Chapter 4

“Captain, no, the three of us can’t sleep.” After saying that, he glanced at Chu Sangning secretly, seeing that she looked indifferent.

He Yueyang pulled Zhao Jiayun into the house, saying as they walked, “Chu Zhiqing, Jiayun and I will squeeze in, and you can find another place.”

Even Jiang Zongzheng could see that this was an obvious isolationist, and he frowned to express his dissatisfaction with He Yueyang.

When Wu Guangqian and several other male educated youth saw that they had a place to live and saw that several female educated youth were scheming against each other, they looked at each other, picked up their packages, said a few words casually, and left.

“Chu Zhiqing, just stay there for one night and I will find a place for you tomorrow.” Jiang Zongzhen had no choice but to do this. After all, he had too many people in his family and had no place to live. He couldn’t afford to take in another educated youth.

Chu Sangning looked around and saw a small door at the edge of the yard. He couldn’t help but ask, “Captain, what’s over there?”

“Oh, that’s where the firewood is stored. It’s a small place, there’s no room for sleeping, and the door is low so you have to bend down to get in.”

Chu Sangning smiled and said, “It’s okay, I’ll live there. Sorry to bother you, Captain. I also like quietness.”

Jiang Zong Zheng had no choice but to give a few instructions and go home under the moonlight.

After returning home, he whispered to his old lady, “Chu Zhiqing is a good person, but he is too soft-hearted and easily bullied.”

Li Chunfen was sitting at the head of the bed sewing clothes for her grandson. She only sighed when she heard this: “Among these educated youths, the Chu educated youth you mentioned is the best. Just now, after dinner, he even took the dishes to the kitchen and said he wanted to wash them.”

“If I hadn’t stopped her, she would have definitely swept our floor.”

Chu Sangning, who was being talked about by Jiang Zongzheng at this moment, was cleaning. This place was really small, but also comfortable, and she was not used to living with other people.

Taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around, Chu Sangning put on a mask and swept the room thoroughly. She took out the sheets and made the bed, and put all the important things her father had brought, such as biscuits, money and bills, into the space.

Lying on the bed with sore body, Chu Sangning finally realized that he had really come to this place and would live here in the future.

Listening to the croaking of frogs outside, Chu Sangning closed his eyes and fell asleep in a few minutes.

Zhao Jiayun in the other room was also lying on the bed, clutching the quilt with her hands. Thinking of Chu Sangning sleeping alone in the firewood cave, she couldn’t help laughing out loud.

“Jiayun, go to sleep quickly. The team leader said we have to get up and work tomorrow.” He Yueyang turned over in a daze, kicked Zhao Jiayun’s calf, said a few words, and went back to sleep.

Zhao Jiayun impatiently hid aside, not caring about the musty smell in the room, and fell asleep.

The next morning, the loud speaker at the entrance of the village suddenly sounded, and the voice of the team leader Jiang Zongzheng came from the loudspeaker: “Everyone, gather together and go to work quickly.”

Chu Sangning was awakened by the sound of a horn. She was so tired yesterday that she fell asleep within two minutes of her head hitting the bed. When she heard the sound, she immediately packed up and got up.

When she left, several educated youths were standing at the door in disheveled clothes and sleepy eyes. Wu Guangqian looked at the kitchen that had not been cleaned up yet and said to everyone, “Don’t eat breakfast. We overslept.”

Several people arrived on the first day, and it didn’t want to be late as well, so they nodded reluctantly and followed the crowd to the field.

When the villagers saw another group of young educated youth coming, some were happy while others were disdainful. However, they couldn’t say anything in front of them, so they muttered a few words under their breath and walked forward carrying their stuff.

Jiang Zongzhen stood at the edge of the field with his hands behind his back, watching several educated youth coming in hurriedly. One male educated youth had his clothes buttons buttoned incorrectly, which showed that they had come in a hurry that morning.

“Have you eaten?” Jiang Zongzheng asked.

Wu Guangqian rubbed his head shyly, and said in a mosquito-like voice, “No, it’s not too late yet.”

“This is your first day here, so I’ll let you get familiar with the place. Then follow me to the warehouse to get food.”

Jiang Zongzhen did not torture the educated youth too much. He was an upright person and knew that everything should be done in a thorough manner, so he did not withhold too much food from the educated youth.

Wu Guangqian, Zhao Jiayun and the others wanted all coarse grains, 15 catties each, while Chu Sangning exchanged for 10 catties of coarse grains and 2 catties of fine grains.

Jiang Zongzheng: “Okay, you guys go back first and come back to work in the afternoon.”

Several educated youths carried their own food and walked towards the educated youth residence. After Wu Guangqian and two other male educated youths cleaned the kitchen, they gathered everyone together.

He said, “Let’s take turns cooking in the future so that everyone can have breakfast. Otherwise, we will have to work on an empty stomach all morning.” After saying that, he put his food in the corner of the kitchen.

“Since we are all eating together, we should share the food. When we cook, we should scoop a spoonful from each of our food bags.”

Wu Guangqian’s suggestion was good, at least no one objected, and Chu Sangning also put his own food in the kitchen.

Since there was no work in the morning, Chu Sangning planned to go back and take a nap, while Zhao Jiayun and He Yueyang planned to go out hand in hand.

“Jiayun, you are so amazing. You can think of so many things.” He Yueyang flattered her hard.

Zhao Jiayun smiled shyly and didn’t say much, as if Chu Sangning didn’t exist. She said to Wu Guangqian, “Yueyang and I plan to trade our things with the villagers for some vegetables. Do you want to go?”

Wu Guangqian had the same idea. He had a lot of things in his hands, but no vegetables or anything. He couldn’t just eat the dumplings while cooking.

“Okay, I’ll go too.” Wu Guangqian turned around and asked, “Chu Zhiqing, are you going?”

Chu Sangning glanced at He Yueyang and found that his cheeks were puffed up and he didn’t welcome her. Why did he go up to make trouble? She shook her head and said, “You guys go ahead.”

“Hmph, don’t let us eat the food while you cook.” He Yueyang said harshly before leaving.

After they all left, Chu Sangning slowly returned to the house. With a wave of her hand, the table was covered with fruits and vegetables, which were still wet. She sorted them out for a long time and then put them away.

I found two small loaves of bread from the space to fill my stomach, closed my eyes and fell asleep again.

When she woke up again, it was He Yueyang calling her at the door. She walked out in a daze. Seeing Chu Sangning’s leisurely look, He Yueyang was so angry that his chest was shaking.

“We were out for a long time, but you didn’t even bother to boil some water for us. You just slept. It was just like Jiayun said.”

Chu Sangning took two steps back, crossed his arms and looked up, “What do you mean?”

He Yueyang knew that he had said the wrong thing, stamped his feet and said reluctantly: “It’s time to eat.”

Chu Sangning followed behind her, looking at He Yueyang’s back, and raised the corners of his lips in disdain. Some people are complacent when being used as a gun by others.