AYLS – Chapter 96

In the afternoon at work, Li Yan indeed showed up. She still didn’t say a word and began working as soon as she arrived.

Li Ermei had just poured a glass of water and was about to watch her work when Lin Qiao clapped her hands and gathered everyone to discuss how to start the work.

She announced the plan she had previously discussed with Su Weizhen about farming.

Li Ermei said, “We don’t need ready-made chicken feed, but you insist on doing it yourself. Aren’t you afraid of tiring yourself out?”

She had started raising chickens to make the work easier, at least so she wouldn’t have to be out in the sun and wind. And now they were going to farm…

Lin Qiao said, “Since we’re raising chickens, we have to do this job properly. The team can provide chicken feed, but it’s just crushed husks and stalks—hardly any nutrition. And later, when the quantity increases, they’ll restrict our chicken farm’s development. It’s better if we grow some ourselves.”

“With enough grain, we can raise the chickens even better and achieve our goal sooner.” Lin Qiao spoke passionately, and Li Ermei listened without objecting. She felt that if she did, she would be out of place.

Su Weizhen said, “I agree with this too. It will help our chicken farm develop.”

Li Ermei said, “Fine, whatever you all decide is fine with me. When it comes time to clear the land, I’ll call our Old Chen to help.”

She spoke, then glanced at Li Yan again.

Li Yan held the broom in silence. Now that everyone was looking at her, she pressed her lips together and said, “I don’t know how to farm.”

Li Ermei didn’t like hearing excuses. “If you don’t know, then learn. No one is born knowing this. Since you came here, you have to work with everyone. Don’t think you can just take advantage of others.”

Li Yan pressed her lips tighter, her eyes turning red with anger.

Lin Qiao clapped her hands. “Alright, since everyone agrees, let’s start as soon as possible and plant something suitable for this season. Summer is coming soon, and we have to make the most of our time. If there’s a drought later, it’ll be hard to grow anything.”

Everyone nodded together.

Li Yan didn’t comment. She had no sense of belonging here and was only thinking about how to escape this predicament.

Living here felt like a dream, though more like a nightmare she couldn’t wake up from.

Watching Lin Qiao and the others so full of hope and joy, she felt confused—how could people live such happy lives under these circumstances?

Lin Qiao wasted no time. She immediately went with Su Weizhen to speak with Sister Zhang about their plan to request a small plot of land for cultivation. They didn’t need much—just enough for a small garden.

Once the two of them left, Li Ermei turned to the dazed Li Yan. “Stop daydreaming. They’ve gone to work, so we need to put in more effort here. We can’t expect them to come back and do it for us.”

Li Yan ignored her and went to feed the chickens with manure.

Li Ermei added water to the chicken trough and chatted with Li Yan. “Hey, don’t mind me being loud. I don’t mean any harm. Back in the old society, I would be in charge and you’d be a laborer—you’d really have a hard time then.”

Li Yan remained silent.

Li Ermei sized her up. “Looking at your clothes and demeanor, your family must be well-off, right? Not sure if your ancestors oppressed common folk, though.”

“No!” Li Yan finally spoke.

“Alright, alright, no need to be so fierce.” Li Ermei snorted. “We should thank the new society. If it were the old society, people like you wouldn’t even glance at us.”

“…” That was true.

Seeing Li Yan’s expression of acknowledgment, Li Ermei got more animated, still not pleased. “Don’t get cocky. This is the new society; laboring people are the most honorable. If you don’t work hard, no one will respect you.

“You think just holding your head high will put food on the table? During the famine a couple of years ago, if it weren’t for us farmers tightening our belts and working hard to transport food to the city for you, you’d have starved there. Why look down on us? If you have the guts, stop eating then.”

Li Yan’s face darkened again.

Meanwhile, Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen were in high spirits.

After hearing their plan, Sister Zhang immediately agreed to help them speak with the logistics department. She even praised the two of them for thinking ahead and being willing to contribute to the chicken farm—a good example of comradeship.

Lin Qiao modestly said it was Su Weizhen who provided the seeds, so the credit was hers.

Su Weizhen immediately protested. “You were the one who suggested it. I only followed your idea.”

Lin Qiao replied, “But you supplied the seeds.”

“Planting a small plot isn’t such a big deal anyway.”

Sister Zhang smiled. “Stop arguing. If it really happens, you both deserve credit.”

“And Ermei too. She’s working with us.” Lin Qiao hadn’t forgotten her.

“Alright, we’ll apply for collective credit for you all then.”

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen finally stopped pushing, smiling as they thanked Sister Zhang.

Sister Zhang was in a good mood too—who doesn’t like seeing people around them happy and working together? For female comrades, doing work isn’t easy. No need to fuss over trivial matters.

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen were doing well.

She then thought of the constantly troublesome Li Yan. “Lin Qiao, how’s Comrade Li Yan doing with you? Not causing trouble, right?”

