The Vicious Ex-Wife Stripped Me Bare, and Now the Commander Is Seeing Red Every Day - Chapter 20

Lin Ning shook her head. “I’ve never done it, but this job is somewhat similar to my previous line of work.”

Well, it’s a bit like digging out zombie nuclei.

Both involved reaching out, scooping, and plucking.

And then it’s out.

Digging zombie nuclei was for exchanging points; picking cotton was for exchanging work points.

Both points and work points were used to trade for food.

En, basically the same thing.

Besides, picking cotton wasn’t dangerous and was much cleaner than digging out zombie nuclei.

She was very satisfied!

Lin Ning actually grew happier the more she worked, and her hand movements became faster and faster, as if she were afraid someone might try to snatch the work from her!

Gu Rou and Auntie Zhang had no idea what was going on with her; it was as if she had suddenly taken some sort of divine elixir.

Auntie Zhang watched for a few more moments, and once she was certain the two sisters could handle it on their own, she said to Gu Rou, “You two keep at it. I’m heading out first. If there’s anything you don’t understand, just ask your sister.”

Without waiting for a reply, she waved her hand, turned around, and left.

Gu Rou watched Auntie Zhang’s retreating back, then decisively turned to find her sister.

“Sister, when did you ever do a job similar to picking cotton? Why didn’t I know about it?” Gu Rou was incredibly curious. What kind of job could possibly be similar to picking cotton?

Lin Ning replied without changing her expression, “A job I had before I met you. I did it for a while and then stopped, so you wouldn’t know.”

Strictly speaking, this was the truth.

It’s just that “a while” was a rather broad term—it had been a full nine years.

Gu Rou didn’t think much of it; her sister rarely mentioned things from before they met anyway.

Back then, all she talked about was how to win over her brother.

Thinking of this, Gu Rou leaned in mysteriously. “Sister, my brother has limited mobility now. Does that make it even easier for you to ‘take him down’?”

Lin Ning almost didn’t process what she was saying. She had even perked up her ears to listen closely!

Once she fully grasped the meaning, Lin Ning’s gaze shot toward Gu Rou like a projectile.

“What are you talking about? Your brother is in that state; can’t you wish for something better for him?”

Lin Ning’s voice carried a hint of absurd irritation, but in Gu Rou’s ears, it seemed to be automatically translated.

Sister is frustrated with the way Brother is right now.

True, he was covered in injuries with broken arms and legs—better to wait until he recovers!

Once he was well, she would personally deliver her brother to her sister’s bed.

If her brother still didn’t appreciate the favor, she’d ask Mom and Dad for help.

Regardless, her brother would always belong to her sister; there was no escaping it.

Lin Ning didn’t know what Gu Rou was plotting, but seeing her facial expressions change every second, she could guess it wasn’t anything good!

However, given this girl’s brain capacity, she likely couldn’t stir up much of a storm!

Lin Ning let her be and focused entirely on picking cotton.

Right now, what could be more important than picking cotton?

Driven like a clockwork machine, Lin Ning soon left Gu Rou far behind.

Even though Gu Rou couldn’t keep up, she persevered and didn’t slack off or rest.

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about it, but every time she looked up and saw her sister laboring diligently ahead, she felt too embarrassed to be lazy.

As the sun climbed higher in the sky, the village loudspeaker signaled the end of the shift.

To Gu Rou and the other educated youths, that sound was like heavenly music!

Nothing in the world sounded sweeter.

“Let’s go, back to rest.” Lin Ning walked back. Seeing Gu Rou, who could no longer straighten her back, she showed some mercy and reached out to support her.

Gu Rou looked at the person before her—her face looked relaxed, her hair was tidy, and she didn’t seem tired or strained in the slightest.

Then she looked at herself. She couldn’t see her own face, but it was covered in sweat and felt scorched by the heat, a sensation that hadn’t faded since the sun fully rose.

Then there were her hands. Originally fair and slender, after just one morning they looked coarse, with peeling skin at the fingertips and hangnails—they hardly looked like her own hands.

And her waist—it felt as though it simply wouldn’t straighten up again.

She had already tried her hardest, yet she still felt she wasn’t standing upright.

Finally, Gu Rou couldn’t help but ask, “Sister, why aren’t you tired at all?”

Lin Ning had been scanning her up and down from the start. Hearing the question, she glanced at her. “You’re this exhausted from just this little bit of work? Rourou, you still need to train.”

Gu Rou: “…!”

Why am I getting lectured? I worked so hard!

Lin Ning supported her. “Let’s go back first. You rest, and I’ll cook.”

Hearing this, Gu Rou pouted. “Sister, did I hold you back?”

Lin Ning didn’t answer. Instead, as they crossed the Nanhu field and reached the road entering the village, they saw the educated youths returning one after another.

Lin Ning gestured for her to look:

“Look at the others who are ‘holding things back.’ Do you feel a bit more balanced now?”

Gu Rou saw them, but she couldn’t feel balanced.

Specifically comparing them… and her!

This comparison gave her a devastating realization that everyone except her sister was basically useless!

The other youths saw them too, and someone suggested, “Comrade Lin, why don’t you come eat at our station? We assigned people to go back early and cook; the food will be ready when we arrive. You still have to cook if you go home, so why not just grab a bite with us?”

The speaker was Wu Jianshe, the short, thin male youth who sat opposite her during dinner yesterday.

As soon as he spoke, before Lin Ning could say a word, the half-dead Gu Rou “came back to life,” straightening her waist. “No need. I appreciate the sentiment, but I will cook for my sister myself.”

After speaking, she stared at him with an expression of intense vigilance.

Comrade Wu was stunned by the stare, and the other youths looked at each other in confusion. They were fine yesterday; why the sudden change in attitude today?

But no one felt comfortable asking. Instead, a few youths looked toward Comrade Ye, thinking she might be able to talk to the sisters.

However, Ye Shiyu didn’t intervene, keeping her eyes down as if she hadn’t seen a thing.

Lin Ning glanced at Gu Rou but didn’t ask what she was up to.

However, Gu Rou’s words reflected her own thoughts; eating at the station once was enough.

“Thank you for the kind offer, Comrade Wu, but no thank you. we’ll just go back and make something ourselves.” Since they were all fellow youths and would be seeing each other constantly, she rejected him politely since he meant well.

Comrade Wu was disappointed but simply said, “Alright then.”

Lin Ning and Gu Rou picked up their pace. As they walked, Lin Ning suddenly stopped and nudged Gu Rou. “Ask Comrade Ye if she wants to go buy straw hats later. We can go together?”

Gu Rou really wanted to ask: Why don’t you ask her yourself?

But she opened her mouth and turned to Ye Shiyu anyway. “Comrade Ye, my sister asked me to ask you if you want to go buy straw hats together later?”

Ye Shiyu felt a bit flattered by the invitation.

Lin Ning, on the other hand, was speechless!

Was that what I meant?

Forget it, it wasn’t important.

She just wanted to create an opportunity for the male and female leads. If they couldn’t meet in person yet, exchanging some news through the grapevine would be a good start!