Qianzhuang wasn't far from Luofeng Village. The two men were full of energy. In their minds, the woman behind them wasn't even as heavy as a sack of sand. They pedaled the bike with a squeak, and even when the moon was obscured by dark clouds, they could still avoid the potholes by relying on their familiarity with the terrain.
Upon arrival, Ke Yuanda took a small bundle from the handlebars and stuffed it into the man's arms. The darkness concealed his bright red, almost bleeding ears. "There's still leftover food at home. Take it back and heat it up on the stove before you go to work."
Li Juanmei glanced at Ke Meiyu subconsciously. There can't be any leftovers, can there? There are many men in the family, how much food can't they finish?
What's more, there's also Komiyu, who has the appetite of one and a half, or even two, grown men!
Ke Meiyu huddled behind Qin Yuanjiu, only revealing her round, watery eyes, her eyebrows curving into a smile: "Sister Mei, this is the first time my older brother has shown any compassion, so please take it."
"It's only polite to reciprocate. This little bit of stuff is really not enough compared to the chocolates, hawthorn candy, jelly powder, and preserved plums that Sister Mei brought."
Li Juanmei smiled and nodded, blushing as she accepted the package. The warmth of the man's touch still lingered on the package, making her blush even more.
She returned to her residence, watched by several people.
Most of the employees at the supply and marketing cooperative are locals or married to locals, so there are no employee dormitories. However, the company provides her with a subsidy in this regard.
Although Li Juanmei lived in the village secretary's old courtyard with the other female educated youths in the village, and they were all city girls, they rarely spoke to each other.
There's no other reason than that she's the daughter of the town's supply and marketing cooperative director, and now works at the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, earning a high salary and enjoying generous benefits, able to do whatever she wants in terms of clothing and food.
A group of female educated youths were forced to go to the countryside to alleviate the population pressure in the city. They lived a poor life by working hard to earn work points and had no hope of returning to the city.
The difference between them is too great; they can make even a perfectly normal sentence sound like something that's been tainted with vinegar for ages.
"Oh, so someone's finally decided to come back? Weren't you just delivering lunchboxes? Why are you bringing them back?" A short-haired female educated youth clicked her tongue in disapproval.
A young woman with a short, thick braid chimed in, "Are you stupid? This is just a trick they use to curry favor with people. Comrade Ke is a prospective university graduate from the provincial capital. After graduation, he'll likely become a provincial cadre. If he works hard for a few years, he might even be more powerful than some department head. Isn't it worth currying favor with him?"
Li Juanmei glanced at them, put the bundle in the box, locked it tightly, then washed up and went to sleep.
Lying in bed, she thought about Ke Yuanda's cooking posture in the kitchen, then about the pot of burnt braised pork, and then about the breakfast he specially made for her. Her heart felt as sweet as peach blossom honey.
Although the two had only met twice and known each other for two days, the feeling between people is strange. With just one glance, she felt that the person she had been waiting for all along had finally settled down.
In fact, she knew that her parents and brother loved her very much. As long as her future partner treated her well and was of good character, there would be no problem. Even if he was a poor boy from the mountains, they would go to great lengths to help him get out of poverty.
Moreover, Ke Yuanda is a prospective college student at the Naval Submarine Academy in the provincial capital, and will become a steadfast and upright soldier who defends the country in the future!
Today, she also felt the welcome and affection from the Ke family from top to bottom.
Although she is currently just a sales clerk at the commune's supply and marketing cooperative, she is also an internal staff member of the organization. With some connections in her family and a little extra money, she could be transferred to the place where Ke Yuanda worked after graduation and continue working as a sales clerk.
There are no barriers between them, so she doesn't need to hide anything; she can just openly and naturally let things take their course.
The situation outside is tense, but can't men and women date with marriage in mind?
Even if we take a step back and say that there are times when negotiations break down, people still hold their heads high and live with dignity.
In the morning, when the educated youth didn't have to work and were all staying in bed to save food, Li Meijuan quietly got up, washed up, took out her lunchbox from her trunk, and put it on the stove in front of her window to roast.
She combed her hair and applied face cream in front of the mirror in the dim light.
In truth, the other educated youths in the same room benefited from her quite a bit. For example, in winter, which family in the village dared to use a coal stove in their house?
But they never said a word of gratitude, and even secretly sold coal briquettes behind her back!
It truly refreshed her understanding time and time again.
Aluminum lunchboxes conduct heat quickly, so she packed them up without opening them, put them directly into her bag, locked the box, and then locked the useless coal briquettes into the box her brother had brought. She tossed her hair and went out.
The air still held the lingering aroma of eggs, smoked meat, and refined grains.
The educated youths, who had been lying on their beds like corpses, suddenly began to protest with their stomachs growling loudly one after another!
They couldn't help but speak ill of Li Juanmei in a fit of resentment to quell their insane jealousy.
The employees of the supply and marketing cooperative in the commune were much more diligent and proactive than those in the town. Half an hour before the official opening, half of them had already arrived and started watering and cleaning.
After working for a while, Li Juanmei found a small storage room and, with a mix of anticipation, shyness, and excitement, opened the warm lunchbox in the morning light.
Half a box of potato and pork rib stew, specially saved by Ke Yuanda, was stewed together with flatbread. The flatbread was chewy and full of the aroma of meat and vegetables, with just the right amount of saltiness, making it very appetizing!
This aluminum lunchbox is a large-sized lunchbox with a divider in the middle. It not only has a large capacity, but can also hold two kinds of food at the same time without mixing flavors.
On the other side was braised eggplant with cured pork, two fried eggs, and a few slices of crisp cucumber to cleanse the palate.
A bag of "deluxe" fried noodles contains dozens of ingredients such as black sesame seeds, peanuts, beans, walnuts, wheat flour, rice flour, and brown sugar. It has a delicate and sweet taste, and just two spoonfuls are enough to make a thick, half-bowl-sized bowl of noodles!
After finishing her breakfast with satisfaction, Li Juanmei thought about the three meals she usually ate and felt a sense of despair. Her desire to get married reached its peak at that moment.
Grandma Ke, Ke's mother, and Ke Meiyu were extremely concerned about Ke Yuanda's marriage. After receiving Li Juanmei's approval, they began to arrange for Ke Yuanda to formally go to the Li family to discuss the marriage.
The old man, who was listening while smoking his pipe, couldn't help but interject, "Should I also stand up for Yuanda? That would show our family's sincerity."
Ke Laosi nodded, "As his biological father, I can't be absent, can I?"
Mrs. Ke glared at him, then smiled and said to the old man, "Dad, this is nothing! We'd better send as few people as possible, since the Li family might not agree."
"This time, we're just going to mention it to the Li family and let them see what Yuanda is like. Once their parents have given us a definite answer, we'll formally go over and go through the proper procedures, so as not to wrong their daughter."
Grandma Ke nodded and said, "Fourth son's wife is the most thoughtful."
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