The Female Supporting Character Forced to Become a High Official - Chapter 1: Faking a Faint - The Whole Village Mobilizes

The scorching heat of September made it hard to breathe while cicadas on the trees sang incessantly.

In Lejia Village, the crisscrossing rice paddies were filled with golden, plump rice ears weighing down the stalks, stretching as far as the eye could see, creating a scene of autumn harvest.

The villagers, drenched in sweat, wielded their sickles with precision. Wherever they went, the rice ears fell neatly. A few women quickly followed, skillfully bundling them up. With a rhythmic clatter, they hoisted the bundles onto their shoulders and placed them onto carts, transporting the rice to the drying yard of the production team’s warehouse. The entire process was a seamless collaboration, flowing like a well-rehearsed performance.

The children were not idle either, gathering fallen rice ears in small groups in the rice fields. As night fell, the heat remained, with not a single breeze.

Le Yi held a broken basket in her hand, putting the picked rice ears into it, and occasionally looking back at her younger brother Le Ran.

Le Ran, though young, was thin and pale, but he also worked hard to pick up rice ears.

Not only the two siblings, but all the children in the village were working. There was no one idle during the busy autumn season, and the whole village was mobilized.

Le Yi’s face was flushed, her mouth was dry, and she was so tired that she gasped for breath. Her sore waist couldn’t straighten up, and her stomach was growling with hunger. Large beads of sweat rolled down her eyes, stinging them, and she couldn’t help but blink. 

Her throat was dry and felt like it was on fire, her feet were as heavy as if they were filled with lead, so she simply plopped down on the ground, not wanting to move.

I can’t go on like this, wu wu.

Le Ran ran over with his little short legs, tilting his head worriedly to look at his sister, looking a little cute.

Le Yi reached out and pulled her little brother down to sit beside her, hmm, a timely rest is for better labor.

A righteous voice rang out, “Cousin Yi, everyone is busy, but you’re slacking off over there. This behavior is not good. Listen to your sister and stand up to continue working.”

A girl with braided hair looked at her disapprovingly, her brows furrowed and her expression serious.

As soon as Le Yi saw her, she felt a headache coming on. She was her eldest cousin from her uncle’s family, Le Chunmei, a gentle, kind, simple, and hardworking girl who had an excellent reputation in the village.

She was also famously known as a lucky charm, the kind of person with exceptionally good luck.

It is said that a year after Le Chunmei was born, her two twin brothers were born, and it was said that she brought good fortune, so her family liked her very much.

Throughout her years of growing up, she continued to bring good fortune. When others couldn’t find mushrooms or catch fish, she could!

She would also occasionally help the villagers through disasters and solve their problems, making her very well-liked. The position of team leader for Le Guorong was also due to his daughter’s good reputation.

This is also why the Le family treated her like a precious jewel. Even the patriarch of the family, the old Mrs. Le, who favored sons over daughters, treated her as her lifeblood. It can be said that she was the most favored child in the Le family, and even the male offspring were ranked behind her.

This is definitely the setup for the female lead.

And she’s just a minor supporting character, sigh.

This shout was quite loud, attracting the attention of many villagers, and the gossiping aunties and grandmas all started talking.

“Both are granddaughters of Le A Niu, one is diligent and practical, always busy with work, while the other only knows how to slack off. The difference is too great.”

“Not only is she diligent, but she also has the demeanor of an older sister, caring for her siblings and managing them very well. If I had a granddaughter like that, I would wake up smiling from my dreams.”

Damn, she doesn’t want this kind of discipline, whoever likes it can take her away. Le Yi is criticizing in her head.

“Who says so? I also like Chunmei. She speaks softly, is gentle and well-behaved, kind-hearted, and incredibly lucky. She’s one of a kind in our Lejia Village. But Le Yi? She’s no good. Always playing and eating, she can’t do anything right.”

The words of the crowd clearly reached Le Yi’s ears. She twitched her mouth. Praising the female lead is fine but why drag others down?

What the heck? She’s just a ten-year-old girl, with small arms and legs, who spent the whole afternoon picking rice ears without eating or drinking, and now she’s exhausted. She can’t even take a moment to breathe?

