The dormitory for the educated youths was not far from the foot of the mountain. It was originally an old feed factory. A rectangular warehouse with a mud-brick roof was divided into two sides, the left side was the male dormitory, and the right side was the female dormitory. A stove was built under the roof made of discarded wood, one for cooking soup and the other for cooking rice. There was also a table, which served as a kitchen.
Two vegetable plots were planted outside the dormitory, but the seedlings were sparse and wilted by the rain, showing that these educated youths did not know how to take care of them.
The female educated youth Zhang Xiaofeng was sitting in front of the stove, making a fire. When she saw Cheng Yaoyao and his group coming back, she hurried over to them and said, "Where have you been? Where did you find her? There are wild wolves on that mountain. You..."
The captain interrupted her and said, "Don't ask any more questions. Take her inside and let her change into dry clothes."
Zhang Xiaofeng took a closer look and saw Cheng Yaoyao looking like a drowned chicken, wearing a bloody man's coat. He quickly swallowed all his questions and pulled Cheng Yaoyao into the house to change clothes.
As soon as he entered the house, Cheng Yaoyao's heart went cold. The house had mud walls and mud floors, with only one table, and a large earthen kang against the wall, with seven or eight beds of bedding. On the floor were basins, buckets, and broken clay pots, which held rainwater leaking from the roof, and the ground was covered with mud.
Zhang Xiaofeng entered the room, took out a washbasin with a red double happiness logo from under the table, and poured half a basin of hot water from a tin kettle. He said quickly, "Come and wash yourself. What are you standing there for? Who told you to escape in such weather? You've suffered in vain, and you've made everyone else suffer with you."
She was mumbling to herself, but her movements were very quick. She threw a towel into the water, twisted it while enduring the scalding pain, and handed it to Cheng Yaoyao: "What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and wipe it! The water will get cold soon!"
Zhang Xiaofeng was the oldest among the female educated youth. She was diligent and efficient at work. The original owner disliked her for being showy and had a bad relationship with her.
Cheng Yaoyao tiptoed into the house and looked at the towel in front of him with mixed feelings.
Zhang Xiaofeng followed her gaze and said, "Miss Cheng, this towel of mine is new. It won't damage your face. Feel free to use it!"
"...Thank you." Cheng Yaoyao took it.
Zhang Xiaofeng looked surprised: "What did you say?"
The hot towel wiped across her skin, taking away the coldness of the rain. Cheng Yaoyao's cheeks turned slightly red, and he looked at her sincerely: "Thank you."
"…What are you thanking me for? We are all educated youth, and we should take care of each other." Zhang Xiaofeng suddenly felt uncomfortable and said to Cheng Yaoyao, "If you don't like us touching your things, go get some clean clothes and change. I'll watch the doors and windows for you."
After Zhang Xiaofeng finished speaking, he turned around and stood guard at the door.
A group of fresh city girls had just arrived, among them was the incredibly pretty Cheng Yaoyao. When they first came to the village, they attracted a group of young men and women, all of whom were very excited and hung around outside the educated youth dormitory all day long.
The atmosphere in Tianshui Village is relatively good. A while ago, I heard that a female educated youth in the neighboring county was peeped at by a hooligan while taking a bath. The female educated youth were so scared that they were all insecure and were extremely cautious when taking a bath and changing clothes.
There was a row of quilts on the kang, some newer and some older. One of them was the newest, with a pink quilt with small white flowers on it. Behind it was a rattan box. Cheng Yaoyao pulled it over, and there was a small copper lock on it.
Cheng Yaoyao stared at the lock in a daze. Her memory was not complete and she could not remember some details.
Zhang Xiaofeng said with his back to her, "Why aren't you moving? Why don't you change?"
Cheng Yaoyao said hesitantly: "I can't find my key."
Zhang Xiaofeng rolled his eyes: "Isn't your precious key hanging around your neck?"
Cheng Yaoyao reached out and touched it. Sure enough, there was a red rope hanging around his neck, with a small brass key tied to it. Cheng Yaoyao took off the key and inserted it into the small brass lock, twisted it, and it opened.
