Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 102 - 101: Making Clothes

Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Making Clothes

As the only educated youth in the neighboring eight villages who could stably earn ten points every day, Sister Lan had every reason to be proud and arrogant.

So...

"So, should we really not try to persuade her?"

"Sure, go ahead and persuade her. You go first, and I’ll follow."

"..."

"Don’t worry, I’ll definitely carve all the truths you’ve spoken onto your gravestone, for posterity to admire."

"..."

By the window, two locust tree branches that should not have been there at all were sticking out, and behind the green leaves, two pairs of eyes were hiding.

Wang Shumei did not want a gravestone, not at all.

She sighed, slid down along the wall, tossed aside the branches, turned around, and sat down at the base of the wall. Making sure she wouldn’t be seen, she finally said, "But this isn’t right, right? Of course, what I’m really worried about is that the comrades at the newspaper will suffer innocently."

Lin Nianhe’s hand trembled a little, as if struck by some terrifying thought.

But she reassured herself in the next moment, "Yeah, it’s fine, who in the provincial newspaper would know me?"

As she spoke, she too discarded her disguise of tree branches and came to sit next to Wang Shumei.

Actually, how poorly Wen Lan wrote her essay wasn’t that important. Nobody is born knowing how to write, which is completely understandable.

But the term "gossiping and slacking off" appeared nine times in this sub-five-hundred-word essay, which made the two parties involved quite embarrassed!

If this got out, they would probably be laughed to death.

Lin Nianhe said to Wang Shumei in a low voice, "You should have told her at that time that her essay was mediocre but acceptable – not brilliant but without any major errors."

Wang Shumei glanced at her and said, "Then why didn’t you say it?"

"I was too flustered," Lin Nianhe said earnestly with a straight face, "You know my temper. If it weren’t for worrying about affecting our friendship, you’d be kneeling at Sister Lan’s grave and crying right now."

Wang Shumei looked at her with complicated eyes: "Lin Nianhe, you can’t be this shameless."

Lin Nianhe replied, "My life was almost gone, why should I care about keeping face?"

There was some truth to these words, leaving Wang Shumei without a reply.

After a while, Wang Shumei kicked at the ground and whispered, "So, are we really going to let her submit the article?"

Lin Nianhe picked a leaf off the branches casually, fiddling with it as she spoke, "Actually, there is a way..."

"If you have a solution, why didn’t you say it earlier!" Wang Shumei grew anxious, raising her voice a bit.

Lin Nianhe hurriedly threw away the leaf and covered Wang Shumei’s mouth, then whispered in her ear, "Think about it, whether Sister Lan is working or studying, she has no time to go to town, right? She can’t possibly ask those two for help with such a big matter. So, when the time comes... I’ll find a place to burn that cursed thing."

Wang Shumei’s eyes shone brightly as she commented, "That’s mean, but doable!"

"So then..."

"Hey, I’ve finished copying it!"

Just then, Sister Lan came out, "Hezi, do you have any spare envelopes to sell me a few?"

Lin Nianhe quickly clung to the keyword, "A few?"

"Yes," Wen Lan nodded vigorously, her expression very serious, "My former neighbor used to write for newspapers. He said that submitting articles is like casting a net to catch fish. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense, so I copied a few extra copies, planning to send them to several newspapers."

Lin Nianhe: "..."

Wang Shumei: "..."

"Right, and I’m also planning to submit to newspapers in Beijing and Liao Province!"

After finishing, Sister Lan looked at them with a "you should feel honored" gaze.

Lin Nianhe: "...!"

Wang Shumei: "...!"

At this moment, their thoughts were exceptionally aligned—

Burning the manuscript may be unscrupulous, but this is you, Wen Lan, forcing our hand!

Watching the two stone-faced individuals, Wen Lan urged, "Hezi, do you have it or not?"

Lin Nianhe snapped back to reality, somewhat awkwardly scrambling up from the ground: "Have, have, have. Just wait, I’ll get it for you."

