Yun Hua didn’t feel that she had done anything underhanded. Wang Xiangyun had merely told her that there was such a position available, and she hadn’t told Yun Hua anything about what would be on the examination.
After resting for a while, they continued cutting pigweed.
They kept working until noon.
Yun Hua began thinking about what she should eat for lunch.
She had already made it clear to the people at the educated youth compound that morning that she wouldn’t be eating with them, so they certainly wouldn’t be including her in their meal plans anymore.
She only had to worry about herself.
As for Li Jing, she was still willing to eat with the other educated youths. She said her family was struggling financially, so she couldn’t afford to prepare meals separately.
Yun Hua understood that perfectly. Everyone had different circumstances.
Yun Hua felt that her blood sugar might be getting low, so she quickly took a piece of White Rabbit Creamy Candy from her pocket, unwrapped it, and popped it into her mouth.
Without this golden finger, she didn’t know whether she would even be able to make it to the day she could take the college entrance examination and return to the city.
With the candy in her mouth, Yun Hua felt much better.
Come to think of it, working while eating candy didn’t seem nearly as exhausting.
Even the movements of her hands became more nimble.
Maybe after working for half a day, her body had simply gotten used to it through sheer momentum. If this continued, she was going to turn into a machine.
Suddenly, a deep, magnetic voice came from behind her.
“Mom, I’ve brought your lunch.”
When Wang Xiangyun saw her son bringing her food, she broke into a delighted smile.
“Son, why are you the one bringing lunch today? Where’s your dad?”
Gu Huaian secretly glanced at Yun Hua before immediately turning back to Wang Xiangyun.
“Dad is still busy taking the new educated youths through the rice fields. The educated youths harvesting corn over there also need someone to supervise them. Dad doesn’t have time to bring you lunch today. Isn’t it the same if I bring it?”
Wang Xiangyun nodded.
“All right, then. Have you eaten?”
Gu Huaian nodded.
“I have. You’d better eat quickly. The food won’t taste good once it gets cold.”
“I’ll help you cut some pigweed.”
With that, Gu Huaian took over Wang Xiangyun’s place.
Wang Xiangyun took the lunch boxes and opened them.
Oh, there was quite a lot of food today.
She turned and called out to Yun Hua.
“Educated Youth Yun, come over here!”
Yun Hua looked up when she heard Wang Xiangyun calling her. The White Rabbit Creamy Candy in her mouth hadn’t even melted yet.
At that moment, in Gu Huaian’s eyes, Yun Hua looked like a little white rabbit with one cheek puffed up.
She was adorable.
Yun Hua’s attention was entirely on Wang Xiangyun, so she had no idea that Gu Huaian was looking at her.
“What is it, Auntie Xiangyun?”
Yun Hua walked straight over.
“It’s like this, Educated Youth Yun. My family sent me too much food, and I can’t finish it all. Why don’t you eat with me?”
Wang Xiangyun only spoke after Yun Hua came closer.
Yun Hua looked around and noticed that the four children were already gone.
“Huh? Where did those children go?”
She found it strange and asked directly.
“Those children all go home for lunch. There are even younger children at home who need looking after, and no one is bringing them lunch.”
“Educated Youth Yun, don’t be so polite. Look at you—you gave me gloves and even gave me White Rabbit Creamy Candy. It’s only right that you eat with me.”
“Besides, I can’t finish all this by myself. That boy already ate before coming out, so don’t worry about him.”
Yun Hua looked at the food in the lunch boxes.
There were steamed cornmeal buns and wild greens, along with some stir-fried vegetables.
And were those sweet potatoes?
They looked like sweet potato cakes she had made herself.
Yun Hua’s mouth began watering, and she couldn’t help swallowing.
She loved sweet potatoes.
She didn’t know if she’d eventually grow tired of them, but she hadn’t been in this era for long enough to lose her modern-day fondness for them.
Seeing Yun Hua staring at the food in the lunch boxes without blinking, Wang Xiangyun urged her,
“Educated Youth Yun, come and eat. Eat while it’s hot.”
Yun Hua had originally planned to go back to the dormitory and eat something, but she couldn’t resist Auntie Xiangyun’s enthusiasm.
