Don't Worry, I'll Pay

This program was produced by Tomato Listening. Episode 13: Don't Worry, I'll Pay!

Then he turned to Zhou Nan. "Educated Youth Zhou, get acquainted with everyone. If there's anything you don't understand, ask Wang Yang. He's one of the old hands, and he more or less manages the Educated Youth Dormitory. I've got things to do, so I'll be off."

Zhou Nan nodded and watched the village chief leave.

Wang Yang happened to be lounging in the courtyard. Seeing a newcomer, he quickly got up to greet him. "Hello, I'm Wang Yang—the Yang from sunshine. Come on, I'll help you with your luggage. Let's go inside and put it away first."

Zhou Nan thanked him, and the two entered the room together.

Wang Xiaomei and the other girl had just gotten the stove going. Wang Yang called out to them, asking them to make an extra portion so Zhou Nan would not go hungry at noon.

Since he had not arrived with the others, Zhou Nan naturally drew more attention. He did not seem flustered in the slightest. Instead, he was humble and polite as he introduced himself to everyone one by one. He was from the ancient city and had taken a different train from Lin Yuzhu and the others, so he had arrived a day late.

Hearing Zhou Nan's voice, Lin Yuzhu's ears twitched. As someone drawn to voices, he found that clear, jade-like voice devastatingly appealing. When Zhou Nan spoke to someone, it felt as though a cool breeze had brushed past their ears, dispelling the afternoon heat.

No wonder he had captivated so many readers as the second male lead.

The biggest debate in the novel's comment section had been whether the heroine should choose the male lead or the second male lead. Those who sided with the second male lead had gone on endlessly, defending him against injustice for pages and pages.

Lin Yuzhu had read far too many novels to remember every plot clearly.

But seeing Zhou Nan now brought back quite a few scenes. He remembered that the second male lead had not stood out much in the countryside, though he had developed feelings for the heroine.

Later, all three of them were admitted to universities in Beijing, and that was when their entanglement truly began.

The author really did love the heroine, her precious darling. The second male lead loved her without ever having her, and in the end, he remained unmarried for life.

That had broken the readers' hearts. They denounced the author for him every day, practically wanting to mail her razor blades.

Still, that only showed how deeply the second male lead loved the heroine.

Lin Yuzhu looked at the second male lead's height of over six feet, his well-proportioned features, and sighed repeatedly. Everything about him matched Lin Yuzhu's tastes, but he was probably someone else's dog.

Since he knew how the plot would unfold, he naturally would not develop any improper thoughts about Zhou Nan. Once the novelty wore off, he stopped staring at him so openly.

When Lin Yuzhu looked away, Zhou Nan let out a faint sigh of relief. For some reason, he had felt as if he were being examined on a chopping block just now. The key was that Lin Yuzhu's eyes had carried a trace of teasing, leaving him utterly confused.

At the dining table, Wang Xiaomei and Zhao Xianglan kept sneaking glances at Zhou Nan. The former was mostly curious, while the latter's expression was more suggestive. Her shy feelings were practically spreading across her face.

Perhaps because Li Xiangwan had glanced at Zhou Nan twice as well, Li Xiangbei kept a frosty face throughout the meal. It was hard to say whether Li Xiangwan noticed his jealousy. Maybe she had not yet recognized the male lead's feelings for her. In any case, she ate and drank as she pleased, completely at ease.

From a reader's perspective, Lin Yuzhu could naturally see that the male lead was panicking inside. He was filled with a sense of crisis.

Who said men had no intuition?

Lin Yuzhu's gaze moved back and forth between the male lead and the second male lead. If the male lead arrived later, he might not have had any chance of coming out on top.

After all, for their era, the second male lead was more aggressive. If the male lead had not gotten there first and shown the heroine such clear, meticulous care, hitting right at her heart, he would probably have been finished. Everyone had different thoughts during the meal, but it was still quite pleasing to the eye.

Setting everything else aside, simply watching the male lead, the heroine, and the second male lead—three beautiful people—made the meal more appetizing.

Lin Yuzhu thought that if the second male lead were a little more talkative, it would be even better. If he could tell a story now and then, that would be perfect. And if the food tasted better, it would be even, even, even more perfect.

Speaking of the food, by the end of the meal, Lin Yuzhu's stomach was burning. He had no idea how many chili peppers Wang Xiaomei had added.

After lunch, Lin Yuzhu drank plenty of water. He just kept feeling the burn. In his previous life, he had been able to eat spicy food, but the original owner of this body had never eaten it growing up. Suddenly eating spicy food now was more than this body could handle.

Wang Xiaomei was a southern girl. Back home, people loved spicy food; without chili peppers in a dish, it was not really cooking.

Today, she had specially picked some small hot peppers from the vegetable garden so these new educated youths could taste her cooking.

But the newly arrived educated youths were not from places where people ate spicy food, so she was destined to be disappointed.

After working all morning, Zhang Yanqiu's mood had plunged into an abyss. She could see no hope, and she was so dejected that she practically did not want to live.

The more she washed the dishes, the angrier she became. Her mouth and stomach were burning, and her heart burned even more fiercely.

Once she finished and went back inside, she said to Wang Xiaomei, "Can we not put chili peppers in the food?"

