Wang Hongmei's back trembled noticeably as she closed the door.

On the first day, less than an hour after arriving, chaos ensued. Chen Jianguo's mind was pounding, and he increasingly regretted taking on this mess.

Li Yan was stunned.

"My God, what a spectacle this is!"

Tan Yajun is used to it, so she's not surprised.

Lin Zhaodi looked around at both rooms.

"Judging from their appearance, they don't seem like they just met. Could it be that they know each other?"

"Maybe so. She doesn't look like someone you just met. She said things like 'capitalist's daughter,' which is quite ruthless."

And did you notice? The two of them got into a fight, and the three male educated youths who came with them, along with the female educated youth named Tang Cui, didn't come out to break it up when they heard the noise. I bet it hasn't been quiet along the way either.”

Li Yan sighed.

"It's suddenly so lively, I feel a little out of sorts. Is this happening a bit too fast?"

Lin Zhaodi pursed her lips.

"What do you think this is for? Speed?"

"But from now on, the peaceful days are probably over."

Jian Dan ignored all that and went home after lunch, where she took a long nap on the warm kang (a heated brick bed).

Knowing that dinner would be at the educated youth compound, I could guess the general situation. After waking up from my afternoon nap, I ate half of what I needed to eat. Seeing that it was almost time, I strolled over there.

They were close friends and didn't have many rules, but today there were outsiders present, so they had to save face. They picked out a small pheasant, which they had found a few days ago when they went up the mountain after work. It wasn't fat at all, mostly just bones, but with some potatoes, it would be considered a meat dish.

She intended to take only half, but after weighing it, she realized that a whole bird only weighed two or three pounds, so cutting it in half wouldn't make much difference.

Jian Dan is a young girl who is just over sixteen years old after the New Year. She is also a former educated youth sent to the countryside. It's quite impressive that she came up with such a dish.

Today, these are grains that several former educated youths took out of their own mouths. It's just to be polite. If they made any more fuss, it would reveal their true colors. I've never tolerated this kind of thing, but I haven't had the chance to since I came to Liujiatun.

Half an afternoon later, stepping into the former educated youth compound again, I was immediately struck by its vibrant atmosphere.

There was movement in all four rooms that I cleaned in the morning. The doors of the two adjacent rooms were open and shrouded in mist, so it was obvious that people were living there. There were also obvious signs of water being splashed in the yard.

Jian Dan walked straight to the female educated youth's room without stopping. As he reached the door, he heard noises from the backyard. Li Yan and a few others, sleeves rolled up, came around from behind. They were very happy to see Jian Dan.

"You're here so early?"

"Jian Zhiqing, wait a minute, let's wash our hands and then we'll cook."

Simply wave the things in your hand.

"Do you have any potatoes left? We're out of meat, but how about I make you some soup?"

Chen Jianguo carried firewood into the yard. The little pheasant looked familiar. He put the firewood in the kitchen, then came back and stared at it for a while longer.

"Is this the pheasant from last week? It's still alive?"

Simply throw it to him.

"Yes, it has a strong vitality; otherwise, how could it have lasted for so long?"

Chen Jianguo took it and weighed it in his hand, a hint of doubt in his expression.

"It feels like it's lighter..."

A simple chuckle.

"You can't blame me for that. I have no experience raising chickens and I forgot about it. I just remembered it."

Chen Jianguo's voice immediately rose in pitch.

"You haven't fed him?"

This shout wasn't just heard from the people in the next few rooms; Li Yan and a few others who had just come in to change also shouted it out. They had become quite familiar with each other over the past six months, so they weren't as polite and reserved in their conversation.

"If you didn't feed her, you didn't feed her. Her belly is even cleaner now."

Li Yan simply leaned closer to take a look.

"It really is the same one from that day? Jian Zhiqing, how did you manage to forget about such a breathing creature?"

Several female educated youths heard the noise and stood at the door. Seeing them talking and laughing, they were too embarrassed to interrupt.

Meanwhile, the door to the male educated youth's room opened, and Lin Dongfang walked in confidently, a slight smile on his face.

"Is there anything I can help you with?"

The group of people from the educated youth compound had just met. The only stranger was Jian Dan. Hearing the voice, he turned around, nodded, and then turned back to continue talking to Li Yan and the others. As a result, Wang Jiancheng and Li Jianye, who came out behind Lin Dongfang, didn't say a word or even see his face.

"Just say, 'Do you want some chicken soup?'"

Li Yan agreed without hesitation.

"Yes, Tan Zhiqing, you and Zhao Di can cook. I'll go get some potatoes."

Of the three people, Tan Yajun and Lin Zhaodi are quite good cooks, and Li Yan is very self-aware.

"Okay, by the way, who said they picked mushrooms the other day? Shall we go and get some too? This pheasant dish needs some mushrooms in it to taste authentic."

Lin Zhaodi and Li Yan exchanged a glance.

"Was it at the village office last time?"

"Isn't that the village chief's daughter-in-law?"

"It seems so. I'll go ask and if they have it, I'll just switch to another place."

Lin Zhaodi started to walk out, and Chen Jianguo took the pheasant from her.

"Li and Tan, you go boil water. We men will clean up later. We can't just watch you do the work. We'll wait for you to finish."

This was a bit too obvious. The male educated youths stood to the side without saying a word, so Lin Dongfang spoke first.

“Yes, Chen, we’re new here and don’t know anything yet. If there’s anything we can do to help, just let us know.”

The other two quickly followed suit, continuing the conversation.

"Yes, yes, yes,"

"Chen, I saw you came back carrying firewood. Were you going to collect firewood? Could you take us with you next time?"

Chen Jianguo glanced at the expressions on the faces of the group.

"Okay, no problem."

She glanced again at the three female educated youths standing at the door of the room, and raised her voice slightly.

“Jian Zhiqing, since you brought such a delicious meal, we’ll take advantage of this and have some chicken soup to improve our diet. Don’t bring your food, we’ll bring it for you, otherwise we won’t feel at ease eating it.”

The three people who had just entered the kitchen quickly exchanged glances.

"Okay, then I'll thank Chen Zhiqing in advance."

Tan Yajun and Li Yan responded in succession.

“That’s right, Jian Zhiqing, put your food aside and take it back with you. You provide the vegetables, and we’ll provide the staple food. What else is there to say?”

"Yeah, hehe, we're only able to get chicken soup this time because of you. Slurp, just thinking about it makes my mouth water."

Actually, this first meal doesn't matter. Although the older educated youth can't eat their fill every day, they still had plenty of mountain produce and wild boar meat from last year, so they're not lacking in oil and fat this winter.