Looking at Qian Xiaojun's expression, Chen Jianguo remembered what Zhao Hu had told him. He never expected that his sincere efforts would be seen as a complete sucker in other people's eyes.
“It’s not a matter of whether I’m willing to help or not. The village chief said this in public. If you don’t believe me, you can ask other people. I wasn’t the only one there.”
Qian Xiaojun's face turned purplish-blue. "Fine, fine, if you don't want to help, then forget it. I even considered you the leader of our educated youth institute. I'll put this out there: someone who doesn't even care about the lives of the educated youth institute brothers is not qualified to lead us."
"Xiao Jun, you can't say that."
Although Wang Erzhuang had a good relationship with Qian Xiaojun, he felt that Qian Xiaojun's words were excessive. "Brother Chen has already done enough."
He tried to stop Qian Xiaojun and make him apologize to Chen Jianguo, but Qian Xiaojun didn't care who was who when he changed his expression. "What did I say wrong? He just doesn't care whether we live or die."
Wang Erzhuang was clumsy with words but tried to correct his erroneous thinking, but to no avail.
Chen Jianguo remained silent, quietly observing the others' reactions, growing increasingly disappointed with each passing moment.
Apart from Wang Erzhuang, they acted as if they hadn't heard what Qian Xiaojun said, or perhaps what Qian Xiaojun said was exactly what they were thinking, so they were happy to watch the show.
Chen Jianguo shook his head and looked at the others, "Is that what you all think too?"
Wang Erzhuang immediately shook his head, "It wasn't Brother Chen, I didn't."
Others echoed Wang Erzhuang's words, but they sounded rather perfunctory.
"Alright, I don't want the title of head of the educated youth compound anymore. I'll talk to the village chief tomorrow. As for who among you wants to take it, that's up to you."
After saying this, he took the bowl and went out of the house. As soon as he reached the door, he smelled a spicy aroma. He knew without a doubt that Gu An'an and the others were making something delicious again.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Jianguo went back to his room, grabbed a bag of dried meat, and knocked on the door next door.
"Would you mind if I ate a couple of bites?"
Seeing that Chen Jianguo still had some food in his bowl, Gu An'an guessed that something must have happened over there, which forced this honest man to come and seek refuge with them.
"Come in!"
Zhao Hu wasn't surprised at all by his reaction. "You're making a scene again?"
Chen Jianguo nodded, "Brother, you're absolutely right, they're just taking advantage of me."
Although I had long since accepted this situation, it would be a lie to say I wasn't sad, since he was sincere when he did those things.
"It's good that you see clearly now. How about we team up from now on?"
Zhao Hu suddenly blurted out such a sentence, and Chen Jianguo thought it was really good. Although their cooking skills were not as good as Gu An'an and Zhou Yue's, it was definitely better than what they used to eat. At least they were willing to spend money.
"Okay! Then you have to take me up the mountain to look around often, and occasionally give me a treat to annoy those people."
The two hit it off immediately and decided to pool their money to build a kitchen in the backyard. They would take turns cooking, and if they got anything good, they would bring it to Gu An'an's kitchen for a special meal. Just thinking about it made life much better than before.
"Alright, let's eat."
Before they could even pick up their chopsticks, there was another knock on the courtyard gate.
As soon as Zhou Yue opened the door, she called out to the inside, "Sister An, she's looking for you."
Following his gaze, Xiao Yuheng saw the three people gathered around the table. He felt a strange pang of jealousy and his wary eyes swept over the two boys.
He could tell that Zhao, the educated youth, was interested in Zhou, but why was Chen, the educated youth, also there? Did he like Gu An'an?
Realizing this possibility, Xiao Yuheng, who originally intended to leave after delivering the items, immediately decided to stay.
"Gu Zhiqing, your aunt asked me to bring you some rice cakes."
Since the gifts were for her, Gu An'an naturally stood up to greet them. "Tell your aunt to keep whatever she has for herself and not to send any to me."
"It's alright, we have plenty at home."
At this point, one would normally say goodbye, but Xiao Yuheng didn't. Even after the things were taken away, he still stood there smiling and looking at Gu An'an.
To be honest, that look in her eyes gave her the creeps, and her mouth involuntarily started twitching.
"Have you eaten? How about we grab something to eat here?"
Xiao Yuheng had been waiting for these words. His mood instantly brightened, and as if afraid that Gu An'an would change her mind, he agreed in a second, "Is this a bit of a bother? But since you've invited me, it would be quite disrespectful of me not to accept. So I'll respectfully accept your invitation."
This was the first time Gu An'an had ever seen him speak so much at once, and the feeling he gave off was quite different from usual. She was stunned for a moment, and only after realizing that she had fallen into his trap did she feel a mix of amusement and exasperation.
However, since everyone was already seated, she couldn't very well ask them to leave, so she got Xiao Yuheng a set of chopsticks and a bowl.
Xiao Yuheng had only stayed for dinner out of ulterior motives, but after tasting the first bite of spicy chicken, his appetite was whetted.
Did you make this dish?
Gu An'an nodded, "Not to your liking?"
Xiao Yuheng shook his head. "Very good."
There was a Sichuan cuisine chef in the army canteen, and he was already used to the spicy taste, but he didn't expect that Gu An'an was good at Sichuan cuisine.
Seeing that Xiao Yuheng genuinely liked her, Zhou Yue wanted to brag to her good friend, "Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao, our An'an is skilled in so many things, she can even turn pig offal into a delicacy."
"Yes, the stir-fried pork intestines made by Gu Zhiqing are the best I've ever eaten."
When Chen Jianguo spoke, Xiao Yuheng felt a little jealous again. He had even eaten stir-fried pork intestines before, so it seemed that this wasn't the first time he had invited someone to stay for a meal.
"Comrade Gu, how about I get some offal tomorrow and you cook it again? Our army canteen has a master chef specializing in Sichuan cuisine. I'm used to eating Sichuan food, and I've really been craving it after being home for a few days."
Gu An'an: "...It's not that I'm unwilling to do it, it's just that I'm tired of eating pork intestines these past two days."
Xiao Yuheng was a little disappointed when he was rejected, but he didn't give up. "Then I'll try to get something else."
Meeting Xiao Yuheng's deep eyes, Gu An'an hesitated before refusing, and then, almost unconsciously, agreed, "We'll see if I can do it then."
Xiao Yuheng was delighted, thinking that there would be another meal after this one.
What was originally a meal for three people became a meal for five. Fortunately, Gu An'an cooked the whole chicken, otherwise it really wouldn't have been enough for these animals.
"What's wrong with this kid? I sent him to deliver something, and it's been so long. Why hasn't he come back yet? Could something have happened to him?"
The village chief's wife muttered to herself, but the village chief, thinking about their conversation during the day, waved for everyone to eat. "What happened? He's a grown man. Even if he ran into someone who didn't know better, we don't know who would be in trouble. Alright, alright, let's eat."
It was an hour and a half later when Xiao Yuheng returned after finishing his meal, washing the dishes, and showing his attentiveness. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he met the village chief, who was already waiting there.
"Uncle, you're trying to scare people to death by staying here!"
The village chief completely ignored the question, smiling ambiguously, "You've been gone so long, you've gotten quite the inside hut?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
