Chapter 139: Female Educated Youth 9

Only the four people who had arrived with Ren Xin knew exactly how formidable her combat strength was. Watching the Female Educated Youth named Zhang Li act so fearless, they couldn’t help but marvel at her sheer audacity.

Zhang Li refused to let it go, determined to teach Ren Xin a proper lesson.

“Ren Xin, what you’re doing is undermining the internal unity of us Sent-down Youth. It’s wrong. You need to perform a self-criticism¹.”

Ren Xin replied with a faint expression, “Honestly, even speaking to someone like you feels like an act of charity on my part. Am I not compassionate enough? You’re already trying to label me a troublemaker? What exactly did I undermine? Did I dig up your ancestral graves? When it comes to preaching, your mouth never stops, but the moment something actually happens, you’re all tears. You’re utterly useless!”

Zhang Li: “…”

Fan Zhili kindly offered her a way out. “Forget it, Ren Xin just has that kind of temper. We’ve all been scolded by her. Does that make you feel any better?”

Zhang Li was the type of person who got more worked up when people tried to stop her. She began gesticulating wildly, her arms flailing about.

“Ren Xin, you must fix your attitude today! You…”

“Fine, my attitude is fixed. What are your instructions?”

Zhang Li was left speechless by Ren Xin’s sudden shift.

Ren Xin sneered. “I gave you a chance, girl, but you’re just incompetent! There’s still too little water in that brain of yours. You should pack more in there so your small intestines don’t take up all the space.”

With that, Ren Xin turned and walked away.

Zhang Li looked frustrated. She hadn’t performed well at all—why was her tongue so clumsy?

It was supposed to be her scolding the other girl into a state of confusion until she apologized!

Book Spirit Number One came online: 【Host, why do I feel like you’re a bit irritable? That attack power was quite startling.】

Ren Xin refused to admit it. “Was it? I think I was incredibly friendly. That’s slander!”

The magnetic field of this plane must be off; she was being influenced by it!

【Host, I’m literally crying. You’re even blaming the magnetic field, just to avoid blaming yourself!】

Well, you see, a good ginseng never engages in internal conflict.

Ren Xin wandered around. Most of the villagers had gone beachcombing, as they said there was a high tide today. Those who hadn’t gone out were at home mending fishing nets. When they saw Ren Xin, they all gave her friendly smiles.

Ren Xin stood at a doorway with a familiar air and asked politely, “Auntie, may I come in and chat? I’m a Sent-down Youth who just arrived today.”

The older woman smiled and waved her in. “Come in! It just so happens I was bored being by myself. Girl, can you understand our local dialect?”

As a ginseng spirit, Ren Xin had no language barriers. She pretended to be shy and said, “I can understand a bit. Half of it is guesswork.”

The auntie laughed heartily, saying she would get used to it in time.

Ren Xin continued chatting with her about everything—the weather, how to find seafood, and the typical harvest from a trip out to sea.

In no time at all, Ren Xin had a clear grasp of the village’s complex social web. She even knew that a man at the end of the village had caught a massive haul yesterday, and that a couple in the neighboring village had gotten into a fight, resulting in the wife returning to her parents’ home in a fit of rage.

It was truly a waste of the auntie’s talents; it was a pity she was born in an era without an entertainment industry.

Ren Xin bid the auntie farewell and headed back toward the youth hostel.

The veteran Sent-down Youth had already returned. Everyone was standing in the courtyard exchanging pleasantries. The newcomers still hadn’t ventured inside without permission, waiting in the yard for the seniors.

Ren Xin shot a smile at Zhang Li, as if to say: See? All that fuss you made was as redundant as taking off your pants to fart[^2].

Zhang Li’s face turned green with rage. Fan Zhili appeared again to comfort her. “What’s wrong? You don’t have some kind of terminal illness, do you? Why is your face that color?”

Zhang Li directed her impotent fury at Fan Zhili. “Why are you so annoying? You’re everywhere!”

Fan Zhili looked aggrieved. “I’m only trying to help. Look at how pitiful you are—first you get scolded, then you’re huffing and puffing with a green face, and you even smell like a jar of pickles. I didn’t even hold it against you, yet you’re shouting at me. I’m not playing with you anymore.”

Zhang Li: “…” What was this person talking about? She smelled like a jar of pickles?

---

Translator’s Notes

---

1. self-criticism: A formal practice in Maoist China where individuals were required to publicly admit their ideological errors or mistakes as a form of political and social correction. ↩
2. taking off your pants to fart: A common Chinese idiom (脱裤子放屁) used to describe doing something completely unnecessary or over-complicating a simple task. ↩