With Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling's decision to build a house, the remaining four people were unwilling to go to a fellow villager's house for meals.

So they all had to squeeze into the educated youth settlement. The cabinet that was originally placed at the end of the kang (a heated brick bed) was moved to the ground, and the five people could barely squeeze in.

However, this is only possible in the summer when the bedding is thin. In winter, when everyone has thick quilts, it will probably be difficult to even turn over on the kang (heated brick bed).

Of course, Chen Shuning didn't care about any of these things. What made Chen Shuning very happy was the brigade leader's words before leaving: "There's not much work to do in the fields right now, and we've given the new educated youth two days off to settle them in."

Also, because there is less work in the fields, more people in the village can spare the time to build houses. Therefore, if Chen Shuning and his group only build two small houses, it will probably take them four or five days to finish.

Since they only had four or five days, Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling decided not to eat at the villagers' homes for the next few days. Instead, they would set up a place in the tool storage room, make a simple bed on the ground with straw, and make do for a few days, since it wasn't cold at the moment.

When Feng Baoguo, who had just settled the male educated youth, heard that the two of them wanted to live in the warehouse, his first reaction was to disapprove. After all, the warehouse was too dilapidated, and it was no exaggeration to say that it was drafty.

Upon seeing the situation of the female educated youth, he swallowed his objections and said helplessly, "Chen and Zhong, you two pack your things first. The warehouse is a bit messy. I'll find a few people to tidy it up before you come over."

Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling were delighted with the news. They thanked Feng Baoguo and made an appointment with the brigade leader to deliver the money for building the house first thing the next morning. Then, everyone happily saw them off at the gate.

Of course, the only ones who might be happy are Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling, who are building a house, and Wang Chunni and Xu Laidi, who are genuinely happy for them.

The other two female educated youths were jealous because the two of them were able to build houses, while the older educated youths were unhappy because the new female educated youths made their living conditions worse.

Seeing the somewhat oppressive atmosphere and the four female educated youths who were busy packing their things, Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling exchanged a tacit glance before Chen Shuning smiled and asked Liu Shumei, "Sister Shumei, do you know where we can get water? I want to wash my hands and face; my face is covered in dirt from the journey here."

Although Liu Shumei didn't like so many people crowding in at once, as the person in charge of the educated youth settlement, she had to step in and mediate when she saw the new educated youth silently packing their things and the old educated youth with unpleasant expressions.

Just then, Chen Shuning spoke up, so he smiled and said, "Knowing you were coming today, I've already prepared hot water for you in the pot in the outer room. Come on, I'll take you there."

As she spoke, Liu Shumei turned to a female educated youth who was spreading quilts on the kang (a heated brick bed) and said, "Meixiang, come over and help me make something for the new comrade to eat."

Wang Meixiang, whose name was called, continued spreading the quilt with her hands, but said disapprovingly, "Can't we just eat something quick and easy? It's so late, if we start a fire to cook, how are we supposed to sleep on this kang tonight?"

The two stoves at the educated youth settlement were connected to the kang (heated brick bed) in the two rooms respectively. It was the height of summer, and it was already very hot. If they were to cook over a fire, the people sleeping at the head of the kang would naturally feel uncomfortable.

Liu Shumei was also in a dilemma. She and Wang Meixiang had arrived earlier, so they were the two of them sleeping at the head of the kang (heated brick bed). After all, the winters here were really cold, so most of the older educated youth preferred to sleep at the head of the kang.

Moreover, they weren't used to preparing meals for the new educated youth, but the brigade leader mentioned it when he left, and it wouldn't be good if the brigade leader found out if they didn't do it.

Just as Liu Shumei was in a dilemma, Feng Baoguo, who had gone to tidy up the storage room, returned with several male educated youths. Since the male comrades were not allowed to enter the female educated youths' rooms, they called out from the outer room: "Educated youth Chen, educated youth Zhong, the storage room is ready. You can take your luggage over there first."

Zhong Lingling was a straightforward person. Seeing Liu Shumei's troubled expression, she heard Feng Baoguo's shout at that moment and hurriedly said, "It's so late, Sister Shumei, don't bother. I have some food in my bag. We can just grab a bite later."

"You're such a nice guy. Anyway, I'm completely out of food. I haven't eaten all afternoon. I'm just hoping to get something hot to eat when we get there. The brigade leader just said he'd make us something to eat. I'll have to ask him about it tomorrow. His word doesn't carry any weight."

Knowing that they would arrive at their destination today, Yang Xiaohong finished all the dry food she had brought before getting off the bus. After a long day of work, she was starving.

She had been thinking about cooking for them ever since the brigade leader told her that the older educated youth would be cooking for them, but now that she heard they weren't doing it anymore, she was unwilling to do it.

Zhong Lingling came from a wealthy family, so she never imagined that someone would be so shameless as to ask for food when it was obvious that they didn't want to cook for them.

She glared angrily at Yang Xiaohong, then said irritably, "Whoever wants to eat can eat. Even if you cook, you don't need to include my and Wenqi's portion. My family isn't so poor that we have to beg for food." After that, she picked up her luggage and left the room with the female educated youth.

Chen Shuning glanced at Yang Xiaohong speechlessly, then smiled at Liu Shumei and said, "Sister Shumei, don't cook for me. I've been traveling too much these past few days, and I want to rest early."

Liu Shumei had a good impression of Chen Shuning, and when she heard her say that, she smiled and replied, "There is hot water on both stoves in the outer room. If you want to wash up, just come and get some. If you have any questions, feel free to come and find me."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!