Without Zhao Dagou's interference, Jiang Xile's work speed immediately increased, and he had completed his predetermined goal before the lunch break bell rang.

Jiang Xile is on duty today, so naturally she needs to go home early.

When they reached the edge of the field, they happened to run into Ren Qi, who was already heading back. The two of them traveled back to the educated youth settlement together.

On the way, Jiang Xile and Ren Qi also inquired about Zhao Dagou and his mother, which startled Ren Qi.

"How do you know Zhao Dagou? Did you run into him?"

Seeing Ren Qi's nervous expression, Jiang Xile comforted her, saying:

"Don't worry, he didn't do anything to me. I was going to beat him up, but Sister Jinxiu stopped me."

"Thank goodness, thank goodness, they didn't really fight. Otherwise, not only you, but the entire educated youth settlement would probably have suffered!"

"Is it that serious? The captain can't just stand by and watch her make a scene!"

"Hey, you don't know! This is a classic case of the weak being right. Zhao Dagou and his mother, to put it nicely, are an orphan and a widow; to put it bluntly, they are birds of a feather, scoundrels in the same boat."

"Why is Sister Ren Qi so angry! Could it be that they tried to take advantage of you?"

"No, not at all. This mother and son, even though they're both from humble backgrounds, have very high standards!"

Back then, among the educated youth who came in the same batch as me, there was one named Li Fengjiao, whose family was quite well-off.

She signed up to go to the countryside because she was angry with her family. Like you, she's beautiful and rich, and she doesn't keep a low profile, so she was targeted by this mother and son.

However, Li Fengjiao's family is not to be trifled with. She was pampered since childhood and could not tolerate the slightest grievance.

Not long after the mother and daughter set off, Li Fengjiao was taken back by her family, which annoyed everyone else.

Not to mention that the mother and son had previously extorted money from people in the neighboring village. In short, they were definitely not good people.

Taking advantage of his illness, the captain is wary of him, and he's becoming increasingly extreme in his actions. You'd better be careful; those two might be plotting something right now!

"I understand. If we can't afford to offend them, we can at least avoid them. Does Sister Renqi know where this mother and son live? I'll keep my distance from them from now on."

"Their house is in the last row on the west side of the village, the fifth house from the north. Remember that, and be very careful!"

"Okay, I understand. Thank you, Sister Renqi."

Having learned the location of Zhao Dagou's house, Jiang Xile decided not to mention the two of them again. Soon, the two arrived at the educated youth settlement and prepared to start cooking.

For lunch, we had flatbread and cabbage and potato soup, but with a side of pickled vegetables.

This pickled vegetable is the cabbage root that Ren Qi had prepared in the morning. Before starting work, Ren Qi cut the cabbage root into thin strips and then salted it.

All you need to do is rinse it once, then pour some soy sauce over it and mix it up.

"You can chop this cabbage. This time you don't need to dice it, just cut it into thin strips. I'll go wash the potatoes!"

"Okay!"

These days, people don't even want to peel potatoes before eating them; they just wash them with water and that's it.

Four large cabbages would take some time to chop, but luckily the knife was still usable, and Jiang Xile was strong, so it didn't take much effort.

Before long, a large bowl of cabbage strips was chopped. Although the cabbage looks plentiful now, it will shrink by at least two-thirds once it's cooked in the pot.

Soon, the cabbage and potatoes were ready, and Ren Qi also brought over the cornmeal she had prepared beforehand.

"You start the fire, I'll stir-fry the ingredients, and then I'll teach you how to make pancakes in a bit."

"good!"

As instructed by Ren Qi, Jiang Xile quickly started a fire. The bright red flames made the iron pot sizzle and burn until all the water droplets inside were dried up before Ren Qi began to work.

She wiped the bottom of the pot with an oilcloth, then poured the cabbage into the pot and stir-fried it.

Looking at the oilcloth, Jiang Xile shook his head inwardly. It was truly pitiful; nowadays, oil isn't measured by the pound, ounce, or even drop.

I just wiped the bottom of the pot with an oil-soaked cloth...

"Sister Renqi, when did you get this piece of cloth?"

You mean this?

Ren Qi picked up the oilcloth beside him and held it up. Seeing Jiang Xile nod, he smiled and said:

"This cloth is a treasure of our educated youth settlement. You'd better be careful when you're cooking. Although there's not much oil on it, it's better than nothing, and it'll at least give you some flavor!"

Jiang Xile felt as if a flock of crows were flying past her.

"Just a taste? That's it?"

"There's nothing we can do. We don't have any oil coupons. The oil on this tarpaulin was put on two months ago!"

Good heavens, this is an oilcloth from two months ago! Doesn't it smell rancid?

As if sensing Jiang Xile's question, Ren Qi continued:

"Don't worry, this stuff is very well preserved and has definitely not gone bad. It's just that the color is getting lighter and lighter now, so it'll probably be completely ruined after a few more days!"

Jiang Xile opened her mouth, but in the end, she closed it without saying anything.

Well, that's just how things are here, and there's nothing she can do to change it. Even if she could produce oil coupons or soybean oil for the time being, she couldn't just let them eat for free for the rest of their lives!

Besides, there's a saying that goes, "Help in an emergency, but don't support a life of poverty," and another saying goes, "A small favor is appreciated, but a large favor breeds resentment."

Jiang Xile wasn't some saintly white lotus, so she just listened to it and let it go. Sometimes, people have to be a little selfish.

Besides, even if Jiang Xile were to take out the oil coupons now, with so many people in the educated youth settlement, it's unlikely that many would thank her.

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