Time Travel: Volume 1! Starting from a Small Mountain Village

“I’m not trying to stir up trouble, but Yang is just being dishonest,” Liu Zhaodi quickly said. “You know, she was coaxing my son to help her with the work when she was working in the fields. She must have feelings for my son, otherwise why would she ask him to do the work?”

"So, I wanted Yang Zhiqing to date my son, but who knew she would turn her back on me and tell me to get out."

"Is she clearly trying to renege on her responsibilities now that she's become a village doctor?"

"I see." Long Lifan understood after hearing Liu Zhaodi's words. She had known about this matter since she recommended Yang Zhiqing to be the village doctor, but it wasn't Yang Zhiqing who asked Lin Weibing for help; it was clearly him who shamelessly offered to help.

"Then, Auntie, what do you think should be done?" Having understood the whole story, Long Lifan was not in a hurry and asked Liu Zhaodi with a smile.

"Either I make her agree to date my son, or I have to pay her back!" Liu Zhaodi thought that Long Zhiqing was on her side when she asked her this question, so she immediately put forward her own conditions.

"Ha ha"

Long Lifan suddenly burst into laughter. This laughter not only stunned everyone present, but even Liu Zhaodi felt a chill run down her spine upon hearing it. So, she timidly asked:

"Long Zhiqing, what are you laughing at!"

“What am I laughing at?” Long Lifan stared at Liu Zhaodi and said loudly, “I’m laughing at myself for hearing the most ridiculous thing since I came to the countryside. That Lin Weibing was eager to help, and Yang Zhiqing refused many times, but he still did what he wanted.”

"What? Just because he helped with a small favor, and he even took the initiative, he expects her to agree to date him? Isn't that ridiculous? If that's the case, then people shouldn't bother with matchmakers when they get married. They can just go and help whoever they like with their chores."

"If someone doesn't agree, you just wantonly smear their reputation. I heard that your aunt's family also has two daughters, right? Can everyone do the same?"

“You’re talking nonsense. My son was the one who rushed to help. It was clearly Yang, the educated youth, who was deceiving my son.” Liu Zhaodi trusted her son completely, so she didn’t think it was his fault.

"Lin Weibing, you tell me, did you go to help on your own initiative, or did Yang Zhiqing ask you to go?" Long Lifan ignored Liu Zhaodi and instead looked at Lin Weibing's figure in the crowd.

"Yes…"

"Think carefully before you speak. If what you say differs from what Yang Zhiqing said, then I'll have to ask Director Huang or Director Luo to help investigate who is lying."

"I..." If anyone else had said this, Lin Weibing might not have believed it, after all, who would call the police for such a trivial matter? But facing Long Zhiqing, he really didn't dare to take the risk, as Long Zhiqing always did things differently from ordinary people.

"I offered to help!" Lin Weibing dared not lie and said with his head down.

“Aunt Liu, you heard it too, it was your son who rushed to help.” Long Lifan raised her eyebrows and smiled. “Then you can’t blame Yang Zhiqing, it has nothing to do with her.”

“My son also helped her with the work. Since they’re not a couple, he can’t work for free. And her…” Liu Zhaodi thought about how not only did her son not find a partner today, but she was also beaten. Pointing at Yang Lijuan, she said, “She hit me just now. She not only has to apologize to me, but also pay me compensation.”

"You..." Yang Lijuan was about to retort when she saw that Long Lifan not only wanted her to apologize but also wanted her to pay compensation, but she saw Long Lifan shake her head slightly and stopped talking.

"Then how much compensation do you think we should pay?" Long Lifan asked softly, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Liu Zhaodi had originally planned that after her son married Yang, the educated youth, she would manage his monthly salary. Now that was no longer realistic, but she remembered that Yang received a monthly allowance of 10 yuan (5 yuan each from the commune and the production team).

