The Educated youth were dumbfounded by how stupid Fang Roulan is, how could she not realize she's pulling the wheat.
The other villagers close to where they are also got curious and went to check only to see such sight. They immediately started voicing their discontent towards Fang Roulan and Educated youth in general.
"What's with this Fang Zhiqing, not only she is lazy and doesn't help much in the field and now she's destroying our hardwork."
"She's been here for a year and she doesn't improve at all."
"I just knew these educated youths are here to steal our food, not only are they slow to work, now they want us to go hungry too buy pulling our crops."
"What do you expect from the people in the city, they don't know how to farm, and they don't care about our hardwork."
Although it's only Fang Roulan's fault, the people had blame all the Educated Youth. The image that had gotten better these days because of Shen Yuying had now been submerged in the mud because of Fang Roulan.
All the Educated Youth was so mad but they can only bow their head and didn't confront the villagers head on.
But Shen Yuying is different, why are they being blamed for something they didn't do.
"Auntie, what you said is not true, most of the educated youth are hardworking. You see we also worked hard from morning to afternoon, we also stayed under the sun just like everyone, we also earned enough work points like the villagers, there are only few that doesn't do a good job and you cannot blame all the educated youth."
Although she said this in front of everyone, she was polite and smiling to the several women that surrounded them.
Some of the women knew Shen Yuying, and some knew she works well in the field so they still have the impression.
So after hearing what Shen Yuying said, they immediately corrected what they said.
"That's right, there are good workers in the educated youth and only some are lazy, like this today only Fang Zhiqing pulled the crops and we blame all the educated Youth, which is wrong. We should only blame Fang Zhiqing. "
"You are right, I agree to what you said"
And that statement echoed by the others around them.
Listening to all the people's comments and their aggressive stance scared Fang Roulan and she hid behind the dark faced Song Jiaxing.
The other educated youth who heard Shen Yuying defended them gave her a grateful smile. Or else they would hear from the villagers endlessly.
The incident quickly reached Lu Jianguo's ears, and with a dark face, he strode to where the educated youth is.
Looking at the bald spot, he was so mad at Fang Roulan. If its not a wrong, he would really like to beat her up.
He looked at the girl who was hiding behind Song Zhiqing. And Song Jiaxing immediately pulled her from his back to face the angry team leader.
"Fang Zhiqing, have you not learned anything during your 1 year here in the village?" Lu Jianguo asked trying to restrain his anger.
Fang Roulan on the other hand just bowed down her head not even responding to Lu Jianguo. She was afraid of saying something wrong and would anger them some more so she kept her mouth shut. Which angered not only the Educated youth but also the villagers around them. She's not even apologizing, some of them grumbled.
Looking at her tightly closed mouth, Lu Jianguo really wanted to pull them apart, he just closed his eyes and took a deep sigh.
"Comrade Fang Roulan, you will be deducted 10 work points and you have to write 1,000 words letter to admit your mistakes and read it in front of the villagers on monday morning."
Before Lu Jianguo left he told the other educated youth "help her replant all the wheat she had pulled." Then he turned around to leave.
After the villagers left one by one, Fang Roulan fell to the ground with a thud.
And then she cried loudly, others were really disgusted by her so they ignored her and started working. Only Bai Xiuyun came forward to help her up and said a few kind words for her to stop wailing.
She felt really wronged, she didn't mean to pull the crops, she only meant to pull the weeds but she became absent-minded. And she was so mad to even realize what she has done.
Do they have to embarrass her like this just because of these few crops. She felt so wronged but she couldn't argue because she was very scared.
"Roulan, it's okay, we will help you replant the wheat, stand up and don't cry anymore, or your eyes will swell."
But Fang Roulan just kept of crying so Bai Xiuyun pat her back gently and said "It's not your fault, you were so mad at Shen Yuying that you had accidentally pulled a few plants" she softly told her.
Fang Roulan looked at Bai Xiuyun.
She's right, if its not because of that bitch Shen Yuying she wouldn't be mad and started pulling randomly.
And if its not because she pointed her faults at the villagers, the villagers won't be so mean and focused their attentions and scolding to her. If its not because of her, she wouldn't be in this situation at all.
She turned her head towards Shen Yuying "just you wait and I'll make you suffer" she swore.
