Transmigrated as Cannon Fodder — I Rise to Female Lead Through Hard Work-Chapter 112: Ambush

The next day, May 17th.

"Xia Xingchen, the educated youth." Xia Xingchen was busy cutting pigweed with Anmin and Yi Roujing when suddenly a voice called out from afar. She looked up to see it was Ding Xingye, the son of the brigade leader.

"Xingye." Xia Xingchen greeted him with a smile.

Yi Roujing and Anmin also stopped what they were doing and looked at Ding Xingye. Ding Xingye seemed a bit embarrassed and scratched his head.

"Xia Xingchen, how’s your health?" Ding Xingye asked with concern.

"Much better." Xia Xingchen could personally feel the improvement; ever since she stopped taking the medicine sent by her stepmother and started taking the medicine prescribed by Elder Ren, she no longer experienced shortness of breath.

"Xia Xingchen, I’ve discovered a Lingzhi mushroom. Would you be interested?" Ding Xingye lowered his voice and asked. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Upon hearing this, Yi Roujing scrutinized Ding Xingye closely. His eyes were sincere, genuinely caring for Xia Xingchen. It seemed he had inherited the kind-hearted nature of Aunt Kaiying — he was a warm-hearted person.

However, Yi Roujing knew that Ding Xingye liked Song Yiluo, and the Lingzhi mushrooms he found before had all gone to Song Yiluo. She had subtly asked Aunt Kaiying about it before, but Aunt Kaiying was unaware of her youngest son’s dealings with the Lingzhi. She just laughed and talked about people in the brigade who had found Lingzhi mushrooms before and how lucky they were.

"Lingzhi?" Xia Xingchen was surprised at the mention and immediately looked at Yi Roujing because she had Lingzhi herself before; the one Yi Roujing found previously had been given to her, and Elder Ren used it directly in the medicine.

Seeing this, Ding Xingye understood and smiled as he said, "Sister-in-law, the whole brigade knows you have some medical knowledge. Perhaps you could accompany Xingchen to check the Lingzhi out; if it’s not suitable, then so be it."

"Xingye, where did you find the Lingzhi?" Yi Roujing smiled and asked, "Such luck! I asked Aunt Kaiying before, and she said someone in the brigade found one before, but that was decades ago."

Ding Xingye’s face flickered with some guilt — if his mom knew he’d given all the Lingzhi mushrooms he’d found to Song Yiluo, who knows if she’d break his legs.

"It was just by chance. Since Xia Xingchen hasn’t been in good health, I thought I’d ask." Ding Xingye replied. He actually really wanted to mention Yiluo, as it would show he was doing a good deed and caring for the educated youth who came to the countryside with him. But Yiluo was just too modest and insisted he not mention her.

"Xingye, where did you find it?" Anmin’s eyes gleamed with interest, clearly excited by the prospect of a "big unity" like the banknote. Yi Roujing found it somewhat amusing; clearly, this person wanted to try his luck.

"Just up the mountain. I accompanied..." Ding Xingye started but then stopped midway, a flash of doubt in his eyes because Yiluo had told him there was no need to go together; it was better to meet at the place directly to avoid drawing attention.

"You know the small bamboo grove on the mountain, right? That’s where." Ding Xingye shifted the conversation, "We were also looking there."

At the mention of the bamboo grove, Yi Roujing immediately envisioned the large bamboo rat rearing its head and shivered.

Anmin thought of it too, "Xingye, I can accompany Xingchen; my sister-in-law is afraid of bamboo rats."

Ah, a dear girl, Yi Roujing felt warm inside, though she still felt something was off about this. Although she couldn’t discern anything suspicious from Ding Xingye’s demeanor, anything connected to Song Yiluo made Yi Roujing cautious.

"I’ll go with you; we don’t always spot them, and I can just stay back." Yi Roujing said, "If we do come across one, I’ll rely on you."

Yi Roujing gave Anmin’s shoulder a reassuring pat.

"Xingye, let’s go quickly then." Anmin urged eagerly.

"Let’s go during the lunch break; we can’t afford to delay our work." Ding Xingye replied.

The three nodded in agreement.

However, as soon as Ding Xingye left, Anmin couldn’t hold it anymore, "Hey, how about we head to the bamboo grove now?"

"What for?" Xia Xingchen asked.

"To look for Lingzhi, of course." Anmin was full of enthusiasm, spurred on by the money Yi Roujing had made from finding ginseng and Lingzhi before.

Yi Roujing found it funny, "No one’s going to leave a Lingzhi there waiting for you to pick it."

"Then why go up the mountain to look? Why not just go to Aunt Kaiying’s place?" Anmin was confused.

"To avoid prying eyes, as they say, ’never display your wealth.’" Xia Xingchen elaborated. Visiting the brigade leader’s home might attract attention from other educated youth since the brigade leader had the power to recommend educated youths returning to the city.

"In that case, we should definitely go now; if we find it, it becomes ours." Anmin declared.

Anmin’s persistent persuasion finally led Yi Roujing and Xia Xingchen to accompany him. Of course, by the time they arrived and searched a few times, there was no sign of any Lingzhi, and Anmin furiously started digging for bamboo shoots.

Yi Roujing listened to Anmin’s complaints while noting that it was still not the time they had agreed upon with Ding Xingye. Yi Roujing hardly paid attention to the surroundings until she heard footsteps, seeing figures briskly approaching in the distance — four men were coming directly toward them.

"Wow, what a pretty girl."

As they got closer, Yi Roujing realized they weren’t from the brigade.

"Who are you?" Anmin stood up, positioning the sickle defensively in front of him.

"So fierce, but I like that," said Li YunGen, not expecting that Li Xijun would assign them such a pleasant task.

Yi Roujing looked at the four unattractive, lecherous men, lamenting that hooliganism wasn’t a crime yet; not until the first penal code came out in 1979. By the early 1980s, hooliganism could even lead to a death sentence.

Without legal constraints, any little family scandal or misconduct between men and women could ruin a lifetime during this period.

"With your looks, you dare dream of unrealistic things." Yi Roujing mocked.

"Yun, this one is even prettier." The men with Li YunGen were from nearby brigades and were the unruliest, having engaged in all sorts of petty crimes. Even teasing young girls was not new to them, and being taken by the police for questioning was common. Having done it so many times, they no longer feared it — they’d seen all the tricks.

At this moment, Xia Xingchen’s face had turned pale, and Anmin tightened his grip on the sickle, instinctively stepping back a few steps.

Seeing this, the four men laughed as they continued to advance.

Yi Roujing sighed, snapped a nearby small bamboo stick in half, picked up the bamboo pole, and swung it around a few times, "Anmin, protect Xingchen over there in the corner and wait for me."

Yi Roujing pointed to a corner blocked by main trees, and Anmin hesitated.

"Hurry, don’t make me say it twice." Yi Roujing’s tone was firm and commanding, which Anmin instinctively obeyed, pulling Xia Xingchen to the corner, positioning himself with the sickle outward.

"I, I..." Anmin wanted to go for help but didn’t feel comfortable leaving Yi Roujing behind; he was in a dilemma.

"Are you one of those pretty girls wanting to satisfy us all?" Li YunGen looked at Yi Roujing with a wicked grin.

"Crack—" Yi Roujing swung her bamboo pole powerfully, snapping a nearby sturdy and straight bamboo in half, startling Anmin, Xia Xingchen, and successfully stopping the four men in their tracks.