Chapter 4 ☆ Brown Sugar Ginger Soup

The dormitory for the educated youths was not far from the foot of the mountain. It was originally an old feed factory. A rectangular warehouse with a mud tile roof was divided into two sides: the left side was the male dormitory, and the right side was the female dormitory. A stove was built under the roof using discarded wood, one for cooking soup and the other for cooking rice. There was a table that served as a kitchen.

Two vegetable plots were cultivated outside the dormitory, but the seedlings were sparse and drooped due to the rain, showing that these educated youths did not know how to take care of them.

The female educated youth, Zhang Xiaofeng, was sitting in front of the stove, making a fire. When she saw Cheng Yaoyao and her group coming back, she hurried over to them: “Where have you been? Where did you find her? There are wild wolves on that mountain, you…”

The captain interrupted her: “Don’t ask any more questions, take her inside to change into dry clothes.”

Zhang Xiaofeng took a closer look and saw that Cheng Yaoyao looked like a drowned rat, wearing a bloody man’s coat. She quickly swallowed all her questions and pulled Cheng Yaoyao into the house to change clothes.

As soon as she entered the house, Cheng Yaoyao’s heart sank. The house had mud walls and mud floors, with only a table and a large earthen kang against the wall, with seven or eight beds on it. On the ground were basins, buckets, and broken clay pots, which held rainwater leaking from the roof, and the ground was covered with mud.

Zhang Xiaofeng entered the room, took out a washbasin with a red Double Happiness pattern from under the table, and poured out half a basin of hot water from a tin kettle. She said quickly, “Come and wash yourself. What are you standing there for? Who told you to escape in this weather? You’ve suffered in vain, and you’ve made everyone suffer with you.”

She was mumbling to herself, but her movements were very quick. She threw a towel into the water, wrung it out despite the heat, and handed it to Cheng Yaoyao: “What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and wipe it! The water will get cold soon!”

Zhang Xiaofeng was the oldest of the female educated youths. She worked diligently and efficiently. The original owner disliked her for being ostentatious and had always had a bad relationship with her.

Cheng Yaoyao tiptoed into the house and looked at the towel in front of her with mixed feelings.

Zhang Xiaofeng followed her gaze and said, “Miss Cheng, this towel of mine is new. It won’t scratch your face. Feel free to use it!”

“…Thank you.” Cheng Yaoyao took it.

Zhang Xiaofeng looked surprised: “What did you say?”

The hot towel wiped across her skin, taking away the coldness of the rain. Cheng Yaoyao’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she looked at Zhang Xiaofeng sincerely: “Thank you.”

“…What are you thanking me for? We are all educated youth, so we should take care of each other.” Zhang Xiaofeng suddenly felt uncomfortable and said to Cheng Yaoyao, “If you don’t like us touching your things, go get some clean clothes to change into. I’ll help you watch the doors and windows.”

After Zhang Xiaofeng finished speaking, she turned around and stood guard at the door.

A group of fresh city girls had just arrived, including the incredibly beautiful Cheng Yaoyao. When they first came to the village, they attracted a group of young men and women who were all very excited and hung around outside the educated youth dormitory all day long.

The atmosphere in Tianshui Village was relatively good. A while ago, I heard that a female, educated youth in the neighboring county was peeped at by a hooligan while taking a bath. The female educated youths were so scared that they were all in danger and were extremely cautious when taking a bath and changing clothes.

There was a row of quilts on the kang, some newer and some older. One of them was the newest, with a pink quilt with small white flowers on it. Behind it was a wicker box^[1] is a container made from woven plant materials, such as rattan, willow, bamboo, or reed.. Cheng Yaoyao pulled it over, and it was tied with a small copper lock.

Cheng Yaoyao stared at the lock in a daze. Her memory was not complete, and she could not remember some details.

Zhang Xiaofeng said with her back to her, “Why is there no movement? Why don’t you change?”

Cheng Yaoyao hesitated and said, “I can’t find my key.”

Zhang Xiaofeng rolled her eyes: “Isn’t your precious key hanging around your neck?”

Cheng Yaoyao reached out and touched it. Sure enough, there was a red rope hanging around her neck, with a small brass key attached to it. Cheng Yaoyao took the key off and inserted it into the small brass lock, twisted it, and it opened.

The box was filled to the brim, with a biscuit box and several bags of snacks on top. Cheng Yaoyao didn’t have time to look closely, so she took out clean clothes and underwear, quickly took off the wet clothes that clung to her body, wrung out the water from her hair, wiped it clean with a small basin of warm water, and then changed into dry clothes.

