Wang Qin said, "Today we're having a welcome dinner for the new educated youth. Stop making noise, everyone come and eat!"
Her voice broke the tense atmosphere caused by Li Hua and Zhou Min's argument. Everyone started eating, and the atmosphere eased a little.
Because of their harsh living conditions, it was rare for them to have such a sumptuous meal. The old educated youth and Liu Cui both picked up pieces of wild vegetable and scrambled eggs with their chopsticks. This meal was indeed a rare treat for them.
Everyone ate voraciously. The older educated youths, their mouths stuffed full, mumbled between chews, "It's been so long since I've had such good food, it's so delicious!" Liu Cui, not caring about her image, ate heartily, making satisfied "mmm" sounds from time to time.
Li Hua's expression was still not good, but she didn't say anything more and silently ate her meal. Zhou Min still looked nonchalant, but her eating manners weren't much better than the others, after all, such delicious food was rare in the educated youth settlement.
Everyone chatted, and the topic gradually shifted from Li Hua and Zhou Min's argument to all aspects of the lives of educated youth.
Seeing everyone enjoying their meal so much, Wang Qin felt very gratified and said with a smile, "Eat more, everyone. We're all family now, so let's take care of each other."
After everyone had eaten, Wang Qin, as the female leader of the educated youth settlement, said earnestly, “The pots and pans that the older educated youth use now are ones we bought before. If you want to eat together, you’ll have to pay for them. There used to be three female educated youths here, so we took turns cooking. The male educated youths were responsible for fetching water and chopping firewood, while the female educated youths were responsible for cooking and cleaning. The small vegetable garden behind the settlement was planted by everyone. If you want to cook separately, you’ll have to wait until I finish cooking before you can cook. You’ll need to prepare your own water and firewood.”
Upon hearing Wang Qin's words, the new educated youth reacted in various ways. Xiao Li frowned and said with some difficulty, "We've just arrived here, and we're not exactly flush with cash."
Wang Qin looked at him understandingly and said, "I know that, everyone has their own difficulties. We spent a lot of money to buy these pots and pans. If we eat together, we can split the cost, which will be about two yuan and fifty cents per person. What do you think?"
Some of the newly arrived educated youth couldn't help but whisper among themselves. "Two yuan and fifty cents, that's quite a lot." "Sigh, what can we do? We can't just not use pots and pans."
Liu Cui said dismissively, "If we cook ourselves, we'll have to wait for you to finish cooking before we can use the kitchen. That's too much trouble."
Wang Qin calmly replied, "There's nothing we can do about it. There's only one kitchen, and we can't let things get chaotic. Besides, if we cook ourselves, we have to get the water and firewood ourselves."
Liu Cui thought for a moment and said, "Actually, there are advantages to eating together. It's more lively when everyone eats together, and it also saves some trouble."
Lin Qian felt she had too many secrets. The educated youths weren't eating well either. They had been busy every day since arriving in this world and hadn't had a proper meal yet. So Lin Qian told Wang Qin that she wanted to cook by herself.
Zhao Yu and Su Yao exchanged a glance and told Wang Qin that they wanted to fire separately. Hearing this, Liu Cui exclaimed in surprise, "Why do you all want to fire separately? That's so troublesome!"
Wang Qin frowned and said, "Have you thought this through? Cooking alone is not easy. Not only will you have to wait until I finish cooking before you can use the kitchen, but you'll also have to prepare your own water and firewood."
Lin Qian said firmly, "I've made up my mind, Sister Wang Qin. I still want to start the fire myself. That way I'll feel more at ease."
Zhao Yu nodded and said, "Su Yao and I think so too. We're willing to put in the extra effort ourselves."
Wang Qin said helplessly, "Alright then, since you've all made your decision, I won't say anything more. But let me make this clear from the start: since you've chosen to fight alone, you have to follow the rules and not disrupt everyone's normal lives."
Lin Qian, Zhao Yu, and Su Yao all agreed.
After some discussion, most of the new educated youth decided to share meals and make up for the money spent on pots and pans.
Seeing that everyone had made their decision, Wang Qin said, "Alright, since everyone has decided to have dinner together, then please give me the money as soon as possible."
Lin Qian dragged her tired body slowly towards her room. After sitting on the train for so many days and walking for several hours on mountain roads today, even though she had drunk energy drinks, Lin Qian still felt exhausted.
Back in her room, Lin Qian collapsed onto the bed, sighing inwardly. Just then, 003 spoke in her mind: "That was quite a journey, are you alright?"
Lin Qian replied wearily, "I'm exhausted. The effects of this energy drink are limited."
003 comforted her, "Hang in there, things will get better once you get used to life here."
Lin Qian said helplessly, "That's all we can do. I hope things will get easier in the future."
003 said, "Yes, but this is also a kind of training. Maybe you will become stronger."
Lin Qian said with a wry smile, "Right now, I just hope I can get a good night's sleep and recover my strength."
003 encouraged him, "Then you should get some rest. Tomorrow is another day."
Lin Qian closed her eyes and murmured to herself, "I hope so..." Soon, she drifted off to sleep.
Based on her memory, Lin Qian arrived at the home of Zhao Fugui, the carpenter in the village. Before even entering the courtyard, she could hear the sound of sawing wood coming from inside.
Lin Qian walked into the courtyard and called out, "Is Master Zhao home?"
Zhao Fugui came out of the house and, seeing Lin Qian's unfamiliar face, asked in confusion, "Who are you?"
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