novelraw Chapter 74 We also want to learn how to drive a tractor
Chapter 74 We also want to learn how to drive a tractor
"So what if I'm poor? I eat your food and wear your clothes! My family has been poor farmers for generations, and my parents are proud members of the working class!"
"You look down on me because I'm poor, is it because you want to be a concubine for a landlord or capitalist? Tsk tsk tsk, look at your behavior, you look like someone raised by a concubine!"
"Who the hell are you calling a son of a bitch? You're the son of a bitch! I'll tear your mouth off!" Zhou Manman rushed over and grabbed Tan Suyun's face, and the two started fighting.
Seeing the commotion, Tong Yuheng stopped the tractor to rest and watched the excitement from outside the crowd. Linglong, always eager to join in the fun, stood at the front.
"Why isn't anyone trying to break them up when they're fighting?" Yu Long asked.
"Maybe everyone just wants to see some excitement!" Yu-ling analyzed.
"But I just heard that girl with the long braid saying bad things about my older sister. Her tone was so sour, it made my teeth fall out," Yu Long continued. She really disliked Zhou Manman.
"What did she say? Daring to talk about our eldest sister, haha, she really deserves a beating!"
Tong Yuheng listened to her two younger sisters' discussion without interrupting. Even if their family tried to keep a low profile in the village, they would still attract gossip. However, these two educated youths definitely had a grudge; their fight wasn't because of her, she was merely a pretext.
The two women were punching and kicking each other, tearing each other's clothes. Zhou Manman demanded that Tan Suyun pay for her clothes, while Tan Suyun sneered and said that her clothes were also torn and that Zhou Manman should pay for them.
"Have you no shame? Your clothes are so torn they're practically rags, why would I need to tear them? My clothes are perfectly fine, without a single patch!" Zhou Manman said angrily.
"Even if it's tattered, it's still a piece of clothing, not a bunch of mops. You have to compensate me. If you don't, I'm going to the brigade leader to reason with him. What gives you the right to say that Tong Yuheng is showing off? That he's out of touch with the masses? You think he has to be criticized for doing good deeds for the brigade?"
"You're talking nonsense! I didn't say anything! Did any of you hear me!" Zhou Manman denied it, feeling a little intimidated by Tong Yuheng's cold gaze.
"I, I heard it! She said bad things about my older sister! That older sister is right!" Tong Yulong raised her hand to prove it.
"I heard it too, but they fought because they called each other bastards. It has nothing to do with us sisters!" Tong Yuyao stood up at this time, saying that it was wrong to speak ill of others or try to drag her into it.
"You little brat, you're talking nonsense. When did I say that?" Zhou Manman denied it.
"Just now, about ten minutes ago. But we'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again!" Tong Yuyao rolled up her sleeves, revealing a small women's watch, glanced at it, and said calmly.
Zhou Manman was consumed with jealousy when she saw the watch she was wearing; her eyes were practically red with envy. Tan Suyun, on the other hand, was extremely envious. The Tong family girls were living such good lives; even the second daughter had a watch strap, the eldest must have one too, right?
Tong Yuyao's watch was a gift from her eldest sister, a reward for her hard work in helping her mother with the translation. It wasn't the watch Li Chengsong gave her; it was a "zero-yuan purchase" item she had saved in her online space.
She felt that the piece Li Chengsong gave her was very meaningful, so she kept it, even though she had spent money on it.
"Oh my, aren't you jealous? You're so sour! Pah!" Tan Suyun patted her tattered clothes, picked up her shovel, and continued working. To be honest, she was a little sour herself.
"Pah! You want to befriend people? Who cares about you?" Zhou Manman also picked up her tools and went to work, just like everyone else was doing the same thing as the two of them.
These two fought for real, without holding back at all, but they tacitly avoided using anything else, like iron bars, sticks, or bricks—they fought completely bare-chested. Most of the time, they just exchanged insults, and once they were done, they dispersed; no one tried to stop them.
Tong Yuheng watched the commotion, smiled, and turned back to his work. It seemed staying away from the educated youth was the right thing to do; what a bunch of oddballs they were!
They came here to change their fate as cannon fodder, to save Grandpa's family from their misery, not to gossip and chatter with the educated youth or villagers all the time.
On the first day, they plowed fifty or sixty mu of land. With the help of the strong laborers and oxen in the village, they could plow all the land in eight or nine days.
The tractor had only been borrowed for ten days, yet it cost fifty yuan, which pained the brigade leader to no end. Later, however, he realized it was only worth twenty or thirty work points, and his mood improved considerably. He also hoped to free up a day or two to go to the county town or the commune to find some manual labor, thus increasing the brigade's income.
Seeing the envious look in his eyes as he watched him drive the tractor, Tong Yuheng decided to teach him. This would save him the trouble, so he called the brigade leader over and began teaching him.
Driving a tractor isn't difficult; the operation is quite simple. However, they considered it a valuable item and were overly cautious, afraid to touch it casually. Under Tong Yuheng's guidance, he learned to drive a tractor in just two days. The middle-aged man's face was full of wrinkles from smiling.
Several young men would often gather around, eager to learn, and several other educated youths were also very envious. Finally, Ren Hongmin, the team leader of the educated youth settlement, came to her, somewhat nervously asking, "Educated Youth Tong, we also want to learn how to drive a tractor, can you teach us?"
"You want to learn?" Looking at the young men who had gathered around, he thought to himself: Sure enough, no man dislikes a car, even if it's just a beat-up tractor.
"Yes, I want to learn. We won't let you work for nothing. How about we give you some grain or some money? We know the tractor is borrowed, and the brigade has to pay for the fuel, but we can buy some diesel so the brigade won't suffer a loss!"
Tong Yuheng: His attitude was quite good; he's a reasonable person.
Just then, Tan Suyun, whose clothes were tattered, came over and said, "Tong, I also want to learn, but I have no money, only coarse grains. Can I use my work points?"
"If you want to learn, that's fine. I can teach you without any problem, but there are only a few days left, and I don't know if you can learn it. It's really not good to take advantage of public resources. I'll ask the brigade leader how much to charge. I don't want anything; it all goes to the brigade."
"Tch! All talk and no action, what can she learn in a few days? She takes other people's things and pleases the brigade leader at the same time, how shrewd!" Tong Yuheng still heard Zhou Manman's low muttering.
"Shut up, if you don't want to learn, go away!" Ren Hongmin disliked Zhou Manman for contradicting him, fearing that she would ruin his chance to learn how to drive a tractor.
"Are you sick in the head? What's it to you? You stinking troublemaker!" Tan Suyun was about to start a fight with her again when Tong Yuheng stopped her.
Tong Yuheng: Hehe, you don't need to describe it like that, because I don't want to be that pile of shit that gets stirred up!