Ye Weiliang and Li Xingxing brought the little wild boar back to the Educated Youth Compound.
She wanted to eat roast suckling pig—she had only ever heard of it in her previous life and had never actually tasted it; in this life, it was even more out of reach—she had never even seen one before.
Thinking about how Ao Jiarui, Chen Pingyao, and the others got along fairly well with her and treated her nicely, Ye Weiliang decided to invite them to eat together.
She also planned to invite Liu Aimin and Auntie Liu to join them—after all, a roast suckling pig weighed more than thirty jin, and there was no way they could finish it themselves.
As for Shao Song and Yi Manyu, they could forget about getting even a single bite.
She would also have Li Xingxing make a few other dishes—just eating roast suckling pig wouldn’t do; they needed some vegetables to cut the grease.
After thinking it through, Ye Weiliang told Li Xingxing her plan and got her agreement.
In truth, what Li Xingxing was thinking was that there was no need to ask her at all—after all, this wild boar was something Ye Weiliang had caught herself.
“Then, Sister Xingxing, you get started on the roast suckling pig. I’ll go exchange for some other vegetables and invite the team leader and Auntie Liu over as well.”
Ye Weiliang put the piglet down in the Educated Youth Compound as she spoke to Li Xingxing.
The little wild boar had already been knocked unconscious, and slaughtering a pig was something Li Xingxing could handle—since it wasn’t very big, she could manage it just fine.
“No problem. I’ll kill the pig first, scald the skin, and then start roasting it. Liangliang, make sure you exchange for plenty of vegetables.”
Ye Weiliang made a confident “mission accomplished” gesture at Li Xingxing, grinned, and headed out.
Li Xingxing smiled and shook her head.
Still a child, after all.
That man earlier had actually been Liangliang’s father.
He didn’t look like a farmer—more like someone who had been sent down.
As she was thinking this, Ye Jianjun knocked on the door.
“Comrade, may I have a word with you?”
“Uncle, my name is Li Xingxing. Please go ahead.”
Ye Jianjun sighed.
“Comrade Li Xingxing, I’m very sorry to be speaking with you under these circumstances. I’m Niannian’s father—Ye Er’ya’s…”
“Uncle Ye, didn’t you know? Liangliang changed her name. She’s called Ye Weiliang now,” Li Xingxing interrupted in surprise.
Ye Jianjun’s face instantly filled with bitterness.
“Niannian didn’t tell us. She only said her name was Ye Er’ya.”
He wiped his face and spoke with difficulty.
“Comrade Li, I won’t take up too much of your time, so I’ll be brief. You probably already know that Niannian was a child who was switched at birth. She suffered greatly in that household. We didn’t know about any of it. We don’t dare ask for her forgiveness—we just want to do everything we can to make it up to her. Comrade, in the future, I’ll often bring some food over. Could I trouble you to pass it on to Niannian?”
“Uncle, I can’t agree to that. If Liangliang doesn’t want your things and I bring them anyway, she’ll definitely be upset. If you truly want to make it up to her, you should give them to her yourselves. She’s suffered so much—it’s only right if she doesn’t accept you.”
“I know. I just… sigh. She’s been refusing to communicate with us. Last night, she even heard her mother worrying about the one who was swapped into our family, and that made her feel even worse.”
“But we really didn’t know that child wasn’t ours.”
“I’m not saying this to dodge responsibility. We’ve already withdrawn some of the subsidies and resources we gave that child, and from now on, they’ll all be given to Niannian. I hope you can help us look after her.”
After saying this, Ye Jianjun looked at Li Xingxing expectantly.
Li Xingxing shook her head.
“Uncle, I’ll say the same thing again—if you want Liangliang’s forgiveness, you should speak to her personally. As for looking after her, I will do that. She’s the youngest among us, so we’ll all take good care of her. Beyond that, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Ye Jianjun nodded.
“As long as you can help look after her, that’s enough. We’ll think of other ways ourselves.”
With that, he didn’t stay any longer and hurriedly left the Educated Youth Compound.
Li Xingxing sighed softly.
What a pitiful family.
It was probably better that Liangliang didn’t acknowledge them—after all, they were people who had been sent down for making mistakes, and it was best to avoid contact if possible.
