Who's Scamming Whom?

This program was produced by Tomato Listening.

Who was scamming whom in Episode 28?

Having failed to get what she wanted, Auntie Li Si was hardly about to let her go so easily. She turned to follow, quickly grabbing Wang Xiaomei's cloth bag and refusing to let go.

In her agitation, she happened to bump into Lin Yuzhu.

The jar was already heavy, and after carrying it all that way, Lin Yuzhu's hands trembled. She failed to steady it, and the jar in her arms fell onto Auntie Li Si's foot.

With a howl, Auntie Li Si clutched her foot, angrily shoved Lin Yuzhu, and hopped on one leg, baring her teeth in pain.

Everything happened so fast. Lin Yuzhu had already decided Auntie Li Si was no good and was afraid of being scammed by her. Her eyes darted, and she quickly sat down on the ground, pretending she could not get up as she cried, "Ow, ow!"

To outsiders, it looked like Auntie Li Si had pushed Lin Yuzhu to the ground.

The two of them wailed more pitifully than the other.

Seeing Lin Yuzhu sitting on the ground and refusing to get up, Auntie Li Si grew angry. She had only pushed her lightly—how could that possibly hurt anyone? Unable to swallow it, she cursed, "Quit putting on an act and get up! You must have smashed my toe! Hurry up and pay me!"

"You have to pay me at least fifty yuan."

"Heh!"

Lin Yuzhu's eyes were full of mockery. "You might not even earn fifty yuan in a year, yet you dare ask for that much!"

"Wang Xiaomei, hurry and get the village chief! My tailbone must be cracked. Ow, it hurts so bad! Hurry, get the village chief to find me an Ox Cart. I need to go to the hospital!"

"Oh no, I can't move! Help!"

"You're bullying people!"

"Hmph, aren't I the one who got hurt here?"

Lin Yuzhu's performance was so convincing that even the aunties who had gathered around felt the pain. A blow to the tailbone was no small matter.

Aunt Wang, who often bickered with Lin Yuzhu, was the first to speak. "Could she really have hurt herself badly? If her bone is really cracked, she won't end up crippled, will she?"

"Li Si's family, you've really gotten yourselves into trouble!"

"If Educated Youth Lin really ends up crippled, won't you have to support her for the rest of her life?"

Everything had happened too quickly. By the time Wang Xiaomei turned around, Lin Yuzhu was already lying on the ground. Seeing her covered in sweat and looking like she was in unbearable pain, Wang Xiaomei thought something had really happened and said in a panic, "I'll go get the village chief!"

Auntie Li Si was so furious she nearly keeled over. Seeing Wang Xiaomei about to fetch the village chief, she tried to stop her but was too late. Then Lin Yuzhu began howling again, "Ow, ow, Aunt Wang, help me grab her! Ow, it hurts so much!"

"Grab her! Ow, ow!"

A kind auntie suddenly stepped forward and said righteously, "Educated Youth Lin, don't worry. We all saw it. She won't get away."

Auntie Li Si stamped her feet in fury, no longer caring about the pain. She cursed viciously, "You little bitch, I'll teach you to smash people!"

With that, she raised a foot to kick her.

Lin Yuzhu screamed and pointed at her, looking terrified that she would be kicked. Enduring the pain, she shuffled backward and cursed Zhang Fei through gritted teeth.

The other aunties could not stand it anymore. If word got out that their village had ganged up to bully an educated youth, they could forget about being named an Advanced Production Team again this year.

These educated youths had been assigned here by the leaders. Even if they were unwelcome, people could only show it in private. How could they bully them like this in broad daylight?

A crowd blocked Auntie Li Si and did not let her kick Lin Yuzhu. Then they began berating her together. "Isn't your foot perfectly fine?"

One auntie could not stand it. "You were still demanding compensation from her, and fifty yuan at that! Why weren't you thinking about fifty yuan when you tried to kick her?"

Lin Yuzhu nodded along. "Exactly, exactly! How are your legs and feet so nimble? Ow, wow, you're really bullying people. You've bullied people right up to the heavens! Ow, ow, it hurts so much I—still want fifty yuan!"

"Are you bandits?"

"I want the commune leaders to stand up for me!"

The village chief arrived just in time to hear that last sentence. His expression changed, and he immediately scolded Auntie Li Si. "You old woman, do you have any shame at all?"

"You're even bullying a young girl! Get your Li Laosi over here. I want to ask him when your family plans to repay the work points you owed the team these past two years!"

"You loaf around all day instead of working, yet keep causing trouble. Are you planning to keep owing work points forever?"

"Get the accountant over here too and calculate how many work points your family has earned this year!"

"If you don't have enough work points, your whole family can get out! Stop being a plague on this production team!"

Upon hearing that, Auntie Li Si's face turned pale. She was badly frightened. If the village chief humiliated Li Laosi like this in front of everyone, Li Laosi would definitely beat her when she got home to vent his anger. And if they were really driven from the village, she would have no way to survive.

"Village chief, I only touched her lightly! She's putting on an act! I'm the one who's definitely crippled!"

Lin Yuzhu immediately began howling.

The village chief's face turned livid, veins bulging on his forehead.

"Village chief, this little girl just wants to scam people! Ow, and she wants me to pay fifty yuan! Is she trying to kill me?"

"Oh, give it a rest. So many people saw it—it was you who pushed her down!"

Amid the noisy scene, one voice rang out clearly. "Exactly! Exactly!"

The crowd became lively again.

