Early the next morning, as the first rays of dawn peeked through, Cheng Fangqiu was called up. She quickly washed up, hurriedly ate breakfast, and then rushed to the brigade headquarters to report in. Because it was so early, she barely saw anyone on the way.
The village’s administrative office was a single-story house, divided into several rooms for the village cadres to use as offices. On the wall, the words “Serve the People” were neatly painted in red oil paint, exuding a strong sense of the era. The atmosphere struck Cheng Fangqiu, making her pause to take a closer look.
The brigade leader’s office was at the innermost part. She knocked on the door properly and called out, “Brigade Leader!”
Meng Xinfeng had just arrived not long before. Hearing the call, he instinctively looked up. Seeing that Cheng Fangqiu had arrived on time, he nodded in satisfaction, put down the pen in his hand, grabbed the military-green cap on the table, and walked out while saying, “Let’s go.”
“Alright!”
The two of them first went to find the scorekeeper and accountant to explain the situation, then headed straight for the educated youth’s residence.
Originally, there was no dedicated cook for the educated youth point. Everyone had to take care of their own meals. This time, a cook was specially arranged by the higher-ups to accommodate the technical staff supporting the countryside. Supplies such as grain and firewood were also provided by the commune.
Compared to working in the fields, cooking in the kitchen was much easier. There was no one supervising, and all that was required was to prepare three meals a day for the technical staff. The rest of the time was free for personal matters. Most importantly, this job still earned full work points, making it an opportunity that was too good to pass up.
At the time, the village women almost fought over this position. In the end, it was the village party secretary and the brigade leader who made the final decision, selecting He Shenghui for the job because of her experience. She had previously been responsible for cooking in the communal kitchen, and no one could surpass her in this regard. With that, all opposition gradually died down.
However, after only a few days, He Shenghui unexpectedly injured her leg. Left with no choice, they had to find someone else to help in the kitchen. After all, they couldn’t let the technical staff go hungry.
But no one expected that this opportunity would fall right into Cheng Fangqiu’s hands!
By the time they arrived, the technical staff had yet to wake up. In the kitchen, only He Shenghui was there, hobbling around as she busied herself. Her right leg was injured and wrapped with wooden splints, making her movements slow and clumsy.
Cheng Fangqiu quickly stepped forward to help, dumping a basket of potatoes into the water basin. She smiled slightly and said, “Auntie, let me do it.”
Hearing this, He Shenghui raised her head and met a delicate, fair face. Even though she had been mentally prepared, she still couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise. She hadn’t expected the brigade leader to actually send Cheng Fangqiu to help. With such a dainty and pampered look, how could she possibly know how to cook? In fact, she didn’t even seem like someone who had ever done laborious work before.
In He Shenghui’s eyes, this beautiful and refined woman was just like the pampered young misses of wealthy capitalist families—completely incapable of doing anything and only suited to a life of luxury. Unfortunately, she was born in the wrong place. In their poor rural village, no matter how pretty she was, she couldn’t escape the fate of hard labor.
Lost in thought for a long while, He Shenghui pursed her lips and forced a smile. “Then thank you, Comrade Cheng.”
After saying this, she secretly glanced at Cheng Fangqiu’s face several more times before sighing inwardly: I just hope she doesn’t slow me down!
Cheng Fangqiu wasn’t a mind reader, so she had no way of knowing what He Shenghui was thinking. However, she could more or less guess from the woman’s expression. She secretly curled her lips in disdain, but her smile remained unchanged.
“You’re welcome. This is what I should be doing.”
Seeing that the two of them were getting along well enough, Meng Xinfeng nodded in satisfaction. However, he still felt the need to remind them, “Help each other out during this time. If anything happens, come find me at the brigade headquarters. I still have things to take care of in the fields, so I’ll head out first.”
The two women exchanged a glance and nodded in unison. After sending Meng Xinfeng off, the atmosphere suddenly became a little awkward and tense. Fortunately, there was plenty of work to do, so they didn’t have to just stand there staring at each other. Before long, they started discussing how to divide the tasks and got to work.
Since He Shenghui had trouble moving around, she was responsible for washing vegetables and tending the fire while sitting down. Cheng Fangqiu, on the other hand, handled chopping and stir-frying.
Though it was their first time working together, they found a rare sense of cooperation. Their efficiency was much higher than usual, and in no time, they had prepared enough food for over a dozen people.
The meals provided for the technical staff weren’t extravagant, but they were certainly better than what most villagers ate. Today’s menu included a large pot of tomato and egg soup, a big bowl of stir-fried potato slices, another bowl of spicy stir-fried eggplant, and thick cornbread pancakes.
These were all simple dishes, but Cheng Fangqiu had put some thought into plating them. She wiped the soup splashes around the pots and bowls until they were spotless, and she stacked the cornbread pancakes neatly. The table arrangement looked orderly and appetizing, making the meal appear much cleaner and more delicious.
The tomato and egg soup was especially eye-catching, with vibrant red tomatoes and golden-yellow eggs making for a pleasing color contrast. Even He Shenghui couldn’t help but glance at it a few more times. Most villagers rarely ate eggs since they preferred to sell them at the supply and marketing cooperative for money. Her own family was the same. Now, as she caught the distinct fragrance of cooked eggs, she couldn’t help but swallow involuntarily. At the same time, her view of Cheng Fangqiu subtly changed.
