Chapter 39: A Slap in the Face

The seven team leaders called out names together, each shout louder than the last, as if they were competing. If you didn’t listen closely, you could easily miss your own name.

Xu Lin stood by her two large bundles, listening attentively for a while, until at last she heard her name.

"Xu Lin, Xu Lin." Wang Facai, the team leader of Wang Village, called out, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd of educated youths. When he saw Xu Lin stepping forward with two hefty bags, his expression stiffened a little. He wondered if this young girl was even of age.

He couldn’t help but ask, "Comrade Xu Lin, how old are you—are you an adult yet? How could your parents bear to let you come to the countryside?"

"Team leader, I’m sixteen, so I’m of age. Though I’m not very strong and can’t do heavy work, I can cut pig grass," she replied earnestly.

Her serious little face made Wang Facai’s expression freeze even more. Cutting pig grass—that was children’s work. It only earned three work points a day, not nearly enough to support an adult.

Wang Facai smacked his lips, then looked over Xu Lin’s clothes, finally letting his gaze rest on the watch on her wrist. Very good—her clothes were nice, all new from head to toe, and she wore a watch. Clearly, she wasn’t short of money.

Not short of money, that was good. If she had money, she could buy her own grain. That would do. That would do just fine.

Wang Facai was clear-headed. The longer the educated youths had been in the countryside, the more tolerant he had become. So long as there were no complaints, he didn’t care if they didn’t work in the fields. As long as they didn’t cause trouble, he was satisfied.

He hoped that this small, modest wish was one the educated youths could fulfill.

Now that everyone was here—even if they didn’t look like they could handle heavy work—Wang Facai didn’t show any sign of disdain or tut-tut disapproval. Instead, he spoke kindly, "Put your luggage on the ox cart, and wait nearby."

"Thank you, team leader," Xu Lin replied with a smile, walking toward the ox cart behind Wang Facai.

A male educated youth who had been called earlier saw how petite she was and rushed forward to help. Xu Lin didn’t stand on ceremony; she thanked him politely and then stood not far from him, waiting for Wang Facai to continue calling names.

But the next names called made Xu Lin’s expression quite interesting. What could she say? Fate truly worked in mysterious ways. Who would have thought that, out of thirty-three educated youths and seven teams, Xu Lin would end up assigned with Qin Fang?

This time, Wang Village received five educated youths: three men and two women—Xu Lin, Zhang Qiang, Han Hong, Qin Fang, and Dan Fei. Su Liang was assigned to the neighboring Han Camp team.

The names hadn’t all been called yet when Su Liang started protesting, loudly demanding to be reassigned. He wanted to be in the same team as Qin Fang, since he still had to look after her. How could he take care of her if they weren’t together?

Team leader Han Liang of Han Camp, whose face was already dark, was further displeased by the interruption and looked at Su Liang with obvious annoyance. "Comrade Su Liang, could you wait until I’ve finished calling names before saying anything?"

His tone was almost accusatory, which made Su Liang’s face darken as well. He was the eldest young master of the Su family, after all. He’d always had things his way; it was the first time anyone had spoken to him like this, with such a look in their eyes.

Angered, Su Liang retorted coldly, "No, I want to go to Wang Village. Arrange my transfer first."

Team leader Han was furious. These educated youths had no real ability, but their tempers were outrageous. Each was more troublesome than the last, and their arrogance was plain to see. He didn’t want to have Su Liang in his team any more than Su Liang wanted to be there.

"Fine, fine—you want to go to Wang Village? Go talk to Team Leader Wang. If he’ll take you, you can go," Han Liang said, waving him away as if shooing a fly. His dismissive manner only made Su Liang angrier.

"Fine, I’ll go," Su Liang huffed, striding up to Wang Facai and saying bluntly, "Team Leader Wang, I want to join your team."

"No can do. The number of people for each team is already agreed upon; I can’t take one more. Besides, you should follow the assignment," Wang Facai replied, shaking his head. This young man was clearly spoiled by his family, and Wang had no interest in taking him on.

"If you can’t take more, then at least let me swap with someone else," Su Liang insisted, his sharp gaze fixed on Wang Facai, with a hint of menace.

That look made Wang Facai’s back go cold, and he remembered Lu Changshan’s warning to Han Liang: Su Liang had a powerful background, so Han Liang should take care not to offend him. But seeing Han Liang’s behavior, it was clear the old fox had no intention of burdening himself with Su Liang.

As the roll call ended, Han Liang, having received Su Liang’s death glare, turned and shot Wang Facai a triumphant look that nearly made Wang Facai explode with frustration.

Meanwhile, Su Liang’s determination to look after Qin Fang remained unshaken. Before Wang Facai could respond, he took action. He strode over to Xu Lin’s group of four, glaring fiercely at Xu Lin before turning to Zhang Qiang, Han Hong, and Dan Fei.

Zhang Qiang’s clothes, though not brand new, looked barely worn, and he wore a watch on his wrist. Judging by his attire, he probably wasn’t short of money. Han Hong, on the other hand, exuded a rebellious air that Su Liang recognized in himself; this one clearly came from a powerful family and wouldn’t be easily swayed with money.

Not wanting to be rebuffed, Su Liang shifted his focus to Dan Fei. This one was obviously poor, with clothes patched in many places, looking for all the world like a beggar. If his family had any money, he wouldn’t have set out in such shabby condition.

Having chosen his target, Su Liang pulled five yuan from his pocket, approached Dan Fei, and said coolly, "Swap teams with me. This money is yours if you do."

Dan Fei, who had been worrying about his empty pockets, brightened for a moment, but didn’t answer right away. He frowned and said, "No."

"Why not?" Su Liang demanded, his eyes flashing with irritation.

"I don’t want to be a beggar," Dan Fei replied with a roll of his eyes, making Han Hong burst out laughing.

Xu Lin and Zhang Qiang also watched with amusement, especially Xu Lin, whose gaze seemed to ask, "Is that all? Really?"

Humiliated, Su Liang gritted his teeth. He hadn’t expected this pauper to be so greedy. Was five yuan not enough?

He turned his glare on Xu Lin again, blaming her for everything that had happened to him and Qin Fang. If Xu Lin hadn’t stirred up trouble, the Xu family wouldn’t have fallen, and if they hadn’t, Qin Fang’s background wouldn’t have come to light.

But his challenge was immediately rebuffed. Xu Lin pulled out a thick wad of cash and fanned herself with it. She didn’t say a word, but the slap to Su Liang’s face was loud and clear—he could almost feel the heat and swelling.