Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 439 - 438: How Idle Can One Be

Chapter 439: Chapter 438: How Idle Can One Be

In the Educated Youth Corps, Li Dahe pointed at the half-man-high stack of books on the kang bed, his teeth itching with hatred.

"You really outdid yourselves, didn’t you?"

Fuming with anger, Li Dahe repeated this sentence three or four times.

In front of him, fifteen members of the Educated Youth Corps present stood neatly in two rows.

Li Dahe took a few breaths, cursing through his clenched molars, "Are these books even fit to look at? Can you read them? Do you want everyone to be sent to a re-education class if they find out? Have you gotten so spoiled that you no longer know your place?"

As the Senior of the Educated Youth Corps, Sun Guanghui felt obliged to step forward and take the blame, "Uncle Team Leader, it’s my fault, I didn’t stop everyone."

Li Dahe: "I know it’s your fault, you don’t need to remind me."

Sun Guanghui choked and lowered his head.

Li Dahe glanced at him and continued to scold, "Do you think you can read whatever book is handed down by the leaders? The leadership provided those books for Lin Nianhe, to assist with export work. What, do you all think you’re Lin Nianhe? Do you also need to make drawings for the textile factory?"

Everyone kept their heads down, looking at the tips of their shoes, quietly taking the scolding without a word.

"If it were normal times, I’d let it go, I couldn’t be bothered with you, but what time is it now? Eh? How many outsiders in the village are keeping an eye on you!"

"Do you think you’re safe just because you’re part of the family? The comrades from the battalion saw you reading inside the house! If it weren’t for me blocking them, who knows who might be here instead of me?"

Everyone continued to lower their heads, earnestly taking the scolding without retort.

Li Dahe, having run here in a hurry and after a long bout of scolding, had a dry throat and couldn’t help coughing twice.

Lin Nianhe, who stood in the first row, sprang forward, brought a cup of water over to Li Dahe, considerately saying, "Uncle Team Leader, have a drink of water first, take it easy, don’t be in a hurry, I’ll talk to them for you."

After she finished speaking, without waiting for Li Dahe to open his mouth, she turned to the others and said, "Look what you’ve done. I’ve already said, wait until the battalion comrades have left before you read. Look how angry you’ve made Uncle Team Leader..."

Everyone: "...?"

Wait, weren’t they all being scolded together? How did her role suddenly change?

Lin Nianhe patted Li Dahe’s back to smooth his breath, looking at them with a face full of disappointment as if she was upset with their incompetence, "You’ve really disappointed Uncle Team Leader!"

Everyone: "..."

Oh, the humanity!

Li Dahe drank a few sips of water, turning his head to look at Lin Nianhe, "What are you being smug about? This has nothing to do with you, right?"

Lin Nianhe chuckled awkwardly, "Uncle Team Leader, what are you saying? I really do have special permission from the leadership to take these books."

"How did the books end up in their hands?" Li Dahe eyed her skeptically.

Lin Nianhe blinked and counter-questioned, "Would you believe me if I said they snatched them away?"

Lin Nianhe swore that she was telling the truth!

She hadn’t even had a chance to see clearly what books Uncle Huang had gotten for her before this crowd rushed over and divided up all the books.

Li Dahe: "Do you think I’m stupid?"

Suddenly, everyone started to push back:

"Uncle Team Leader, do we look like people who would steal from others?"

"She was the one who distributed them, really, it was her!"

"She even said there was special permission, that it would be fine if we read them!"

Lin Nianhe: "...?"

Couldn’t they tell that she was just trying to placate Uncle Team Leader just now?

"Lin Nianhe, you’ve really disappointed the Team Leader!"

Lin Nianhe: "..."

Oh, the humanity!

Li Dahe got a headache from their arguing, put down his teacup, and barked, "Still got the nerve to yap? So you all did the right thing, huh?"

Everyone fell silent again.

Li Dahe turned to look at Lin Nianhe, "And you! Do you think just because you have special permission that you’re out of this? For this incident, at the very least you’ll be reprimanded for negligence, and at worst, it’s intentional dissemination!"

Lin Nianhe pouted and stayed quiet.

"Sun Guanghui, Sie Yufei!"

