Everyone had meat broth to drink, except for Liao Hongmei.
She stood there awkwardly, her face alternating between pale and flushed, her hands trembling as they clenched into fists.
Liu Qingping poured out half of her own soup and handed it to Liao Hongmei. “Here, Hongmei. I can’t finish that much. Help me drink some.”
Who would have thought that Liao Hongmei would suddenly sweep the bowl to the ground with a sharp motion, glare fiercely at Song Ziyao, and then run back into the house crying.
As expected, Liu Qingping’s bowl shattered.
Meng Jing said coldly: “Why are you bothering with her?”
Liu Qingping also looked uncomfortable for a moment, but quickly returned to normal and silently picked up the broken pieces and disposed of them.
The male comrades were no longer as animated as before either. Silently, they went back to cooking whatever needed cooking.
Song Ziyao’s steamed buns were already finished, and there were still two dishes left to cook.
Wen Xue glanced at the buns she had made. “Whoa, white flour!”
Song Ziyao said: “I still have two dishes left to cook. Help me tend the fire. Today, how about we eat together?”
Wen Xue could not help but ask in delight: “Then I don’t have to cook?”
Song Ziyao nodded. “But you have to tend the fire.”
Wen Xue happily moved behind the stove. “What’s tending a fire? If I can eat meat and white flour with you, I’d even burn down the house!”
Song Ziyao laughed. “Please don’t. We still have to live in the house!”
“I know, I know.” Wen Xue made a face. “I’m just saying.”
On the surface, she looked delighted at having gotten the better end of the deal, but after the meal, Wen Xue not only voluntarily took over the dishwashing, she also brought Song Ziyao three taels’ worth of grain coupons and a bar of chocolate.
“You have to accept them. Otherwise, I’ll be too embarrassed to mooch off your meals next time.”
With that single sentence, Song Ziyao’s refusal was blocked.
After thinking about it, she accepted them after all.
When Song Ziyao had invited Wen Xue to eat together that day, she had intended to become closer to her.
There were eleven people in the Educated Youth Residence Compound. Just by looking at who cooked and ate together, it was obvious that everyone belonged to their own little groups.
At first, she had wanted to get along harmoniously with everyone while remaining independent.
That approach certainly worked, but after thinking it over, she felt it would still be better to have someone to look out for her if anything happened.
Liu Qingping seemed like a decent person, but Meng Jing was not very approachable.
Excluding Liao Hongmei as well, only Wen Xue remained.
Fortunately, although Wen Xue appeared somewhat spoiled on the surface, she was unexpectedly easy to get along with.
Song Ziyao did not expect to become deeply close friends with her. As long as they could look after each other and get through the next two years together, that would be enough.
The Shengli Brigade did not even have electricity, much less any form of entertainment. After dinner and a brief rest to cool off, it was time to go to bed.
Only after everything around her had fallen silent did Song Ziyao enter the space.
The sun had been scorching during the day, and without any sun protection at all, after being exposed for an entire day, Song Ziyao felt that even her face hurt.
After washing herself and her hair, she had intended to apply a repairing face mask, but suddenly thought of the water flowing from that bottle in the garden.
As if guided by some unseen force, she ran into the garden and washed her face.
The moment the cool water touched her facial skin, it felt as though it had entered a sponge and been absorbed completely.
When she reached up and touched her face, she could not feel a single drop of water. Instead, her skin felt as though she had just applied a face mask, hydrated, supple, smooth, and tender.
Song Ziyao was utterly shocked.
It could do that too??
Then she might as well take another bath!
What was even more miraculous was that while bathing, the cool water did not feel cold against her skin at all. She did not even shiver once.
Although Song Ziyao’s skin was fair and clean, it was not especially good.
For example, she had mild fish-scale skin on her legs. If she did not apply body lotion after bathing, her skin would become dry and flaky. The pores around the sides of her nose were somewhat enlarged, and if one looked closely, there were even a few tiny freckles on the bridge of her nose.
Yet after bathing with this water, she felt no dryness whatsoever. Her skin even felt as silky as milk to the touch.
Song Ziyao was certain that this water was beneficial for the skin.
She wondered whether, after using it for a long time, it would get rid of the fish-scale skin she hated most.
After returning to her room in the villa and drying her hair, Song Ziyao left the space.
Lying on the wooden plank bed, Song Ziyao began considering what else she needed to acquire.
The pots, bowls, and kitchen utensils were already complete, but vegetables were still a problem.
The brigade allowed Educated Youths to reclaim small vegetable plots around their residences. The senior educated youths each had their own vegetable gardens.
She could reclaim a plot as well.
There were also chickens. She needed to raise one for eggs.
As for pigs, every household raised their own. The only issue was that the required contribution was high. If a family raised one pig, they had to hand over half of it to the collective.
The senior educated youths in the Educated Youth Residence Compound had jointly raised one.
She had heard that pigs ate a lot and were not easy to raise.
Should she raise one herself?
Or should she partner with Wen Xue to raise one?
Or should she simply forget about it?
While Song Ziyao gradually fell asleep thinking about pigs, Tan Jinhe lay there with his eyes wide open, tossing and turning, unable to sleep no matter what.
Each time he turned over, the bunk bed creaked noisily, and his thoughts inevitably drifted back to the daytime.
That smiling face.
Those eyes.
Those two braids swishing back and forth.
And that soft warmth resting against his arm.
Damn it!
Tan Jinhe suddenly got out of bed. By the moonlight, he searched through a drawer and found a pack of cigarettes and some matches.
When he saw several White Rabbit candies lying quietly beside the cigarettes, he paused and slowly reached out to pick one up.
Tearing open the wrapper, the smooth, creamy milk candy inside was revealed.
The pad of his finger brushed against it lightly, and the silky texture made his entire finger tremble.
White Rabbit.
Milk candy.
Tan Jinhe squeezed his eyes shut fiercely and quickly wrapped the candy back up.
With a sharp scratch, a match flared to life in the darkness. The cigarette glowed and dimmed, and at last, a long-suppressed sigh escaped him.
Two knocks sounded at the door.
The sound pulled Tan Jinhe’s thoughts back to the present.
He knew who it was and did not say a word.
As expected, the person outside only knocked symbolically before pushing the door open and coming in on his own.
The moment Tan Xuesong entered, he sniffed the air and then pleaded: “Fourth Uncle, give me one, will you?”
Tan Jinhe replied: “Wait until you’re grown up.”
“Damn…” Tan Xuesong said unwillingly. “I’m already seventeen. You’re only two years older than m…”
Before he could finish speaking, Tan Xuesong felt the intimidation in Tan Jinhe’s gaze.
He rubbed his nose, then carefully pulled something out of his pocket as though it were a treasure and held it out before Tan Jinhe.
“Fourth Uncle, I came specially to bring you something good.”
Under the moonlight, a White Rabbit candy lay in Tan Xuesong’s palm.
Tan Jinhe heard the tension in his own voice.
“Where did your White Rabbit candy come from?”