When Xu Ning returned home, she first went to the cellar to fetch some vegetables. Xu Yang saw her come back and asked, “What happened?”

Xu Ning briefly explained the situation at the educated youth camp.

Xu Yang nodded, and after a while, casually remarked, “Xiao Ning, you’re still young. There’s no rush when it comes to finding a partner.”

Xu Ning felt uncomfortable hearing this and turned her head, replying, “Brother, I know.”

At noon, when they were cooking, Xu Yang also went to the kitchen to help. Xu Ning was cutting vegetables and asked him to get a piece of meat from the jar. When Xu Yang opened the large jar, he saw it was filled with neatly cut venison, almost filling the whole jar. He then opened the lid of the jar next to it and saw it was filled with mutton. He asked, “Xiao Ning, did Brother Lu hunt all of this?”

“Yes, he hunted all of it. He said that since meat doesn’t spoil easily in winter, he stored more so we’ll have enough to last the whole season.”

Xu Yang looked a bit envious and asked, “Are there really that many animals to hunt in the mountains? Maybe I’ll go check it out tomorrow.”

Seeing that he was eager to go, Xu Ning, who wasn’t feeling well these past few days, didn’t dare to spend several hours on the mountain. After thinking for a moment, she said, “Brother, if you really want to go, wait until Sunday and go with Xiao An. The mountain is covered in snow right now, and you’re not familiar with the environment here. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with you going alone.”

Xu Yang agreed. He would be leaving the following Monday, so Sunday would be the perfect time to go up the mountain with Xiao An.

After the incident with Li Fengjiao, Xu Ning had only gone to the camp once. For the past couple of days, she had mostly stayed indoors.

Not long after lunch, Wei Lanlan and Chunhua came over to visit her.

Xu Ning invited them to sit on the heated kang in her room and brought out a plate of pine nuts. As they chatted and snacked, Xu Ning asked, “Why didn’t Xiaomei and Jiaohua come over to play?”

Chunhua said, “My aunt doesn’t want to go out because she’s afraid of the cold. She’s at home making shoes for my grandparents.”

Wei Lanlan laughed and added, “I got chased out by Sun Hao. He said Xiaomei rarely leaves the house, and he hasn’t had a chance to talk to her. So, he asked me to go out for a while to give him an opportunity.”

Xu Ning smiled and said, “Hasn’t Sun Hao convinced Xiaomei to date him yet?”

“She was almost ready to agree, but after Li Fengjiao’s incident, it scared her, and now she’s hesitating again,” Wei Lanlan replied.

Xu Ning asked, “What ended up happening with Li Fengjiao?”

Wei Lanlan sighed, “She hasn’t been discharged from the hospital yet. I heard she won’t be able to have children in the future. Chen Jianbing, to his credit, stepped up and agreed to marry her, but she doesn’t seem too happy about it.

Yesterday, Chen Jianbing’s mother even went to the hospital to see Li Fengjiao. The two of them closed the door and talked for quite a while. Lin Qiuhua said that after Chen Jianbing’s mother left, Li Fengjiao looked a bit better. It seems like she might have agreed to the marriage.”

Chunhua sighed and said, “If she can’t have children, even if they get married, there will be endless conflicts in the future. People really can’t afford to take a wrong step in life.”

Xu Ning just smiled lightly in response. While she wouldn’t gloat over someone else’s misfortune, she didn’t feel any sympathy either. Although the original owner’s death couldn’t be blamed entirely on Li Fengjiao, she wasn’t completely innocent. It seemed like karma was at work—people eventually have to pay for the wrongs they’ve done.

With that heavy topic behind them, the group shifted to lighter conversation.

Wei Lanlan asked, “Xu Ning, several people from the camp are going home to visit their family this year. You’ve been here almost three years now, right? Are you planning to go back and visit your family this year?”

When Xu Ning heard the question, she realized that the news about Xu Yang and Xu An speaking with the village chief hadn’t reached the youth camp yet. It made sense—nobody was heading up the mountain in this winter weather, and interactions between the youth commune and the villagers had been sparse. No one would go out of their way to spread gossip in such conditions.

