"Brother Wei Wen, who is this person?" Tian Xinhua deeply resented Xu Feifei for speaking about Tian Sisi in such a frivolous tone and started to inquire about this person’s background.
"She’s called Xu Feifei, a Beijing Intellectual from the same batch as me. This woman is no good, you just stay away from her when you see her." Hu Weiwen spoke with evident disgust when mentioning Xu Feifei, and Tian Sisi immediately understood what he meant.
Hu Weiwen seemed quite familiar with the people in the cafeteria. As soon as he entered, he greeted them and also introduced Tian Sisi and the others. A baby-faced young man said with a smile, "Wei Wen, you and your siblings really picked a day; today we have 90s Powder to eat."
"Oh wow, that’s just fantastic, I was just worrying how to present these large potatoes! Come, come, I have some good stuff for you to eat."
Hu Weiwen took out two cucumbers from his chest and broke them in half, handing each of the four men in the cafeteria a piece. Baby-face’s eyes lit up, and he stuffed the cucumber into his mouth, juice dripping everywhere. In no time, he finished half a cucumber, and the other three were just the same. After eating, a thirty-something man wiped his mouth and said to baby-face, "Put aside some extra 90s Powder steamed buns for Hu Weiwen later," to which baby-face happily agreed, winking at Hu Weiwen.
"Brother Wei Wen, what’s 90s Powder?" Tian Sisi couldn’t help but ask; she had heard of post-80s and post-90s, but she truly had never heard of something called 90s Powder.
Hu Weiwen chuckled, explaining in a low voice, "We have three types of flour here. The enriched flour is for leaders like my third uncle, the eighty flour is standard-grade for city residents, and our battalion eats 90s Powder, which is ninety pounds of flour from a hundred pounds of wheat. Though it’s a bit coarse, it’s better than potatoes, and we only get to eat it five or six times throughout the whole year!"
"So this is basically like eating bran, isn’t it?" Tian Qinghua couldn’t help but interject.
"What do you mean eating bran? Bran isn’t as delicious as these big buns we have. Young comrade, thinking about how tough it was for the Red Army with their 25,000-strong force, aren’t we having a sweet life now with food and shelter, and even big buns to eat?"
Baby-face brought over a large basin of dark steamed buns and potatoes. Hearing Tian Qinghua’s remark, he couldn’t help but laugh and told Hu Weiwen and the others to hurry up and finish eating the buns, lest others see and it becomes an issue.
"Thanks, Jia Ming, we’ll have a feast after work." Hu Weiwen patted the baby-faced Jia Ming’s shoulder, whispering to him. Jia Ming immediately beamed and greeted Tian Sisi and the others before heading back to the kitchen.
"Quick, have a taste of our special local buns." Hu Weiwen distributed the buns to his younger brothers and sisters, and he himself also grabbed one to eat with some pickles.
After just one bite, Tian Sisi couldn’t eat anymore; the amount of wheat bran in the bun was too much, scratching her throat painfully. Although Tian Xinhua and Tian Qinghua frowned as they ate, they still kept on eating. Hu Weixin really didn’t want to eat, but thinking about how his elder brother couldn’t even get to eat such buns usually, he felt saddened and forced down the bun with tears in his eyes.
"Ah Nan, if you can’t eat it, don’t force yourself. You’ll have a sore throat later." Tian Xinhua snatched the bun from Tian Sisi’s hand and ate it himself.
Tian Sisi reached for a cooked large potato from the basin. These were locally grown large potatoes, each as big as a ball, weighing about half a pound. The potato was slightly floury with a hint of sweetness and quite a nice texture to it. However, no matter how tasty, eating it three times a day would be too much even for the toughest person.
Hu Weiwen didn’t say anything; he knew his sister had been spoiled since she was young, and it was indeed hard for her to eat these dark buns. Tian Xinhua and the others only ate one or two buns before stopping. Hu Weiwen, with a much larger appetite, ate five buns and could not eat any more, so he stuffed the remaining six buns from the basin into the bag Tian Sisi brought, planning to eat them at night, as there wouldn’t be such good treatment later.
As they left the canteen, the whistle for the end of the work shift blew, and the youths working in the workshops ran out in swarms, heading collectively towards the canteen. The sight of the wave of green uniforms was quite spectacular.
Hu Weiwen went back to the dormitory first to put away six big steamed buns, while Tian Sisi and the others waited for him outside. Their outstanding appearance and dress attracted the curious glances of some of the returning intellectuals, even drawing the uncensored stares of some crude soldiers towards Tian Sisi.
Having become even bolder after getting accustomed to power in the battalion, these troublemakers from the military immediately thought of how to bed any attractive young woman they spotted. The sight of the delicate and beautiful Tian Sisi like a porcelain doll stirred their wicked interests.
Tian Xinhua noticed these men and moved to shield Tian Sisi behind him, letting out a cold snort. His imposing aura made them tremble. Who was this kid? How come he seemed even more intimidating than them, who had actually seen blood? Due to Tian Xinhua’s display of force, those lowlifes dared not openly ogle them anymore, though they still stole glances from time to time.
Tian Sisi felt disgusted. She was no innocent young girl, and she understood all too well what those men’s gaze meant. Bastards! She cursed internally. She remembered reports from her previous life saying that the most pitiable people in the battalion were the female intellectuals; those with a bit of beauty couldn’t escape the clutches of the battalion’s officers. Over the past decade, who knows how many young women had committed suicide because of this, while those who survived were tormented for the rest of their lives.
It was said that a battalion commander named Wang Lingshan, a war hero, had raped dozens of female intellectuals during his term. As the saying goes, "As the beam is crooked, the lower ones will be even more so," and it wasn’t any different with his subordinates, the division commanders, battalion leaders, and company commanders, all following suit. The female intellectuals in the battalion had become their harem; they slept with whoever they wanted, behaving like Emperors.
That afternoon, Hu Weiwen had suggested taking them for a stroll around the nearby town to also buy some local specialties to take back. After they left, the old soldiers who had gathered earlier started chatting again.
"Damn, that young girl was really attractive; just looking at her got me hard."
"She’s pretty, but she looks a little young, might not withstand much."
"She might be young, but her figure is mature, it’s enough."
"Daydreaming for nothing, didn’t you see that girl was brought by Hu Weiwen? Came in a car and everything. These people are not ordinary, and you shouldn’t stir trouble. Tian Aiguo is not somebody you want to mess with."
"Pfft, what’s Tian Aiguo? Just a small fry from the south, I’m not scared of him!" Although the man claimed not to be afraid, his voice was noticeably quieter.
"Man, you lot really got the hots but not the guts. Wanting to eat that beauty, don’t you think you should use your brains?"
Xu Feifei, who had been listening for a while, couldn’t help but chime in, while the rest of the intellectuals had long since kept their distance from these few.
"What brilliant idea do you have, woman?" The man who said he wasn’t scared of Tian Aiguo lecherously groped Xu Feifei’s buttocks.
"What good idea could a woman like me possibly have? I just wanted to help you guys out."
Xu Feifei didn’t care at all about the hands roaming across her backside and instead leaned in closer to whisper a few words into the man’s ear, prompting him to nod continuously, grinning from ear to ear.
Xu Feifei walked back to the dormitory with a cold, mocking laugh, swaying her hips as she went. Humph, Hu Weiwen, you think you’re too good for me? I’ll make your precious little sister a loose woman and see how you strut around then!