Cheng Yaoyao let out a long sigh and said, “I’m done… A-choo!”

Zhang Xiaofeng said, “Look at you dithering. Did you catch a cold? You’re drinking ginger soup outside. Go out and have a bowl. The ginger soup Nuonuo made is really effective!”

In front of the stove, a large pot was boiling with dark brown, steaming ginger soup. Cheng Nuonuo stood beside the pot, waving a large wooden spoon to serve the soup to everyone. Her small cheeks were rosy and covered with sweat.

Everyone lined up, holding a large earthenware bowl, to get the soup. After drinking the hot and spicy ginger soup, their bodies immediately warmed up.

Everyone praised Cheng Nuonuo: “Little Cheng Zhiqing, your cooking skills are amazing, and the ginger soup you made is so good. I feel much warmer after drinking it!”

bowl,

“Yes, it’s really great. After eating the food prepared by the educated youth, Xiao Cheng, I feel more energetic when working!”

Cheng Nuonuo smiled and said, “Thank you for the compliment, comrades. It’s because I’m not in good health and can’t work in the fields. Thanks to everyone for taking care of me and letting me manage the food.”

As soon as Cheng Yaoyao went out, she saw this harmonious scene. Look, although they were both weak and wanted to avoid labor, Cheng Nuonuo could do it well and be praised by everyone, while the original owner could only cry and be forced to work in the fields.

When a young man saw Cheng Yaoyao, he immediately held a bowl of ginger soup and handed it to her attentively: “Yaoyao, this bowl is for you. Drink it while it’s hot, and don’t catch a cold!”

The other male educated youth also quickly brought over a wooden stool, wiped it clean with their sleeves, and asked Cheng Yaoyao to sit on it.

These four male educated youths, named Zhao, Qian, Sun, and Li, were loyal followers of the original owner. But in the incident just now, they did not stand up for Cheng Yaoyao. Cheng Yaoyao did not even give them a glance and followed Zhang Xiaofeng to line up.

Zhang Xiaofeng glanced sideways and felt that Cheng Yaoyao was a little different today.

The coarse earthenware bowls at the educated youth site were limited. After everyone finished drinking, they would wash them with rainwater and pass them on to the next person. Zhang Xiaofeng knew that Cheng Yaoyao was a lady of high status, so she took two bowls, scooped boiling water from the pot, and then handed them to Cheng Yaoyao.

Cheng Nuonuo scooped a bowl of ginger soup for each of them and smiled at Cheng Yaoyao, “Sister Yaoyao, after the ginger soup is made, I will make you a bowl of dumpling soup with the wild vegetables I picked yesterday.”

Cheng Yaoyao snorted, picked up the ginger soup, and walked aside.

The dark brown ginger soup in the big bowl was swaying and steaming. Cheng Yaoyao has had a keen sense of taste since childhood and is used to tasting good things. When she smelled a pungent, spicy scent, she knew that the ginger soup was overcooked. There were also pieces of chopped ginger of different sizes floating in the dark brown soup. Sugar was a precious thing, so only a little bit was added to provide a slight sweetness.

Cheng Yaoyao stuck out her tongue and took a sip. The spicy taste was overpowering. The sugar wasn’t authentic; it was sweet and astringent. It was just ordinary ginger soup. Cheng Yaoyao sipped it repeatedly, but couldn’t taste anything special. Had these villagers never tasted good food?

Cheng Yaoyao thought about it and took a few more sips. She had been in the rain for half a day, and it wasn’t good for the cold air to enter her body. In this day and age, medical standards are backward, and a fever could easily kill people.

After taking a few sips of ginger soup, Cheng Yaoyao suddenly shivered and felt a warm current spreading from her stomach. The coldness in her limbs was dispelled, and her stomach felt very comfortable.

It seems that Cheng Nuonuo is really extraordinary. The heroine in “Sixties Food to Support a Family” has a golden finger^[2]refers to a special or unique ability that gives a character a significant advantage or superpower. of space. Could it be that Cheng Nuonuo also has the golden finger of the God of Cooking? Just like Xie San, who suddenly rose in the late period from a landlord’s son to a big boss…

Cheng Yaoyao suddenly remembered something was missing – where was Xie San?

Cheng Yaoyao looked around, and Zhang Xiaofeng asked, “Who are you looking for?”

