Chapter 297: “The Big Sucker”
Ning Xiyue walked into the kitchen. On the table were two bowls of sweet potato porridge that had cooled, and a plate of pickled radish slices.
“Second Brother, you got up way too early—breakfast is already ready!” Ning Xiyue looked at Ning Qingyuan, who was letting the chicks out of the coop to feed them, and said in surprise.
“It’s not just me who made it. Being able to eat breakfast this early has a little help from another reason,” Ning Qingyuan replied.
He poured feed into the stone trough and, raising his chin toward the neighboring kitchen, whispered with a mischievous expression.
“What’s going on?” Ning Xiyue jogged over to him, lowering her voice with curiosity and offering a guess: “Could it be something you and Yu Zhiyu did?”
“Not at all. Sister, your guess is surprisingly accurate,” he said with a hint of surprise.
Ning Qingyuan continued:
“I was sleeping soundly this morning when suddenly Yu Zhiyu from next door came and knocked on my door. He asked me what’s best to eat the day after getting drunk. I was half-asleep, but that woke me completely.”
“Then I realized that last night, the only ones who got drunk were Liu Yao and Chen Ye Chu. Heh heh, I could roughly guess Yu Zhiyu’s intentions. I didn’t go back to sleep and quickly got up to help him cook breakfast. Come on, I’ll tell you a big secret I discovered last night.”
Ning Qingyuan left the chicken coop and led Ning Xiyue into the house.
Ning Xiyue tilted her head toward the neighboring kitchen with a playful smile.
She hadn’t expected Yu Zhiyu to be so proactive. After last night’s groundwork, he was already making digestive porridge this morning. Very thoughtful—he had a touch of attentiveness.
Ning Xiyue was a bit curious about what was happening next door, but she wasn’t in a hurry. Perhaps after today, she’d see how things would unfold.
“Little sister, sit down. I’ll bring over the steamed eggs and the buns.”
Ning Qingyuan brought two bowls of steamed egg custard from the pot—one for each of them—and two large buns.
“These are steamed with the duck eggs we collected yesterday. The buns were made from the dough we prepared while cooking last night, then steamed this morning. Eat while it’s hot.”
“Wow, you really made a nice breakfast,” Ning Xiyue said, sipping a mouthful of porridge.
“Mmm, the sweet potato porridge is just the right temperature—not cold, not too hot. By the way, Second Brother, what big secret did you want to tell me?”
“Last night… last night, I saw Yu Zhiyu tell Chen Ye Chu that he likes her,” Ning Qingyuan whispered mysteriously, glancing at the door.
“That’s the secret?” Ning Xiyue calmly took a spoonful of the egg custard.
She had expected a big secret, but it was just this. However, she was a little more surprised that her brother had witnessed it as well.
“You’re not surprised? Little sister, you already knew?” Ning Qingyuan’s expression stiffened—this wasn’t the reaction he expected.
Ning Xiyue took another bite of her bun, smiling mysteriously.
“I was there too last night. I saw and heard everything. There’s nothing in this educated youth courtyard that I don’t know. I see everything clearly.”
Ning Qingyuan’s eyes widened: “…”
He hadn’t expected that!
Surprised at her, Ning Xiyue happily continued eating her bun.
“Eat quickly. Today you’re starting work at the coal mining team. By the time you return, you should see some changes regarding the two of them.”
“Impressive. I get it now—this is why you thrive in the Daliu team, little sister. You see everything.”
He also thought that after going to the countryside, his sister’s wits were sharper than a wasp nest—very good. She wouldn’t be easily taken advantage of.
Drinking his porridge, Ning Qingyuan suddenly remembered something and said,
“By the way, sister, the people working in the coal mining team eat in the big team canteen. Every month, meal tickets are issued—one per person, used to pay for meals. You pick them up from the accountant at the beginning of the month. So, no need to cook lunch today. After I get the tickets, I’ll take you to eat at the canteen. How about that?”
“Sure, today’s the first meal since the canteen opened, so it’ll be fun to check it out. I bet there’ll be a lot of people going.”
