There are two routes to the commune canteen. The main road is a bit far, and Xu Nuo's legs can't take it, so Li Xian led her along a short mountain path. Once they went down the mountain, it would only take a few minutes to reach the commune canteen.
Li Xian pointed to a yellowish-brown mud house at the foot of the mountain and told her, "Take it easy."
Xu Nuo nodded, took two steps, then turned back and waved, "Thank you, I'm leaving now."
After speaking, she slowly walked towards the cafeteria, glancing back once and noticing that Li Xian was still standing there.
She breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that if she got along well with the main characters, she wouldn't have to worry about being cannon fodder.
Xu Yan was steaming vegetable dumplings in the cafeteria. During the harvest season, the cafeteria would add an extra vegetable dumpling. Although it didn't taste good, it was very filling, and one dumpling could make you feel half full.
Lu Xueyun helped out from the side, working slowly and deliberately.
Xu Yan had finished kneading three vegetable balls, but she was still kneading the first one. Xu Yan couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Today she also needed to steam cornbread, sweet potatoes, and stir-fry pork and potatoes. She was afraid she wouldn't have enough time.
But Lu Xueyun was always so slow and hesitant. Xu Yan sighed helplessly and quickened his pace.
As she raised her hand to wipe her sweat, she suddenly saw a familiar figure and exclaimed happily, "Nuonuo!"
Lu Xueyun looked at the figure with some surprise. As far as she knew, Xu Yan and her spoiled younger sister did not get along well. Last time, Xu Nuo came to the commune canteen, and she didn't even give Xu Yan a friendly look.
"Why are you here?" Xu Yan carefully helped her inside. When Lu Xueyun stopped and looked over, he smiled and said, "Xueyun, this is Xu Nuo, my sister."
Lu Xueyun was quite good-looking, and along with Xu Yan, she was considered the best-looking among this group of educated youth, but she was still far inferior to Xu Nuo. Her gaze lingered on Xu Nuo's face for a moment, and she said softly, "Hello, Comrade Xu."
Xu Nuo smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes.
Wow, another female supporting character has appeared.
Xu Yan found a chair for Xu Nuo, helped her sit down, and said apologetically, "Nuonuo, take a rest for a while. There's a lot of work to do today, so I have to hurry up and finish it."
Xu Nuo nodded obediently, staring at the black dumpling in her hand. Li Xian seemed to have eaten this this morning. She asked, "What is this?"
“Vegetable dumplings, these are very filling, but they don’t taste good,” Xu Yan replied, her hands still moving quickly. Lu Xueyun, on the other hand, would stop as soon as she spoke, and when she did stop, she would dawdle.
Xu Nuo immediately understood that this person was clearly looking for a way to slack off.
She turned to Xu Yan and asked, "Is this all the vegetable dumplings we have today?"
Before Xu Yan could speak, Lu Xueyun interrupted, "We have pork today, stir-fried potatoes, steamed buns, and sweet potatoes. Xu Yan and I are not very capable, so we don't know if we can finish cooking on time."
As Lu Xueyun spoke, her gaze fell on Xu Nuo, thinking to herself that she wouldn't just sit there and watch, would she? Wouldn't she lend a hand?
She was right. Xu Nuo wasn't going to lend a hand at this moment. She had originally intended to help Xu Yan, but when she saw Lu Xueyun like this, she instantly became furious. She asked, "Is this all lunch?"
"No, vegetable dumplings are too much trouble; it takes a whole day to make them."
"Making vegetable dumplings is so troublesome. Wouldn't it be simpler to make the remaining cornbread and fried potatoes?"
Lu Xueyun sighed helplessly, stopped what she was doing, and complained, "Don't even mention it, it's even more troublesome."
"If you had two choices, one would be to make vegetable dumplings, and the other would be to make steamed corn bread with stir-fried potatoes, which would you choose?"
Xu Yan glanced at Xu Nuo strangely, and saw her wink mischievously, while Lu Xueyun beside her had already answered, "Of course we'll make vegetable dumplings."
Xu Nuo nodded: "Then, Comrade Lu, you can take charge of the vegetable dumplings. Sister, I'll help you make cornbread, sweet potatoes, and stir-fried pork with potatoes."
Lu Xueyun was taken aback for a moment, and Xu Nuo said again, "Comrade Lu, you don't need to be so polite. Although my sister has a bigger workload than you, I will lend a hand. You just need to focus on making the vegetable dumplings."
Lu Xueyun's face immediately darkened: "This won't do, Comrade Xu Yan. If you leave all the vegetable dumplings to me to make, the task won't be completed, and the production team members will go hungry!"
How could there be such a shameless person?
Xu Nuo feigned surprise and asked, "How could that be? Didn't you say making vegetable dumplings was easier? If you can't even finish an easy task, are you going to give me cornbread, sweet potatoes, or fried potatoes? It's alright, Comrade Lu, you choose."
Lu Xueyun's face turned ashen with anger. Of course, she wouldn't choose any of them, but Xu Nuo said, "If the workload is so heavy, we should report it to the brigade leader. If Comrade Lu can't even make easy vegetable dumplings, then how could you possibly make cornbread, sweet potatoes, and pork and potatoes? I happen to be staying at the brigade leader's house now, so I'll talk to him about it tonight."
Upon hearing that she had to speak to the brigade leader, Lu Xueyun panicked. The work in the canteen was much easier than farm work, so she quickly said, "I... I'll make the vegetable dumplings. I'll leave the rest to Comrade Xu Yan. There's no need to trouble the brigade leader with such a small matter."
Xu Nuo didn't even bother to smile at her anymore, and pulled Xu Yan to the other side.
Xu Yan secretly gave her a thumbs up, and Xu Nuo raised her eyebrows smugly.
After the tasks were divided, Xu Yan felt much more relaxed. She kneaded the dough and made a fixed number of cornbreads. She also washed sweet potatoes and potatoes, soaked the pork in water, took it out, and cut it for later use.
She breathed a sigh of relief after doing all that.
Usually, when working with Lu Xueyun, she was so busy that she didn't even have time to drink water. Today, she not only had time to drink water but also had time to chat with Xu Nuo. Lu Xueyun was kneading vegetable dumplings with a cold expression on her face. This time, she finally stopped dawdling. She thought for a moment and turned to Xu Yan, saying, "Comrade Xu Yan, I'm afraid I'll delay the brigade leader and the others from eating. If you're ready, could you lend me a hand?"
Although Xu Yan was reluctant, she was too embarrassed to refuse. Xu Nuo pulled her along and said to Lu Xueyun with a sweet smile, "It's okay, Comrade Lu, I'll teach you. You can steam the food for lunch first, and then make the rest in the afternoon. Look how easy your job is, you can even make it in the afternoon. I'm so envious."
Her eyes crinkled into crescents, and Lu Xueyun almost couldn't help but laugh. She angrily lowered her head and vigorously kneaded the vegetable ball, wishing that Xu Nuo was this lump of rotten stuff.
Xu Nuo gave her a cold glance, then turned to Xu Yan and wrinkled her little nose, suddenly remembering, "Ah, my hat."
Xu Yan gave her a strange look and touched her hat.
With Lu Xueyun present, Xu Nuo couldn't very well say that Li Xian gave them to her, so she said, "These are quail eggs I brought from the city."
Xu Yan helped her take the things out, washed his hands, and peeled the food for her.
She knew, of course, that Xu Nuo hadn't brought quail eggs to the countryside, but she wouldn't be foolish enough to ask here.
There was Lu Xueyun next to her. Thinking of Lu Xueyun, she sighed helplessly, and then a smooth and soft quail egg appeared in her mouth.
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