Saying this, she gave Wang Shumei a meaningful glance before heading to the backyard to fetch an envelope for Wen Lan.

Wang Shumei savored Lin Nianhe’s intention and asked in a seemingly casual manner, "Xiao Lan, you should focus on your revisions. There’s always time to submit your work. You shouldn’t waste time running to town."

Wen Lan felt torn. She frowned at the manuscript paper in her hand, struggling to contain her impatience.

She spoke softly, "But I heard from my neighbor that writing articles for newspapers pays."

Wang Shumei opened her mouth to speak but said nothing.

Lin Nianhe returned with the envelope, just in time to hear this exchange.

Her steps involuntarily slowed, the envelope in her hand feeling somehow heavier.

Since Wen Lan went down to the countryside, she had only one wish—to go home for the New Year.

She toiled to death every day for ten points for this sole purpose, and she studied desperately to become a teacher, also because of this.

And now her attempt to submit her writing...

No, even if it was to go home, this task was absolutely not to be undertaken!

Lin Nianhe shook her head, handed over the envelope, and said earnestly, "No worries, I’m going to town tomorrow anyway, I can mail it for you."

Wen Lan immediately smiled, "That’s settled!"

She took the envelope and began to pack up her manuscript papers.

Wang Shumei stood up and asked Lin Nianhe in a low voice, "Is what we’re doing...?"

"Sister Shumei, ask yourself, is that essay even likely to be published?" Lin Nianhe posed a very realistic question.

Wang Shumei replied, "Impossible."

Forget the newspaper, even in a high school Chinese exam, this would never qualify as an outstanding essay to be showcased.

Lin Nianhe patted her on the shoulder, "So..."

"Is Miss Wen here?"

Aunt Li’s voice interrupted their fleeting sense of guilt.

They both simultaneously pointed towards the door: "Inside the room."

Aunt Li came with Wang Xixi, holding a small bundle in her hand, with a hint of red peeking through the crevices.

Comrade Daxi’s face was beet-red, and she was looking everywhere but into anyone’s eyes.

Lin Nianhe raised an eyebrow, "Is the bride preparing her wedding attire?"

Wang Shumei giggled softly, "Came to be measured together?"

Wang Xixi’s eyes filled with terror, "I didn’t say anything!"

Aunt Li burst out laughing and casually pinched Lin Nianhe’s cheek, protectively defending Wang Xixi, "Don’t talk nonsense, our Daxi is thin-skinned."

Lin Nianhe stood on tiptoe.

That comment seemed to suggest she was thick-skinned.

Aunt Li was no longer the same as before; her preferences had significantly grown.

Aunt Li, smiling, pulled Wang Xixi into the house, while Lin Nianhe and Wang Shumei followed unabashedly, foregoing the small branches as excuses to enter.

Wen Lan heard the noise and was about to get off the kang (traditional Chinese bed), but seeing four people push their way in, she had no choice but to retreat and ask, "What’s wrong, Aunt Li?"

Aunt Li sat on the kang, placing the small bundle in her hands down, and said, "With the wedding approaching, originally Aunt Zhao was to make Daxi’s dress since she has the best sewing skills in the village. But just our luck, with Accountant Zhao’s illness getting severe again, she can’t spare the time."

Aunt Li looked cheerfully at Wen Lan, "I figured, Miss Wen, you did a good job sewing Miss Lin’s dress that day, and was wondering if you had the time to make Daxi’s dress."

Wen Lan looked at Wang Xixi, then at Aunt Li, her fingers unconsciously touching the manuscript paper beside her.

Actually, she wanted to write a couple more articles—she didn’t have the time...

As Aunt Li pulled out the cloth, she said, "Girl, I won’t deceive you. We’ll use the same price as your Aunt Zhao, three yuan for a set."

Wen Lan replied, "What else could I possibly be busy with every day? I can do it, I can!"