After the chaos of war.
Shen Zhao was placed in a chair, holding a bowl of brown sugar water, and took a sip with a rosy complexion.
He Jianping was so scared he clutched his heart, a few strands of his hair turning white.
"Educated Youth Shen, what are you doing? Can't we talk things through properly? If you're thinking of doing something drastic..."
He had never seen such a crazy educated youth, attempting to hang herself without a word.
And the worst part was that he had helped tie the rope.
It was just too absurd!
However, he could tell that this girl never intended to actually die; otherwise, why would she attempt to hang herself in front of them?
People who truly want to die often do so silently.
They never give anyone a chance to save them.
Shen Zhao spoke slowly, the firelight casting a vacant expression on her face.
"Auntie said I'm a vixen, but I can't transform into a fox. I just thought that if I died at your doorstep, perhaps I could become a fox."
This... this person doesn't seem quite right?
He Jianping was startled by her words, feeling a sense of bone-chilling dread.
But, he finally understood why she was causing such a scene.
He suddenly looked at his wife, "When did you say that?"
"I..." Tan Xiuping's breath hitched for a moment. Then she suddenly raised her voice, "I just said it casually! Why are you looking at me like that? If you hadn't brought her home, would this have happened?"
"What does this have to do with me? I just wanted to earn more money. We still need to figure out the tuition fees for Da Shan when school starts."
He Jianping's head was spinning.
Although he was the Team Leader outside, he was actually henpecked.
However, most men in their village were henpecked, so it wasn't a big deal.
But... but today, she was clearly in the wrong!
Shen Zhao turned to look at him, but spoke to Tan Xiuping, "Something you treasure might not be valued by others. Just like this brown sugar water; it's a good thing to you, but I don't care for it at all."
"Go to the city more often to broaden your horizons, instead of treating an old man like a treasure every day."
Her words were blunt and unapologetic.
Not only did He Jianping blush, but Tan Xiuping and the elderly couple also turned red in the face.
He Jianping felt deeply embarrassed, yet also incredibly angry.
He knew his wife well; because he was the Team Leader, she was constantly suspicious and jealous.
At the time, he had been blinded by the money.
He wished he hadn't arranged for her to stay at their home.
He carefully chose his words, "Uh, Educated Youth Shen, I'm truly sorry. My wife has a foul mouth, please don't take it to heart. That..."
"Don't worry," Shen Zhao said, her gaze unfocused on the fire pit, not even giving him a glance. "I won't go back on our previous agreement, you know that. But I have a bad temper and can't stand certain remarks."
"However, you are the Team Leader after all, and I must give you some face. For today's incident, an apology will suffice."
Tan Xiuping's fiery temper flared up, and she opened her mouth to retort, "Based on..." Before she could utter a word, He Jianping clamped his hand tightly over her mouth, "Shut up!"
Images flashed through his mind of educated youths with shovel marks on their faces.
And just now, her nonchalant figure dangling from the scarf.
He deeply realized that this woman was a lunatic!
It's better not to provoke a lunatic, because they are capable of anything.
He had elders and children to care for; he dared not gamble with a lunatic's conscience.
Educated Youth Shen was warning him, and also indicating that she didn't want to escalate the conflict.
He Jianping, being the Team Leader, understood everything within a few minutes.
His gloomy gaze swept over his wife, and he said in a deep voice, "Apologize to Educated Youth Shen!"
"I won't..." Tan Xiuping was defiant, but upon meeting her husband's gloomy gaze, she truly feared Shen Zhao dying in their home.
Xiao Lan was currently having an arranged meeting for marriage.
She was fiery, but she didn't dare to anger her husband.
Gritting her teeth, she squeezed out a few words from between her lips, "Educated Youth Shen, I'm sorry. Yes, I said the wrong thing."
However, her eyes did not convey any sign of remorse.
Shen Zhao didn't care; as long as the attitude was shown.
She stood up, sprinkled the half-drunk brown sugar water towards the door, and tilted her head slightly, "Is dinner ready? I'm hungry."
Her composed demeanor was like that of a high-and-mighty young lady from a landlord's family.
Tan Xiuping clenched her fists, her head spinning with anger.
Was she treating herself as her servant?
What kind of person was she!
Seeing that she was about to erupt again, He Jianping quickly pulled his wife towards the kitchen and whispered in her ear.
"Alright, just bear with it for now. Think of her as a paying customer. Think about Xiao Lan's dowry and Da Shan's tuition fees."
"Later, I'll make her do the dirtiest and hardest jobs."
He Jianping, as the Team Leader, was naturally upset at being disrespected like this.
He wasn't narrow-minded, but he wasn't that magnanimous either.
Only then was Tan Xiuping pacified, "That's more like it. Make her life difficult!"
Shen Zhao had Internal Energy and heard every word they said.
She felt speechless inwardly.
She couldn't be bothered to argue with them over such a small matter.
If she had acted according to her usual style, Tan Xiuping's head would have rolled a long time ago.
But this was... this was not her original world.
A wise man knows when to yield; she couldn't afford to offend the Team Leader's family right after arriving.
She just needed to draw a line to let them know she wasn't to be trifled with.
