Chapter 7 Women's Director

"What if I lose Shitou one day? It wouldn't be easy to find it again, and if I carry a stone with me all the time, people would think it's odd."

Xia Xiao certainly hadn't intended to stand out, but she didn't dare to try leaving Shitou in the space and going out by herself. What if she lost the precious space she had so hardly gained?

Xia Xiao clenched Shitou tightly, feeling somewhat reluctant to let it go.

Suddenly, Xia Xiao slapped her forehead, calling herself silly. She realized that she could simply try entering without holding Shitou.

Immediately, Xia Xiao gave it another try but discovered that without holding Shitou, she really couldn't enter.

Xia Xiao didn't dare to test any further. The space was too precious. If she didn't have it, so be it, but now that she had acquired it, she was unwilling to lose it.

That day, Xia Xiao caught Gao Jiaxing right after school.

Gao Jiaxing asked, "What are you doing?"

Xia Xiao handed over Shitou, "Try it and see if you feel anything. Call out, um..."

Xia Xiao placed Shitou in Gao Jiaxing's hand, then said, "Call out, 'I want to go in,' and give it a try."

"Hurry up and call out," Xia Xiao urged when she saw Gao Jiaxing not moving and continued.

"Are you okay? Did you really hit your head?" Gao Jiaxing looked at Xia Xiao with bewilderment, wondering how talking to a stone could be considered normal behavior.

Xia Xiao's mouth twitched, having never been spoken to this way before, but she also knew that having Gao Jiaxing test with a stone was indeed an unusual request.

Yet, she was very eager to know if Gao Jiaxing, holding the stone and calling out to enter, would be able to go into the space just like she did.

"Are you going to do it or not?" Xia Xiao glared at Gao Jiaxing, but her small stature made her look far from intimidating against the tall Gao Jiaxing.

Gao Jiaxing did as told, holding Shitou and calling out, "I want to go in."

Xia Xiao watched intently, but after a long moment, there was no reaction from Gao Jiaxing and the stone remained unchanged. Relieved, Xia Xiao snatched Shitou back from Gao Jiaxing's hand, thanked him, and ran off.

Gao Jiaxing watched Xia Xiao leave, completely baffled and muttered, "She's not light-headed; she treasures that stone as if it were a gem."

Xia Xiao returned to the dormitory and took the chance while everyone else was away to enter the space, holding Shitou.

She couldn't resist drinking a mouthful of the spring water - wow, it was cool and sweet, definitely tasting better than the well water and tap water.

Xia Xiao dared not drink much, just sipped a bit and looked at the ground in the space, thinking that next time, she should try planting some seeds.

Not daring to stay long in the space, Xia Xiao left, and then placed the money and envelopes from her luggage into the space, feeling wholly content.

Whether it was the spring water from the space or not, Xia Xiao truly felt much better physically. Although the effects weren't as exaggerated as in novels where a single drink could rejuvenate one's body and cure all ailments, she believed that drinking it regularly must have its benefits.

After the five-day break ended, Xia Xiao was feeling much better and began to work with the production team. Considering her physical condition, she didn't have to work on the hillside clearing land, but she was tasked with harvesting sweet potatoes.

Xia Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that this task would be much easier.

Xia Xiao arrived at the sweet potato fields before dawn, the first to see Zheng Xianghong. She knew that Zheng Xianghong must have spoken to the team leader on her behalf and felt a surge of gratefulness toward the production team and particularly toward Zheng Xianghong.

"Auntie, I'm here," Xia Xiao greeted Zheng Xianghong.

Zheng Xianghong responded, "Xia Xiao, you're here. We need to harvest all the sweet potatoes in this field today. Just follow auntie, and you'll be fine."

"Okay, auntie," said Xia Xiao, squeezing her hands and thinking that she needed to work diligently and not slow Zheng Xianghong down.

"Look, Zheng Xianghong brought a little helper," came a voice.

Xia Xiao looked over and recognized the village's women's director, Li Shengmei, whom she also had a good impression of. Seeing that Li Shengmei was looking at her, Xia Xiao greeted her, "Hello, Director Li."

"Hmph," Li Shengmei snorted, giving Xia Xiao a stern look before speaking, "Educated Youth Xia, since you've come to the countryside to be re-educated by the poor and lower-middle peasants, you should start working hard. The production team doesn't need pampered city girls acting like capitalists..."

Li Shengmei scolded Xia Xiao mercilessly in front of everyone, her words harsh.

"Li Shengmei, don't you think you're overstepping? Since when do production tasks fall under your jurisdiction? During the days Xia Xiao was injured, I didn't see you, the women's director, show any concern for your fellow woman. Now that Xia Xiao's health has improved and she's back at work, you start criticizing her immediately, is it really necessary? If you have an issue with me, just say so. Why are you using Xia Xiao to throw your weight around, you're being ridiculous," Zheng Xianghong retorted sharply.

The conflict between the two wasn't a new development, but Li Shengmei targeting Xia Xiao was unacceptable to Zheng Xianghong.

"All the educated youth are clearing the hills, while we few are responsible for harvesting sweet potatoes. It's not an easy task either, so what's the meaning of assigning Educated Youth Xia?" Li Shengmei complained, suggesting that Xia Xiao was deadweight and a liability.

At Li Shengmei's words, everyone turned to look at Xia Xiao, seemingly in agreement.

Xia Xiao remained silent. She had developed a thick skin during her previous life in the corporate world and wasn't about to give up now over a few comments.

"Educated Youth Xia is also assigned tasks. Whether she completes them or not is none of your concern," said Zheng Xianghong, unafraid to speak up despite others' reservations.

It was known that Li Shengmei had come to the Gao family after her mother remarried, becoming the daughter-in-law of the team leader's granduncle, and took up the Gao surname. With her good looks and singing voice, and a competitive spirit, she was pursued by many but set her sights on Gao Guoqiang, a soldier who she wanted for a husband. However, the Gao family did not allow marriage between people with the same surname, so she had to change her name back. Unexpectedly, Zheng Xianghong caught Gao Guoqiang's eye.

Imagine Li Shengmei's disappointment and bitterness. In retaliation, she married He Hongjun, a village veteran with a limp, a man technically considered an uncle by marriage to Zheng Xianghong, which positioned Li Shengmei as having seniority over her.

Working in the same production team, their clashes were frequent, as neither held the other in high regard.

Zheng Xianghong, as the team leader's wife, and Li Shengmei, as the village women's director, often flaunted their 'official' ranks to exert influence over each other.

"Stop arguing, both of you have reached a certain age; calm down now," an older woman spoke up, and others joined in to mediate.

Both Li Shengmei and Zheng Xianghong fell silent, though neither looked pleased.