Chapter 229 Ye Mama and Zhen Yi Join the Gossip Squad
Today's lunch was entirely managed by Zhen Yi, with Ye Mama and Ye Shenge assisting. They couldn't treat Zhen Yi as a servant just because she came over; they had to help out.
This left Mo Lin officially with no role, so he could only take Xiao Tiantian to the fields to pick up fallen grains.
Lunch was delivered by Ye Mama and Zhen Yi, who tried their best to minimize Ye Shenge's exposure in the village.
The food was clearly much better today. Zhen Yi even brought meals for Ah Can and the other nine, instructing them not to cook anymore, as she was used to cooking for so many people at home anyway.
"Zhen Yi's cooking is still the best."
"Yeah, the meals we've managed to whip up these past few days were barely edible."
Seeing the group of young men enjoying their meal, Zhen Yi felt relieved. She felt more useful taking care of these children than the ungrateful ones at home.
"Zhen Yi won't be leaving from now on. I'll take care of all our household meals."
Zi Yi Sheng glanced at Zhen Yi, the person who had taken care of him since he was a child. Her unwillingness to return home to retire must mean she had been wronged.
Zi Yi Sheng took his food and sat down to the side, calling Zhen Yi over as well.
"Were you wronged?"
Zhen Yi, who had been cared for by her young master, burst into tears at his question. She knew that Young Master Zi usually didn't bother with other people's affairs and was quite cold-hearted. It was only because she was valued that she was cared for. This one sentence made her feel that any future hardship would be worth it.
"Yes, they thought I wasn't earning money anymore."
Zi Yi Sheng sneered. Those narrow-minded fools probably didn't even know how much retirement money he had given Zhen Yi before he left.
"Do you need me to intervene?"
Zhen Yi wiped away her tears and smiled.
"No need. Before I left, I took six hundred yuan from them, considering it a complete severance. I even sold the house. We have no further ties, and I will always follow you."
Zi Yi Sheng nodded. He never mistreated his own people. Knowing that Zhen Yi had truly given up on her family and come to terms with it, he offered no words of comfort.
"You'll follow me from now on."
Zhen Yi was very happy. Just having Young Master Zi's word was enough. She wouldn't fear anything when she got old.
Meanwhile, the aroma of the Ye family's meal wafted far away. Zhao Ling, still fuming from yesterday's humiliation, couldn't swallow her pride. She tugged at Liu Dandan, who was not far away.
"Dandan, do you think these people were villagers before? Why do they have such a different aura?"
Liu Dandan rolled her eyes. She was hungry now and had to go back for her own lunch. She just wanted to finish her current task and didn't have time to observe others.
"I don't know. Zhao Ling, if you have this much energy, you might as well do more work. We don't have much food left. If you get less grain during distribution, everyone will kick you out."
Zhao Ling choked, unable to retort. She wasn't good at work and didn't have much money. Everyone was realistic; no one would give her extra grain.
"As if your work points are that much higher. You'll still have to contribute some."
Liu Dandan had been here for a year and understood the importance of grain. She was in a relatively better position; the five yuan her family sent back each month was saved to supplement her grain if her work points were insufficient.
"Yes, I have money to contribute, but you don't?"
This blatant sarcasm infuriated Zhao Ling, and she threw down her sickle.
"Liu Dandan, who do you think you're looking down on? Don't think you're so great just because you have a little money. You can barely feed yourself, so who are you to look down on me?"
The other educated youths nearby pretended not to see. Small arguments at the educated youth dormitory and big arguments in the fields were commonplace.
As long as the fight didn't involve them, no one would intervene. If the small team leader found out, they would lose work points. They couldn't afford to lose any.
Liu Dandan was also annoyed. What had she done to deserve this? The woman next to her was like a rabid dog, biting anyone she came across.
"Heh, you have self-awareness. It's because of your shamelessness that all of us educated youths are looked down upon. I have plenty of reasons to look down on you. It's not like I'm shameless and getting others to work for me. Seeing new arrivals, you immediately go and act like a slut."
"Who are you calling shameless? I'll rip you apart today!"
Zhao Ling let out a yelp and lunged forward. Liu Dandan had also had enough and lunged forward to fight.
Soon, the commotion in the fields attracted many villagers who had come to watch, holding their bowls. Ye Mama and Zhen Yi were among them, having never witnessed such a dramatic scene.
He Weimin, the team leader of the educated youth, turned ashen. These women were ruining the reputation of their educated youth.
"Quickly break them up."
The male educated youth didn't dare to step forward, fearing they would be accused of harassment. The female educated youth were left to their own devices; they never got along, and who would want to get involved in such matters? It would be bad if they were accidentally injured.
"See? It's that shameless woman who made my son work for her. She deserves to be beaten. I'll beat my son when I get home too."
"She also flirted with my son. I'll directly ask the team leader to assign my son to work in a more distant area."
Ye Mama quickly moved closer, even squatting down with the group of women, as if she had adapted to the local customs.
Ye Ba couldn't bear to watch and gave his son a helpless glance. Ye Mu En ignored him; he wasn't going into the group of women to pull anyone apart.
Zhen Yi also handed two large leaves to Ye Mama, and they stood together, blocking the sun, listening to the gossip. They suddenly felt that life was quite good like this, so much so that Ye Mama and Zhen Yi would later become members of the village gossip squad.
"What are you all doing? Not tired of working, are you!"
The second team leader was called over. He was hungry and had barely eaten a few bites before rushing over. He was already in a bad mood, and seeing the educated youth causing trouble, he became even angrier.
He didn't know what offense he had committed against the brigade secretary to have all the educated youth in the entire brigade assigned to his team. He had endless matters to deal with concerning them every day.
Upon seeing the second team leader arrive, He Weimin quickly tried to pull them apart. Zhao Ling was already being pinned down and beaten by Liu Dandan, her hair disheveled, her clothes about to be torn, revealing her undershirt.
However, before He Weimin could intervene, Gong Sui'er, who had rushed over, stopped him.
"They've beaten her this badly, and you still dare to step in? My grandfather will be here soon, don't get entangled."
Gong Sui'er was the eldest daughter of the village chief's second son and was already dating He Weimin. She was usually protective of him.
He Weimin also understood Gong Sui'er's good intentions. If the fight hadn't gotten so out of hand, he wouldn't have intervened.
"Wait a little longer, and you'll be moving out. This educated youth captain role is no longer necessary, and you can't manage it properly."
"Yes, I'm just afraid Grandpa will blame me later."
Gong Sui'er sighed. Today was the happy occasion of her uncle's return home, and her grandparents were in a good mood. Such an incident involving the educated youth was definitely stepping on their toes.
"Go get me a bowl of water. Don't come back until my grandfather has finished scolding everyone."
Hearing his girlfriend's words, He Weimin quickly left. His girlfriend was very protective of him. The way she said it indicated that something significant was about to happen.