Chapter 011

In the kitchen.

Chen Sisi was behind the stove, tending the fire.

Su Yun, Li Qiao, and Gu Yuzhu were busy trying to knead the dough.

The boys had gone to the mill at noon and brought back freshly ground flour.

Following Han Ting’s suggestion, the girls were now in the kitchen trying to steamed buns.

They had already asked the locals how to make them:
Add water to the flour, knead it to the right consistency, shape it into buns, then place them in a steamer over boiling water until fully cooked.

It sounded simple enough—but it was much harder in practice.

Li Qiao poured water into the mixing bowl and gave it a couple of stirs, only to realize she had added too much. The dough turned into a sticky mess, more like a slurry than anything you could shape.

“…”

Li Qiao, Gu Yuzhu, and Su Yun exchanged helpless glances.

Gu Yuzhu offered a suggestion: “Add more flour.”

So she went and scooped another bowl of flour, dumping it all into the bowl at once.

But after a few more kneads, they found it too dry—so dry, it wouldn’t come together at all.

“…”

Thus began a back-and-forth of adding water and flour over and over again.

After much effort, they finally got a dough that was just about right—though now they had enough to fill an entire basin.

But at least it was done. The next step was to shape the dough into buns and steam them.

Li Qiao, Su Yun, and Gu Yuzhu rolled the dough into balls together. Their movements were clumsy, but the buns came out round enough. They placed them on the steamer tray one by one, and once the tray was full, they set it over boiling water.

There was so much dough, they figured it would take at least two more rounds of steaming.

While the first batch steamed, Li Qiao, Su Yun, and Gu Yuzhu sat down to rest.

The four of them chatted idly for a while, until suddenly a voice rang out from the courtyard:
“Tang Chu Xia, let’s go.”

It was Lin Xiaohan’s voice—and the surprise showed on all four of their faces.

Since coming to the countryside, none of them had ever heard Lin Xiaohan invite anyone out like that.

It was such a rare sight, it felt like the sun had risen from the west.

Li Qiao couldn’t hold back her curiosity. She got up and peeked out the window.

She saw Chu Xia walk out from the west dormitory and leave the courtyard with Lin Xiaohan.

Chen Sisi called out from behind the stove, “Was that Lin Xiaohan?”

Li Qiao turned away from the window and nodded. “He left with Chu Xia.”

Chen Sisi gasped, “You don’t think they’re actually getting involved, do you?”

Li Qiao was skeptical. “I doubt it.”

Gu Yuzhu gave a snort of laughter. “With that brain of hers? Get involved with Lin Xiaohan? If he sold her off, she’d probably turn around and thank him. If they’re not involved, great. But if they are, Lin Xiaohan’s definitely got a plan to squeeze her for everything she’s worth. She’s just asking to get played.”

Chen Sisi thought about it and had to admit it made sense.

She had a soft heart, though, and said hesitantly, “Should we talk to her about it? Maybe warn her?”

Gu Yuzhu responded immediately, “What’s the point? Didn’t Su Yun try to talk sense into her just the other night? Did it work? Better to sit back and enjoy the show. Let’s see how Lin Xiaohan takes her for a ride and how hard she falls. Only when it hurts will she actually learn something. Otherwise, no matter how much we talk, she won’t listen. She might even think we’re trying to harm her out of spite.”

Thinking about how sharp-tongued Chu Xia had been these past couple days, Chen Sisi nodded again, reluctantly agreeing. “You’re right.”

Outside the east dormitory where the boys stayed.

Guogai poked his head out and saw Chu Xia leaving the courtyard with Lin Xiaohan. He turned back to Han Ting and said, “Brother Ting, Chu Xia just left with Lin Xiaohan. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”

Lin Xiaohan, of all people—he was a sly, scheming type.

If Chu Xia got too close to him, she was bound to end up hurt. Could they really just sit by and do nothing?

Han Ting’s chest was tight with frustration.

He wanted to intervene, but Chu Xia wasn’t the same as before. She no longer listened to him and didn’t care at all about his opinion. Her words were sharp, and her tone was biting.

