Brigade Leader Zhao was so angry at her that he wanted to curse.

He turned around to find Zhao Erhua’s mother. “Aren’t you going to discipline your daughter?”

Aunt Yu regretted encouraging her daughter to get involved with Wu Donglin. Not only had they gained nothing, but her daughter had also been dragged down.

She was absolutely livid!

“I tried to control her before, and she acted like she wanted to die, as if I’d murdered her. I can’t manage her anymore. If you can, go ahead. If nothing else works, just let Xiaocheng beat her up. Don’t worry, even though I argue with everyone else, I’d never throw a tantrum at Xiaocheng. Even if he breaks my daughter’s leg, I won’t say a word.”

Aunt Yu was truly furious.

There wasn’t another girl as shameless as hers in all the nearby villages.

She had no idea what kind of nonsense Wu Donglin had fed her.

Since her own mother couldn’t handle her, Brigade Leader Zhao had no choice but to look for Zhao Rencheng. After all, if a girl from their brigade was being shameless, it would seem unreasonable for him to only punish Wu Donglin.

When Zhao Rencheng heard Brigade Leader Zhao’s request, he picked up his sickle and strode toward Zhao Erhua.

Even though everyone was busy working, they still craned their necks to watch.

They were eager to see how Zhao Rencheng would handle Zhao Erhua.

Of course, Zhao Rencheng wouldn’t actually hit her. Instead, he simply gave an order: “For the next week, you’ll work until you earn ten work points per day. All points will go to the brigade. If you don’t meet the quota, your personal grain ration will be confiscated.”

Zhao Erhua was stunned and plopped down onto the ground.

A wail echoed through the golden rice fields. She was utterly aggrieved—she hadn’t even done anything, yet he was punishing her! “I won’t do it! I refuse! I won’t work!”

Wu Donglin also stepped forward and said, “She didn’t do anything wrong.”

But after glancing at Zhao Rencheng, he immediately lowered his head. The man’s thick, dark brows exuded a menacing air, and his deep-set eyes were filled with hostility. Wu Donglin had heard about Zhao Rencheng’s reputation, and it made him uneasy.

Zhang Yunxi, standing nearby, called out, “She’s hindering the progress of the educated youth.”

Zhao Rencheng’s expression instantly softened. He turned back to Zhao Erhua. “Are you working or not?”

Tears streamed down Zhao Erhua’s face. Under Zhao Rencheng’s intimidating gaze, she felt a chill run down her spine and had no choice but to agree, albeit reluctantly. “I’ll work…”

Zhao Rencheng nodded and walked away.

He didn’t even spare Wu Donglin a glance.

As he passed by Zhang Yunxi’s section of the field, he saw the little girl winking playfully at him. His heart softened, and he kindly reminded her, “There’s a leech on your arm.”

Zhang Yunxi’s smile froze. She stiffly lowered her head to look and let out a shriek. “Ahhhhhh! Damei, help me!!!”

Deng Damei hurried over. Seeing how pale Zhang Yunxi was, she quickly removed the leech for her. “It’s okay, it’s okay. You’ll get used to it.”

“No way. I can’t get used to this.” If Zhang Yunxi weren’t so afraid of the leech crawling up her body, she would have collapsed onto the ground.

Wuwuwu…

So terrifying.

Resting her head on Deng Damei’s shoulder, she whimpered, “Damei, I’m doomed.”

“Pfft, what nonsense. Just call me when you see a leech.” Deng Damei straightened her up and encouraged her, “Come on, Yunxi, you’re the best! I’m off to work again.”

Zhang Yunxi weakly waved at her.

Without Damei around to deal with leeches, how would she survive?

Zhao Rencheng saw that the leech situation had been handled and went back to work.

Summoning her courage, Zhang Yunxi continued cutting rice, but soon, the scorching sun made her back ache.

She really was so delicate!

Sighing, she had no choice but to push through.

That day, she earned the most work points she ever had—eight!

