Chapter 40
“Xiaoxiao.”
She was lost in thought when suddenly Aunt Guo walked up to her and handed her a white steamed bun and an egg.
“Auntie, I can’t eat…”
Su Xiaoxiao was startled and quickly tried to push the items back.
But Aunt Guo smiled and said, “It’s alright, go ahead and eat. These were specially prepared for you by my son.”
“Then, Auntie, have you eaten?” Su Xiaoxiao obediently accepted the items and asked.
“Yes, I have. My naughty son is usually quite filial. You don’t have to worry about this.” Aunt Guo smiled like a flower as she recalled what her son had said.
In the past, although he had money, he couldn’t eat much at home. After all, he had his elder brother, second brother, and their families watching him like hawks.
But now, things were different with Xiaoxiao around. They could enjoy better food, and even if those from the other households didn’t like it, there was nothing they could do. Besides, her son wasn’t afraid of being labeled a freeloader.
“You only need to cut hogweed every day from now on. Do you know what hogweed looks like? I’ll take you there and teach you how to identify it.”
Aunt Guo spoke while holding Su Xiaoxiao’s arm, leading her to a vacant area behind the cornfield and rice paddies.
Along the way, they encountered some other women, who asked curiously, “Where are you taking Educated Youth Su?”
“We’re going to cut hogweed in the back.”
Those people were shocked. “Educated Youth Su is going to cut hogweed? She only earns two work points a day. Is it even worth it for her?”
Hearing this, the woman looked disapprovingly at Su Xiaoxiao. However, she nodded and said, “Doctor Cui said I’m weak, and after working for so many days, I’ve strained my body. I need to rest and recover. So, for now, I’ll do some lighter work. Once my health improves, I’ll consider other tasks.”
In any case, after the autumn harvest, there would be no more farm work. From mid-November to early April of the following year, they would be doing manual labor. If they didn’t work, it wouldn’t be acceptable to the authorities. However, the other women believed her when she mentioned Doctor Cui, not suspecting the veracity of her words. They just thought that educated youths from the city were too delicate.
Fortunately, they had kept their sons tightly controlled at home, so they didn’t get involved with Educated Youth Su. Looking at the money Educated Youth Su received from the Jiang family, they pushed the idea of their sons pursuing her away.
If it were their daughters, they would have made her work hard. As they walked away, Aunt Guo couldn’t help but express her worry, “Xiaoxiao, don’t mind what the other women think. You’re my daughter-in-law, and I like you just the way you are.”
“I like you just the way you are too, Auntie.” Su Xiaoxiao blushed and replied sweetly.
Aunt Guo was even more satisfied with her peach-blossom-like appearance. “You should only do two work points a day from now on. Even if your health improves, don’t do heavy work for the sake of a few more work points. It’s not worth exhausting yourself. Once you marry my son, you won’t have to work at all. You can rest at home every day. By then, I’ll ask Yexun to buy you a radio, and you can sit at home and listen to storytelling or read books. Whatever you want, he’ll get it for you.”
Aunt Guo spoke in detail about the wonderful life Su Xiaoxiao would have after marrying into the Jiang family, making sure to address any potential concerns she might have.
“When I came to the countryside, I brought a radio with me. But I didn’t take it out of the box because I was worried it would attract too much attention when I first arrived at the team,” Su Xiaoxiao said.
Aunt Guo suddenly became curious about the conditions in Su Xiaoxiao’s family but didn’t ask too many questions. She didn’t want Su Xiaoxiao to think they were interested in her family background rather than her as a person.
After Aunt Guo led Su Xiaoxiao to the designated area, she taught her how to identify the hogweeds one by one. Hogweed wasn’t just a single type of grass; it included leaves from a tree called “chupi,” which were fermented and used as hogweed, as well as other plants.
Su Xiaoxiao paid close attention and was afraid of forgetting anything.
“That’s about all the hogweed varieties. Although you’re supposed to cut two baskets a day to earn two work points, if you can’t find that much, one basket is enough. But never go into the mountains just for hogweed. Even if there are no wild beasts inside, encountering a wild boar or bison buffalo can be very dangerous. Understand?” Aunt Guo finished teaching everything she could and reminded Su Xiaoxiao once again.
“Alright, I’ll work here. Once I finish, I’ll take a good rest. If anyone bothers you, just come find me, and I’ll stand up for you.”
“Okay! Thank you, Auntie!” Su Xiaoxiao nodded eagerly and waved as Aunt Guo walked away.
Once Aunt Guo was far enough out of sight, Su Xiaoxiao stretched lazily. She found a spot with no one around and performed the combat techniques she had learned in her previous life.
At first, she was a bit rusty, but with practice, she quickly regained her sense of the moves. In fact, she felt stronger than when she had been a wandering spirit. After her muscles warmed up, Su Xiaoxiao picked up her back basket and began looking for hogweed.
Her progress was relatively slow because the hogweed was mixed with other plants, and she was careful not to accidentally uproot other valuable crops. After a while, she heard the noisy chatter of children.
A group of children, each carrying a bamboo basket, came over playfully. Leading them were Jiang’s children, including Jiang Mantun. When Jiang Mantun saw Su Xiaoxiao, his eyes lit up, and he rushed toward her.
Seeing that they were about to collide with her, they didn’t stop. Su Xiaoxiao quickly sidestepped and avoided Jiang Mantun’s charge. He couldn’t stop in time and fell into a pile of grass.
He got up, looking a bit angry, and glared at Su Xiaoxiao.
Before he could say anything, Jiang Mancang also approached Su Xiaoxiao. He reached out and extended his hand.
“Little auntie, I want some candy!”
“I’m only dating your little uncle, but we’re not married yet, so you can’t call me ’little auntie.’” Su Xiaoxiao said sternly and seriously.
The three children pursed their lips in response, then walked up to her together, extending their hands.
“Candy! We’ve already told our friends that our little auntie is the richest and most beautiful among the educated youth. Will you treat us to candy?”
Su Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes in annoyance. “I told you, I’m not your little auntie. And I never agreed to anything you told your friends.”
She tried to continue cutting hogweed. However, the other children who were waiting for candy quickly gathered around and began teasing her.
“Blushing, shameless, bragging! No candy!”
They mocked her repeatedly, which gave Su Xiaoxiao a headache.
The three little troublemakers felt embarrassed and couldn’t lift their heads. They lay on the ground, kicking their legs while crying.
“I don’t care! I don’t care! We want candy! You’re our little auntie, and you should give us candy.”
Su Xiaoxiao covered her face, feeling tempted to grab them and give them a good scolding. She feared that if she had children like them in the future, she might end up beating them to death.