I can always return the favor later, right?
“Then thank you, Auntie Xiangyun.”
Yun Hua didn’t notice that the moment she said those words, Gu Huaian’s body seemed to relax for an instant.
Wang Xiangyun was also secretly impressed by how thoughtfully Gu Huaian had packed the lunch that day.
There were two lunch boxes—one for the cakes and one for the vegetables.
He had even included a spoon and a pair of chopsticks.
Wasn’t that just perfect for two people to share?
She and Yun Hua could each have one lunch box, with one using the spoon and the other using the chopsticks.
Both of them were hungry, and once they divided up the food, they quickly polished it all off.
Wang Xiangyun noticed that Yun Hua particularly liked the sweet potato cakes.
“Educated Youth Yun, do you like the cakes, or do you just like sweet potatoes?”
Yun Hua felt a little embarrassed.
“I like sweet potatoes.”
Wang Xiangyun nodded knowingly.
“We liked them quite a bit when we were young too. But after eating them too often, we eventually got tired of them.”
Yun Hua nodded.
She could understand.
In this era, sweet potatoes were considered a relatively abundant staple crop.
During a time when people struggled even to have enough food and clothing, simply having enough to eat was the first concern.
But if you ate the same food every day, at every meal, no matter how delicious it was, you’d eventually get tired of it.
Yun Hua finished everything in her lunch box. Her stomach was comfortably full, though she was slightly stuffed.
She had originally planned to slowly return to cutting pigweed, but when she saw Gu Huaian working over there with smooth, effortless movements, she decided to wait a little longer rather than get in the way of someone who was clearly in the middle of his rhythm.
“Auntie Xiangyun, how many children do you have?”
Wang Xiangyun had just stacked the lunch boxes to one side so Gu Huaian could take them home and wash them later.
When she heard Yun Hua asking about her family, she immediately perked up.
“I have three children. This is my youngest son, Gu Huaian. He has two older sisters, and both of them are married.”
“He’s the only boy, and he still hasn’t found a partner. There have been people in the village who wanted to introduce him to someone, but he refused every time. He says he knows everyone in the village and hasn’t met anyone he likes.”
“His age keeps getting higher, and his dad and I are practically worried sick.”
Yun Hua hadn’t expected that Gu Huaian wasn’t married yet.
With his conditions, surely there was no shortage of women who liked him.
So it turned out his standards were simply too high.
She wondered who would eventually manage to win him over.
This man’s conditions were pretty good. In the village, he certainly had the capital to be a little arrogant.
After all, his father was the village chief.
But those conditions wouldn’t count for much in the city.
Unless he made something of himself later and managed to seize the opportunity brought by the college entrance examination—or caught the wave of Reform and Opening.
Still, none of that had anything to do with her.
He was just an insignificant person in her life.
Her short-term goal was to become an elementary school teacher. Her long-term goal was to take the college entrance examination and return to the city.
She would reunite with her parents and support them in their old age.
Yun Hua kept reminding herself of these goals, but when her eyes landed on Gu Huaian’s strong, well-built physique, she unconsciously swallowed.
Those sturdy, powerful arms.
Those strong, muscular thighs.
She wondered whether he had an eight-pack hidden beneath his clothes.
Yun Hua shook her head and quickly pulled herself back to reality.
What was going on with her? Why had she suddenly become so desperate for a man?
Could it really be that old saying about being warm and well-fed leading to improper thoughts?
She had only just eaten her fill, and already her imagination was running wild.
No.
She absolutely could not let herself fall this far.
Yun Hua put her gloves back on and picked up her sickle, preparing to continue cutting pigweed.
But the moment she walked over, Gu Huaian suddenly turned around and looked at her.
There was something dark and unreadable in his eyes.
Then his deep voice reached her ears.
“You just ate. Stay under the tree and rest with Mom for a while. I’ll cut the pigweed first. Once I go home later to wash the lunch boxes, you two can continue.”
“It’s not good for your body to exercise right after eating. Go rest for a while.”
Gu Huaian’s sudden turn startled Yun Hua.
She hadn’t really listened to what he had said and only caught the part about him telling her to rest.
That was exactly what she had been hoping to hear.