When the fight broke out, the other educated youths felt they had to intervene and tried to break it up, except for Song Wei, Gao Le, and Zhao Su, who stood nearby, munching on sunflower seeds and watching.

Song Wei commented, “Their punches are so weak.”

Gao Le and Zhao Su: …Yeah, but who here has your kind of strength?

Finally, the others managed to pull Liu Linlin and Xu Laidi apart. Both looked like disheveled messes, with their hair tangled and clothes askew. In the scuffle, Luo Yecheng, who had been holding Liu Linlin’s arm, accidentally took a slap from her—right across the face. The loud smack left him stunned, his expression turning stormy as he realized what had happened.

Liu Linlin froze, horrified, as the reality hit her. The other educated youths were equally stunned.

Xu Laidi took two seconds to process, then burst into laughter. “Serves you right! Liu Linlin, how does it feel to slap Luo Yecheng? Guess you can kiss your little crush goodbye now!”

Liu Linlin hurriedly apologized, trying to approach Luo Yecheng to check his face, but he pushed her hand away, his face dark with anger.

“You are all educated youth. What are you doing? Aren’t you afraid of being laughed at by the villagers?” Trying to save face, he left without looking back. Liu Linlin, distraught, rushed after him to try and make amends.

Xu Laidi, looking smug, spat on the ground in victory. Then, remembering Gao Le and Zhao Su’s offer of meat, she quickly turned around to find them—only to realize they’d disappeared. Searching around, she finally spotted them slipping into Li Juan’s room with Song Wei.

“Hey, Gao Zhiqing, Zhao Zhiqing!” she called out, flustered. “Where’s the meat? Weren’t we cooking together?”

Gao Le and Zhao Su only quickened their pace. “We never agreed to anything!”

They moved as if they were running from the plague, leaving Xu Laidi seething. Not only had she just fought Liu Linlin for nothing, but she was also aching all over and hadn’t even gotten the meat she’d hoped for.

“Song Wei!!!” she yelled, frustrated.

Song Wei, still holding her rabbit, thought, What does this have to do with me?

Before Xu Laidi could protest further, Gao Le and Zhao Su firmly shut the door, leaving her outside, cursing angrily.

“Song Wei is such a little fox! She’s got two guys running around her now. Ugh… disgusting!” She only muttered this under her breath, wary that Song Wei might overhear and put her in her place again.

Inside, Gao Le and Zhao Su stared in surprise as they realized that Li Juan and Heidan were making dumplings. They lit up as if they’d found treasure.

“Dumplings! Oh, wow… I love dumplings!” Gao Le grinned.

“Li Juan, we even brought some pork! How about we all make dumplings together?” They looked at Li Juan with eager puppy eyes.

Li Juan, always generous, smiled. “Sure, the more, the merrier!”

Gao Le immediately dashed back to grab the pork, and Zhao Su stayed behind to help with anything he could manage, which turned out to be adding wood to the fire. While he was still far from a capable cook, he could at least manage a simple task like stoking the fire. This freed up Heidan, who joined Li Juan in making dumplings.

“What’s the plan for the rabbit meat?” asked Song Wei.

“I’ll cook it with pickled peppers after it’s marinated a bit,” Li Juan replied.

Song Wei finished preparing the rabbit and took a seat to watch as Li Juan and Heidan wrapped dumplings. Gao Le brought in the pork, eagerly offering to chop it himself, though he nearly flung a piece onto the ceiling in his excitement.

Song Wei gave him a look of utter disbelief and took the knife from him. “I’ll handle it. If I let you do it, we’ll end up with half the meat.”

While her cooking skills were modest, her knife skills were impressive, and she quickly took over the chopping. In the cozy little room, with everyone working together, it felt cheerful and lively.

“What made Xu Laidi and Liu Linlin start fighting, anyway?” Li Juan asked. She had heard the commotion and had glanced outside, only to see the two women yelling and hitting each other.

Song Wei jerked her head toward the two big guys at the stove. “It was over them. When they found out these two had pork, they both wanted to join their cooking group. They started arguing, and things got out of hand.”

Li Juan scoffed, “Serves them right!”

“Liu Linlin has some nerve. She used to insult you and talk behind your back when you liked Luo Yecheng, and now she’s the one clinging to him.”

As Li Juan expertly wrapped dumplings, she began to gossip about the two women, mainly Xu Laidi. Song Wei and the two men had joined the educated youths more recently, so they hadn’t heard much of her backstory.

“Xu Laidi’s family favors sons, or so she told us when she first arrived. She had only a couple of changes of clothes, and she made herself seem so pitiful that we all felt bad for her. At first, everyone helped her out whenever she needed it.

“But then, well, she started taking advantage. At first, she’d at least say ‘thank you,’ but soon, she acted like our help was her right. She ‘borrowed’ clothes and never returned them. Then she started sneaking things like our toothpaste, washbasins, and towels.

“Eventually, she got so bold that she even stole our foods. One day, Liu Linlin caught her red-handed, and that led to a huge argument. Liu Linlin isn’t the generous type, so she called her out immediately. Xu Laidi said some truly awful things, claiming that we were all bullying her. Since then, everyone has kept their stuff out of her reach.”

Li Juan shrugged. “I was too soft back then. If I’d had your guts, I wouldn’t have let her push me around.”

Song Wei nodded. “Some people are like that. If you’re too nice, they’ll walk all over you, but if you stand up to them, they back down.”

Li Juan smiled in agreement. “Exactly.”

“But Xu Laidi must have some serious issues. Her family treats her terribly, never sends anything, but if they ask for something, she’ll send them food from her own rations.”

Song Wei replied, “Probably a bit brainwashed.”

Maybe Xu Laidi did resent her family, but sending things home probably gave her a sense of pride, like she was proving her worth to them.

After they finished wrapping dumplings, Li Juan went to cook the rabbit. Everyone turned to admire the dumplings they’d made—plump, white, and round.

Meanwhile, outside, Xu Laidi was snooping around Li Juan’s yard, drawn in by the delicious smell.

Li Juan had fenced in her little backyard with sticks of various sizes, but the makeshift barrier did little to stop Xu Laidi from spying.

“Li Juan, what’s that smell? It’s been so long since I tasted meat! I’m so pitiful. At home, my parents gave all the good food to my brother, and since I came here, I haven’t had a full meal…”