"I had nothing to do when I got back in the afternoon, so I just made some. It wasn't much trouble."
"You'd be better off reading more books."
Hearing Yang Shumei's words, Zhao Jianbin seized the opportunity to say, "This afternoon I went to Xinhua Bookstore and found a set of junior high school books. I flipped through them, but there are some parts I don't understand. Could I ask you for help?"
Yang Shumei remained silent, and Zhao Jianbin took this as an agreement and grinned sheepishly.
Xie Yuyao returned to the educated youth compound without saying a word, refusing to be a third wheel.
Soon, Yang Shumei returned, and Zhao Jianbin brought in firewood on a shoulder pole.
He took the bag off the hook and put it on the stove: "This is some pork, you can stir-fry it."
"No, take it home."
Zhao Jianbin bent down and piled the firewood in the corner of the stove. "It's just a few pieces of meat, nothing special."
Seeing Yang Shumei's dilemma, Xie Yuyao suggested, "Why don't you stay for dinner?"
Zhao Jianbin's eyes lit up, and he looked at Yang Shumei hopefully.
Yang Shumei blushed a little from being stared at and scolded coquettishly, "What are you looking at me for? It's not like I'm the one inviting you to dinner."
Zhao Jianbin chuckled, scratching the back of his head. Happiness had come so suddenly that he was too excited to know what to do.
"I'll go fetch water!"
Ignoring their refusal, he took out a carrying pole, picked up two empty buckets, and ran out of the yard.
Other educated youths witnessed this strange scene after finishing their work:
Zhao Jianbin happily carried the empty buckets to the well. When he saw them, he naturally raised his hand to greet them: "Back from work?"
His tone made it seem as if he were also a member of the educated youth compound, one of their own.
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