Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 372 - 371: Chopping Firewood and Cutting Timber

Chapter 372: Chapter 371: Chopping Firewood and Cutting Timber

On the grain drying yard, rows of logs were neatly arranged, with Zhao Zhuangshi and Li Xiaoshan each occupying one row.

A group of young people gathered around, cheering boisterously, while the children from the village ran back and forth with leaps and bounds. What was supposed to be a monotonous and dull task had been turned into a spectacle by their playfulness.

Zhao Zhuangshi, holding his axe, said to Li Xiaoshan with a sly grin, "Hey, how about we make a little wager? If I win, how about giving your wife’s red scarf to my little sister?"

"Buzz off!" Li Xiaoshan glared, "Don’t you dare think about my wife’s belongings, I saved up several years to buy that for her!"

"Tsk tsk, how stingy you are," Zhao Zhuangshi wiped his nose and rubbed his hands, "then if you lose, you owe me a pack of Chienmen Cigarette!"

A pack of Chienmen cigarette costs thirty-five cents, an absolute luxury in the countryside.

As expected, Li Xiaoshan refused: "You want Chienmen? Why don’t you just ask to go to heaven? At most, I’ll bet a pack of Big Economy!"

A pack of Big Economy cigarettes cost eight cents, that was the limit Li Xiaoshan was willing to accept.

"You’re so darn cheap!" Zhao Zhuangshi cursed under his breath.

Li Xiaoshan ignored his provocations: "No bet, no deal!"

"Bet! Who said no bet? Big Economy it is, just don’t welch on the deal!"

Zhao Zhuangshi looked aggrieved, but he was secretly delighted. Who cares what kind of cigarettes they were, having them was better than not!

Li Xiaoshan, still worried, reminded him again: "If you lose, you also have to give me a pack of Big Economy."

"I know, I know. Could you be missing out?" Zhao Zhuangshi said carelessly. "Besides, how could I lose to you?"

Li Xiaoshan snorted and gripped his axe tighter.

Their wager was endorsed in front of all the villagers who were witnesses, as everyone laughed and bantered amidst the fluttering snowflakes, enjoying the excitement.

"Come on, whoever finishes chopping first wins, ready——go!"

As a spectator who temporarily acted as a referee waved their hand, two axes began their dance in the air.

The grating sound of wood being split was incessant, logs wrapped in brown bark were neatly sliced open by the sharp axes, clattering as they fell to each side.

Zhao Zhuangshi and Li Xiaoshan swung their axes, shuffling their feet, both like wood-chopping machines pushing forward.

Li Xiaoshan was skilled at labor, but Zhao Zhuangshi truly lived up to his reputation of chopping wood from a young age — halfway through, he had left Li Xiaoshan behind.

"Go go go!"

"Xiao Shan, faster!"

"Put your back into it!"

The onlookers shouted, their gazes following the movement of the axes.

"Crack——"

After one final swing, Zhao Zhuangshi turned around and saw that Li Xiaoshan lagged behind by five logs.

"Hey, lost, haven’t you? You admit defeat?" Zhao Zhuangshi panted heavily, steam rising from his forehead.

Only after finishing the last five logs, Li Xiaoshan stood up, panting, and gave him a stare: "I accept the loss, but I don’t accept you!"

"Damn, I never realized you were such a tough talker before!" Zhao Zhuangshi exclaimed.

Li Xiaoshan ignored him and rolled his eyes, saying: "I’ll go buy your cigarettes after chopping wood tomorrow, I won’t owe you anything!"

"Alright, I’ll be waiting!"

Zhao Zhuangshi, having gained an advantage, knew when to quit while ahead, chuckling without making any more trouble, wary of making Li Xiaoshan so angry that the promised cigarettes would vanish.

The grain drying yard was bustling with activity as people helped to pick up the scattered split wood, and after a few laughs, resumed their own tasks.

The following day, after the snow stopped, the wood-chopping brigade assembled on time to head up the mountain again.