"I've never eaten spicy food since I was little."

There was inevitably a hint of venting in her tone.

Wang Xiaomei was sitting on the edge of the kang bed, admiring herself in a mirror. Hearing Zhang Yanqiu speak in that tone, she raised a brow and immediately snapped, "Then don't eat if you can't handle salty and spicy food! Do you have a grandmother cooking for you every day? If I'm the one cooking, there'll be chili peppers."

After glaring at her, she muttered, "There were only two peppers, and you're saying it's too spicy? Why are you so troublesome? So delicate!"

Zhang Yanqiu glared back in anger. Neither of them would back down, and they stared each other down as if they might start fighting at any moment.

Lin Yuzhu looked from one to the other. Since this concerned him as well, he asked Zhao Xianglan beside him, "Have you always eaten spicy food like this?"

Zhao Xianglan looked helpless. "I didn't eat spicy food before, but she forced me into becoming someone who can't live without it."

Perhaps out of consideration for Wang Xiaomei's feelings, Zhao Xianglan did not put it too bluntly. But the helplessness in her words made it clear just how stubborn Wang Xiaomei was about chili peppers. Once someone got used to spicy food, it was very possible they could not change back.

The old educated youths did not seem to find the food spicy, so they had probably gotten used to it.

That meant there would likely be disagreements over meals between the new and old educated youths.

Li Xiangwan had not eaten spicy food in either life. She could not even get used to cornmeal buns, much less dishes that leaned spicy, so she suggested, "How about we make an extra non-spicy dish from now on?"

Wang Xiaomei said disdainfully, "We can barely get through all the farm work. Who has the energy to make another dish? You might as well dream on. What, you think pulling chili peppers is China Central Television?"

Lin Yuzhu said jokingly, though he was not entirely joking. He did not know why, but he wanted to needle Wang Xiaomei a little. Maybe he simply could not stand her arrogant attitude. Then he felt that was a little unkind, so he added, "Don't worry, I'll pay."

Wang Xiaomei was speechless. Naturally, the argument came to no conclusion. Everyone parted on bad terms and returned to their kang beds for their midday rest.

Lin Yuzhu thought collective living was truly nothing to fantasize about. The village chief had said Zhou Nan could rest for a day and start work the next day, but Zhou Nan felt awkward about being the only one resting at the Educated Youth Dormitory, so he decided to work alongside everyone.

Among this new batch of educated youths, the Small Team Leader of Team One had already claimed two of them. Lin Yuzhu and Zhang Yanqiu were assigned to separate teams afterward.

Now that Zhou Nan had arrived, the Small Team Leader of Team Two knew Team One was out of the question, while Team Three's temperament made them even less worth hoping for.

Fortunately, Zhou Nan was a man, so he was assigned to Team Two.

Seeing that Zhou Nan had been assigned to her team, Zhao Xianglan's happiness was obvious. A sharp-eyed auntie noticed and even pulled the woman beside her to look. The excitement in their eyes could not be hidden. With Zhou Nan's looks, he had stunned all the women in the village. The aunties' enthusiasm for him was far greater than for the other newly arrived educated youths.

That afternoon at work, Lin Yuzhu took on the role of supervisor. Since they did not want him slacking off, everyone might as well work hard together.

"Ladies, you've nearly scattered sunflower seed shells all over the ground. Shouldn't you get to work?"

"Hongjun's family and Wang Lao'er's family, if you keep chatting, I'll deduct your work points!"

The Small Team Leader shouted from several yards away.

"Auntie, if you keep pulling there, you'll pull out the seedlings. It's time to move somewhere else."

"Elephant's family, are your eyes failing? You can't even tell grass roots from seedlings? If you pull out the seedlings, I'll definitely deduct your work points."

For a while, Lin Yuzhu and the Team Three leader could be seen weaving through the fields. The members of the other teams were watching with great amusement.

Zhou Nan looked at the lively Lin Yuzhu in confusion. Appearances truly could be deceiving. Lin Yuzhu looked soft, sweet, and innocent, yet at a time like this, Zhou Nan could not think of any words to describe him.

Logically speaking, acting so lively upon first arriving was not a good thing. After thinking for a moment, Zhou Nan went back to work. Having experienced so much, he was no longer the sort to meddle in other people's affairs.

When work ended that afternoon and the points were calculated, every member of Team Three had nearly completed their task. Even the person with the lowest score received seven work points.

Lin Yuzhu rubbed his nose. The Team Three leader glared at him irritably. His mouth had gone dry that afternoon; he had probably used up decades' worth of words in a single day. Yet he was also puzzled. Educated Youth Lin had offended quite a few people, but somehow, those old women had actually worked properly all afternoon.

Thinking about it, it did not seem so bad. The two aunties who had always complained were miserable now. Not only had they worked all afternoon, they had also been blamed by the other team members, who said they should not have tattled in the first place. No one knew who had supported them going to complain back then.

Now that they had risen up in anger, they hurriedly grabbed Lin Yuzhu after work, afraid he might run away.

Aunt Wang said with a pained expression, "Girl, you can't keep doing this."

Lin Yuzhu tilted his head, looking utterly confused.