Truly Beyond Saving

This program was produced by Tomato Listening. Episode 38: Truly Beyond Saving. The bell at the Summer Palace rang as usual, but everyone had barely completed their tasks.

For the harvest, the Production Team Leader shouted himself hoarse. "Folks, let's all work a little harder and finish today's tasks. Otherwise, once the rain comes, the grain will rot in the fields, and a whole year of hard work will be wasted."

Without grain, what would the whole family eat next year?

Where would the children get money to go to school?

Just tough it out for these few days. Better days are ahead.

Those words tightened everyone's hearts. Rations were no small matter, and no one complained. Everyone quietly bent their heads and worked hard.

Lin Yuzhu's wheat had all been cut and bundled. All that remained was to load it onto the cart for someone to haul away.

Aunt Li still had children waiting at home for her to cook, and she was beginning to regret it. She had underestimated this Educated Youth Lin. The girl might be young, but she was sharp.

Aunt Li's eyes darted around as she came up with a plan. "Lin Zhiqing, I need to go back first to cook for the family and bring them food. Why don't you keep working? Once I'm done cooking, I'll come back and move this wheat."

The request was not excessive. Plenty of women had already gone home to cook and would return to work afterward.

Lin Yuzhu was not an overbearing person. She nodded. "Mm, fine."

The last trace of jujube-red light was gradually eaten away by darkness. The sky had already grown dim, and Lin Yuzhu had finished moving her half of the wheat.

Aunt Lin still had not returned.

Seeing that the farmers from the other groups who had left had mostly returned to continue working, Lin Yuzhu decided to wait a little longer for Aunt Li.

Another twenty minutes passed, and Lin Yuzhu more or less understood what was going on.

Lin Yuzhu was speechless.

This Aunt Li really was something.

Lin Yuzhu went straight to the Small Team Leader. "Uncle, I've finished all my work in that field. Aunt Li went home to cook and still hasn't returned. Her work is still left at the edge of the field."

The Small Team Leader glanced at the plot, where only half the wheat remained to be carried away, and his opinion of Lin Yuzhu improved greatly.

"This Educated Youth Lin can work now. How about you wait a little longer? If all the wheat in the field isn't moved, it still counts as your task not being completed."

Lin Yuzhu was speechless again. It seemed Aunt Li was determined to make her do the work. Was she really so easy to take advantage of?

Lin Yuzhu pretended to think for a moment before finally asking, "How many work points will be deducted if that wheat is left in the field?"

Lin Yuzhu clearly saw the Small Team Leader's expression stiffen. He had probably not expected her to ask that. Team Leader Xiao truly had not expected it; he had thought Lin Yuzhu would go back and continue working. It seemed he had misjudged her. This girl was not someone willing to suffer losses.

With that said, the Small Team Leader could only walk over and carefully inspect exactly how much wheat had been left in the field.

"Aunt Li will take the bigger deduction. Two work points will be deducted from your side, and four from hers."

After checking the situation, the Small Team Leader spoke to Lin Yuzhu. After thinking about it, he added, "If the wheat is left in the field and gets damp and moldy overnight, the two of you will have to compensate for it!"

Hearing the Small Team Leader's stern words, Lin Yuzhu felt reassured instead. Someone who used a few work points to threaten people clearly considered those work points important.

Lin Yuzhu would bet that Aunt Li would never bear to lose those four work points. She was even more afraid that something would happen to the wheat.

Never mind whether the wheat would actually spoil after one night in the field. This year's harvest was good, and one work point was worth, at most, fifteen cents.

Was Lin Yuzhu someone who begrudged thirty cents now?

Aunt Li had underestimated her too much. Looking at the weather, it was crisp and clear in autumn. It had not rained for nearly half a month, and the ground was so dry it was practically cracking. Lin Yuzhu was not too worried. No matter what, she would not let anyone push her around today.

Lin Yuzhu put on an expression of pain and said,

"Then Aunt Li and I will lose six work points altogether. That's too much, isn't it? How about I go back and grab something to eat first, then come back and continue working?"

The Small Team Leader nodded. Rules were fixed, but people were flexible. Although everyone was supposed to earn ten work points a day, special consideration was still given to encourage villagers to work hard.

"If you come back and continue working, Aunt Li's deducted work points will be counted under your name."

Lin Yuzhu nodded, her face lighting up with excitement as she hurriedly thanked the Small Team Leader.

The Small Team Leader actually believed Lin Yuzhu's nonsense about coming back to continue working.

Thinking that these young educated youths had it hard, leaving home at such a young age, he had no idea that Lin Yuzhu had no intention of returning at all.

In Lin Yuzhu's view, Aunt Li was no good person. Since she dared to run off, she surely had another move prepared.

Although the Small Team Leader had agreed to count Aunt Li's work points under Lin Yuzhu's name, Lin Yuzhu did not think it would be that simple. Some old women had their tricks: crying, making a scene, threatening suicide. Taking someone's work points was like snatching food from a tiger's mouth.

What if Aunt Li was also that sort of shrew? The Small Team Leader might not be able to handle her.

In the end, Lin Yuzhu might work for nothing and still get dragged through the mud.

What she feared most were brainless people who believed whatever others said. If someone started saying she had seduced the Small Team Leader, or that the Small Team Leader was an old bull eating tender grass, and people believed it and spread it everywhere, she would be furious enough to cough up blood.

So, since Aunt Li was betting that Lin Yuzhu would obediently keep helping her work, then let Aunt Li make that bet.

Simply put, this was a gamble over a few work points—oh, and the risk of the wheat spoiling in the field.

