Chapter 15 Conflict Erupts
When people have free time, they have extra energy to do things.
Ning Xuan also realized that the atmosphere at the educated youth settlement had been a bit strange these past two days.
After observing for two days, she discovered that the real story was that she liked him, but he liked someone else.
It was He Yuting from Xu Jiajia's dormitory. Before Lu Xun came, Ning Xuan felt that He Yuting, Zhao Yulian, and Liang Qingqing all had a good impression of Lu Xun.
Unexpectedly, He Yuting now likes Li Ming, but Li Ming has been very attentive to Xu Jiajia lately, and Zhou Zhipeng has helped Xu Jiajia fend off his advances several times.
Ning Xuan was also puzzled. In the original book, wasn't the second male lead, Lu Xun, also Xu Jiajia's simp? But lately, she felt that he hadn't been as simp as Xu Jiajia.
Of course, he also takes good care of Xu Jiajia. For example, when the three of them go out to buy things, Lu Xun will help carry them and basically won't let Xu Jiajia carry heavy things.
But if you say he likes Xu Jiajia, Zhou Zhipeng is so openly fawning over Xu Jiajia, yet Lu Xun doesn't seem to have any other reaction, nor does he seem jealous.
Ning Xuan was unsure of what was going on.
On the contrary, He Yuting's feelings were much more obvious. She initially had a good impression of Lu Xun, mainly because she thought he was handsome and his family was well-off, and he seemed to be quite generous in his food, clothing and other necessities.
However, it is estimated that He Yuting secretly tried and found that Lu Xun was beyond her reach, so she chose Li Ming from the male educated youth group instead.
Li Ming is also tall and 23 years old. Although his economic situation doesn't seem as good as Lu Xun's, it seems to be alright.
"Why did she suddenly start thinking about dating?" Ning Xuan chatted with Huang Xiaomei.
"Actually, it wasn't sudden. The days of female educated youth going to the countryside were indeed much harder than those of male educated youth. I guess you were too thin and young, so you were overlooked by the villagers. But those of us who were a bit older were actually inquired about by the villagers." Huang Xiaomei seemed to be recalling something, and her expression became much more downcast.
Ning Xuan then realized that although the atmosphere in the Red Star Brigade was quite good, the brigade leader could not prevent people from having normal marriages.
Although most villagers disliked the female educated youth for not being able to do much work, some families thought she was pretty and had a special charm. Plus, she came from the city, so she was quite eye-catching in the brigade.
He Yuting didn't want to marry someone from the village, but she was getting older and was being asked about more and more often by villagers, and some men in the village had also shown interest in her.
However, He Yuting was quite rational. She worried that if she really married someone from the village, she would have to stay there for the rest of her life. So she began to consider choosing a partner from among the male comrades in the educated youth settlement.
"Then why doesn't she consider Captain Liu?" Ning Xuan blurted out, because looking at how Li Ming was fawning over Xu Jiajia, it was clearly not a reliable person.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Huang Xiaomei's face suddenly turned red, and then Ning Xuan suddenly realized, "Oh, you two?"
They raised their two index fingers and touched them together.
Huang Xiaomei rarely showed a shy expression, and nodded.
Ning Xuan sighed at her own obliviousness; she really hadn't noticed this before.
It's not that Ning Xuan is oblivious; when it comes to dating at this age, you can't just hold hands and kiss and hug like you would in the 21st century.
In addition, with the recent harvest season in full swing, Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei haven't had much time to meet up privately.
The two of them usually tried to avoid suspicion at the educated youth settlement and didn't show it in any particular way, so most people at the settlement were unaware that they were dating.
When Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei announced that they were going to move out, most people were surprised.
Liu Jun said that the two of them had already registered their marriage and would move out of the educated youth settlement once the house was built.
This is also where Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei's wisdom lies. They kept their relationship a secret because they were worried that if they announced it, other people with ulterior motives might try to stop them, which would cause a lot of trouble. Getting a marriage certificate would be safer.
The two agreed to announce their marriage only after they received their marriage certificate. Surprisingly, everyone saw a lot of excitement on Liu Jun's usually calm face.
However, since there are no vacant houses in the educated youth settlement now, they obtained a homestead from the brigade and built a small house themselves. But if they return to the city in the future, the homestead and house will be taken back by the brigade.
While everyone was happy for Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei, He Yuting started causing trouble just two days later.
It happened to be He Yuting's turn to cook that day. From the moment she started cooking, she made all sorts of banging and clanging noises.
Those who didn't understand might have thought she was interested in Liu Jun and was unhappy that he had married someone else.
When He Yuting put down the spatula in a loud, messy way, the others stopped being silent.
Zhao Yulian spoke first, "He Yuting, what are you doing? This pot is the common property of the educated youth settlement. Are you going to pay for it if you break it?"
The others chimed in, "Exactly! She makes such a racket when it's her turn to cook. Cooking is supposed to be done in shifts; who is she trying to impress with this?"
Hearing everyone's discussion, He Yuting's face darkened, and she immediately exploded.
"I have no problem with cooking, but some people are too arrogant. They want me to cook a different meal every day, which means I have to cook an extra meal. Why should I do that?"
Now everyone understands, it was all an act for Xu Jiajia.
Xu Jiajia understood, but before she could speak, Zhou Zhipeng, the number one sycophant, objected.
"You're talking nonsense. Jiajia's extra meal isn't your food, and it's just something I put in the steamer along with her. It doesn't take any extra effort from you."
Zhao Yulian chimed in, "Yes, and sometimes others get extra meals too. That's the rule for the educated youth to take turns cooking for their meals. Now you're coming out to complain again."
Seeing that things were about to escalate, Liu Jun and Huang Xiaomei quickly stepped in to calm things down, saying, "Let's all keep quiet."
"Yuting, the rule of taking turns cooking means that everyone is allowed to have extra meals. Jiajia's meals are usually just steamed along with the others."
He Yuting got even angrier when she heard this, "Just doing it casually, others only occasionally have it as an extra meal, but what kind of family cooks a refined grain for every meal? This is capitalist behavior!"
"Smack!"
"ah!"
The scene above shows Xu Jiajia slapping He Yuting.
Then came He Yuting's shout.
"Apologize!" Xu Jiajia said to He Yuting in a very serious tone, her voice no longer soft and delicate.
Lu Xun then stepped forward, saying, "He Zhiqing, Xu Zhiqing is a military family member, with impeccable revolutionary credentials. You just say she's a capitalist, can you bear the consequences?"
Zhou Zhipeng also shouted, "Yes, that's slander! Ah Xun, let's call the police and teach her a lesson. Don't just make baseless accusations against her."
He Yuting realized that Zhou Zhipeng and the others were not joking at all, and her face turned pale instantly.
"I apologize, please don't call the police, Xu Jiajia, I'm sorry, I... I didn't mean to..."
Xu Jiajia said coldly, "I don't accept your apology, but I can let you off the hook this time for your recklessness. If there's a next time, this won't just be a joke."
He Yuting turned even paler at the thought of possibly being taken to a farm for re-education, and nodded tearfully, saying she knew she was wrong.
Xu Jiajia stopped talking, turned around and walked out of the educated youth compound, followed by Lu Xun and Zhou Zhipeng.
Once outside...
Zhou Zhipeng said angrily, "If she weren't a woman, I would have punched her already."
Xu Jiajia comforted him, "Okay, Zhipeng, don't be angry anymore. I've already hit him."
"Why aren't you saying anything, Xun?" Zhou Zhipeng asked, looking at the silent Lu Xun beside him.
Lu Xun looked up and said something that left Xu Jiajia and Lu Xun speechless.
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