The accountant shouted, "It's twelve o'clock. Let's take a break and have dinner. Let's go out and eat. Don't let the food smell on the tea leaves!"
The girls all raised their heads, pushed away their stools, stood up to get their lunch boxes, walked around to stretch their legs, and chatted loudly. The warehouse was buzzing for a while.
Cheng Yaoyao also raised his aching neck and rubbed it. Han Yin was still picking up a handful of tea leaves when Zhang Xiaofeng pulled her up: "It doesn't matter if you keep picking. Your eyes won't be able to bear it."
Han Yin was still picking tea with one hand, Cheng Yaoyao simply covered her with tea leaves and said, "Let's go, let's go eat!"
Since Han Yin's brother fled to Hong Kong, Han Yin's father's job was affected and his salary was downgraded to the level of a second-class worker. He could no longer give Han Yin food coupons and money. Han Yin's own savings were used to subsidize the family, and they were suddenly short of money. Fortunately, Han Yin has always been a money-saver and is very good at budgeting, so she didn't go hungry. In the past few days, Han Yin was the most diligent in picking tea leaves, earning 70 or 80 cents a day.
The three of them walked out of the warehouse carrying their lunch boxes. Outside the warehouse was a concrete staircase, warmed by the sun. Zhang Xiaofeng spread the newspapers she brought on the staircase, and the three of them sat down to eat. The other girls also gathered with their best friends, looking at each other's food, tasting mine and me tasting yours. Only Liu Minxia hid away from everyone and ate in secrecy.
Han Yin whispered, "Her brother is getting married this year, and she sent most of the money she earned every month back home. She only eats buckwheat buns every meal. She doesn't have a good relationship with the family she lives with, and they don't let her use the stove, so she can only steam a week's worth of food at a time, and eat cold food every day."
Zhang Xiaofeng said anxiously: "How could that family do this!"
Han Yin sneered, "She lived in someone else's house. She took away all the fifty kilograms of food that the brigade rewarded the villagers for accepting the educated youth. She also used other people's firewood to boil water and cook. She lived there for more than half a year, but she never gave them any benefits. They already disliked her. And...you know her problems too."
Cheng Yaoyao and Zhang Xiaofeng understood what he meant.
Liu Minxia not only likes to take advantage of others, but also has a habit of stealing. Not only did she eat and drink for free from the original owner Cheng Yaoyao, she also stole her soap, which made Cheng Yaoyao hate her. Liu Minxia now lives in the villager's house, and I don't know how much she has taken advantage of them. The villagers live frugally, and they will count every piece of thread and soap. They are not as easy to fool as Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Yaoyao asked again: "Why does she have to hide when eating steamed buns?"
"You're just trying to save face!" Han Yin rolled her eyes, not sympathizing with Liu Minxia at all. She also ate buckwheat buns, but she didn't feel ashamed at all.
Everyone brought about the same things: two steamed buns, some homemade pickled vegetables or dried radishes. The well-off brought steamed buns made of mixed flour, while the poor brought buckwheat flour steamed buns or two steamed sweet potatoes. No one was shy about what they brought.
Han Yin and Zhang Xiaofeng only brought steamed buns. Cheng Yaoyao opened her lunch box and found two soft white flour steamed buns and half a box of stir-fried green peppers and salted vegetables. Grandma Xie didn't want her to attract too much attention, so she only brought the same food as everyone else.
Cheng Yaoyao pushed the lunch box to the middle: "Eat."
Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin took a bite and ate it. The pickled vegetables looked ordinary, but they were fragrant in their mouths. It turned out that they were fried with lard. Cheng Yaoyao winked at them, and the two of them quickly restrained their expressions and took a big bite of the steamed buns with the pickled vegetables and chewed them carefully. They felt that the rough dry buns became delicious.
Cheng Yaoyao also brought brown rice tea in a military green kettle. She generously poured a cup for Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin. The brown rice tea had a light burnt aroma, helped digestion, cleared heat, and replenished vitality. It was smooth in the mouth and quenched the thirst of eating dry steamed bread.
Zhang Xiaofeng and Han Yin ate with gusto and kept praising: "This tea is so delicious! Yaoyao, how did you make it?"
Cheng Yaoyao smiled and said, "This is the brown rice tea I made myself. I'll bring you a handful tomorrow and you can drink it by soaking it in boiling water."
"It's different!" Han Yin said this like Grandma Xie, shaking her head while sipping the tea, "The tea you gave me doesn't taste this good when brewed. Is your water especially sweet?"
Cheng Nonuo, who was eating, suddenly shuddered and looked up at Cheng Yaoyao who was not far away. Her ears accurately caught the word "water", and her heart tightened.
Lin Dandan and Lin Pingping were still making noise, muttering bad things about Cheng Yaoyao, making it difficult for Cheng Nonuo to hear what Han Yin and the others were saying.
"Stop making noise!" Cheng Nonuo shouted angrily.
There was a sudden silence all around.
When Cheng Nonuo came to her senses, she realized that her voice was too sharp and the girls around her were looking at her strangely.
Cheng Nonuo turned around and stared at Cheng Yaoyao again.
Cheng Yaoyao and the others also heard what Cheng Nonuo said and were looking at her in surprise. Cheng Yaoyao only glanced at her and turned back to chat and laugh with Han Yin. But Cheng Nonuo saw the mockery in her eyes. She was saying bad things about herself to Han Yin. This bastard!
Lin Dandan and Lin Pingping were furious: "Cheng Nonuo, what do you mean?"
