AYLS – Chapter 98

After lunch, Lin Qiao and the others didn’t rest at all—they went straight to help out at the chicken farm.

When they arrived, Gu Huayuan and the others were still busy, sweating profusely. Their clothes were soaked through with sweat.

Seeing this, Lin Qiao pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and hurried over to Gu Huayuan, rubbing it and saying, “Gu Huayuan, Gu Huayuan, come here and wipe your sweat.”

Gu Huayuan bent down with a smile, cooperating happily.

Su Weizhen, on the other hand, couldn’t bring herself to do that; she just brought water to Xu Yuanzheng for him to drink.

Instructor Chen looked extremely envious, gazing at Li Ermei with longing eyes.

Li Ermei, busy snacking on sunflower seeds and sipping brown sugar water from an enamel cup, didn’t even spare him a glance.

He deliberately cleared his throat. Li Ermei remarked, “Is doing a bit of work making you uncomfortable?”

“…”

“Look at the others first,” Instructor Chen muttered in frustration as he walked over.

Hearing this, Li Ermei chuckled softly and mimicked him, “You should look at the others too.”

Having been married for several years, Instructor Chen understood immediately and pressed his lips together in silence.

Unlike this lively scene, Zhang Tuo didn’t even glance at Li Yan; he just said to Gu Huayuan, “Shitou, I have to get back to work. I can’t help you guys.”

His intention was clear: he came to help Gu Huayuan, not anyone else.

Hearing this, Li Yan’s expression changed again, showing a mix of embarrassment and subtle disappointment.

When Zhang Tuo left, he didn’t look at her once, as if she didn’t exist at all.

Li Yan, on the other hand, watched his back, feeling both angry and hurt. She withdrew her gaze, pretending as if she hadn’t seen anything.

Li Ermei, curious, asked, “You two aren’t acting right—why didn’t you even say hello?”

Li Yan didn’t respond.

Li Ermei continued, “Did you guys fight?” There was a hint of subtle schadenfreude in her heart. She had always said that Li Yan wasn’t the type of woman men liked—who could stand her?

“You see, it’s because you don’t work hard enough usually. You need to be more diligent. Work harder, and your man might come around.”

Feeling embarrassed, Li Yan turned and walked toward the chicken farm.

Lin Qiao, however, didn’t notice what was happening over there. She was busy inspecting the newly prepared land, constantly showering Gu Huayuan with compliments.

Gu Huayuan smiled and said, “Maybe we should use some fertilizer. The land’s just been cleared, so crops might not grow well.”

“…Farmyard manure?” Lin Qiao whispered.

Gu Huayuan nodded.

“…” Lin Qiao immediately felt uneasy. “We don’t need to waste it, right? There’s no point wasting it just for our little patch. Zhenzhen, what do you think? Do we really need it?”

Su Weizhen also couldn’t quite accept it. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

At worst, she could sprinkle some soil from her space later to see if it could be used as fertilizer.

Gu Huayuan, of course, didn’t insist once he heard they didn’t want it and didn’t say anything more.

After the three of them finished their work, they had to return to their posts.

Lin Qiao, feeling a bit concerned, gave a few caring reminders and even offered Gu Huayuan her brown sugar water, saying it would give him energy to work in the afternoon.

Li Ermei found it adorably sweet.

Even Instructor Chen felt a mix of envy and admiration.

As they left with Xu Yuanzheng and Gu Huayuan, he muttered to the two of them, “My wife’s really inconsiderate, never knows how to take care of people.”

Gu Huayuan patted his shoulder. “If you go to the supply store, and you don’t give money or a receipt, would they just let you take things for free?”

Instructor Chen: “…We’re husband and wife, why talk about money or receipts?”

Xu Yuanzheng couldn’t hold back. “You’re fine giving money and receipts to strangers, but you treat your own wife like that? Old Chen, are you out of your mind?”

“…”, Instructor Chen was instantly speechless, embarrassed and feeling strangely guilty.