Lin Yuzhu had once thought Aunt Li was not that bad, just a little loose-lipped. Now it seemed she was also the type to bully honest people. You could know someone's face but not their heart.

When Lin Yuzhu returned to the back courtyard of the Educated Youth Dormitory, Wang Xiaomei was sitting at the entrance washing vegetables. She had done farm work for years, so the autumn harvest was nothing to her. She had finished early and returned long ago.

Seeing Lin Yuzhu back, Wang Xiaomei picked up a plate of washed vegetables and came over.

"What happened? Why are you back so late? Did you finish your work today?"

"I'm telling you, the Production Team Leader is watching the autumn harvest closely. He dislikes us educated youths from this batch the most. If we hold everyone back this time, he'll put you at the very end when it comes to ration distribution. Don't go charging into the line of fire. If there's a quota for returning to the city, he definitely won't put in a good word for you."

"Thanks."

Lin Yuzhu listened to her ramble until her ears nearly grew calluses. This girl talked about city-return quotas whenever she had the chance.

Seeing Lin Yuzhu's indifferent expression, Wang Xiaomei did not know whether she was tired or simply unwilling to listen. Remembering what they had said before separating at noon, she hesitated for a moment and quietly asked, "What did you mean by what you told me?"

"Oh?"

Lin Yuzhu stumbled. She truly had not expected Wang Xiaomei to still not understand by now. She really was beyond saving.

Lin Yuzhu said flatly,

"Huh?"

"What do you mean?"

Wang Xiaomei looked bewildered. How had it become this serious?

Lin Yuzhu shook her head. If she had been Wang Xiaomei at noon, when Li Xiangwan said that final sentence, instead of going to trouble Zhang Yanqiu, she would have gone straight to the village chief's house to report it.

Comrade Zhang Yanqiu had toyed with and deceived the masses. She had actually faked a suicide attempt and used everyone's sympathy to slander her. Given that little old village chief's personality, he would most likely try to smooth things over, but how could Lin Yuzhu's grievance simply be wiped away?

The stain of having driven someone to suicide had to be cleared today, no matter what. If that old village chief asked what she wanted to do—

Very good. She wanted Zhang Yanqiu to confront her point by point in front of all the villagers at the market. No, Zhao Xianglan had to be brought in as a witness too. Why had Lin Yuzhu lent grain and served people, only to end up with the reputation of being arrogant and bullying the weak?

Those old women in the village could come up with more than ten versions of the story without anyone even saying much.

And Li Xiangwan could not get away either. What did it mean to expose her now after not doing so before?

If she wanted Lin Yuzhu to charge into battle, then she had to be prepared to be dragged into the mess too. No one was getting away.

That would mean completely tearing things apart with Li Xiangwan. Lin Yuzhu would not be afraid, but this concerned Wang Xiaomei, not her.

Thinking of how Wang Xiaomei would go from a minor cannon fodder character to major cannon fodder, only to be wiped out without even scraps left, Lin Yuzhu shut her eyes in disgust. Forget it. With Wang Xiaomei's intelligence, after offending the female lead, she might end up worse off than she was now.

It would be better to leave things as they were. It was fine not knowing anything.

Besides, Lin Yuzhu suspected that even if she pointed the way for Wang Xiaomei, arranged her troops, and set up the whole plan, Wang Xiaomei might still let Zhang Yanqiu turn the tables on her in front of the whole village.

"Forget it. Don't think about it anymore. Foolish people have foolish luck. Just stay away from Zhang Yanqiu in the future."

Wang Xiaomei felt that something was off.

"Then wouldn't I lose face? It'll make it seem like I'm afraid of her."

Wang Xiaomei muttered.

Lin Yuzhu clicked her tongue and shook her head. "Fine, fine. Do whatever you want."

Wang Xiaomei was speechless. "I haven't even finished talking about you yet. Why did you come back so late? If you don't finish your work, you'll be in trouble."

Lin Yuzhu gave Wang Xiaomei a rough account of what had happened that afternoon. She had not expected Wang Xiaomei to be even angrier than she was.

"Hmph, those old folks are all like that. They see that we have no roots in the village and bully us as much as they can." The more Wang Xiaomei spoke, the angrier she became. Seemingly remembering something, she nearly smashed the basin in her hands.

"Hmph, do you think they dare bully the village youngsters? The moment they do, the entire family will come after them."

Wang Xiaomei was so angry she looked like a frog, her eyes nearly popping out and her chest heaving. She might be small, but her breasts were truly large, and Lin Yuzhu could not stop herself from staring.

That left Lin Yuzhu confused. Why was Wang Xiaomei so angry?

"Hm?"

"I'm not even angry yet, so why are you angry?"

Thinking of it, Lin Yuzhu asked.

"What do you know? If Aunt Li treats you like this today, others will copy her tomorrow."

After saying that, as though recalling the past, Wang Xiaomei added angrily, "When I first came here, those old folks were always scheming, trying to get me to work for them for free."

Hearing that, Lin Yuzhu felt a little sympathetic. She patted Wang Xiaomei's shoulder. "You can't put it that way. Aunt Li will probably still go back and pick up the wheat in the field today."

After thinking about it, Lin Yuzhu still could not help asking, "Then how were you bullied back then?"

To be honest, supporting characters like Wang Xiaomei—impulsive, of average intelligence, and always picking fights with the protagonist—usually only appeared briefly whenever the plot needed them.

Lin Yuzhu did not remember much of Wang Xiaomei's plot, or perhaps Wang Xiaomei barely had any scenes in the story at all. Still, she was quite curious about how Wang Xiaomei had been tormented in the past.