Quick Wear: Cousin, Come to the Bowl Quickly

Chapter 440: The Educated Youth Cousin in the Period Literature ()

The sun set in the west, and the sunset dyed half the sky red. Groups of educated youth chatted casually while walking back to the educated youth site in the afterglow of the setting sun.

"Oh, I finally got to the end of the work. My waist feels so sore that it feels like it's broken..." A female educated youth with pigtails rubbed her neck with one hand and supported her waist with the other, complaining with a grimace.

"Your case is still considered mild." Another female educated youth who entered the courtyard with her spread out her palms, revealing their horrific condition. "Look at my hands. I've got several blisters from holding the hoe these past two days. They're burning with pain."

"Who isn't?" A female educated youth who had followed the two of them into the yard rubbed the mud on the soles of her shoes on the bricks beside her and curled her lips. "Look at the cracks between my fingernails. They're full of mud. It's like the mud has grown into me. I can't rub it clean."

Hearing this, the pigtailed young woman touched her sunburned face and sighed, "Alas, the vanishing cream I just put on yesterday is wasted again today. If we stay in this sun for a few more days, we'll all turn into charcoal."

"That's right." The tall, educated young woman wiped the sweat from her forehead. "It's only April. How are we going to get through the rest of this?"

"Well, I'll just have to endure it anyway." The educated youth wiped the mud off her shoes and curled her lips. She rubbed her rumbling stomach and frowned. "I don't know if Chen Lan's meal is ready yet. I'm starving."

"I'll go check in the kitchen." The tall female educated youth gathered her scattered hair. "I'll lend a hand. With her personality, she's sure to be very busy again."

"Okay, go ahead," the other two nodded, "Let's go see if Lin Xi is feeling better."

As they were talking, they parted ways at the gate of the courtyard. The tall female educated youth went straight to the kitchen, while the other two went towards the female educated youth's house.

In the yard, other educated youth also came back one after another. Some of them sat on the benches to rest their feet, some took teacups and drank water in big gulps, and some complained in low voices about tomorrow's work.

The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on the mottled earthen walls, reflecting a warm yellow. Smoke curled out of the chimney of the kitchen and gradually merged into the twilight.

Lin Xi had just folded the letter and stuffed it into the envelope when she heard the wooden door being pushed open with a creak.

She turned around and saw two girls, one fat and one thin, walking in. The thinner one had two thick black braids and her round cheeks were red from the sun, while the fatter one was slightly taller and was wiping the sweat off her face with a handkerchief.

"Lin Xi?!" When the female educated youth with pigtails saw Lin Xi sitting in front of the table, her eyes suddenly lit up and she let out a sharp exclamation in a surprised tone.

Lin Xi slowly stood up, holding onto the table. She gave the two of them a shy smile, her voice soft and thin, like a newly sprouted willow branch, "Sister Xiaoyun, Sister Aihong, you're back?"

Zhao Xiaoyun and Hu Aihong exchanged a quick glance, then quickly walked to Lin Xi's side, one on each side, supporting her and sitting on the bed. "Don't move, don't move. You just got up, why did you get out of bed?"

Lin Xi was forced to sit on the edge of the bed by them. She looked up and met two pairs of concerned eyes. Zhao Xiaoyun stared at her with her round eyes without blinking, while Hu Aihong reached out and gently brushed away the loose hair on her forehead, carefully looking at her face.

I saw that her face was a little pale, with a few traces of blood still on her face, but her eyes were very clear and transparent, not as cloudy and dull as when she was sick and drowsy before. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank God! There's finally some light in my eyes. They're not as foggy and scary as they were the past two days. It was frightening to look at."

"Well, I feel much better. Thank you for taking care of me these days." Lin Xi smiled gratefully and answered softly.

Zhao Xiaoyun couldn't wait to respond, "That's right! You were so feverish and talking nonsense last night, I thought you were going to..." She suddenly realized something, stopped talking abruptly, and touched her nose embarrassedly.

Hu Aihong glared at her helplessly, then turned to Lin Xi and said softly, "It's all right. Don't listen to Xiaoyun's nonsense."

Lin Xi shook her head nonchalantly, her smile carrying a hint of relief at having survived a catastrophe. "It's okay. Not to mention Sister Xiaoyun, even I thought I wouldn't make it. I felt like I saw my grandmother, who passed away many years ago, waving at me. Fortunately, the King of Hell didn't take me."

Having said that, she paused for a moment before continuing softly, "Thanks to you for taking care of me these days." Her fingers unconsciously rubbed the corner of her clothes, "I remember it all..."

"Hey, why are you saying this!" Zhao Xiaoyun waved her hand, almost hitting the kerosene lamp next to her. "You are the youngest in our educated youth camp. As an older sister, it is your duty to take care of your younger sisters."

"Sister Xiaoyun is right." Looking at her exaggerated movements, Lin Xi couldn't help but feel a little funny, but she still agreed obediently, and the gratitude on her face became deeper.

After chatting for a while, they heard Chen Lan's voice coming from the yard, "Dinner is ready!"

"Finally, it's ready. Let's go! Let's eat first." When Zhao Xiaoyun heard that the meal was ready, he immediately became excited. He stood up and hurriedly rushed out with Lin Xi.

"Slow down!" Hu Aihong hurriedly followed the two of them and said helplessly.

When Lin Xi and the others went out, several educated youth were already helping Chen Lan and the others set the table at the big table in the yard.

In the middle of the table stood a large coarse earthenware basin filled with a lush green wild vegetable soup of unknown variety. Next to it was a bamboo basket filled with black multi-grain cakes. In addition, there were several plates of pickles and side dishes of various colors.

"Why are we having these again? I'm about to throw up. Can't you try something different?" Before Lin Xi and the others could step forward to help, a female voice with some complaints suddenly sounded.

Lin Xi looked in the direction of the sound and saw a skinny female educated youth with dull features stretching her neck to examine the food on the table, her face full of disgust.

The dozen or so educated youth who were waiting for dinner around the table were all stunned. They all turned their eyes to the female educated youth, and the expressions on their faces were difficult to describe.

"If you want to eat it, eat it. If you don't want to eat it, forget it. With the few work points you earn every day, do you expect to eat meat?" Chen Lan, who was in charge of cooking today, rolled her eyes at her and said in an impatient tone when she heard it.

Of course, they couldn't eat meat. The last time the educated youth had meat was during the Chinese New Year more than two months ago, when the village distributed pork per person.

A dozen educated youth were only given two pounds of meat in total, and it was mostly marbled meat with little fat and a lot of lean meat. It was too tough to stew, and the fat was as thin as paper when stir-fried. It shrank into crumbs as soon as it was put into the pan, and not even a drop of oil could float up.