With the enthusiastic help of the male educated youth, Cai Xiaoyu managed to get through the winter, which was still cold, but at least she didn't have to worry about freezing to death.

After experiencing all the recent events, Cai Xiaoyu has become much more sensible and diligent.

To express her gratitude to the male educated youth, she volunteered to cook for them.

Knowing about her past misconduct, Cai Xiaoyu offered to cook, and also said that one of the male educated youths would help her every day.

In this way, someone was with her every day, and someone was watching her every day, which indirectly showed everyone that she would no longer withhold or steal everyone's food as before.

At the same time, Cai Xiaoyu no longer avoids work as she used to.

Now, whenever she sees someone in the educated youth settlement who needs help, she will take the initiative to help them.

Cai Xiaoyu's changes have won her a lot of goodwill. Even the old educated youth who used to not speak to her can now chat with her for a few words.

At the same time, the change in everyone's attitude towards her filled Cai Xiaoyu with gratitude and joy, and she felt everyone's warmth and kindness.

I gradually realized that my previous attitude towards life was wrong, and I cherish my current life even more.

As Cai Xiaoyu gradually realized that her previous lifestyle and attitude towards life were wrong, she no longer hated Cao Qing as much.

As Cai Xiaoyu changed, Cao Qing's attitude towards her also gradually changed.

The two have gone from being at loggerheads to now occasionally nodding and greeting each other when they meet.

With Cai Xiaoyu and Cao Qing no longer around, the atmosphere at the educated youth settlement became harmonious for a time, and the atmosphere between the new and old educated youth also improved a lot.

Chen Shuning had a peaceful time during this period. Apart from going up the mountain with Gu Xinyi and the others to collect firewood every day, he spent his time reading at home.

When they woke up early that morning, the sky outside was gloomy and overcast, so everyone decided not to go up the mountain that day.

Since He Chaoyang left, Chen Shuning hadn't been to town for a while. He had stored a lot of things in his space and thought it was time to go to Hei Zi's place.

After having breakfast, Chen Shuning tidied herself up, carried her little bamboo basket, and went to wait for the oxcart under the big tree at the village entrance.

There wasn't much work to do in the village at the moment, and everyone was staying home to hibernate. There were also many people going to and from town, so the village's oxcart went back to town once a day, with the two old men taking turns driving the cart each day.

Today, Old Yang happened to be on his way to catch the carriage. When he saw Chen Shuning from afar, he greeted her with a smile: "Ning girl, it's been quite a while since I've seen you. Your Grandma Yang was talking to me yesterday, saying that I should ask you when you're free."

She said she was going to soak glutinous rice to make rice cakes, and asked if you wanted to soak some rice too, so she could make them together.

Chen Shuning was delighted when he heard about this. He quickly jumped into the car and sat down, then replied with a smile, "That's great! Grandpa Yang, could you please tell Grandma Yang that I'll soak the rice tonight?"

However, I want to do more this year, which might tire out the older brothers who pull the millstone.

Grandma Yang is from an ethnic minority group, and every year she makes a lot of pickled vegetables and rice cakes. The taste is much better than those mass-produced products from factories in her online space.

Especially the rice cake strips, made by Grandma Yang using glutinous rice ground with a stone mill, are soft, chewy, and have a much better texture than the technologically advanced rice cakes of later generations.

Most importantly, the rice grown at this time is grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and its taste is second only to that grown in Chen Shuning's space. Rice cakes made from this rice have a rich rice aroma.

With Grandma Yang's special chili sauce, Chen Shuning can eat a whole bowl of stir-fried rice cake strips in one sitting.

So starting last year, Chen Shuning started making rice cakes with Grandma Yang. They would soak fifty catties of glutinous rice and make enough rice cakes to last her all winter.

However, this year there's a new baby, He Chaoyang, who's a big eater, so Chen Shuning plans to soak 100 jin of sticky rice.

Grandpa Yang didn't care at all about what Chen Shuning said. He turned his head and saw that the car was full of people. He flicked his whip, and the big yellow ox started moving.

Grandpa Yang then casually said, "What's the big deal? Just soak it. I'll have your brothers help you with the work. There's not much work to do in winter, and they're just sitting at home anyway. It'll be good for them to get some exercise."

Although Old Man Yang said that, Chen Shuning couldn't take it for granted that he would trouble others. She was thinking about what she should bring with her when she made the rice cakes.

Grandma Yang seems to really like oranges, so we can bring some. Also, Grandpa Yang, Uncle Yang, and his brothers all enjoy drinking, so we can bring a couple of bottles of wine with us.

Both of these items were hard to find in the supply and marketing cooperative, so although making rice cakes was troublesome, her gift was quite presentable in this era.

Having figured out what to do, Chen Shuning felt no guilt and chatted with the aunts and sisters-in-law in the car about village gossip along the way.

The most talked-about topic in the village recently has been the affair between Yang Wanqiu and Accountant Wang. Although Yang Wanqiu had Cai Xiaoyu, the first person to discover them, testify on that day, and even threatened to die to prove her innocence, the effect was not good.

After that, rumors about her and Accountant Wang still circulated in the village, which made Yang Wanqiu really sick. She hasn't fully recovered yet, and even though Chen Shuning lives only two rooms away from her, she is rarely seen going out.

As a fellow educated youth, Chen Shuning naturally couldn't speak ill of Yang Wanqiu. Even though the two didn't get along, Chen Shuning didn't use this opportunity to say anything bad about Yang Wanqiu.

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