old, with big eyes and fair skin. This was the first time He Xianqiu had seen a well-nourished child in the village.

She crouched down and pinched his cheek. “This is for candy, from your big sister. Go on.”

She put the coin in his tiny palm and then walked away.

She had never met someone as ridiculous as Chen Sufen. So many absurd things had happened these days. But getting ten cents out of that woman and sending her off to shovel manure for a month? That felt satisfying.

He Xianqiu was a bit dazed. Was this the power of those old-school melodramatic novels?

Back at the educated youth compound, the first thing she did was heat some water and wash up.

The other educated youths had returned and heard what had happened.

One casually asked, “Are you okay? There are a lot of hot-tempered women in the village.”

He Xianqiu shook her head. She didn’t want to talk about it—it was too absurd. She really didn’t want to go through that again.

Soon, it was time for dinner. Everyone gathered together, and He Xianqiu found a place to sit.

Even Chen Changping, whose foot had mostly healed, came out to join them.

He Xianqiu glanced at him once, then lowered her head in a daze.

In her mind, she thought, So that’s what the male lead looks like… fair-skinned, decent features… just an average pretty boy.

She hoped he would get the hint and not talk to her, since she wasn’t going to speak to him.

While everyone chatted over dinner, He Xianqiu stayed quiet—she had no interest in the topic.

Across from her, Zhao Yaling was sweetly chatting with others. The male educated youths often talked to her as well.

Zhao Yaling was fair and pretty—not as stunning as He Xianqiu, but she had her own charm.

And since He Xianqiu came off cold and aloof, rarely speaking to anyone, she was seen as a beautiful but untouchable “ice queen.” So many of the guys turned their attention to Zhao Yaling, the second prettiest girl in the group—too bad she already had a boyfriend.

Midway through the meal, Zhao Yaling suddenly turned the conversation to He Xianqiu.

“Xianqiu, I heard you had a fight with someone in the brigade. Won’t that affect our image here at the educated youth compound?” she asked, looking worried.

He Xianqiu looked at her calmly. “No. It was just a small matter. Most of the brigade members are fair and reasonable.”

Zhao Yaling hesitated. “But… I’m really afraid they might start disliking us. After all, they already don’t like us much…”

He Xianqiu narrowed her eyes. “Don’t be so vague—spit it out. Say what you mean.”

Zhao Yaling was caught off guard. She’s really changed… She used to be impulsive, but now she was so composed.

“I didn’t mean anything by it…” Zhao Yaling mumbled.

He Xianqiu responded flatly, “Oh.”

Chen Changping, seeing Zhao Yaling looking pitiful, couldn’t help speaking up.

“Xianqiu, Yaling is just worried about you. You’re being too cold. She’s your good friend, you know.”

“Yeah, she’s just thinking of you.”

“Some people just don’t appreciate kindness.”

That last comment came from Yang Shuhua. She was always blunt and sharp-tongued.

But then, surprisingly, she turned her sarcasm on Zhao Yaling.

“What kind of friend are you? Sounds more like an enemy to me.”

The male youths who liked Zhao Yaling didn’t dare speak up anymore—nobody wanted to get roasted by Yang Shuhua.

Zhao Yaling was fuming inside but couldn’t show it. She dug her nails into her palms, eyes welling with tears.

Chen Changping, seeing her on the verge of crying, looked at He Xianqiu reproachfully. “Yaling is your friend. How can you treat her like that?”

He Xianqiu: ???

She hadn’t done anything. She didn’t even make her cry.

How was that her fault?