Zhao Ru ran away crying in the end.
When Liao Yujie saw her return to the cave dwelling, she couldn't help but start kicking her while she was down.
"Serves you right! Who told you to mess with Qin Hanshu? You're such a jerk!"
Liao Yujie smelled the chicken soup and had been peeking at it from the cave entrance for a while, so she naturally knew what had happened.
Upon hearing the word "cheapskate," Zhao Ru turned around abruptly and glared at Liao Yujie.
Liao Yujie wasn't afraid at all. She pouted and said:
"Go ahead and glare at Qin Hanshu if you dare. What's the point of glaring at me? Besides, did I say you were being a jerk?"
"Qin Hanshu only talks to you and you cry. If she were to hit you, wouldn't you jump into the river?"
Zhao Ru gritted her teeth in anger, "Shut up!"
"I won't shut up! I won't shut up! I'm going to laugh at you!" Liao Yujie flicked her braid and said, "Go ahead and hit me!"
Zhao Ru's lips trembled with anger. After a long while, she turned around, lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed), and began to cry. Her sobs were suppressed and painful, sounding extremely pitiful.
Liao Yujie scoffed and cursed a few more times, saying "Serves him right." Then she noticed a half-roll of toilet paper on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), which Zhao Ru must have used and forgotten to lock away.
She quickly rolled it up and secretly took it away.
***
Before starting work the next day, Qin Hanshu went into her spatial storage and found some snacks, which she packed in a small cloth bag to take with her. There were peanut nougat from a well-known brand and large bars of Qishilin chocolate.
The nougat and chocolate were both collected from home. Yang Aizhen used to keep them at home to coax Hu Wenwen and Hu Bingbing.
Qin Hanshu packed a lot of packages, intending to give them to Zhou Ruilan.
The Zhou family hadn't asked her for money for the bricks and homespun curtains they had laid, and now the Party Secretary was taking such good care of her in the farm work. She felt indebted to them.
Giving gifts to the Party Secretary has a bad reputation, but there are fewer such concerns when it comes to Zhou Ruilan.
After packing up the snacks, Qin Hanshu ate two steamed buns for breakfast before leaving the space.
As you walk to the drying ground, a blush of red can already be seen in the east.
Before Qin Hanshu could even hand over the snacks, Zhou Ruilan quickly stuffed a handful of White Rabbit candies into her pocket.
"Take one when you're tired from work, and you'll have energy in no time!" Zhou Ruilan patted Qin Hanshu's pocket to make sure it was full. "I have more, let me know when you've finished them!"
Her big, blinking eyes looked at Qin Hanshu with a very sincere expression.
Qin Hanshu swallowed her refusal, accepted the milk candy, and gave away the snacks she had prepared.
Zhou Ruilan opened the cloth bag, puzzled, then quickly shook her head and said, "I gave you a few White Rabbit candies, and you're returning something this nice? Does that make me look like I'm deliberately trying to take advantage of you?"
The Zhou family was well-off, and Zhou Erge often sent good things back to their hometown. Zhou Ruilan was not an unsophisticated girl. She could tell from the packaging that these things were not cheap.
Moreover, the snacks Qin Hanshu gave were all brought from the capital; they were local specialties sold by time-honored brands, which the Zhou family couldn't buy even if they had the money.
Qin Hanshu smiled and said, "I didn't know you were going to give me White Rabbit candy today, so why would I bring these snacks with me to return the favor? These things were originally meant for you."
"I was originally planning to give it to me..." Zhou Ruilan asked in confusion, "Why?"
Qin Hanshu initially wanted to say it was about the previous floor tiles and curtains, but after thinking about it, she changed her answer.
"I just want to be your friend."
Zhou Ruilan laughed, "Making friends is making friends, why do you need to give these things?"
As he spoke, he tried to return the cloth bag to Qin Hanshu.
Qin Hanshu quickly pressed down, "You also gave me a White Rabbit candy, and I accepted it. If you don't accept it, it means you don't want to be friends with me."
"No, no! I want to hand it in, but..." Zhou Ruilan was in a dilemma.
The two women's tugging and pulling caught the attention of the inquisitive Aunt Qi. "Lanhua, what are you and Little Qin doing tugging at each other?"
Qin Hanshu hurriedly stuffed the cloth bag into Zhou Ruilan's arms, and Zhou Ruilan had no choice but to accept it.
Aunt Qi approached, her eyes scanning the two of them like radar. When she saw the small cloth bag in Zhou Ruilan's arms, her eyes were so curious that she wanted to stare a hole through it.
She had long suspected that this young educated youth, Qin, had given gifts to the Party Secretary's family; otherwise, why would the Party Secretary treat Qin so well?
I just don't know what they're giving away. What can such a small cloth bag hold?
Aunt Qi then looked Qin Hanshu up and down.
She was dressed impeccably, with a fair complexion and shiny black hair. I wonder how much good food she ate to have such a sleek and lustrous appearance!
Aunt Qi's eyes grew hotter and hotter as she looked at him; this young educated youth, Qin, was a rich man!
"Little Qin, the educated youth, do you have a boyfriend yet?"
Zhou Ruilan's alarm blared, and she frowned, glaring at Aunt Qi, saying, "Aunt Qi, what do you mean? What business is it of yours whether that young Qin, the educated youth, has a boyfriend or not!"
Aunt Qi: "I was just asking casually..."
"You were just asking casually? Don't think I don't know what you're up to!" Zhou Ruilan sneered. "Your son is almost thirty and still dares to covet that young Qin, the educated youth? How can you be so shameless?"
Aunt Qi blushed. "My son is only twenty-seven... and apart from being a bit older, he's perfect in every way. How is he not good enough for Xiao Qin?"
"Everything is good?" Zhou Ruilan sneered twice. "A twenty-seven-year-old man who doesn't even work in the fields, spending all his time with women collecting work points, probably can't even support himself! You say he's good in every way, then why is he still unmarried at twenty-seven?"
Aunt Qi was stung and became somewhat embarrassed and angry. "You're an unmarried woman, and you keep talking about men. Don't you have any shame?"
Zhou Ruilan spat angrily, put her hands on her hips, and cursed:
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