Chapter 10 : Thank you old educated youth

After Su Mo finished writing the letter, she came out and noticed that everyone else hadn’t returned yet. She guessed they were still helping the new educated youths with their work.

There were five new educated youths in their group, two men and three women. They had arrived during the autumn harvest, leaving them no time to adapt, so they often struggled to finish their tasks. The older educated youths would step in to help once they completed their own assignments.

Currently, there were 11 educated youths in the camp, six men and five women. For the time being, everyone got along well, and they often supported one another in solidarity.

Thinking about the care the older educated youths had given the original Su Mo, she decided to cook a special meal for everyone. After all, during the autumn harvest, everyone had visibly lost weight.

Su Mo retrieved a bag of rice she had left from the apocalypse, it still contained about two kilograms. She poured it all into a basin, added two bowls of corn grits, and prepared to make rice and corn porridge.  

After rinsing the rice twice, Su Mo placed it into a pot, added plenty of water, and set it to simmer on low heat.  

Next, she headed to the vegetable garden and picked three large cabbages and some tomatoes. From her hidden stash, she pulled out a piece of bacon weighing about a pound, intending to make stir-fried cabbage with bacon.  

The camp had two pots, typically used separately since meals weren’t usually communal. However, during the harvest, the youths ate together. She used one pot for porridge and the other for cooking vegetables.  

She also sliced the tomatoes, sprinkled some sugar on top, and prepared them as a cold dish.  

In this era, such a meal with rice porridge, meat, and a touch of sweetness was considered a feast, akin to a Chinese New Year celebration.  

When the others returned, the aroma of meat wafted in the air and greeted them from afar. Hungry and exhausted, they quickened their pace toward the camp.  

Upon arrival, they saw Su Mo busy in the kitchen, cooking up a meal that made their mouths water.  

Ma Xiaojuan, who was closest to Su Mo, ran over, beaming. “Su Mo, you’re back? Are you making braised pork? It smells amazing!”  

Ma Xiaojuan was Su Mo’s roommate, along with another girl, Chen Lan.  

“It’s not braised pork,” Su Mo explained with a smile. “It’s bacon I brought from home. I thought everyone could use some nourishment. You’ve all been helping me so much recently.”  

Hearing this, the older educated youths felt a bit more at ease.  

Ma Jianmin, the leader of the camp, smiled and said, “We’re all revolutionary comrades. It’s natural to help each other out.”  

In truth, the older youths were somewhat reluctant to help the newcomers.  

The educated youth had to stick together because the villagers often treated them as outsiders. Disunity would put them at a disadvantage within the brigade.  

Additionally, winter was approaching, and if the new arrivals couldn’t finish their work, they wouldn’t earn enough points to receive sufficient food rations. If the newcomers ran out of food, they’d inevitably turn to the older youths for help. With everyone barely scraping by, sharing would only make things harder for everyone.  

By helping them now, they ensured the newcomers could earn more points and secure more food.  

Though they helped out of necessity, there was some resentment. Su Mo’s thoughtfulness in sharing her provisions softened their feelings.  

“Su Mo, I didn’t know you could cook so well,” Chen Lan remarked, eyeing the pot hungrily.  

Su Mo just smiled. After surviving the apocalypse, she had honed her cooking skills, especially to make limited ingredients taste delicious.  

Soon, the food was ready. Su Mo served the dishes in large bowls and brought them to the table.  

She had thinly sliced the bacon and stir-fried it with tender green cabbage, making it look irresistible.  

“Oh my goodness, Su Mo, how much meat did you use?” exclaimed Zheng Caiping, an older youth.  

“Not much, just a little over a pound,” Su Mo replied.  

“You cooked over a pound of meat all at once?” Zheng Caiping almost screamed, looking at Su Mo as if she were a spendthrift.  

“I noticed everyone has lost weight during the harvest, so I thought I’d make a bit more so everyone could have a good meal.”  

“Enough, Caiping,” Zhao Guoping scolded. “She’s sharing meat with us, and you’re complaining? Just eat already!”  

Exhausted from doing his own work and helping others, Zhao Guoping had no patience for complaints.  

“Yes, yes, let’s eat,” others chimed in, hurrying to fetch their bowls.  

Someone lifted the lid of the other pot and exclaimed, “Rice porridge!”  

The room went silent as everyone dashed to grab their bowls, fearing they’d miss out. For the older youths, rice porridge was a rare treat, reserved for holidays or times of illness.  