Besides, she and Liangliang helped each other out—it wasn’t a matter of who took care of whom.
If anything, she was the one benefiting more.
As for all this, Ye Weiliang knew nothing about it.
By this time, she had already found Team Leader Liu Aimin.
“Comrade Ye, what is it?” Liu Aimin looked at Ye Weiliang, thinking she must have something important to say.
Ye Weiliang spoke directly.
“Uncle Team Leader, tonight the comrades at our Educated Youth Compound would like to invite you and Auntie Erni to dinner. It’ll be at the compound. Remember to come over after work.”
“Well, this—”
Before Liu Aimin could refuse, Ye Weiliang turned and left.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll be waiting for you.”
Chapter 23 – Inviting the Team Leader to Dinner (2/2)
Liu Aimin didn’t even manage to say a word of refusal before Ye Weiliang ran off.
“This girl…” He shook his head helplessly.
He also began thinking about what he should bring to the Educated Youth Compound for those youngsters.
In these times, every household was poor, and there was no surplus grain.
All he could do was pull some vegetables from his family’s private plot to take over.
Ye Weiliang then found Auntie Erni and quietly passed on the invitation, adding at the end,
“Uncle Team Leader already agreed.”
Only then did Li Erni nod, also thinking that she should bring some vegetables from her family’s private plot when she went.
By now, Ye Weiliang had completely forgotten about exchanging for vegetables.
Afraid the two of them might refuse, she simply headed up the mountain again.
Picking some wild vegetables would work just as well.
This time, without Ye Jianjun or Li Xingxing following her, Ye Weiliang was finally free to explore deeper into the forest.
Along the way, all kinds of strange flowers and rare herbs came into view, but Ye Weiliang’s gaze stayed fixed on edible wild plants.
When she spotted clusters of tender shepherd’s purse, her eyes lit up, and she quickly crouched down to carefully pick them.
Soon after, she found a few wild scallions as well, and she didn’t let the opportunity slip, skillfully adding them to her haul.
As her harvest grew, Ye Weiliang felt thoroughly satisfied.
However, she didn’t relax her guard.
Instead, she stopped, stood still, closed her eyes, and began concentrating, trying to listen to the sounds around her according to the method recorded in the jade slip.
At first, all she could hear was the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
Gradually, more subtle sounds reached her ears—the calls of birds in the distance, small animals moving through the undergrowth, even the faint buzzing of insects’ wings.
Sounds she would normally have ignored now became crystal clear.
Before long, a faint chewing sound reached her ears.
Relying on her keen hearing, Ye Weiliang quickly judged the general direction of the sound and headed toward it without hesitation.
As she drew closer, she carefully stretched out her hands, gently parting the tangled, dense branches to peer ahead.
Through gaps in the leaves, she caught sight of five or six oddly shaped animals in the distance.
They looked rather silly and adorable, giving off a foolish, endearing vibe.
“Wow—so it’s silly roe deer!” Ye Weiliang couldn’t help but exclaim softly.
She knew that although these animals looked dumb, they were actually quite alert.
If she acted rashly, she might scare them off.
So she calmed herself and began approaching them quietly.
She moved on tiptoe, every step extremely cautious, afraid of startling the little creatures.
As the distance closed, she could observe their movements more clearly.
They were leisurely nibbling on grass, seemingly completely unaware of their surroundings.
Ye Weiliang secretly rejoiced.
“These silly roe deer really live up to their name—so unbelievably dumb! One of their companions disappears and they don’t even notice, still happily munching away here.”
Taking advantage of the moment, she continued inching forward silently until she reached the perfect spot.
Then, one by one, she slowly collected the silly roe deer into her space.
The entire process went so smoothly that even she found it hard to believe.
And this time, she didn’t feel dizzy or unwell at all.
From this, Ye Weiliang concluded that the dizziness earlier had been caused by collecting too many things at once in the morning and overloading herself.
Not far away, she also discovered wild chickens and eggs.
Perfect—wild scallions stir-fried with wild chicken eggs would definitely be delicious.
With a full harvest, Ye Weiliang headed home in high spirits, completely unaware that, in the distance, Ye Jianjun had been silently watching over her the whole time.Chapter 23 – Inviting the Team Leader to Dinner (1/2)
Ye Weiliang and Li Xingxing brought the little wild boar back to the Educated Youth Compound.
