Hearing this, Liu Yu stammered a few perfunctory words and pulled Su Nan towards the kitchen.
"No, let's go eat. I'm starving."
Seeing Liu Yu blushing, Su Nan knew that she was shy and embarrassed, so she stopped asking and followed her to the kitchen.
The day's meal consisted of cornmeal dumplings and a bowl of tofu puffs. This was tofu made from soybeans that the brigade had recently standardized on making. A portion of it was given to the educated youth according to their work schedule, and it was enough for everyone to eat for a long time.
The fresh tofu is sprinkled with salt and fried in oil to make tofu puffs, and then sprinkled with chopped green onions. It is so fragrant, but perhaps because they were reluctant to use more oil, it does not taste as crispy. However, Gao Zhongbin is a good cook, so overall it is delicious.
Su Nan held the small bowl and ate it bite by bite. Apart from the tofu puff, she had never touched the cornmeal dumplings because they were not tasty and she was picky about food, so she really couldn't eat them.
"Nannan, eat more. You will be hungry later at night." Liu Yu noticed Su Nan's movements and reminded her quickly.
"No, I'm not that hungry." Su Nan smiled back.
Suddenly, a sneer was heard at the dinner table.
Then Yang Feng sarcastically said, "You're such a spoiled brat! If you can't finish it, don't eat it. Who asked you to eat it? Don't act so disgusted. You should know that this food was earned by everyone's hard work."
"Yes, you haven't earned a day's work, and yet you come back to eat everyone's food for free. I don't know how you can have the nerve to do that. You're so shameless." Zhong Xiaodie responded unhappily.
As soon as these words were spoken, the kitchen fell into silence, and those who were eating happily put down their chopsticks.
Su Nan was stunned when she heard this and looked at the two girls sitting across the table. She knew that they were deliberately looking for trouble, but could they please find out the truth before blaming her?
Some educated youth who were unaware of the situation began to murmur and even echoed what Yang Feng and the others said.
"I've noticed that too. Su Zhiqing has been in a bad mood since he sat there. It's a bit too much and totally disgusting."
"I didn't think it was a big deal at first, but after hearing what Yang Feng said, I felt it wasn't right. Isn't this like we've raised someone for nothing?"
"We can't even get enough to eat, and now we have to feed another idler. It's really unlucky."
The chattering sound seemed quiet, but in fact everyone could hear it, and instantly most of the people's faces looked unhappy.
"Enough." Zhou Rang put down his bowl and chopsticks, and swept his cold eyes over Yang Feng and Zhong Xiaodie, scaring them to shiver.
This was the second time Zhou Rang, who rarely spoke, spoke out to defend Su Nan. Some of the perceptive educated youth would have guessed the hidden meaning behind this.
The female educated youth who admired Zhou Rang could no longer sit still and stood up and said, "Zhou Rangzhi, this matter has nothing to do with you. You don't need to get involved."
"It was Su Nan's fault in the first place. Yang Feng and Xiao Die were just telling the truth."
"Everyone is having a hard time right now. How can we let someone who eats for free come to supplement our food rations?"
"Brother Ding, please judge for yourself."
Ding Mao, who had been sitting in his seat without saying a word, threw down his chopsticks when someone mentioned him, and slammed the wooden table, making a harsh sound that shocked everyone into silence.
"We educated youth here value mutual support. I didn't want to say much, but if I hadn't told you, you'd have forgotten the horror. Two years ago, Yang Fengzhi caught a cold and a fever and wasn't at work for half a month. Did anyone miss out on giving you a bite to eat?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Feng's face changed, and he immediately lowered his head and tugged at the corner of his clothes.
"And you, at the beginning of the year, your leg was cut by a sickle and you couldn't get out of bed. Everyone helped take care of you and brought you food."
A male educated youth who had just started complaining also slowly lowered his head.
"We used to help each other and no one had any complaints, but now they're targeting a young girl? I remember when Su Nanzhi moved back home, he gave everyone some egg cake, right? That was much more expensive than the dumpling soup we're having now."
Everyone was silent.
"Su Nanzhi doesn't have a big appetite and can't eat much food. I will provide her share." Zhou Rang continued to speak after Ding Mao, leaving everyone speechless.
"No need. Su Nanzhi gave me the food expenses the day before yesterday, and I have already put it into the public account." Gao Zhongbin walked in from outside with a bowl in his hand, his face not looking good.
He had taken his bowl to drink water last night. When he was eating dinner just now and didn't have a bowl, he remembered that he had left it in the bedroom. After he got it, he came back and heard a big show in the corridor outside.
"Then why didn't you say it earlier?" Yang Feng suddenly raised her head and glared at Gao Zhongbin. If he had said it earlier, they wouldn't have been embarrassed by Ding Mao and Zhou Rang's remarks.
Gao Zhongbin walked to his seat and sat down. He poured himself a bowl of dumpling soup and replied calmly, "You didn't ask me, and it's not the day for the accounts to be released."
Gao Zhongbin was in charge of the kitchen because he was a good cook, and therefore also in charge of the accounts. Everyone paid a certain amount of food expenses or grain every month, and then they could eat together.
The accounts are made public every two months, and Gao Zhongbin will give everyone a detailed review of the expenditures from beginning to end.
Yang Feng choked, exchanged glances with Zhong Xiaodie, and said awkwardly, "That was a misunderstanding. Let's continue eating."
"That won't do." Su Nan finished eating the tofu soup in Wanqi's bowl, wiped his mouth, raised his eyes and looked at Yang Feng and the others. His tone was very calm, but it revealed an irresistible majesty.
"What do you want?" Yang Feng narrowed his eyes.
"You guys scolded me twice for no reason. You must apologize to me." Su Nan slammed the table and stood up from his chair with a tough attitude.
Liu Yu, who was sitting next to Su Nan, also stood up to support her.
Yang Feng glanced at everyone present and saw that they were all looking at her with disapproval. Her heart beat rapidly and she couldn't help swallowing.
He suddenly looked into Zhou Rang's eyes and was frightened by the viciousness in them. He took a step back and subconsciously grabbed Zhong Xiaodie's hand beside him.
His back was hurt by her strong grip. He frowned and tried to break free but couldn't. He could only whisper, "Yang Feng, let go."
Yang Feng ignored Zhong Xiaodie's words, but looked up at Su Nan, and could only grit his teeth unwillingly: "I'm sorry, okay."
After saying that, he snorted coldly, didn't even eat, and simply pulled Zhong Xiaodie out.
Zhong Xiaodie looked back at her bowl of dumpling soup and licked her lips. She was not full yet.
But Yang Feng was clearly angry now, so he should not provoke her. Besides, Yang Feng had a good relationship with Qin Xiaolan, and he would be able to reap some benefits from her return in a few days.
Thinking of this, Zhong Xiaodie suddenly didn’t feel sorry for the bowl of dumpling soup anymore.
After Yang Feng and the others left, Ding Mao asked everyone to continue eating.
However, Su Nan didn't want to eat anymore. Seeing that Liu Yu was still eating, he called Zhou Rang's name in front of everyone, and then walked out of the kitchen first.
So the educated youth holding their bowls just stared blankly at Zhou Rang as he put down his bowl and followed Su Nan out happily.
Liu Yu became the calmest one among them.
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