Chapter 21: The Little Troublemaker of the Seventies (21)

“Do you mean you want me to help take care of the few elderly people at the edge of the village?” Li Xiangyang frowned, looking at Li Xinxin with puzzlement, unable to understand why this woman took such an interest in those few men.

Nowadays, people generally avoided contact with them.

Yet she seemed not the least afraid; on the contrary, she was quite bold.

Li Xinxin raised an eyebrow and said firmly, “Yes. Sometimes it’s inconvenient for me to visit them, but you’re different—you’re more convenient to reach them.”

Those elderly people at the village’s end had been kind to her; whatever the reason, she wanted to care for them to some degree.

“I know you like Liu Zhiqing. She’s such an outstanding educated youth—more than just you would admire her. As a woman, it’s natural for me to be by her side, but you can’t. So I want to make a deal: I’ll speak well of you in front of her, and you take care of those elderly folks for me.”

“It’s quite a profitable trade, isn’t it?”

She was sure he would accept.

“I refuse.”

“Huh? Why? Do you think I’m trying to trick you?” Li Xinxin widened her eyes, baffled by his refusal.

“My own matters don’t need others meddling in them,” he said, even partners weren’t exempt.

Such a troublesome fellow.

“You!” She pressed her lips together, never having expected him to be so independent. Despite being caught in a quagmire, he would not accept anyone’s help.

Truly a strange person.

“By the way, did you know? Today, someone tried to ask Liu Zhiqing to be his partner. Although she refused, he kept pestering her. If I hadn’t shown up in time, I’m afraid that man would have ruined her reputation.”

After some thought, she revealed this to strengthen her bargaining position.

To her, this was purely an exchange of interests—no feelings involved, merely a means to an end.

Apart from a few people in the second household, she would show no mercy to anyone!

Upon hearing this, Li Xiangyang’s eyes sharpened.

“Who?”

“What good is it asking now? You can’t be with her all the time, and your status forbids you from staying close to her. Besides my help, do you have a better option?”

In this village, people respected his identity as a tractor driver, but how much they truly liked him was another matter.

Because his status was always like a ticking time bomb.

Li Xinxin regained her confidence. “Li Xiangyang, we can only gain our respective benefits by reaching consensus. Are you really going to give up on her because of your status? From what I see, you don’t seem like that kind of person.”

---

Give up because of status? How noble that sounds.

In reality, it’s just cowardice.

No courage to step forward, pushing the one you care about further away.

“Besides, I don’t think Liu Zhiqing is completely indifferent to you. Maybe I can truly help bring you two together,” she pressed on.

“No,” Li Xiangyang suddenly interrupted.

“What do you mean no?”

“Don’t try to influence her thoughts. Her own matters are for her to decide.”

Given the current situation, he couldn’t offer her good conditions, so he wouldn’t drag anyone else into it.

All he could do was silently protect her.

“I don’t fully understand your thoughts, but I have no reason to refuse either. So, can we say we’ve reached an agreement?”

“Mm.”

“That’s good. Here’s to a pleasant cooperation!”

Li Xiangyang said nothing and turned to leave.

Li Xinxin was not angered; she knew his temperament well.

Turning around, she gazed toward the cattle shed, lost in memories.

Before awakening, she had often been injured gathering firewood on the mountain. Those elderly folks saved her—dressing her wounds, teaching her to identify medicinal herbs, even imparting knowledge she had never learned before.

That period was the easiest time in her life.

It was then that they met and began to interact. Those elders were kind and would explain new ideas to her, opening the door to other worlds.

But now she was busy with business. Once she left the Lao Li family, when the second household split off and she had money, she wouldn’t have to live such a hard life anymore.

As for Liu Suisui, she genuinely liked her. The girl was pretty and kind-hearted; treating her like a little sister would be quite nice.

...

The next morning.

Hearing the whistle signaling the start of work, Liu Suisui sat up, feeling numb as she stayed on the bed.

She reached out to touch her smooth face and asked 007 in her mind.

“007, will I get wrinkles? Are my dark circles bad? Do I have any spots?”

The young lady was very particular about her skin.

007 patiently answered, “No, the moisturizing cream I gave you has anti-wrinkle effects. If you’re still worried, I can give you another box after some time.”

“Okay, I’ll trust you this once.”

007 felt a slight ache in its chip. Just receiving its first task, it hadn’t even started tallying points but had already lost some.

But it had no choice. Its predecessor had taught it that everything must follow the host’s wishes; otherwise, it could never complete its missions.

Helpless, it had to give the host what she wanted.

After washing up, Liu Suisui left first to distribute tools to the villagers going to work.

The tools in the warehouse were all counted and kept by her. Villagers came here to collect their tools for work, and everything taken had to be logged since it was public property.

At the back of the line, Li Xiangyang quietly waited. He also had work to do; no one just teamed up with him.

Liu Suisui ignored him and began handing out tools.

The older women in front behaved normally, but when several men came toward the end, things took a different turn.

“Liu Zhiqing, help me get that hoe,” one man said, patting her shoulder to indicate what he wanted.

Liu Suisui frowned but said nothing.

The second man reached out and touched her arm, as if accidentally.

But the feeling made her very disgusted.

His expression was too natural, so natural it seemed like a mere misunderstanding.

Until the third man, who, when taking tools, directly touched her hand.

The handle was so long; he could have taken it from beneath but insisted on taking it from her hand.

The young lady’s temper snapped. She immediately raised her hand and slapped him.

“Smelly pervert, what do you want? Trying to get some peanuts?”

What she feared was not just the direct harassment but the attitude of pretending it was accidental.

That not only disgusted her but made those around think she was overreacting.