Chapter 33 : The so-called family members appear

“Comrade Li, who told you to eat that? That’s my meat!” Shu Ruxue shouted angrily when she saw Li Laidi swallowing the meat. She glared at her with hostility.

“Sorry, Comrade Shu, I thought you didn’t want it,” Li Laidi replied, not stopping her eating. Today’s big stew was delicious, rich with oil and broth. She spoke with her mouth full and barely heard what they were saying afraid that if she paused to talk, she might miss out on more of the food.

Yun Siying caught what the two were saying, but she didn’t stop eating either. She kept taking food from the basin at lightning speed, like grabbing money in a scramble, occasionally glancing at the two.

By the time Shu Ruxue reached into the basin again, all the food was gone. Even the last bit of soup had been poured into lunchboxes by several male educated youths to soak their steamed buns.

Shen Subai managed to finish two steamed buns with difficulty and still didn’t feel full. He had never eaten such coarse food before, his throat was sore from the rough texture.

Except for Shu Ruxue and Shen Subai, who were clearly dissatisfied, everyone else was very pleased with the meal. Yun Siying had eaten all kinds of awful things during her years in the apocalypse. As long as it was edible and filling, she would eat it. That’s why she could eat the dry, hard steamed buns without flinching, even though they were tough and a bit sour.

“Among us old educated youths, there are Nangong Ruochen, Han Yuecheng, and Chen Banghua who cook together. Guo Dongming and Wang Panpan also cook as a pair. The rest of us eat together as a group. We gather firewood from the mountains together, and two people take turns cooking each day. You new educated youths should think it over, whether you want to form your own cooking groups or join ours,” Li Zhengyang explained how the meal-sharing system worked.

“Comrade Li, I want to cook by myself,” Yun Siying said. She didn’t want to eat with the others, it was easier and more convenient to cook for herself.

“Comrade Yun, cooking alone is exhausting. After working all day, you’ll have to cook and gather firewood yourself,” Li Zhengyang said with concern, looking at her petite frame.

“Thank you, Comrade Li. I can handle those hardships,” Yun Siying replied politely, recognizing his kind intentions and expressing her gratitude.

Han Yuecheng was about to invite Yun Siying to cook with their group, but Nangong Ruochen gave him a look that made him stop immediately.

Shu Ruxue, Shen Subai, and Lin Zikang all chose to join Li Zhengyang’s group for meals. Shu Ruxue originally wanted to eat at the Li family’s house, but remembered that her work points weren’t recorded under their household account. Still, with the money and supplies sent monthly from the Shu family in Beijing, she could live comfortably on her own.

While everyone was chatting, Li Yanyan and Li Minglang arrived at the educated youths’ courtyard, saying directly that they were looking for Yun Siying.

“Siying, it’s your biological brother and sister, Li Minglang, Li Yanyan who’ve come to find you,” Shu Ruxue said, eyeing Yun Siying with malicious intent.

“Are you sure?” Yun Siying looked at her sharply and asked with a smile.

“Of course. We made a mistake back then, they must be your real family,” Shu Ruxue said firmly, though her eyes wavered slightly. If one wasn’t paying close attention, it would be easy to miss.

“That’s not for sure. Maybe we weren’t the only babies whose names got reported wrong at the hospital,” Yun Siying said, raising her eyebrows slightly as she looked at the three in front of her, none of them bore any resemblance to one another.

“Siying, even though my adoptive parents are from the countryside, you can’t use that as an excuse not to recognize them. They really miss you,” Shu Ruxue suddenly raised her voice, as if afraid the others wouldn’t hear.

Shen Subai looked at Yun Siying with disdain and added, “Yun Siying, I really didn’t expect you to be someone who looks down on the poor and fawns over the rich. Just because my uncle and aunt are rural folk, you refuse to acknowledge them. No wonder you stayed at the Shu family for half a year and wouldn’t leave.”

” Subai, it’s not your place to judge who I am. They don’t have any proof that I’m the daughter of the Li family, do they?” Yun Siying remained calm and composed, not flustered at all.

“How do you know there isn’t any? We’ll find out when we go back together,” Shu Ruxue said confidently.

“Alright then, I’ll go with you.” Yun Siying also wanted to see what kind of people Xu Ziying and Li Gang were and whether they were involved in the real-versus-fake daughter situation.

“I’ll go with you,” Nangong Ruochen said to Yun Siying and stepped to her side.

“Thank you. I’ll treat you to a good meal at the state-owned restaurant tomorrow,” Yun Siying said, touched by his unhesitating support.

The brother and sister , Li Minglang and Li Yanyan who had been stunned by Yun Siying’s beauty, finally came to their senses. Jealousy flashed in Li Yanyan’s eyes. She quickly stepped forward and exclaimed, “Sister, we’ve come to take you home.”

She hadn’t expected her sister to be this beautiful. If her mother hadn’t mentioned that Yun Siying had a lot of money, she would never have agreed to let her into the Li family to compete with her.

Li Minglang thought to himself, ‘What good is beauty? She still has a cold personality. I don’t feel any warmth from her, just the temptation of her money.’

The other educated youths were curious and followed them to Li Gang’s house. This, of course, attracted the attention of the villagers. When they saw the stunningly beautiful female comrade Yun Siying walking alongside Shu Ruxue, Li Minglang, and the others, their eyes filled with gossip and curiosity.

“Yinyin, are you going home?” an auntie asked. People from houses on both sides poked their heads out to listen in. Thanks to Li Hongyun’s loud-mouthed gossiping, almost everyone in the village now knew that Shu Ruxue had become an educated youth in the countryside.

“Yes, Auntie. But I’ve changed my name to Shu Ruxue,” Shu Ruxue replied, standing up straighter as she basked in the villagers’ envious gazes.

“Your new name sounds so elegant. Is this beautiful female educated youth going home with you?” The auntie was amazed when she saw the fair and radiant Yun Siying.

“Auntie, this educated youth is Yun Siying, my parents’ biological daughter. I’m taking her home so they can reunite,” Shu Ruxue replied with a smile.

“Hello, Auntie! I’m the new educated youth Yun Siying, but I might not be the Li family’s child,” Yun Siying added with a smile. “I heard that the hospital where I was born misreported several babies that year, not just me and Shu Ruxue. Aunties like you have sharp eyes and far more life experience than I do. You should come to the Li family with us and see if I resemble the couple. I don’t want to mistakenly recognize the wrong parents and get hurt again.”

Her gentle, airy voice was soft and graceful, like a light drizzle, calm and soothing.

“Ah! The aunties will come along to take a look. That hospital was way too irresponsible, mixing up so many babies. People really need to be more careful when giving birth in hospitals these days. Otherwise, you might end up raising someone else’s child and be separated from your own flesh and blood,” said Li Hongying, clearly taking a liking to Yun Siying after hearing her speak.

“Comrade Yun, we’re familiar with Li Gang and Xu Ziying. We’ll help you find out the truth,” Zhang Cuifen added, joining in after seeing her good friend involved.