BT70sTMUMP Chapter 12

The Female Lead’s Grievance

In contrast, the people in this world envied city dwellers, believing they didn’t have to do much labour and could earn wages just by working in offices all day. In this village, money was scarce throughout the year, and people often faced hunger and cold.

However, in this era, the differences between the city and the countryside were minimal, each having its own pros and cons.

The village committee was still organizing people to donate tables and chairs and searching for a blackboard, so the literacy class was said to start in a few days. Meanwhile, she followed the Lin family as they cleaned up their newly bought house. The Lin family had a lot of people, mostly boys, so when they worked, it was lively and bustling.

Su Su followed Mother Lin to clean the windows, but soon her hands turned bright red from the cold.

“My dear girl, don’t clean anymore. Go inside and sweep the kang. A woman mustn’t catch a cold before marriage,” Mother Lin said, feeling sorry for her because her hands were too delicate, having come from the city.

Su Su chuckled and went inside to sweep the kang, but Lin Hai quickly snatched the broom from her, saying, “Sister Su, you’re sweeping wrong; you might hurt your hands. Let me do it.”

She suddenly found herself with nothing to do. Then, seeing that there was hot water in the pot, she said, “I’ll wash the curtains.”

“Do you know how?” Lin Hai frowned, giving her a once-over, his face turning red as a beet. She was too pretty; the more he looked, the more he thought she seemed like the delicate ladies from tales, surely incapable of doing any chores.

He thought to himself that if he were to marry a wife, he couldn’t marry someone like this. She wouldn’t be able to do any work, and he’d constantly worry about her.

Wait, why was he even thinking about getting married? His older brother wasn’t married yet; who knew when it would be his turn?

Su Su had no idea his thoughts had wandered so far. She simply said, “I can handle this much work,” and then found a basin, intending to lift the pot lid to ladle water.

But the pot lid of this era was made of wood and quite heavy. She couldn’t lift it and let it drop back down with a bang.

“Be careful not to burn yourself.” The pot lid had a gap in the middle, and seeing the silly girl trying to pry it open with her fingers, it was obvious she’d never cooked before.

Lin Chuan stepped forward, grabbing her hand down before lifting the lid himself.

Seeing the steam rush out, Su Su realised she had been saved. She turned back and said, “Thank you.”

Whether it was from the steam or the heat of the work, she felt that Lin Chuan’s face looked a bit red through the mist. But before she could look closely, he had already taken large strides into the yard to chop firewood. From the sound, it seemed like he was venting, striking the wood with a loud, forceful rhythm.

Feeling a bit puzzled, she fetched the water and began washing the curtains. The current curtains were made of Dacron with embroidered patterns, quite easy to clean, and the windows were small, so it didn’t take long.

After washing, she hung them outside to dry. Although they would freeze into a clump, she could bring them inside and place them on the kang, and in a couple of days they’d be dry. That’s how she dried her clothes before; it was really tough.

Just as she finished hanging one side and was about to hang the other, a large hand snatched it away. She looked at her own hands, then at the tall figure walking away, her head filling with question marks. But Mother Lin said, “Let Chuanzi hang them for you, don’t come out and freeze your hands.”

“Oh, oh.” Well, he wasn’t entirely a blockhead; he knew how to care for a girl.

But then Mother Lin added, “Chuanzi, after you finish hanging the curtains for Su Su, go fetch Yue Yue over. This house will be hers in the future; she should have a say in how it’s arranged and cleaned.”

Lin Chuan nodded and left.

As Su Su wiped her hands, she thought to herself, isn’t this the part in the plot where the female lead is supposed to do some chores? But Mother Lin didn’t say it like that; she only asked her to come and see how the house should be arranged. That’s a sign of respect, since she’s the future bride who’ll be living here.

Besides, with so many people working, there wouldn’t be much left for her to do. By the time Lin Chuan brought her over, most of the cleaning would probably be done.

She didn’t say much and decided to watch how the female lead would react.

After about half an hour, the female lead finally arrived, looking quite aggrieved.

Ah, so it really was a misunderstanding.

When you don’t like someone or are mentally rejecting them, you can never get close to their heart. That’s the situation with the female lead now. Lin Chuan had many good qualities, but she ignored them all.

For example, even now, she was protected as she came in, but when she arrived and saw the family busy, she frowned. Then, like a wronged little wife, she asked Mother Lin, “Auntie, what can I do?”

She didn’t ask if there was anything to do; she directly asked what she could do. Clearly, she misunderstood.

But Mother Lin, being an honest old farmer, didn’t catch the underlying meaning of her words and simply said, “Go inside and take a look.” Meaning, check if there’s anything that needs rearranging or cleaning.

So the female lead went inside, took a look around, picked up a broom, and swept the floor a few times, but ended up pricking her hand.

Su Su thought that she and the female lead might be on the same wavelength, both being the type who were clumsy and unfamiliar with household chores.

“Are you okay? The floor is already swept; you don’t need to do it.” Su Su took the broom from her, but then noticed the female lead secretly shed a tear. Was this for her to see?

“I… I really don’t know what to do or how to clean up the house. What should I do now?” Qin Yue Yue whispered to Su Su.

Su Su knew her thoughts had already gone astray, but this needed to be explained. Frowning, she said, “Comrade Qin, what do you mean by that? Auntie asked you to come here to see how to arrange the house, where the furniture should go, not to clean the house. Didn’t you notice? Everything that needed doing has already been done.” Her voice wasn’t too low; the person placing the basin outside could definitely hear it.

Although she didn’t know who was outside, it was good to spread the word.

“Well, they can arrange it however they like. There’s still work at the commune, and everyone is having a meeting, discussing how to continue doing things that will benefit the village during the off-season,” Qin Yue Yue said, her tone shifting as she realised Su Su was entirely on the Lin family’s side.

Su Su replied, “Oh, then take a quick look around. If there’s anything you’re unhappy with, let Auntie know, and you can head back. Don’t let me keep you from your meeting.” With that, she turned and left without waiting for the female lead’s response. She didn’t dislike her; she just felt the Lin family’s efforts were being wasted on someone who didn’t appreciate them.

As she stepped outside, she saw Lin Chuan standing by the door, his face a bit dark.

Uh oh, others can pass on the message if they hear it, but this person will definitely not pass it on.

“I’ll walk you back,” Lin Chuan said, standing at the door waiting.

“I… I just got here, leaving so soon doesn’t seem right…” Qin Yue Yue knew she owed much of her ability to stick around here to the Lin family’s help, so she didn’t want to offend them.

“I’ll walk you back,” Lin Chuan repeated firmly. With no other choice, Qin Yue Yue hesitantly stepped outside and said to Mother Lin, “Brother Chuan said he’ll walk me back, so I’ll head out now.”