Chapter 74: What, not convinced? Come at him if you dare.

Alas, Su Liang sighed for the 101st time, once again regretting his rashness. He should have taken Qin Fang to a small county town and found a job there, then waited for things to calm down before transferring back to the capital. Not only would they have been less exhausted, the transfer would have been easier, and most importantly, they could have earned some seniority.

The more Su Liang thought about it, the more he regretted it. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret, and nowhere for his remorse to go. Quietly, he made up his mind: he would work in Wangzhuang Brigade for a few months, then move to the commune to accumulate seniority. For now, he needed to find Qin Fang an easy job.

Su Liang was someone who acted immediately on his thoughts, and he felt perfectly justified in doing so. It didn’t take long for him to locate the brigade leader, Wang Facai.

“Brigade Leader, come over here. I need to talk to you,” Su Liang waved his hand to summon Wang Facai, looking for all the world like a superior, though anyone who didn’t know better might have mistaken him for one.

Wang Facai, who was busy working, was utterly confused by Su Liang’s behavior. This kid really was restless. However, remembering that the commune had approved an extra ten sacks of fertilizer, Wang Facai’s mood improved considerably. With those ten sacks, this year’s harvest would surely be better than last year’s. A good harvest meant not only that the villagers could eat their fill, but also more grain could be handed over to the state. He’d gain face, and most importantly, contribute to the nation. The thought of their village’s grain ending up on people’s tables filled him with pride.

After comforting himself, Wang Facai walked over to Su Liang, eyeing him warily. “Comrade Su, what do you need?”

“I heard that the health worker at the clinic only attended some basic training, not any systematic study. That’s unacceptable—it’s irresponsible regarding the villagers’ health.”

As soon as Su Liang spoke, Wang Facai’s suspicion deepened. Was this guy eyeing the clinic job? Old Wang wasn’t great at medicine, but he’d passed the barefoot doctor exam and earned his position fair and square. The process was legal and aboveboard—no shady dealings. Besides, Old Wang’s skills might be limited, but he could handle simple cases, and most importantly, he knew some basic Chinese medicine. For headaches and fevers, he could prescribe a few herbal remedies that worked as well as Western medicine, if a bit bitter.

“What are you trying to say?” Wang Facai scrutinized Su Liang, wary. “Don’t tell me you’ve got a medical license. You’ve had systematic training? If you really did, you’d be working in a hospital, not here in our brigade.”

Su Liang blushed, coughing awkwardly. He had neither a medical license nor formal training, so he cleared his throat and said, “I’m not asking for myself—I’m trying to help Comrade Qin. She doesn’t have a medical license, but her aunt is head nurse at the capital hospital. She’s grown up learning from her, and she’s definitely more capable than the village’s barefoot doctor. Why not let Comrade Qin be the village health worker?”

Su Liang’s words were light and unconvincing, and Wang Facai understood immediately—this clueless intellectual was angling for a cushy position. Claiming the village health worker wasn’t qualified, lacking a license, while Qin was, just because she had a father who was a spy, and an aunt who was a head nurse? If having a doctor or nurse in the family qualified someone for the job, then what was the point of medical licenses and training sessions? They’d just hire anyone whose family worked in medicine.

Wang Facai hadn’t even refused yet, but was already furious, glaring at Su Liang. “Comrade Su, do you know what you’re saying? Comrade Qin has neither a license nor professional training—how can you claim she’s better than our health worker? And how dare you look down on him? What’s wrong with barefoot doctors? If they weren’t scattered across every corner of the Dragon Nation, how many people would go untreated for illness? Do you know? Do you understand? You know nothing, so why are you rattling on here…”

Hands on his hips, Wang Facai berated Su Liang for several minutes, then glared and asked, “How much of your assigned work have you done? How many shovelfuls have you dug in that wasteland? I’m telling you, you’re shirking labor. If you keep this up, I’ll send you back to the intellectuals’ settlement for reassignment—and your next posting will depend on your luck.”

Su Liang’s face burned with humiliation, glaring resentfully at Wang Facai, thinking this brigade leader really lacked foresight. He felt he was giving him face—if they were in the capital, he could be ousted in no time.

Don’t think Wangzhuang Brigade is beyond my reach—hmph! Su Liang vowed silently to go to the commune and call his family, to see what connections they had here. He was determined to bring Wang Facai down. Qin Fang would be the health worker—just watch, and anyone who disagreed could take him on.

“Just you wait, I won’t let you off,” Su Liang threatened Wang Facai, then stormed off. Passing the field, he called Qin Fang, “Fang’er, come, I’ll take you to the commune.”

Qin Fang glanced at Su Liang’s expression, realizing he was angry. This wasn’t the time to contradict him; she had to go along. More importantly, she didn’t want to work—dirty and exhausting labor wasn’t for a pampered princess like her. So Qin Fang happily trotted after Su Liang.

Du Yong, who was working nearby, watched the two leave openly, not even pretending anymore. He spat furiously, took a moment to calm himself, but said nothing and continued working. He had neither their power nor their connections—what could he say?

The brigade leader was so furious he went to the scorekeeper to mark down Su Liang and Qin Fang. Not only would they not earn work points, but points would be deducted. Skipping work—how dare they!

Still fuming, Wang Facai threw down his tools and left; he needed to go to the commune and have a heart-to-heart with the secretary. This was like inheriting a new ancestor.

At the end of the workday, Xu Lin was walking and chatting with the intellectuals when Tiger’s mother and Erwa’s mother came over. The two smiled and greeted Xu Lin’s group, who replied in kind, and soon they were all chatting. Once Tiger’s mother and Erwa’s mother described Su Liang’s foolish antics, Xu Lin and the others were stunned. Several of Liu Pandie’s friends drew closer, curiously asking, “Really? Is it true? How could he be like that?”

Tiger’s mother and Erwa’s mother, delighted to share gossip, continued enthusiastically, even imitating the brigade leader’s scolding of Su Liang. Though the conversation had taken place in the field, there was no shortage of eavesdroppers. Su Liang probably hadn’t even reached the commune before the gossip had already spread across the fields.