Pretty Girls Are Useless

Produced by Tomato Listening, Episode 37: Pretty Girls Are Useless!

The beef sauce in this space was simply incredible—fragrant and crispy, with large chunks of beef, just the right amount of spice, and a rich flavor. It was perfect with rice.

She wolfed down a huge bowl of mixed rice, let out a satisfied burp, and leaned back in her chair to digest.

At this moment, Wang Xiaomei walked in like a victorious rooster, head held high and chest puffed out. After going hungry and making a fuss for so long, Lin Yuzhu truly admired her vitality.

The moment she entered, she asked Lin Yuzhu, "You and Zhang Yanqiu came on the same train, right?"

"You knew she could swim, didn't you?"

There was obvious hope in her eyes.

Lin Yuzhu looked at Wang Xiaomei and said calmly, "I really didn't know about that. I only got on later. But then again, even if I had known, I wouldn't have exposed her in front of everyone back then."

Wang Xiaomei was speechless. Just like Li Xiangwan and Li Xiangbei, she wouldn't have played the hero that day either.

Seeing Wang Xiaomei lower her eyes, Lin Yuzhu softened a little.

"After all, when we first arrived, you weren't particularly kind to me. Compared with Zhang Yanqiu, helping you might not have been the best choice."

Lin Yuzhu felt that counted as an explanation.

Well, it didn't seem to have much effect.

The other girl seemed even more devastated.

"Oh."

Wang Xiaomei turned dejectedly toward the kitchen, picked up a kitchen knife, and left. Her back looked a little lonely.

Lin Yuzhu stared blankly at Wang Xiaomei's retreating figure. Honestly, she could have used the most exaggerated, flowery words to fool her and make her believe it completely.

But she didn't want to. She had been hypocritical for so many years, and she was tired.

In her previous life, she had played along with too many monsters and demons. In this life, she wanted to live willfully, live according to her heart. Or rather, whenever she wanted to be upright and honest, she would never say anything against her conscience.

Perhaps that was one sign that she had gained confidence after traveling back in time.

She had thought Wang Xiaomei would give her the cold shoulder for a few days. To her surprise, after just one lunch break, Wang Xiaomei acted as if nothing had happened.

After the work bell rang, Wang Xiaomei grabbed Lin Yuzhu and pulled her along, saying brightly, "Hey, I thought about it. The fact that you were willing to tell me the truth proves you don't think I'm an idiot. This time, you treated me like a friend."

Lin Yuzhu was left speechless, even a little confused.

Friends? Looking at Wang Xiaomei's confident face, she couldn't bear to shoot her down. "Aren't you going to ask what happened after lunch?"

"No need. I can imagine it. You just grabbed Zhang Yanqiu and kept shaking her, right? What a coward."

Wang Xiaomei had a bellyful of words stuck in her throat, but she still couldn't resist bragging. "You have no idea what a coward Zhang Yanqiu is. When I grabbed her by the collar, she stubbornly refused to admit anything. I gave her a good lesson."

"It was only because Zhao Xianglan came over and pulled me away that I let her off."

"Look at how smug she was. If it weren't for Zhao Xianglan's sake, I would've made Huihui remember it for good."

"But before I left, I stood there and glared at her fiercely. I told her that if she ever tried to play tricks on me again, I'd beat her up. Guess what happened?"

"Hahaha, she was trembling with fear."

"Hahaha!"

Lin Yuzhu looked at Wang Xiaomei's smug expression and couldn't help covering her face. Idiot, are you sure she wasn't trembling because she was furious and hated you?

"You think grabbing someone by the collar and repeating those two insults would scare her? You really think too highly of yourself!"

Wang Xiaomei kept chattering about how mighty and imposing she had been. Lin Yuzhu interrupted her expressionlessly and asked, "What about Li Xiangwan?"

"How did that end?"

"She already slapped her. What else was there to settle?"

"Not long after you left, she ran off. She's even more useless than I am!"

"I grabbed her and scolded her for over half an hour." After saying that, Wang Xiaomei shook her head and sighed. "Honestly, pretty little girls like you are useless. You're too easy to deal with!"

Lin Yuzhu felt like she could barely hold on to the sickle in her hand.

"What? Was I wrong?"

"Her reputation was practically ruined, and it ended with just one slap. If that isn't being easy to bully, what is?"

Lin Yuzhu turned away. She didn't want to look at this idiot anymore. If she had been holding an axe, she would have split Wang Xiaomei's head open and poured some water into that brain of hers. "You know her reputation was ruined, so why didn't you think about your own reputation?"

Without another word, Lin Yuzhu left Wang Xiaomei behind and went into the field to cut wheat. A huge wave of wheat was waiting for her to harvest.

She was afraid that if she said two more words, Wang Xiaomei's already not-so-bright brain would become even dumber. There was barely any time to rest during the afternoon shift. Aunt Li followed behind her, tying the wheat stalks into bundles and standing them upright at the edge of the field.

Aunt Li had kept urging her to hurry in the morning, and she was still urging her in the afternoon. Lin Yuzhu's head was starting to ache from it. When her temper flared, she lost control of her strength, and the sickle slipped from her hand.

