Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 439: Half-Dead and Barely Alive

"Can’t help you if you can’t bear it."

Ji Jian was relentless once she set her mind to it, leaving Yang Qing with no choice but to play deaf and ask Yi Chichi, "How much longer?"

"Don’t worry, just wait another half an hour or so."

While chatting, Yi Chichi’s hands kept busy, meticulously repairing the torn seam. Without matching fabric for a patch, restoration was her only option.

It was a delicate task, not something you could rush.

On hearing it would take another half hour, Yang Qing couldn’t sit still. She looked around and noticed a patch of land in the yard, with some grass sprouting, and realized it was meant for planting vegetables.

"Are you planning to follow the army?"

"No, I’m going back in a few days."

Ji Jian, "??? Then why start farming?"

"It’s not me, it’s Wen Shi. He wanted to plant some vegetables to improve the taste of his meals."

In Wen Shi’s eating habits, vegetables like greens need to be stir-fried or eaten raw to be flavorful; he didn’t like the cafeteria’s greens.

In his words, the greens felt limp and flavorless, like boiled water, not appetizing at all, better to eat them raw.

"But he never had time to plant them."

Yang Qing saw her chance to shine.

"I’ll plant them for you. What do you want to eat?"

Yi Chichi was astonished, "You’re going to plant them?"

"It’s no big deal; just pull some seedlings from the Old Ji Family or my garden, plant them, and water them a bit, and they’ll grow."

She made it sound as easy as drinking water or eating food.

Yi Chichi began doubting herself, "Why is it so easy for you all to plant vegetables?"

"Did you kill all of yours before?"

The two didn’t respond, only questioning her back, their gazes filled with confusion.

Like they couldn’t understand how such a simple task could be done wrong.

Upon seeing their looks, Yi Chichi blushed, "It’s not that bad, just that they didn’t thrive."

They got it; they were barely surviving.

"I’ll plant them for you. I guarantee that when you get back, your Wen Shi won’t be short of vegetables."

"...Okay."

Unable to refuse the kind offer, Yi Chichi agreed, but she thought she’d need to buy their child some candy to show her gratitude.

Little did Yang Qing know her thoughts; she was just lending a hand with planting because she had nothing else to do, only for her husband to come home the next day with ten White Rabbit candies.

Yang Qing, "??? Who gave you the White Rabbits?"

It’s quite a lot; two a day would last her child five days.

"Why couldn’t I have bought them?"

Mr. Huang was quite indignant, as if he couldn’t buy a few sweets.

But Yang Qing rolled her eyes, "You remembered to take your cigarettes when you left this morning but forgot your pocket money. You don’t like borrowing money, so how did you buy these White Rabbits?"

That made perfect sense.

Mr. Huang was left speechless, only able to tell the truth, "Old Wen gave them, to thank you for helping with the gardening."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qing was flustered, grabbed the candies, and headed out.

"I can’t accept his candy; I helped because Xiao Yi was mending my dress..."

Her arm tugged, she stopped mid-stride, "Why are you pulling me?"

"Don’t go giving them back; Old Wen and his wife won’t accept them."

Once given, they shouldn’t be returned.

"Next time Comrade Xiao Yi needs help, just lend a hand."

Yang Qing felt this was unlikely; she didn’t need Yi Chichi’s help with what she could do, and she couldn’t help with what Yi Chichi did.

So, "Are you sure we don’t need to return it?"

"No need, Old Wen’s like a brother."

Yang Qing understood then, brotherhood was paramount; being too formal would affect the camaraderie between men.

With that in mind, she accepted the candy.

Meanwhile, Wen Shi was reporting his achievement to Yi Chichi.

"Wife, I thanked Old Huang."

"How did you thank him?"

"Gave him ten White Rabbits."

"That’s nice."

Wen Shi, "..."

Is that a compliment on his choice of candy or on his initiative?

He felt it was the latter.

So, he happily asked, "Do I get a reward?"

Yi Chichi was silent for two seconds, "What reward do you want?"

"Let’s play a more exciting ’game’ tonight."

The word "exciting" was spoken with layers of meaning, his expression full of anticipation.

Yi Chichi wanted to refuse but remembered his clinginess, knowing refusal was futile.

When Wen Shi got clingy, he would go to any lengths to get what he wanted.

She couldn’t win against him.

"Let’s play then."

After all, she wasn’t the one exerting herself, as long as he wasn’t afraid of getting tired.

Seeing her consent, Wen Shi was overjoyed, in an elated state.

Then, he lavishly over-salted the dishes.

Yi Chichi, having eaten half a shrimp, skeptically tried another dish, only to find it saltier than the last.

"This meal is inedible."

Wen Shi looked over, as if he’d lost his taste buds, looking a bit puzzled.

"What’s wrong?"

He glanced at the table full of dishes, they seemed pretty abundant.

"Don’t you find it salty?"

"...It is a little, but it’s fine."

Nothing compared to the saltiness of soybean paste.

He honestly thought it was okay.

"Why don’t I cook you a new dish?"

"No, I’ll just rinse it with water."

Disliking the hassle, Yi Chichi decided to wash the salt off her food, experiencing her first water-rinsed dish since coming to this era.

The novelty was rather fun.

That night the experience was even more novel, tiring her out until she fell asleep.

When she woke, it was already past two in the afternoon; she’d missed both breakfast and lunch, her stomach growling, but fortunately, there was food Wen Shi had brought back on the table.

The temperature wasn’t low, so eating the cold meal was fine.

After eating her fill, she set out her embroidery frame to get to work, but soon the light dimmed.

Then came the sea breeze laden with moisture.

Yi Chichi, "???"

This can’t be a typhoon, could it?

Her actions quicker than her thoughts, she hurriedly moved the embroidery frame indoors, knowing some things could be discarded, but not her silk and thread.

If ruined, she’d not only have to cover the loss, but her previous work would be wasted, and she’d have to start over.

Just as she got the frame back inside and closed the window, the gale hit.

She dashed out, only to see clothing on the line and items like baskets and sieves flying or rolling about.

The problem was, many homes were empty at this hour, so she rushed out to collect clothes and helped her neighbors gather their things.

At that moment, the raindrops started pouring.

Nearby, some other wives were also rushing to gather things, and seeing Yi Chichi poking at clothes caught in a peach tree with a bamboo pole, one yelled, "Xiao Yi, stop poking and get inside, the rain’s getting heavy. Be careful the tree doesn’t snap and fall on you."

"Got it, sis, I’m heading in."

Having just knocked the clothes down, Yi Chichi abandoned the pole, grabbed the clothes, and ran for home.

Then, the storm surged in.

The continuous rain veil obscured vision, nearby and afar all shrouded in mist.

Standing under the eaves, she watched the torrents, a sense of anxiety rising within.

The rain had come suddenly, and the wind was terrifyingly strong; if the rain didn’t stop soon, serious problems would arise.