Chapter 15

In the morning, Lu Lanlan woke up and, seeing that Fu Chunian was still asleep, went to make breakfast.

At this time, there were already two or three educated youths cooking in the kitchen.

When passing by the dishes and bowls of a particularly unhygienic female educated youth, Lu Lanlan paused for two seconds before smiling and heading towards her own.

Since she didn’t eat much for dinner last night, Lu Lanlan added some water to make soup. Then she left the kitchen to knock on Fu Chunian’s door, planning to reheat the leftover food from yesterday.

After knocking a few times, Fu Chunian finally opened the door.

“Does your back still hurt?” Lu Lanlan asked.

“A little,” Fu Chunian nodded.

“Should we go to the county hospital?”

“No need. Just resting will be enough. Go cook,” he said while handing her a bowl of food and some steamed buns.

Seeing that he could still hold a bowl steadily, Lu Lanlan figured his injury wasn’t too serious.

Back in the kitchen, she placed the buns and food on a steaming tray, covered the pot, and went to wash up.

By the time she finished washing up, breakfast was ready. Lu Lanlan served the food and took it to Fu Chunian’s room.

Just as they were about to eat, a loud yell came from the kitchen.

“Who broke my bowl?!”

Lin Jing lowered her head, trying to hide her laughter, but Fu Chunian, sitting across from her, caught the slight smirk on her lips.

Seeing this, a glimmer of amusement flashed in Fu Chunian’s eyes as well.

“No one touched your bowl! It was sitting there just fine. Don’t go around blaming people. We can all vouch for each other—no one broke it,” said one of the other educated youths in the kitchen.

“Exactly! We wouldn’t even touch your dirty bowl, let alone break it,” added a male educated youth who had been grabbed by her the day before.

Seeing everyone’s disapproving looks, the unhygienic female educated youth didn’t dare argue further. However, tears streamed down her face.

Clutching her broken bowls, she went to report the matter to the kitchen supervisor.

The supervisor examined the bowls. They weren’t shattered but had cracked all over. The moment they held water, it leaked through the fissures.

“These cracks don’t look like they were caused by someone smashing them. If they were hit, they would’ve shattered completely,” the supervisor commented.

“But they were fine yesterday! This morning, they’re all like this. If no one did it on purpose, how else would this happen?” the female educated youth protested, wiping her tears.

Her tears washed away layers of grime on her face, and when she wiped them with her sleeve, her face became a patchy mess.

The supervisor was visibly disgusted—she was just too unhygienic.

“I’ll ask around for you.”

The supervisor handed her the bowls and walked toward the kitchen.

“Did anyone see her bowls being touched?”

“Nope. We were the first ones in the kitchen this morning. Later, Lu Zhiqing (educated youth) came in to cook, but we didn’t hear any sounds of dishes breaking. Besides, those cracks don’t look like they were caused by smashing. We can all vouch for each other.”

Hearing this, the supervisor turned back. “You should go check with the supply and marketing cooperative. These cracks don’t seem like they were caused by force—maybe it’s a quality issue.”

With that, the supervisor walked off.

The unhygienic female educated youth was furious. Telling her to go to the supply store was basically sending her to be scolded! No one else’s bowls had issues, just hers?

But she also realized that she had offended everyone the night before. If she wanted to continue living here peacefully, she had no choice but to swallow her pride.

She threw the bowls away and returned to her room.

While eating, Lu Lanlan listened to the commotion outside.

She couldn’t help but marvel at the patience of the person sharing a room with that unhygienic girl. How could they endure it without switching rooms?

As she pondered, she didn’t notice Fu Chunian watching her curiously.

“How did you do it?” he suddenly asked.

Lu Lanlan widened her eyes in mock innocence and blinked. “I didn’t do anything.”

Fu Chunian could tell she wasn’t being truthful but didn’t press further.

Seeing that he let it go, Lu Lanlan breathed a sigh of relief.

After breakfast, she washed the dishes and waited for the group to head to the fields.

When it was time to leave, she noticed that Fu Chunian was coming along too. Confused, she asked, “Weren’t you going to rest?”

“After eating, I realized it doesn’t hurt that much anymore,” Fu Chunian said as he moved around a bit to demonstrate.

Seeing that he really didn’t seem to be in pain, Lu Lanlan didn’t argue.

When they arrived at the fields, Aunt Xu asked, “Is Comrade Fu alright?”

“He’s fine. He’s working with Brother Xu,” Lu Lanlan replied.

“That’s good. I can’t believe that girl actually hit someone with a brick,” Aunt Xu sighed disapprovingly before turning to Lu Lanlan.

“You, on the other hand, are so small and frail. Why didn’t you just shout for help? Why did you step forward? If Fu Chunian hadn’t blocked that brick for you, it could’ve cracked your head open! If she hit you hard enough, you might’ve been left brain-damaged!”

Lu Lanlan knew Aunt Xu was concerned about her and smiled. “Got it. I won’t play the hero next time.”

She had only stepped in because she was confident, she could handle it. She might look small, but she was strong. Even if Fu Chunian hadn’t shielded her, that brick wouldn’t have hit her.

But she couldn’t say that out loud. If she did, Fu Chunian would be furious. Plus, she needed to accept his good intentions.

Hearing her promise, Aunt Xu laughed.

At noon, as they returned to the educated youth quarters, they heard a loud commotion inside.

“Supervisor, you have to help me! First my bowls in the morning, now my pot at noon!”

Lu Lanlan chuckled at Fu Chunian. “Looks like a lot of people can’t stand her. Someone even smashed her pot.”

Fu Chunian smirked. “Bad people always get what they deserve.”

The supervisor, looking annoyed, sent someone to call the village chief.

Seeing the scene upon arrival, the returning educated youths couldn’t help but laugh.

“You go rest. I’ll cook,” Lu Lanlan said after washing her hands.

Fu Chunian nodded. His back was still a little sore.

Lu Lanlan cooked, then brought the dishes into Fu Chunian’s room.

Just as she started making soup and heating the steamed buns, the village chief arrived, followed by Xu Xiangdong.

After assessing the situation, the village chief turned to Xu Xiangdong.

“Xiangdong, you’ll be taking over next year, so you need to practice handling these matters. I’m giving this case to you—don’t hesitate to act. I’ll back you up.”

Lu Lanlan pursed her lips. He was making it sound so noble.

The ones who broke the pot were obviously the same people who had conflicts with the unhygienic girl yesterday. But since she had offended nearly everyone, the educated youths were clearly covering for each other.

If Xu Xiangdong couldn’t figure out, who did it, he’d look incompetent. If he did, he’d offend the entire group.

Seeing him remain silent while inspecting the pot, the village chief suggested, “Why don’t we ask the villagers who worked nearby if anyone returned during midday?”