Le Chunmei is four years older than her. As the most favored granddaughter, she usually doesn’t go to the fields, just stays at home doing chores, and only comes out during busy farming seasons to pick rice ears. Where does anyone see her being more capable than her?

Le Yi couldn’t help but glance at Le Chunmei, uh, with her head lowered and the corners of her mouth slightly upturned… Is she secretly happy? Proud?

She felt a chill in her heart, sensing something was off. The female lead didn’t seem to be as kind as she appeared.

She had only just arrived and knew about her own situation and the events that had happened, but she was completely unaware of the future plot.

Who told her not to get the lead role in the script?

Le Yi was about to say something when the loudspeaker in the team rang, “Comrades, let’s put in some extra effort, stay up all night, and try to get the rice into the warehouse by tomorrow morning. Comrades, it’s time for you to be tested…”

Team leader Le Guoqiang held a big loudspeaker, and enthusiastically mobilized the villagers. Every word was inspiring, and the villagers’ enthusiasm was ignited, each one full of vigor.

Le Chunmei looked at her father with a smile in her eyes, a hint of pride subtly showing.

At that moment, a piercing scream echoed, startling the villagers, who all turned to look.

Not far away, a figure swayed unsteadily and collapsed into the field.

Le Yi’s face changed dramatically, and she dashed out, “My dad fainted, help!”

Le Ran also rushed over. Le Guorong lay motionless with his eyes closed, blood seeping from his forehead, looking very frightening. The siblings knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, “Dad, Dad.”

On the other side, Wu Xiaoqing was shaking the man’s body frantically, crying out loudly, “Kids’ dad, don’t scare me, you mustn’t have any accidents! If something happens to you, how are the three of us supposed to live? Your mom is biased, and your eldest brother only cares about his own reputation, not about his brothers’ lives…”

With the sharp cries of the two children, the scene was incredibly tragic, but the villagers had strange expressions and showed no intention of helping.

The team leader, Le Guoqiang, whose face turned green with anger from the constant criticism, thought, “Here we go again, here we go again!”

“How many times have you fainted this month? Huh? You faint at the slightest bit of work, are you still a farmer? Get up and get back to work”

Wu Xiaoqing shouted angrily, “Big Brother, what do you mean by that? Are you saying my man is pretending to be faint? You’re both brothers, you’re strong and healthy, but my man has been weak and sickly since he was a child, all because you were so domineering when we were kids and took all the food from our family…”

The sharp voice made Le Guoqiang’s forehead throb with pain. He irritably wiped his face, fed up with it all.

“That’s nonsense, he hasn’t gone without food. He’s been lazy since he was a child, and everyone knows that.”

He had high prestige in the team, but he couldn’t handle the third family’s affairs, which was really frustrating—one was a cunning trickster, and the other was a somewhat educated shrew.

Wu Xiaoqing’s face was flushed with anger, and she shouted louder than anyone else.

“Big brother, is this how you talk? We’re still family, but I think we’re worse off than the neighbors next door.”

Wu Xiaoqing is not someone to mess with; she is very articulate and sharp-tongued. “That’s right, the neighbors have no vested interests. But you, you can’t wait for my husband to die so you can drive us, the orphaned and widowed, out to starve.”

This remark was serious, and the villagers looked at the captain with disapproving eyes.

It’s normal for siblings to quarrel, but after the fight, they are still family. The villagers place great importance on kinship and blood ties, and the tradition of not splitting families is strong.

Old Lady Le is still alive, and the three branches of the family have not split; they all live under her roof.

Le Guoqiang frowned tightly, feeling that arguing with a woman was too degrading, especially since it was his sister-in-law. Even if he won the argument, it would still be embarrassing.

Le Chunmei timely stepped in to mediate, gently saying, “Third Aunt, although you are the elder and I am the younger, I still want to say something. These words have gone too far. Whether it’s my parents, me, or Grandma, we all hope for a harmonious family. We hope for Uncle to make progress. Third Aunt, you think the same way, right?”

She spoke with a smile, politely and reasonably, showing great manners. There was no comparison to Wu Xiaoqing, who was throwing a tantrum and shouting.