Cheng Yaoyao coughed lightly: “Nothing.”

A woman winked and said with a smile, “Looking for Xie San? He won’t come. He left long ago carrying the wild boar.”

Who says country girls are rough and stupid? Their gossip senses are as sharp as radar, okay? Cheng Yaoyao kept silent, but Zhang Xiaofeng asked, “Who is Xie San?”

The educated youth with braids said, “Yaoyao ran into the mountains today, and it was Xie San who saved her.”

Another female educated youth asked, “Is Xie San a hunter? I’ve never seen him in the village before.”

Several women in the village winked at each other and giggled, “That’s Yue Yun, the famous one in our village! He went out to do some heavy work a few months ago. You guys weren’t here then, no wonder you didn’t recognize him.”

The most handsome young man in Tianshui Village was called Yue Yun, and the most beautiful girl was called Guanyin. However, Cheng Yaoyao’s nickname was not Guanyin. The people in Tianshui Village had never seen such a beautiful and charming woman, and they called her a vixen^[3]refer to a woman who is seen as temperamental, aggressive, or troublesome. behind her back.

A young man in the village said sourly: “What’s wrong with Yue Yun? You should stay away from him!”

Cheng Yaoyao knew what he was going to say and interrupted him, “He saved my life. Doesn’t he deserve a bowl of ginger soup? He didn’t ask for anything!”

The young man met Chen Yaoyao’s eyes, which immediately softened. He approached her without showing any emotion and said sincerely, “I am doing this for your good! As for Xie San, his grandfather was a famous landlord in Tianshui Village. Before liberation, all those with the surname Lin were his tenants!”

“Landlord!” The educated youths all gasped. They were the exploiting class, and big landlords at that!

A male educated youth said excitedly, “Landlords are the evil exploiting class! Just like Huang Shiren exploiting Yang Bailao in the movie, how hateful!”

“His grandfather didn’t exploit you, why are you so excited?” Cheng Yaoyao said it angrily.

The villagers nearby murmured, “To be honest, Mr. Xie was not like Huang Shiren. When he was a landlord, he was very kind to his tenants. When there was a famine, he even exempted us from rent and built a school for the village…”

“Back then, the Xie family was so wealthy. Xie San’s father had studied abroad and married a famous beauty in town. When they got married, they had a 10-day banquet in the village, with eight large bowls of meat dishes, plenty of white flour buns, and the green onions were chopped with a guillotine^[4]is a kitchen tool designed to slice onions quickly and uniformly.…”

As he spoke, there was a sound of slurping saliva all around.

A woman said, “Xie San’s mother is amazing. When there was an opera performance in the village, she went out wearing a skirt with a hundred birds, paying homage to the phoenix, embroidered with gold thread. The pearl tassels on the hem of her skirt didn’t even flutter when she walked. She was so elegant… Tsk tsk.”

Someone said sourly: “What’s the big deal about being rich? They had such a big family, and now only Xie San and his grandmother are left, and there are a bunch of burdens.”

“I watched him build a tall building, I watched him entertain guests, and I watched his building collapse.”

The decline of the only wealthy family in Tianshui Village was a perennial topic of conversation for the villagers, who talked about it with great relish. The blood and tears of the Xie family were chewed over and over again with laughter and then spit out, like a pile of chewed sugarcane residue.

Thinking of the tall and silent young man, Cheng Yaoyao suddenly felt an indescribable feeling in her heart.

The original book described Xie San’s family background, and Cheng Yaoyao thought it was just so-so when she read it. But when she was there and heard the details with her own ears, she felt how cruel it was.

The villagers were still laughing and saying, “So, this boy is 20 years old and doesn’t even have a matchmaker. He is destined to be single! You female, educated youths from the city should keep your eyes open. Don’t be fooled by the boy’s appearance, like Yue Yun…”

There was a loud “clang,” which scared everyone.

Cheng Yaoyao slammed the bowl on the stove, her pretty face frosty: “It’s so noisy!”

Cheng Yaoyao got angry suddenly, and everyone looked at each other, wondering how they had offended this young lady again.

She was like a precious flower, beautiful to an enchanting degree, so out of place, so unattainable, as if she were born high and mighty. Even when she turned her face away, it was impossible to get angry with her.

Cheng Nuonuo carefully tried to smooth things over: “Sister Yaoyao, we are just chatting, don’t be angry.”

“It’s up to you all. I’m going back to the room!” Cheng Yaoyao waved her hand, slammed the curtain, and went into the room.