"Hello, we're here to collect our food allowance."
Hearing someone speak, the village secretary looked up and his eyes lit up when he saw Zhou Yuting.
"name?"
"Su Li"
Where is the comrade next to you?
Zhou Yuting
“Great! You are all good comrades, willing to go to the countryside to contribute to the construction of our country. If you encounter any problems in the village, come to me anytime. Since you have come to our village, we are now one big family. Don’t be shy with me. Although I am just a small Party Secretary, I can still help you sometimes.”
Su Li gave a forced smile and said, "Then I'll thank you in advance."
"Thank you, Party Secretary," Zhou Yuting said gratefully.
She didn't expect the village secretary to be so easy to talk to.
After the two took the food back, Zhou Yuting's stomach was growling with hunger; she hadn't eaten anything all day.
She put the food in the kitchen, then walked up to Su Li and said pitifully, "Su Li, I'm so hungry!"
"We can't eat today, we don't have a pot. Didn't you bring any snacks with you? Have something to eat first."
"When I came, I was in such a hurry that I only had time to pack a few clothes. I didn't prepare anything except money."
Su Li; "......."
What a pampered young lady who knows nothing of human suffering.
"Wait here, I have some peach shortbread. Have some to tide you over."
"Then I'll give you the money."
"No need," Su Li said as she entered the room, took out a small bag of peach shortbread from her spatial storage, and came out.
"Here, eat!"
She took a bag for herself and slowly started eating.
"We need to buy a pot tomorrow. Will you be eating with me, or will you be cooking alone?"
"I'll stay with you, but I can't cook."
"Okay, but let me make this clear beforehand. I can cook a few meals first. But you have to learn how to cook. Three days from now, we'll cook one meal a day, and the food will be split 50/50."
"Su Li, how about I pay more money and you cook the meal? I'm worried about wasting food."
Having a clear understanding of herself, Su Li didn't indulge her and said firmly, "You have to learn. Although I can cook, I don't like cooking. Otherwise, we can each eat our own food."
"All right"
Zhou Yuting said this somewhat reluctantly, because she genuinely couldn't cook. The thought of having to cook in the future made her feel terrible.
After Su Li finished speaking, she went back to her room and made a note of the things she needed to buy tomorrow.
Zhou Yuting finished a small bag of peach shortbread outside, but her stomach was only half full, so she was too embarrassed to ask Su Li for more.
Just then, she noticed a suspicious figure outside the door. She walked to the door and whispered, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Tingting. Are you hungry? I've brought you food."
Zhou Yuting recognized Zhao Meilan's voice and opened the courtyard gate. "Why are you here?"
"Tingting, I know you haven't bought a pot yet. I thought you must be starving since you haven't eaten all day, so I specially brought you a bowl of rice. Eat it while it's hot."
Zhou Yuting glanced at the lunchbox with some disdain, but her stomach was indeed growling with hunger.
While she was hesitating, Zhao Meilan smiled and put the bowl in her hand.
"Today, the old educated youth are welcoming the new educated youth. They made cured pork and cabbage, and braised eggplant. It smells so good! I haven't even had a bite myself, but I brought it to you. Hurry up and eat."
She actually ate half of it herself, then spread the food out neatly and brought it to her.
Seeing that Zhou Yuting was still not moving, Zhao Meilan really wanted to snatch the food and eat it herself, but then she thought about how she would have to rely on her to make a living in the future.
She forced herself to swallow it; she could tell Zhou Yuting really wanted to eat it, but her damned pride was holding her back.
“Tingting, we were sent to the countryside together as educated youth. You even helped me on the train. Now that you have no food, I certainly can't just stand by and watch you go hungry. Eat quickly! It won't taste good if it gets cold.”
Under Zhao Meilan's persistent advances, Zhou Yuting finally ate the bowl of rice.
After finishing her meal, Zhou Yuting gave Zhao Meilan two yuan; she didn't want to owe her a favor.
Zhao Meilan happily accepted the money, thinking that she had made the right decision to come here.
The next morning, Su Li got up very early.
After washing up, seeing that Zhou Yuting hadn't gotten up yet, she went into the room and took out the last steamed bun from her spatial storage and ate it.
After Zhou Yuting got up, Su Li gave her some snacks.
The two walked towards the village entrance, where the oxcart was already waiting.
There's no work today. The brigade leader is very understanding; the newly arrived educated youth have many things to buy, so he specially gave us a day off.
On the oxcart was Old Li, the same man who had picked them up last time. Several educated youths and a few village aunties were already sitting on the oxcart.
After everyone arrived, Old Li set off for the supply and marketing cooperative in his oxcart.
Two middle-aged women looked at the female educated youth as if they were appraising goods. Su Li glanced at one of them and roughly guessed their identities.
She has a large mole on her chin and a pair of inverted triangular eyes, just like the one described in the novel. She is Niu Tieguang's mother, who is also the original owner's wicked mother-in-law.
"Hey, look at these educated youths who came this time, they're all so beautiful."
The woman beside her chimed in, "Who says she isn't? She's as beautiful as a flower."
Niu Tieguang's mother first looked at Zhou Yuting, who was wearing a wool coat, and asked with a smile, "My dear girl! Where are you from? How many siblings do you have?"
Zhou Yuting couldn't handle the village aunties at all, so she looked to Su Li for help.
"Auntie, Yuting has an older brother who's in the army, and he's very protective of his own. There was a guy who tried to take advantage of Yuting, but his brother beat him so badly that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him."
As soon as Su Li saw Old Granny Yu, she knew what she was up to. The reason she said those things was to hope that Old Granny Yu would think twice before taking action.
"Oh, I see!"
Judging from the fact that this educated youth was well-dressed and rented a room to live in right away, I knew he was wealthy, and I thought it would be a good match for my son.
Unexpectedly, her brother was serving in the military, which was someone she couldn't afford to offend. She needed to find someone easier to handle.
Thinking about it, she turned her gaze to Su Li again. This educated youth was too dirty; her face was covered in mud and she didn't even bother to wash it off.
She figured her son probably wouldn't like her looking like this, and with that thought, she looked at Su Jiaojiao again. The girl was quite pretty, and her clothes were second only to Zhou Yuting's, so her family must be well-off.
She whispered to the woman next to her, "Hey, can you help me find out what that educated youth's name is?"
"That's Su, the educated youth."
"Su, the educated youth, where are you from?"
Su Jiaojiao had been keeping an eye on Su Li and Zhou Yuting, but she never expected that the old hag would dare to make a move on her.
"A peasant like you dares to presume to be with her? Auntie, I'm from the southern province."
"Southern Province is great! Big cities. Has your family introduced you to any potential partners?"
Su Jiaojiao was somewhat annoyed, but since the people sitting around her were all educated youth, she couldn't afford to lose her temper.
She smiled and said, "I've already found someone. We'll get married when we return to the city."
Of course, saying that was a complete lie to the old woman; she wouldn't even look for it in the village.
I simply gave up on her hopes.
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