Chapter 53 : Fluffy and Sweet Buns

Yun Siying shook off the disgusting thoughts in her mind and raised the pheasant in her hand. “Nangong Ruochen, how about we have chicken tonight?”

“Alright! Then we’ll have a feast tonight,” Nangong Ruochen replied.

He began to boil water, and once it was ready, he scalded the pheasant in a wooden basin in the yard, then plucked the feathers, cleaned it, removed the innards, and washed it thoroughly. His movements were smooth and practiced.

Meanwhile, Yun Siying was in the room mixing cornmeal and wheat flour in a basin. She secretly added milk, eggs, dry yeast, and fine white sugar from her space storage to make dough and set it to ferment.

Nangong Ruochen had already chopped the chicken into pieces, brought out a clay pot, added the chicken and mushrooms, then tossed in ginger, peppercorns, dried chilies, and water to begin stewing.

Yun Siying helped light the fire. Noticing the fresh mushrooms he used, she asked, “Where did you get the mushrooms?”

“I picked them in the mountains today. I was planning to stir-fry them for you tonight. But now that we’ve got pheasant, stewing it with mushrooms will taste even better,” Nangong Ruochen replied gently.

“Are there a lot of mushrooms in the mountains?” Yun Siying’s mind immediately filled with images of dishes like potato and mushroom stew with pork ribs, stir-fried mushrooms, mushrooms with pork slices, and mushrooms with eggs. She couldn’t help but swallow her saliva.

“I know a few good spots where mushrooms grow well. I’ll take you there tomorrow,” Nangong Ruochen offered, seeing how much she loved mushrooms. Since she had decent skills, it wouldn’t be a problem taking her along.

That evening, the other educated youths returned to their courtyard after work. As soon as they stepped into the yard, the rich aroma of stewed chicken hit them. Sure enough, it was coming from Nangong’s room.

“Nangong, you’re eating chicken again?” Chen Siming commented as he passed by Nangong Ruochen’s door. He saw the pot of stewed chicken and a batch of freshly steamed buns.

Even though the buns were made from mixed grains, they looked fluffy and tempting. He swallowed hard.

“Yeah, I got lucky today. Caught a pheasant in the mountains,” Nangong Ruochen replied calmly, though a smile flickered in his eyes when he saw Chen’s envious gaze.

“Then… can I trade a bowl of chicken and a few buns with you?” Chen Siming finally revealed his true intention. He wasn’t short on money, his parents sent him cash and supplies every month but the food in the educated youth courtyard lately had been bland and barely filling. He just wanted to enjoy a good meal for once.

“No. I only made enough for the four of us,” Nangong Ruochen refused outright. The four of them had no financial concerns, but cooking took a lot of time and effort. Even if others offered to pay, it wasn’t something they’d share lightly.

Chen Siming’s eyes dimmed with disappointment. Seeing his pitiful expression, Yun Siying handed him two steamed buns and said, “There’s no meat left, but you can have two buns no charge.”

Chen Siming gratefully accepted the buns. As he took in their sweet aroma, he couldn’t help but take a bite. The buns were soft, slightly sweet, and filled with the fragrance of milk absolutely delicious. He finished one in just two or three bites without needing any side dishes.

“Nangong, these steamed buns are so soft and sweet, really delicious. Please have mercy and let me eat with you!” Chen Siming looked at Nangong Ruochen with eyes full of longing, as if he were pleading with a savior.

Unfortunately, Nangong Ruochen was not one to be swayed easily. He kept his expression neutral and simply said, “No.”

Chen Siming could only nibble on the rest of the steamed bun and leave in dejection, wondering why food made from the same ingredients could taste so vastly different.

Just then, Shen Subai walked over and asked, “Was the steamed bun really that good?” He hadn’t been far away and had seen how soft and fluffy the bun looked, unlike the hard, dry ones they usually had.

“Yeah, it was really delicious. It’d be great if I could eat with them,” Chen Siming replied with regret.

“It looks like you were rejected. I heard from the older educated youths that Comrade Nangong tends to keep people at a distance. Of course he wouldn’t agree,” said Shu Ruxue, speaking with a slight lisp due to her missing two front teeth.

“Then why is he treating Comrade Yun so differently?” asked Lin Zikang from the side.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, a gentleman loves a fair lady, can’t you even see that?” Xu Ronghua chimed in with a tone of envy. Who wouldn’t want to get close to a beautiful, educated, and seemingly wealthy female youth like her? Too bad he hadn’t found a chance himself.

“She’s an ungrateful woman. She cut ties with her adoptive parents who raised her and even refused to acknowledge her biological parents. A total vixen. She’s supposedly engaged to the third son of the Xue family, yet she’s shamelessly cozying up to Nangong and those other two,” Wang Haixia said, her voice thick with jealousy.

“Siying is just sharing meals with us temporarily. Wang Haixia, you’d better watch what you say. Do you really think your words won’t ruin her reputation? You should know how important a woman’s reputation is. Don’t pretend you don’t,” Chen Banghua said sternly as he walked into the courtyard, clearly aware of Wang Haixia’s malicious intentions.

Although Yun Siying’s spiritual ability was only at Level 2, as long as she focused her power, she could naturally hear and sense everything happening in the old courtyard. Unfortunately for Wang Haixia, Siying was using her abilities at that very moment.

“Comrade Wang,” Yun Siying suddenly spoke up, “you can’t go around slandering me just because I saw you sneaking into the woods with some male comrades.”

“You’re lying! When did I ever go into the woods with male comrades?” Wang Haixia panicked, caught off guard by the accusation. She hadn’t expected Yun Siying to make something up so boldly and feared the others might believe it.

“There’s no need to get so worked up. If you say it didn’t happen, then I guess it didn’t,” Yun Siying replied casually. She wasn’t interested in proving anything, it was just a spontaneous lie to give Wang Haixia a taste of her own medicine. Ever since Siying arrived at the educated youth compound, Wang Haixia had been antagonizing her, always stirring up trouble.

“You can’t even name a specific time! You’re clearly making it up!” Wang Haixia shouted, frantically trying to clear her name as suspicious glances from the others fell on her.

“Yes, yes, I made it all up,” Yun Siying admitted nonchalantly. As the saying goes, “A rumor needs only a mouth to spread, it takes countless to refute.” If Wang Haixia liked spreading rumors so much, then she should know how it feels.

Seeing the growing doubt in everyone’s eyes, Wang Haixia suddenly snapped. Enraged, she lunged at Yun Siying, her hands like claws aiming for her face.

Yun Siying, knowing there was a thorn bush behind her, didn’t flinch. She looked directly at Wang Haixia’s furious expression and said loudly, “Comrade Wang, are you trying to kill me to keep me quiet just because I know your secret?”

“Yun Siying, you deserve to die! You’re nothing but a seductive fox, I’ll ruin that pretty face of yours and see how you keep seducing people then!” Wang Haixia shouted, almost frenzied as she charged at Yun Siying.