Chapter 44: Slapping Faces
After the meeting was dismissed, everyone started getting busy. Ning Xiyue followed Aunt Yangliu to the storage room to pick out the wheat that hadn’t dried yet so they could spread it under the sun.
Enemies really are destined to meet.
Inside the storage room, there were already two people — and one of them was none other than Li Cuihua, the same woman who had scowled at Ning Xiyue earlier. She was crouching down, preparing to carry some wheat on her back.
Ning Xiyue walked in and ignored her, minding her own business.
But Li Cuihua clearly wasn’t going to do the same. When she saw Ning Xiyue enter, she set down the basket she had been about to lift and instead stayed there, continuing to scoop wheat into it with a dustpan.
Aunt Yangliu and another woman briefly discussed how to divide the work.
The task was simple: two people would fill the baskets, and two would carry them out to dry. Then they would rotate. That way, all four of them would share the workload evenly and no one could slack off.
Everyone agreed to this plan.
Ning Xiyue was paired with Aunt Yangliu, and in the first round, they would be the ones carrying the wheat outside.
Li Cuihua was the first to speak up: “I’ll pair up with Comrade Ning. I’ll load the wheat, and she’ll carry it. Or I’ll carry it and she’ll load. Comrade Ning, you don’t mind, do you?”
Aunt Yangliu immediately understood Li Cuihua’s scheme and stepped in before Ning Xiyue could reply: “Little Xiyue, you pair up with Aunt Wang. I’ll work with her.”
But Li Cuihua’s voice turned sharp and mocking: “Oh come on, Aunt Yangliu. Comrade Ning isn’t some delicate flower. If she’s already this picky about who she works with, what will others think of her? I’m not going to eat her — why can’t we work together?”
Since Li Cuihua was looking for trouble, Ning Xiyue was not about to back down. Fine — let’s see who wins. She was happy to entertain herself and add a little fun to an otherwise tiring day. But who would end up humiliated was another matter entirely.
Ning Xiyue tugged gently on Aunt Yangliu’s sleeve and smiled politely. “It’s fine, Auntie. Since Aunt Cuihua wants to pair with me, it’s my honor. Aunt Cuihua, let’s cooperate well. We can’t afford to slow down and affect everyone’s work.”
Li Cuihua grinned smugly when Ning Xiyue agreed, her eyes full of mischief.
“Of course. As long as you don’t slow us down, I won’t either. Let’s start, Comrade Ning. You’d better carry this basket properly.”
With that, Li Cuihua began scooping wheat again — this time piling so much into the basket that it was overflowing and spilling out.
Ning Xiyue, however, wanted to test her strength since her “enlightenment,” and also see if carrying bricks on her body could further boost it.
For the first load, she didn’t use the bricks — she wanted to gauge her natural strength first.
Under Li Cuihua’s mocking gaze, Ning Xiyue gave her a gentle smile, squatted down slowly, and easily hoisted a basket so big she could practically fit inside it. Then, for good measure, she even turned around in front of Li Cuihua.
“Oh my, Auntie, you’re too kind — it’s not heavy at all.”
With that, she carried the basket away effortlessly toward the drying area.
Li Cuihua couldn’t help but doubt herself. Did I fill it with cotton by mistake? How was she carrying it so easily? Li Cuihua herself could barely manage half a basket on a good day.
Once Ning Xiyue had left, Aunt Yangliu also picked up her own load and carried it out.
Aunt Wang shook her head from the side, gloating. “Li Cuihua, looks like you’ve met your match this time. You’d better be careful not to embarrass our Daliu Brigade.”
Nobody could understand why Li Cuihua was acting this way. Everyone in the team knew the new educated youth had already received a commendation from the county public security bureau — she’d helped them catch a criminal. Clearly, she was no weakling. And yet, Li Cuihua still dared to provoke her.
Li Cuihua’s expression soured at Aunt Wang’s words, and a hint of worry crept into her chest. But it was too late to back down now. Even if she had to grit her teeth, she would press on — she refused to believe she couldn’t outdo a city girl.
Meanwhile, Ning Xiyue dumped her load of wheat onto the drying mat. Typically, two baskets’ worth would cover one mat perfectly — not too thick, not too thin. The wheat she and Aunt Yangliu carried spread out evenly and just right.
And that one load hadn’t even come close to her physical limit.
Now it was time for her to have some fun. Ning Xiyue’s lips curled into a mischievous smile. She was looking forward to seeing how Li Cuihua would handle things next. Hopefully, she wouldn’t disappoint.
When she returned to the storage room, Li Cuihua had already filled a basket for herself. It was full, but noticeably less so than before. She was preparing to lift it when Ning Xiyue stepped forward and pressed a hand on the basket.
“Auntie, this doesn’t suit your style. Here, let me carry this one. I’ll swap with you. This way, you’ll make fewer trips, and we’ll get the wheat out faster.”
Li Cuihua opened her mouth but had no retort.
Ning Xiyue quickly set down her own basket and piled even more wheat into it, forming a mound on top. Aunt Yangliu, quick as lightning, dumped another basket’s worth on top too — perfectly filling the oversized load.
When Li Cuihua saw the towering basket, her lips twitched and her knees suddenly felt weak. She crouched down reluctantly.
Ning Xiyue’s smile was faint and polite. “Auntie, hurry up. Let’s not waste time.”
The smile on her lips felt like mockery to Li Cuihua, making her chest tighten with humiliation. Fueled by anger, she squatted quickly and used all her strength to lift the basket.
She managed to hoist it up — but her body swayed dangerously, barely staying upright.
Ning Xiyue chuckled and deliberately reminded her,
“Auntie, if you can’t carry it, just say so. Don’t drop the wheat and mix in dirt and debris.”
Li Cuihua’s teeth ground audibly as she glared at Ning Xiyue. She gripped the basket with both hands to share the weight and staggered forward, though she could only move slowly.
Oh, this is just the beginning, thought Ning Xiyue.
Aunt Yangliu laughed exaggeratedly. “Little Xiyue, did you see Li Cuihua’s face just now? She was using every ounce of strength she had — it was hilarious!”
“I saw it. Not a pretty sight, but strangely satisfying to watch.”
Ning Xiyue then went and fetched the big wicker baskets from the next room, replacing all the smaller ones and filling them to the brim.
When Li Cuihua returned from her trip and saw six enormous baskets full of wheat, her vision nearly went black.
Damn it. This new educated youth has a heart as black as coal.
Each of those baskets weighed more than a hundred jin. Carrying three at once meant over three hundred jin (about 150 kg) of wheat!
“Auntie, you’re back,” Ning Xiyue said cheerfully. “I’ve already filled both of ours. Let’s carry them out together — it’ll be faster and save us time for other work.”
Li Cuihua didn’t move. She had barely managed to lift the 200 jin load before, and now this… her back might snap in half. She’d be crushed before she even got outside.
Aunt Yangliu urged her on. “Cuihua, what are you doing? Hurry up and carry it. Don’t waste time.”
Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Li Cuihua stubbornly said, “What’s the rush? Comrade Ning hasn’t carried hers yet. I’ll go when she does.”
