Chapter 21

After chatting with the other educated youths for a while, He Xianqiu told them she was going to the kitchen to cook.

After all, it was her turn to prepare the meal today. She couldn’t just hand the work over to someone else just because her foot was injured—she could still walk, after all.

Even though she walked a bit slower, she could still manage.

When the other educated youths saw her enter the kitchen, they quickly said, “Since you’re hurt, let us cook instead.”

He Xianqiu shook her head. “Thank you, but I can still walk. I’ll do it myself.”

Seeing how firm she was, they didn’t try to persuade her again.

Afterward, He Xianqiu hobbled into the kitchen. First, she washed the vegetables and then began to stir-fry them.

However, she didn’t seem to have the slightest talent for cooking. The vegetables she was stir-frying started to bubble excessively, which left He Xianqiu staring at them in confusion.

Why were there so many bubbles while stir-frying? One bubble after another kept appearing.

Not knowing what to do, she hurriedly called someone from outside.

“The dish I’m cooking—why are there so many bubbles?”

Hearing her voice, the others came inside.

When they looked into the wok and saw all the bubbles rising up—and more and more forming—they were so shocked that they cried out.

“He Educated Youth, how did you cook this? So many bubbles! If someone eats this, wouldn’t it poison them?”

He Xianqiu had no idea why this was happening. She said blankly, “I followed the steps from this morning.”

Hearing this, the other educated youths secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, they hadn’t eaten He Xianqiu’s cooking for lunch today—otherwise, they’d probably have ended up in the hospital.

Several of the educated youths in the kitchen exchanged bewildered glances with her. They had all followed the same steps—how could there be so many bubbles?

He Xianqiu stood staring at the frothy mess in the wok, completely at a loss. All she could do was stare blankly.

In the end, the dish in the wok was dumped out. Nobody dared to eat something that foamed up like that. Even He Xianqiu thought it looked frightening.

He Xianqiu never imagined her cooking skills could be this bad. She had watched Aunt Lin do it, and she had watched videos too—she thought she understood everything. But when she did it herself, why was it so different?

Maybe this was what they meant when they said your brain understands, but your hands don’t.

Finally, Zhang Zhijuan stepped up to cook dinner that night, and He Xianqiu helped at the side.

When the food was ready, He Xianqiu carried the dishes into the main hall, and everyone began to eat.

She had already eaten and was quite full, so she told everyone she wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t eat any more.

Just as He Xianqiu was about to leave, He Qiye among the male educated youths called out to her. She stopped and turned her head. “What is it, Comrade He?”

He Qiye looked at her and stammered, “He Educated Youth, maybe you shouldn’t cook anymore in the future. Your cooking… well… it’s just not very good.”

A few of the other male educated youths seemed to agree with what he said, nodding their heads.

He Xianqiu was stunned by his tactful words. She was just about to reply when Yang Shuhua jumped up.

Yang Shuhua glared angrily at He Qiye. “Why should He Xianqiu be excused from cooking? That’s not fair to the rest of us female educated youths.”

Then she turned and stared at He Xianqiu with a vicious look. “You’re not trying to slack off, are you?”

Next to her, Zhao Yaling spoke in a very gentle tone. “Xianqiu, you probably just aren’t used to doing this kind of work, since you never did it before, so maybe you’re trying to avoid it.”

Hearing Zhao Yaling’s soft, insinuating words, Yang Shuhua became even angrier. “I never did it either!”

He Xianqiu felt utterly disgusted by Zhao Yaling’s sly remarks. They had already torn each other’s masks off, yet she was still calling her “Xianqiu” in that familiar tone.

Seeing the atmosphere growing tense, Zhang Zhijuan quickly tried to calm things down. “He Educated Youth didn’t mean anything by it. We’re all educated youths here—harmony is important.”

But Yang Shuhua was in no mood to listen. She spat out harshly at He Xianqiu, “In any case, you must cook.”

