RYEY – Chapter 7 You Should Pay Back What You Owe

Cheng Qiao was stunned. She couldn’t bear hardship, much less pain, but last night she hadn’t felt any pain at all. After her bath, she had gone straight to bed and fallen asleep immediately. What on earth was going on?

She kept recalling the events of yesterday. Could it be that the meat buns from her space could ease pain? Impossible. Then it suddenly struck her—it must have been the well water in the backyard of her space.

She remembered clearly that she had drunk the well water before leaving the space to sleep. The moment her head hit the pillow, she had fallen asleep. And when she woke up this morning, she was full of energy, none of the weakness she used to feel.

If that was really the case, then from now on, whenever she was tired from working in the fields, she could drink some well water. If her back ached, she could drink some well water. If she had a headache or fever, she could drink some well water. That well water was practically invincible!

Ye Jun watched Cheng Qiao staring blankly and found it strange. What was this silly girl daydreaming about again? She was already a sent-down youth, yet still so unaware of real hardship—it was enough to give him a headache.

Cheng Qiao snapped back to herself. She was in the infirmary right now. Not answering the doctor’s question was very rude. But she really didn’t know how to explain.

“Thank you, Doctor Ye. How much is the medical fee? I’ll pay you.”

She decided to switch topics and asked about the cost instead.

“Just fifty cents.”

Ye Jun didn’t mind her dodging the question. After all, everyone’s constitution was different, and so was the severity of pain from injuries.

Cheng Qiao pulled out fifty cents from her pocket, handed it to him, and left with her packet of medicine, thanking him repeatedly.

Watching her limp away, Ye Jun shook his head. He was baffled by what had gone on between Cheng Qiao and Xu Laidi.

Weren’t they supposed to be best friends? Xu Laidi had always freeloaded food off Cheng Qiao, and now it had even escalated to scamming money and a watch. Naturally, people began to doubt Cheng Qiao’s intelligence.

But judging from last night, Cheng Qiao hadn’t seemed like a fool at all. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have exposed Xu Laidi’s true nature in front of all the villagers and even asked the village head to demand repayment.

Ah, forget it. No matter how naive Cheng Qiao looked, these educated youths from the city were all schemers. Useless when it came to real labor, but first-class when it came to playing dirty tricks.

By the time Cheng Qiao made it back to the educated youth compound, she just wanted to get some proper sleep and then think about her future path. But the moment she walked in, she was blocked by male educated youth, Chai Jianmin.

“Cheng Qiao, where’s the soap? Without soap, how am I supposed to wash my hands?”

Cheng Qiao rolled her eyes. I’m not your mother. What does it have to do with me if you can’t wash your hands?

Seeing her ignore him—and even roll her eyes at him—Chai Jianmin felt very offended. He raised his voice and asked again, his tone turning nasty.

“Cheng Qiao, are you deaf? I’m asking you, where’s the soap?”

“Comrade Chai, I’m not deaf. And the soap has nothing to do with me. If you don’t have any to wash your hands, then don’t wash them. If you absolutely must wash, go buy a bar yourself.”

She stepped around him with a cold reply and headed toward the girls’ dormitory. Chai Jianmin was left speechless for a moment.

“It’s just a bar of soap, not some precious treasure. We’re all educated youths in the same compound—shouldn’t we help each other? Comrade Cheng, your thinking is wrong. You’re too selfish.”

Hearing him shamelessly speak so righteously, Cheng Qiao’s eyes flashed and she sneered.

“Comrade Chai, you’re right—it’s just a bar of soap, nothing precious. But if it’s so unimportant, why haven’t you taken one out for everyone to use? Before calling me selfish, maybe think about whether you’re even more selfish than me.”

Chai Jianmin froze. Was this fool… actually scolding him? His face darkened as he glared coldly at her, eyes sharp as autumn wind sweeping away leaves.

“Cheng Qiao, it’s just a bar of soap. Is this how you treat your comrades in revolution? Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

“Conscience, my ass. Do you even understand human speech? And yes, you’re right—we all came here responding to the call to help build the countryside. But tell me, why should I be the one to provide the soap?”

Chai Jianmin was left at a loss, stiffening his neck stubbornly. “You… Cheng Qiao, are you sick today?”

“I am sick. Look—Doctor Ye gave me two days of sick leave. That’s proof enough.”

She waved the sick leave slip in front of his face before handing it over to Jiang Guangrong.

Embarrassed, Jiang Guangrong glanced at it. Sure enough, it was two days’ leave, with special instructions that she should avoid putting weight on her foot.

Chai Jianmin was stunned again, at a complete loss for words. He turned to Jiang Guangrong, hoping the usually conciliatory team leader would step in.

But Jiang Guangrong deliberately pretended not to notice. He slipped the sick note into his pocket and loudly asked who was cooking today.

Everyone was still a little dazed by Cheng Qiao’s unexpected boldness. When they heard the question, all eyes turned to Xu Laidi. Jiang Guangrong’s expression darkened immediately.

“Comrade Xu, it’s your turn to cook today. Why isn’t the meal ready yet? If it’s not done before the afternoon work shift, I’ll report it truthfully to the village head.”

Xu Laidi pouted but went into the kitchen. Cheng Qiao was about to head to the dormitory when she heard Chai Jianmin’s voice again.

“Cheng Qiao, don’t be so pleased with yourself. It’s just a sprained ankle, not broken. Why are you on leave? Without work points and rations, don’t expect others to feed you.”

“Don’t worry, Comrade Chai. Even if I starve to the point of begging on the streets, I’d still spare you. And one more thing—please call me Comrade Cheng. We’re not that close.”

“You… Comrade Cheng, even if you were really reduced to begging, I’d still give you a bite of food. Isn’t it comrades’ duty to care for and help each other? Your awareness is too low.”

“Oh? So you’re that noble? Well, Comrade Xu still owes me one hundred and twenty yuan. Why don’t you help her repay it? After all, comrades should help each other, right?”

“Don’t twist things around. Xu Laidi borrowed that money, so why should I repay it for her?”

“You really are shameless, such a hypocrite.”

“Hypocrite? What’s that supposed to mean? You’re the narrow-minded one. Xu Laidi was clearly just worried about you last night. It was late, and you hadn’t returned, so she went to look for you. You’re the one making a fuss and refusing to let it go.”

Chai Jianmin’s temper flared. But he didn’t notice that as soon as he said this, most of the educated youths frowned.

They had all seen that good-for-nothing hanging around in the cornfield last night. They knew full well Xu Laidi had wanted to frame Cheng Qiao. Yet in Chai Jianmin’s mouth, the story was twisted—her malice turned into “concern.”

Cheng Qiao’s eyes narrowed, her gaze turning sharp and cold. In her past life, aside from Xu Laidi, this man had been the one who bullied her most.

“Chai Jianmin, it’s about time you paid back what you owe me too.”