Chapter 48

The three of them sat together, only the sound of slurping noodles could be heard. Xia Yunxuan finished first.

Xiao Yichen said, “Little girl, we’re definitely running out of food. When we have lunch break, I’ll ride my bike to town and buy some.”

“Xia Yunxuan said, ‘Don’t worry. I still have some food here. Aren’t you tired? Don’t you want to rest for a while at noon?'”

Xiao Yichen said, “Maybe it’s because we’ve been eating well recently. We’re not as tired as we were the first few days.” They didn’t know that Xia Yunxuan used spiritual spring water to cook, but she only used a little bit. She didn’t dare to use too much, or it would arouse suspicion.

These two were from Beijing. If she was a little careless, they would be suspicious. With their current relationship, she didn’t want to reveal too much.

Xiao Yichen said, “Alright, little girl. Finish your food first. We’ll buy some later to make up for it. Let’s go to the threshing ground together to wait for the captain’s meeting.”

When Feng Shuwen arrived and saw how close they were, she became even more jealous. However, she thought to herself, “Let this damn girl be happy for a few days. She’ll get what’s coming to her.”

As soon as the broadcast sounded, calling for a meeting, the captain stood on the stage with his loudspeaker and said, “Xia Dahai’s family, tell me why your work points were so low yesterday.”

“You have four or five workers, and you only earned 20 work points. Tell me, will you have enough food to eat if you keep this up?”

“And Xia Dabao, you’re so big. You don’t work all day. You just chase cats and dogs. You grandparents and parents, don’t you care? Aren’t you afraid that he’ll cause trouble for you? Someone will take care of him eventually. The others are all here working. He’s probably still lying in bed, sleeping.”

The captain said, “You don’t care about Xia Dabao’s laziness. If you run out of food, the brigade won’t lend you any.”

Old lady He shouted angrily, “Xia Daming, what are you saying? If we really run out of food, you can’t just watch us starve, can you? How can you be so cruel? You’ve become heartless after becoming captain.”

“If you really dare to do that, you’re not afraid of us going to the cadres and reporting you, so you can’t be captain anymore?”

“Oh, Auntie, I’m so scared. Go ahead. You’ll see if the leaders will listen to you or me. You don’t even know which way the leaders’ door faces, and you want to report me?”

“And what did I say? I spoke Chinese. Don’t you understand? You’re the ones who work, but you complain about the hardship. You don’t do anything. You’re lazy. Whose fault is it that you don’t have enough food?”

“When Girl Yun was here, you all were lazy and left all the work to her. Now she’s separated from you. You can’t even afford to eat, can you?”

“You’re all in your fifties. I’m so ashamed of you. You’re not even as good as a teenager. The captain looked at them and said, ‘Uncle, Auntie, I don’t care how you do it, but you have to make up for those work points.'”

“Otherwise, you’ll go and carry manure and repair the irrigation canals every day. I’m not kidding. The captain looked at the people below and said, ‘And anyone else who’s been lazy, be more diligent. If I catch you, I’ll deduct your work points. Don’t come crying to me if you don’t have enough food.'”

“I don’t understand. Did you work and not get your share of the food?”

The captain looked at the intellectuals and said, “You intellectuals are also working. Can’t you be faster? You’re just loafing around all day. Especially Feng Shuwen, you only earned three work points yesterday. Are you planning to not eat?”

Feng Shuwen heard the captain call her out in front of everyone. She immediately lowered her head, her face turning red. She spoke in a voice like a mosquito, “Captain, I’m not used to it yet. Besides, isn’t working something you country bumpkins do? I’m from the city. How could I do it?”

Even though she spoke softly, the people around her heard her. The captain’s wife, Hu Guiqin, said, “What? So what if you’re from the city? You’re still here in the countryside. Are you made of gold or silver? If you don’t know how to do it, you can learn. Who was born knowing how to work?”

“If you want to be lazy, just say so. You’re not used to it? You want to act like a little princess? Go back to your family. This is not your place to run wild. Everyone else can work, but you can’t?”

Feng Shuwen shouted, “What I do is none of your business, you country bumpkin. Am I wrong? I’m from the city. What’s wrong with not knowing how to work? If I don’t have enough food, I’ll just buy it. Why are you interfering?”

Hu Guiqin said, “Since you look down on country bumpkins so much, then don’t buy grain from the brigade. I don’t care. Wu Guqin said, ‘Secretary, accountant, you heard that. She looks down on us rural people. If you dare to sell her a single grain of rice, I’ll come to your house every day with a bowl to eat.'”

The secretary and the accountant shrank their necks. They knew that the captain’s wife would do what she said. They said with a smile, “Don’t worry. We won’t sell her any. Alright?”

Feng Shuwen said, “Hmph, typical country bumpkins. If you don’t sell, then don’t sell. I have money, and I can’t buy grain? She’s probably forgotten that grain in town needs ration coupons. Where would she get ration coupons in the village? Unless she buys them on the black market.”

Of course, no one would remind her. People like her needed to suffer a little before they could wake up. Otherwise, she would think she was really a little princess who could just go out and have fun.

The captain was also angry. This woman dared to treat his wife like that. He said, “Since Feng Zhiqing is so capable, then if you don’t have enough food, you can solve it yourself. I don’t care how many work points you earn now.”

“But if you want to buy grain from the brigade in the future, you’ll have to pay several times the price. Otherwise, we won’t sell it to you. Since you’re so high and mighty and look down on the grain grown by farmers, I think you should drink morning dew. It’s better.”

“Or you can drink the northwest wind. Maybe the grain in the city is also grown by us country bumpkins. If you eat it, wouldn’t that make you a country bumpkin too?”

The aunties who loved gossip were laughing. Mrs. Zhao said, “Yes, Feng Zhiqing, I think you should drink morning dew. It’s cheap, it can help you lose weight, and you can become a fairy. Isn’t that great?”

“Feng Shuwen shouted, ‘What I do is none of your business, you country bumpkins. You’re ganging up on me. Aren’t you afraid of me going to the intellectual youth office in town and reporting you? You’ll all be arrested and put in jail.'”

Mrs. Zhao was tough, but she was most afraid of officials. When she heard that this damn girl was going to report her, she immediately shut up.