Just last night, she’d defended Lin Xiaohan, stopping him from laying a hand on him.

And now, she’d gone off with him again without saying a word to him about it.

Of course he was worried. But he was angry too—deeply angry.

He couldn’t understand why Chu Xia had changed so suddenly.

Was she really doing all this just to spite him?

After a moment of silence, he suppressed his temper and said, “Let her be. She’ll learn once she gets burned.”

“Oh,” Guogai replied, then added, “I’ll go check if the buns are ready.”

With that, Guogai headed to the kitchen.

Just as he stepped inside, the first batch of steamed buns was ready.

Li Qiao lifted the lid slowly, letting a cloud of steam rise into the air.

Guogai leaned over and grinned. “Wow, looks good!”

The girls were clearly proud of their work too, smiling with a sense of accomplishment.

Li Qiao turned to Guogai with a smile. “Perfect timing—you get to be our first taste tester. Try one and tell us if the texture and flavor are right.”

Guogai laughed, “Don’t mind if I do!”

He reached into the pot to grab a bun, hissing from the heat as he picked one up, blew on it, and then took a big bite.

He was all smiles—until he chewed a few times and suddenly froze, his brows furrowing.

Noticing his expression, Gu Yuzhu asked, “What’s wrong? Doesn’t taste good?”

With the bun still in his mouth, Guogai glanced around at the four girls and finally spit the bite out, saying honestly, “It’s full of sand and little pebbles—hurts your teeth. You can’t eat this.”

Full of sand and pebbles?

Li Qiao looked confused. She quickly picked up a bun, tore off a piece, and put it in her mouth.

After two chews, she winced in pain—it really did hurt her teeth.

Covering her mouth, she shook her head. “It’s really inedible.”

Gu Yuzhu, Su Yun, and Chen Sisi all frowned and tried a piece too.

The result was the same. The buns were filled with grit—completely unchewable.

All four of them spit out what they had in their mouths.

Li Qiao’s brow furrowed deeply. “How did this happen?”

They’d worked so hard to make these buns—only to find they couldn’t eat any of them.

Unable to figure out where the problem lies.

Li Qiao’s gaze swept across to the nearby cupboard, and she quickly moved to open the upper left door. Inside, there were freshly steamed buns prepared by Chu Xia. She picked one up and took a bite.

She chewed until it was completely swallowed, and didn’t encounter any sand or grit.

She turned to Guo Gai and the others and said, “It’s not the grain that’s the problem. When we mixed the dough, the bowl was clean, and the water was clean too. Could it be that the grain wasn’t properly washed when it was ground?”

Guogai froze upon hearing this.

Then he awkwardly mumbled, “Does it need to be washed? We… didn’t wash it…”

“Didn’t wash it?” Li Qiao and Gu Yuzhu exclaimed in unison, nearly passing out from shock.

Usually, when they cook porridge, they wash the grain, so when grinding the flour, they naturally wash it as well. Otherwise, the flour would be full of tiny dirty bits and would be inedible.

Guo Gai hesitated before asking, “So, does that mean all the flour we ground this time can’t be eaten?”

Gu Yuzhu held her breath, “Of course, it can’t be eaten.”

Chen Sisi panicked, “What should we do now?”

Guo Gai turned to leave, saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll go tell Brother Ting. He’ll have a solution.”

Before he could take a step, Li Qiao grabbed him.

He looked back at her in confusion. Li Qiao said, “It’s already like this, what good solution could Han Ting have? All he can do is cook some coarse grain porridge to make do, and tomorrow we can go to the mill to grind the flour again, steam new buns. Do you still want to eat coarse grain porridge for this meal?”

Guo Gai thought for a moment, “Is there any other choice if we don’t eat?”

Li Qiao raised the bun she had bitten into and suggested, “We just steamed the buns, and the water under the steamer is still hot. Steaming the buns again will be quick, but if we make porridge, it’ll take a while. Or… we could eat the Chu Xia’s buns for now.”

