Chapter 298: Everything Serves to Watch the Show
Ning Xiyue’s thoughts were simple: she wanted to give herself more time to be lazy, especially in the morning, so she could sleep a little longer. From now on, she’d go to the canteen for breakfast, cook for herself at noon and dinner, and if she didn’t feel like cooking, she could just eat at the canteen.
This gave her more options for meals.
The team’s canteen was for slacking off, the small kitchen in the educated youth courtyard improved meals, and the automatic kitchen in the space could be used for studying or extra meals.
With these three meal options, her life in the countryside felt complete.
Ning Xiyue looked at Aunt Yangliu and asked the question she cared about most: “Aunt, if I want to buy meal tickets or exchange rations for food, who should I go to?”
The other aunties turned their attention to Ning Xiyue, appearing surprised. But once they thought about it, it made sense, so they weren’t too shocked.
Aunt Liu asked curiously, “Xiyue, are you trying to exchange for meal tickets?”
Ning Xiyue didn’t answer definitively, giving a vague response: “I’m just curious. It’s never wrong to know a bit more. If I want to eat at the canteen, I’ll know what to do and won’t be scrambling blindly.”
For members of the gossip-loving “Little Ling Tong” crew, useful information was always appealing.
Aunt Liu’s eyes lit up—she hadn’t considered it this way before and was now interested.
“That makes sense. Knowing more makes chatting with others more enjoyable. Yangliu, tell us more.”
Aunt Yangliu explained, “There’s a window set up next to the canteen for handling these matters. Whether it’s exchanging tickets or something else, you go to that window. Only that window handles it—you can’t go wrong.”
Finally, she smiled at Ning Xiyue, knowing that these instructions were mainly for her. Apart from Ning Xiyue, few people actually cared about such details.
“Thank you, Aunt. Got it,” Ning Xiyue said, quietly pulling weeds while listening to the aunties talk.
“That’s convenient,” Aunt Liu said happily. She was pleased to have learned something others didn’t know.
That was how she got information unknown to others—by having a time advantage. Being among the first to know gave them a sense of superiority while chatting.
The aunties loved gathering information, so once they learned something, they immediately asked about other things they wanted to know.
Aunt Zhao asked, “By the way, Yangliu, will there be new educated youths coming this year? I see that Xiyue’s youth courtyard doesn’t have many left.”
This perked up Ning Xiyue. Anything affecting the harmony of their youth courtyard demanded attention.
Aunt Qian teased, “Old Zhao, why do you care if new youths come? Are you looking to pick a bride for your son?”
Aunt Zhao spat and said, “Come on, I’m just asking. Almost every year new youths arrive. And now is the busy spring plowing season—let’s see what the organization has planned.”
One aunt muttered, “Whether the new youths come or not doesn’t matter. Spring plowing is heavy, and the newcomers can’t do much to help anyway.”
Aunt Sun added, “We can watch the show! Last year’s drama was so entertaining—better than the movies shown by the projectionist.”
“Exactly, that’s my honest thought,” Aunt Sun said.
Aunt Zhao gave a sly smile and, remembering Ning Xiyue was nearby, smiled apologetically at her.
“Xiyue, don’t take it personally. I’m not talking about you. Everyone in your youth courtyard is great, and you’re an excellent girl—the best educated youth in Daliu Team. You’re already one of us.”
Ning Xiyue: …
She realized why the aunties suddenly cared about when new youths would arrive—it was all for the drama. Everything served to watch the show.
“I don’t mind, Aunt,” Ning Xiyue said firmly, shaking her head. “If you’re watching the show, don’t forget to include me.”
Nothing to mind—she wasn’t being talked about. She wouldn’t cause trouble, so she could watch the drama unfold.
Aunt Zhang laughed warmly, “I like someone like Xiyue—gets along with us. Yangliu, any news?”
Aunt Yangliu shrugged helplessly. “I can’t answer that yet—I haven’t received any notification from above. Once I do, I’ll tell you.”
Aunt Zhao picked up an empty basket to hold weeds and said, “I guess it won’t be long. Let’s wait. Our team now has a small coal mining team stationed here, so it’s already lively. With new youths arriving, it’ll be even livelier.”
Ning Xiyue agreed with Aunt Zhao.
“Focus on weeding for now. Finish early and go eat—it’s more practical,” Aunt Yangliu said, holding up a handful of weeds as a reminder.
With that, the aunties temporarily stopped gossiping and seriously sped up their weeding.
Pulled weeds couldn’t be left in the field; the roots needed to be cleaned to prevent regrowth.
By noon, after finishing work, Ning Xiyue carried a basket of weeds back and spread them on the dam to dry. Afterward, she happily walked to the nearby team canteen to eat.
At the entrance, she ran into Wang Mengmeng, Liu Yao, and Wang Jiandong—who had also just finished work and come to check things out.
“Hehe, everyone’s here for lunch,” they said, exchanging knowing smiles.