When He Xianqiu heard her commanding tone, she retorted, “Did I say I wouldn’t? I haven’t even said a word yet, and you jumped out here getting angry all by yourself. Ridiculous.”

Yang Shuhua’s expression darkened at that. She reached out, about to hit her.

He Xianqiu grabbed her wrist in one motion and slapped her across the face.

Yang Shuhua clutched her cheek, staring at her in shock. “You hit me? You actually hit me? You damn shrew, you filthy bitch!”

Hearing her cursing, He Xianqiu felt a headache coming on. What kind of vulgar insults were these?

She frowned. “Why are you spewing filth out of your mouth? It stinks.”

After saying that, she took a step back, looking at Yang Shuhua with obvious distaste.

Yang Shuhua was shaking with fury. She lunged forward, trying to grab He Xianqiu’s hair.

But Zhang Zhijuan stopped her. “Comrade Yang, calm down!”

At this point, Yang Shuhua had completely lost her reason, glaring murderously at He Xianqiu.

He Xianqiu looked back at her calmly, entirely unaffected by the other’s glare.

The other educated youths were all stunned by the scene, eyes wide. How had this turned into such a fight? They began to speak up:

“Comrade Yang, He Educated Youth hadn’t even said anything yet, and you started cursing her.”

“That’s right, exactly.”

Hearing everyone criticizing her, Yang Shuhua’s eyes reddened slightly, but she didn’t say another word.

When He Xianqiu remembered what Zhao Yaling had said, she turned and smiled at her. “Comrade Zhao, if you don’t know how to speak, then don’t. Even if you keep your mouth shut, nobody will mistake you for a mute.”

Zhao Yaling’s face went stiff at He Xianqiu’s mocking words. She was so angry she could hardly keep her expression in check, but since everyone else was there, she forced herself to lower her head and look pitiful.

Seeing her like this, He Xianqiu knew she was about to put on a show, so she said immediately, “Comrade Zhao, don’t you dare start crying. I haven’t bullied you—if you start crying, you’ll be making me look bad.”

Hearing this, Zhao Yaling’s tears, which were just about to spill out, caught in her throat. She had no choice but to force them back, then lifted her head and put on a false smile. “I’m not crying, Xianqiu, you misunderstood.”

He Xianqiu felt nauseated hearing her pretend to be close. They had already fallen out, yet she still insisted on acting as if they were friends.

Feeling bored and not wanting to listen to any more fake words, she told everyone she was going back to the dormitory and that they should enjoy their meal.

After He Xianqiu left, the others who had seen her cooking couldn’t help but say, “Better not let He Educated Youth cook again. This afternoon, her dish foamed up with a mountain of bubbles. You didn’t see the scene—it looked like it might poison someone.”

Those who had seen it all nodded.

“If you’re brave enough to eat it, then by all means, let her keep cooking. You all saw what she made this morning.”

“Besides, even if He Educated Youth doesn’t cook, she can help in other ways. Why are Comrade Yang and Comrade Zhao so worked up?”

Zhao Yaling felt choked by this unexpected criticism. She had always maintained a perfect image. This was all He Xianqiu’s fault. She clenched her hands tightly, though her face remained gentle.

Thinking back to the charred mess He Xianqiu had cooked that morning, everyone agreed this made perfect sense.

They started brainstorming how He Xianqiu could contribute in other ways and began sharing increasingly far-fetched ideas.

Meanwhile, back in the dormitory, He Xianqiu had no idea that after she left, everyone was discussing how she shouldn’t cook anymore and how she should make up for it elsewhere. Their suggestions were getting more and more ridiculous.

After returning to the dorm, He Xianqiu opened her cloth bag. When she looked inside, she froze.

Inside were three yuan.

She had no idea when Ji Chen Zhou had put them in there. She had already said the money was for him. He Xianqiu felt helpless, though she could understand why he’d done it.

She thought that the next time she saw Ji Chen Zhou, she’d give the three yuan back to him. Even though she was a bit of a spendthrift, she knew that in the 1970s, three yuan was no small sum.