The box was packed full, with a cookie box and several bags of snacks on top. Cheng Yaoyao didn't have time to look carefully, so he took out his clean clothes and underwear, quickly took off his wet clothes, squeezed the water out of his hair, wiped it dry with a small basin of warm water, and then changed into dry clothes.
Cheng Yaoyao let out a long sigh and said, "I'm done... A-choo!"
Zhang Xiaofeng said, "Look at you dithering. Did you catch a cold? You're drinking ginger soup outside. Go out and have a bowl. The ginger soup cooked by Nono is really effective!"
In front of the stove, a large pot was boiling with steaming dark brown ginger soup. Cheng Nonuo stood beside the pot, waving a large wooden spoon to serve the soup to everyone. Her small face was white and red, and covered with sweat.
Everyone lined up with a large earthenware bowl to get the soup. After drinking the hot ginger soup, their bodies immediately warmed up.
Everyone praised Cheng Nuonuo endlessly: "Little Cheng Zhiqing, your cooking skills are amazing, and the ginger soup you cook is so good. I feel much warmer after drinking it!"
"Yes, it's really helpful. I've been working harder after eating the food prepared by Xiao Cheng these days!"
Cheng Nonuo smiled and said, "Thank you, comrades. It's because I'm not in good health and can't work in the fields. I'm grateful to you for taking care of me and letting me manage the food."
As soon as Cheng Yaoyao went out, he saw this happy scene. Look, Cheng Nuonuo was also a petite and weak person who wanted to avoid labor, but she was praised by everyone, while the original owner could only cry and be forced to work.
When a young man saw Cheng Yaoyao, he immediately held a bowl of ginger soup and handed it to him attentively: "Yaoyao, this bowl is for you. Drink it while it's hot and don't catch a cold!"
The other male educated youth also quickly brought over a wooden stool, wiped it clean with their sleeves, and asked Cheng Yaoyao to sit on it.
These four male educated youths, named Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li, were the original owner's loyal servants. But in the incident just now, they did not stand up for Cheng Yaoyao. Cheng Yaoyao did not even give them a glance and followed Zhang Xiaofeng to line up.
Zhang Xiaofeng glanced to the side and felt that Cheng Yaoyao was a little different today.
The coarse earthenware bowls at the educated youth site were limited in number, and after everyone had finished drinking, they were washed with rainwater and passed to the next person. Zhang Xiaofeng knew that Cheng Yaoyao was a big lady, so she took two bowls, scooped out boiling water from the pot, boiled them, and then passed them to Cheng Yaoyao.
Cheng Nonuo scooped a bowl of ginger soup for each of them, and smiled at Cheng Yaoyao, "Sister Yaoyao, after the ginger soup is made, I will make you a bowl of dumpling soup with the wild vegetables I picked yesterday."
Cheng Yaoyao snorted, picked up the ginger soup and walked aside.
The dark brown ginger soup in the big bowl was swaying and steaming. Cheng Yaoyao had a keen sense of taste since childhood and was used to tasting good things. When he smelled a pungent spicy smell, he knew that the ginger soup was overcooked. The dark brown soup was filled with chopped ginger of varying sizes. Sugar was a precious commodity, so only a little bit was added to add a touch of sweetness.
Cheng Yaoyao stuck out his tongue and took a sip. The spicy taste was pungent. The sugar was not genuine either. It was sweet and astringent. It was just ordinary ginger soup. Cheng Yaoyao sipped it again and again, but he couldn't taste anything special. Have these villagers never tasted good things?
Cheng Yaoyao thought about it and took a few more gulps. She had been in the rain for half a day, and it was not a good thing for the cold air to enter her body. In these days, the medical level was backward, and fever could easily kill people.
After drinking a few mouthfuls of ginger soup, Cheng Yaoyao suddenly shivered and felt a warm current spreading out from his stomach. The coldness in his limbs was dispelled a lot, and his stomach felt very comfortable.
It seems that Cheng Nonuo is really a bit extraordinary. The heroine in "Sixties Gourmet Family" has a golden finger of space, could it be that Cheng Nonuo also has a golden finger of a chef? Just like Xie San suddenly rose in the late period, from a landlord's son to a big boss...
Cheng Yaoyao suddenly remembered that something was missing - where was Xie San?
Cheng Yaoyao looked around, and Zhang Xiaofeng asked, "Who are you looking for?"
