Chapter 45 – Responding Strongly
Because the meals in the past few days didn’t have much flavor, Lu Xia had secretly eaten quite a few steamed buns and mantou that she had bought in her storage. But she still craved meat.
However, she couldn’t satisfy her craving. Fortunately, she drank spiritual spring water every day, so her health didn’t deteriorate due to the bland food. On the contrary, she felt better and better.
Her skin gradually became fairer, and she started gaining some weight. She was no longer as emaciated as before, and her strength had increased significantly. As a result, her work became much easier.
To find a reason for her own transformation, starting from that day, Lu Xia began drinking a glass of malted milk every morning and drinking it.
Truly a high-end health product from the 1970s, it tasted quite good. However, every time she drank it, she would receive disdainful looks from Zhuang Hongmei.
Lu Xia generally ignored her attitude. As long as she didn’t provoke her, it was fine. After all, Zhuang Hongmei was the type of person who would self-destruct without any interference.
But perhaps the more Lu Xia ignored her, the more Zhuang Hongmei thought she was easy to b*lly.
That morning, while Lu Xia was drinking her malted milk, she heard Zhuang Hongmei sarcastically comment, “You dress like a beggar but drink malted milk every day. You’re really pretending to be a lady. Who do you think you are, some rich capitalist’s daughter?”
Lu Xia frowned upon hearing this and didn’t indulge her anymore.
“So, drinking malted milk makes me a rich capitalist’s daughter? Then the supply and marketing cooperative also sells malted milk. Is that also run by capitalists?
According to your logic, others can’t have something nice to eat? They must eat bran and swallow vegetables every day to prove that they’re not rich capitalist’s daughters?
Are people with better conditions automatically considered capitalists?
You can’t afford it yourself, so what’s the point of criticizing others?
Why is your mouth so foul?
My family knows that I’ve had poor health since I was young and came to the countryside, so they specially bought malted milk for me to nourish myself. You can envy all you want, but your jealous and twisted expression is disgusting.
I used to ignore you, but it seems like you’re pushing it.
I’ll say this once today: I’m not the kind of person you think is easy to b*lly. If there’s a next time, you’ll see!”
After speaking, Lu Xia looked at her with an expressionless face.
Hearing these words, everyone in the educated youth spot was stunned. They didn’t expect Lu Xia, who usually had a low presence and didn’t speak much, to suddenly become so fierce.
Even Zhuang Hongmei was intimidated by her aura and didn’t dare to say anything more.
Lu Xia didn’t care about what others thought. Although she wanted to keep a low profile, she wasn’t someone anyone could b*lly.
Sometimes, it was necessary to be firm in order to let others know that they couldn’t be pushed around, which could make life easier and save a lot of trouble.
Su Man drinks malted milk every day too. Why doesn’t Zhuang Hongmei say anything to her? It’s because she thinks she is easy to b*lly.
Due to the incident in the morning, everyone was relatively silent, and even Zhuang Hongmei didn’t dare to approach Lu Xia.
Indeed, Lu Xia’s behavior this time was very different from before.
However, during lunchtime, when everyone saw that she had returned to her usual self, the atmosphere improved a bit.
Everyone had also come up with reasons for her previous transformation. It was probably because Zhuang Hongmei’s words were too harsh, and accusing her of being a capitalist’s daughter was probably hurtful to anyone.
So, with this in mind, everyone distanced themselves from Zhuang Hongmei.
The educated youths in the educated youth spot easily guessed what was going on in Zhuang Hongmei’s mind. It was just jealousy.
But jealousy shouldn’t be an excuse to falsely accuse others. People like that were too terrifying!
The educated youths were all from the city, and occasionally, their families would send them some nice things. So, they understood Lu Xia’s explanation. After all, she did start gaining weight gradually after coming to the countryside.
Therefore, they only envied the care her family showed her, and that was it. They wouldn’t feel jealous because of that.
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Chapter 46 – Su Man’s Proposal
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Lu Xia quickly noticed the distance everyone was keeping from Zhuang Hongmei.
However, Zhuang Hongmei herself didn’t feel it, perhaps because she was too tired and didn’t have time to think about it.
Unlike Lu Xia and Su Man, who came with money and brought many things, Zhuang Hongmei had only brought a small luggage bag when she came to the countryside. Besides a blanket, she had almost nothing else inside.
She ate meals together with the other educated youths and didn’t have other snacks like pastries that Lu Xia and Su Man had. When she was hungry, she could only eat what was available. Combined with the exhaustion from work, after just a few days, she looked much more worn-out.
The most obvious contrast was with Lu Xia.
When Lu Xia first arrived in the countryside, she looked even thinner than Zhuang Hongmei, and her complexion wasn’t that great either. But now, not only did she not worsen, but she also looked better and better, which made Zhuang Hongmei jealous and prompted her to say those things.
However, Lu Xia didn’t pay her any mind.
After all, she still had to continue living in the educated youth spot for now, and it wouldn’t be good to be too aggressive.
On the other hand, Su Man suddenly became more enthusiastic towards Lu Xia for some reason in recent days. It seemed as if she treated her like a close friend.
This made Lu Xia feel uneasy. She didn’t know what the female protagonist was up to.
That night, the educated youth spot had meat for dinner.
When Su Man went to cut grass for pigs, she encountered a pheasant tangled in the grass…
And she caught it.
Everyone was envious of Su Man’s luck, but that was all they could do—envy her.
Since she had caught a wild hare at the foot of the mountain last time, others had also gone there after work, but they didn’t come across any live animals. They had given up later on, but they didn’t expect Su Man to have another successful harvest so soon.
Everyone was excited. Although there was little meat for so many people, they were happy to taste the meat.
After dinner, Su Man came over and whispered something to Lu Xia. “Do you want to move out?”
Lu Xia raised an eyebrow upon hearing this. “Move out? To a villager’s house?”
Since they weren’t allowed to build houses, the only option would be a villager’s house. However, after hearing what Sun Shengnan had said last time, would she dare to live in a villager’s house?
Su Man nodded. “Yes, a villager’s house. But there’s only an old lady living there, and there’s a separate room. If you want to move out, we can live together.”
Lu Xia tried to recall which house she was talking about. After coming here for these days, she seemed to have some understanding of the village, but she couldn’t remember which house she was referring to.
Seeing her confusion, Su Man explained, “That old lady is a military dependant. She receives a monthly subsidy and doesn’t have to work. She rarely goes out. I’ve been to her house, and it’s clean, and she’s nice.”
Lu Xia felt somewhat tempted upon hearing this, but after hearing the location of the house, she declined.
Mainly because the house was too remote, located at the edge of the village near the foot of the mountain. It was probably because Su Man was cutting pigweed that she discovered it.
But Lu Xia remembered that Chen Er, one of the village troublemakers, also lived in that area. After coming here, she had indirectly inquired about him, as he was the culprit in the novel who caused her character’s death.
Indeed, there was such a person. He was the only child in his family, so he was spoiled and lawless, constantly engaging in mischievous activities. The village girls would usually avoid him.
If she lived there, wouldn’t she be even closer to him? Su Man might have a protagonist’s halo, but she didn’t.
Moreover, that area was too remote, inconvenient for work, and it was best to stay in the educated youth spot where there were more people and it was safer. It was better not to stand out.
Thanks for the chapter (-ㅂ-)/ ♥ ♥ ♥