Pretty Girls Are Just Useless

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

The beef sauce in this space was simply incredible—fragrant and crispy, with big 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 point, Wang Xiaomei strode in with her head held high like a victorious rooster. Having made such a fuss on an empty stomach for so long, Lin Yuzhu had to admire her vitality.

The moment Wang Xiaomei entered, she asked, "You and Zhang Yanqiu took the same train here, right?"

"You knew he could fly and swim, didn't you?"

Her eyes were full of obvious expectation.

Lin Yuzhu looked at Wang Xiaomei and calmly said, "I really didn't know about that. I only boarded later. But then again, even if I had known, I wouldn't have exposed him in public."

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

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

"After all, when we first arrived, you weren't exactly kind to me. Compared with Zhang Yanqiu, helping you wasn't necessarily the better choice."

Lin Yuzhu felt that counted as an explanation.

Well, the effect was not particularly great.

The other girl seemed even more crushed.

"Oh."

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

Lin Yuzhu stared blankly after Wang Xiaomei. Frankly speaking, she could have used the most exaggerated, flowery words to fool her and make her believe every word.

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

In her previous life, she had spent too much time pretending with all kinds of demons and monsters. In this life, she wanted to live willfully, according to her heart. Or rather, whenever she wanted to be upright and honest, she would never say anything against her conscience.

Perhaps this was one sign that returning through time had given her more confidence.

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 pulled Lin Yuzhu along and said brightly, "Hey, I thought about it. You were willing to tell me the truth, which 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.

Friend? Looking at Wang Xiaomei's confident expression, Lin Yuzhu couldn't bring herself to snap at her. "Aren't you going to ask what happened afterward at noon?"

"No need to ask. I can imagine it—you just kept grabbing Zhang Yanqiu and shaking him around, right? What a coward."

Wang Xiaomei had a bellyful of words bottled up, but she still couldn't hold them in. She boasted, "Oh, you have no idea what a coward Zhang Yanqiu is. When I grabbed him by the collar, he wouldn't change a single word no matter what I said. I gave him a proper lesson."

"It was Zhao Xianglan who came over and pulled me away, or I wouldn't have let him off."

"Look how smug he was. If it weren't for Zhao Xianglan's sake, I would've made sure he remembered it."

"But before I left, I stood there and glared at him with real presence. I told him that if he ever tried playing tricks on me again, I'd beat him black and blue. Guess what?"

"Hahaha, he was shaking all over from fright."

"Hahaha!"

Looking at Wang Xiaomei's smug face, Lin Yuzhu couldn't help covering her face. Idiot, are you sure he wasn't trembling because he was so furious he hated you?

You thought pulling on his collar and repeating those few insults could scare him? You really thought too highly of yourself!

Wang Xiaomei was still chattering on about how mighty and imposing she had been when Lin Yuzhu interrupted her expressionlessly and asked, "What about Li Xiangwan?"

"How did you settle things with her?"

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

"Not long after you left, she ran off. She wasn't even as brave as I was!"

"I grabbed her and scolded her for over half an hour." Then Wang Xiaomei shook her head and sighed. "Honestly, you pretty girls are just no good. You're way too easy to bully!"

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

"What? Was I wrong?"

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

Lin Yuzhu turned her head away, unwilling to look at this fool anymore. If she had been holding an axe, she would have chopped Wang Xiaomei right then and there. 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 swath of wheat was waiting for her to harvest.

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

Aunt Li had kept urging her to hurry all morning, and she continued doing so in the afternoon. Lin Yuzhu's head was starting to throb from all the nagging. When her temper flared, she failed to control the force in her hand, and the sickle slipped free.

The sickle's path through the air was clear. It flew out from Lin Yuzhu's right side, spinning as it went. She had been especially careful not to let it cut her legs, so the instant it slipped from her grip, she reacted quickly and dodged. Aunt Li, who was behind her, nearly got hit.

When Lin Yuzhu turned around and saw that Aunt Li was fine, she relaxed. Then she said tactfully, "Auntie, why are you standing on my right again?"

