Liu Mancang has a very thick skin.
If it were Zhao Jisheng, he wouldn't have openly eaten the food from Xie Zhuo's lunchbox after Xie Zhuo finished scolding him. But Liu Mancang was different. While Xie Zhuo was wiping his hands, he put several pieces of meat into his own bowl and then ran away with the bowl.
Xie Zhuo was cursing and swearing behind him.
Xu Yan almost laughed.
"Eat quickly, the brigade leader will be urging us to eat again soon," Xu Yan said.
Xie Zhuo then put the towel he had used to wipe his hands back into the basket, picked up his lunchbox, and began to eat.
He immediately recognized that the food wasn't made by Xu Yan; the lunchboxes were from a state-run restaurant. However, he didn't offer much explanation when Liu Mancang misunderstood the situation.
The meat is braised pork, and the seasonings are well-prepared, so when you bite into it, you get a wonderful flavor that combines the aroma of meat with the fragrance of seasonings.
Xie Zhu ate a big bite of meat, and then stuffed a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.
Among everyone in Qingshan Brigade, they had the best food. Even the brigade leader's family was only eating steamed buns made from two kinds of flour, along with a stir-fried vegetable and some pickled vegetables.
The Zhao family, the carpenter, had a good diet. Zhao Bin had gone to the city to buy meat, so they must have cooked a meat dish. As soon as they started eating, they heard cheers from the people around them.
Xie Zhuo shoveled a few more mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.
"Slow down, don't choke," Xu Yan said as she watched him eat, feeling as if he would starve to death if he didn't eat soon.
"I'm hungry," Xie Zhuo slowed down a bit, swallowed the food in his mouth, and said to Xu Yan, "Why don't you go back and eat first? I'll take the lunchbox with me when I go back this afternoon."
"I'm not that hungry yet," Xu Yan waved his hand, "If someone sees us, they'll gossip."
Xie Zhuo frowned.
Two days ago, he and Xu Yan were walking on the street and were scolded by the captain because they were standing too close. The captain said that someone had reported them for having a bad influence.
Xie Zhuo wanted to ask who was so idle that they would report him for getting too close to his wife. What's wrong with them?
Song Guangming didn't tell him, but just told him to be a little more careful outside.
Xie Zhuo really wanted to retort, "I love walking alongside my wife," but considering Xu Yan, he held back.
He didn't want people gossiping about Xu Yan behind his back.
The meal was satisfying and quick. By the time Xie Zhuo got up and headed to the fields, Xu Yan had already packed up his things and was planning to go home.
However, he had only walked a few steps when he ran into Tian Fang, who was also walking towards the fields after finishing her meal.
Tian Fang is actually not bad looking. She's not pretty, but she's not ugly either. She has a very common face, the kind that you can easily lose in a crowd.
Xu Yan glanced at her a few times, then looked away and continued walking with his basket on his back.
"Little, Little Xu, the educated youth!"
Unexpectedly, just as she was about to pass by Tian Fang, Tian Fang suddenly called out to her.
Xu Yan stopped in her tracks.
Tian Fang hesitated. She didn't know why she had impulsively called out to Xu Yan earlier, and now that their eyes met, she didn't know what to say.
The midday sun was still very strong. Even though it was already the beginning of autumn, I still felt dizzy after being in the sun for a while.
Xu Yan frowned.
Tian Fang kept her head down and murmured without speaking.
"What is it?" Xu Yan asked, trying to suppress his impatience from the sun.
"ah……"
Even though it was Tian Fang who called out to Xu Yan first, she seemed startled as if Xu Yan had suddenly called out to her, and jumped in fright.
Xu Yan frowned even more. Just as she was about to leave, Tian Fang finally spoke, her voice very soft.
Even though he could hear her completely from half a meter away, Xu Yan still heard her words very clearly.
"What did you say?"
Xu Yan's furrowed brows relaxed, and he raised them slightly. His tone seemed to carry a smile, yet it was also filled with an imperceptible chill.
The wind blew by.
Tian Fang glanced away at the field, then brushed the hair that had blown against her cheek. As if gathering her courage, she spoke again: "It's too hard for one person to earn work points to support a family. If you could go down to the fields and help him... it would make things a little easier for him."
Xu Yan didn't speak, but stared at the person in front of him with half-closed eyes.
“The autumn harvest is the most tiring time, and besides, all the other educated youth from your educated youth settlement have come.”
Fearing Xu Yan might not have seen it, Tian Fang pointed in the direction of Zhou Jingjing and the others. Xu Yan didn't turn her head to look, but continued to stare quietly at Tian Fang.
"I know you don't like hearing what I'm saying," Tian Fang said, feeling a little uncomfortable under Xu Yan's gaze. She stopped talking and changed the subject.
Little did she know that Xu Yan had no intention of following her line of thought; instead, he began to challenge her.
"If you know I don't like to hear this, then don't say it," Xu Yan's eyes were very dark, like clear glass beads. When she stared at people coldly, it always gave the feeling that all her little thoughts had nowhere to hide.
Tian Fang pursed her lips.
"I think the autumn harvest is alright," Xu Yan said, glancing at the people who had finished eating and were working in the fields.
Tian Fang's expression changed, and she subconsciously wanted to refute.
That's because you've never participated in the autumn harvest!
But before he could speak, Xu Yan shut him down with a casual remark.
“If you have the time and energy to care about other people’s men, then it’s probably not as exaggerated as you say,” Xu Yan said.
Tian Fang's expression immediately turned ugly.
All those emotions and thoughts from just now were suddenly exposed to the light of day.
Bright and shiny.
She could feel her whole body trembling. She wanted to refute Xu Yan's words, but... she didn't know how to say it.
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