Yunyi had barely walked a few steps when she heard someone call out to her, "Yunyi, wait for me."
Without turning around, she knew who it was. As she turned, she saw Geng Erhong running towards her. "Yunyi, I’ve brought grain. Is it alright if I come to your place to cook tonight?"
Yunyi smiled. "Sure." Original content can be found at N0veI.Fiɾe.net
She had initially intended to say there was no need to bring food. However, she was wary of trouble and didn’t want people to mistake her for being too easygoing, so the words changed right as they were about to leave her mouth.
Seeing Yunyi didn’t refuse, Geng Erhong immediately hooked arms with her. "That’s really great."
Bai Suli, walking behind them, instantly felt a surge of jealousy. "If Chuyunyi really considered her a friend, she wouldn’t let her bring her own rations. I really don’t know what Geng Erhong is so happy about."
When she spoke and got no response after a while, she turned to Deng Xiaojie beside her and was startled by the ferocious expression on her face.
Deng Xiaojie had been fixated on Yunyi’s retreating figure, plotting revenge, and hadn’t clearly heard Bai Suli’s sarcastic remark.
When Geng Erhong returned to the Zhiqing Point, she didn’t take her share from the grain borrowed from the village. Instead, she went into her room and took some fine grains from her own trunk.
Bai Suli felt even more bitter. "Are you sneaking off behind our backs to eat fine grains somewhere else?"
Geng Erhong flared up. "They’re my things, and it’s my decision. What business is it of yours?"
Bai Suli hadn’t expected Geng Erhong to curse at her directly. "How is it none of my business? You’re supposed to be eating with us, but now you’re taking your fine grains to eat with someone else. What do you take us for? What do you take this Zhiqing Point for?"
Geng Erhong was amused by this. "So I can’t even decide what to do with my own things? Do I need your approval for that too?"
She continued, as something else crossed her mind, "Besides, it’s not even my turn to cook today, so I don’t understand what you’re saying. Go on, explain it to everyone here."
Bai Suli, seeing no one siding with her and not wanting to be outdone, retorted, "Our Zhiqing Point is a collective. If you take your rations out to eat with someone else, and outsiders find out, they might think we’re ostracizing you. That would be bad for our Zhiqing Point’s reputation."
Geng Erhong couldn’t be bothered with her anymore. "That’s a wonderfully high-sounding excuse. Have you no shame?"
After speaking, without paying her any more attention, she left with her things.
She addressed Li Rongjuan, who was busy in the kitchen, "Li Zhiqing, you can divide my portion of tonight’s meal among yourself, Deng Zhiqing, and Cui Zhiqing."
Since Li Rongjuan had returned early to cook, she was unaware of what had happened on the road and hadn’t clearly heard the conversation in the room. "Aren’t you going to eat?"
Geng Erhong replied with a smile, "I have something to discuss with Chu Zhiqing, so I’ll eat over at her place."
Bai Suli, who had come out of the room, muttered under her breath, "She’s clearly keeping the good stuff for herself but trying to make it sound so noble."
Then, recalling what Geng Erhong had said earlier, she spat in the direction of the main doorway in disdain.
When Geng Erhong arrived, Yunyi had already steamed the rice. Geng Erhong remarked, "Living alone is so peaceful, unlike the Zhiqing Point where there’s a heap of petty squabbles every day."
"What’s wrong? Are they putting on another show over there?"
"Exactly. By the way, Deng Xiaojie is petty and holds grudges. You embarrassed her so badly that day, so she’s bound to seek revenge. Make sure you don’t fall for her tricks."
Yunyi’s expression didn’t change, but inwardly she thought, Let her try.
The two of them chatted for a long time, spilling out all the recent events at the Zhiqing Point like beans from a bamboo tube.
Yunyi didn’t offer any opinions, merely listening with amusement.