The group ate in silence, savoring every bite. If not for their pride as educated youths, they might have fought over the food like rural aunties.  

The main dishes porridge and stir-fried cabbage with bacon were devoured quickly. The tomatoes, however, were largely ignored until the end, when someone finally took a bite.  

“Sweet! Did you put sugar in it?”  

Su Mo nodded. “Yes, I added some sugar.”  

Everyone quickly grabbed the tomatoes and found them exceptionally sweet. They ate silently but noticeably faster.  

The sugar had been added earlier, so by the time everyone returned, it had already dissolved, making it less noticeable.  

Su Mo had her reasons for adding the sugar early. Modern sugar was fine and white, but the sugar from this era had larger, light yellow granules. To avoid raising suspicion, she had sprinkled it in advance.  

The meal was devoured without hesitation, even down to the sweetened water, which the male educated youths mixed into their porridge.  

After the meal, everyone thanked Su Mo politely before boiling some water to wash up and heading to their rooms to rest.  

As for ideological and political studies, everyone agreed to postpone them until after the autumn harvest. They were simply too exhausted.  

Su Mo sat for a while before returning to her room.  

In the countryside of that time, there was no electricity, so they used kerosene lamps for lighting. Su Mo and her roommates had borrowed a lamp from an older educated youth. However, with just one lamp for such a large room, the lighting was very dim barely enough to see.  

Seeing there was nothing else she could do, Su Mo spread her bed and prepared to sleep. She planned to wake up early the next day to visit the county town.  

Just then, Ma Xiaojuan returned from taking a shower. She approached Su Mo and asked curiously, “What did you apply? It smells so good.”  

Su Mo’s heart skipped a beat, she had used shampoo to wash her hair. The scent of modern toiletries was far more fragrant than anything from this era.  

“I used some hair oil from the Friendship Store,” Su Mo replied casually.  

Ma Xiaojuan didn’t suspect anything. They lived together, and she had seen Su Mo’s imported clothes before.  

Though her family wasn’t poor, Ma Xiaojuan had volunteered to go to the countryside since her large family couldn’t send anyone else. Her family sent her money monthly, so she wasn’t worried about expenses. Like Su Mo, she wasn’t great at farm work, she ranked just above Su Mo in terms of productivity.  

“Are you feeling okay? I wanted to ask for leave to take care of you, but the team leader wouldn’t approve it. He said we should focus on our work. It really annoyed me,” Ma Xiaojuan grumbled. She had hoped to use it as an excuse to slack off.  

Unlike Su Mo, who genuinely struggled with labor, Ma Xiaojuan simply disliked hard work.  

The team leader, however, disliked lazy individuals and denied her request. If a hardworking educated youth had asked, he might have agreed, but the other three female educated youths didn’t want to lose their work points. The team leader eventually arranged for Lu Changzheng to check in on Su Mo occasionally, reasoning that the health center’s doctors were sufficient for her care.  

“I’ve heard some rumors from the village aunties lately. Are you really going to marry that soldier?” Ma Xiaojuan asked, looking concerned.  

Her mother was a doctor, so she understood that what had happened between Su Mo and the soldier was normal first aid. But the ignorant villagers didn’t see it that way.  

“Yes, we’re dating now,” Su Mo replied.  

“What? Were you forced into it?” Ma Xiaojuan was shocked. “We can go to the commune leaders together! It was just first aid.”  

Su Mo’s beauty made her fear the soldier might have ulterior motives.  

“No, he’s a good person,” Su Mo reassured her.  

“You shouldn’t be with him. If you marry him, you might end up stuck in the countryside for the rest of your life…”  

“The countryside isn’t so bad sometimes,” Su Mo replied, changing the subject. “Is the autumn harvest almost finished?”  

“We’re picking peanuts now. Once that’s done, it’s just drying and storing them, and then we’ll plant winter wheat,” Ma Xiaojuan explained.  

“What do you think about buying some meat after the harvest and treating everyone to a meal?”  

“If it’s possible, I think that’s a good idea. After all, the older educated youths have helped us a lot,” Su Mo said.  

“Alright, after the harvest, I’ll go to the supply and marketing cooperative, buy some meat, and treat everyone to a meal,” Ma Xiaojuan decided.  

“We should do it together,” Chen Lan said, walking in and overhearing the conversation.  

Chen Lan’s family wasn’t well off, so she couldn’t afford to host guests on her own.  

“Good idea. Let’s do it together,” Ma Xiaojuan agreed without hesitation.