Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 1088: Chapter 998: Those Years 8

To be honest, there have been troublesome educated youths, but someone like Zhou Meijuan is indeed rare. Even the most pampered people learn to fend for themselves once they’re uprooted, yet Zhou Meijuan still treats herself as the pampered girl at home. She’s bound to suffer a big loss sooner or later.

After working for seven consecutive days, a layer of calluses had formed on Wen Shuangshuang’s hands. By the time she was able to work fast enough to take care of Aunt Qi, the task of loosening the soil was finally completed, just in time for planting.

By then, there were tractors available for sowing. Machine sowing was more productive and faster than manual sowing. It’s thanks to these tractors that people could eat enough, as they greatly saved labor and solved the problem of low grain yield.

The furrows sown by hand were wider, while machine sowing was much denser and had a higher survival rate, naturally leading to a significant increase in yield compared to manual planting.

Due to machine sowing, the exhausting spring plowing for farmers became relatively easier. The hardest work of farming was during the autumn harvest when there were no reapers, and everything relied on manual labor, including threshing and drying the grains, which was truly exhausting day and night.

Unknowingly, Wen Shuangshuang had been in the countryside for more than a month. Spring plowing had long ended, and the busiest time had passed. People became a bit more leisurely and had time to gossip and chat.

The biggest source of gossip now was the new educated youths. For example, Wen Shuangshuang, who was constantly praised for being particularly efficient at work, Zhou Meijuan, who was despised by everyone, especially disliked by women, universally acknowledged as a troublemaker, and recently, Bai Xiaojie, the handsome newcomer who had wooed the hearts of countless girls.

Recently, there was a new piece of gossip suggesting Lin Qianqian seemed to have taken a liking to the new educated youth, Qu Chengdong. She’s been attentive to Qu Chengdong these past days, and Qu Chengdong, initially impressed by Lin Qianqian’s beauty, couldn’t resist her advances. Within a few days, they shared mutual feelings.

Since Lin Qianqian’s father is Lin Cheng’an, the brigade leader, no one in the village dared to spread rumors. Otherwise, Lin Qianqian, who was always flirting with Qu Chengdong, would have been labeled as having a bad reputation.

Fortunately, Qu Chengdong was capable and had gotten the hang of farm work in the past two days. Though not quite as fast as the seasoned farmers, he was doing well enough.

Because of this, even though Lin Cheng’an was furious that his daughter had the audacity to secretly pursue a man, he eventually accepted their relationship.

Now, Lin Qianqian and Qu Chengdong were openly close and affectionate. Given Lin Cheng’an’s status as brigade leader, no one dared to gossip about Lin Qianqian chasing after a man.

Luckily, Qu Chengdong wasn’t the type to devalue a woman just because she pursued him. He treated Lin Qianqian exceptionally well, living up to his reputation as a truly good man.

However, Wen Shuangshuang had noticed Lin Qianqian several times secretly watching Bai Xiaojie in a daze, her gaze complex and filled with emotions hard to decipher.

Bai Xiaojie also sensed Lin Qianqian’s special attention on him, so he had been avoiding Lin Qianqian while working. But while Bai Xiaojie was avoiding Lin Qianqian, he inadvertently got closer to Wen Shuangshuang.

For a few consecutive days, the two worked together, and Lin Qianqian’s gaze towards Wen Shuangshuang started to become off-putting, seeming somewhat gloomy.

Although Bai Xiaojie worked close to Wen Shuangshuang, he had no particular intentions. Bai Xiaojie was a very reserved person, usually expressionless, giving off a cold and indifferent aura.

The colder and more distant Bai Xiaojie seemed, the more he attracted the hearts of young girls. At this time, no one understood the term ”iceberg handsome man,” but iceberg handsome men have always been a favorite of girls who daydream of becoming the sunshine in their lives.

Back then, the authority of a brigade leader was significant. Wen Shuangshuang had no plans to confront Lin Qianqian until the day came when she had the freedom to do so.

At this point, if she confronted her, Lin Cheng’an could easily pin any label on Wen Shuangshuang and brand her a counter-revolutionary, potentially causing her great harm. But after total freedom, Wen Shuangshuang had the ability to deal with Lin Qianqian.

”Shuangshuang, I’ve noticed the way Lin Qianqian looks at you seems a bit off. Did you offend her at some point?”

Lin Qianqian’s allegedly secretive glances couldn’t escape the eyes of a truly observant person. Even Aunt Qi had noticed something was amiss.

Wen Shuangshuang gave a wry smile, lowering her voice, ”Actually, I’ve noticed that Lin Qianqian seems to like staring at Comrade Bai. Comrade Bai might have noticed and has been avoiding her a bit, but it just so happens that Comrade Bai has been coming to my side these past few days, and now I seem to be implicated.”

Wen Shuangshuang spoke frankly, and Aunt Qi believed her immediately. She had also noticed something off about Lin Qianqian’s gaze before, but hadn’t thought much of it.

This was a characteristic of people at that time. Decades later, society advanced, but people assumed the worst in the slightest situation. However, during those days, unless they saw concrete evidence, most preferred to think positively.

Aunt Qi hadn’t considered it before, but Lin Qianqian’s lack of concealment skills was apparent. A moment of recalled observations made Aunt Qi realize that Wen Shuangshuang wasn’t lying.

Aunt Qi, covering her mouth in surprise, with some doubt still on her face, whispered to Wen Shuangshuang, ”What is her intention? If she truly likes Bai Xiaojie, why did she take the initiative to date Comrade Qu Chengdong? No one stopped her from dating whomever she wanted, so isn’t she just bringing trouble upon herself with such actions?”

Aunt Qi was genuinely perplexed. Given Lin Cheng’an’s favoritism towards Lin Qianqian, even if she wanted to find a pretty boy to take care of, Lin Cheng’an would not forcefully oppose it.

Wen Shuangshuang understood the reason but couldn’t disclose it, so she merely got by vague answers.

After gossiping with Aunt Qi for a while, Wen Shuangshuang refocused on her work, deliberately avoiding Bai Xiaojie. And sure enough, within a few days, Lin Qianqian had stopped glaring at her.

Bai Xiaojie was smart. After Wen Shuangshuang avoided him a few times, he realized he was causing trouble for her and voluntarily stopped gravitating towards her.

Although spring plowing was joyful, spring wasn’t particularly easy. Previous years’ grains ran out, and new grains hadn’t grown yet, leading to a difficult period when food was scarce.

Every household took the time to go out and dig for wild vegetables. Early in the morning, Wen Shuangshuang headed out with a basket, planning to check the grass by the riverbank for any fresh wild vegetables.