"I'm not trying to be mean, but look at the next brigade. They're hiring all male educated youth. Unlike us, what can these skinny girls do? A gust of wind could blow them away! They're all looks and no substance."

"The Chairman said that women hold up half the sky. How do you know what others are like? And you look down on women? What? Aren't you a woman?"

Liu Ximei gave her a disdainful look; she couldn't stand this woman's preference for sons over daughters.

She was puzzled. She was a woman herself, so why did they look down on other women? Her own daughter had been treated so badly, and everyone in the village talked about her behind her back.

Ma Guihua choked. Was that what she meant? What did she mean by not being a woman? If she wasn't a woman, would she have sprung from a rock?

At noon, Gu Zuozuo and the others brought back their respective rations: twelve catties of cornmeal, five catties of coarse flour, three catties of wheat flour, and a lot of dried potatoes and sweet potatoes.

When Li Fanghua returned to cook lunch, she saw the kitchen filled with bags of all sizes and understood what was going on.

"Are you planning to eat with the older educated youth?"

Upon hearing this, Meng Tian's face lit up, and she grabbed Li Fanghua's hand, her expression excited.

"Can we fire it ourselves?"

Li Fanghua laughed heartily. She liked these newly recruited female educated youths. They were unpretentious, not coy, said what they meant, and had no ill intentions.

"Yes, that's possible, but your room will need a new firewall and fire channel, otherwise it definitely won't last through the winter. You can start a new stove and cook separately then."

At this point, Li Fanghua peeked outside to make sure the educated youth hadn't returned yet, then whispered:

"Never eat with male educated youth, you'll suffer. Although everyone is given a fixed amount each day, they have a big appetite. Since they all cook in the same pot, they naturally eat more than the girls."

That's bad enough, but what's even worse is that they eat it and then mock you for being stupid. Who can tolerate that?

"Don't you eat together?"

“We used to eat together, but we couldn’t stand it anymore and we separated. We female educated youth only cooked our own meals, while the male educated youth had someone else cook for them.”

Just then, footsteps approached. Gu Zuozuo waved her hand, and everyone fell silent, turning to look at the doorway from which the sound came.

A girl wearing a blue patched jacket and with short, ear-length hair walked in.

She was very thin, with small, single-lidded eyes. She seemed surprised by the number of people in the room, and her feet froze on the spot as she entered.

"Zhao Di is here. You can start eating now. They'll be back soon."

The girl named Zhao Di smiled shyly, carried her basket, and walked into the kitchen without saying a word.

"she is?"

Qi Meng's curious eyes kept following behind them, but Gu Zuozuo pressed her head down and turned her back.

"Don't be curious, curiosity killed the cat."

Qi Meng was speechless; she wasn't a three-year-old. Even so, she still turned to the side, smilingly clinging to Gu Zuozuo, and sniffing her intensely. Her lewd, infatuated expression made Meng Tian, ​​who was listening to gossip with her arms crossed and watching this scene, roll her eyes.

"She's Aunt Guihua's daughter, she's sixteen years old this year, doesn't she look like it?"

Everyone nodded. It wasn't just that he didn't look like a child; he clearly looked like a child in his teens.

"Her mother was known in the village for favoring sons over daughters. Her father was an adopted son-in-law. Perhaps because there were few boys in the family, her mother was not very kind to her and her sisters. That's why the team leader sent her here to cook for the male educated youth. She earned five work points a day. In addition to the work points, the male educated youth would occasionally give her some snacks, which helped support her sisters."

"She's amazing."

Li Fanghua smiled but remained silent.

She is indeed quite capable in some aspects; she is a very talented girl with clear goals.