Li Qiao had proposed this during lunch.

Guo Gai looked at her, “Brother Ting won’t agree to this.”

Li Qiao whispered, “Then we just don’t let him know, right? Tomorrow when we grind fresh flour and steam clean buns, we can give them back to her. With her usual character, I don’t think she’d be petty enough to mind this, right?”

Guo Gai hesitated, not immediately agreeing.

Li Qiao turned to look at Gu Yuzhu, Su Yun, and Chen Sisi.

Seeing that they weren’t saying anything, she added, “If you don’t agree, then hurry up and cook the porridge.”

She then took another bite of the bun.

Seeing Li Qiao eating the bun and thinking about the coarse grain porridge, everyone felt uneasy.

Gu Yuzhu, more decisive now, spoke up, “I agree. I don’t want to eat coarse grain porridge…”

Chen Sisi also hesitated, then softly added, “It’s not like we’re taking it for free. When she comes back tonight, we’ll tell her, and tomorrow we’ll give her the buns back. Given her usual nature, I think she wouldn’t really be petty over something so small.”

Su Yun thought about what Han Ting had said last night, and spoke up, “Before, she was so kind, never minded anything, and wouldn’t care about small matters. But now… it’s hard to say.”

Li Qiao and Gu Yuzhu exchanged glances.

Guo Gai, tired of the hesitation, made the decision, “Let’s do it this way. Let’s first solve this meal, and we won’t let Brother Ting know for now. If there’s a problem, I’ll take responsibility.”

He didn’t believe Chu Xia would really mind such a small issue.

With Guo Gai’s decision, Li Qiao and the others didn’t hesitate any longer.

Li Qiao moved into action, opening the upper left cabinet again to retrieve the small bamboo basket, which contained the black and yellow buns that Chu Xia had steamed.

Chen Sisi leaned close to Li Qiao and whispered anxiously, “Are you sure these are Chu Xia’s? What if you’ve taken Lin Xiaohan’s by mistake?”

If they ate Lin Xiaohan’s, that would be a problem.

Li Qiao, holding the bamboo basket, walked toward the pot. “Don’t worry, it’s fine. These buns in the left cabinet are Chu Xia’s. The ones in the right cabinet belong to Lin Xiaohan.”

The shabby cupboard the villagers had given them was large enough, though a bit old.

The cupboard was divided into two main sections. The upper section was split into left and right halves: Chu Xia used the left side, and Lin Xiaohan used the right. The large lower section held the flour for all ten of them.

Seeing Li Qiao was sure, Chen Sisi relaxed.

She quickly moved to start the fire behind the stove.

Gu Yuzhu took an empty bamboo basket and began collecting the freshly steamed buns, placing them in the basket to clear the steamer. Li Qiao then placed Chu Xia’s buns back into the steamer.

Once all the buns were placed, it was just the right amount for their meal.

Li Qiao put the lid on the pot and returned Chu Xia’s bamboo basket to the cupboard.

When she was about to close the door, she noticed the basket was empty, which made her feel uneasy. After pausing for a moment, she glanced at the buns they had steamed.

A thought flashed through her mind. After a moment’s hesitation, she decisively went over, took their freshly steamed buns, and placed them one by one into Chu Xia’s bamboo basket.

She filled the basket halfway with their own buns, and now, feeling at ease, she satisfiedly closed the cupboard door.

Seeing Li Qiao do this, Gu Yuzhu whispered, “You plan to cover it up this way?”

Before Li Qiao could respond, the door curtain was suddenly pulled aside from the outside.

Han Ting walked in and asked, “Is it ready yet?”

Li Qiao, Gu Yuzhu, and Chen Sisi instinctively held their breath and stiffened their expressions.

Guo Gai smiled and, as if nothing had happened, said to Han Ting, “Almost done.”

At the countryside house:

Chu Xia and Lin Xiaohan were patiently persuading a couple to send their child to school.

As they were explaining the benefits of literacy, Chu Xia’s right eyelid suddenly twitched.