Wu Xiaoqing felt a lump in her throat, unable to find a rebuttal, but she always felt something was off.

This niece has been well-behaved and sensible since she was little, but I just can’t bring myself to like her. It always feels like there’s something in between us.

The villagers on the side praised her endlessly, “Chunmei is even more sensible than her third uncle and aunt, that’s not easy.”

“I just love listening to her reason things out. Her voice is so gentle, even better than singing.”

The villagers couldn’t see anything wrong, but Le Yi, who had experienced information overload, was different. She figured it out: this cousin is not simple. She’s the best at stepping on others to boost her own reputation, and everyone praises her.

She was a bit displeased. Why drag their family down? Just because you’re the main character?

“Stop arguing, my dad’s life is at stake.” With tears in her eyes, she looked at Le Guoqiang, her eyes red. “Uncle, please have mercy and save my dad. I’ll kneel and bow to you…”

With such a plea, how could he refuse? If something went wrong, no one could bear the responsibility. No matter how much Le Guoqiang disliked it, he had to consider public opinion.

Le Guoqiang quickly stopped his niece from kneeling. This niece has always been somewhat invisible, but unexpectedly, she showed such a filial side. Feeling a bit soft-hearted, he said, “Someone, take Guorong to the infirmary.”

Le Yi was just putting on an act, she didn’t really mean to kneel, she stood up straight quickly. Who can’t act? In life, everything relies on acting skills.

Le Chunmei looked at her younger cousin deeply, her eyes flickering.

A villager carried Le Guorong to the clinic, while Wu Xiaoqing held her daughter with one hand and her son with the other, closely following behind, running faster than a rabbit.

Other villagers were envious and shouted at the captain, “Captain, this time you have to make the barefoot doctor explain clearly whether he is really sick or just pretending. You can’t always cover for your own brother.”

“Yeah, Captain, I have no complaints about you, but the Guorong couple is really outrageous, always avoiding work. You need to manage them properly.”

“They avoid work every time, worse than those educated youth. It’s embarrassing.”

What else could Le Guoqiang do? He could only smile wryly.

Did he not want to care? He couldn’t!

A group of people rushed into the clinic, and as soon as the barefoot doctor saw Le Guorong, his lips twitched, but he quickly approached, “Quick, put him on the bed, I’ll take a look at him.”

The villagers watched the barefoot doctor examine him back and forth, and curiously asked, “Doctor Li, is he really fainting?”

Le Yi nervously watched the barefoot doctor, a man nearing fifty with half-white hair and furrowed brows. “He fainted from hunger, thirst, and overwork, his body couldn’t take it anymore.”

Wu Xiaoqing immediately wailed, calling out “Husband, husband,” her cries heartbreaking. Le Yi’s heart lifted, secretly worried, was he really unconscious?

The villagers, upon hearing this, fell silent. Well, if he was truly unconscious, there was nothing to pick at.

It was just a bit strange, “Why does he faint so easily?”

“His body is weak,” the barefoot doctor simply said.

The villagers fell silent for a moment, then greeted him and hurried off to work. What a good comrade, so dedicated to labor.

Once everyone left, the barefoot doctor pinched Le Guorong. A scream rang out, and Le Guorong swatted his hand away, jumping up, “It hurts, it hurts.”

Little Le Ran immediately grinned. Dad was okay, he was happy.

Wu Xiaoqing pursed her lips, found a place to sit down, relaxed as if she were in her own home, a familiar sight.

The barefoot doctor glared angrily, “You do this every time, you’ll be caught sooner or later.” 

Le Guorong immediately acted as if nothing had happened, full of energy, and with a cheeky grin, clasped his fists together, “Hehe, can’t get caught, with you helping me, come on, give me a couple of pieces of brown sugar to boost my spirits.”

Brown sugar is a rare commodity, but patients get this benefit.

The barefoot doctor shook his head, took out a key from his pocket, opened a drawer, and carefully took out a small packet of brown sugar, “I really owe you from my past life.”

Le Yi watched, dumbfounded and utterly confused. This… is he acting? No way! His acting is better than mine? This doesn’t make sense!

The question is, why is this doctor willing to cover for him?