She then made an outrageous demand, saying, "My son did so much work for her, so let's say 5 yuan! I don't need her apology, but she injured me, so she has to pay me at least 10 yuan in compensation."

"15 yuan. As long as they give me the money today, this matter will be over."

"Captain, could you please have someone call Zhou Huiji and ask him to bring the brigade's work points book?" Long Lifan turned to Lin Guodong and said.

"Okay!" Lin Guodong was not sure what she was going to do, or what Long Zhiqing was up to, but he readily agreed.

Before long, Zhou Huiji rushed over in a hurry, carrying several account books. "Long Zhiqing, what do you need me to do with these account books?"

"Could you please help me check how many work points Lin Weibing has in a month, Captain?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Guodong and Zhou Huiji began to compile statistics on Lin Weibing's attendance records.

“Long Zhiqing, let’s do the math. Lin Weibing only has 48 work points in a month!” Zhou Huiji revealed the data he had compiled. In fact, they hadn’t expected Lin Weibing to have so few work points.

Hearing this number, Long Lifan felt a surge of disdain. Although the women gathered pig feed every day, they still gained two centimeters each, meaning that Lin Weibing was even inferior to Hu Lili, since they gained 60 centimeters each month.

Most importantly, there was a rush harvest period a while ago, and even during that time, Lin Weibing tried to cheat and shirk his duties.

"Long Zhiqing, why did you have Zhou, the clerk, tally up my son's work points?" Liu Zhaodi was a little unhappy. Announcing it in front of so many commune members would just let everyone know she was a lazy person. For some reason, Liu Zhaodi felt uneasy.

"Of course we need to find evidence!" Long Lifan said coldly. "Your son only earns a few dozen work points a month, but you made Yang Zhiqing pay you 5 yuan. I suspect you are extorting him."

"You're talking nonsense. Maybe my son was just working extra hard when he was helping the educated youth!" Of course, Liu Zhaodi wouldn't admit that she was suspected of extortion.

"That means your son is very capable."

“Of course, my son is capable.” Liu Zhaodi looked up, praising her son earnestly.

“Five yuan’s worth of weight is at least nearly a hundred centimeters, which means your son can earn a hundred centimeters in just over ten days. But the data that Zhou Huiji just tallied shows that your son only grows about 40 centimeters in a month.” As Long Lifan listened to her praising her son, she thought to herself, “Keep praising him, see if he can still smile later.”

"That makes sense. He's capable of earning 100 centimeters in just over ten days, yet he's doing work that only earns 40 centimeters a month. It seems Lin Weibing has serious ideological problems and needs to be sent to the Revolutionary Committee for ideological reform."

"No, that's not it!" Upon hearing this, Liu Zhaodi panicked. Lin Weibing was the only male in their family, and she couldn't bear to see her son get into trouble.

"There's only one truth: either you deliberately blackmailed Yang, or your son has ideological problems. Aunt Liu, can you help me figure out the specifics?"

"me…"

Liu Zhaodi froze, intimidated by Long Lifan's imposing manner, taking several steps back before collapsing weakly to the ground. What could she say? If she admitted to extortion, would Long Lifan send her to the police station? But if she mentioned her son, he would likely be…

Between her son and herself, it seems she can only choose one now. Facing Long Zhiqing, she doesn't even dare to unleash the same tantrums she usually throws.

Long Lifan gave a wink to the captain in the crowd. Lin Guodong immediately understood, and stepped forward with a smile, saying:

"Oh dear, we're all from the same brigade, we see each other all the time, there's no need to make things so awkward for everyone."

"We only know about Widow Liu. She can be a bit unreasonable and domineering, but she doesn't have any bad intentions. As for the guards, we've watched them grow up, and their thinking is absolutely sound."

“It was indeed Liu the widow and the others who were wrong today. How about this, let them apologize to Yang the educated youth. Also, Liu the widow started it. Let her give the educated youth some compensation, and we'll let this matter go.”

What do you all think?