She wanted to eat roast suckling pig—she had only ever heard of it in her previous life and had never actually tasted it; in this life, it was even more out of reach—she had never even seen one before.
Thinking about how Ao Jiarui, Chen Pingyao, and the others got along fairly well with her and treated her nicely, Ye Weiliang decided to invite them to eat together.
She also planned to invite Liu Aimin and Auntie Liu to join them—after all, a roast suckling pig weighed more than thirty jin, and there was no way they could finish it themselves.
As for Shao Song and Yi Manyu, they could forget about getting even a single bite.
She would also have Li Xingxing make a few other dishes—just eating roast suckling pig wouldn’t do; they needed some vegetables to cut the grease.
After thinking it through, Ye Weiliang told Li Xingxing her plan and got her agreement.
In truth, what Li Xingxing was thinking was that there was no need to ask her at all—after all, this wild boar was something Ye Weiliang had caught herself.
“Then, Sister Xingxing, you get started on the roast suckling pig. I’ll go exchange for some other vegetables and invite the team leader and Auntie Liu over as well.”
Ye Weiliang put the piglet down in the Educated Youth Compound as she spoke to Li Xingxing.
The little wild boar had already been knocked unconscious, and slaughtering a pig was something Li Xingxing could handle—since it wasn’t very big, she could manage it just fine.
“No problem. I’ll kill the pig first, scald the skin, and then start roasting it. Liangliang, make sure you exchange for plenty of vegetables.”
Ye Weiliang made a confident “mission accomplished” gesture at Li Xingxing, grinned, and headed out.
Li Xingxing smiled and shook her head.
Still a child, after all.
That man earlier had actually been Liangliang’s father.
He didn’t look like a farmer—more like someone who had been sent down.
As she was thinking this, Ye Jianjun knocked on the door.
“Comrade, may I have a word with you?”
“Uncle, my name is Li Xingxing. Please go ahead.”
Ye Jianjun sighed.
“Comrade Li Xingxing, I’m very sorry to be speaking with you under these circumstances. I’m Niannian’s father—Ye Er’ya’s…”
“Uncle Ye, didn’t you know? Liangliang changed her name. She’s called Ye Weiliang now,” Li Xingxing interrupted in surprise.
Ye Jianjun’s face instantly filled with bitterness.
“Niannian didn’t tell us. She only said her name was Ye Er’ya.”
He wiped his face and spoke with difficulty.
“Comrade Li, I won’t take up too much of your time, so I’ll be brief. You probably already know that Niannian was a child who was switched at birth. She suffered greatly in that household. We didn’t know about any of it. We don’t dare ask for her forgiveness—we just want to do everything we can to make it up to her. Comrade, in the future, I’ll often bring some food over. Could I trouble you to pass it on to Niannian?”
“Uncle, I can’t agree to that. If Liangliang doesn’t want your things and I bring them anyway, she’ll definitely be upset. If you truly want to make it up to her, you should give them to her yourselves. She’s suffered so much—it’s only right if she doesn’t accept you.”
“I know. I just… sigh. She’s been refusing to communicate with us. Last night, she even heard her mother worrying about the one who was swapped into our family, and that made her feel even worse.”
“But we really didn’t know that child wasn’t ours.”
“I’m not saying this to dodge responsibility. We’ve already withdrawn some of the subsidies and resources we gave that child, and from now on, they’ll all be given to Niannian. I hope you can help us look after her.”
After saying this, Ye Jianjun looked at Li Xingxing expectantly.
Li Xingxing shook her head.
“Uncle, I’ll say the same thing again—if you want Liangliang’s forgiveness, you should speak to her personally. As for looking after her, I will do that. She’s the youngest among us, so we’ll all take good care of her. Beyond that, there’s nothing more I can do.”
Ye Jianjun nodded.
“As long as you can help look after her, that’s enough. We’ll think of other ways ourselves.”
With that, he didn’t stay any longer and hurriedly left the Educated Youth Compound.
Li Xingxing sighed softly.
What a pitiful family.
