Chapter 5: Killing the Chicken to Frighten the Monkey
The food in the greenhouse was also ready. When Su Tao and Hu Xiao arrived, everyone was already seated and ready to eat.
"Su Tao, come here and sit here!" Zhang Jiedong waved his hand enthusiastically and pointed to the empty seat next to him.
Su Tao pulled Hu Xiao towards an empty seat. The seats were basically full and there were no other options.
"Su Taotao, here, I saved this especially for you." Zhang Jiedong handed over a bowl of porridge and a steamed bun with pickles.
Before Su Tao could respond, a familiar, sharp voice rang out again. "Hey, Sun Jidong, how dare you use public food to subsidize others? We all pay for our meals, so why should she eat with us?" Sun Chuanfang's anger hadn't subsided yet, and seeing Zhang Jidong being so attentive to Su Tao, she was furious and seized the opportunity to attack Su Tao. Zhang Jidong was the man she had her eye on, but all along the way, Zhang Jidong had only eyes for Su Tao and ignored her.
Zhang Jiedong was embarrassed by Sun Chuanfang's words. He stood there with the food in his hand, not knowing whether to give it or not.
The other educated youth thought Sun Chuanfang was overdoing it, but they didn't say anything to stop him. After all, during the famine, everyone's food rations were carefully calculated; if they gave someone else an extra bite, they would have one less. Even those with big appetites rarely had enough to eat, and they could only eat half full every day.
Su Tao took in everyone's reactions. She hadn't really wanted to come to eat. The communal meals always consisted of the same few things: steamed buns, porridge, sweet potatoes, and some vegetables. Not to mention meat, even refined grains like rice and flour were rarely seen in a year. Su Tao's food had become bland after a few days at the health center. She'd only come with Hu Xiao, worried about whether she'd seem out of place if she skipped the first day.
"Thanks, I'm not that hungry, I just came to take a look. I'm going to rest in the dormitory first!" Su Tao politely declined Zhang Jiedong's offer. After saying that, he stood up, patted his pants elegantly, turned around and left, leaving a clean and sharp figure in the room.
As soon as Su Tao came out, the educated youth canteen was noisy, "Chuanfang, are you too naughty?"
"How did I get into trouble? Why didn't you tell me just now? You are just an afterthought!"
"You! Anyway, I think it's not fair for all of us to do this."
"Okay, let's eat!" Someone shouted, and everyone fell silent tacitly and started eating their food with big mouthfuls.
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Back in the dormitory, Su Tao took advantage of everyone's lunch break to pack his suitcase. He dragged the huge suitcase in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a little excited about what was inside.
She took out a small iron key from her collar and inserted it into the lock. With a click, the lock opened. She unzipped the box and it was completely packed.
The box had been flooded, and even now, when it was opened, it still smelled damp. Su Tao picked out the stinky clothes, planning to wash them later and dry them so they could be worn tomorrow. The rest were daily necessities and food, including a Double Happiness enamel cup, old-fashioned toothpaste and toothbrushes, and a few woolen brushes. There was also a large square box of animal crackers, a small plastic bag of unopened candy, and a few paper-wrapped packages of old-fashioned Shanghainese snacks. Unfortunately, the box had been flooded, and the paper-wrapped snacks had all crumbled and were inedible. Su Tao sorted them out and threw them into the trash. There were also some canned goods, but Su Tao didn't check them one by one for the time being.
Finally, at the very bottom, there was a rectangular, unmarked iron box. Su Tao opened it and found it was filled with money and coupons. Su Tao counted them and found more than a dozen ten-yuan notes, as well as five-yuan notes, two-yuan notes, and notes of varying sizes. There were food coupons, rice coupons, grain coupons, oil coupons, bean product coupons, soap coupons, meat coupons, fish coupons, egg coupons, cloth coupons, and kerosene coupons. Adding all this up, Su Tao was truly a wealthy woman. Su's father was worried that Su Tao would suffer in the countryside, so he wouldn't empty out the family savings and give it all to her, right? Su Tao couldn't help but think happily.
After finishing his suitcases, Su Tao felt a little hungry. He quickly took out the box of animal biscuits and started eating. The biscuits were quite cute, with cows, tigers, rabbits, horses, sheep, monkeys, chickens, dogs, and pigs. The biscuits were crispy and delicious, and a rich milky aroma filled his mouth.
Su Tao was just about to eat a few more pieces when the door was pushed open from the outside. The educated youth had all returned to the dormitory after dinner and saw Su Tao sitting at the square table, eating a biscuit in his hand.
"Oh, I was wondering why you were so decisive. You came back and ate alone?" Sun Chuanfang's unique drooping voice rang out.
Su Tao stood up straight, his expression suddenly turned cold. Did she look like she was easy to bully? He bullied her time and again. "Do you have pink eye or something? I eat from the big pot and you say I don't have any money. So what if I eat my own biscuits? Did I eat your grain and your rice? It's none of your business!"
Sun Chuanfang hadn't expected such a refined person to say such vulgar things. His blood rushed to his head, and he leaned forward, fist raised, about to strike Su Tao in the face. By the time everyone realized what was happening, it was too late to stop him. Some of the timid female educated youth closed their eyes, unable to bear the sight. After a while, the expected screams didn't come.
Su Tao grasped Sun Chuanfang's fist with one hand, twisted it back, and pulled Sun Chuanfang's arm behind his back. His jade-like left hand pressed down on Sun Chuanfang's shoulder. Sun Chuanfang was pinned to one knee, unable to move, and uttered a wail: "Ah, ah, ah, ah!"
The others were stunned, and when they realized what was happening, they tried to pull the two apart.
Su Tao's eyes were like knives, full of hostility, and he said coldly: "Who dares to come over? Don't blame me for being rude!"
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