Lin Qiao said, “No, she’s working too. Though inexperienced at first, everyone has to learn.”

“That’s good. As long as she isn’t holding you back. Actually, she’s educated, from a performing arts troupe. Our corps has many people, but only a few from the troupe visit. I’ve been thinking, maybe we can form a temporary performing troupe with military families and have everyone perform for celebrations in the future.”

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen laughed, agreeing it was a good idea. More fun for everyone, of course, was better.

“Exactly. That’s what I thought. When Comrade Li Yan came, I considered having her teach some performances. We’re not foolish—how could we let an educated person go to waste? But her mindset isn’t quite right yet. She still needs progress. So we’ll put that aside for now. You should also help teach her, so she can improve through labor.”

“I see now,” Lin Qiao finally understood why Li Yan chose not to do other work and came to the chicken farm. In that case, they really couldn’t drive her away—they had to let her stay and work at the farm.

On the way back, Lin Qiao discussed with Su Weizhen. “Do you think labor really can improve someone’s mindset?”

Su Weizhen said, “Not completely, but there’s some truth to it. If someone stays home all the time, how can their thinking progress? And Comrade Li Yan probably had little contact with working people before. That’s bad and doesn’t fit our society’s ideology. She’ll need to endure some hardships.” She thought of a movement that would come in a few years and realized Sister Zhang’s words made sense—at least they aligned with the trends of this era.

Lin Qiao felt Su Weizhen was right. She herself had gone through the same—previously living aimlessly, without clear goals, then only finding her purpose after starting work.

“Since Sister Zhang assigned this task to us, we should do it properly. We’ll make sure Li Yan works well.”

Su Weizhen smiled, “I think leaving it to Ermie is fine. She gets along well with her.” She had already noticed that with Li Yan’s personality, speaking nicely wouldn’t work.

Lin Qiao doubted, “Do you really think Ermie can handle it?”

Su Weizhen nodded. “It’s a matter of personal chemistry. The two of them match well—trust me.”

If the female lead says so, then it’s probably trustworthy. Lin Qiao nodded. “Alright, we’ll leave it to Ermie. I’ll remind her later to communicate more with Comrade Li Yan.”

Both thought that sounded good, but when they returned, Li Yan was wiping her eyes again.

Ermie was still sitting on the chair nearby, shelling sunflower seeds with the overseer, talking about how hard her past life had been.

In short, she had only one line she kept repeating: she couldn’t understand why Li Yan, living so well, was still unhappy. “You call this being ungrateful, really.”

Lin Qiao: “……” Luckily, Teacher Sun didn’t teach her that way, or she would have cried even louder than Li Yan.

She quickly stepped in to ease the atmosphere. “Ermie, Comrade Li Yan, I have good news. Sister Zhang has agreed—basically, no big problems. Tomorrow we’ll mark out the land for us.”

“That’s wonderful!” Ermie was delighted. “Since we’re planting ourselves, can we also grow some melons and fruits? The little we have in our yard isn’t enough to eat.”

Su Weizhen said, “It’s public land; you can’t plant other things privately.”

“All right.” Ermie sighed, then said to Li Yan beside her, “See? This is life for us poor common folk—hardly even a bite of fruit.”

Lin Qiao went out with Su Weizhen to find a suitable spot, and they decided to start with soybeans, which was just the right timing.

After finishing this task, they returned to the chicken farm. By then, Ermie had already helped Li Yan complete the work, leaving nothing for the others to worry about.

Lin Qiao happily said, “We really are stronger with more people. I’m feeling confident about our future work. I declare that starting tomorrow, we can officially begin land reclamation.”

Su Weizhen politely applauded.

Ermie clapped along. Seeing Li Yan not moving, she nudged her arm.

Li Yan: “……” She clapped reluctantly.

Lin Qiao was very pleased with the scene and atmosphere. She suggested having a small meeting every afternoon after work to summarize the day.

Everyone politely agreed.

Lin Qiao smiled with her eyes narrowed. Once she returned to inherit the company, she’d hold daily meetings for her employees as well.

After a day of work, Lin Qiao was utterly exhausted when she got home. She bathed every day, and today she was too tired even to muster the energy. It was still Gu Huayuan who helped her take off her clothes, drew water, and wiped her down in the room.

Poor Gu Huayuan looked embarrassed and couldn’t eat; he just endured it.

“It’s so uncomfortable… how much longer do we have to do this?”

Lin Qiao closed her eyes. “Just a few more days.”

“The land reclamation work is still up to me, Old Xu, and Old Chen. Don’t worry.”

“Got it.” Lin Qiao turned over and continued sleeping, not caring that she had exposed a patch of pale skin.

Gu Huayuan: “…Time to get up for dinner.”

Lin Qiao, eyes closed, opened her mouth. “Feed me.”

“…What a shameless wife this is.”

Gu Huayuan, frustrated, bent down and sucked hard on her mouth before he finally felt satisfied.