"Present!"

"The two of you, move these books back to Lin Nianhe’s place!"

"Ah?"

"Hurry up! Otherwise, I’ll stuff them into the stove and light a fire right now!"

Under Li Dahe’s threat, all the books were moved back into Lin Nianhe’s hut.

Li Dahe asked her, "Check and see if any are missing."

Lin Nianhe complied with a reply, took out the book list given to her by Uncle Huang, counted them, and nodded: "Nothing’s missing."

"Good," Li Dahe glanced at the others who had tearful eyes and said emphatically, "If I catch you reading these books again, I don’t need anyone else to report you, I’ll send you to the commune myself!"

"Yes..."

Everyone looked dispirited, as if they had lost their vitality.

Li Dahe didn’t leave right after saying those words. He watched Lin Nianhe put all the books into the cabinet and lock it, then he finally sighed in relief and collapsed on a chair, legs giving way with fatigue.

Lin Nianhe pulled open a drawer and, using her body to shield her actions, took out three more locks.

She glanced at the few people still lingering outside the hut, and with a sneaky smile, twisted all the locks onto the cabinet door.

Li Dahe: "..."

Was this girl in the lock-selling business or what?

But he didn’t stop her, and with a sigh said to Lin Nianhe, "There are a lot of strangers in the village these days, you never know what’s on people’s minds, keep these books safe and don’t stir up trouble."

"Don’t worry, I understand." Lin Nianhe nodded.

These days, she had been busy with her drawings and hadn’t given it much thought. She assumed that in winter, not many people would visit, and those battalion educated youths were always off before dawn to build houses over at the old Victory Team, they weren’t here during the day, and at night...

She never would have imagined someone would go to the bathroom at night, see the light on in the Educated Youth Corps, and run off to snitch!

How idle could a person be!

As it turned out, Lin Nianhe’s understanding of people’s leisure time was still not quite accurate.

The next day, a day off, also happened to be Lin Nianhe’s birthday.

Coincidentally, it was also the birthday of the original host she replaced, as if it were destined in the unseen world.

Wang Shumei and Wen Lan woke up early, cooked her two eggs, and cheerfully said, "Here, eat up, and grow up in one gulp."

Lin Nianhe was a bit stunned; she hadn’t told them that today was her birthday!

Seeing her confusion, Wang Shumei explained with a smile, "I’ve seen the registration list for our batch of educated youths."

"I see," Lin Nianhe smiled, "Thank you to both sisters."

"Nothing to thank for."

As she spoke, Wang Shumei took out a red, twist-knit woolen sweater she’d just finished knitting a couple of days ago, "This is for you, try it on."

Beside her, Wen Lan also unwrapped a bundle, revealing a neatly folded red woolen coat: "I made this one, you’re slim, so I took it in at the waist for you, it’ll look nice on."

Lin Nianhe subconsciously asked, "I don’t remember giving you red woolen fabric."

"Hey, I got Brother Qian to help get it," Wen Lan said with a tilted chin, "I started preparing a long time ago."

"Thank you Sister Lan, thank you Sister Shumei."

Lin Nianhe embraced them both.

"What silly talk... if anyone should be thanking, it should be us two thanking you."

"Silly girl... try it on quickly."

"Alright!"

Tears glistened in the corners of the eyes of the three girls.

They had supported one another through everything so far; without Lin Nianhe, they wouldn’t have been able to earn as much money; without Wang Shumei and Wen Lan, she might already have died on the mountain; without Lin Nianhe and Wang Shumei, she might have already gotten into a hundred fights...

Lin Nianhe put on the new clothes they made for her and a pair of small leather shoes, and just as she happily spun around, she heard a robust female voice from the front yard—

"To truly understand the significance of going to the countryside, we have specially used this rest day to organize a support class. After eating, hurry to the village school to gather, this will be recorded!"

Lin Nianhe looked puzzled, "Who the hell is that? They haven’t been beaten, have they?"

Wang Shumei sneered, "With that tone, you can tell she’s asking for it."

Sister Lan couldn’t be bothered to speak, instead, she picked up the door bar from the corner of the wall.

Lin Nianhe: "...!"

"Sister Lan! Show some restraint with your hands!"