Ning Xiyue had already planned to check the canteen and see if she could get meals there in the future.
“Alright, it’s settled. I’ll meet you at the canteen at noon. Eat quickly—the pot still has food.”
After breakfast, Ning Xiyue made a cup of brown sugar water with a drop of Yangzhi Ganlu and gave it to Liu Yao to drink before heading out together for work.
Today, the team members started another busy year. Apart from those working in the mining team, everyone else—young and old—was busy in the fields for spring planting.
It was the first day of work, and Ning Xiyue only had morning duties on the slope. In the afternoon, she would return to the health station, so the team leader assigned her a simple task: weeding the land for spring wheat.
Her job was simply to pull weeds.
She worked in a group with the aunties she knew best: Aunt Yangliu, Aunt Zhao, Aunt Qian, and others.
Working with them was always fun—never boring.
While pulling weeds, they chatted.
Eventually, the conversation turned to the two absent aunties from the gossip group: Aunt Liu and Aunt Zhang.
Aunt Zhao shifted her basket of weeds, hands still busy pulling, and kept talking.
“The big canteen opened today, and Old Liu and Old Zhang are still cooking there. I’d love to see how it looks now—their cooking skills aren’t bad.”
At this point, Ning Xiyue had something to share. She told everyone what she had heard from her brother earlier that morning.
“I heard that to eat in the canteen, you need tickets. Without a ticket, you can’t eat. Each person gets a fixed number of tickets, and only those working there can get them.”
“That’s true. But since it’s in our team, there’s a little perk,” Aunt Yangliu said, pausing for effect and smiling at everyone, teasingly holding back the full story.
As the wife of the team leader, she had first-hand knowledge about the canteen.
Everyone present grew curious, eyes shining.
Aunt Qian couldn’t hide her curiosity and stopped weeding. “Yangliu, what perk? Tell us!”
Ning Xiyue was very interested. She already wanted to know about eating in the canteen, and this mention spiked her curiosity. She looked at Aunt Yangliu eagerly.
“Aunt, what perk? Can you tell us? Waiting here is killing me.”
Aunt Zhao chimed in: “Yes, Yangliu, talk! Half-telling is torturous.”
Aunt Yangliu glanced at them.
“Don’t stop weeding—let me tell you.”
Ning Xiyue’s hands moved quickly, pulling weeds without missing a beat.
The other aunties continued weeding too, but half their attention was on Aunt Yangliu, waiting for her to speak.
Seeing everyone working faster, Aunt Yangliu smiled and continued:
“Even those not working inside the canteen can still eat there.”
“Two ways: one, team members can bring their own rations to the canteen to exchange for cooked meals, paying a small processing fee of two cents.”
“And the other way?” Aunt Qian prompted.
Aunt Yangliu smiled at her.
“Patience. The second way is to buy meal tickets directly with money, like eating at a state-run restaurant. The price is more than half cheaper, but this only applies to our team members eating in the canteen themselves.”
Once the aunties heard both methods involved money, they lost interest.
Two cents is still money. Two cents per meal adds up to six mao a month—enough to buy a pound of meat. Hard work in the field just to earn that.
The second method was even less appealing—who has money to burn to buy meals outside?
For those working in the fields, this canteen perk wasn’t that attractive.
It wasn’t essential to eat there.
Though the aunties pretended to show interest to give Aunt Yangliu face, none of them were genuinely excited.
“Still okay,” Aunt Zhao said awkwardly. “If there’s a celebration at home, we can eat there. Or if we’re lazy and don’t want to cook, we can try it. Not bad.”
“Yes, yes. After a long day in the fields, checking out the canteen is fine,” Aunt Qian nodded, smiling.
The others followed suit.
No one was being sincere—the thoughts in their minds were who the real “sucker” would be. Meals cooked by team members could never compare to a master chef at a state-run restaurant. Nothing special about eating there.
Only Ning Xiyue genuinely wanted to go. The aunties’ polite words reflected her real desire—they saw her as the “big sucker.”
