Chapter 15

Liu Yu took out her family’s large teapot, filled it halfway with well water, then grabbed the small bundle of potatoes. Since the production team didn’t provide meals, and Chen Shi wouldn’t be kind enough to send food to the big house, lunch for the big house was usually just some dry rations brought from home—maybe a cornmeal pancake or two cooked potatoes, depending on what was left from dinner the night before. Last night, they had millet and sorghum steamed buns, so today, they were bringing cold buns.

The millet sorghum steamed buns were okay when they were hot. Although they were rough, they had a bit of sweetness after chewing. But when they were cold, they became hard and difficult to swallow.

The newly discovered small potatoes were a bit small, but they were juicy and crisp, tasting almost like fruit. They were much better than the hard, cold buns.

Liu Yu tucked her water bowl under her arm and hurried back. On the way, she ran into Li Qinghua.

Li Qinghua was wearing a neat and cool white shirt, with a yellow straw hat on his head and a hoe on his shoulder. His face was fair and tender. He didn’t look like he was about to work; rather, he seemed like he was heading to the fields for a fashion show.

Li Qinghua noticed Liu Yu at the same time and saw the potatoes in her bundle. He stopped and stood still, with a proud look on his face, as if he was waiting for Liu Yu to come and flatter him.

Liu Yu had once liked him, and she often tried to please him, even if it meant starving herself to bring him three meals a day of steamed buns, along with snacks and candies secretly given to her by Nie Xiaocui and her husband. She had made Li Qinghua fat and tender.

Ever since Liu Yu jumped into the river, it had been some time since Li Qinghua saw her. In those days, everyone was struggling with poverty, and even the intellectual youths from the city were not living well. Without Liu Yu’s attentiveness, Li Qinghua had lost out on a lot.

Now, seeing Liu Yu, Li Qinghua thought to himself that he should say a few good words to flatter her, even if it was just for the bundle of potatoes.

He was about to speak when he noticed that Liu Yu was looking straight ahead, walking steadily and calmly past him without paying him any attention.

The saying “a dog licks to the point of losing everything” applied perfectly to the original character.

But as for Liu Yu, she didn’t even care about Li Qinghua and couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

Li Qinghua called out to her, “Liu Yu!”

Liu Yu turned her head, a hint of impatience in her eyes. “What?”

Li Qinghua straightened his back, trying to show off his posture. “Do you have something to say to me?”

“Say what?”

Liu Yu frowned, observing his every move with disgust. She was not the original character. With Li Qinghua’s pitiful attempts to act like a rooster, he had no chance of impressing her.

Li Qinghua was surprised by Liu Yu’s response. In the past, she would rush over eagerly to give him things.

But today, he wasn’t sure if she was having a bad day or if she had lost her mind. His eyes drifted to the bundle of potatoes Liu Yu was carrying. It was filled with potatoes, so he spoke up, “Liu Yu, are those potatoes you’re carrying for me?”

So it was the food she was offering. Liu Yu snorted from her nose, “No, they’re not.”

Li Qinghua’s eyes widened in surprise. “Why not? Don’t you usually give me things?”

Yes, the original character was heartless, but Liu Yu wasn’t. She crossed her arms, wanting to see just how shameless this man could be. “But Qinghua, a while ago, you… you were hugging Bai Xueling.”