The Educated Youth 06

Facts proved that Wei Xiangyang was being too optimistic. Rather than saying he had shaken off Fang Zhiyi, it was more accurate to say Fang Zhiyi had shaken him off. Grouped with a few other educated youths, Wei Xiangyang felt much more energetic about working. However, it didn't take long for the scorching sun to sap most of his enthusiasm.

The sense of superiority and comfort that came from being a factory worker's son frequently reared its head.

"I bet this kid's true nature is absolutely the lazy, gluttonous, and sly type." Leading by example, Fang Zhiyi chatted with the villagers while his hands never stopped moving. He even had time to observe Wei Xiangyang's side. This time, he didn't even need to cause trouble. Without Fang Xiaoxia to help him work, Wei Xiangyang's true colors were quickly exposed. The other educated youths had already worked their way to the front, while he dawdled in the back, wiping his sweat one moment and shaking his head the next, swinging his hoe at a snail's pace. Anyone who saw him couldn't help but shake their heads.

This didn't look like he was working at all.

Fang Zhiyi remembered that in the original plot, because Wei Xiangyang's family constantly sent him things, he was considered generous and had good relationships with the other educated youths. But he couldn't let him have it so easy now.

Last time, he successfully made him offend the villagers; this time, he would make him offend the educated youths.

The principle was simple: just tie their interests to the same level.

Sure enough, by the afternoon, the other educated youths who finished early had left. Only Wei Xiangyang's group was still waiting for him. Someone couldn't stand it anymore and picked up a hoe to help him, which barely allowed them to knock off work early.

But Wei Xiangyang couldn't go back yet; he still had to pull the manure cart.

At the thought of that suffocating stench, Wei Xiangyang's face filled with reluctance, but he had no other choice. He could only repeatedly curse Fang Zhiyi under his breath. As a result, he wasn't paying attention to his feet while walking and tripped over a rock. He still had the cart's cloth strap slung over his shoulder, so when he fell, the manure cart tipped over as well. A whole cartload of manure spilled out, and half of Wei Xiangyang's body was soaked in the foul water.

He let out a loud yell, startling quite a few people.

Fang Zhiyi arrived quickly, mainly because he had never left. Looking at the reeking Wei Xiangyang, Fang Zhiyi held back his laughter. "I asked you to pull a manure cart and you're unhappy about it? Are you this resistant to manual labor?"

With one sentence, he directly labeled the nature of this accident.

The nearby villagers began to criticize Wei Xiangyang in disgust. Wei Xiangyang shook his hands, feeling nauseous, and the manure water flew toward the villagers who had come to check on the situation. Immediately, someone rolled up their sleeves to beat him up, but ultimately couldn't bring themselves to do it because he was too dirty.

In the end, Wei Xiangyang could only put on a miserable face and go pull a new cart, and he also had to write a self-criticism to read out loud later.

When he returned to the educated youth point that day, everyone kept their distance from him. It wasn't for any other reason than the fact that he smelled incredibly bad. Even Zhang Qingqing, who minded him the least, frowned slightly, which dealt a heavy blow to Wei Xiangyang.

He washed himself outside for most of the night before finally going to bed.

That night, Fang Zhiyi began revising Fang Xiaoxia's notes again, making her copy and memorize them. Fang Xiaoxia was very earnest. She found that the concepts she couldn't understand before became much simpler when explained by her father, which greatly boosted her confidence.

After daybreak, Wei Xiangyang still hadn't woken up. If his group members hadn't called him for fear of delaying their progress, he probably would have slept until noon.

His mental state also caused his progress to be even slower today. By the time others had finished, he hadn't even completed half of his work.

A few educated youths who had eaten his candy had no choice but to pick up their tools and turn back to help him. Wei Xiangyang, on the other hand, was delighted and even started humming a little tune.

However, after the labor ended, because he had overturned a cart of manure yesterday, he had to pull an extra cart today. Afraid of overturning it again, Wei Xiangyang pulled it very carefully, which meant it was already dark by the time he returned.

The third day, the fourth day.

Wei Xiangyang felt incredibly exhausted, and the educated youths in his group, who had to do extra work every day, had long since grown dissatisfied with him.

"Wei Xiangyang, hurry up! If you don't finish, our whole group has to wait for you!"

"I am working. If you're just standing there with nothing to do, help me out." After a few days, Wei Xiangyang had already started taking others' help for granted.

"You..."

"It's not like I haven't given you guys food before. Helping out won't kill you. I'm really just too tired," Wei Xiangyang said bluntly.

Today Fang Xiaoxia had a day off, so she went to the fields to work with her father. Looking at Wei Xiangyang's behavior, Fang Xiaoxia asked, "Dad, what are they doing?"

Fang Zhiyi glanced at her. "What are they doing? Right now they are working, but tomorrow, who knows."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Some things I'll have to teach you later. Hurry up and finish so we can go home and eat!"

"Dad, you've sliced up all the sausages we were saving for the New Year. What are we going to do when the New Year comes?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Fang Zhiyi said confidently.

Fang Xiaoxia glanced at Wei Xiangyang, who was standing there smugly watching the other educated youths work, and felt that something wasn't quite right.

After knocking off work, she headed home first. Halfway there, Fang Zhiyi said he was going to inspect the work, and she didn't think much of it.

Fang Zhiyi went straight to the livestock shed. He walked around as usual, then started praising Zhang Qingqing for her careful work, patting his chest and promising to award her some extra work points.

Zhang Qingqing was overjoyed. She hadn't expected that just giving him creamy candies once would make Fang Zhiyi so eager to please her.

"Who is responsible for the hygiene here?" Before leaving, Fang Zhiyi pointed to a pile of garbage on the ground and asked.

"That's Zhao Xiaohua's responsibility," Zhang Qingqing answered immediately.

"A bit sloppy, isn't it? Clean it up quickly." Fang Zhiyi glanced at Zhao Xiaohua with a deep frown. Zhang Qingqing immediately understood, grabbed a broom, and swept it clean. Fang Zhiyi turned on his praising mode again, making Zhang Qingqing smile like a blooming flower.

However, she still didn't notice the disgusted expressions on the faces of the other female educated youths looking at her.

"Dad, do you like that female educated youth?" During dinner, Fang Xiaoxia's words almost made Fang Zhiyi spit out his rice.

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

"It's not me saying it, everyone is talking about it. They say you treat Zhang Qingqing exceptionally well. Dad, is it because you think she's pretty, so..."

"Bullshit! Is your dad such a superficial person? If the work is done well, naturally there should be praise. Without praise, how can there be motivation?"

Fang Xiaoxia looked at him suspiciously for a long time. "Dad, it's actually fine if you find someone else, but she's only two or three years older than me. She's not suitable for you..."

"Why don't you believe me?" Fang Zhiyi said helplessly. "Hurry up and eat. After eating, practice your handwriting!"

"Dad, where did you get so much paper?"

"I traded for it with someone in town."

"What did you trade for it?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?"