Chapter 320 - 18: The Cannon Fodder Sister-in-Law in the Group Pampering Novel (18)

Xie Jian looked at her, his eyes cold and indifferent.

"What’s the problem?"

"The regulations state that young adults must participate in labor to earn work points! Jiang Lai repeatedly ignores the rules. I have the right to punish you by canceling your work point reward today!"

Xie Jian hadn’t seen much of the world, but he wasn’t so easily fooled. Miao Yan didn’t dare look him in the eye when she said this, clearly trying to deceive him, taking advantage of the fact that he hadn’t been educated and knew nothing.

"Cancel my work point reward? Who decided that?"

"The leadership up top!"

"Which leader, I’ll go find them."

Xie Jian’s tone was serious and earnest, he never joked when speaking or doing things. Miao Yan instinctively hesitated, but remembering her current status and why should she fear a country farmer?

"The secretary said it! You won’t listen to what the secretary says? Have arms and legs but lazy and unwilling to work, does that even match her identity as a village woman? Anyway, your work points are gone for today, and if she doesn’t come again, you’ll have no work points in the future either!"

Xie Jian gave her a cold look, said nothing, and turned to leave. The oppressive atmosphere finally vanished, and Miao Yan heaved a sigh of relief, then fiercely scribbled a few marks on the paper.

"Just a farmer!"

What’s there to be arrogant about all day long, relying on heaven for food and having no status. Really don’t know why I fancied him before!

Yes, nothing good about him.

The whole village knew about the matter of Xie Jian’s work points being canceled because Jiang Lai didn’t go to work.

Lv Cuiping clapped her hands in delight upon hearing this.

"Just wait! Just wait for him to be dragged down by that vixen! By then, even if he begs, he shouldn’t expect to reach our doorstep!"

Xie Yumian heard it all clearly from the side.

The next day, Xie Jian went back to work, Jiang Lai still didn’t go to work. Some people saw her taking a tractor to town early in the morning.

"I saw it! Dressed in red and green like a demon, chatting and laughing with a man on the tractor!"

"Xie Jian’s really unlucky to have married something like her! No movement in the belly, and now she doesn’t even work, everything relies on Xie Jian! Well, now, can’t even earn work points. Wonder what they’ll eat and use for the New Year!"

In their busy farm time, many villagers talked about Jiang Lai.

Their tone full of disdain and scorn, glad their family doesn’t have such lazy bums.

Many even went to ask Miao Yan when finished reporting work points.

"Did Xie Jian’s work points get canceled again today? I saw Jiang Lai didn’t go again today."

Miao Yan didn’t lift her head, her brows furrowed in impatience.

"Go back and spread the word, this is the outcome of being lazy and greedy!"

"Oh, don’t worry, my whole family came! Not one missing!"

"Same with us, same here."

Each reporting for glory with work points, ending up realizing together they earned less than Xie Jian did alone in a day.

Same as yesterday, Xie Jian’s work points were still voided by Miao Yan, not a single one recorded.

Xie Jian still said nothing, turned around and went straight to the village secretary’s office. The secretary’s assistant saw him and said directly.

"The secretary’s still in town and hasn’t returned."

"When will he come back?"

"How should I know? The secretary’s so busy, would he abandon work to rush back because of you?"

The attitude was cold, surveying Xie Jian up and down before urging him to leave.

"We’re off work, come earlier next time, don’t waste our time."

Xie Jian went home in the evening, Jiang Lai had just returned from the town, excitedly showing what she had brought back to Xie Jian.

"Look at this."

The bag contained a jar of refined rice, a bag of flour, a large pack of dried meat, and a few flattened white steamed buns.

"Indeed there are more nice things in town."

Xie Jian gave her a look, straightforwardly asked.

"Do our food coupons cover these purchases?"

The coupons for refined rice and ordinary rice are not the same, and Jiang Lai even had dried meat, which couldn’t be bought even with money.

"Didn’t I dug up quite a lot of wild eggs a few days ago, and some leftover meat, I took them to town to sell."

"Sell? How did you sell them?"

Private trading of goods is illegal now, if caught, severe punishment is guaranteed.

Jiang Lai remained calm.

"Asked a guy and followed him, that alley’s full of sellers. Someone exchanged some rice and flour tickets for eggs with me, and I sold the marinated chicken at seven mao per pound for over six yuan."

Some things don’t require coupons, but they’re more expensive. Jiang Lai didn’t mind spending the earned money quickly, also bought a glove for Xie Jian.

"Wear it when working, look at your hands."

Jiang Lai held Xie Jian’s hand, the fingertips were coarse, the joints callused, and the tiger’s mouth even had cracks. Xie Jian’s hands were wide, fingers long, nails trim and tidy. They should be beautiful hands, yet hard labor turned them weathered.

Xie Jian carefully watched Jiang Lai, a restrained light hidden deep in his dark eyes.

"Next time, I’ll do such things, you stop doing it."

"It’s alright, I’m clever, nothing will happen."

With Little Buding as the super lookout, Jiang Lai could run faster than a rabbit at the slightest sign of trouble.

This was also a path for development, as long as not caught, it’s definitely easier than farming.

Xie Jian saw Jiang Lai’s uninformed look about village affairs, and said nothing more, and early the next day, Jiang Lai packed up again and headed for town.

This time she carried a big basket, took a tractor to town, following Little Buding’s guidance, and slipped into an alley and squatted down waiting, holding a sign, with a few words written on it.

Selling wild eggs, fish, shrimp, meat.

Soon, the first customer approached.

Customer: "How much for eggs?"

Jiang Lai: "Four mao per pound."

Customer: "Four mao? Supply and marketing co-op sells for two mao."

Jiang Lai: "Mine don’t need tickets, look how fresh my eggs are."

The person hesitated for a moment but nodded.

"Alright, how many do you have?"

"About six or seven pounds."

"Give me all of them."

The first sale was done, Jiang Lai had over two yuan more.

Following Little Buding’s advice, she packed up and moved to another spot, this time in an alley behind the supply and marketing co-op, with more people inside.

Just squatted down, someone asked.

"How much for shrimp?"

"One yuan and two mao."

"That expensive?"

"River shrimp are nutritious, and catching them isn’t easy, many buyers want them. Do you want some?"

That person knew shrimp are hard to get, decisively nodded, weighed three pounds, bought them all.

A while later, someone else came asking.

"What kind of meat?"