Chapter 64 : Penniless

She packed the leftover food into a lunchbox, went to the window and bought ten meat buns, then headed to the tractor parking area with the others.

Seeing Nangong Ruochen still on the tractor, she quickly walked over to him.

As he saw the girl approaching, a smile unconsciously rose at the corners of his mouth. He stepped forward to take the backpack from her shoulders.

“Give it to me! I’ll put it on the tractor for you.”

“Okay.” Yun Siying handed over the backpack, took out a white cloth bag from it, which contained a large meat bun wrapped in wax paper.

She handed five buns to Nangong Ruochen and said, “I figured you probably haven’t eaten lunch yet, so I bought you a few buns. Eat something before you drive.”

“Thank you, Siying. I really am hungry.”

He had just finished his work and hadn’t had time for lunch. He didn’t expect Siying to be thinking of him, and the gesture warmed his heart. He immediately began eating the buns in big bites.

Watching him eat so fast out of hunger, Yun Siying felt a little distressed. She quickly handed him a bottle of soda.

“Eat slowly. Be careful not to choke.”

“It’s okay, keep the soda for yourself,” Nangong Ruochen said, not taking it.

“Take it.” Yun Siying insisted, stuffing it into his hand, then stood to the side.

Nangong Ruochen accepted it with a grateful smile and didn’t refuse again. He enjoyed his meat bun and soda with great satisfaction.

The other educated youths following behind also saw the scene and looked at the two with scrutiny and curiosity. They felt there must be something going on between them after all no one had ever seen Nangong be so generous or attentive to anyone before.

And Yun Siying herself, who was never known for being generous, was making an exception for Nangong Ruochen. This made several male educated youths feel envious.

“Comrade Yun, you treat us educated youths so differently. Are you aiming for Nangong’s family background?”

Li Laidi couldn’t stand Yun Siying living so well. Someone who had lived a privileged life for eighteen years that rightfully belonged to someone else should have fallen from grace. Why was she still doing fine?

“Yes, I treat you all differently,” Yun Siying replied without concern.

“Nangong Ruochen, look! Yun Siying’s after your family background. She’s trying to please you so she can return to the city!” Li Laidi said quickly, as though she had just exposed Yun Siying’s secret.

“Comrade Li, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t say whatever you want,” Nangong Ruochen said calmly.

“Yun Siying and I grew up together, I know exactly what kind of person she is. We’re helping each other out now and supporting one another. So why does that sound so intolerable coming from your mouth?”

“It sounds more like the problem is with your mindset. Maybe you should work on improving that.”

He continued eating his buns with satisfaction, though there was a brief shadow in his eyes.

“Yun Siying herself admitted it, and yet you’re pretending to be blind and blindly defending her. And now you’re saying my thinking is the problem? You just can’t tell right from wrong!”

Li Laidi felt more and more wronged, and tears started falling down her face.

“Nangong Ruochen, I still have some things to take care of. I won’t be going back with you,” Yun Siying suddenly said. She hadn’t gone to the black market yet.

“Alright then, go do what you need to do. I’ll come pick you up here at four this afternoon,” Nangong Ruochen replied, asking no further questions.

“No need, I can get back on my own,” Yun Siying said, waving her hand dismissively.

Wang Panpan and her husband saw that the educated youth and villagers were gathering and quickly climbed onto the tractor, choosing a comfortable seat. Watching the drama might be fun, but looking out for oneself came first.

Seeing this, the other educated youths stopped watching the commotion and hurried to climb aboard. By the time Li Laidi realized what was happening, the good seats were already taken. She had no choice but to sit at the back of the tractor. A few villagers got on afterward as well.

Following behind the villagers were Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai, both with chapped lips and gloomy expressions.

Chen Siming noticed them, his eyes lighting up as he said cheerfully to Shu Ruxue,”Comrade Shu, I heard that you and Comrade Shen withdrew a large amount of money today. Please return the twenty yuan I lent you.”

Shu Ruxue’s face turned pale again, her eyes reddening slightly. She stammered,

“Comrade Chen… I-I did withdraw money today, but it was stolen again…”

As she spoke, a sense of injustice welled up inside her, and she could no longer hold back her tears they spilled down her cheeks.

Shen Subai, standing to the side, felt a slight pang of sympathy seeing her cry and almost stepped forward to speak on her behalf. But when he thought about all he had endured recently, he silently pulled back the hand he had begun to extend.

“Comrade Shu, I lent you all the savings I had left. What do you mean your money was stolen again?”

Chen Siming looked at her tear-streaked face, as if he were the one bullying her, and felt a surge of frustration.

“Comrade Chen, can you give me a few more days? I promise I’ll pay you back once I have money.”

Shu Ruxue glanced at Han Yuecheng, who was still interrogating her, and felt a hint of grievance.

“Then give me a clear deadline,” Chen Siming replied coldly.

“Don’t just say the money was stolen and use that as an excuse to delay things.” He was already regretting ever lending her the money.

Xu Ronghua interjected,”Comrade Shu, your money may have been stolen, but didn’t your fiancé, Comrade Shen, also get money today? Let him cover it for now, and you can pay him back later.”

“Brother Subai’s money was also stolen,” Shu Ruxue said softly, lowering her head in defeat.

After they left the post office, even the little money they still had was gone.

If she went to ask Yun Siying where the money had gone, she’d probably say she took it just to watch them go hungry and be forced to walk back to the brigade. Yun Siying could’ve left Shen Subai’s money alone, but since he was tied to Shu Ruxue, she had lashed out at both.

“Did you two do something to anger the heavens and the people?” Wang Dawei joked half-seriously, thinking their bad luck was unusually extreme.

Just as the two prepared to climb into the tractor, Nangong Ruochen’s cold voice rang out.

“You two, do you have the fare?”

“Comrade Nangong could you give us a lift just for today? We’ll repay the fare tomorrow when we have money,” Shu Ruxue pleaded, though a flash of irritation crossed her eyes.

“No. This tractor is village property, and the fare belongs to the collective. It’s not my decision to make,” Nangong Ruochen replied firmly. He hadn’t forgotten how much trouble these two had caused Yun Siying.

“Then why don’t you lend us the money?” Shu Ruxue asked as she tried to climb up.

“Do I even know you that well?”

Nangong Ruochen gave them no opportunity to argue further. He started the tractor and drove off with the full load of passengers.

Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai were left standing in a cloud of dust. Seeing the sneer on Yun Siying’s face, Shu Ruxue glared at her bitterly, fists clenched at her sides.

“Yun Siying, what are you laughing at? Nangong Ruochen didn’t wait for you either. Did he reject you too?”