CTF 0021

Two days later, Xu Yin was already done helping the other villagers, who had entrusted their plots of land to her, to plough. She returned the tractor to the farm, just as planned.

When Instructor Yu saw that the tractor was returned in pristine condition, with a full tank of diesel, he praised her and asked if she had any interest in working at the farm as a tractor driver after she graduated.

Xu Yin: “…”

She felt a bit awkward.

Instructor Yu laughed, then said, “I know you girls like to keep clean and don’t like working under the sun. I was just joking. Alright, you should head home now. It’ll be dark soon. Don’t forget these.”

Instructor Yu gave her a lot of watermelons, tangerines, and pears, which had all been grown on the farm.

Xu Yin didn’t mean to take the fruits without giving anything in return. Before she left, she stuffed a box of ginger biscuits and White Rabbit milk candies into Instructor Yu’s arms. She had some stored in her system inventory at the time so she could give it to her little nephew. Then, she ran away on her bicycle.

“This kid…”

Master Yu smiled as he looked at the biscuits and sweets in his arms. These must not have been cheap.

The busy farming season hasn’t passed yet, but Xu family had it much easier this year. After ploughing the land and fertilising the fields in advance, they now just had to wait to plant the rice seedlings.

It drizzled, but Mother Xu wasn’t very worried about it anymore.

They had dried the millet that they’d harvested under the scorching sun four or five times, thoroughly removing the moisture. They set aside the portion that they’d give for the government’s grain collection and filled several large baskets with the rest, before carrying the baskets into their granary. 

“This year’s harvest is good. The salary that your brother will send should be enough for us to buy more grain legally, I think.”

Mother Xu shelled peas and occasionally glanced up towards the yard.

Xu Yin propped up an umbrella and covered the chicken coop with a rain shield. She fed the chickens a handful of rice bran before returning to the eaves of the house.

“Since we have enough to eat, don’t always be so frugal and cook just a little bit. If there’s not enough meat, at least let us eat our fill.”

Mother Xu felt both amused and irritated at the same time. “These past few days, haven’t I been serving you three meals a day? Are you still not full?”

“I am full, but my sister-in-law is eating for two, and she’s pregnant. I can understand not having much for the rest of us, but we should at least make sure she eats enough. We should treat her nicely, Mom.”

Mother Xu shrugged. “She’s not working in the fields. What’s she eating so much for?”

In Mother Xu’s eyes, during this entire farming season, everyone in the family worked in the fields except for her daughter-in-law, who stayed indoors, claiming to be making clothes. Nobody knew if she was slacking off or not.

Mother Xu couldn’t stand it. At each meal, she left only a small portion for her daughter-in-law to eat. She also kept saying that if her daughter-in-law didn’t like that, then she could always just not eat.

“She’s not working in the fields, but she’s making clothes. Our family’s income depends on her.”

Xu Yin took a small bench and sat down beside Mother Xu, helping her shell peas while speaking softly to her. 

“Mom, think about it. People in the city eat expensive rice, even though their salaries are small. If my sister-in-law bought as much rice as the amount of money that she’s earned these past few months, she wouldn’t be able to finish it no matter how much she wanted to.”

“Fine, fine! I’ll do it for her!”

Mother Xu poked her daughter’s head in annoyance.

“You heartless girl, you’re now ganging up with your sister-in-law to deal with me.”

“How could I do that, Mom?”

Xu Yin hurriedly tried to defend herself.

“I’m just thinking about our family. What if Sister-in-law gets angry and stops making clothes? Then we won’t have this income anymore. Besides, the baby in her belly is your grandson and my nephew, right? If my sister-in-law eats better, who benefits from it? Isn’t it still our family? She should give birth to a healthy child rather than a weak and sickly child, right? If she gives birth to a sickly child, Mom, won’t you have to spend money on medicine and injections for him in the future? Saving a bit of grain is not worth the future loss it may bring.”

Mother Xu’s expression softened. Seeing this, Xu Yin continued persuading her.

“And Mom, I’ve thought about it. I want to major in fashion design for the college entrance exam. This industry is just starting, but it will be in high demand in the next few decades. Sister-in-law is good at making clothes, and I want her to teach me. If I go outside to find a mentor, I’ll not only have to treat them nicely and give them gifts but also pay their teaching fees. Sister-in-law and I are family, so we can save that expense. But I’m afraid my sister-in-law won’t be willing to teach me…”

“She wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh, Mom, we should use the coaxing strategy for her.”

