Chapter 145: Tell Me, Are You Capable?

Feng Wanjia’s face was cold. "Move aside. A good dog doesn't block the path."

Er Zhu and his companion instinctively took a step back, rubbing their hands in embarrassment. "Well, that, um, Educated Youth Lin..."

"Hmm?" Lin Jingyue lifted her eyelids, asking lazily, "Something up?"

"No, nothing at all..." The two men swallowed hard and retreated subconsciously.

However, the path was narrow, set right on the ridge between the fields, with drop-offs on either side. That was the only reason they hadn't noticed Lin Jingyue approaching in the first place. Before they knew it, one careless step sent them both tumbling down into the field.

Lin Jingyue was speechless.

"Hahaha!" Sun Lanlan held her stomach, laughing heartily. "You two cowards, and you're trying to play the part of road-blockers?"

The faces of the two men, now sprawled in the mud, turned a sickly shade of green.

"Let's go. Still want to watch the show?" Lin Jingyue looked at the people in front of her.

Feng Wanjia snapped back to reality, her smile becoming somewhat obsequious. "Yes, let's go, let's go right now." She grabbed Zhang Shuting and hurried forward, not bothering to wait for Li Cuihua.

Li Cuihua and Aunt Liu followed closely behind. Though Li Cuihua hated Lin Jingyue, she was terrified of the girl taking action, so she kept her head down and walked away with a gloomy expression.

"Pah!" The two men in the field spat in the direction of the departing group, though it was unclear who exactly the gesture was intended for.

Back at the educated youth dormitory, after Sun Lanlan left with her medicine, Lin Jingyue was just preparing to wash her hands and eat when she noticed Feng Wanjia and Zhang Shuting hovering, looking as if they had something to say.

"Do you two need something?" Lin Jingyue asked while washing her hands.

The two quickly crouched down. "Educated Youth Lin, were those two men just now very afraid of you?"

"Hmm? You must have seen wrong. Why would they be afraid of me? I'm just a weak young woman."

Xie Wenjuan and the others nearby, having overheard this, felt their mouths twitch uncontrollably. A weak young woman?!

Zhang Shuting smiled, not bothering to argue, and said, "Educated Youth Lin, we’re new here and don't quite understand the rules. Would you mind giving us some pointers?" After saying this, she gave Feng Wanjia a wink.

Feng Wanjia understood immediately; she scurried into the room and came back out a moment later. "Educated Youth Lin, this is for you." She stuffed two packages into Lin Jingyue’s hands.

"I can't accept this for nothing..." Lin Jingyue began to refuse.

Zhang Shuting took them back and shoved them into Lin Jingyue’s arms. "It’s nothing expensive—just a bag of White Rabbit Creamy Candies and a roast duck. Please, just take it."

"If you could give us some advice—ideally on the mental side of things, and... perhaps a bit on the physical side as well."

Well, well, they were even using the honorific "you" now. Lin Jingyue couldn't help but laugh; she glanced back at Jiang Xun, who was busy ladling soup, and thought to herself that these two girls were truly clever.

Feng Wanjia and her friend looked at Jiang Xun with eager eyes as well. Though they felt a bit intimidated, they gathered their courage. "Brother Jiang, could you please trouble Educated Youth Lin to teach us?"

"No. Too tiring." Jiang Xun said with a cold face.

The two wilted instantly, not daring to utter another word.

Zhou Yan couldn't help but interject. "Fine, stop pestering Lin Jingyue. She’s very lazy. I’ll teach you."

Lin Jingyue: "..."

Feng Wanjia looked up. "Are you any good?"

"Pfft, hahaha..." Lin Jingyue burst into unreserved laughter.

Zhou Yan: "..."

"What I meant was, does the rest of the production brigade fear you?" They were looking for someone who could keep the local hoodlums in check. The two men from earlier had been trembling just at the sight of Lin Jingyue. They didn't know what she had done, but that didn't stop them from admiring her.

"Learn it or don't! It's up to you," Zhou Yan said, exasperated. "What could be more important than learning skills yourself? Can you rely on others forever?" If it weren't for the sake of their parents, he wouldn't bother teaching anyone.