Cheng Yaoyao coughed lightly: "Nothing."
A woman frowned and said with a smile: "Are you looking for Xie San? He won't come. He left long ago with the wild boar on his shoulder."
Who said that country women are rough and stupid? Their gossip nerves are as sharp as radar, okay? Cheng Yaoyao kept silent, but Zhang Xiaofeng asked, "Who is Xie San?"
The educated youth from the Dabao family said, "Yaoyao ran into the mountains today, and it was Xie San who saved her."
Another female educated youth asked, "Is Xie San a hunter? I have never seen him in the village before."
Several women in the village made faces at each other and started to giggle: "That's Yue Yun, the famous one in our village! He went out to do some work a few months ago. You guys weren't here then, no wonder you didn't recognize him."
The most handsome young man in Tianshui Village was called Yue Yun, and the most beautiful girl was called Guanyin. However, Cheng Yaoyao's nickname was not Guanyin. The people of Tianshui Village had never seen such a beautiful and charming woman, and they called her a fox spirit behind her back.
A young man in the village said sourly: "What's wrong with Yue Yun? You should stay away from him!"
Cheng Yaoyao knew what he was going to say and interrupted him, "He saved my life, doesn't he deserve a bowl of ginger soup? He didn't ask for anything!"
The young man met Chen Yaoyao's eyes and immediately melted. He approached without showing any emotion and said with a heartfelt tone: "I am doing this for your good! That Xie San, his grandfather is a famous landlord in Tianshui Village. Before liberation, all the people with the surname Lin were his tenants!"
"Landlord!" The educated youths all gasped. He was an exploiting class, and a big landlord at that!
A male educated youth said excitedly: "The landlords are the evil exploitative class! Just like Huang Shiren exploiting Yang Bailao in the movie, how hateful!"
"His grandfather didn't exploit you, why are you so excited?" Cheng Yaoyao said angrily.
The villagers nearby murmured, "To be honest, Mr. Xie is not like Huang Shiren. When he was a landlord, he was very kind to his tenants. When there was a famine, he even exempted us from rent and built a school for the village..."
"Back then, the Xie family was very wealthy. Xie San's father had studied abroad and married a famous beauty in the town. When they got married, they had a 10-day banquet in the village, with eight large bowls of pickled mustard greens, plenty of white flour steamed buns, and chopped green onions were chopped with a spatula..."
There was a sound of slurping all around as he spoke.
A woman said, "Xie San's mother is amazing. When there was opera performance in the village, she would go out in a skirt with a hundred birds embroidered with gold thread. The pearl tassels on the hem of her skirt would not even flutter when she walked. She was such a lady... Tsk tsk."
Someone said sourly: "What's the big deal if he's richer? Of that big family, only Xie San and his grandmother are left, along with a bunch of other kids."
I watched him build a tall building, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his building collapse.
The only wealthy family in Tianshui Village was a perennial topic of conversation for the villagers, and they talked about it with great relish. The blood and tears of the Xie family were chewed over and over again with laughter, and then spit out, like a pile of chewed sugarcane residue.
Thinking of the tall and silent young man, Cheng Yaoyao suddenly felt an indescribable feeling in his heart.
The original book described Xie San's family background, and Cheng Yaoyao thought it was just that. But when she was there and heard the details with her own ears, she felt how cruel it was.
The villagers were still laughing and saying, "So, this boy is 20 years old and doesn't even have a matchmaker. He is destined to be single! You female educated youth in the city, you better be more careful. Don't just think that boy looks like Yue Yun..."
There was a loud bang, which scared everyone.
Cheng Yaoyao slammed the bowl onto the stove, her pretty face icy: "It's so noisy!"
Cheng Yaoyao got angry suddenly and everyone looked at each other, wondering how they had offended this young lady again.
She was like a precious flower, beautiful to the point of enchantment, so out of place, so unattainable, as if she was born high and mighty. Even when she turned her face away, it was impossible to get angry with her.
Cheng Nonuo carefully tried to smooth things over: "Sister Yaoyao, let's just chat, don't be angry."
"It's up to you. I'm going back to the house!" Cheng Yaoyao waved his hand, slammed the curtain and went into the house.
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