Chapter 25: The Mosquito Net
Ning Xiyue’s silent greeting, paired with that meaningful smile, was enough to render Ning Xiaoxiao speechless. She stood there frozen, a slightly complicated expression on her face, lost in thought.
How boring, Ning Xiyue thought. She hadn’t even done anything yet and Xiaoxiao was already scared. Seems like her courage had shrunk after coming to the countryside. Still the same fragile little white flower as before.
Wu Zhigang, the male educated youth standing in front of Ning Xiaoxiao, noticed that she had stopped moving after encountering this unfamiliar female comrade. Curious, he asked,“Xiaoxiao, do you two know each other?”
Ning Xiaoxiao looked at him with an aggrieved expression, as if she wanted to speak but couldn’t.
Seeing the expression on the girl he liked, Wu Zhigang suddenly remembered something. He pushed Xiaoxiao gently behind him and looked at Ning Xiyue with clear disgust in his eyes. “You’re Xiaoxiao’s cousin, aren’t you?”
Ning Xiyue raised an eyebrow. It seemed Xiaoxiao had spread plenty of rumors about her here. Perfect — that just meant there would be fun to play with later.
But now, food came first. This guy was obviously the “second lapdog” type like Zhang Yuan — not worth her attention. She was still hungry anyway. She rolled her eyes, ignored them, and placed the dish on the table without so much as a glance.
Right behind her, Chen Yechu entered carrying two bowls of rice. When she saw the two people standing at the door, her hands trembled slightly, but her expression remained calm. She walked steadily to sit across from Ning Xiyue and began to eat.
A female educated youth sitting at the head of the table slammed her chopsticks down impatiently.
“Are you two going to eat or not? What are you standing there for? Don’t go around saying we didn’t save you any food. Every day we wait for the two of you to eat — can you at least try to be on time? And what’s with those pitiful looks? Nobody’s bullying you. Next time you’re late, you two can just cook separately. Nobody owes you anything.”
Ning Xiaoxiao, angry but too scared to speak, quickened her pace and sat down, looking as if she were about to cry — though not a single tear fell.
“Wang Fenglan, you…”
Wu Zhigang wanted to argue back at Wang Fenglan, to say “Fine, we’ll cook separately.” But after thinking about it, cooking alone with Ning Xiaoxiao might not be as easy as their current setup. He swallowed his pride and kept quiet.
“What do you mean ‘you’? If you’ve got the guts, go cook separately with her. If not, then shut up.”
Ning Xiyue scooped a mouthful of rice and glanced sideways at Comrade Wang Fenglan. She liked her temper — direct and unfiltered. And the fact that she was arguing with that little white flower Ning Xiaoxiao made Ning Xiyue like her even more.
It seemed Xiaoxiao wasn’t very popular here either — probably only liked by a few brainless guys.
“Alright, everyone, let’s drop it. Eat. After working all afternoon, we’re all starving,” Zhao Jianshe interrupted.
Wu Guifang also spoke up, “And you two — don’t make us wait next time.”
As the two most senior educated youths in the compound, their words carried weight. Wang Fenglan stopped talking, the argument fizzled out, and the room finally quieted as everyone began to eat.
Ning Xiyue and Chen Yechu ate silently, like bystanders watching a play.
After that little drama, the atmosphere at the dinner table was awkwardly tense. The room was silent except for the sound of chopsticks clinking against bowls.
During the meal, Ning Xiaoxiao dropped her weak, delicate act entirely. She ate quickly and efficiently, her chopsticks striking like lightning and never missing their target. Of the three pieces of fatty pork in the dish, she alone grabbed two.
This earned her several fierce glares from Wang Fenglan, who had started the confrontation earlier. Late to dinner but fastest to eat — and eating more than anyone else.
Wang Fenglan sped up too. She wasn’t about to let this shameless girl take more than her share.