It was probably better that Liangliang didn’t acknowledge them—after all, they were people who had been sent down for making mistakes, and it was best to avoid contact if possible.
Besides, she and Liangliang helped each other out—it wasn’t a matter of who took care of whom.
If anything, she was the one benefiting more.
As for all this, Ye Weiliang knew nothing about it.
By this time, she had already found Team Leader Liu Aimin.
“Comrade Ye, what is it?” Liu Aimin looked at Ye Weiliang, thinking she must have something important to say.
Ye Weiliang spoke directly.
“Uncle Team Leader, tonight the comrades at our Educated Youth Compound would like to invite you and Auntie Erni to dinner. It’ll be at the compound. Remember to come over after work.”
“Well, this—”
Before Liu Aimin could refuse, Ye Weiliang turned and left.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll be waiting for you.”
Liu Aimin didn’t even manage to say a word of refusal before Ye Weiliang ran off.
“This girl…” He shook his head helplessly.
He also began thinking about what he should bring to the Educated Youth Compound for those youngsters.
In these times, every household was poor, and there was no surplus grain.
All he could do was pull some vegetables from his family’s private plot to take over.
Ye Weiliang then found Auntie Erni and quietly passed on the invitation, adding at the end,
“Uncle Team Leader already agreed.”
Only then did Li Erni nod, also thinking that she should bring some vegetables from her family’s private plot when she went.
By now, Ye Weiliang had completely forgotten about exchanging for vegetables.
Afraid the two of them might refuse, she simply headed up the mountain again.
Picking some wild vegetables would work just as well.
This time, without Ye Jianjun or Li Xingxing following her, Ye Weiliang was finally free to explore deeper into the forest.
Along the way, all kinds of strange flowers and rare herbs came into view, but Ye Weiliang’s gaze stayed fixed on edible wild plants.
When she spotted clusters of tender shepherd’s purse, her eyes lit up, and she quickly crouched down to carefully pick them.
Soon after, she found a few wild scallions as well, and she didn’t let the opportunity slip, skillfully adding them to her haul.
As her harvest grew, Ye Weiliang felt thoroughly satisfied.
However, she didn’t relax her guard.
Instead, she stopped, stood still, closed her eyes, and began concentrating, trying to listen to the sounds around her according to the method recorded in the jade slip.
At first, all she could hear was the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
Gradually, more subtle sounds reached her ears—the calls of birds in the distance, small animals moving through the undergrowth, even the faint buzzing of insects’ wings.
Sounds she would normally have ignored now became crystal clear.
Before long, a faint chewing sound reached her ears.
Relying on her keen hearing, Ye Weiliang quickly judged the general direction of the sound and headed toward it without hesitation.
As she drew closer, she carefully stretched out her hands, gently parting the tangled, dense branches to peer ahead.
Through gaps in the leaves, she caught sight of five or six oddly shaped animals in the distance.
They looked rather silly and adorable, giving off a foolish, endearing vibe.
“Wow—so it’s silly roe deer!” Ye Weiliang couldn’t help but exclaim softly.
She knew that although these animals looked dumb, they were actually quite alert.
If she acted rashly, she might scare them off.
So she calmed herself and began approaching them quietly.
She moved on tiptoe, every step extremely cautious, afraid of startling the little creatures.
As the distance closed, she could observe their movements more clearly.
They were leisurely nibbling on grass, seemingly completely unaware of their surroundings.
Ye Weiliang secretly rejoiced.
“These silly roe deer really live up to their name—so unbelievably dumb! One of their companions disappears and they don’t even notice, still happily munching away here.”
Taking advantage of the moment, she continued inching forward silently until she reached the perfect spot.
Then, one by one, she slowly collected the silly roe deer into her space.
The entire process went so smoothly that even she found it hard to believe.
And this time, she didn’t feel dizzy or unwell at all.
From this, Ye Weiliang concluded that the dizziness earlier had been caused by collecting too many things at once in the morning and overloading herself.
Not far away, she also discovered wild chickens and eggs.
Perfect—wild scallions stir-fried with wild chicken eggs would definitely be delicious.
With a full harvest, Ye Weiliang headed home in high spirits, completely unaware that, in the distance, Ye Jianjun had been silently watching over her the whole time.