RYEY – Chapter 143 Chen Dazhu’s Bad Idea

Li Huan also threw down the hoe in his hand. Damn it, it had been nearly ten years since he last worked the fields. If it weren’t for the pair of labor gloves Cheng Qiao gave him, his palms would’ve been split open by now.

As the village head, he had to set an example for the villagers. That meant going down into the fields was unavoidable. But as long as he went, Cheng Qiao and his mother wouldn’t need to.

When Wang Qin saw Li Huan toss away the plow, she thought he was about to hit her. Frightened, she covered her face and ran off. What could she do? He was the village head. If he really sent her back to the educated youth office, she’d only be assigned to an even harsher environment.

Chen Dazhu had been silently watching everything. He knew Wang Qin had plenty of money on her, but the wretched woman was shrewd—she’d never loosen her grip unless she saw an opportunity.

Seeing her run toward the educated youth quarters, he glanced around, then made an excuse about needing the toilet and also ran in that direction.

In the courtyard, Chai Jianmin was strolling about. Truthfully, his leg had already healed and he was fully capable of working in the fields, but he insisted that his leg hurt and that he couldn’t even walk steadily.

Li Huan had no choice. Though it had already been over five months, he decided to give him another half a month. If he still couldn’t work after that, he’d send him to the hospital for an examination.

If the results showed there really was a problem, fine. But if not, then too bad—his work points would all be canceled, and he’d be dragged out for public criticism.

On the surface, Chai Jianmin acted grateful, but inside he sneered. Even though the disaster hadn’t been pinned on anyone, being able to rest and still earn full work points for half a year was already a pretty good deal.

Just as he was smugly exercising his leg in the courtyard, Wang Qin suddenly burst in from outside and bumped right into him.

Seizing the chance he’d been waiting for, Chai Jianmin instantly put on a show—pretending that one leg couldn’t support his weight, he collapsed to the ground.

“Ahhh! My leg—my leg that hasn’t fully healed yet!”

Wang Qin’s forehead slammed into Chai Jianmin’s teeth. Pain shot through her head. When she touched her forehead, she found her fingers sticky with blood.

Chen Dazhu, who had followed behind, quickly stepped aside. He thought, Here’s my chance. Chai Jianmin, don’t blame me for screwing you over again.

Sitting on the ground, Chai Jianmin kept rubbing his injured leg. In truth, he wasn’t faking everything—whenever it was windy or rainy, that leg really did ache unbearably.

“Chai Jianmin, why are you out here? Don’t blame me for this.”

“If I don’t blame you, should I blame myself?”

“Of course. Everyone else went to work, but instead of lying in the dorm, you’re standing at the gate. What for?”

“I was exercising my leg, trying to recover faster so I can return to the fields. But what about you? Everyone’s gone to work, and you suddenly come running back like a madwoman, even crashing into me. And now you want to shirk responsibility?”

“I didn’t mean to.”

“Well, now I can’t even stand up. Go call Uncle Ye. And you’ll be paying for the medical fees.”

“You…”

“What you? Hurry up.”

“But I’m injured too. Look, I’m bleeding.”

“That’s because you weren’t watching where you were going, running so fast. What, were ghosts chasing you? Actually, that makes sense—your mother’s done so many wicked things, of course ghosts would be after you.”

“Chai Jianmin, what nonsense are you spouting? What bad things did my mother ever do?”

“Don’t deny it. Don’t play dumb. Back then, you were supposed to come down to the countryside, but you and your mother schemed to trick Cheng Qiao into coming instead. You used her, lived off her, and then tried to harm her. Shameless!”

“You—you’re lying!”

“Whether I’m lying or not, you know perfectly well. Now hurry up and fetch Doctor Ye.”

Grinding her teeth, Wang Qin turned and stormed out. Chen Dazhu quickly followed after her.

“Comrade Wang, I’ve got a way to keep you out of the fields. But you’d have to pay a little.”

“What way?”

“Just pretend to be sick.”

“But I’m not sick.”

“Ah… but aren’t you? Didn’t Chai Jianmin injure you just now?”

“You… this…”

“Come on, I’ll take you to the health station. I’ll be your witness. At the very least, you’ll get three days off work.”

Wang Qin’s eyes lit up. Not only would she escape fieldwork, she could even stick it to Chai Jianmin. Without hesitation, she followed Chen Dazhu toward the health station.

Ye Jun was in the middle of discussing prescriptions with Cheng Qiao. The two were chatting happily, even planning to go gather herbs together once the weather warmed up.

“Doctor Ye, help!”

Ye Jun and Cheng Qiao turned around to see Chen Dazhu supporting Wang Qin, who had blood covering her hand and forehead.

“Sit down quickly—what happened?”

“I saw Comrade Wang running from the educated youth quarters, bleeding, so I brought her here.”

“My, my, that’s a nasty gash. Let me stop the bleeding first, then you’ll need stitches at the hospital.”

Ye Jun disinfected the wound with iodine, making Wang Qin cry out in pain. But the louder she wailed, the rougher his hands became.

Realizing the trick, Wang Qin eventually gritted her teeth and endured. Once the wound was clean, Ye Jun sprinkled half a bottle of Yunnan Baiyao on it.

“That’ll be one yuan and fifty cents. Most of it’s for the Yunnan Baiyao—it’s expensive.”

Wang Qin took a deep breath, fished out the money, and handed it over. Then she looked pitifully at Chen Dazhu, asking if he could take her to the county hospital.

Chen Dazhu hesitated. He still needed to earn work points in the fields, and he hadn’t asked for leave. Who would cover his loss?

“Brother Dazhu, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll ask my sister to request leave for you, okay?”

“Cheng Qiao, what do you think…”

Chen Dazhu turned to her. Cheng Qiao sneered.

“My parents only gave birth to one child—where would I get a sister?”

“Cheng Qiao, you—”

“Comrade Chen, whether or not she’s your sister, could you please ask for leave on my behalf?”

Cheng Qiao nodded. Of course she would. Anything that put Wang Qin at a disadvantage, she was happy to do.

Watching the two of them leave, Ye Jun chuckled. He whispered something into Cheng Qiao’s ear. She nodded, then walked away in high spirits.

“Li Huan, come up here, I have something to tell you.”

“Wife, you’re here? Wait, I’ll come right up.”

“Just now, Chen Dazhu took Wang Qin to the health station. He said Chai Jianmin bashed her head in, and now he’s asking for leave to escort her to the county hospital.”

Li Huan frowned. What was going on? After Cheng Qiao whispered a few words into his ear, he grinned. What a clever idea.

“Jiang Guangrong, go to the educated youth quarters and check. Wang Qin claims Chai Jianmin hit her. She’s gone to the county hospital. Go find out the truth.”

Jiang Guangrong frowned, pointed at the ground, and gestured at his unfinished work.

“Go. Your work points won’t be docked.”

Hearing that, Jiang Guangrong immediately ran to the quarters. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he saw Chai Jianmin sitting on the ground, groaning in fake pain.