The sickle's flight path was crystal clear. It flew out from her right side and even spun once. Lin Yuzhu had been especially careful not to cut her legs, so the instant it slipped free, she reacted quickly and dodged. Aunt Li, standing behind her, nearly got hit.

Lin Yuzhu turned around and was relieved to see Aunt Li was fine. Then she said tactfully, "Auntie, why are you standing on my right again?"

"Good thing the sickle didn't hit you. If it had, wouldn't you have been terribly unlucky?"

"Don't worry, I won't be slow. Stop standing here and rushing me. Aren't there still so many wheat bundles behind us that haven't been tied?"

"What are you in such a hurry for? If you're tired and want to rest, stand on my left."

Aunt Li looked at Lin Yuzhu as if her eyes had been opened. So, after nearly getting hit by the sickle, it was somehow her fault?

If she had really been cut, she could only blame her bad luck.

This girl was young, but how could her skin be so thick? She was utterly shameless.

Lin Yuzhu stood there without blushing or missing a beat. This was standard workplace practice for her. Back then, she had been bullied by others; after being bullied long enough, she had learned to bully others instead. Now that she had traveled here, she hadn't done this in a long time, yet it still came naturally.

What could she say? Shifting blame had become instinctive.

Lin Yuzhu thought that if she ever traveled back again, she could probably still survive in the workplace.

Still angry, Aunt Li wondered whether this little girl had done it on purpose. With trembling hands, she picked up the sickle for her and said in a softer voice, "Lin Zhiqiang, slow down!"

"Goodness, there's no rush. Why don't you rest for a while?"

The corners of her mouth kept twitching as she spoke. Lin Yuzhu figured it was from anger. Resting was impossible. The Production Team Leader was watching most strictly at this time and wouldn't allow anyone to slack off. Anyone caught would be criticized and have work points deducted, with no room for mercy.

Lisa inwardly cursed Lin Yuzhu to death. Today, the Production Team Leader had specifically warned the villagers not to cause trouble, argue, or fight at such a crucial time. Otherwise, she definitely wouldn't spare this girl.

After most of Aunt Li's anger faded, she also felt a little frightened. This girl was truly reckless. If the sickle had cut her, how much blood would she have lost? Just thinking about it hurt. Aunt Li truly didn't dare keep urging her anymore.

Lin Yuzhu rubbed her nose. She had been frightened too. Perhaps the scare had somehow opened up her channels, because she suddenly found cutting wheat incredibly easy. She didn't feel tired at all.

Gradually, her speed caught up. If this had been in the morning, she would probably have been exhausted by now. Yet now, she felt like she could keep going for a while longer. The sickle in her hand whistled through the air, making Aunt Li's heart grow cold with every swing. She was terrified that, if she wasn't careful, another sickle would come flying at her.

Aunt Li's work required skill too. If she didn't tie the wheat properly, the bundles would come loose and have to be tied again. So she wasn't actually very fast. Maybe she had just been pretending to hurry Lin Yuzhu along so she would look more capable than her, playing tricks like that.

Sure enough, once Lin Yuzhu picked up speed, Aunt Li couldn't keep up. By the time Lin Yuzhu had cut several meters ahead and looked back, she found Aunt Li hadn't moved far from where she had started and was still working slowly.

That wasn't right. So Aunt Li wasn't fast either.

Lin Yuzhu said bluntly.

"Aunt Li, you keep urging me, but your speed can't keep up either."

Aunt Li couldn't save face. She felt Lin Yuzhu was doing it on purpose, deliberately making things difficult for her.

"Thank you. I'll finish it soon enough."

Aunt Li replied unhurriedly.

Lin Yuzhu rolled her eyes. Was she supposed to rest and give the Production Team Leader, who already disliked educated youths, something to criticize her for?

After giving Aunt Li a cold glance, Lin Yuzhu continued cutting wheat. This time, though, she was more careful. If Aunt Li tied slowly, she cut slowly. If Aunt Li tied quickly, she cut quickly. In any case, she wouldn't let too much distance open up between them.

Aunt Li had originally planned to tie the bundles slowly. That way, after Lin Yuzhu finished cutting her assigned work for the day, she would have to help Aunt Li tie the wheat.

They worked in pairs and were assigned a section of land. Once all the wheat in the field was cut and tied, they would load it together onto a cart to be transported to the threshing ground.

The work points for this plot belonged to both of them. If they couldn't finish it, both might have points deducted.

That was the bad thing about collective work. If people didn't work together and instead played little tricks, the honest ones ended up doing more.

There were plenty of people like Aunt Li in the fields, loafing around and taking advantage of honest people.

Lin Yuzhu wasn't short on money or food now. Seeing through Aunt Li's intentions, she was willing to play along.

If Aunt Li didn't want to work properly, then neither of them would earn these work points easily.

Half an hour later, they were obviously falling behind. Only then did Aunt Li realize something was wrong. She glared at Lin Yuzhu and finally sped up.

Once Aunt Li sped up, Lin Yuzhu also began cutting wheat seriously. There was no need for Aunt Li to chase after her and urge her to hurry.

Trying to make up time exhausted Aunt Li badly. Seeing Lin Yuzhu suddenly working in such a proper manner, she was quite surprised. Was this really Educated Youth Lin?