"Luckily, the sickle didn't hit you. If it had, wouldn't that have been terribly unlucky for you?"

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

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

Aunt Li stared at Lin Yuzhu as if she had seen something unbelievable. So the fact that she had nearly been hit by the sickle was somehow her own fault?

If she had really been cut, she could only blame herself for being unlucky.

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

Lin Yuzhu stood there without blushing or skipping 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 had not done this in a long time, yet it still came naturally.

What could she say? Passing the buck had become instinctive.

Lin Yuzhu thought that if she ever traveled back, she would probably still be able to survive in the workplace.

Still angry, Aunt Li wondered whether this girl had done it on purpose. With trembling hands, she picked up the sickle for her and said more gently, "Lin Yuzhu, slow down!"

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

As she spoke, the corners of her mouth kept twitching. Lin Yuzhu figured she was furious. Resting was impossible—the Production Team Leader was watching most strictly right now. No one was allowed to slack off. Anyone caught would be criticized and have work points deducted, with no room for mercy.

Lisa cursed Lin Yuzhu half to death in her heart. Today, the Production Team Leader had specifically warned the villagers not to cause trouble or get into arguments and fights at such a critical time, otherwise she would definitely not spare this girl.

After Aunt Li's anger faded by more than half, she began to feel a little frightened. This girl was really reckless. If that sickle had accidentally cut her, how much blood would she have lost? Just thinking about it hurt. She truly didn't dare keep rushing Lin Yuzhu anymore.

Lin Yuzhu rubbed her nose. She had been startled too. Maybe the scare had somehow opened up her meridians, because she suddenly found cutting wheat incredibly smooth and effortless.

Gradually, her speed caught up. If this had been the morning, she would probably have already collapsed by now. Yet she felt as though she could keep going for a while longer. The sickle in her hand flew with vigor, making Aunt Li's heart turn cold again and again, afraid that another sickle would fly at her if she wasn't careful.

Aunt Li's job required skill too. If the wheat wasn't tied properly, the bundles would come loose and need to be retied. So her speed was not actually very fast. Perhaps she had deliberately pretended to rush Lin Yuzhu so she would look more capable than her. She was quite sly.

Sure enough, once Lin Yuzhu sped up, Aunt Li couldn't keep pace. By the time Lin Yuzhu had cut several meters ahead, she looked back and saw that Aunt Li had barely moved from where she was, still fiddling around slowly.

That wasn't right. So you weren't very fast either.

Lin Yuzhu said bluntly.

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

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

"Fine, I'll hurry it along now," Aunt Li said unhurriedly.

Lin Yuzhu rolled her eyes. Should she just rest and let the Production Team Leader, who already disliked Educated Youth, catch her slacking off?

After shooting Aunt Li a cold glance, Lin Yuzhu continued cutting wheat. But this time, she had learned her lesson. If Aunt Li tied slowly, she cut slowly. If Aunt Li tied quickly, she cut quickly. In any case, she would not let too much distance open up between them.

Aunt Li had originally planned to tie the wheat slowly so that, once Lin Yuzhu finished cutting her quota for the day, she would have to help tie the wheat stalks.

The two of them were assigned a plot of land together. Once they had cut and tied all the wheat, they would load it onto a cart together, and someone would transport it to the threshing ground.

The work points for this plot belonged to both of them. If they failed to finish it, both of them might have work points deducted.

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

There were quite a few people like Aunt Li in the fields, cutting corners and taking advantage of honest workers.

Lin Yuzhu no longer lacked money or food. Seeing through Aunt Li's intentions, she was willing to play along.

Since Aunt Li didn't want to work properly, then neither of them would have an easy time earning work points.

Half an hour later, their side had clearly fallen behind. Only then did Aunt Li realize something was wrong. She glared at Lin Yuzhu and finally sped up her hands.

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

In order to catch up, Aunt Li was exhausted. Seeing Lin Yuzhu suddenly working so capably, she was quite surprised. Was this really Educated Youth Lin?