Upon seeing Song Lan, Wen Xi hesitated before saying, "Song Lan, how about we don't go in? Could you help us take the vegetables inside? I'm afraid someone might try to frame us again."
"It's alright. It's hot now, so everyone eats in the courtyard and doesn't need to go inside. Besides, if anyone tries to frame you for no reason again, I'll report it to the police. Last time, we were new here and didn't have much influence, so no one believed us. But things are different now."
Song Lan took the basket from Wen Xi and invited them inside.
The welcome banquet when he first arrived also shattered Song Lan's worldview. He never expected that so-called cultured people and city dwellers could do such unscrupulous things for their own selfish desires.
With Song Lan's promise, Wen Xi felt relieved and led Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue inside. In fact, she really didn't want to have anything to do with the people here, but everyone was in the same boat, sharing both prosperity and adversity, and it was unrealistic to completely sever ties.
Upon entering the courtyard, one sees two tables pushed together, enough to comfortably seat twenty people.
"Xiaoxi, you're here." Tian Shengnan came out of the small kitchen carrying dishes and greeted Wenxi and the others happily when she saw them.
Wen Xi nodded, then took the vegetables out of the basket and placed them on the table. After that, she took the basket to Tian Shengnan's small kitchen. Although Song Lan said she would testify for her, there were so many people here, and she couldn't give others a chance to do something.
Once everyone who lived outside had arrived, they sat around the table, which was located outside the kitchen, so they could eat by the light from the kitchen and avoid being completely in the dark.
"Wenxi, what dishes did you bring this time? You can't just bring a few wild vegetables like last time!" After a while, an annoying voice came from outside the courtyard gate.
Wen Xi turned around and looked over, only to see Liang Zhaodi walking in with her big pregnant belly, while Lu Xiaoyun walked behind her with no expression.
“Liang Zhaodi, have you forgotten that I had just arrived? I had just moved to a new house and didn’t have the means to eat well. But you were the ones who were hosting the welcome banquet. You invited us to dinner, but you served a few bowls of wild vegetables to fool everyone. What right do you have to criticize me? Besides, we brought three good dishes with us today. What did you bring? Bring them out for everyone to see.”
As Wen Xi spoke, she looked into Liang Zhaodi and Lu Xiaoyun's hands and saw that there wasn't even a single vegetable leaf, let alone any vegetables.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on her, Liang Zhaodi's face immediately darkened.
"Liang Zhaodi, you are so ungrateful. I shouldn't have let you off when you conspired to frame me. If the police had taken you away, no one would have dared to act up in front of me. You are like clowns, so annoying." Wen Xi coldly glanced at Liang Zhaodi and Lu Xiaoyun, then pulled Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue to the table and found a seat.
She's already cooked three dishes, so the rest is none of her business.
In front of everyone, Wen Xi tore off Liang Zhaodi's fig leaf, exposing Liang Zhaodi's past and letting the new educated youth know about it.
Liang Zhaodi's face was almost contorted with anger. This woman was indeed her nemesis. No wonder she disliked Wen Xi so much from the first moment she saw her. It turned out there was a reason for it.
Liang Zhaodi angrily found a seat a little further away from Wenxi, because she was afraid that Wenxi would say something detrimental to her again.
Wenxi provided three dishes: stir-fried celery, stir-fried purslane, and spicy fish. Tian Shengnan and her two companions also provided three dishes: mushroom soup, spicy dried fish, and stir-fried green peppers. The remaining six educated youths at the settlement provided four dishes: spicy snails, braised snake meat, stir-fried eggplant, and smashed cucumber.
Perhaps because it's summer now and supplies are more plentiful, this welcome banquet is generating much more buzz than the one Wenxi and the others had back then.
However, all six of the former educated youth were men, and their cooking skills were not very good. Wenxi dared to eat only eggplant and cucumber; she dared not eat the remaining snails and snake meat.
After dark, Gu Huai'an, Lu Mingxiu, and Li Jianguo arrived. They also brought dishes, unlike Tang Xiaoyun and her two friends who were shameless. Despite being well-off and wealthy, they refused to contribute even a single dish.
Gu Huai'an and his two companions also brought three dishes: stewed pheasant with potatoes, stir-fried green beans, and stir-fried eggplant.
When everyone saw that there was pheasant to eat, they looked at Gu Huai'an with shining eyes, just like hungry wolves seeing their prey.
"I'm not very good at cooking, so these dishes were made by my neighbors. Please bear with me!" Gu Huai'an placed the three dishes on the table and then said, "The pheasant is too small and there isn't much meat. To avoid some people eating too much and some eating too little, I personally divided the pheasant meat for everyone. Please take out your bowls!"
After everyone placed their rice bowls in front of them, Gu Huai'an began to distribute the chicken. The necks, claws, wings, and internal organs, which had less meat, were given to the men. Of course, they also received meat from other parts of the chicken.
Wenxi received a piece of chicken breast and a piece of chicken thigh. The chicken thigh was not a whole chicken thigh, but only a section of it, which could be seen from the bone in the middle.
"Let's all introduce ourselves and get to know each other!" Xia Minglei said first.
Regardless of whether Xia Minglei has the protagonist's halo, he is the protagonist of this world, so naturally no one will respond when he speaks.
Wenxi doesn't live here anyway, so she doesn't care who's in charge of this educated youth settlement!
"My name is Xia Minglei, I come from Suzhou, I am 21 years old, and I have been working in the countryside for almost three years." Xia Minglei introduced himself first.
Wen Xi had a faint smile on her lips. She remembered that Xia Minglei didn't return to the city until after the college entrance examination was reinstated, and he only got into university by studying with the female lead. After all, the female lead was from the 21st century and had a cheat code, so she probably gave Xia Minglei the exam questions. Otherwise, Xia Minglei might not have gotten into university.
Moreover, Xia Minglei has been in the countryside for almost three years and has not been able to return to the city, which suggests that either his family is not very well-off, or he may not be favored at home.
I really don't know where he got his confidence from. He was with Tian Xiaoke on one hand, and pursuing the female lead on the other. Luckily, the female lead found out herself and was spared from being hurt by this scumbag.
After Xia Minglei finished introducing himself, Tian Xiaoke immediately stood up and said first, "My name is Tian Xiaoke, I am Xia Minglei's fiancée, and I am a local. I know people at the supply and marketing cooperative, so if you want to buy anything in the future, you can come to me."
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