“It’s nothing serious. We can handle it ourselves,”

Su Huazhu said firmly, lowering her head briefly before raising it again with determination.

Then she hugged her things and went back into the room.

After a short while, she came out quickly, reached into her bulging pocket, and stuffed two items into Song Luoyun’s hands.

Song Luoyun was just regretting asking that question earlier when the two items were thrust into his hands. Looking down, he found they were two eggs.

“My parents brought these. Two each for us.”

Their eggs had just run out, and they hadn’t had time to go to the production team to exchange for eggs. Unexpectedly, her parents had brought them over.

“Cousin, I was wrong,”

Song Luoyun suddenly blushed, feeling he shouldn’t have asked that question.

They had that kind of background and were doing quite well here. What did it matter if others ostracized or gave them the cold shoulder?

He’d faced that kind of treatment before in the capital city.

“You’re not wrong, but we can’t be afraid of them either. We don’t rely on them for food or survival. We work when we need to work, and do what we need to do,”

Su Huazhu had been scared and uneasy when she found out their family was reported and sent down, but her parents assured her that everything was arranged and told her not to worry.

After those days of fear and confusion, she realized she had to be strong — accept everything, endure it, and most importantly, adapt.

Besides, her parents really had arranged everything for the family. Although they were sent down, they had food and drink, and hadn’t suffered too much hardship.

So she should just open her mind and see things clearly.

“You’re right, cousin,”

After all, the three of them would just cook and eat on their own from now on. Carrying water and chopping firewood wasn’t something he couldn’t do.

And the little sister was older now; she could cook, fetch water, and chop firewood too. With three of them sharing the work, it wouldn’t be too tiring.

Song Luoyun quickly came to understand and his expression brightened immediately, regaining the vigor he had when he first arrived.

“If we don’t let others get to us, no one can affect us. We didn’t depend on them to survive before, and we don’t owe them anything now. We’ll just do things our way,”

Su Huazhu knew Xiao Luo was different from her.

He had faced too much unfairness and was timid and self-conscious.

Since their identities had been exposed a few days ago, he had been anxious and worried.

Especially since more than half of the new and old educated youth at the settlement started to exclude them, often acting like they didn’t even see them.

Later, they said once this busy period was over, they would break ties with the descendants of the “stinky old nine” — a derogatory term for them.

If it hadn’t been for the particularly heavy work in the fields these past two weeks, Su Huazhu might have taken the initiative to break ties with them.

She always ate better than most of the youth, even better than some of the older educated youth.

Plus, she had connections in the production team, which made some people resentful and take advantage of her in secret.

Every time she opened her lunch box, there was usually slightly less food in it—not much and not obvious, but Su Huazhu noticed.

So even if these people didn’t break ties with her, Su Huazhu was determined not to eat with them.

“Brother, cousin is right. We don’t owe anyone anything. We treat others as they treat us. It’s not like they feed us. Why should we care about their attitudes?!”

Other educated youths started getting up and washing themselves.

When Su Huazhu went inside to put down her things, Xiao Shu got up and dressed too.

She came out a little later and overheard her cousin and older brother talking.

Feisty as she was, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes, saying her brother was too timid and easy to be bullied.

Xiao Shu’s temper had also been forged bit by bit after their family’s hardship.

If she weren’t tough, even more people would bully them.

So besides helping ease the family’s burden by going down to the countryside, she wasn’t afraid of being bullied.

“Brother, from now on I’ll listen to you and cousin. Whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do it,”

Song Luoyun’s face turned bright red with shame.

He was no match for the two girls, but he was willing to listen to them and follow their lead.

“That’s more like it. Cousin, don’t mind my brother. He was bullied so much in the capital city that he’s gotten more timid,”

Xiao Shu hooked her arm around her cousin’s.

Luckily, her cousin wasn’t like her brother, or else the three of them would be bullied to death.

“Uncle and aunt, how are they? What about the two younger cousins?!”

She had just heard that Uncle Su and Aunt Qiao had come by, but unfortunately she hadn’t met them. Honestly, she missed them a bit.

Especially knowing they were in the neighboring production team made her feel very reassured.

“My parents are doing well. They said we should find time to visit them in a few days,”

Hearing about her own parents, Su Huazhu couldn’t help but smile happily. The two eggs in her pocket were brought personally by her parents.

Elsewhere, having come a long way with no one behind or ahead, Qiao Jiuru took her bike out of the space. It was already quite bright, so there was no need for a flashlight.

Su Huaiyuan immediately got on and pedaled fast, carrying Qiao Jiuru toward Baigou Village’s production team.

The return was quick—about twenty minutes—and the two arrived near the foot of the mountain by the production team.

As long as they followed the mountain base straight ahead, it would take about twenty more minutes to get home.

Passing by a place with a few trees per person and after observing carefully, Qiao Jiuru put away her bike.

“Although Huazhu looks pretty good, there are many people at the youth settlement. I wonder if she’s been bullied,”

Though her daughter reported good news and no worries, Su Huaiyuan was still very observant.

Being sharp, he felt that his daughter’s situation was not as good as she said.

“That’s for sure. You see, the youth settlement over here isn’t peaceful either! Even when it comes to sharing a piece of meat, or even a single egg or some brown sugar, people are jealous and envious. Unless everyone has enough, the disputes won’t stop.”

Qiao Jiuru had lived decades longer than her husband in her previous life and experienced times of plenty, so she saw these things clearly.

But when there’s enough food and clothing, other problems arise. Wherever people are, there will be friction and conflict. It’s unavoidable.

“I still don’t feel at ease. When Huazhu and the others come in a few days, we must ask them properly,”