Mother Xu seemed a little baffled. “Coax her with what, meat? Nonsense! The only such strategy that I’ve heard about is the ‘big stick’ strategy.” 

Softly, Xu Yin said, “You can only use the ‘big stick’ energy against your enemies, Mom. Can you use that against someone of your own?”

Mother Xu pondered it carefully. That was right! In any case, after her daughter-in-law married her son, she ceased becoming part of her own family and became part of theirs. She also had one of their descendants in her womb right now. She certainly couldn’t be considered one of their enemies.

“Fine, then. Let’s do it your way. I’ll make sure that she eats well. What else? You told me to treat her nicely. When have I ever treated her badly?” Mother Xu’s voice rose again.

However, seeing her daughter’s expression of disapproval, she rolled her eyes and corrected herself. “Alright, alright. We’ll do it your way.”

“Old Xu! Old Xu, are you home?”

While the pair of mother and daughter were arguing, the village commune secretary strolled into their yard with his hands behind his back.

Mother Xu got up to greet him. “Mr. Secretary, what brings you here? The road is slippery on rainy days, so you have to be careful.” 

The village commune secretary had come to ask for Xu Yin’s help. He wanted her to use the commune’s tractor to transport grain. 

The village’s tractor had recently gone to the city to haul bricks, and they had just returned today. Those who hadn’t been able to get ploughing done by the tractor that Xu Yin had borrowed had to wait in line for the old oxen to plough their fields and were feeling quite unhappy about the situation.

When these people saw the young members of the tractor team returning late and fooling around on the tractor bed, they complained in front of them, expressing their dissatisfaction with the young men’s lack of seriousness.

As a result, these young members of the team decided to quit the job.

The village commune secretary said, “The village commune will deal with this issue, but we need to deliver the grain as soon as possible. I heard from the weather forecast that there might be heavy rain later on. We don’t know when it will stop. If we delay delivering the grain…” 

Without hesitation, Xu Yin responded, “Sure! When do we leave?”

She was happy to contribute to the village by helping with practical tasks.

Also, she’d like to see if she could unlock the Advanced Tractor-Driving Skill after she made the back-and-forth trip.

The rewards for achieving the different skill levels for tractor-driving were intriguing to her. The beginner level gave her a book covering various driving techniques and maintenance issues. The intermediate level gave her a small car. As for the reward for achieving the advanced level… Well, that still remained a mystery.

This was what made her eager to drive tractors more.

In the misty rain, a crowd had gathered at the brigade headquarters. 

When people heard about the tractor team members, including Xu Jianjun, quitting their jobs and refusing to deliver the villagers’ grain, they rushed there from the fields and farms in a state of agitation.

Xu Jianjun and a few other young men leaned against the doorpost and smoked their cigarettes.

“You guys think you’re so great, huh? You kept talking about how someone else could drive better than me. Go find them, then!”

“Yeah, go find them!”

“Our buddy Jianjun here has been driving tractors for four or five years. Which rookie can match up to him? Come on!”

When the village commune secretary and Xu Yin arrived, the two sides were already engaged in a heated argument.

“What’s all this arguing for? Stop it! Everyone, bring your grain to the commune. We’ll weigh it first and then load it onto the tractor. We’ll make one trip today, and if we have time, we’ll make another one in the afternoon. If not, we’ll do it tomorrow. In any case, it won’t delay everyone from delivering their grain,” the village commune secretary intervened.

“Has the village commune secretary brought over the Xu family’s precious little daughter?” Mrs. Liu smiled in relief and clapped her hands. “Everyone can relax now. I’ve seen it with my own eyes; Yinyin’s skills are indeed better than Jianjun’s skills!”

Mrs. Liu had a large family and around five to six mu of farm field. 

However, Xu Yin got on her tractor and ploughed it all in less than half an hour. That efficiency was… unbelievable. Those young men from the commune definitely could not catch up with her.

Xu Jianjun: “…”

He couldn’t help but stand up straight, utterly surprised.

Had he heard correctly?

A little girl who could drive a tractor?

And better than him?

Were these people just blurting out things without thinking about it first?