He muttered, “I already gave her plenty… I treat Ermei well.”

Well, he’d just keep giving her like that in the future…

Then he thought of his hometown, feeling torn—his mind split between Ermei and his parents and siblings back home, his face full of conflict.

At the chicken farm, Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen were happily preparing to come early the next morning, taking advantage of the dew to sow the seeds.

Li Ermei raised her hand. She would take care of watering.

Lin Qiao said, “You’ve got the baby. How will you water?”

“No problem. Li Yan will water, I’ll supervise from the side. I’ve done this a lot, more experienced than you guys.”

Then she asked the daydreaming Li Yan, “Comrade Li Yan, you have no objections, right?”

Li Yan shook her head instinctively.

“See, she has no objections.”

Lin Qiao then noticed Li Yan was distracted and went over to pat her. “What’s wrong?”

Li Yan snapped back to reality, slightly dazed.

Li Ermei teased from the side, “She’s probably upset with her man. Not to be mean, but women should stay busy, not always crying. No man can stand that.”

Hearing this, Lin Qiao pouted in disapproval. “Why should men have to ‘stand it’? Ermei, that mindset is wrong.”

“Why wrong? I’m looking out for her. Look at her, arguing with her man, all lost in thought. She takes him way too seriously. Shouldn’t I follow her mindset and give advice?”

Li Yan froze. Did she really take Zhang Tuo that seriously?

Seeing they had moved on to another topic, Su Weizhen clapped her hands. “Alright, it’s work time. Let’s focus on the job and not let personal matters interfere. Today, we’ll plan the planting tasks. Later, when work gets heavier, we’ll reassign as needed. Everyone should accommodate each other.”

Lin Qiao and Li Ermei immediately straightened up and began discussing task allocation.

No one kept track of who did more or less.

Tasks were soon clearly divided.

Su Weizhen handled daily egg collection and chick incubation, along with supervising the farmers’ crop growth in the fields.

Lin Qiao was in charge of the chickens’ health and technical guidance for farm maintenance.

Li Ermei took care of basic farm work and daily field maintenance.

When work was heavy, they would all work together.

The next morning, Lin Qiao got up early to go plant.

Su Weizhen brought the bean seeds. They carefully dug holes, sowed seeds, covered them, and watered them.

Everyone had different tasks, but they coordinated very well.

By late morning, a small plot was fully planted.

Li Ermei wiped her forehead. “Feels like planting here is different from other places—somehow really makes you happy.”

Before, working in the fields felt like a chore, and it got tiring quickly. Now, it was genuinely fun.

Lin Qiao wiped her flushed face. “Maybe it’s because we’re all looking forward to seeing them sprout.”

It was also probably the first time they were planting, making it feel especially meaningful.

Li Yan couldn’t help expressing her thoughts, “It’s hope, courage, strength… Being mired in mud isn’t scary; eventually, it will sprout and see the light again.” How similar to her own fate.

Li Ermei threw cold water on her. “Then you’ll be responsible for watering and fertilizing it, or it’ll rot in the soil. Don’t expect it to grow on its own.”

Li Yan: “…”

Lin Qiao couldn’t help laughing. She realized Li Yan’s artistic sensibility completely fell apart around Ermei.

She cleared her throat and comforted Li Yan. “Giving it water and fertilizer—isn’t that also giving it the strength to sprout?”

Li Yan instantly brightened, looking at the plot with a new gaze, almost glowing.

Lin Qiao hadn’t expected that her casual words could open Li Yan’s heart like this. Li Yan now really cared about this plot.

Every day when coming to work, she would check if the seeds had sprouted and ask Li Ermei when watering was needed. She wouldn’t let the seeds rot—they had to see the light of day.

Li Ermei: “……” Now that it’s seeing daylight again, won’t it still be eaten—by people, or by the chickens?

She whispered this to Lin Qiao from behind, but Lin Qiao quickly covered her mouth. “Shh, shh, don’t say that.”