Shen Yuying with her advanced hearing of course heard everything that Bai Xiuyun said but she ignored it. She knew Bai Xiuyun is not just some random stupid woman, she must have a deep mind and is using Fang Roulan and as a cannon fodder.
Fang Roulan who didn't even realized she was being used still thinking about her own ill fate.
Not only was she reprimanded in front of everyone, she didn't earn work points today after working for so long and she even owe another 5 work points. Thats not all, she had to write a letter and admit her mistakes in front of the villagers to be critized. 'What right do they have to critisize me, they're just a bunch of country people'.
She was so blinded by her anger that she didn't realize her faults at all and only blamed the others but not herself.
She tried to calm herself and then stood up with the help of Bai Xiuyun. Without even apologizing and looking at the others, she started working slowly.
Everyone helped replant the crops and the guys gave them a lot of water hoping the crops would survive after being pulled out like that. With this big spot they could get about 35 catties of grain when its harvested. They hope these crops will make it.
Shen Yuying put a drop of spring water to each crop hoping it will survive and the entire educated youth won't anger the villagers. Although it's Fang Roulan's fault, there are still narrow minded people who won't understand.
Because the group has been delayed due to the commotion, they had to work extra time in order to hit the target points, after all replanting the crops doesn't count as work points as it was punishment.
But these did not deter Shen Yuying as she always work fast as always. But this time she knows that the group will have to stay longer in the field so she decided to help Wang Xiayun finish her part of the job.
Everyone is tired and with the incident everyone lost their spirits, they have to stay longer because of the delay and Shen Yuying thought it would be good if they can eat hot meal once they're home.
It was Wang Xiayun's turn to cook this time, and everyone was thankful to Shen Yuying for thinking about their situation. At least there's a meal ready when they all finish their task.
"I was invited by Aunt Liu to have dinner at her house, so I won't be joining you tonight." She informed the others.
Although some of them heard when Aunt Liu invited her, but the males are fetching water from the well and didn't know.
Bading farewell, Shen Yuying and Wang Xiayun left the group in a hurry and all the others went back to finish their own tasks.
While others are busying themselves, Fang Roulan glanced at Shen Yuying who was walking home with Wang Xiayun.
"Hmph! If she's so worried about everyone's meal, she should have helped me too, she knew I'll be cooking separately with the others yet she ignored me."Fang Roulan snorted.
Gu Yao who was closest to her, heard her grumbling. She immediately flew in rage, she was already tired working under the sun for a whole day and now they've been delayed by this good for nothing woman.
She was originally keeping her dissatisfaction to herself but this stupid woman even wants to bail out with work that she has forcibly given to the other educated youth. Now she's really furious.
"You still have the guts to quibble here? If you hadn't delayed everyone with your idiotic actions, we would have been going home by now." She said while pointing her fingers to Fang Roulan.
Before Fang Roulan could fight back, Song Jiaxing who heard another commotion stopped everyone with a loud voice.
"Stop! I don't want to hear another quibble. Just quickly finish your job so we can go home."
He then look at Fang Roulan with a dark face "I'm warning you Comrade Fang, you better stop making troubles for me.
Then he turned his back and started working again. Everyone just shook their heads.
"This Fang Roulan is really a brainless troublemaker."
On the other side Shen Yuying and Wang Xiayun just got home.
"Xiayun, you go and wash up first, and I'll help you sort out the ingredients needed for tonight."
Wang Xiayun nodded happily, she hurriedly went to the room to get a change of clothes and washed up.
When she came back to the kitchen, all the things she needed are already neatly lined up in the rectangular table.
"Thank you for your help Yuying"
Shen Yuying just wave her hand at her and went to get her things from the bedroom.
When she got inside the shower room, she immediately flashed into space and had a long refreshing shower. She used her skincare products, dried her hair and put on decent clothes.
She didn't know what foods Aunt Liu will prepare but she didn't want to be too hungry when she goes over so she ate a small serving of dimsum as a snack. And then brushed her teeth and gargle.
Before she went out of space, she checked the few animals in space and collected all the eggs in the storage.
She'll be busy in the coming days so she might let the eggs hatched in the confinement. She filled new batch of feeds to the automatic feeder and flashed out of space.
In the kitchen Wang Xiayun is busying herself with the meal, so she went directly to the bedroom and fixed her hair into a twin braid.
Since she'll go to Aunt Liu's house for dinner, it'll be embarrassing to go empty handed. She thought hard of what to bring.