The mountain trail was covered with snow, but no one cared. Trudging through the snow for a few days during wood chopping was routine, something they were well accustomed to.

Teachers were not required to go up the mountain to chop firewood—the village school still needed to hold classes, and they had legitimate business to attend to.

Other Educated youth had no such privilege, carrying axes and following the large group up the mountain.

Yu Xiangqin was also in the group, with Wen Qingqing and Wen Ruannuan supporting her on either side.

She could have stayed behind, but she was unwilling to lose the points and adamantly refused to take leave.

"Sister Xiangqin, are you really okay? Otherwise, just forget it, alright? There’s still a long way to go!" Wen Ruannuan didn’t quite understand Yu Xiangqin’s behavior and pleaded with a frown.

Yu Xiangqin clenched her teeth so hard they felt sour and gasped as she spoke: "Just sprained it, it’s not broken, I can earn five points in a day, I’m fine."

If she had family sending her money and Food Tickets every month, she wouldn’t be willing to suffer this hardship either!

But she didn’t, so she had to value every single point.

Endure the pain today, and next year she could get a bit more grain!

Wen Ruannuan wanted to say more but was stopped by a look from Wen Qingqing.

They followed the group to the tree felling area, waiting for the men to chop down the trees before starting work.

Spotting a large rock nearby, Wen Qingqing said, "Sister Xiangqin, you rest over there for a while, and we can get up to work later."

Yu Xiangqin was genuinely in pain and did not refuse, hobbling over to sit down.

After settling her down, the Wen family’s sisters went together to pick up twigs nearby. They were not strong enough to chop firewood, so they participated in collecting fallen branches. While Yu Xiangqin could earn five points, each of them could only earn three.

Yu Xiangqin sat on the large rock, rubbing her ankle through her cotton pants.

"Hey, in your condition, why did you still come up the mountain?"

Yu Xiangqin startled, looked up, and saw Zhao Zhuangshi with a twig in his mouth, leaning against a tree trunk. Seeing her look at him, he provocatively arched his eyebrows.

Yu Xiangqin rolled her eyes: "What? You can come up, but I can’t?"

Zhao Zhuangshi hopped around twice, looking infuriating: "My legs are fine, unlike yours, can’t even walk straight."

Yu Xiangqin was so irritated, she gritted her teeth and said: "Just you wait, next time you want me to test you on characters, I won’t do it!"

"Eh? Why do you get so worked up over a couple of words?" When Zhao Zhuangshi heard she wouldn’t help him anymore, he quickly fished out two roasted chestnuts from his pocket and threw them to her, "I was wrong, okay? Teacher Yu, don’t be like me."

"Hmph." Yu Xiangqin snorted lightly, cracked open the chestnuts and said vaguely, "At least you admit your mistakes quickly... I’ll let you off this time."

Zhao Zhuangshi was slacking off behind a tree, jiggling his leg, suddenly recalled: "Hey, that sentence Lin Nianhe owed me from last time when I tested characters..."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted, and far-off cries of terror rang out, mixed with waves of shrieking and screaming.

"Hey, hey! Those over there, get out of the way!"

"Run, run fast!"

Instinctively, Yu Xiangqin looked up, just in time to see a thick tree toppling toward her!

Actually, dodging a falling tree is quite easy, as those with experience know that just a couple of steps to the side will keep you safe.

But there are two prerequisites for easy evasion: one is experience, and the other is the ability to run.

Yu Xiangqin, having been in the countryside for many years and participated in the tree felling with the villagers, had the experience. But with her ankle agonizingly painful, she could hardly walk, let alone run?

Holding onto the chestnut, she watched, wide-eyed, as the tree came closer and closer...

"Damn, are you f*cking looking to die just standing there?!"

Yu Xiangqin only heard a furious cursing near her ear, then her body was tackled to the ground by a rushing figure, and they both tumbled into a pile of snow.

"Thump!"

The tree hit the ground, and the snow fog thrown up blinded Yu Xiangqin.

Beneath the tree, the snow was stained red.