“I’m not saying anything wrong, I’m just telling you secretly, aren’t I?”

“Just knowing it’s fine. Look at her now—if you said that out loud, she’d get depressed.”

Lin Qiao had noticed that Li Yan’s mind was far too artistic—almost abnormal.

But for now, there was nothing she could do. Fortunately, Li Yan was at least positive, hardworking, and diligent. There was no need to dampen her enthusiasm.

For now, they would just let it be. They could deal with it later.

Perhaps because the seeds were very good, or perhaps because they had cared for them meticulously, by the tenth day, sprouts began appearing in the field.

It was as if overnight, they had all pushed up through the soil—tender, small, and bright green.

Li Yan noticed first. Seeing the sprouts, her face lit up with joy, and she ran to tell Lin Qiao and the others.

“They’ve sprouted! They really have sprouted!”

Lin Qiao and the others were just about to start work, but upon hearing this, they all ran to the field to see.

Seeing the bean sprouts, they were all thrilled. Lin Qiao laughed, “Great! Our first step is a success.”

Su Weizhen also smiled. “Our poultry farm’s planting plan has taken a decisive step forward. Comrades, we must keep up the momentum!”

Li Ermei excitedly asked, “Should we plant more?”

Maybe later they could even share some beans.

Lin Qiao waved her hand. “No rush, take it slow. We still need to see how the yields turn out.”

Su Weizhen said, “Exactly. So far we’ve only succeeded in the first step. We have to wait until they grow and bear fruit. We can’t afford to be careless.”

Li Yan reflected, “The path of growth is always accompanied by storms. I hope they can grow safely and healthily.”

Lin Qiao, Su Weizhen, and Li Ermei: “……” Here we go again. Won’t she be crying her eyes out when it’s time to harvest the beans?

By the end of June, the farm successfully hatched two more batches of chicks.

The overall flock on the farm had doubled.

Chickens were running everywhere in the yard—big ones, small ones, and chicks following their mothers.

Because of the two successful hatching attempts with a rate exceeding ninety-eight percent, Su Weizhen’s poultry skills gained recognition from Sister Zhang and the military families.

Sister Zhang officially assigned Su Weizhen to work full-time at the farm, responsible for bookkeeping, logistics, and technical support. She no longer had to split her time with other jobs.

She also took the opportunity to check on Li Yan’s situation.

Lin Qiao and the others were consistent in their reply: working was good, and the plot they had opened was thriving thanks to her careful attention.

Sister Zhang listened, surprised. “Really?”

All three nodded.

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen thought that Sister Zhang just wanted Li Yan to do other tasks, and this farm work was just to train her. Now that she had mostly adapted, it was time to move her away, otherwise she’d really cry when it came time to harvest.

Li Ermei didn’t know these twists and turns. She worried that if Sister Zhang thought Li Yan was not doing well, she might not be allowed to come, leaving fewer hands for work.

With all three cooperating, Sister Zhang’s impression of Li Yan improved a bit. She decided to talk with her to see if she wanted to switch roles.

After all, she came from the performing arts troupe—it was a matter of using one’s talents properly.

She went to the bean field to chat with Li Yan.

Li Yan was working properly, carefully watering each plant with a ladle.

But her temperament was still difficult. Even when Sister Zhang spoke, Li Yan hardly responded.

Sister Zhang thought, “Forget it. Her temperament is probably just like this.” She suppressed her discomfort and asked if Li Yan wanted to go join a newly formed performing arts troupe.

“……”

…

When Sister Zhang went, she wore a smile. When she returned, her expression was complicated—partly relieved, partly disappointed.

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen still had some hope, but seeing her face, they knew it wasn’t good.

Sure enough, after Sister Zhang explained her visit, Li Yan refused the offer to join the new troupe. When asked why, she said this land needed her. She couldn’t leave.

Sister Zhang sighed. “It seems labor really can change a person, but has it changed her too much? She’s abandoned her original profession entirely, focused only on farming.”

Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen: “……”