When Ning Xiyue finished eating and started clearing her dishes, she glanced over at the next table and saw hands darting toward the food so fast they left afterimages. She was honestly stunned — even at the orphanage, the competition for food hadn’t been this intense. Even she had to admit their hand speed was superior.
Ning Xiyue decided right then — she wouldn’t be joining in their group meals again. It would be better to cook on her own. One of these days, she’d buy a small stove and a small iron pot to use by herself. She didn’t want to crowd around the shared stove with the others, and she definitely didn’t want to eat from the same pot as Ning Xiaoxiao. Just the thought of it made her feel sick.
After washing the dishes and returning to the room, Ning Xiyue saw Chen Yechu busy with something — she had somehow gotten hold of a few poles and was setting up a frame over her half of the kang bed. Then she pulled out a piece of old, worn cloth — stitched together from many smaller scraps. The sewing was a little rough.
Was she… making a mosquito net?
Sure enough, Ning Xiyue watched as Chen Yechu straightened the cloth, found one end, and began tying the sewn fabric strips to the frame — starting with the four corners, then the rest, and finally tucking the excess fabric under the mat.
Five minutes later, a completely sealed mosquito net appeared before Ning Xiyue’s eyes, covering Chen Yechu’s entire sleeping space.
From the outside, Ning Xiyue couldn’t see a thing inside. When Chen Yechu tested it with a flashlight, no light leaked out at all — it was the perfect private, enclosed space.
Brilliant.
Ning Xiyue was genuinely impressed and gave Chen Yechu a thumbs up. “Yechu, you really thought of everything. This is amazing.”
“My grandma made it for me,” Chen Yechu replied with a gentle smile. “Xiyue, I suggest you make one too. There are a lot of mosquitoes and bugs in the mountains. Our compound is too close to the forest — once night falls, you won’t be able to sleep with all the mosquitoes.”
“Mm, I agree. I’ll figure something out.”
Ning Xiyue nodded. Making a mosquito net definitely needed to go on her to-do list. It would keep out the bugs and give her some privacy. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? Probably because she’d been too focused on earning sign-in points.
The female lead’s second chance at life had clearly made her much more experienced. Ning Xiyue decided she’d have to observe Chen Yechu more closely. As she unpacked her luggage, she was thinking just that.
“Huh, what’s this?” Ning Xiyue discovered a thick piece of fabric inside the suitcase Yun Xiulan had packed for her. She wondered if her mother had prepared it for this very reason.
She quickly unfolded it and laughed. “Looks like I won’t have to come up with a solution after all — my mom made one for me too.”
Although this mosquito net was also made from fabric scraps, they were all new scraps, stitched together with fine, neat seams. It was clearly made from leftover fabric at the textile factory where Yun Xiulan worked, repurposed with a sewing machine.
“Your mom really loves you. That’s wonderful,” Chen Yechu said softly, a hint of envy in her eyes. If her mother were still alive, she would have made one too.
“Mm, my family treats me very well,” Ning Xiyue nodded, smiling happily. “I’ll get this mosquito net set up first.”
Chen Yechu pointed to some bamboo poles beside her. “I’ve got some bamboo left over from making mine. You can use it.”
“Thank you, Yechu.”
Ning Xiyue smiled gratefully at her and began setting up her net, mimicking the way Chen Yechu had built hers.
As she worked, Chen Yechu tidied her own things while occasionally giving Ning Xiyue tips. Before long, the bamboo frame was complete.
Chen Yechu even helped her finish putting the mosquito net in place.
“All done!” Ning Xiyue clapped her hands in satisfaction, looking proudly at her sleeping space. Once again, she silently thanked her mother for being so thoughtful.
“Xiyue, Yechu, what are you two doing?” Liu Yao called as she ran over happily from outside, knocking on the door. “Sister Guifang is organizing a small welcome party for us new educated youths. We’re supposed to go to the dining hall at 7:30 so everyone — new and old — can get to know each other.”