But when she went to sign for them, her hands were trembling. She could barely hold the pen, so she had to use her left hand to steady her right as she pressed her fingerprint.

Back at the educated youth dormitory, Zhang Yunxi was completely drained.

She was exhausted, barely conscious.

When she took off her gloves, she saw that despite wearing them, her hands had still developed blisters. Her shoulders had been rubbed raw, staining her shirt with blood.

When she took off her clothes to shower, the pain was unbearable. Her whole body trembled as she applied ointment after her bath.

She was about to start cooking when Deng Damei called out, “Yunxi, dinner’s ready.”

“Huh? I was supposed to cook tonight.”

“You looked so pale I thought you’d try to slack off. Why did you push yourself so hard? I made dinner.”

Deng Damei was also exhausted, but after years of hard work, she had adapted better than Zhang Yunxi.

Zhang Yunxi was touched to the point of tears. “Damei, marry me. I’ll give you a hundred yuan.”

How could someone be so considerate?

Wuwuwu.

Deng Damei laughed. “Come on, eat up. I watched you walk from the bathhouse to the kitchen, and you didn’t even glance at the table.”

“My eyes and brain aren’t working properly.” Zhang Yunxi shook her head, dragged a long bench over, and sat down to eat. She sighed, “I wanted to slack off, but I heard there might be rain soon. If it rains, the harvest could be affected. If I just stood by and watched all that grain go to waste, I’d never forgive myself.”

“Sigh, the elderly villagers with rheumatism have been saying the same thing.”

Deng Damei had also heard the rumors.

That’s why everyone was working so hard this harvest.

They had wanted to harvest earlier, but they had to wait their turn for the threshing machine. The commune had scheduled the work for this period, and Brigade Leader Zhao had been furious about it.

The commune secretary must have noticed his frustration because he promised that when it came time to deliver public grain, they could use the commune’s tractor.

“The autumn harvest is already exhausting. I heard that double cropping is even worse, is that true?” Zhang Yunxi asked.

“Yeah, way worse. It lasts longer too. People lose a lot of weight. Spring plowing is a little easier, but it still depends on the timing.” Deng Damei explained.

Zhang Yunxi nodded.

Living in the countryside had really taught her a lot.

She never knew these things before.

Recently, she had learned that dried and crushed peanut stalks could be used as chicken feed, and she was amazed.

On the first night of the autumn harvest, the sky was dark, and the stars and moon were hidden.

Before the moon had even set, the people of Zhao Brigade were already up again.

That day, Zhang Yunxi was assigned to threshing duty.

She was beyond thrilled.

Yesterday, she had been attacked by five or six leeches, and it had terrified her to the core.

Threshing was physically demanding, but at least it didn’t involve leeches!

Dozens of threshing barrels were in use at once, creating an impressive sight.

Zhang Yunxi was paired with Zhao Mo.

She was in charge of threshing, while Zhao Mo handled feeding the grain into the machine.

The threshing machine was brought to the fields, and Zhao Mo carried bundle after bundle of cut rice over.

Worried that she wouldn’t know what to do, Zhao Rencheng came over to teach her. “Grip it tightly, raise it above your head, and slam it down hard. The first three strikes should be slow, the last three fast. Then flip the bundle and repeat until all the grains are separated. Got it?”

“I’ll give it a try.” Zhang Yunxi attempted a few strikes.

She was a bit slow at first, but her posture was correct.

Seeing that, Zhao Rencheng left her to it and returned to his own work.

As the militia captain and a major labor force, he had to earn twelve work points while also helping Brigade Leader Zhao manage the troublemakers in the team.

When he had asked to have Zhang Yunxi reassigned the day before, Brigade Leader Zhao had been puzzled.

“Why are you suddenly so concerned about the educated youth?”

Zhao Rencheng replied, “She looked like she was about to faint just from seeing a leech. Letting her thresh instead will prevent her from slowing down the harvest.”

Brigade Leader Zhao nodded. “Makes sense.”