The team leader’s words left Qiu Baojuan so mortified that, forgetting her shoes were still stuck in the mud, she scrambled up in a panic.
Just as she was about to cover her face and leave, she cast a resentful glance at Yunyi. "It’s all your fault!"
Yunyi said mockingly, "If you hadn’t harbored the intent to harm others, you wouldn’t have ended up in the mud."
At her words, Geng Erhong also realized. "I was wondering why Yunyi suddenly dodged to my side. It turns out she sensed danger. You’re the real troublemaker, aren’t you?"
At this point, Maodan’s Mother, Du Yuhua, whom Yunyi had helped before, spoke up, "I saw it. She charged over to push Chu Zhiqing. Perhaps Chu Zhiqing sensed something amiss and dodged to the side, thus avoiding Qiu Baojuan’s underhanded push."
Qiu Baojuan hadn’t expected her actions to be witnessed. "I didn’t! I was just running down from above and couldn’t stop. I didn’t mean to push anyone!"
Yunyi laughed coldly. "Whether you did or not, you know best. Anyway, you brought this on yourself, and I can’t be bothered to argue with you."
Someone in the crowd jeered, "Qiu Baojuan, you might as well not explain. We aren’t fools."
A woman who had issues with Widow Qiu also scoffed, "With a father like that and such a shameless mother, what good could come of her and her brother? One’s a thief, and now this one is trying to harm people!"
Qiu Baojuan couldn’t take it anymore. Trembling with rage and with one foot bare, she ran off, crying, "You’re all horrible people!"
Seeing her run off, the team leader breathed a sigh of relief. He then looked up at the overcast sky, worried that more rain or snow would delay the work until next year.
He shouted to the men in the Pond, "Hurry up! This pond must be cleared today! Everyone gets two extra work points!"
Hearing they could earn two extra work points, the men naturally prioritized earning them. Besides, the weather was cold, and lingering in the pond was far from comfortable.
While Yunyi was talking to Geng Erhong, they heard a child shouting from atop the slope, "A big metal-shelled truck has entered the village!"
The mention of a "big metal-shelled truck" attracted everyone’s attention, and they all rushed toward the slope to see a large truck indeed entering the village.
The team leader quickly took a shortcut to meet it.
Yunyi, with her good eyesight, instantly recognized the person in the driver’s seat. Perfect, she thought. Now I don’t have to bother asking to rent the village’s ox cart to take me.
She said to Geng Erhong, "Those are people from Hua’an Farm Reclamation. They’re probably here for me. I’ll go take a look."
Geng Erhong said with some reluctance, "They aren’t here to pick you up, are they?"
Yunyi looked at the oncoming Jiefang truck. "I’m not sure."
Geng Erhong took her arm. "I’ll go with you. If they’re really here to pick you up, I can help you carry your things."
As the two of them left, the other commune members also followed, drawn by the excitement.
The team leader reached the vehicle first. "Comrades, can I help you with something?"
Qiao Wenyu jumped down from the truck. "Hello! We’re educated youth from the Hua’an Agricultural Reclamation Group. We were in the city on business and are stopping by to pick up Chu Zhiqing."
The team leader hadn’t expected Chu Zhiqing to be so highly regarded, even before officially arriving. "Oh, I see. She’s over at the..." ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novèlfire.net
He was about to say she was by the Pond when he saw Yunyi approaching. "Ah, here she comes now."
Qiao Wenyu waved to Yunyi. "Chu Zhiqing! Are you all packed? We can give you a ride since we’re heading that way."
Yunyi smiled as she walked over. "I’m all set. I was just about to ask the production team to rent me an ox cart. This saves me the trouble!"