16: Chapter 15 A Dark and Windy Night, Climbing Over the Wall 16: Chapter 15 A Dark and Windy Night, Climbing Over the Wall The noise over there was almost loud enough for the entire cornfield to hear, and Lin Nianhe naturally heard everything clearly, but she didn’t answer, nor did she show any excess reaction, just quickened her pace of eating, hastily swallowing the strawberries she had just stuffed into her mouth.
Until Aunt Li couldn’t help herself, coming up to Lin Nianhe and asking, “Educated Youth Lin, what exactly is going on?
How much money did Educated Youth Miao ask to borrow from you?”
Aunt Li thought to herself, considering Lin Nianhe’s wealth, surely it wouldn’t be over just ten or twenty yuan that would make a fellow Educated Youth cry .
Hearing this, Lin Nianhe laughed.
It had to be Aunt Li hitting the nail on the head.
She took the opportunity to stand up, stretched her sore ankles, pulled down her scarf, and said to Aunt Li: “Educated Youth Miao’s family needs to prepare three loud fireworks and eighty-eight yuan for the bridal money, and they asked me for two hundred yuan.”
The attention of the people in the cornfield was already on this side, and Lin Nianhe’s voice grew louder, so that all the aunties nearby could hear.
Lin Nianhe heard a succession of gasps.
Aunt Li staggered a bit, staring at Miao Yulan whose eyes widened like brass bells.
I had not noticed before, but this Educated Youth Miao sure has a big face!
Lin Nianhe looked at Aunt Li and said softly, “Besides, I didn’t say I wouldn’t lend the money.
Although I’ve known Educated Youth Miao for only a day, I should still help, right?”
“It’s just that I don’t have that much money, so I was thinking of how much Educated Youth Wang would lend her, and I would ask my family to chip in the same amount.
It wouldn’t be right to let someone’s brother be unable to get married, Aunt Li, don’t you think?”
Aunt Li rolled her eyes and poked Lin Nianhe’s forehead: “No, you silly girl!
The wedding doesn’t hinge on not having three loud fireworks.
Besides, that’s someone else’s brother, not yours; why are you jumping into the scene?”
Aunt Li’s shout snapped the other aunties out of their shock.
It would take them, farmers, three to five years to save up this much!
“Educated Youth Miao, no offense, but don’t wear trousers bigger than your buttocks.
If you’re not that fortunate, don’t reach for a city bride.”
“Moreover, who asks to borrow so much money after just one day of acquaintance?
You’re usually so honest; how did you suddenly grow such a nerve!”
“Miao Family girl, don’t be foolish; what will you repay that money with?
What if you can’t repay?
Are you going to marry Lin Educated Youth’s brother?”
Lin Nianhe waved her hands continuously: “Aunties, don’t talk nonsense.
I dare not meddle in my brother’s romantic affairs; if my mother finds out, she would whip me.”
Goodness, not only she was asked to put down two hundred yuan, but they also wanted to rope in her brother?
Miao Yulan, who initially looked weak, now just seemed absurd and clueless.
Sitting in the field, listening to these harsh words, she dumbly turned her head to look at Wang Xue.
wasn’t it supposed to be possible to rely on the public’s comment to get Lin Nianhe’s help?
How come it’s not going as planned?
Wang Xue did not expect the situation to change so rapidly, she looked blankly at Miao Yulan, unsure of what to do next.
Just then, Li Dahe came over with his hands behind his back.
Seeing a crowd chattering and not working, the old man furrowed his brow: “What are you all doing?
Have all the tasks been completed?”
This was Lin Nianhe’s cue: “We were thinking of ways under the mobilization of Educated Youth Wang to gather the bridal money for Educated Youth Miao’s brother!”
Li Dahe’s forehead trembled, his eyes fierce as he shouted: “Day by day, not focused on work, always ready to slack off!
Everyone here will be docked a point!”
How is this our fault?”
“That Educated Youth Miao has been wailing since the start of work, I thought her father had died!
“Educated Youth Miao, speak up.
Everyone was kindly helping you find a solution, it’s unfair to get our points docked for this!”
Surrounded by a group of aunties, Miao Yulan was so frightened she dared not shed another tear.
Li Dahe knew that if he really docked points from everyone today, Miao Yulan would be skinned alive, so he roared again: “Enough!