To be honest, when Cheng Fangqiu was first assigned as the head cook, He Shenghui had been looking forward to watching a joke unfold. She had wanted to see how flustered and helpless Cheng Fangqiu would be, so that she could naturally suggest to the brigade leader that someone more capable be brought in to share the workload.
But as it turned out, one really couldn’t judge a book by its cover. Cheng Fangqiu actually managed to cook all the dishes on her own, and not only that—they were visually appealing and fragrant. As for the taste, well, that would be up to those picky-eating technical staff to judge.
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. At that moment, chaotic footsteps sounded at the kitchen entrance as a group of yawning men walked in. It was clear that they had just woken up. The man leading the group had a sheen of sweat on his face and was slightly out of breath, using a towel to wipe away the droplets of water.
“Brother Huai, why didn’t you call me for the morning run today?” Zhao Zhigao pouted exaggeratedly, looking at Zhou Yinghuai with a face full of resentment.
The latter cast him a cool glance. “You were sleeping like a dead pig. I called you three times, but you didn’t wake up.”
Just as Zhao Zhigao was about to argue back, a soft and charming laugh suddenly echoed from not far ahead. Following the sound, he turned his head and caught sight of Cheng Fangqiu. She was covering the corner of her lips, her eyes curved in amusement, instantly brightening up the otherwise dull room.
“C-Cheng Comrade?” Realizing that she was laughing at him, Zhao Zhigao’s face instantly turned bright red.
His words also had the unexpected effect of waking up the still-drowsy men. One by one, they straightened their backs, craned their necks, and turned their gazes toward Cheng Fangqiu, who was standing beside the dining table, smiling with bright, sparkling eyes.
A beauty was a beauty, no matter the environment.
She wore a white and blue floral-patterned blouse paired with black trousers. Her long, jet-black hair was braided into a loose plait that draped over one shoulder. The breeze lifted a few strands of hair at her ear, softening her striking and almost aggressive features, making her appear more approachable.
Oh right, they had almost forgotten—today was the day Cheng Comrade would be cooking for them!
Just the thought of such a beautiful girl making their meals made their lips curl up uncontrollably. At the same time, they couldn’t help but grow even more eager to find out how her cooking tasted.
“Hurry up and eat. I just finished cooking—it’s still hot.” Cheng Fangqiu spoke directly, her bright eyes curving like crescent moons as she locked her gaze on Zhou Yinghuai. She hadn’t expected him to be so detached from worldly affairs yet still have the humor to tease others.
This contrast made him seem less like an untouchable celestial and added a few layers of distinct charm.
Realizing that she had overheard his remark about Zhao Zhigao, Zhou Yinghuai’s ears turned the faintest shade of red. Seeing the laughter nearly spilling out of her eyes, he cleared his throat lightly and quickly lowered his gaze. As if escaping, he followed the others to grab his meal container and took a seat at the dining table.
The large round table was packed full, and the first thing everyone noticed was that, unlike before, the bowls and plates were no longer placed haphazardly, and the table was no longer greasy. It was clear that someone had deliberately cleaned and organized everything.
Not only that, but the dishes looked different too. They couldn’t quite put their finger on what had changed, but in the past, just looking at the food would kill their appetite. Now, the mere sight of it made their mouths water.
Everyone immediately linked this change to the newly arrived Cheng Fangqiu. Their eyes lit up with excitement as they eagerly reached for their chopsticks, impatient to try her cooking.
Compared to the others, Zhou Yinghuai remained much calmer—after all, he had already tasted her cooking yesterday. And not just any dish, but a rare, exclusive serving of pine mushroom chicken soup.
“This is delicious! The potatoes are fried just right—not too soft, not too hard.”
“The eggplant is even better! Eat it with the cornbread—it’s incredible! Who would’ve thought Cheng Comrade was such a great cook? Why didn’t they have her cook for us sooner? If you ask me, a wife should be like Cheng Comrade—beautiful and capable.”
“Cheng Comrade is great, but she’s too far away from us…”
The words were spoken with a certain tact. Saying that the distance was too far wasn’t just about physical distance—it was also about social class.
That same person then continued whispering under his breath, “Sigh, if only Cheng Comrade weren’t just some country girl. What’s the use of being beautiful and capable? It’s better to be born into the right family. No matter how good a rural girl is, she still won’t be able to step onto a proper stage.”
As soon as those words fell, Zhou Yinghuai, who had been silently eating, suddenly furrowed his brows. With a loud clatter, he threw his chopsticks down. His expression turned cold as he snapped, “Shut up!”
After speaking, he instinctively glanced toward the stove, where a certain figure stood. She appeared to be washing dishes, but her hands had already stopped moving for quite some time—she had obviously heard everything.
Zhou Yinghuai clenched his fists, about to say something else, when suddenly, that thin figure spun around abruptly. Facing them head-on, she firmly and forcefully threw out a single sentence:
“What’s wrong with being a country girl? Did I eat your family’s rice?”
“Chairman Mao said that everyone is equal—there’s no discrimination between cities and the countryside. So why do you talk as if there are social classes?”
“I am a rural person, and I am proud. Our country is made up of 80 to 90 percent rural people. Without the farmers, where would you get the food you eat today?”
“And yet, here you are, still eating the grain grown by farmers while looking down on them. Shameless!”
“Your mindset is outdated and problematic!”
The seemingly delicate woman showed not a trace of fear when facing a man who was taller and stronger than her. Instead, she boldly fought back, her words sharp and resounding with clarity and strength.
At that moment, she seemed to glow with an undeniable radiance, making it impossible for Zhou Yinghuai to look away.