Chapter 41 The abacus beads were practically about to pop out!

Su Yunzhou looked at Zhou Ye in surprise. "You suspect him?"

"Not yet! I just think he might know a little bit about it! After all, besides my family, he's the closest person to there right now!"

Perhaps they found something?

Su Yunzhou nodded: "That's possible! The old man's surname is Lai, and he's a veteran, but after he came back, something happened to his family!"

Overnight, his hair turned gray!

He looks over eighty, but he's actually only around sixty!

"Without any hope, he just drifted along aimlessly. But the village chief saw that he was doing nothing, and he couldn't keep him in the village forever."

Let him go clean the cowshed; he can earn some work points, at least enough to eat!

"He's fierce!"

Zhou also thought about what happened that morning.

Su Yunzhou agreed: "Yes, so I was quite shocked when you said the village chief sent him to pick you up!"

However, you can go to the cowshed if you want!

I remember the village chief saying that he wouldn't be home at night!

The cows and pigs are the most valuable things in the village, and nobody dares to touch them! So nobody watches them!

Zhou was overjoyed!

It's true what they say, there's always a way out!

"Okay, I'll go scout it out tonight!"

Zhou was also very excited, finally able to visit the place where his grandparents had lived, although his parents didn't know where it was yet.

But there is hope, isn't there?

I wish you success!

Su Yunzhou exaggeratedly clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhou Ye, who shook his head helplessly!

I went to Bai Xue's room to help cook a meal, but Bai Xue refused me without hesitation!

"You guys chat, the food will be ready soon. The fish you bought is so fresh, I made sauerkraut fish!"

I stir-fried some shredded potatoes.

After kneading the dough, we ate the fish, topped with sauerkraut soup. The taste was absolutely divine!

Zhou Ye's appetite was whetted just listening to this!

Perhaps they found hope, or perhaps they were simply hungry!

When the educated youth from the front yard returned around 12 o'clock, everyone in the back yard started eating!

Su Yunzhou is much better now, and he's eating at the same table as Bai Xuezhou. That's how their conversation started.

You and I chatted back and forth, neither abruptly nor deliberately, and the atmosphere was very harmonious!

Chen Lan was resting in her dormitory when she smelled the delicious aroma. She wondered if the educated youth settlement, which she had come to with Bai Xue and Zhou Ye, would send her some food.

In the end, nothing came of it.

So when the other educated youth returned, their faces were not happy.

Wang Hongying asked with concern, "What's wrong? Is it still in a lot of pain?"

Chen Lan shook her head: "No! Can you smell anything?"

"Mmm, it smells delicious!" Wang Hongying said, taking a deep breath.

"I smell meat again. What kind of family are you? Eating meat every day? Don't you know how to send us some?"

Or what?

Chen Lan suddenly seemed to remember something, and her eyes lit up.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Lan said with a smile, "We are all new educated youths. We have developed some feelings for each other along the way. Why don't we go and talk to Zhou Ye and Bai Xue and ask to eat with them?"

Now that the older educated youth are eating together, we newcomers should naturally eat together too!

"But...they eat meat, we don't!"

Wang Hongying was somewhat worried.

"So what? These are our conditions. We may not have meat, but we have work points."

We'll provide the grain, and they'll provide the vegetables and meat!

What do you think? Look at Zhou Ye, he obviously can't cook, and Bai Xue is busy making a mess in the backyard!

If we could help, Snow White would definitely be willing!

"Shall we give it a try?"

Chen Lan even managed to win over Wang Hongying!

That's meat! Who wouldn't want to eat it!

"Okay, shall I go ask now?"

"I'll go with you!"

Wang Hongying helped Chen Lan, and the two of them struggled to walk to the backyard, where they saw something that would make them jealous for the rest of their lives.

They thought it was meat, but what did they actually see?

A large bowl of sauerkraut fish was placed in the middle of the table, next to a plate of oily shredded potatoes. In another bowl, there were wide white noodles made from wheat flour.

White flour!

Fish!

There were even two plain steamed buns placed to the side, seemingly unpopular!

The two were deeply moved. How long had it been since they'd eaten white flour? A year? Two years? Life in the backyard was a completely different world from life in the front yard.

Chen Lan became even more determined to have dinner together.

"Is there something you need?" Bai Xue asked.

She had no choice but to ask. Sister Zhou didn't like to talk, and Su Yunzhou didn't want to talk to the people in the front yard, so she was the only one left!

Chen Lan limped to the dining table, swallowed hard, and said with a smile, "Bai Zhiqing, Zhou Zhiqing, we've come to discuss something with you."

Of course, this is good for both of us!

Bai Xue looked at Zhou Ye, but Zhou Ye ignored her. She could only ask, "What's wrong?"

Chen Lan knew that Zhou Ye was the one with money, and Bai Xue was just a follower!

He said to Zhou Ye, "Zhou, the educated youth, it's like this. We are all new educated youth. I saw that the older educated youth in the front yard eat together."

How about we eat together?

"Oh, we won't take advantage of you. If you think the front kitchen is too crowded, we can use the stove in your backyard!"

I know that you white-collar educated youth cook for yourselves, which is quite tiring. If we cook together, the three of us can take turns!

Wouldn't that make things easier for you both?

Seeing that Zhou didn't say anything, but just looked at her, Chen Lan felt even more confident!

His back straightened more, and he spoke with more confidence.

“The educated youth don’t have work points, so we can share our work points! When we exchange them for food, we’ll eat together!”

Zhou smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness! But don't worry! I work at the village clinic, earning full work points every day!"

Chen Lan and Wang Hongying exchanged a glance, realizing that Zhou wasn't so easy to talk to.

With a sigh, Chen Lan said with a bitter expression, "I know you eat well and probably don't appreciate our food!"

Zhou Zhiqing, as you can see, I am injured now and cannot cook for myself.

The smell of your cooking in the backyard is making my mouth water! Are you taking pity on me?

It's beneficial for both of us to team up!

As he spoke, he deliberately showed off the wound on his calf!

Is this a prelude to playing the emotional card?

Looking at Chen Lan's wound, Bai Xue felt pain herself!

But she also knew she couldn't be a saint, since everything she ate and drank came from Sister Zhou.

Zhou Ye glanced at his wound and looked at Chen Lan: "Just like you said, it's good for both of us. So tell me, what are the benefits for me?"

"You don't need to cook, someone else is cooking for you, right?"

"Ha... I have someone to help me right now!"

Zhou also laughed.

Chen Lan was speechless: "We can help you fetch water and chop wood! Bai Xue's strength alone can't match ours, can it?"

This time it was Su Yunzhou's turn to laugh: "Sorry, someone is in charge of the water and firewood in the backyard!"

There's enough for every day, you two don't need to worry about it!

Chen Lan made a last-ditch effort: "Your food supply is definitely not enough. With our supplies, we can have enough to eat!"

“We can only eat white flour and rice. Do you have those? If we share a meal, are you expecting us to lower our standards and eat coarse grains and wild vegetables with you?”

Or do you mean you want to eat white flour and meat with us?

Zhou Ye directly revealed their true intentions, and Chen Lan blushed bright red, whether from the pain of her wound or from embarrassment!

"Don't you... care about our feelings at all?" Chen Lan's eyes were slightly red. She was really heartbroken to be rejected.

"But considering it, it really costs us a lot of money!"