Chapter 7: Ask for more work points to avoid loss

Because Jiang Meihua likes dealing with animals, she also becomes friends with the town’s veterinarian.

But Aunt Jiang always said that her family was not well off and was not worthy of the young veterinarian who had a commercial grain household registration in the town, and she did not allow Jiang Meihua, who had a rural household registration, to see the young veterinarian.

Jiang Meihua was honest and obedient. Under Aunt Jiang's brainwashing, she also felt that her family was poor and that the young veterinarian wanted to date her just to play with her.

She felt so inferior that she never met the young veterinarian again. After hearing Aunt Jiang's arrangement, she married a blacksmith from another village.

The young veterinarian was very disappointed for a while. On the night before Jiang Meihua's wedding, he came to the village and talked to Jiang Meihua for a long time, but Jiang Meihua still did not accept the young veterinarian's love.

When the reform and opening-up policy was on the rise in the south, the young veterinarian packed his bags and went to the south, where he opened a pet hospital in S City, which was once the largest in S City. Later, he bought several shops and became the best-off among the migrant workers in Hongqi Town.

And Jiang Meihua married a man with a bad temper. How could he stand Jiang Meihua's slow and gentle temperament?

He was either beaten or scolded every day.

He scolded her for being slow and stupid even when she was pregnant. When he knew that she married him after being dumped by a young veterinarian in town, the blacksmith beat and scolded her even more harshly.

The words changed from calling Jiang Meihua stupid and slow to calling Jiang Meihua a used slut.

When Jiang Meihua was 28 years old, she couldn't stand the beatings and humiliation anymore, so she tied herself up with a rope.

[If Second Aunt doesn't take the job of herding cattle, the job will be taken away by someone else tomorrow.] Jiang Xiaoxiao is worried about Jiang Meihua.

Jiang Meihua tilted her head and listened. Did she hear Xiaoxiao's thoughts?
"I'll go talk to the team leader and ask him to change my job to herding cattle. Herding cattle also earns work points," said Jiang Meihua.

"How many work points can you earn from that?" Aunt Jiang said with disdain, "The women in the commune team are all competing with men for work. Meihua, you're going to do the job of herding cattle? Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

[Grandpa Deng said: It doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice, it is a good cat.] Jiang Xiaoxiao clenched her fists.

"A cat that can catch mice is a good cat, and a job that can earn work points is a good job. Mom, you say herding cattle is not good, but there are people in the team who are rushing to do it." Jiang Meihua said.

"Who robbed it? Why didn't I hear about it?" Aunt Jiang rolled her eyes.

Who robbed it? Jiang Meihua didn't know either. She heard Jiang Xiaoxiao's inner voice say this.

Is Xiaoxiao the lucky doll of the family? I am thinking about her.

[Niu'er is disobedient, so she has to ask for more work points to avoid losing out. Ergu is honest, so the team leader will be mean to her, right?] Jiang Xiaoxiao sighed.

Jiang Meihua bit her lip. No, she had to take the initiative to talk about this matter and couldn't be honest.

"Mom, if Meihua wants to herd cattle, let her do it. She is right. It's enough as long as she can earn work points. Let her do whatever she wants." Jiang Daguo tried to reconcile.

"Okay, okay, whatever you want. If you don't earn any work points and are laughed at by the villagers, don't blame me for not reminding you in advance." Aunt Jiang patted her sleeves, stood up, and walked to the kitchen. "Meihua, come in and help boil the bath water."

Jiang Meihua bit her lip and said, "Mom, I want to go to the captain's house now and tell him that I will not be weeding tomorrow but herding cattle."

"Are you really going?" Aunt Jiang turned around and said with a cold face.

"Mom, didn't you agree?" Jiang Meihua frowned.

"Mom, let me boil some water. Let Meihua do her thing." Liu Xihua stood up and said.

"Okay, Xihua, come and boil the water, Meihua, you go quickly and come back soon." Aunt Jiang said nothing and turned into the kitchen.

Jiang Meihua let out a breath, and quickly went to the village team leader's house before it got completely dark.

