Kapitel 15: Chapter 15: Looks Clean, Who Knows What's Wrong?
Far away in Hongqigou, Lin Anning didn't know any of this as she, along with the educated youth, headed to the fields after an early breakfast.
Now that the rice seedlings had grown taller, it was necessary to pluck the barnyard grass in the fields to fertilize them.
These kinds of farm work were ones she had done with her grandfather before, and they didn't stump her.
After a few days in Hongqigou, she felt quite adapted.
Bending over, she worked energetically on the soft, squishy mud.
Soon, the grass in the field she was responsible for was completely cleared.
The rice seedlings stood neat and orderly, none trampled down.
Li Youbao and several villagers on the embankment saw this and all gave thumbs up.
"This youth from the city is really good, look, her work is no worse than ours!"
Everyone's first impression of Lin Anning was that she was a delicate city girl, all fair and lovely.
At first glance, she didn't seem like someone who could do farm work.
But who would have thought, after just two days, Comrade Lin Anning's work was as good as her looks.
She didn't shirk her duties nor rely on her beauty to boss others around.
When she saw the villagers, she always had a smiling expression that made everyone like her instantly.
Li Youbao sucked on his dry pipe, nodding his head.
"Isn't it so? Such a good comrade should be highly praised at the upcoming summary meeting!"
Turning around, he saw Zhang Fenglan standing by, transfixed, and couldn't resist teasing her.
"Mantun's, what, you think Comrade Lin Anning is especially outstanding? Got a crush on her?"
"Right, your Dafu has found a partner; Dagui hasn't yet! Planning to get Lin Anning to be your daughter-in-law?"
Zhang Fenglan turned around, her thick eyebrows knitting together as she glared at Li Youbao.
"Keep smoking your pipe, why spout nonsense? If anyone else says that, I'll knock their teeth out."
Those around knew better and turned their heads away, pretending to have heard nothing.
With Zhang Fenglan's temper, even a pig weighing two or three hundred pounds could be subdued; she was not one to be trifled with when her temper was up.
The people on the embankment dispersed, each going off to their respective tasks.
After clearing the grass from her own field, Lin Anning went on to help Huo Tiantian.
It was nearly noon, and the sun was at its fiercest.
Huo Tiantian felt dizzy from the heat, nearly losing her balance.
Lin Anning steadied her and quietly slipped her a bottle of herbal tonic water.
"Sister Tiantian, go drink this in the shade of the trees, I'll handle this."
Huo Tiantian really felt quite woozy and retreated to the shade to drink the herbal tonic water, catching her breath while watching Lin Anning.
Seeing her like this made her feel a little uneasy.
Everyone was basking under the same sun, turning as black as charcoal.
But there stood Little Anning, like a snow lotus among the charcoal, fair and beautiful.
It really made one wonder, what did she eat to grow up?
Huo Tiantian felt bad for letting Lin Anning help her for so long, so she quickly resumed working to finish the job.
Seeing Lin Anning's pale face startled her.
"Oh dear, I forgot about your condition."
She helped Lin Anning to the shade of the tree and fanned her with a straw hat.
"It's nothing, just an old problem!"
It was just physical weakness combined with hypoglycemia from not eating enough.
Lin Anning offered a weak smile and took a nearly dissolved milk candy from her pocket to suck on.
It was given by a kind lady on the train, which she had saved up until now; it came in handy at this moment.
Soon, she felt a bit better.
"Sister Tiantian, when do the educated youth get a break? I'd like to go to town and buy some things."
The educated youth ate together, allocated ten kilograms of rice and two liang (100 grams) of oil each month.
She had come in such a rush that she hadn't prepared anything.
These past days, she could only share meals with Sister Tiantian, and there was already not much to the standard meal at the educated youth spot.
Sharing made it even harder to feel full.
Huo Tiantian looked at Lin Anning with concern.
"We get a day off tomorrow; let's go to town together!"
Lin Anning nodded, preparing to stand up and resume work.
Just then, a male educated youth approached, carrying a bowl of brown sugar egg soup.
"Comrade Lin, I noticed you looked pale; here, have some brown sugar egg soup from Tiantian. I'll finish your work afterward."
Lin Anning remembered that this comrade's name seemed to be Zhou Jianshe.