Cheng Nonuo looked at them grimly. Lin Dandan and Lin Pingping both shuddered, but the grim look flashed by, and Cheng Nonuo smiled kindly again: "Sorry, I may not have slept well last night, I was distracted and took a nap, and I was talking in my sleep."
Lin Pingping said dissatisfiedly: "Really? I was almost scared to death by you."
"I was shocked myself." Cheng Nonuo rubbed his forehead and looked uncomfortable due to lack of sleep.
Lin Pingping understood everything: "Ranran, that damn girl, had a nightmare and bothered you again last night, didn't she? You deserved it, little bitch. You've enjoyed so much happiness in the city, it's time for you to come back!"
Lin Dandan also started to giggle.
No matter cousins or sisters, sisters are born enemies. We are the same sisters, why are you in the city and I in the countryside? Why are you in heaven and I am trampled in the mud?
Cheng Nonuo smiled and agreed with Lin Dandan and Lin Pingping, while staring at her fingers. The hands inherited from Wei Shuying were not really pretty, with thin fingers, prominent joints, and flat nails. She spent three years massaging her knuckles with clam oil and soaking her hands in spiritual spring water every day to keep her hands white and moisturized.
But within just half a year, the hands had returned to their original state, or rather, had become uglier. The nail crevices were filled with dirt that could not be washed away for years, the knuckles were more prominent and deformed due to heavy work, and the skin on the back of the hands was black, yellow, dry and cracked.
But today, these hands have turned whiter again.
Lin Dandan noticed Cheng Nonuo's movements and said, "Cheng Nonuo, why did you become white?"
Lin Dandan and Lin Pingping never called Cheng Nonuo "sister", but always called her by her first name. When Cheng Nonuo heard this title, she cursed her in her heart as a little bitch, but raised the corners of her lips and deliberately said, "Really? I didn't notice."
Lin Dandan said: "Really, Pingping, tell me, has she become whiter?"
Lin Pingping was able to speak. She pretended to be surprised and said, "I noticed yesterday that you have become whiter. Not only whiter, but why do I feel that your whole person... has become more beautiful?"
Cheng Nonuo is naturally not related to "good looking", and this "good looking" is the standard for Cheng Nonuo.
Cheng Nuonuo had a faint smile on her face, but her heart couldn't help but be overjoyed.
A burst of laughter interrupted their conversation.
The girls all gathered around Cheng Yaoyao, like the moon surrounded by stars. Half of Cheng Yaoyao's profile was revealed in the crowd, and the sunlight shone on her porcelain-white cheeks, making her extremely beautiful.
The girls in the village had heard of the great name of Guanyin for a long time, but today they were able to admire the real person up close.
Cheng Yaoyao's beauty is overwhelming and hits the heart at first sight. You may be afraid of her coldness and hate her arrogance, but you cannot deny her beauty. There is no flaw in her hair to fingertips. She is beautiful in both motion and stillness, and her every frown and smile is full of charm.
Everyone loves beauty, and the gap is too big. So the girls don't envy her, but are full of admiration.
The girls had been watching Cheng Yaoyao for a long time, but no one dared to talk to her, but Han Yin was by her side. Han Yin was able to get along well with the villagers, so a few girls tried to chat with her. Their topics were not offensive, and Cheng Yaoyao occasionally joined in.
The girls were surprised to find that this beauty's temper was not as bad as the rumors said. Her voice was so pleasant, and her posture on the steps was also more beautiful than others. When she glanced at them with her pair of peach blossom eyes, the girls she looked at blushed.
Cheng Yaoyao felt very sorry. She just wanted to be friendly, but these girls thought they had established a friendship with her and surrounded her, talking to her in a tight circle.
"Cheng Zhiqing, how did you braid your hair? It looks so beautiful."
"If you ask me, Cheng Zhiqing is so pretty, she'll look good in any hairstyle!"
"Yes, your dress is also very nice, and it fits the body perfectly!"
"Your skin is so white, did you put on powder?"
Cheng Yaoyao opened her mouth and closed it again. The girls didn't need her to answer at all, they just started arguing with each other: "Cheng Zhiqing is so white all over, look at her hands, she can't have put powder on them, right?"
“Are all Shanghainese people as white as Cheng Zhiqing?”
"It's Cheng Zhiqingbai! Look at Cheng Nonuo, so dark..." The girl spoke too fast and was immediately pulled back by others, so she nodded towards Cheng Nonuo.
The girl who was speaking curled her lips and said disdainfully: "So what if she heard it? She is a black-hearted person! Everyone knows that she bullied Ranran!"
This girl and Lin Ranran were good friends, so naturally they shared the same hatred. Lin Ranran smiled at her gratefully and whispered, "Don't say it."
Cheng Yaoyao wanted to laugh when he saw Lin Ranran's timid expression. This little girl was pretty and was much more convincing in playing the role of Bai Lianhua than Cheng Nonuo.
Han Yin interrupted, "Don't you want to know how Yaoyao braids her hair? I know how to do it. Yaoyao taught me!"
The girls immediately forgot about Cheng Nuonuo and surrounded Han Yin, begging, "Teach me how to weave it quickly?"
Han Yin smiled and called Cheng Yaoyao: "Yaoyao, can you lend me your hair to demonstrate?"
After saying that, without waiting for Cheng Yaoyao to object, he pulled off the silk headband on her hair. Cheng Yaoyao tilted his head in annoyance, and saw that the long black hair spread out in an instant, falling straight to the waist, without a single flaw.
The girls exclaimed "wow" and stared at the black hair that shone like satin, and could only sigh in amazement.
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