Showing Up Empty-Handed to Sponge a Meal

Produced by Tomato Listening.

Episode 32: Showing Up Empty-Handed to Sponge a Meal—Were There Really People Thicker-Skinned Than Her?

Wang Xiaomei was a little speechless as she looked at the two sisters. She had some experience taking care of newly arrived educated youths, so she pointed at the food in the basin. "We're almost done eating too. There are only these coarse rice steamed buns left. We made them once we had enough for everyone, and both our meals are already finished."

"You two don't look like you come from poor families. You should've saved some dry rations on the road. Even a bowl of hot water with some pickled vegetables could've gotten you through a meal."

The Dong Sisters were somewhat dumbfounded. Looking at the half-basin of peppers without even a speck of meat, could this food even be eaten?

They felt that eating those leftover scraps and owing someone a favor simply wasn't worth it.

Before leaving, Dong Tiantian turned back and deliberately took another look at Lin Yuzhu. Her palm-sized, oval face held a pair of watery almond eyes that were especially eye-catching. The slightly upturned corners of her eyes seemed to carry a hint of playfulness. With red lips, white teeth, and a sweet smile, she looked both lively and lovely.

She was already this striking at such a young age. Who knew what kind of beauty she would become in a few years?

Dong Tiantian's heart sank. She had always been extremely proud of her appearance, yet today, she had suffered setback after setback in this tiny village.

Once the others had gone far away, Wang Xiaomei looked at Lin Yuzhu with admiration in her eyes and said slyly, "I knew there was something off about you today. You even wanted to eat spicy food!"

"You're really full of tricks. So you'd already guessed that these people would come over to mooch a meal. That's incredible!"

"No wonder you're not tall enough. It's because the New Year remembered you."

Lin Yuzhu shot Wang Xiaomei an icy sideways glance and said disdainfully, "I'm not tall, but I'm still 1.6 meters. What about you?"

"A little shorty who's only 1.5-something meters tall has the nerve to talk? In my previous life, I was 1.68 meters tall. There's no way I could've been considered short. Now, sigh, the past is gone. I just didn't get enough to eat when I was little. Otherwise, I definitely would've reached 1.6 meters."

Wang Xiaomei retorted righteously.

Lin Yuzhu's current persona was someone who lived off support from her family, leaving her unable to refute that. Besides, she really had never gone hungry at the Lin family's home.

Actually, 1.6 meters wasn't considered short in this era. Most women on the streets were around that height.

"Enough, enough." Lin Yuzhu wordlessly headed home for a nap. The autumn heat was still quite intense, and afternoon work before the autumn harvest still started very late.

If there had been one major event in the village this month, it was that Shanshui Village had gotten loudspeakers.

They had specially run an electrical wire over for the loudspeakers. Of the nearby villages, only Shanshui Village had loudspeakers, and the village leaders were so proud they practically wanted to fly into the sky.

Unfortunately, the wire only reached the village committee. It did not extend throughout the whole village, and electric lights were still a distant dream.

Ever since they got the loudspeakers, the call to work had been replaced by announcements from the loudspeaker at the Educated Youth Dormitory.

Since she lived close by and could hear it clearly, Lin Yuzhu could finally take a peaceful nap at noon without worrying about oversleeping and missing the time to start work.

After returning to her room and lying down, she habitually checked her space and discovered that her Pasture expansion was complete. She immediately raised another two sheep and two pigs.

After finishing all that, there was not much balance left in the system.

Lin Yuzhu held her forehead. This was far too unreasonable. Every expansion of the farmland and Pasture required huge amounts of Contribution Points.

The little system explained that Energy Blocks for accelerating the growth of plants and animals all cost money. It even gave her a list.

Lin Yuzhu was speechless. She closed her eyes to rest. Forget it, forget it. What didn't cost money these days?

Thinking that she would be able to eat pork or mutton in just over twenty days sent her mood soaring again.

The pigs needed to be fed Low-Grade Feed, whose ingredients were corn and wheat bran. Lin Yuzhu could afford that. Fortunately, the hens also used Low-Grade Feed. The system said that livestock raised on Low-Grade Feed had even more delicious meat, and Lin Yuzhu decided to believe it for now.

Her stomach was still burning from lunch, so she bought a bottle of yogurt from the store. It even came in a glass bottle, with a smooth texture and a perfectly balanced sweet-and-sour taste.

It was good, but she couldn't take it out and sell it.

Thinking like that, she fell asleep.

Meanwhile, the Dong Sisters were only just eating lunch. Zhang Yanqiu had been responsible for cooking, while He Yuanfang had lent the sisters some rations. The sisters' roommates had brought snacks like Walnut Cookies and egg cakes as dry rations. They had eaten them all the way here and were sick of them, so they no longer minded the plain food.

Seeing that He Yuanfang was willing to lend them food, the two of them showered him with praise, complimenting him to the skies.

He Yuanfang scratched his head honestly and said they did not need to rush to pay him back.

The Dong Sisters exchanged smiles, thinking He Yuanfang was like those foolish boys in the alleys, easily sweet-talked into losing his bearings after just a few words. Seeing his simpleminded appearance, they felt a burst of contempt.

The sisters had accepted plenty of things from boys in the past, so they did not take this one meal's worth of rations seriously at all.

Since he said they did not need to hurry to return it, then there was no need to hurry.

It was only when they sat down to eat that the sisters noticed Zhou Nan, and they were instantly stunned by him.

Zhang Yanqiu looked at the sisters and sneered inwardly. She would have to tell Zhao Xianglan about this later.

