They went to work at noon.
The brigade leader ca over to make his rounds, inspecting the situation at the threshing ground. When he saw the pile of corn waiting to be threshed in front of Gu Jiaojiao, he gave it a second look.
Seeing her chance, Wu Cuizhi, who was standing nearby, began to taunt her sarcastically, "Brigade Leader, at Gu Zhiqing’s pace, who knows when she’ll ever finish? Isn’t she just slowing everyone down?"
"If this keeps up, we’re not working with her tomorrow."
Several others nearby chid in, "We’re not working with her either."
None of them wanted to work with Gu Jiaojiao.
Hearing this, Aunt Zhao couldn’t help but frown. "Don’t be such bullies. We may be working together, but isn’t our grain tallied separately? We each do our own share. If Gu Zhiqing is slow, she can just work longer. It’s not like she’s taking advantage of you."
Wu Cuizhi was not pleased. "That’s not how it works. We’re a team. If she’s slow, isn’t she dragging us down?"
"The first-place team gets extra work points, you know! With her being so slow, how are we supposed to get first place?!"
Everyone in the first-place team would get an extra work point. One work point was still a work point, and that mattered to them.
With Gu Jiaojiao holding them back, their team’s position in last place was practically set in stone.
Aunt Zhao was furious but was left speechless.
Gu Jiaojiao glanced at a smug Wu Cuizhi. She knew the woman was holding a grudge over their "friendly chat" from the morning, so she spoke up with a smile.
"What Auntie says is true! But it’s my first ti doing this kind of work, so there’s bound to be a learning curve, right? Maybe I’ll get the hang of it by tomorrow!"
"You? Yeah, right!" Wu Cuizhi nearly laughed her head off.
’The way Gu Jiaojiao fumbled with her work, there was no way in hell she’d be any good by tomorrow!’
Seeing her disbelief, Gu Jiaojiao proposed a bet directly. "Then let’s make a bet. One yuan. The loser gives the winner one yuan."
When Wu Cuizhi heard "one yuan," her eyes lit up. Her family spent less than a yuan in an entire month. For Gu Jiaojiao to be so generous... Wu Cuizhi was terrified she’d go back on her word.
"Brigade Leader, you heard her! She’s the one who challenged to this bet. It has nothing to do with ."
Gu Jiaojiao nodded. "That’s right, we’re both doing this willingly. I’ll definitely do more work than you tomorrow. If I don’t, I’ll give Aunt Cui Zhi one yuan. If I do, Aunt Cui Zhi gives one yuan."
Wu Cuizhi winced at the thought of having to pay a yuan herself, but when she thought about Gu Jiaojiao’s incompetence, she knew there was no way she could lose. She imdiately nodded in agreent.
The brigade leader didn’t intervene. A bet was a private matter between the two of them. Besides, if a bet could boost morale and productivity on the threshing ground, he was all for it.
So, he acted as a witness for the two of them. In fact, it wasn’t just the brigade leader; everyone present was a witness.
However, the teams vying for first place were utterly disdainful.
"Is Gu Jiaojiao an idiot? Working that slowly and she still thinks she can win? It’s a total fantasy."
"I think she just has more money than sense. Betting a whole yuan just like that... she clearly doesn’t know how to manage a household."
As far as they were concerned, this so-called bet was just Gu Jiaojiao handing Wu Cuizhi a yuan for free.
Of everyone there, Wu Cuizhi was the happiest. She was about to get a yuan for doing nothing and was practically giddy with joy. Suddenly, Gu Jiaojiao didn’t seem so irritating anymore. In fact, Wu Cuizhi almost wished she would work even slower.
Aunt Zhao didn’t approve, but the words had already been spoken. She was an outsider in this matter, so in the end, she didn’t say anything more.
User Comments
0 comments from readers