"Brother Zhou, thank you for the trouble." Feng Wanjia bowed deeply to him. "If you protect us, I’ll go back and put in a good word for you with my sister."

"..."

Honestly, this was the first time Lin Jingyue had seen such an indescribable expression on Zhou Yan’s face. She looked at Jiang Xun, curious about the gossip.

Jiang Xun chuckled softly. "Zhou Yan is currently courting the granddaughter of the Feng family."

"Brother Zhou, my sister... she has many suitors," Feng Wanjia said, blinking innocently.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath. "Fine!" He said, through gritted teeth.

In truth, people in the brigade rarely targeted the educated youths these days. Reputation was one reason, but another was that everyone had realized the educated youths were not to be trifled with. After all, who among them was actually a pushover? The case of Xu Qingqing in the neighboring Kaoshan Brigade served as a stark warning. Even a "weak girl" could go all out when pushed; in this day and age, whoever was tougher held the moral high ground.

It was just that Feng Wanjia and Zhang Shuting were newcomers, and since they were both delicate and pretty, the local young men had been tempted. What hoodlum wouldn't want to marry a beautiful girl from the city? What if they actually succeeded? They hadn't expected Feng Wanjia and Zhang Shuting to be so sharp-tongued and fierce.

***

Spring plowing was busy. Even though Lin Jingyue spent her time "fishing for three days and drying nets for two," slacking off whenever she could, she was still exhausted.

Old Man Huo returned at the end of the spring plowing season and sent word to Lin Jingyue. As it happened, she was planning to go mail some manuscripts.

"I brought back two bottles of wine from the Northwest for Old Man Huo. I'll give them to you to take to him." Jiang Xun, who was just about to head into the mountains with Li Tongchui and Sun Jiabao, went back into the room and brought out two bottles of wine for her.

"Got it, I'll tell Master," Lin Jingyue said, pushing her bicycle forward. "Be careful up in the mountains."

"Don't worry."

"Jingyue!" Just as she was about to mount her bike, she heard Feng Wanjia’s voice.

Over the past few days, Feng Wanjia and Zhang Shuting had been thick-skinned enough to unilaterally become quite close with Lin Jingyue. Having learned of her "great exploits," they admired her even more. It was no wonder Jiang Xun had fallen for her; who could possibly resist? Lin Jingyue was nothing like the typical girls from the Beijing residential compounds.

"Could you trouble yourself to bring back some food for us?" Feng Wanjia asked, looking at her pitifully. She felt like her mouth was going to lose its sense of taste entirely from the bland diet.

"Sure, what do you want to buy?" Lin Jingyue was willing to help with such a small favor.

Feng Wanjia beamed immediately. "If there’s meat, buy two jin. If not, just get something from the state-run restaurant. As long as it’s meat, it’s fine." She immediately ran back to her room and returned with two jin of meat coupons and one jin of pastry coupons. "Also, buy a jin of sponge cakes. We’ll split it half and half."

"A 'running-errand' fee?" Lin Jingyue joked.

"Mmhmm, an errand fee."

"Fine." Lin Jingyue accepted the money and coupons.

Feng Wanjia blinked at her retreating back, already anticipating a delicious meal that evening.

In the city, Lin Jingyue rode her bike straight to the waste recycling station. "Old man! Hu Hansan has returned!" she shouted boisterously.

Then... she felt incredibly awkward. The person inside wasn't Old Man Huo.

"Heh." Lin Jingyue laughed twice, trying to stay calm. As long as I'm not embarrassed, the embarrassment belongs to someone else.

"Pfft, hahaha!" Li Chengxi, seeing Lin Jingyue rush in, couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"...What are you laughing at? Why are you here?" Lin Jingyue set her things down and, familiar with the place, poured herself a cup of water. Was this guy acquainted with the old man?

"I'm here to escort Old Man Huo back." Li Chengxi propped his chin on his hand, observing Lin Jingyue with amusement. "So, you’re the genius apprentice Old Man Huo is always talking about?"

It was truly surprising.