Quick Transmigration: The Mad Beauty Refuses to Be the Scapegoat!-Chapter 338 - 36: The Doomed Sister-in-law in the Group-Pampered Novel
A second-hand tractor was bought in 1973 for two thousand by the neighboring village. After nearly seven years of use, many parts broke down, and since there was no one in the village who could repair it, it eventually sat idle at the village entrance, rarely used anymore.
Jiang Lai brought money directly to the village manager to negotiate the purchase. Initially, they asked for a thousand, but after Jiang Lai bargained for a while, he managed to get it for five hundred.
"Any lower and they would be reluctant to sell it; five hundred is already the lowest price."
Jiang Lai was exceptionally gifted at bargaining; Xie Jian expected to spend nine hundred but ended up with a large amount left.
After buying the tractor, Jiang Lai asked someone to drive it back. Accompanied by the "tututut" sound of the tractor, it slowly drove into the village, prompting those seated at the village entrance to crane their necks curiously to see, and then they saw a tractor driving in.
The person driving the tractor was unfamiliar, but the faces in the back were familiar.
"Oh, it’s Xie the Third and his wife! How come they rode back on a tractor?"
This tractor was even carrying them both!
Anyone using a tractor typically transports large items, either for the autumn harvest or carrying big objects. Why would one just haul two people back?
"Why do they keep bringing back unusual things; it was a bicycle the other day, and now a tractor. What’s going on? Is there something the Xie Family needs to move?"
"Why don’t we go check it out, let’s go and see."
A group of people followed the tractor to Xie Jian’s doorstep, watching the tractor driver jump down and leave, leaving the tractor parked at the Xie Family’s door, surrounded by onlookers.
"Xie the Third, whose village’s tractor is this?"
"From the neighboring village."
"What are they up to, bringing such a big tractor to help out?"
People nearby shouted.
"Why not use our village’s tractor; it’s not busy now anyway."
Usually, it runs from the village to the town, carrying villagers going to the market, costing twenty cents per round trip, not cheap.
Renting it privately costs five or six bucks, plus you must treat the tractor driver to a meal.
Everyone was curious about what Xie Jian was planning, assuming the tractor was rented.
Xie Jian didn’t want to stir up unnecessary trouble, saying it was bought would surely provoke jealousy and suspicion, so he simply said.
"Just borrowed it to use."
"Which village is so generous to lend it directly to you?"
Xie Jian nodded and said no more. Villagers continued to observe, while several children climbed up monkey-like.
Jiang Lai was in no hurry, allowing them to look and discuss.
The next day, Xie Jian began studying the tractor. When it was purchased, the villagers provided schematics which no one could understand. Only once when it was first purchased, had the factory technician come to teach, then it was tossed into a corner and got dusty.
Xie Jian, having gone to school, could recognize the diagrams and text, asking Jiang Lai for help with unfamiliar characters. Jiang Lai patiently explained.
Although he only completed junior high, his grades were always excellent, and the principal of the school still remembered his name and lamented the loss of a promising student who didn’t continue his education.
Though Xie Jian never mentioned it, Jiang Lai understood he couldn’t continue despite his good grades. His robust physique made him the family’s strongest laborer. With Xie Yumian still in primary school, Xie Jian voluntarily dropped out without Lv Cuiping having to say anything.
Now, always toiling in the fields, sun and wind have made him even more taciturn.
Xie Jian’s intellect remained, coupled with his stubborn determination to achieve his goals, allowing him to wholly focus on his tasks.
That evening, Xie Jian unusually didn’t bathe and go to the kang immediately but lit a kerosene lamp and studied the thick maintenance schematics at the table until Jiang Lai awoke after a nap, noticing the lone flicker of yellow light still faintly swaying nearby.
Under the lamp, Xie Jian was attentively flipping pages, with a stack of rough paper beside containing numerous dense writings.
The pen in his hand was the Hero fountain pen Jiang Lai gifted him, which he held elegantly, his spine straight while noting, resembling a college student.
Only in the middle of the night did Xie Jian quietly go to bed, leaning beside Jiang Lai, gently tucking her in and placing her head on his shoulder.
Jiang Lai murmured something, prompting Xie Jian to quickly pat her back, cradling her like a child, and hazy Jiang Lai simply rested her head on the man’s shoulder. His scent was dry and warm, faintly grassy and slightly rusty, far from expensive perfumes but surprisingly comforting.
Jiang Lai shut her eyes, frankly admitting she liked spending time with Xie Jian.
Strong, loyal, intelligent, rational.
She was enjoying her time here, even considering it quite pleasant to continue it.
Here, Jiang Lai slept exceptionally well, undisturbed by noisy traffic or ubiquitous information overload. Each morning, she awoke to the sounds of roosters and dogs outside, greeted by the scent of earth after rising.
The unique countryside aroma.
Clean, tranquil.
Xie Jian avidly researched the tractor, after meals, bare-chested under the burning sun, scrutinizing the schematics to learn about the tractor.
Occasionally, idle people would come over to check, watching as Xie Jian dismantled the tractor engine with curiosity and concern, questioning.
"Does the neighboring village know you’re disassembling their tractor?"
"Can it be reassembled after taking it apart?"
"If it can’t be reassembled, how much would it cost to compensate?"
Xie Jian quietly continued his exploration of the tractor, his robust muscles shining with a healthy gloss under the sunlight.
The next day, Xie Jian started the tractor in the yard, and by that afternoon, the tractor’s "tututut" sound rolled out of the village entrance.
Jiang Lai sat at the back, wearing a straw hat, humming a tune, and went to a more distant place to collect second-hand goods, such as second-hand radios, sewing machines, watches, and other expensive items commonly used for weddings.
Jiang Lai negotiated, and Xie Jian paid and loaded them onto the tractor. In one afternoon, they traversed five villages in the neighboring brigade, gathering half a carriage full of second-hand items, including a rare second-hand television.
Xie Jian wanted to keep the TV.
"Let’s earn money to buy a new one later, why keep this old one?"
Due to limited supply, purchasing a TV was challenging; it required both ticket and money. This second-hand TV cost nearly nine hundred, while a new one cost at least two thousand.
In these times, two thousand could buy a tractor.
No wonder Xie Jian wanted to keep the TV.
In one afternoon, they spent all the savings they accumulated over the years.
