Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1087: Chapter 997: Those Years 7

Aunt Qi pursed her lips, feeling indifferent in her heart, thinking she must be a pampered young lady from her family throwing a tantrum. No one would coax her here.

Aunt Qi, a widow supporting herself, already had a fiery personality. After a day’s hard work, to say something unpleasant, she didn’t even have the energy to worry about her own child who was tied up for a day, let alone a stranger she didn’t know.

Someone like Wen Shuangshuang was better. Although she couldn’t compare to real farmers while working, at least she could endure hardships without complaining.

The way Wen Shuangshuang continued working without a word of complaint after getting blisters on her hands was something Aunt Qi admired.

Wen Shuangshuang was different from her. Growing up in the countryside, she was used to working from a young age. Although it was hard, she never experienced having blisters on her hands and still having to work through the pain.

Now, when Wen Shuangshuang wanted to help with the work, Aunt Qi let her do tasks that didn’t involve water to prevent the wound from healing slowly.

Dinner was still wild vegetable dumplings, and Wen Shuangshuang was full after one. She was really exhausted today, which dulled her appetite. She couldn’t stomach such unappetizing food, but knew she had to eat something, so she forced herself to eat it.

Zhou Meijuan had absolutely no intention of forcing herself to eat those tasteless wild vegetable dumplings. Her family’s conditions were quite good, and she brought a lot of food coupons and money with her, along with some pastries and snacks, which she ate in her room.

Before going to sleep, Wen Shuangshuang took out three fruit candies, ate one herself, and gave two to Qi Juan’er. Qi Juan’er sweetly thanked her, then took the candies to her mother first.

Maybe it was the exhaustion from working, but Wen Shuangshuang slept soundly through the night. However, when she woke up at night, she heard Zhou Meijuan quietly crying under the covers.

Though Zhou Meijuan’s sobs were very quiet, the village was extremely silent at night, and Wen Shuangshuang shared a room with her, so even tiny sounds were obvious.

Wen Shuangshuang could understand Zhou Meijuan’s behavior as a sheltered girl suddenly facing hardship in this place and acting up due to the difference in environment. However, Wen Shuangshuang didn’t approve of Zhou Meijuan’s fussiness.

In this place, no one would pamper or indulge her; even the compassionate educated youths wouldn’t give Zhou Meijuan much special attention.

Early the next morning before dawn, Wen Shuangshuang got up, washed her face, and applied some snow cream brought by her parents.

After helping Aunt Qi prepare breakfast, Wen Shuangshuang took the farm tools and went out to the field with Aunt Qi. Zhou Meijuan only came out reluctantly after Aunt Qi called her several times to join them for work.

When they reached the field, Aunt Qi worked alongside Wen Shuangshuang as usual. Like the day before, she helped Wen Shuangshuang with the initial task of digging, as the first dig was the hardest due to the firm ground, but it got much easier afterward.

The blisters on Wen Shuangshuang’s hands hadn’t fully healed, and holding the farm tools to continue working was rather painful.

But Wen Shuangshuang gritted her teeth and refused to fall behind. Aunt Qi had saved her a lot of energy, and she couldn’t justify lagging further.

Wen Shuangshuang had never imagined that farming would be such a grueling task. Though she gained physical strength, her tender skin meant the hardships weren’t any less.

Wen Shuangshuang endured the work, working slower than seasoned farmers but not too slow for a novice.

When Lin Cheng’an made his rounds, he was very pleased with Wen Shuangshuang’s pace and even praised her for her dedication and resilience.

However, compared to Wen Shuangshuang, the psychological and endurance levels of the other new educated youths weren’t as strong.

Take Qu Chengdong and Bai Xiaojie for example; their working speed was very slow.

It wasn’t because they were lazy; their hands were blistered, and they couldn’t hold the tools steadily. Their hands trembled as they worked, making it impossible to speed up.

Fortunately, even with their difficulties, the two never slacked off. Lin Cheng’an, while frowning as he made his rounds, had no more to say, as at least they were hardworking compared to the unruly youths who were unwilling to work.

Several experienced laborers among the educated youths were always guiding the new ones, and since Qu Chengdong and Bai Xiaojie weren’t slacking, there was no need for special supervision.

Being slow with farm work was inevitable. Despite its apparent simplicity, only skilled hands could quicken the pace. It would have to wait until calluses formed on their hands to work more briskly.

As everyone was immersed in work, a sudden commotion erupted from behind. Wen Shuangshuang straightened up to drink water and massaged her aching lower back.

The commotion was not far from Wen Shuangshuang. When she turned back, she saw Zhou Meijuan lying on the ground with her eyes tightly shut, her face very pale, looking quite in distress.

Lin Cheng’an, looking displeased, directed others to carry Zhou Meijuan to the infirmary. He was quite dissatisfied with this fussy educated youth.

He envied the educated youths in the nearby production brigade who, regardless of gender, were renowned for their hard work, not losing out to seasoned farmers, and showed a very positive working attitude.

Unlike his own batch of educated youths, though most were diligent, hard work didn’t equate to efficiency, and there were always a few difficult ones to manage. Now Zhou Meijuan seemed to be another troublesome case, making Lin Cheng’an more vexed as he thought about it.

With hands clasped behind his back, Lin Cheng’an sighed and glanced at Wen Shuangshuang who resumed working with Aunt Qi after finishing her water. He couldn’t help but feel a regretful wish that all female educated youths were as hardworking as Wen Shuangshuang.

Then he looked over at his daughter, Lin Qianqian, and couldn’t help but sigh again. His beloved daughter was both beautiful and capable, always his pride and joy.

But in recent days, she seemed melancholic. When he asked if something was bothering her or someone upset her, she wouldn’t say, making Lin Cheng’an, as a father, very concerned.

When they returned home in the evening, Zhou Meijuan was already back, lying on the bed resting with her eyes closed when Wen Shuangshuang and Aunt Qi entered the house.

Today, Zhou Meijuan’s illness was half feigned and half real. She did feel unwell, but not to the extent that she needed bed rest.

During dinner, Zhou Meijuan still didn’t eat with them, opting instead to nibble on her brought-from-home biscuit cakes to substitute as a meal, steadfastly refusing to eat Aunt Qi’s dry throat-choking wild vegetable dumplings.

Wen Shuangshuang estimated the size of Zhou Meijuan’s luggage and figured that even if it was full of biscuit cakes and similar snacks, they wouldn’t last her a few days; it would be better to adapt early to the coarse rural meals.