Seeing that she agreed, Old Lady Zhang finally gave up, saying, "Alright." Then she left with Zhang Baoguo.

After this farce ended, Luo Jingyan gained a new understanding of Song Yinglan. She was certain that the man who was with Song Yinglan in the sorghum field was not Zhang Baoguo, and that Song Yinglan might have several other men in secret.

Back inside, Zhao Jun had already chopped the meat. She then gave him a scallion and a small piece of ginger, and continued chopping.

Zhao Jun is now her human cooking machine.

Xue Yanchen was in charge of tending the fire, while Luo Jingyan stir-fried eggs with wood ear mushrooms, Mapo tofu, ants climbing a tree (a dish of minced pork and vermicelli), and a meatball.

Zhao Junguang almost cried from the smell.

Not long after Luo Jingyan finished cooking, Luo Changtian returned, and they could start eating.

The educated youth outside could smell the cooking here and were extremely hungry.

Du Yinan said, "She has meat over there, no wonder it smells so good. Why don't we exchange money to buy meat and make meatballs too?"

This really whetted the appetites of the educated youth. The aroma of meat was irresistible. The female educated youth discussed it with the male educated youth. The male educated youth hadn't had any meat for a long time and could have endured it, but when they smelled the aroma of Luo Jingyan's cooking, they felt like their souls were being ripped out if they couldn't eat meat. So, they all agreed.

Like the local farmers, the educated youth did not receive meat coupons. They could not buy meat at the supply and marketing cooperatives and could only go to the black market. However, buying and selling on the black market was risky, and in the end, the question arose of who should go to the black market.

Ding Peipei often went to the black market, but she would remain silent if she brought it up, fearing that the other educated youths would suspect her.

The female educated youth wanted the male educated youth to step forward, but the male educated youth were afraid of being caught buying meat and ruining their future, so none of them took the initiative.

In the end, they could only decide by drawing lots, and Du Yinan happened to be chosen. She will go to the black market to buy meat tomorrow.

Lai family

When the matchmaker told Lai Chuncao that Xue Yanchen already had a boyfriend, Lai Chuncao was very angry.

She asked the matchmaker, "Who is his girlfriend? Which village is she from?"

"I don't know which village she's from. She looks unfamiliar. I've never seen her in my village, and I don't remember seeing her in your village either."

Lai Chuncao suddenly recalled the scene when she met Luo Jingyan at the entrance of the Qianjin Brigade's educated youth settlement that day, and asked the matchmaker, "Is she particularly beautiful?"

"Absolutely, she's incredibly beautiful. I've never seen such a pretty girl before."

Lai Chuncao nodded: "I know who it is."

Who is it?

"He must be a new educated youth who came here; he's just good-looking."

In the afternoon, Xue Yanchen, Luo Jingyan, and Zhao Jun went up the mountain and gathered a lot of firewood for Luo Jingyan before Xue Yanchen returned to the Qianjin Brigade.

The next day, Luo Jingyan saw Du Yinan go out alone, but he still hadn't returned by noon.

The other educated youth were all waiting for her to come back with the meat, so much so that by noon, they still hadn't cooked.

They speculated about why Du Yinan hadn't returned. Most believed he had been arrested, while others thought he had taken the money and gone to a state-run restaurant for entertainment.

Luo Jingyan prepared the meal, and she and Luo Changtian ate leisurely. After the meal, there were oranges as dessert.

Du Yinan didn't come back for a long time, and the educated youth were so hungry that they finally cooked a meal.

In the afternoon, Du Yinan returned with the village secretary.

It turned out that when Du Yinan was buying meat on the black market, the black market was raided, and Du Yinan and the meat seller were arrested. The Party Secretary had to go to the county town to bring them back.

The village party secretary was a middle-aged man in his fifties with a stern and authoritative face, who also appeared somewhat fierce.

Du Yinan shrank her neck in front of him, like a frightened quail.

The Party Secretary said, "My educated youth, Du, was caught trading on the black market today. She said that you educated youth wanted to eat meat, so she was told to go to the black market to buy meat. She was only caught for criticism and education this time. If there is a next time, none of you will be allowed to return to the city. You all need to reflect on your actions."

The other educated youths were secretly complaining that Du Yinan shouldn't have exposed them, causing the entire educated youth settlement to be punished.

If it were someone else, they certainly wouldn't have done that.

Tong Jianxin said, "Please rest assured, Party Secretary, this will absolutely never happen again."

The village secretary noticed that the previously abandoned small house next door had now been repaired.

He asked Tong Jianxin, "Is there one person missing from your group of educated youth?"

“She’s already broken up with us and is eating on her own. This meat-buying incident has nothing to do with her,” Tong Jianxin said.

Lin Shanshan suddenly thought of something: with the Party Secretary here, if she didn't report Luo Jingyan now, when would she?

So she walked up to the Party Secretary and said, "Party Secretary, my name is Lin Shanshan, and I want to report someone."

"Speak."

“I want to say that Luo, the educated youth here, is the one who was separated from the group. Yesterday, she was cooking meat in the house, and we were tempted by the smell of her cooking meat, so we risked going out to buy meat. We were all educated youth and didn’t have meat coupons, so I suspect that the meat she cooked yesterday must have been bought from the black market.”

This shifted all the blame onto Luo Jingyan, and also exposed her activities in the black market.

"Go and call her out," the Party Secretary ordered her.

"Okay." She had just reached the door when Luo Jingyan came out of the house.

The Party branch secretary looked at Luo Jingyan: "Other educated youth reported that you were illegally buying and selling meat on the black market. Is that true?"

"It's fake. I just heard who reported me. This Du educated youth has always disliked me and wanted to cause me trouble. She deliberately framed me," Luo Jingyan said.

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