Wen Xi set down her basket of wild vegetables and lowered her voice mysteriously, saying, "I was just digging for wild vegetables on the mountain when I overheard the villagers talking about the youth hostel. I quietly listened for a few minutes, and it turns out there's a male youth there named Lu Xiaoyun. He's dating Nie Xiulan, who is also a youth, but he actually has a girlfriend back in his hometown! That girlfriend is always writing him letters, so he's been sneaking into the mountains to read them. He accidentally dropped one, and that's how everyone found out he has one girlfriend back home and another one out here!"
Lu Xiaoyun was the best friend of the male protagonist, Xia Minglei. He was nineteen years old this year and liked Nie Xiulan, who had descended to the countryside in the same batch.
The two of them were considered a good match, coming from similar social backgrounds.
However, Nie Xiulan had been stringing Lu Xiaoyun along without accepting him. During this period of uncertainty, Lu Xiaoyun began flirting with Shen Jiaojiao. Shen Jiaojiao had never experienced anything like this and quickly fell for him, revealing everything about herself. As it turned out, once Nie Xiulan discovered this, she hurriedly accepted Lu Xiaoyun. Consequently, Lu Xiaoyun went home to marry Nie Xiulan, and they eventually moved back to the city, leaving Shen Jiaojiao all alone.
As Wen Xi spoke, she kept glancing at Shen Jiaojiao. She wanted to instill the fact that Lu Xiaoyun was a scumbag into her mind, so that in the future, when Lu Xiaoyun tried to flirt with or seduce her, she would be able to guard her heart and not be easily swayed.
Lu Xiaoyun didn't actually like her at all; he just wanted to provoke Nie Xiulan into accepting him. Furthermore, Nie Xiulan was also disgusting—she liked him but deliberately played hard to get, only accepting him after he had hurt someone else. It was like picking up a rotten cucumber just to eat it; truly revolting.
In short, in this lifetime, she would never let a scumbag like Lu Xiaoyun hurt Shen Jiaojiao again.
"How can there be such a person? That's too disgusting!" Shen Jiaojiao frowned, looking as if she had swallowed a fly.
"And then there's that Nie Xiulan. They say she is incredibly jealous. If anyone is seen talking to Lu Xiaoyun, she will secretly sabotage them. So, when we go to the youth hostel for dinner at night, none of us should look at Lu Xiaoyun or talk to him, lest Nie Xiulan gets jealous and targets us. In terms of family background, we can't compare to her," Wen Xi said, giving Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue a heads-up.
Hearing this, Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue nodded repeatedly. "Such a disgusting person—I'll feel sick just seeing him. How could I possibly talk to him?"
Once Wen Xi knew that Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue understood Lu Xiaoyun's character, she felt relieved. This way, no matter how much Lu Xiaoyun tried to act out in front of them, they likely wouldn't be foolish enough to get involved with him.
Having finished her explanation, Wen Xi took out the wild vegetables and chestnuts. She fetched some water to wash the basket and shovel clean, then returned them to Chang Qingqing.
After returning, the three of them began processing the wild vegetables together. Shen Jiaojiao asked curiously, "Xiao Xi, didn't you exchange a basket of vegetables with the sister next door? You have plenty of vegetables to eat; why did you dig so many wild vegetables?"
"Aren't we going to the youth hostel tonight for the welcome banquet? It would be improper to go empty-handed, but I don't want to let those people benefit from the good stuff. So, I specially prepared some wild vegetables for them. You two separate them and wash them clean; I'll stir-fry them tonight to bring over."
Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh. A scumbag like Lu Xiaoyun didn't deserve to eat the good food in their hands.
At noon, Wen Xi stir-fried some shredded potatoes with vinegar and reheated the leftover sweet potato porridge from the morning to eat for lunch.
Jiang Yue picked up a mouthful of shredded potatoes, and her eyes lit up after eating. "Xiao Xi, these shredded potatoes are delicious! Your cooking is so good; why don't you be in charge of cooking from now on? That way, we don't have to draw lots anymore. I'll take turns doing the rest of the chores with Jiaojiao, how about it?"
While eating, Wen Xi said, "I can certainly be in charge of cooking, but both of you have to agree to it."
"Although I'm the one who cooks at home, my grandmother is always watching me. She won't let me add even a tiny bit extra of oil or salt. I can eat the most when I cook, but it's definitely not delicious. I agree to let Xiao Xi cook, but cooking in the summer is too tiring and hot. It wouldn't be fair to let Xiao Xi do it all alone. How about this: we will be responsible for washing clothes for Xiao Xi?" Since Wen Xi had helped her so much since childhood, she wasn't a heartless person.
Jiang Yue nodded repeatedly. "Deal. Xiao Xi, next time you bathe, just wash the clothes you wore inside, and we'll wash the rest."
"Alright, then I'll be in charge of cooking from now on. I'll make all sorts of delicious food every day to raise you both up plump and fair." Wen Xi placed a mouthful of shredded potatoes into each of their bowls. "After the meal, please make a list of what furniture you still need. We'll head to the carpenter's house in a bit to ask him to hurry up and make them for us. Otherwise, if someone else cuts in line, we won't know how long we'll have to wait."
After the meal, Shen Jiaojiao tidied up the kitchen. The three of them returned to their rooms to list the furniture they needed, then locked their doors and headed toward the carpenter's house.
Arriving outside the carpenter's house, Wen Xi reached out and knocked on the door.
"Coming, coming!" a response came from inside the courtyard, and then a middle-aged man covered in sawdust walked out.
"Uncle Zheng, we are the new youths. Didn't Captain Qian send someone yesterday to help us buy some furniture? But we still need a few more pieces," Wen Xi said politely and respectfully.
Uncle Zheng said with a smile, "Come inside and talk!"
As they walked into the courtyard, Wen Xi continued, "Uncle Zheng, I also need three desks with drawers, and then a five-tier bookshelf attached to the top of the desks so we don't have to waste time making separate bookshelves. Also, three five-tier shoe racks, three large wardrobes, three large wooden chests, and one type of hook—the kind used to hang things from the ceiling beams."
Uncle Zheng nodded as he listened. "I can make all the other things, but I haven't made a desk with a bookshelf attached before. What does it look like?"
Wen Xi quickly handed over the drawings in her hand. "Uncle Zheng, it looks like this."
Uncle Zheng took the drawings and looked at them seriously, then said, "Let me take a look. As for the other furniture, if there's anything already finished, I'll have my family deliver it to you, how about that?"
"That works! Thank you for the trouble, Uncle Zheng," Wen Xi said with a smile. "Uncle Zheng, do you have any baskets or back-carriers here? We can't go up the mountain to gather firewood without them."
Uncle Zheng led the three of them to his furniture warehouse and told them to choose for themselves. There wasn't much left in the warehouse because everything had been hauled over to Wen Xi's place yesterday, leaving Uncle Zheng's warehouse nearly empty.
(End of Chapter)