Although the girl looked pitiful, what she said was truly unpleasant to hear.
Chen Shuning was never one to tolerate bad habits, and upon hearing this, he retorted without hesitation: "Whether we are happy or not is our business. What does it have to do with you? Why are you meddling in other people's affairs? Besides, Chairman Mao said that all workers and peasants under heaven are one family. Can't we be happy to see our relatives? Are you questioning Chairman Mao's words?"
Yang Xiaohong boarded the bus relatively late, and obviously did not expect that Chen Shuning, a girl who looked so gentle, would have such a sharp tongue. In addition, she was also a little jealous of Chen Shuning and Wang Chunni, who seemed to be very pampered at home.
After all, as a girl herself, she was always hungry and cold at home and had to do chores because her parents favored boys over girls. But these two women in front of her...
Chen Shuning's clothes, which were neither new nor old, were obviously made of good material. If they were new clothes, it would be understandable that they were specially made for his trip to the countryside, but these clothes, which were neither new nor old, were obviously clothes he was used to wearing at home.
And then there's Wang Chunni. Not only is she dressed in clothes without a single patch, but you can tell from all that fat that her family must have fed and pampered her.
The other two had fair and delicate hands that clearly showed they had never done any work, unlike her hands, which were thin and calloused from working. So when she saw Wang Chunni happy, she felt annoyed and said those things, just to make the two of them unhappy.
“That’s right, some people just can’t stand to see others do well. Shuning, let’s ignore her.” As she spoke, Wang Chunni quickly took out a few fruit candies from her handbag, gave one to Xu Laidi first, then one to Chen Shuning, and then popped one into her own mouth.
Chen Shuning did not refuse Wang Chunni's kindness, and generously accepted the fruit candy, peeled it open, and put it in his mouth.
To be honest, the fruit candies at that time didn't taste very good. Apart from being sweet, Chen Shuning really couldn't taste anything else. They were not as good as the candies with added flavorings and additives in later generations.
However, Chen Shuning was still very happy to receive the gift. She was not stingy after receiving the candy, and took out a bag of preserved plums that her mother had prepared for her in case she got carsick from her handbag.
He poured a large handful for each of Wang Chunni and Xu Laidi across from him, and put the rest back into his handbag, showing no intention of sharing any with Yang Xiaohong beside him.
In the four-person booth, the two tacitly avoided sharing their food with Yang Xiaohong.
This behavior clearly angered Yang Xiaohong, but instead of confronting Chen Shuning and Wang Chunni, she turned her attention to Xu Laidi, whose family background was obviously just as bad as hers.
Yang Xiaohong, who was staring at the fruit candy and preserved plum that Xu Laidi was holding so carefully but hadn't eaten, swallowed hard and said sarcastically, "Some people are just shameless. They're greedy and only know how to eat other people's things for free. They're obviously people who like to take advantage of others."
Xu Laidi's family was clearly not well-off. Upon hearing this, her face turned pale. She then awkwardly pulled out a handful of dried sweet potatoes from her bag and carefully divided them into small handfuls for Chen Shuning and Wang Chunni. She then said in a slightly embarrassed voice, "I'm sorry, this is all I have. My grandma dried them herself. Please don't mind them."
The two of them accepted it without any hesitation, and Chen Shuning even started eating it right away. Although the taste was not as sweet as the dried sweet potatoes processed in factories in later generations, and the texture was a bit dry and hard, Chen Shuning still enjoyed eating this product made from pollution-free dried sweet potatoes.
Seeing Chen Shuning like this, Xu Laidi visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile appeared on her face for the first time since she got into the car.
Busy, she took the remaining dried sweet potatoes out of her bag and stuffed them into Chen Shuning's arms: "These are all for you. They're homemade and not worth much. I'm glad you don't mind."
To be fair, most people at this time were still simple and honest. Chen Shuning, who had seen all sorts of deceit and treachery in his previous life, genuinely liked the two down-to-earth girls opposite him. The three girls chatted and laughed all the way, and none of them paid any attention to Yang Xiaohong standing to the side.
The three chatted for a while, and then Wang Chunni and Xu Laidi, who were sitting opposite each other, fell asleep due to exhaustion. It was clear that neither of them had slept well the night before, since they were both children who were away from home for the first time, so it would be strange if they could sleep well.
There were quite a few people around who, like Chen Shuning, would fall asleep as soon as they got on the bus, but now they were full of energy.
Listening to the increasingly heated discussions around him, Chen Shuning couldn't help but sigh, "Ignorance is bliss." These young men and women probably didn't know what kind of harsh environment and difficult life they were about to face.
As urban populations gradually reach saturation, many educated youth like them will be sent to the countryside every year for many years to come. However, the number of places available for returning to the city each year is limited, and many job opportunities in the city will naturally be available to those who stay in the city.
People like them, who have already been abandoned once, don't have many opportunities. So many of them will stay in the countryside for many years, and some will never be able to go back.
Having been born and raised in the city, they found it difficult to adapt to rural life. For a time, these people became like rootless duckweed, unable to integrate into the countryside or return to the city.
Bored, Chen Shuning lost interest after listening for a while. He closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, but in reality, he was immersing his consciousness into the space. He habitually went to the vegetable garden to check on the vegetables that had matured, and considered which vegetables were suitable for pickling, which were suitable for winter storage, and which were not suitable for eating outside in the short term.
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