Chapter 11 Cookies Wrapped in Oil Paper
He sipped his corn porridge and ate the pancake in his hand.
The others ate as usual.
that is……
After taking a bite of the hardened pancake, He Meiling refused to eat any more.
"I can't eat this kind of thing. Do I have to eat this every day from now on?" He Meiling asked Tang Kaiyuan, who was sitting to the side watching the group.
Upon hearing this, Tang Kaiyuan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "This is the countryside, a place that supports the production of the brigade. It's good enough if the work points we earn are enough to eat."
"Many female educated youth earned only three or four work points a day, and it was difficult for them to even have enough to eat..."
The implication is that if you're struggling to even get enough to eat, why are you being picky?
Clearly, He Meiling did not understand the implied meaning in Tang Kaiyuan's words.
"But this kind of thing is really hard to swallow. You must have to mix some flour in, right?"
There were a few educated youths who hadn't gone in to rest yet. They knew that some female educated youths had come, including two pretty ones, so they came specifically to see them. One of them, He Meiling, who was rather attractive, clearly said that she was a pampered girl from her family and had never experienced hardship.
But is this countryside a place to enjoy a life of luxury?
People struggling to make ends meet still want to show off and eat well?
"What's the situation with this female educated youth's family? Is she from a well-off family?"
"Judging from this, they probably haven't eaten cornbread and buckwheat pancakes before."
"..."
Several male educated youths who were taking shelter under a tree not far away also started chatting quietly when they saw this.
One of the thin men had a different kind of light in his eyes.
Zhang Qingsong originally came here to see Du Ruoxia and He Meiling, and Wang Sufeng was also quite good-looking. But He Meiling's words attracted everyone's attention. Her family must be quite well-off, or even very well-off.
Anyway, there's little hope of returning to the city anytime soon. It wouldn't be bad if I could marry a well-off female educated youth from a good family here…
Moreover, although He Meiling was slightly inferior to Du Ruoxia, she was much better than the women in the village or the older educated youth who had been sent to the countryside for several years.
At this moment, Zhang Qingsong's mind began to wander.
After thinking for a moment, he stood up and went back to his room.
Tang Kaiyuan looked at He Meiling, and then glanced at the other five people sitting and eating.
"If everyone wants to eat together, they need to pay grain taxes, and the educated youth in the settlement will take turns cooking, cleaning, and washing dishes."
"If you don't like the food at the educated youth settlement, you can start your own kitchen and cook for yourself. Or you can cook with other educated youth."
“Newly arrived educated youth can also go to the production team to get some grain in advance, and then use their work points to offset it at the end of the year.”
“There are oxcarts in the village that go to the county town. If you need to go to the supply and marketing cooperative in the county town to buy things, you can wait at the village entrance at six o’clock in the morning.”
After Tang Kaiyuan finished speaking, he nodded to the group and then turned and went back to his room.
He didn't want to say anything more; this educated youth surnamed He was giving him a headache.
If you're this picky about food, you'll probably be a problem when you go to work tomorrow.
Du Ruoxia didn't think too much about it. She had money, and if necessary, she could just go to the state-run restaurant in the county town for a good meal.
Du Ruoxia thought to herself that she had already eaten a pancake and a bowl of corn porridge.
After telling Luo Xiaojuan, he went back to his room first.
As soon as Du Ruoxia left, Zhang Qingsong returned.
He walked over to He Meiling and took out an oil paper package.
"Here are some cookies. If you can't finish this meal, have some cookies to tide you over."
He Meiling didn't really like this thin man who was only about 1.7 meters tall and had an ordinary appearance.
After all, she had met a more outstanding man in Kyoto, who was the son of a political commissar, tall, handsome, and a military officer.
Looking at him again, he's somewhat lacking in comparison.
When Zhang Qingsong saw that He Meiling didn't answer, he thought she was a little embarrassed.
"My name is Zhang Qingsong. Here, take this. Otherwise, you won't be able to sleep well at night if you go hungry."
"No need to be so polite. We're all educated youth from the same village, so we're meant to help each other out."
As Zhang Qingsong spoke, his face flushed slightly, and he seemed a little embarrassed. He quietly opened the oil paper package, revealing the cookies inside with some broken edges.
He had kept these cookies for almost a month, reluctant to eat them himself.
Seeing this, Luo Xiaojuan, Tian Xueying, and Wang Sufeng quickly shoveled down a few mouthfuls of corn porridge, stuffed the pancakes into their mouths, and hurriedly left.
Seeing this, Zhang Qingsong became even more shy.
Her originally thin face now showed two blushes.
However, He Meiling's refusal to accept Zhang Qingsong's gifts was not due to shyness or embarrassment.
Instead, the parchment paper package looked a bit dirty, and the cookies were somewhat broken when opened.
Because Zhang Qingsong's hand holding the biscuit was quite close to He Meiling's, it smelled of grease.
It doesn't look very fresh; it looks like it's been sitting out for a long time.
Such food made He Meiling, who always liked to take advantage of others, lose her appetite, so she didn't want it.
But although she wouldn't eat such cookies, she would be a good person!
"Zhang Zhiqing, thank you for your kindness, but we just met today, so it's not appropriate for me to accept your cookies."
"You should save these biscuits for when you're hungry. I still have some dry food," He Meiling said, getting up, nodding to Zhang Qingsong, and then turning back to her room.
Seeing He Meiling's appearance, Zhang Qingsong couldn't help but feel a little flutter in his heart.
I couldn't help but think to myself—
Hey, she's not even married yet, and she already knows how to be considerate of a man, even saving the cookies for me...
We must win over this educated youth, He Zhiqing; marrying her will definitely not bring any harm!
Zhang Qingsong really is... completely shameless.
In the dormitory of female educated youth.
Du Ruoxia and Luo Xiaojuan's beds were very close together. Luo Xiaojuan, who had witnessed Du Ruoxia's medical skills on the train, had always had some questions. Taking advantage of the bright moonlight, Luo Xiaojuan softly asked:
"Comrade Du, your medical skills are so amazing, who did you learn them from?"
"Hmm... well, this can't be explained in just a few words. Do you want to learn?" Du Ruoxia asked in return.
Luo Xiaojuan nodded frantically, "I think if I could become a doctor, I wouldn't have to earn work points at the educated youth settlement anymore. It's a skill, and if I go back to the city in the future, I can find a job."
Luo Xiaojuan chuckled as she spoke. Her father was a permanent employee at the factory, her mother was a casual worker, and she had several sisters. Her father would definitely not give her a position at the factory.
So she would be overjoyed to become a doctor now.
“That’s right.” Du Ruoxia pondered Luo Xiaojuan’s words; the work done by educated youth was no easy task.
"If you want to study medicine, you must first have a love for learning. I'll find you a few books another day, and see if you can get through them."
Luo Xiaojuan nodded happily, "Okay."
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