She returned to her room and closed the door.
The room had already been tidied by He Xiaolan. Her belongings were gone, making the space feel much cleaner and more open.
Shen Zhao took out her own bedding, spread it out, and sat on the edge of the bed to calculate her money and ration tickets.
She had brought 1,500 yuan from home, sold her job for 500, plus some scattered change she had found at home.
In total, she had over 2,300 yuan. However, during her journey, she had bought things, built a house, and furnished it. After deducting rent and the cost of hiring someone to cook, she had spent nearly 500 yuan.
She now had only 1,807 yuan, 6 mao, and 5 fen left, along with 60 jin of National Grain Ration Tickets.
She had spent all her other ration tickets.
However, since she had emptied out the house, she didn't lack anything for the time being.
But this amount of money was still very little to her.
She couldn't just sit around and spend money indefinitely; she needed to find a way to earn money.
"Educated Youth Shen, dinner is ready." He Xiaolan's voice came through the door.
"Okay, I know." Shen Zhao quickly put all her money into her space.
She went to the kitchen, where the Eight Immortals Table was already laid out with food.
A plate of cold salad made from something unknown, which looked like the grassroots He Xiaolan had brought back.
A large bowl of boiled white radish soup, a bowl of her own pickled radishes, and two pieces of Fermented Tofu on top.
The meal had a strong regional flavor.
"We don't have many vegetables at home in winter, so please make do, Educated Youth Shen." He Jianping noticed the disdain in her eyes.
"It's fine, it's very good."
Shen Zhao found a seat, and He Xiaoshan immediately handed her a bowl of rice.
The bowl had more rice than sweet potato, and the rice wasn't white; many grains even had husks.
The machines at the time couldn't completely de-husk the rice, always leaving some behind.
"Thank you," she said, taking it after a glance, and then casually handed him a piece of candy.
"Thank you, Sister!" He Xiaoshan immediately took the candy happily and put it in his pocket.
Even though she had had an unpleasant encounter with the family earlier.
It didn't affect his eagerness to please her, as his sister had candy.
Nothing was more enjoyable than eating candy.
Tan Xiuping snorted, "Useless! Easily bought with a little something."
"Alright, say less." He Jianping frowned.
Shen Zhao placed five yuan on Tan Xiuping's table, "This is my living expenses for this period."
Because of the previous incident, dinner at the He family's was a bit late. It was completely dark outside, and a kerosene lamp was lit in the middle of the table.
The five yuan wasn't very clear under the kerosene lamp, but Tan Xiuping had good eyesight and immediately fixed her gaze on it.
Her expression changed instantly, and she reached out to take it.
Shen Zhao, however, pressed down on the money and retreated, staring into the other woman's eyes, and said word for word, "However... I must have an egg every morning, and meat every other day. I will provide the meat myself; you are only responsible for cooking it, and you cannot mess it up."
"My meals must be served separately. Can you do that?"
This body was too weak; she needed to recover quickly, so nutrition was essential.
She didn't want to pick food from the same plate as so many people.
Tan Xiuping frowned, "Still saying you're not a capitalist's daughter..."
"If you don't want to do it, that's fine. I'll find someone else." Shen Zhao wasn't going to indulge her and made a move to take the money back.
In those times, that statement was no different from an insult.
Seeing the money about to fly away, Tan Xiuping immediately became anxious, reached out, and pressed down on the other half of the money, "I'll cook, I'll cook! Give me the money!"
It was just a bit more trouble; she didn't have to provide the meat, only a few eggs. The chickens at home laid eggs every day, and there were plenty of vegetables from the private plot.
It was equivalent to earning five yuan for nothing; why would she refuse?
She wouldn't let money slip through her fingers.
Only then did Shen Zhao release her hand.
She picked up an empty bowl, used clean chopsticks to take a portion of each dish, placed it in front of her, and said calmly, "Alright, let's eat."
He Jianping: ...Who is the head of the household?
It felt as if she was treating this place as her own home, and they were all her servants.
Shen Zhao ignored them and ate from her bowl.
She picked up a piece of white grass root and, seeing He Xiaolan hesitate, put it down. "What's wrong with this?"
"This is Fish Mint. It's a type of wild vegetable from our area. It has a peculiar taste, and I was afraid you wouldn't be used to it."
When some educated youths first arrived, she had enthusiastically recommended it to them, but... that person had thrown up after eating it.
Shen Zhao looked like someone not to be trifled with. If she also threw up.
She was afraid she would get angry...
Hearing her say that, Shen Zhao became cautious and only picked up one piece to put in her mouth.
As soon as it entered her mouth, there was a fishy smell like scales. She frowned and, suppressing her nausea, chewed it.
Mixed with the pungent smell of chili pepper and wild scallion, and the crispness of the Fish Mint, it didn't seem so unbearable.
"It's okay, it's edible."
Shen Zhao said, swallowed, and her next bite was of white radish.
She couldn't quite get used to it, but it wasn't unacceptable.
Seeing that she had eaten it, He Xiaolan felt a sense of relief.
Educated Youth Shen's aura was too powerful; just sitting there, she felt like one person could equal many.
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