It was unclear whether the villagers had been bullied too badly by Auntie Li Si or what, but now nearly every voice was condemning her.

Auntie Li Si could not defend herself at all.

Wang Xiaomei ran to Lin Yuzhu's side. "Can you get up?"

"Why don't we try?"

"Pull me gently. Ow, ow, ow! Gently, gently! Help me up gently!"

Wang Xiaomei was speechless. She had already been as gentle as possible, okay?

Lin Yuzhu's basket, wooden bucket, and all sorts of miscellaneous things had spilled across the ground. Her mouth kept crying out in pain, but her eyes stayed alert for anyone trying to pocket something.

In the end, Li Laosi never showed himself.

Disputes like this happened in the village at least once every half month, and there was never any clear way to sort them out.

Seeing that Lin Yuzhu could stand, the village chief tried to smooth things over. If her bone had really cracked, how could she stand up?

The village chief still favored his own villagers. He gave Lin Yuzhu two days off and ordered Auntie Li Si to compensate her with two eggs to nourish her body.

That was the end of the matter. Auntie Li Si still tried to complain about her foot, but the village chief silenced her with a glare.

"Wang Xiaomei, help me pack up my things!"

Only then did Wang Xiaomei react. She hurriedly gathered up everything scattered on the ground, put Lin Yuzhu's cloth bag into the basket as well, and carried it all on her back.

Since they had landed on dirt, the pickle jar did not have a single scratch. The quality was truly excellent.

Wang Xiaomei winced on Auntie Li Si's behalf, then felt she deserved it. Hadn't she brought it on herself?

Wang Xiaomei helped Lin Yuzhu limp back to the Educated Youth Dormitory. They happened to run into Zhou Nan, who had just fetched water and was about to enter his room. He paused upon seeing the disheveled pair, nodded in greeting, then carried his bucket inside without another word.

Wang Xiaomei was speechless.

Lin Yuzhu watched Zhou Nan's retreating back and kept shaking her head. "That supporting male character really is cold. What a waste of such a nice voice. It would be nice if he said a few words. He keeps himself clean and distant—so cold."

Wang Xiaomei muttered softly, "We're both women. How do you expect him to be enthusiastic?"

"True, but when we worked in the front yard before, did you ever see him talk much to anyone?"

"He's quite handsome. Why is he always so withdrawn?"

Lin Yuzhu thought about it. The supporting male character in the original novel really was cold-hearted. Aside from the female lead, he was only casually acquainted with everyone else and never liked meddling. Later, he even remained chaste for the female lead and never married for his entire life. That kind of perseverance was not something ordinary people possessed.

She could not help sighing again. Why were there so many good men around the female lead?

"Why are you paying so much attention? Do you like him?"

"Oh, what are you talking about?"

Wang Xiaomei spoke shyly and gave Lin Yuzhu a bashful shove.

Lin Yuzhu was speechless. She was really glad she had not actually been injured.

After bringing Lin Yuzhu to the door, Wang Xiaomei kindly asked, "Do you want me to walk you inside?"

Lin Yuzhu waved her hand. "Can you manage on your own?"

Wang Xiaomei nodded. Lin Yuzhu waved again. "Oh, hurry and go. It hurts too much. I don't want to talk."

Hearing that, Wang Xiaomei did not linger. She helped put Lin Yuzhu's things inside, then left.

Lin Yuzhu let out a breath. The aunties in this village were really something. If she had not reacted quickly, she might truly have been scammed today.

Since she was putting on an act, she had to see it through. Lin Yuzhu planned to take the chance to rest for two days. As for Auntie Li Si's two eggs, she had not expected them to be delivered in the first place.

Would a deadbeat still be a deadbeat if she actually gave compensation?

For some reason, something must have gone wrong in Wang Xiaomei's head. After making dinner, she actually carried it over to Lin Yuzhu's place. Without even knocking, she kicked the door open and walked right in.

Lin Yuzhu did not know who it was and was rather annoyed. "Who kicked the door?"

If she had not been exhausted and lying on the kang to rest, she might have already had dinner ready by now.

Seeing Wang Xiaomei set a plate of food on the table, with four corn cakes on top, Lin Yuzhu was a little confused.

"What is this?"

Wang Xiaomei did not answer and simply said, "I also made porridge. I'll go get it in a moment."

The little bit of anger in Lin Yuzhu's heart melted away. She watched Wang Xiaomei busily set out the food, bowls, and chopsticks, until Wang Xiaomei finally said, "Look at you, you can't cook like this. When you don't cook, I get to save one serving."

Lin Yuzhu suddenly felt a tiny bit moved.

Wang Xiaomei had not noticed that she was faking her injury, and Lin Yuzhu did not intend to explain. In this era, even the smallest matter could be blown out of proportion. This injury, even if fake, had to be acted as real. "Thanks."

Lin Yuzhu instead felt a little embarrassed. She could not exactly sit while eating, so she simply stood to eat.

Wang Xiaomei naturally sat on the only chair in the room.

Wang Xiaomei was surprised to hear Lin Yuzhu thank her. A little awkwardly, she said, "I won't fuss over the food, but you have to make up the cool food for me later. Go get it yourself."

After being tossed around all day, even the corn cake tasted quite good.

Looking at the bowl of stew, Lin Yuzhu hummed. There were only a few chilies in it. Clearly, Wang Xiaomei had put in quite a bit of thought. "Take some hard candy back with you later."

"Jenny, you can't regret it!"

Wang Xiaomei's eyes sparkled.