Xu Ning sighed and began to weave a story. She explained how she and her brother had secretly signed up to come to the countryside in response to the government’s call, without informing their parents. She also mentioned how their parents were still upset with them for it.

Xu Ning continued her story, saying, “We’re afraid that if we go home now, we’ll get a beating, so we plan to wait until we’re a bit older and our parents have calmed down before visiting. Right now, the most important thing is contributing to the countryside. Everything else can be postponed.”

Seeing the two of them staring at her in shock, Xu Ning held back a laugh and added, “It’s not just that our parents are mad at us—they’re also worried. That’s why they have my brother and cousin come to check on us regularly. In fact, they were even planning to send my cousin this year to persuade us to return home, but my brother and I are determined to stay. Life in the countryside is tough, but we’re committed. Only after we’ve poured our sweat and hard work into this land will we go back.”

Chunhua gave a couple of awkward laughs and said, “Xu Zhiqing, you and your brother are truly admirable. I’ll definitely learn from you both in the future.”

Xu Ning immediately grabbed her hand and said, “Chunhua Zhiqing, your awareness is very high! Let’s learn from each other and contribute to our country, brick by brick.”

After finishing, she turned eagerly to Wei Lanlan. Wei Lanlan, caught up in the moment, awkwardly raised her hand and said with a dry laugh, “Count me in too!”

Xu Ning immediately grabbed Wei Lanlan’s hand and said excitedly, “Wei Lanlan, you too are a good comrade of the people! We must believe that the country will never forget the contributions we are making.”

After sending the two of them to the door, Xu Ning thought to herself, Sorry, sisters, but I had no choice. I’ll make it up to you both later.

As Wei Lanlan and Chunhua walked out of Xu Ning’s house, they exchanged a glance, each seeing the same indescribable feeling in the other’s eyes. If they had known the word “eccentric,” they would have used it to describe Xu Ning at that moment.

Chunhua, amused, said, “Xu Zhiqing’s ideological awareness is really high, huh?”

Wei Lanlan burst out laughing. “I only just found out today how they ended up coming to the countryside! I always thought there was something they couldn’t talk about, so I never asked. But she’s actually a good person.”

After thinking for a moment, she added with a smile, “Her ideological awareness is indeed very high. I heard she doesn’t like to associate with Lin Miao and Gu Wenjing because she thinks their awareness is too low and is afraid they’ll hinder her progress.”

Chunhua laughed. “And you’re afraid she won’t hang out with you anymore either, which is why you were so quick to raise your hand!”

Wei Lanlan rolled her eyes at Chunhua and said, “You’re the one who was faster than me! Weren’t you the first to praise her for being so ‘great’ and said you’d learn from her?”

Chunhua was speechless… Was that praise? She had only said it to avoid making things too awkward!

Later, when Xu An came home from school, he was holding a large bowl of soybean paste. Seeing his sister in the kitchen, he went in and said, “Sister, this is soybean paste from Aunt Dashuan. She heard from Jianmin that you like it, so she asked me to bring it over to you.”

Xu Ning asked, “Did you go home with Jianmin after school today?”

“Yeah, during school, Jianmin said Aunt Dashuan was looking for me, so after class, I went home with him, and she gave me this,” he replied.

Xu Ning took a bite with her chopsticks and nodded. Aunt Dashuan’s soybean paste was truly delicious. If making the paste wasn’t so complicated and if her space wasn’t so small, she’d really like to learn how to make it from Aunt Dashuan.

Xu Yang, who was tending the fire, saw how much Xu Ning was enjoying it and said, “Xiao Ning, what are you eating? Let me try some too.”

Xu Ning picked up a small bit with her chopsticks and handed it to him. “Brother, this is soybean paste. It’s a bit salty, so try a little first. Later, I’ll make some flatbreads, and we can wrap the paste in them—it’ll be delicious.”

Xu Yang tasted it. It was a bit salty eaten on its own, but the flavor was really good. He said to Xu Ning, “Sis, this is tasty. Tonight, we can just make some simple flatbreads and dip them in the paste. No need to make it too complicated.”

Seeing that he liked it, Xu Ning decided to make some flatbreads, stir-fry a few small dishes, and wrap them together. She’d also cook a pot of millet porridge to go with it.