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As Li Jinbao greedily scanned Su Niannian with his eyes, a gaze, sharp enough to gouge a person’s soul, fell upon him like a sword.
Li Jinbao saw Gu Nan’s look directed at him, along with the bloodstains remaining on his hands and face, and he couldn’t help but shiver.
He thought to himself, This Gu family boy, who comes from a poor background and is known for his connections to the “Black Five” category, surely hasn’t taken a liking to that little girl, has he?
If he were to pursue a relationship with this little girl, would this person try to harm him?
Li Jinbao didn’t even consider the possibility that Su Niannian might not be interested in him and might instead take a liking to Gu Nan.
After all, Gu Nan came from a bad family, despised by others, while he was the son of the village chief. If the newly arrived Educated Youth wanted to settle down well in Kaoshan Village, they would certainly need to win the favor of the village chief.
Thinking of this, Li Jinbao straightened his back instantly, a confident smile spreading across his face.
As he listened to the villagers exchanging words about the pig meat, Kui Jinbao finally understood what the loud noise had been earlier.
The blood on Gu Nan’s face? It turned out he had been involved in killing a wild boar.
This kid really is lucky. To catch a wild boar right at the start of spring—tsk, tsk, tsk, what luck.
He didn’t give much thought to Gu Nan’s skills, though.
“Su Niannian, Educated Youth, were you scared just now? How about coming to my house for a bowl of sweet soup to rest for a while?” Li Jinbao flashed what he thought was a clever smile and said to Su Niannian.
Earlier, Li Jinbao had chatted with Zhao Sulan at the foot of the mountain, and he had learned the name of this beautiful female Educated Youth, as well as some information about her.
Zhao Sulan thought that although it might be a bit of a stretch for Su Niannian to pursue a relationship with the village chief’s son, and she wasn’t really worthy of him, if Su Niannian married a simple country boy earlier, she wouldn’t have shown up at the Educated Youth station again.
With her figure and looks, as long as Su Niannian was out of the picture, she would become the most beautiful girl at the Educated Youth station.
She was sure she could make her way to the top.
“No need.” Su Niannian didn’t even glance at Li Jinbao as she declined.
Soon after, the group took the wild boar toward the threshing ground.
Some villagers also went to notify the village’s pork butcher, as he was the one who always slaughtered the pigs for the New Year’s feast.
The news that Gu Nan had killed another wild boar quickly spread throughout the village. Villagers hurried home to grab their clay pots or bowls, preparing to head to the threshing ground to wait for the boar meat.
Since the wild boar had been killed by Gu Nan in the village chief’s eyes, the boar meat would be given to him first.
In this era, people believed that the best part of the pig was the fatty meat.
After all, everyone’s stomachs were lacking in oil and fat.
So, the butcher immediately decided to carve a piece of meat from the fattier part of the boar to give to Gu Nan first.
“I want the pork belly,” Gu Nan thought for a moment, worried that the young girl might not like fatty meat, so he decided to ask for a piece with a balance of fat and lean—the pork belly.
The butcher didn’t say much, simply cutting off two pieces of pork belly for Gu Nan.
They weighed around five or six grams.
Gu Nan picked up the meat and walked away.
The other villagers continued to line up, waiting for their share of the pork.
This boar weighed over two hundred jin, and there were more than a hundred households in the village. Each household was allocated half a jin of meat, with the remainder distributed according to family size.
If there was only one breadwinner in a household, they could only receive about seven or eight liang—less than a half kilogram of meat.
In larger families, where there were several or even more than ten breadwinners, they could get one or even more than half kilogram of pork.
The older Educated Youth at the Educated Youth station typically received more than the newcomers.
Su Niannian looked at the 2.5 kilograms of lean meat in her hand, her eyelids twitching slightly.
Although she had stored plenty of meat in her space and wasn’t lacking food, Su Niannian couldn’t help but feel that this small piece of meat, no bigger than her fist, was somewhat unnecessary to be waiting for here.
Song Zhaodi also received five liang of meat, but her luck was a bit better than Su Niannian’s—at least it had a bit of fat.
“I never expected to get meat so soon after arriving here. This is just too lucky!” Song Zhaodi’s smile reached her eyes.
She was very happy.
Su Niannian smiled and nodded in agreement.
“As for what Liu Yang mentioned this morning, are you planning to join the majority of the Educated Youth and contribute grain to cook together, or are you thinking of finding someone to team up and cook on your own?”
Su Niannian and Song Zhaodi walked out of the grain-drying field together, chatting as they walked.
Song Zhaodi thought for a moment. She actually wanted to join the others, but she had noticed that, although both male and female Educated Youth contributed the same amount of grain, during mealtime, the male Educated Youth seemed to receive larger pieces of bread than the female ones.
This made her feel somewhat uncomfortable.
But if she were to cook on her own, she would likely have to handle gathering firewood, fetching water, and cooking all by herself.
While Song Zhaodi was still unsure, Su Niannian spoke up and asked her.
“How about we cook together? That way, we can take turns fetching water and cooking. As for gathering firewood, whoever has free time can do it.”
After hearing Su Niannian’s suggestion, Song Zhaodi thought it was a great idea.
Especially since she really liked Su Niannian, finding her to be kind and pleasant.
Song Zhaodi nodded in agreement.
Su Niannian smiled back.
The two of them agreed to finish their work in the afternoon and then borrow grain from the team, before going to find the carpenter to make a cabinet.
When the two of them returned to the youth station, they saw a tractor parked outside.
At that moment, people were unloading bags of rice from the tractor.
This time, it wasn’t Gu Nan who was picking up the new educated youths from the county, but a man who, though not tall, seemed to have a lot of strength.
He appeared to be around thirty years old, with dark skin, but he looked very energetic.
When he saw Su Niannian and Song Zhaodi, he waved and greeted them.
This man’s name was Zhou Daniu.
When the two of them returned to the youth station, they saw the four new educated youths who had just arrived—one woman and three men.
Among them, two figures made Su Niannian squint her eyes slightly.
A man wearing a striped shirt with earthy tones, black trousers, and a pair of Liberation shoes. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up, revealing his relatively slim arms.
His skin was noticeably fairer than the others, and he wore a pair of glasses that gave off a scholarly vibe.
The glasses were clearly not cheap.
On his exposed arm, he wore a Shanghai-brand watch, which would cost at least 110 yuan to buy—an absolute luxury in this era.
He had a refined and gentle appearance, though not particularly masculine. Standing at about 1.8 meters tall, his posture was straight and dignified.
This scholarly, delicate look could certainly capture the attention of many women, especially in a rural area where rough, burly men were more common.
In his previous life, his father had sent him to the countryside to endure hardships and temper his character, giving him only 100 yuan for the trip. Used to spending money lavishly, he soon set his sights on Su Niannian’s wealth.
Not far away, a young girl in a light-colored floral dress stood with her back to Su Niannian.
Two neat braids hung down on either side of her head.
She wore a pair of black leather shoes, with the edges of her light-colored socks showing, giving off a clean and tidy appearance.
The sunlight filtered through, casting a soft glow on her floral dress, and she looked both pure and charming.
“Thank you, you’ve really been a great help,” the girl in the floral dress said in a voice that was pleasant and melodious.
Standing at just under 1.6 meters, her figure was well-proportioned, making her appear particularly petite and adorable.
Unlike Su Niannian’s graceful and refined beauty, the girl had the delicate and gentle charm typical of southern girls.
“Lu Xingguang, Huang Yingying, welcome,” Su Niannian silently murmured to herself, a subtle, inscrutable smile playing on her lips.