Just thinking about Zhao Xianglan abandoning her to go find Li Xiangwan made her furious. As long as she told Zhao Xianglan that the newly arrived educated youths had their eyes on Zhou Nan, that prized catch, would Zhao Xianglan still be in the mood to go eat in the back?

The three newly arrived male educated youths were not very old. The youngest was only fifteen and had been sent to the countryside before even finishing high school. His name was Song Zhigao.

The oldest was only eighteen, named Zhao Aidang. The one in the middle was seventeen, named Zhang Aiguo.

Well, names in this era were very characteristic of the times. There were several people named Aidang and Aiguo in Kindwater Village alone.

The three male educated youths had regular features and ordinary faces. When Lin Yuzhu saw them, she felt that this was normal. How could handsome men be everywhere? If another handsome man showed up, would the girls at the Educated Youth Dormitory not fight to the death?

As for the character of this batch of newly arrived male educated youths, it could only be said that it remained to be seen.

Coincidentally, Zhang Aiguo and Zhao Aidang were from the county town, while Song Zhigao was from a township in Lin Kaoshan.

It could be said that it would be much easier for these three to return home than for the older educated youths. To be assigned so close to home, there had to be connections behind it.

These three were not to be underestimated. Even a powerful dragon could not overpower a local snake.

Lin Yuzhu felt that it would be best if she could get along with the three of them. If not, she should at least avoid becoming enemies. It would be fine for everyone to mind their own business.

There was one immediate advantage: they had brought their own rations, enough to last two or three days. Food was still bound to become a problem. In the past, the village chief would at least give them some indication, but this time, he seemed inclined to brush the matter aside.

When Wang Yang returned and saw a room full of new educated youths, he knew he would have to go talk to the village chief. They could not really make the older educated youths share their food with the newcomers. If that happened, the roof of the Educated Youth Dormitory might as well be blown off.

The newly arrived educated youths caused another uproar among the villagers. Everywhere they listened, most people were criticizing them. With the autumn harvest about to begin, how many work points could they possibly earn?

The Educated Youth Office might as well have waited until after the autumn harvest to send them here. Fine, they might as well just raise these educated youths directly.

This time, even the village chief could not suppress the situation.

The Production Team Leader's face was livid as he complained to the village chief, "Why did you bring back five all at once?"

The village chief's expression immediately darkened. He felt that the Production Team Leader was playing tricks and trying to look good in front of the villagers. "Other villages brought back six. If you think you're capable, you can go pick them up next time."

While the Production Team Leader and village chief argued, the Small Team Leaders were arguing too. How to divide up these five educated youths was also a problem.

The Small Team Leader on Lin Yuzhu's side was practically throwing a tantrum. He absolutely refused to take any female educated youths. It was hard on the poor old man too.

The other two Small Team Leaders had no choice. Each team took one male and one female educated youth, while the youngest, Song Zhigao, was assigned to Lin Yuzhu's group.

"Small Team Leader?"

That old man actually wanted to kick the ball over to Lin Yuzhu and have her take Song Zhigao under her wing.

Lin Yuzhu immediately blushed and said that she was still a young woman and that her reputation was important.

The old man nearly cursed out loud before kicking the ball over to Aunt Wang.

Aunt Wang was speechless. Could she say that she was still an old woman?

Aunt Wang rolled her eyes, looking thoroughly disgusted.

The five newly arrived educated youths, despised and even somewhat rejected by the villagers, stood shivering in the fields. They behaved themselves and kept their heads down. At this moment, the Dong Sisters did not dare act delicate at all. They had truly realized that they had been sent to the countryside. They were no longer little girls sheltered behind their parents. From now on, they could only rely on themselves.

Thinking of Li Xiangbei's cold attitude, the Dong Sisters felt an inexplicable panic. Had they really made a mistake by listening to their elders and coming to this godforsaken place? A feeling called regret arose in their hearts.

All afternoon, the fields were full of shouting and complaints. No one worked properly. The Production Team Leader was so angry that he kept cursing the village chief in his heart for being old and muddleheaded, completely useless. Their village should not even have the position of village chief anymore.

The older educated youths were all caught up in this minor uproar as well.

After work, Wang Xiaomei waited for Lin Yuzhu by the roadside. It gave Lin Yuzhu the illusion of returning to her student days, when everyone went home together after school. Wang Xiaomei had listened to sarcastic remarks all afternoon and had a belly full of things to say. The moment she saw Lin Yuzhu, she started chattering away.

"We didn't give the village chief much face at noon on Friday. Do you think, after the autumn harvest, when rations are distributed, he'll make us take in the newly arrived educated youths?"

"That really is possible. As long as he says the grain storehouse doesn't have enough food, the new educated youths won't be able to borrow any rations."

Based on what she had learned about the village chief at noon, that old man might really do something like that.

The moment Lin Yuzhu fell silent, Wang Xiaomei panicked. She said anxiously, "Oh no, it can't really be like that, can it? We don't even have enough food for ourselves. How can we give food to others? The village can't just let them starve to death, can it?"

Lin Yuzhu felt that she had a point and comforted her. "Don't overthink it. When the sky falls, the tall people will hold it up."

Lin Yuzhu always felt that something was not quite right. She did not know much about the circumstances of educated youths sent to the countryside in the 1970s, but since they had been assigned to the commune before the autumn harvest, food had to be arranged for them. In any case, this batch of educated youths definitely would not starve to death.

Wang Xiaomei frowned and added, "You think these educated youths keep coming batch after batch. There are only a few good slots in the commune each year. If the village gets any desirable slots later, won't the village chief hold them back and refuse to give them to us?"