When they arrived, the two educated youths responsible for cooking today had just returned.
They were Zhao Xiulan and Qian Hui, who greeted each other politely.
Zhao Xiulan had slightly cropped hair and seemed efficient when she spoke, while Qian Hui was more introverted, saying little beyond greetings.
Once the meal was ready, the other educated youths who had been working in the fields returned one by one.
There wasn’t much fancy food in this era—just a simple pot of cornmeal porridge, a large bowl of eggplant, a small plate of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, some small pieces of cured meat brought by Yun Ting, stir-fried green beans, and a plate of stir-fried cucumbers with meat.
The meat had been brought from town by Lu Jiayan and Zhou Yang, only about a pound or so—but in this time, that was considered quite precious.
The older educated youths were happy to see the newcomers getting some meat and other dishes.
How long had it been since they’d eaten meat? Yang Qingqing had brought a bag of peach crisps, Wang Xue had some homemade pickled radish sauce from home, while Yin Jiao and Li Zhaodi hadn’t thought to bring anything, and Gu Weiguo had nothing at all.
No one said much, but who knew what they were thinking inside?
“All right, everyone’s here. Let’s get to know each other. I’ll start. My name is Zhang Wei. I’ve been in the countryside for seven years, one of the first batches. I’m currently the head of this educated youth point, so if you have any questions, you can come to me.”
“I’m Li Hongxia, also seven years in the countryside,” she said briefly, not elaborating.
She had come with Zhang Wei in the same batch. Back then, they had been full of passion.
Now, the endless farm work had worn down their spirit, and their eyes no longer held the same spark as before.
Some of their batch had returned to the city through family connections, some couldn’t bear it and married villagers, and some educated youths married each other. Only she and Zhang Wei had persevered, though they didn’t know when it would end. She didn’t want to marry here either.
“I’m Wang Lijuan, three years in the countryside.”“I’m Zhao Xiulan, six years in the countryside.”“I’m Qian Hui, three years in the countryside.”“I’m Li Qiuyue, one year in the countryside.”
There were fewer male educated youths. Besides Zhang Wei, there were three others.
“I’m He Junjun, three years in the countryside.” This man seemed honest and simple, but Yun Ting remembered that in the book, he wasn’t as straightforward as he appeared—he liked to take small advantages when he could.
“I’m Zhao Weidong, six years in the countryside.”“Yan Zheng, one year in the countryside.”
Oh… this was the male second lead from the book! Quite handsome! Not the same type as Lu Jiayan; he leaned more toward the style modern girls liked. Sure enough, Yang Qingqing glanced at him a little more than once. Lu Jiayan frowned and thought to himself—was he feeling a sense of threat? Li Qiuyue’s gaze also betrayed her interest. Yun Ting’s little gossiping eyes sparkled—she knew how to enjoy the drama!
Next, the new educated youths briefly introduced themselves.
Everyone was smiling at first, but no one could tell each other’s true character. People’s hearts are hidden! Who could know who was really good?
“You look quite young, Yun. How could your family let you come to the countryside?” Zhao Weidong’s eyes flashed sharply. The girl was fair and pretty, clearly from a good family. If he could get close to her, returning to the city might not be impossible.
Yun Ting had been happily watching the drama unfold, only to find herself being targeted.
“Zhao, what are you saying? Weren’t we all about the same age when we went down? Besides, supporting rural construction as the country requested isn’t a good thing? My brother is in the army, so I had to come.” She deliberately mentioned her brother in the army, signaling that anyone thinking of her should first consider the consequences.
Zhao Weidong’s intentions were obvious—did he think she was naive?
“Hehe… I was just asking out of curiosity,” Zhao Weidong said awkwardly.
“All right, we’re all educated youths here, so we should help each other and stay united. Even though you don’t live here, you should visit more often!” Zhang Wei laughed and changed the topic.
After that, no one spoke much—they rushed to eat. There wasn’t much meat, and Yun Ting lost her appetite watching how they dug in. Yang Qingqing felt the same.
Yin Jiao rolled her eyes in disgust. “Have you not seen meat for hundreds of years?”
No one could deny her ability to provoke resentment. Yun Ting and Yang Qingqing exchanged glances, both silently exasperated.
“You’re the only one with a mouth? Didn’t brush your teeth this morning? We haven’t eaten meat for hundreds of years—then why didn’t you bring a few pounds yourself? Showing up empty-handed and still talking!” Wang Lijuan slammed down her chopsticks and went off on Yin Jiao.
The older educated youths also glared at Yin Jiao.
Yin Jiao’s face turned red and white alternately. “I didn’t go to town! Weren’t you supposed to welcome us new educated youths? And we had to bring things? Who’s treating whom here?”
Ah, she escalated it from personal to new versus old educated youths. Yun Ting couldn’t just watch anymore.
“Yin Jiao, if you can’t speak properly, keep quiet. Taking things was voluntary, not ordered by the older educated youths. Don’t divide new and old. Say less,” Yun Ting frowned at her disapprovingly.
They had just arrived. If they quarreled with the older educated youths, how would the villagers view them? No matter how bad relations among educated youths were, they appeared united on the surface. Zhang Wei was right—they had to stay united, or who would back them if something happened?
“Let’s all say less. Yes, it’s been a long time since we’ve eaten meat, sorry for embarrassing you. But Yun Ting is right; we shouldn’t let this minor matter strain new and old relations,” Zhang Wei stepped in to smooth things over. His smile remained, but Yun Ting could tell he was unhappy.
Sigh! She had thought staying away from the main characters in the book would be simpler, but now she realized the priority was to stay away from this Miss Yin! Too scary—she might lower your IQ just being near.
The meal had started happily, but after this incident, it ended on a sour note.
Before leaving, Yun Ting said goodbye to Li Hongxia.
“Hongxia, we’re heading back first. Come visit us when you have time!”“All right. Don’t forget work tomorrow morning. I’ll pass by your place, and you can call me then.”
Li Hongxia liked Yun Ting; she was charming when she spoke.“All right, thanks, Hongxia.”
On the way back, Wang Xue couldn’t resist saying something to Yin Jiao, and they started arguing again. Yun Ting quickly left—the drama was giving her a headache.
Back in her room, she locked the door and entered her space.
She hadn’t eaten much before, so she grabbed a couple of buns to fill her stomach. Fortunately, she had been foresighted and stored some cooked food in her space, knowing it had preservation capabilities.
After eating, she took out paper to write letters—to Yun Fu and Yun Mu, and a separate one to her second brother in the army, planning to send them when she went to town.
It was still early, so she used her powers to ripen a batch of grain, harvested it, replanted, and only then left her space to rest outside.