After explaining the purpose of our visit, the team leader said, "Meihua, you are really too slow. Okay, if you want to herd the cattle, from today on, the matter of herding the cattle will be yours."

"So how many work points should be recorded?" Jiang Meihua asked tentatively.

"Four points as usual," said the team leader. "Three big cows and one calf, you have to feed them, cut the grass and put it in the cowshed, and clean the cowshed. The one with crooked horns is not obedient, so you have to follow him when you plow the field."

Jiang Meihua said, "There are a lot of things to do, and Niu'er has a bad temper. Four work points are too few. Six work points is fair." The team leader patted his forehead and said, "Let me think about it and get back to you tomorrow."

Jiang Meihua returned home.

After she left, a member of the team came to the team leader and said he wanted to herd cattle. But when the team leader said he could only give him six work points at most, he disagreed, saying he was a male laborer and insisted on seven work points.

The team leader frowned and thought it would be better to give it to Jiang Meihua.

He spread his hands and said, "I gave it to Jiang Meihua. You came too late. She only wanted six work points. You are clumsy and want seven work points? You should dig ditches. Digging ditches earns more work points. Besides, you can't herd cattle well."

The next morning, the team leader called everyone to work. When he arrived at the door of Jiang's house, he called Jiang Meihua, "Jiang Meihua, I agree with the work points you mentioned. From today on, you will go to herd cattle. In the afternoon, you will plow the fields. In the morning, you will feed the three big cattle."

Jiang Meihua was overjoyed and walked out of the house, "I understand, Captain."

After the team leader left, Aunt Jiang asked Jiang Meihua, "How many work points did you get?"

"Six work points a day." Jiang Meihua said with raised eyebrows.

Aunt Jiang's eyes widened. "Six work points? That's so many?"

"Mom, Meihua now earns the same number of work points as her sister Meizhi, so please stop talking about Meihua." Jiang Daguo walked over and said.

Aunt Jiang glanced at Jiang Meihua and said, "It depends on whether she can do this job for long or not. She should not be scolded by the captain!"

Jiang Meihua exhaled, "I know, Mom."

After the family had breakfast, everyone except Aunt Jiang and Liu Xihua went out one after another.

Aunt Jiang went to her neighbor's house to borrow a pattern for insoles. Liu Xihua was also busy, taking apart a worn-out sweater and planning to knit a coat for Jiang Xiaoxiao.

At this time, Jiang Meilan, who was in junior high school, came back with her schoolbag.

Liu Xihua pulled her and said, "Meilan, why are you back again? Are you not going to school anymore?"

Jiang Meilan was so busy playing yesterday that she forgot to do her homework. She only remembered it when she arrived at the classroom door early in the morning and saw the teacher checking homework.

If she didn't have her homework, she would be spanked, so Jiang Meilan decided to pretend to be sick and not go to the classroom.

"I... my stomach hurts." Jiang Meilan covered her stomach.

Liu Xihua asked worriedly, "Do you want to see a doctor?"

"Ah, no need. I just need to sleep for a while." Jiang Meilan walked to a bench and lay down on it.

Seeing her lazy look, Liu Xihua touched her forehead and said, "I'll get Doctor Chen to take a look at you."

Jiang Meilan was about to say no, but then she remembered that Dr. Chen had some sweet deworming pills, so she quickly said, "I might have worms in my stomach, I want to take the deworming pills."

"Okay, okay, you take care of Xiaoxiao, I'll go find Doctor Chen." Liu Xihua waved her hand and left.

Seeing her walking away, Jiang Meilan quickly slipped into the bedroom on the west side, looking around, and finally, her eyes set on the milk powder can.

She grinned, picked up the jar with a smile, and figured out how to open it.

Jiang Xiaoxiao sighed as she looked at this little girl who didn't want to go to school and only cared about eating and playing.

[If my sister-in-law doesn’t study, she will suffer a lot in the future]

Jiang Meilan was shocked. How could this little kid talk?

(End of this chapter)