```
It was nearly time for lunch, and everyone had stopped their work, stirring up some commotion.
"Ho ho ho, Comrade Zhou Jianshe, we're hungry too. Why don't we see you making us a sweet egg soup?"
"Exactly, we've been to the countryside for more than two years, and we haven't even tasted his brown sugar egg soup, let alone a piece of candy!"
Zhou Jianshe, being teased, didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, he laughed out loud.
"Sure thing. When it's all settled, you won't be left out of the wedding candy!"
It seemed he was certain that he could become an item with Lin Anning.
Lin Anning frowned and did not accept the brown sugar egg soup.
"Comrade Zhou, such a good thing should not be easy to come by, keep it for yourself."
"Also, I already have a partner. I don't like this kind of joke; my partner would be unhappy."
As soon as she spoke, not only were the educated youths shocked, but Huo Tiantian was also stunned.
With his face slapped in public, Zhou Jianshe's smile faded considerably.
He found an excuse and walked away with the egg soup.
After washing up in the evening, Huo Tiantian slipped into Lin Anning's room demanding an honest confession about her partner.
"Are you deceiving them? How come I never heard my brother mention that you had a partner?"
Lin Anning, without a choice, could only avoid the important and dwell on the trivial.
"We haven't known each other for long, but he's a nice person."
"I'm waiting for him to come to me, and then we'll get our marriage license!"
If he ever came, that is.
No matter how much Huo Tiantian asked, she couldn't get anything else.
Huo Tiantian sat on the bed, realizing after the fact, and felt Lin Anning's bedding, finding only a thin bedsheet with no cotton wadding.
"Little Anning, the mountain nights are quite cold. Why are you only using such a thin layer?"
"Come on, sleep with me!"
There were three female educated youths living in their room. Initially, to keep warm, they had piled all their bedding together to make a large communal bed.
This remark, once heard in the next room, immediately set off the other female educated youths who shared the bed with Huo Tiantian.
"If you want to sleep, sleep with her yourself. I want nothing to do with that."
"Humph, she looks quite fair, but who knows if she has some disease?"
Hearing this, Huo Tiantian was annoyed and stood up.
"Wang Jing, what do you mean? It seems to me like you're the one with the issue!"
"Love it or leave it, I don't particularly want to sleep with you either! Move over, don't lie on my bedding."
Seeing Huo Tiantian earnest, Wang Jing dared not make a fuss and grumbled unwillingly.
"It's just as well. Haven't you noticed her face is as pale as a dead person's? She's been coughing nonstop these past nights. My mom says that's called tuberculosis."
"You want to live with her? Don't catch her disease; it can be deadly."
The other female educated youth in the room, hearing this, also grew frightened.
"Really, really?"
"Catch your grandpa..."
Huo Tiantian was gritting her teeth, about to rush over and teach Wang Jing a lesson.
Wang Jing wasn't one to shy away from trouble either. She stood up ready to charge out.
"Come on, if you dare lay a finger on me, I'll go straight to the village chief and say you're persecuting a comrade, and you'll have to bear the punishment."
Lin Anning cast a cool glance at Wang Jing and shook her head at Huo Tiantian.
"Sister Tiantian, don't bother with her. That room is clean, you just stay there."
"I've just caught a cold. I'll just buy some bedding and that will be fine."
"Besides, if it really was tuberculosis, we all eat from the same pot, no one could avoid it."
Upon hearing this, Wang Jing's face turned pale instantly.
Lin Anning hooked her lips and told Huo Tiantian to go back to sleep.
The next morning, Lin Anning and Huo Tiantian left the house early.
The two thought it best to leave as soon as possible, hoping that with some luck, they might come across a tractor or a bullock cart halfway and could get a ride.
Just as they were leaving the village, they ran into Li Youbao, who was driving a bullock cart with Zhang Fenglan sitting on it.
"Oh, Comrades Huo and Lin heading to town? It happens that I'm going that way too. Get on!"
Huo Tiantian seemed somewhat hesitant about Zhang Fenglan and didn't quite want to get on.
"Maybe we should wait..."
But in the next moment, Lin Anning had already pulled her onto the bullock cart.
"Sister Tiantian, come on. Thank you, village chief," she said, and then smiled at Zhang Fenglan.
"Nice to meet you."
```
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
erhalten Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein