The malted milk powder, sponge cake, and candy that Chen's mother brought her were all placed in the kang cabinet. Next to the kang cabinet was a small kang table, on which sat an old-fashioned oil lamp and a small enamel mug that she had found at an outdoor goods store.
A wardrobe was placed against the innermost corner of the room. Next to the wardrobe was a small table, half a meter wide and one meter long, and two small square stools. There was no other way; the room was just too small, and these things already made it feel cramped. It was difficult to fit anything else in.
Although the house was small, the whitewashed walls and glass windows made it much brighter than the old educated youth's place. However, the whitewashed walls crumbled easily when touched.
So Chen Shuning planned to buy some white paper in town next time to cover the walls. Although she had plenty of fabric in her space, enough to cover the walls, it would be too extravagant for her to use fabric to cover the walls in this era where even clothes were hard to come by, and it would make people jealous.
After putting everything back in its place, Chen Shuning was sweating profusely from the heat. He hurriedly added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove and then fled the house as if escaping.
Hearing voices coming from the front yard, Chen Shuning hurriedly went to the kitchen to get the old hen and went to the front yard, where he saw the educated youth walking into the yard one by one.
So he smiled and greeted Liu Shumei, "Sister Shumei, Lingling and I will soon finish building our house. We've caused a lot of trouble for everyone while building it."
As she spoke, she waved the chicken in her hand, "So Lingling and I discussed it and went to a fellow villager's house today to exchange for a chicken. Everyone says that Sister Shumei's cooking skills are good, so we'll have to trouble Sister Shumei to stew it for everyone later. This is a small compensation from Lingling and me to everyone. Also, my kitchen is ready to use now, so starting tomorrow, I won't be cooking with everyone anymore."
The former educated youth were delighted to hear that there would be chicken to eat. They thanked Chen Shuning and swept away their resentment from the lack of rest these past few days. Their attitude towards Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling became even warmer.
Zhong Lingling, still excited, rushed to the backyard before Chen Shuning could finish speaking. However, she returned a moment later, looking dejected, and complained to Chen Shuning with a resentful expression, "Shuning, you didn't explain yourself clearly. I thought my house was finished! You made me happy for nothing. Shuning, are you moving out tonight?"
Looking at Zhong Lingling's dejected face, Chen Shuning chuckled and tapped her forehead, scolding her with a smile: "I clearly said that our house will be completed soon."
You only think about your Wenqi brother all day long, you don't care about anything else, and then you blame me.
"And also, this morning Brother Shen clearly said in front of both of us that my house would be finished today, but there wasn't enough time to raise the ridge beam. He said that once the ridge beam was raised tomorrow morning and the tiles were laid, your house would be done. How could you forget about it after only one day?"
Zhong Lingling blushed a little after Chen Shuning said that, and shook Chen Shuning's arm in a coquettish voice, "Oh, I was just too anxious! Besides, others may not know, but you know, my back and waist are aching from sleeping on the floor these past few days, and there are so many mosquitoes at night. I haven't had a good night's sleep for so many days."
As the two were talking, Wang Chunni, who was the last to enter the courtyard, rushed over excitedly.
"Shuning, Lingling, your houses are finished? Then can Brother Shen and the others start helping me repair the warehouse tomorrow?"
Seeing that the other student was also not paying attention, Chen Shuning helplessly repeated what he had just said to Zhong Lingling, then ignored the two of them and went to help in the kitchen of the old house.
Feng Baoguo volunteered to kill the chicken, and the atmosphere at the educated youth settlement became lively because of this chicken.
However, looking at the brand-new brick and tile house, everyone's jealousy of Chen Shuning and Zhong Lingling grew even stronger.
Yang Wanqiu, in particular, was filled with such jealousy and hatred that it was almost overflowing from her face. Even such a good thing as eating meat for free couldn't cheer her up at all. She washed her hands with a sullen face and went into the house.
Chen Shuning had thought that Yang Wanqiu would be too proud to eat the chicken during the meal, but to his surprise, Yang Wanqiu ate more than anyone else after the chicken was stewed.
Although Chen Shuning was in a good mood and didn't hold it against her, others didn't tolerate her. Besides, how much meat does a chicken have? It's not enough for more than ten people.
If you eat one more bite, others will eat one less bite. When Yang Wanqiu put the last piece of chicken into the lunchbox, Wang Meixiang, who had a bad temper, slammed her chopsticks heavily on the table.
Staring at Yang Wanqiu, he said sarcastically, "Some people are shameless. They act all high and mighty but talk badly about others behind their backs. When they eat other people's food, they are really not polite at all. They shamelessly eat more than anyone else. This bowl of vegetables is almost empty, but they haven't touched the rice in the lunchbox. Aren't they afraid of eating too much and getting sick from the salt?"
Wang Meixiang's loud slam of her chopsticks drew the attention of everyone at the table. Following her gaze, they saw Yang Wanqiu, who was about to put chicken in her mouth, and the untouched grain rice in her lunchbox.
Dong Weiwei, who was usually on good terms with Wang Meixiang, glanced at Yang Wanqiu and sneered, "Alright, Meixiang, it's not worth getting angry with that kind of person. She has a man protecting her. How can our pair of chopsticks compete with her two pairs of chopsticks?"
Sigh, what can I do? I'm not usually one to act foolishly, and I don't have a man to protect me.
Wang Meixiang has a somewhat impulsive personality, and Dong Weiwei's words undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. Instead of calming Wang Meixiang down, they only fueled her anger.
"Comrade Liu Shumei, I shouldn't be saying this, but some people are just too shameless. We can't find anyone to work, but when it comes to meals, they talk more than anyone else. Everyone else is tired after a day's work, but she's the only one who's precious. She's been here for three or four days now. Ask her if she's even dusted the house once, or watered the vegetables in her backyard. But when she's at the dinner table, she's really something else. Nobody eats as fast or as much as she does."
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