It has to be something that the Liu family needs. Right now, Liu Caixia is recovering and what she needs is nutrition
Although she had many things in space that can help Liu Caixia, she couldn't take it out anyway. So she thought of bringing a little bit of sugar.
Sugar is considered rare and precious in this era. People who gave birth and people who are recovering will make sure to drink some sugar water. Its because of the lack of supplies in this time that people can only rely on sugar.
But although people here consider it precious, to Shen Yuying it's really nothing. As she had a lot of it in her space.
She doesn't have to give something considered precious like sugar to Liu family but she had helped Liu Caixia, so why not help her a little more for her to recover.
Her bullied figure that day made her feel uncomfortable. And besides she thinks the Liu family are good people.
They have a young son but they don't seem to favor one over the other. For someone like Liu Caixia that has a weak body, her family was very caring.
From what she heard during the squabble in the village office the other day, the Liu couple had spent alot of money to condition Liu Caixia's body.
This alone won the favor of Shen Yuying. Especially because in previous life, she was used as a cow and a horse by her parents to raise their useless son.
But she also understood she couldn't bring alot of them, so she prepared a catty of sugar and wrapped it with an old newspaper that she brought from her house in the city.
When she got everything ready, Shen Yuying decided to sit in the main hall so she can hear if someone calls from the outside.
Not long after, she heard a young man's call from the outside of the house. Shen Yuying hurriedly went to the kitchen to inform Wang Xiayun that she's leaving and immediately met with Liu Dongmin afterwards.
Outside the gate, the lone 13 year old Liu Dongmin was standing politely while waiting for Shen Yuying.
The young boy smiled as soon as he saw Shen Yuying getting out of the gate and directly called her.
"Sister Yuying, my mother asked me to pick you up"
Shen Yuying's face immediately broke into a big smile and nodded at Liu Dongmin. "Thank you for for coming to pick me up Dongmin."
"Sister Yuying you can call me Xiaomin like my mother and father."
"Okay, then I'll call you Xiaomin from now on." And showed a modest smile that reached her eyes.
The two walked the path unhurriedly.
Shen Yuying followed Liu Dongmin while maintaining a polite distance with each other.
The 2 also talked about random things, Shen Yuying would ask things related to the village while Liu Dongmin would ask things related to the city.
Although Liu Dongmin is 13 years old, like most of the kids his age, he's never been to the city.
The farther he's gone to is the county, where his mother Xu Cuihua had brought him a few times.
In this regard, he is better than most children in the village, most live their lives inside the village, work in the village and marry in the village without ever stepping foot into the county.
Suddenly as if Liu Dongmin remembered something, he clapped his hands once and turned to face Shen Yuying who was following him at a short distance.
"I almost forgot Sister Yuying, my mother asked me to tell you that for tonight's dinner, there are 2 more people joining.
Shen Yuying didn't really mind who will be joining the dinner especially because she was just invited to the meal.
But Liu Dongmin's statement got her curious. If they informed her specifically, it means the arrival of the guests was unexpected. Nevertheless, she didn't mind it.
She looked at Liu Dongmin and said "I don't mind Xiaomin, thank you for informing me. But Xiaomin, did your mother invited many people?" She asked Liu Dongmin with curiosity.
"No my mother did not invite anybody else. My mother said this dinner was for you in order to thank you for saving my little sister Xiaoxia, but my 2 elder sisters came back to check Xiaoxia's condition." Liu Dongmin explained.
"Two elder sisters?" Shen Yuying asked in confusion.
On the night they met with the Gu family in the village office, they mentioned Xu Cuihua having a son before she got remarried to Liu Goudong. And then the couple had Liu Dongmin and Liu Caixia, but she didn't know any other children from the Liu family.
Looking at her confused face Liu Dongmin began to explain further.
"Yes they are my 2 elder sisters, although we have different mothers. Their mother died when they were young and then my father remarried my mother and had me and Xiaoxia."
Liu Dongmin was very talkative, honest and also very informative.
Shen Yuying nodded "I see, then I will be able to meet your 2 elder sisters today." She simply responded.
She didn't want to add more details in fear that they have something going on in their family.
Usually the 2nd marriage families don't get along very well. And there will be issues about this and that and Shen Yuying didn't want to know.
Liu Dongmin looked at Shen Yuying's serious face and suddenly laugh.