Linger more, and today’s tasks won’t be completed; all will be docked points!”
The aunties scattered like birds, no one daring to waste more time.
Lin Nianhe quickly wrapped her scarf back up and hid beneath the corn leaves.
Li Dahe was too lazy to care what the exact deal with the dowry was, rolling his eyes as he walked away.
He walked lightly, leaving behind a field full of resentment.
These days, points are grain, and grain is life!
Almost having their points docked, the aunties could hardly give Miao Yulan a good face.
Listening to the sarcastic jeers, Miao Yulan wanted to run.
But she hadn’t finished her work yet, so she couldn’t leave.
Miao Yulan bent down to work, her sweat and tears nourishing the earth, yet she had no mood to despise this sorrowful life, only racking her brains thinking where to get the money for her brother’s dowry.
Wang Xue was also engrossed in her hard work, feeling very puzzled—
Before, when she was at home, she just had to act pitiful outside, and her stepmother, even if she hated her to death, had to satisfy her demands.
Why isn’t that infallible trick working today?
Lin Nianhe could feel the resentment from Miao Yulan and Wang Xue, for they seized every opportunity to glare at her, making it hard for her to ignore.
But she didn’t feel any psychological burden; it wasn’t her who insisted on starting trouble during work time, she couldn’t just offload the blame on her because she wasn’t miserable.
If she had any faults, it was that she shouldn’t have gone to eat melons at noon.
Lin Nianhe learned her lesson, heading straight to her own hut at the Educated Youth Corps, bolting the door, and turning a deaf ear to the world outside.
To celebrate surviving her first day of farming work, Lin Nianhe used the pork belly Su Yuncheng brought to make a red-braised pork in the evening, and she also cooked some greens, balancing meat and vegetables for a nutritious meal.
Her cooking skills were specially learned from a chef after her rebirth.
She was more than capable of making home-cooked dishes.
This meal of red-braised pork left Lin Nianhe particularly satisfied; it must be said, the pork in this era was genuinely delicious, rich in aroma.
She intentionally made extra, leaving half to save herself the effort of cooking the next noon.
After eating and drinking her fill and pulling the curtains shut, Lin Nianhe took a bath and meticulously applied several layers of whitening skincare products, using a bit too much, making her face two shades whiter.
She originally planned to read a bit before sleeping, but no sooner did her head touch the pillow than she fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night.
Lin Nianhe was sleeping soundly when a piercing scream tore her from her dreams.
She sat up abruptly on the bed, listening intently, and heard one painful cry after another from beyond the east wall interspersed with the sound of twisting metal, chilling to the bone.
Lin Nianhe raised an eyebrow, already understanding what was happening outside.
She silently got out of bed, secured everything in the room that shouldn’t be there, then donned her coat and moved the trap away from the door.
Outside, things were already bustling.
The Educated Youth from the front yard arrived first, Sun Guanghui holding a flashlight, serious yet bewildered.
Following closely were the villagers; the shouts disturbed countless people’s beautiful dreams, all rushing over—partly out of concern for real trouble, partly for fear of missing firsthand news.
Lin Nianhe waited until there were more people outside before she opened the door and poked her head out.
Li Dahe parted the crowd and came in, “Educated Youth Lin, what happened here?”
Lin Nianhe pointed to the gap between the courtyard wall and the house, “The sound from there, it seems like someone was climbing over the wall.”
Li Dahe pointed the flashlight forward and saw a dark figure squirming on the ground; if it weren’t for the faint human noises it made, Li Dahe would have mistaken him for a black python.
“Go, pull him out!” Li Dahe furrowed his brows, turning to signal his wife to comfort Lin Nianhe.
Before Aunt Li could move, Wang Shumei and Wen Lan had already run to Lin Nianhe’s side.
Wen Lan assumed a protective stance in front of Lin Nianhe, while Wang Shumei held her shoulders, patting them reassuringly.
Seeing Sun Guanghui taking the lead and squeezing toward the gap in the wall, Lin Nianhe quickly reminded, “Watch your step.”
Sun Guanghui then noticed the rat traps all over the ground.
He clicked his tongue, carefully leaning in to grab the man by the hair and forcibly dragged him out.
As soon as this person appeared, everyone on the scene fell silent.
They had seen rat traps before, but the rat traps on this person’s body were almost enough for the whole Ten Miles Team…