Chapter 17

To welcome the new educated youths who had come from afar, Instructor Tian Li led the entire group of old educated youths in lining up at the canteen to greet them. Everyone cheerfully shouted “Welcome!” and the atmosphere was lively and enthusiastic.

Su Nian almost felt like a government official coming to inspect the countryside.

But the sincere and warm attitude of the old educated youths quickly dispelled everyone’s fatigue. What they’d feared might be a difficult social environment now seemed not so bad.

When it came time to get food, seeing the bright looks in everyone’s eyes, Su Nian thought the meal must be something special. But reality quickly slapped her in the face: everyone was staring at a tray of pork belly so fatty it made her nauseous just looking at it.

Su Nian never liked fatty meat.

She ended up choosing tomato scrambled eggs, a bone soup, a spoonful of pickled vegetables, and a steamed bun.

Noticing Xu Zhaodi sitting alone not far away, she quickly took a seat beside her.

Xu Zhaodi seemed briefly flustered, glanced sideways, said nothing, and continued eating. Her bowl was full of greasy meat to stay full longer. Maybe in everyone’s eyes, Su Nian was the odd one here.

Before long, Shen Mo and Ji Lin also sat down.

“Comrade Su, you don’t eat meat at all?” Shen Mo asked curiously.

“Oh, I don’t like fatty meat. I can handle a little bit, but too much makes me sick. If I throw up, that would be such a waste of food!”

Ji Lin smiled playfully and teased, “The nights here are cold and windy. You won’t survive on just a steamed bun with that tiny frame of yours.”

Su Nian glanced at the three buns in Xu Zhaodi’s bowl across the table and stuck out her tongue awkwardly. “I’ll let others who need it more have it—I won’t compete for it.”

Just then, Fu Tingchuan walked over with his food and immediately noticed Shen Mo sitting next to Su Nian. Although there was plenty of space between them—enough for another person to sit—he still felt uncomfortable. This man seemed suspicious.

Without hesitation, he plopped down right between them.

“Comrade Shen, hope you don’t mind me sitting here?” Fu Tingchuan said.

With his strength, he nudged Shen Mo so hard the man nearly wobbled off the bench.

“Would it matter if I did?” Shen Mo muttered. “After all, you’re the highest-ranking officer here.”

Usually calm and composed, even Shen Mo couldn’t help but complain.

Fu Tingchuan didn’t care what he said. He turned to Su Nian, “You’re eating so little?”

Su Nian wanted to say this was already a lot, but compared to others, it really wasn’t much. “I used to be too fat. Eating less helped me slim down. I guess I got used to it.”

Fu Tingchuan didn’t look convinced.

After a moment’s thought, he placed two spare ribs from his own bowl into hers.

As an officer, he got one extra meat dish every day, but even then, it was limited to things like neck bones, tails, ribs, or intestines—nothing fancy.

The steamed bun was quite hard. If it weren’t for the soup, Su Nian would’ve had trouble finishing it.

After eating, she sat quietly observing her surroundings—a little habit of hers. Suddenly, the girl to her right, Qiao Qiqi, stood up and shouted, “What are you doing!”

Instructor Tian Li looked caught off guard.

“Comrade Qiao, it’s a misunderstanding. I saw a bug on you and wanted to brush it off. I know you ladies are afraid of these things, so I didn’t say anything!”

Qiao Qiqi blushed.

“I’m sorry, Instructor. Is the bug gone now?”

Tian Li smiled easily. “Oh, no problem at all. We’re all comrades here now. As your instructor, it’s my duty to help you in every way. Don’t take it to heart.”

Su Nian pulled her gaze away and silently decided to steer clear of Tian Li in the future.

She had clearly seen that this man was acting deliberately. When they’d first walked in, she’d noticed him standing too close to a female educated youth. She thought maybe she was being overly sensitive, but now it seemed this man only appeared easygoing—he was likely a creep.

When she looked up again, she noticed Xu Zhaodi also watching her and shaking her head slightly, probably trying to warn Su Nian not to get involved and draw fire to herself.

Typically, girls from wealthy families like Su Nian were not the kind to meddle in other people’s business.

They were raised with the idea that nothing is done without benefit. Anything unrelated—or that could bring trouble—they usually steered clear of.

But Su Nian didn’t expect someone from Xu Zhaodi’s background to also understand the art of staying out of trouble.

What she didn’t know was that Xu Zhaodi learned this the hard way—growing up in a household where the parents favored sons. Any blame or punishment always fell on her. So she learned to stay far away from her younger brothers.

Meanwhile, Su Yue, who had apparently been hiding while eating, deliberately walked past Su Nian and loudly said:

“Some people really are too spoiled by capitalist lifestyles. That pork belly was so good, and she says it made her sick? That’s the food we poor folks earn with labor!

Wasting food is shameful. Who knows if she can even handle the work!”

Su Nian calmly stuck out one foot and, still looking innocent, fired back:

“Some people are just full of drama. Even when a sewage truck passes by their house, they have to dip a spoon in to taste-test it.

If it’s none of your business, keep your mouth shut. I saw you spit something out earlier—now that’s a real waste.”

Su Yue hadn’t expected anyone to notice that she’d spit something out and was about to defend herself when—BAM—she tripped and landed flat on her face.

“You did that on purpose!” she shouted at Su Nian.

Su Nian covered her mouth in mock shock. “Oh dear, Su Yue! You should really watch where you’re going. My foot’s been there the whole time, and you still stepped on it. What is this, a scam attempt?

I get it, times are tough for you, but this is no way to get money.

Good thing it was me today. If it were someone else, you’d probably get smacked. Everyone’s having a hard time—no one has spare cash for outsiders like you!”

None of the newly assigned educated youths were the gossipy kind, so they didn’t know what had happened on the train.

But that didn’t matter—Su Nian was more than happy to assign Su Yue a new negative label. If it wasn’t hereditary disease, then let it be fraud. Either way, she just wanted to make her unpopular.

“I’m not! My husband’s family is well-off. Why would I scam you? You’re accusing me unfairly. If anyone’s a scammer, it’s that girl across from you!”

Poor Xu Zhaodi—trouble out of nowhere.

Why bring her into it?

“You said it yourself—your husband’s family is rich. Why else would you climb into their bed before marriage? Compared to someone like you, Xu Zhaodi is far more decent!

She may not dress as well as you, but at least she’s clean.”

Xu Zhaodi hadn’t expected Su Nian to back her up. She’d already taken half a step forward.

Now, the old educated youths and the soldiers around them looked at Su Yue with even more contempt. Not only was she a big mouth and a scammer, but she also had a messy private life. Who would want to associate with her?

Having achieved her desired effect, Su Nian cleaned up her tray and headed back to the dorm.

On the way, she took out her camera and snapped photos here and there. Of course, she avoided areas with guards on duty—she didn’t want to risk leaking military secrets.