"Don't worry sister Yuying, my elder sisters are very nice, we get along very well." To which Shen Yuying responded with a shy smile. She was caught by such a young child.
"I also have an older brother sister Yuying, but he is still in the army." Liu Dongmin said proudly.
Shen Yuying noticed how Liu Dongmin's eyes lit up at the mention of his older brother. He must really like him.
"Look at how happy you look, you must really like your elder brother." Shen Yuying teased him.
"My brother is the best brother, he's very strong and powerful. In the whole village, no one is more capable than my brother." Liu Dongmin declared proudly.
Shen Yuying was amused at Liu Dongmin. The 2 talked about his older brother Gu Laosi in the remaining short distance of their walk.
According to Liu Dongmin Gu Laosi who is now 23 years old is very handsome and capable man. He left home when he was 15 to join the army and is now a small official.
He said that he didn't remember when his brother left as he was still very young at that time.
But Gu Laosi who just turned 15 decisively left in order to provide for the family after Liu Guodong, his stepfather got into an accident while hunting in the mountains.
Liu Guodong was one of the most experienced hunter in the village and the village relied in his ability to hunt. But he got into an accident and damaged his knee and no longer able to provide for the family as he was bedridden.
Gu Laosi as the next oldest man in the family decided to take up the responsibility, the younger brother was only 3 years old and the mother was pregnant with Liu Caixia.
After staying in the army for 8 years, Gu Laosi was able to provide for the family, he was able to build 3 brickhouses for the family and treat Liu Caixia who was born with weak body.
And even provide medical assistance to his stepfather who was then bedridden, now his stepfather could walk on his two feet but had a slight limping due to complications.
He was capable, responsible and generous. And is still unmarried according to Liu Dongmin.
Shen Yuying nodded her head, listening to all the information. She could say that this Gu Laosi person is indeed good.
She could agree to most of the compliments that Liu Dongmin is throwing leftband right.
As for the looks, since Shen Yuying haven't seen him yet, so he couldn't confirm if he's truly handsome.
But remembering how Aunt Liu looks, she is indeed a beautiful woman, worthy of being the village flower in her teens.
And if you talked about his father, judging from how Gu Yan, Gu Yao, Gu Kai looks, it's safe to say that their father is also a handsome man.
Thinking about appearance a sudden image flash into Shen Yuying's mind and she was frozen on the spot, her heart beating so loud and fast.
'Why didn't I think of that the first time I learned that Aunt Liu has an older son, who is also an older brother of the 3 Gu siblings.'
'I first thought the Gu brothers closely resemble Gu Zheng. I initially dropped the idea of them being a close family with Gu Zheng when I learned that they don't have any other brothers, I've also seen the Gu family from afar and none of them resemble Gu Zheng.'
'I always thought the reason why I was sent to this village is because my destiny is here. And with the new found information I gathered, it could be true that Gu Zheng is from this village.'
'But I just got here and maybe Gu Zheng has not arrived yet.' She thought and talked to herself nervously.
Shen Yuying forcibly calmed herself down. The greater the expectations the greater the disappointment will be.
She should not jump into conclusions and wait until Gu Zheng or this Gu Laosi comes home for a vacation. As for why his name is Gu Laosi, I'm not sure.
But Shen Yuying's can't help but hope, hope that it's really Gu Zheng, that he is close to me. Shen Yuying just closed her eyes tight trying to restrain her emotions.
While Shen Yuying's mind is still wandering and she stood still in her position no longer following Liu Dongmin, Liu Dongmin who was talking nonstop was already a little far away, when he looked back and saw Shen Yuying frozen, he jogged back to call her.
"Sister Yuying is there something wrong? Why did you stop?" Liu Dongmin asked nervously at Shen Yuying.
Shen Yuying who was pulled back from her thoughts was embarrassed so she immediately pacify Liu Dongmin.
"I was just thinking deeply about something, sorry I made you come back." She apologized.
"It's okay sister Yuying, are you okay now? We are almost at my house."
Sure enough, Shen Yuying looked around and found few bricks houses nearby, that must be the house that Gu Laosi's built for his family.
The 2 continued to walk a short distance and arrived in front of a 3 Brick house property in the foot of the mountain.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Dear readers, I would like to take a break for 2 weeks because there's an urgent matter in the family.
I'll write when i have time and will publish new chapter after 2 weeks.
Thanks.