Chapter 24: The Educated Youth Center Dinner

Wang Shuning stood there for a moment, then quickly ran over and looked down into the ditch. The bicycle wheel was still spinning, and a small foot in a black leather shoe was sticking up high, the crotch caught on the crossbar.

“Are you alright?” The soil in the ditch was quite hard. She hadn’t made a sound for a while; had she fainted?

“Ah, it hurts,” Wang Juan’s voice was filled with tears. Her head was dizzy, and she felt like everything in her brain had been emptied.

Seeing that she could still speak, Wang Shuning immediately put down her basket, grabbed the handlebars with one hand and the crossbar with the other, lifted the bicycle out of the ditch, then jumped down and leaned over to ask Wang Juan, “Where does it hurt? Can you walk?”

The slope was only five or six meters high, but it was quite steep. It seemed the brakes had failed, and the impact of the fall must have been considerable.

Wang Juan raised her head, her right cheek covered in dirt. “I can walk, but my head is a little dizzy.”

Wang Shuning reached out to support her arm, and the weight of her upper body rested entirely on Wang Shuning’s right shoulder.

Wang Juan sat down on the ridge of the field by the roadside; her wrist was scraped and bleeding, covered in mud. “Thank you. I don’t know what happened; my brakes suddenly failed when I was going downhill, and I couldn’t stop in time. I almost hit you, I’m sorry.”

Wang Shuning: “I’m fine. Were you going to town? Can you go back?”

Wang Juan shook her head. “My head isn’t dizzy anymore; it’s just a little scrape on my wrist. I’ll be fine after a while.”

Wang Shuning looked at her suspiciously, and after confirming she was okay, said, “Then I’ll be going.”

Wang Juan nodded. “Thank you today. My name is Wang Juan, I live in Yihe Town. Are you going to Dafeng Village?”

“I’m a newly arrived educated youth in Dafeng Village. My name is Wang Shuning. Your bicycle chain seems to have fallen off; if you can’t fix it, you’ll have to push it back.”

Wang Juan looked at the bicycle stopped by the roadside; it was covered in dirt. Her mother would scold her when she got home.

She went over to look at the fallen chain, picked it up with her hand, put it on the gear, pushed the bicycle forward a meter, and looked up at Wang Shuning with a smile. “It’s fixed.”

Wang Shuning nodded, bent down, picked up her basket, and said, “Then I’ll go first. Ride slowly.”

Wang Juan waved to Wang Shuning. “Next time you go to town, you can come and visit me. I work at the department store.”

The only place in town called a department store was the state-run department store, which sold high-end goods at high prices. No wonder this young girl could ride a bicycle.

After returning home and putting things down, Wang Shuning immediately went to the educated youth center. Two tables were pushed together in the kitchen; the extra table must have been borrowed.

Most of the dishes were already on the table, and Guo Jingyi was still busy at the stove.

Zhang Meili, who was talking to someone in the corner, saw her come over and quickly waved her over. “Why are you so late? I thought you weren’t coming.”

Wang Shuning: “Something happened on the way back, which delayed me.”

Zhang Meili introduced, “This is Qin Chuming, an educated youth who came to the countryside at the beginning of this year, in the same batch as Liu Sicun and the others. He and I are from the same hometown, both from Suzhou.”

Wang Shuning nodded. Zhang Meili had a smile on her face; perhaps she was interested in Qin Chuming. “Nice to meet you, my name is Wang Shuning.”

Qin Chuming nodded without saying much.

Liu Sicun brought the last dish to the table, and Zhao Hu immediately called everyone to sit down. “Let’s eat, let’s eat.”

There were eighteen dishes on the table, and Wang Shuning noticed that several people were swallowing their saliva.

Guo Jingyi’s culinary skills were indeed superb. Since they were in the village, there was no emphasis on presentation, but the color combination of each dish was very appetizing, especially the aroma, which made people involuntarily salivate.

When Guo Jingyi took off her apron and sat down, Lü Beichu wanted her to sit next to him, but all the female educated youths were sitting opposite, so he couldn’t ask Guo Jingyi to sit alone. He had to give up dejectedly.

Everyone present was from the city, so their table manners weren’t bad; at most, they ate a little quickly.

Liu Sicun praised as she ate, “Jingyi, I didn’t expect your cooking to be so delicious. Even the stir-fried green beans taste different from others’.”

Guo Jingyi’s movements of picking up food and chewing were slow, as if she were savoring it rather than simply filling her stomach. “I’ve been interested in cooking since I was little, and I often experimented at home.”

The vegetables of the 1970s were pesticide-free and more natural, making them tastier.

Zhao Hu hadn’t expected this. When Liu Sicun said that Guo Jingyi was a good cook, he asked her to cook, but he hadn’t expected her to be so skilled.

At this moment, Lü Beichu’s eyes were full of pride as he looked at Guo Jingyi; he even put a piece of meat into Guo Jingyi’s bowl.

His arm crossed the table, visible to everyone, especially since he was wearing the watch he hadn’t given away.

Zhao Leyi, holding a bowl and eating chicken legs, flashed a sharp look in her eyes. Liu Sicun’s change of attitude caught her off guard. Seeing the two getting closer, she knew she had to find another way.

Zhao Hu’s gaze swept over Zhang Meili and Wang Shuning. The three newly arrived female educated youths were all good-looking: Guo Jingyi was gentle, Zhang Meili was talkative, and Wang Shuning was aloof; their personalities were quite different.

Qin Chuming stared at the piece of meat in Guo Jingyi’s bowl, his gaze shifting between the two, and he suspected, “Are you two dating?”

The conversation at the table fell silent. Guo Jingyi blushed slightly and shook her head. “No.”

Lü Beichu was a little disappointed. He had already made his intentions clear; it would have been better if she had agreed directly.

“There are too many rumors in the village. If you’re not dating, it’s better to be more discreet,” Qin Chuming’s tone was somewhat cold, and his expression wasn’t very gentle.

The atmosphere suddenly became very awkward. Zhang Meili, who was eating, stiffened her face and looked at Qin Chuming incredulously, only to see his gaze still fixed on Guo Jingyi.

This dinner was Zhao Hu’s attempt to curry favor with Lü Beichu, so he naturally didn’t want to offend anyone here. Everyone could see that Lü Beichu was pursuing Guo Jingyi, so why was Qin Chuming so tactless? “There are many single male educated youths in the countryside. It’s best if educated youths can get together; it’s the best match. I think Lü Beichu and Guo Jingyi are a good match.”

Liu Sicun, who was competing with Li Jiefang for meat, sneered dismissively. She couldn’t afford to lose face for Zhao Hu in front of so many people. Seeing Qin Chuming’s situation, he clearly had feelings for Guo Jingyi. She didn’t need to do anything; another rival would emerge, and she couldn’t wait for Lü Beichu to suffer.

Wang Shuning scanned the people at the dinner table. This was their first meeting, and Qin Chuming already had feelings for Guo Jingyi, wasting Zhang Meili’s efforts. She felt disappointed, and even her eating speed slowed down.

Zhao Leyi suddenly asked Wang Shuning, “Wang Shuning, I heard that you and Lü Beichu are both from Beijing and were high school classmates. Lü Beichu is so handsome; didn’t many girls like him in school?”