The 70s Novel: The Supporting Character Just Wants to Lie Down-Chapter 81: Winning Favor by Working in the Fields

"Are you the one who’s stupid?" Wang Miaomiao was exasperated. How was she stupid? She was smart! She lowered her voice to interrogate, "Tell me, why are you so insistent on working in the fields? What’s your scheme?"

"What are you thinking, silly girl..." Jiang Yan smiled slightly, a glint flashing through his bright eyes too quick to catch. He wore a half-smile as he offered a strange yet reasonable excuse, "To finish the work earlier and have dinner sooner. The paths are hard to walk at night. I’m afraid I’ll end up driving into a ditch if it’s too late."

"Really..." Wang Miaomiao thought about it and found she couldn’t come up with a reason to refute, so she glanced at him again, still feeling today’s impression of him was way different from previous times.

"Uh, clothes..." Wang Pandi brought over the clothes and shoes but was momentarily unsure how to address him.

"Thank you, sister-in-law." Jiang Yan naturally accepted and thanked her.

"Huh? Aren’t you Gangzi’s superior?" Wang Pandi was a bit confused. She had heard Yang Zhigang mention this person more than once, referring to him as the ’boss’. Shouldn’t the boss be older than Gangzi?

"I enlisted earlier but am a year younger than Gangzi." Jiang Yan was indeed younger than Yang Zhigang. Why he fared better than Yang Zhigang was due in part to his personal abilities, but his family background and upbringing were indispensable factors, too.

He grew up in the military, went to the battlefield for training with his father at thirteen, and all his military achievements were forged from the fires of war.

"Oh my, Xiao Jiang, you’re truly young and promising, incredible." Liu Yulan praised without reservation, "Come, I’ll take you to the room to change clothes."

"Haha, I’m flattered; Gangzi is very capable too." Jiang Yan stood up to follow Liu Yulan, not forgetting to leave a good impression score for his good brother.

Wang Miaomiao watched him leave, rolling her eyes and pouting, so childish. And this is what’s young and promising? Her mom was too easily swayed, wasn’t he just a minor leader...

Unexpectedly, she was caught by Cheng Xue, the little gossip immediately surfaced, "Sister Miaomiao, what’s wrong? Did my little uncle bully you?"

"Uh, no, you saw wrong." Wang Miaomiao immediately adjusted her expression, showing a broad smile, trying to get by, "Xiao Xue, I’ll take you to see our room. You’ll stay here today. You might have to share a bed with me. I wonder if you’ll get used to it..."

Cheng Xue wanted to say more but was half pushed and half dragged into the room by Wang Miaomiao. Inside, they saw several beautiful clothes hanging on a specially made rod in the room, "Wow... how pretty! Whose clothes are these?"

The rod was full of new clothes, all made by Wang Pandi, both for others and for family members.

"My second sister made them, isn’t she amazing?" Wang Miaomiao was relieved to see Cheng Xue’s attention attracted by the clothes.

Alas, she had let herself lose control due to a moment of jealousy. In her previous life, she worked diligently for over a decade, getting promoted and a raise without ever earning a single compliment from her parents. Yet, that person did nothing but say a few words and got praised. Feeling sour, she then acted irrationally... she totally regretted it... Fortunately, only Cheng Xue saw it. Hopefully, she’ll have the memory of a goldfish and forget it quickly.

At that moment, Cheng Xue was indeed fascinated with the clothes. She picked up a trench coat and compared it to herself, looking expectantly at Wang Miaomiao, "Sister Miaomiao, can I try it on?"

Wang Miaomiao glanced at the clothes, found the fabric familiar, and figured it was something she had asked her second sister to make, assuming it must be hers. Nonetheless, she still needed to ask her second sister, "Wait a moment, I’ll call my second sister."

Wang Pandi was called into the room and explained that half of the clothes were meant for others, and trying them on was fine as long as they weren’t stained. The trench coat was made for Wang Miaomiao, so it could be worn freely.

Cheng Xue jumped up excitedly and, with Wang Miaomiao’s help, tried on all the clothes she liked.

Meanwhile, Wang Pandi had no time to join in their fun as she still had to prepare dinner for the whole family.

Liu Jianmin had long since been dragged away by Wang Jia Bao to find their little village friends, climbing trees to dig for birds and catching fish in the river, running wild on the field ledge.

Liu Yulan, leading Jiang Yan who was dressed in an old military uniform, arrived at the fields, causing quite a stir among the villagers.

A few women stopped working to gather around Liu Yulan, chirping and asking questions.

Not far off, Li Yinfeng had a dark expression on her face as she quietly reaped rice, her hands moving more slowly as if lost in thought...

In the adjacent field, Zhang Hexiang looked at her with disdain, "What? Regretting it now? That was originally a match meant for Zhaodi, but you interfered, causing Zhaodi to drop a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed. Look at the man she married now. How can he compare to Yang Zhigang..."

"Shut up already, Zhaodi is married now. If you dare keep blabbing this nonsense outside, and Liu Yulan hears it, let’s see if she won’t deal with you." Li Yinfeng growled a low threat, sounding irritated.

"Tsk, I’m not dumb enough to say this to her face. Do you think everyone is as brainless as you?" Zhang Hexiang retorted, feeling both verbally and mentally satisfied as she bent over to continue working with more enthusiasm than before.

Indeed, some people enjoy building their happiness upon others’ misery.

Jiang Yan went over to Wang Baoxing’s place, burying himself in work, wielding a sickle with no sign of discord. Village chief Zhang Bingkun, standing nearby, continuously nodded his head approvingly, striking up a mundane conversation on family matters, "Such a good lad, Baoxing, just like your son-in-law, a real hand at work."

Yang Zhigang also often came to help his father-in-law after work, something the villagers noticed and envied about Wang Baoxing.

"Hehe..." Wang Baoxing chuckled, "Xiao Jiang is my son-in-law’s superior, so naturally, he’s even better."

The village chief Zhang Bingkun, hearing that, suddenly brightened his murky eyes, "Oh? Is Xiao Jiang also in the township’s armed forces department?"

Wang Baoxing was momentarily stunned by the question. He didn’t know, and just as he was about to speak, Jiang Yan took over, "Not in the armed forces department. I used to be comrades with Gangzi, but now I’ve retired and work in a factory as a skilled worker."

"Oh? Being a skilled worker is good. Having a craft means you’ll never worry about food..."

"That’s right. Times are good now. All of us ordinary folks have enough to eat..."

Zhang Bingkun subtly probed Jiang Yan’s background, but unfortunately, Jiang Yan was slippery, and after a long conversation, nothing useful was gleaned.

A little after five, Yang Zhigang hurried over after work.

With two extra strong hands at Wang Baoxing’s place, the rate of harvesting immediately increased a notch, once again stirring envy among the surrounding villagers.

Especially the Li Family, who were the original introducers of the match to Zhaodi’s prospect, sigh... it’s too late to say anything now.

The field gradually went silent, with everyone burying their heads in hard work. After all, without the additional help, they dared not lag too far behind others.

By a little past six, the Wang Family had completed their tasks, and under the envious gazes of fellow villagers, the four left the fields first, talking and laughing as they went.