Cheng You had received a few pieces of cured meat, and had already made plans for where they would go.
She would give three pieces to Uncle Li, and send the remaining two to the educated youth point.
She could bring Cheng Wenyu to Uncle Li's for meals, so she wouldn't have to worry about missing out on cured meat.
With this thought, she acted on it.
After all, Song Yulian wouldn't get any advantage from her.
"Educated Youth Duan, I've brought you something extra to eat."
Cheng You had a good impression of Duan Liping, so her attitude was naturally friendly.
Duan Liping smiled and asked, "What is it?"
"Look!"
Before Duan Liping could speak, she heard Sun Xiaowan exclaim, "Cured meat!"
And there were two pieces of cured meat.
"Yes, these two pieces are for you to have as a treat."
Cheng You considered that there were many people at the educated youth point, so she brought two pieces.
This would be enough for them to eat to their heart's content.
Sun Xiaowan quickly suppressed her smile, looking at Cheng You suspiciously.
"No reason to be so attentive, unless you're up to no good."
Cheng You glared at her indignantly, "Who's being attentive? If it weren't for Qi Chengyan, who would come all the way here to give you cured meat?"
Duan Liping smiled and said, "That's just her personality, don't be angry. It seems we're benefiting from Educated Youth Qi today."
Cheng You put down the cured meat, looked around, and seeing that Qi Chengyan wasn't there, turned to leave.
Then she heard Sun Xiaowan call out, "Hey!"
Cheng You paused, ignoring her.
Sun Xiaowan wrinkled her nose and snorted, "Cheng You!"
Cheng You glanced at her, "What is it?"
"I'm calling you, didn't you hear?"
"My name isn't 'Hey'," Cheng You said, lifting her chin.
"Here, take this!" Sun Xiaowan extended her hand.
Cheng You turned to see a box of cold cream in her hand, still sealed.
"Why are you giving this to me?"
Sun Xiaowan said impatiently, "If I want to give it to you, I'll give it to you. There's no 'why'! Your skin looks so good, you must use a lot of cold cream."
Cheng You touched her cheek, her eyes curving into a smile.
"My skin really looks that good?"
Duan Liping looked at her dewy, doe-like eyes and suddenly felt an urge to pat her head.
"It's very good, fair and rosy, soft and supple!"
Cheng You chuckled, "I don't usually use cold cream, only in the winter."
Sun Xiaowan stared, "I don't believe you! You're definitely lying to me!"
"Really!"
But she had been adding a few drops of essence to her washbasin every day recently.
This essence was something she had earned through hard work, so naturally, she wanted to enjoy it.
She even added it to her bathwater sometimes, so of course, her skin was good.
"Then what do you use if not cold cream?"
Cheng You: "..." She couldn't say.
"I don't use anything."
Sun Xiaowan rolled her eyes, she wasn't that foolish.
"Since you can't use it, I won't give it to you."
Cheng You didn't really need this cold cream; she could buy it herself if she wanted.
However, on second thought, there was something she really needed.
"Educated Youth Sun..."
"Oh, just call me by my name. 'Educated Youth Sun' sounds so strange."
Cheng You shrugged, "Alright then! Xiaowan, do you have any textbooks here?"
Sun Xiaowan wanted her to call her by her full name, but Cheng You had simply dropped the surname, making it seem like they were very close.
But for some reason, Cheng You's voice was soft, and calling her like that actually made her feel happy.
"What kind of textbooks do you want?"
"High school textbooks!"
Sun Xiaowan asked curiously, "What do you need high school textbooks for?"
Nowadays, people didn't like going to school because studying wasn't very useful.
Students were lazy, schools were lax, and teachers were careless.
Going to school was simply pointless.
"Of course, I want textbooks to study," Cheng You said.
Sun Xiaowan shook her head, "I'm from the countryside, who brought textbooks! But if you want them, when I go back to the city, I can mail you the books from home."
"Really? When are you going back to the city?"
Cheng You wasn't in a hurry; she thought Sun Xiaowan was going back for a visit.
Sun Xiaowan, however, said, "When I get a spot in the Worker-Peasant-Soldier University."
"Worker-Peasant-Soldier University?"
Cheng You had only heard of it but hadn't researched it. She vaguely remembered that the spots were scarce.
Because getting into this program meant a chance to return to the city, many people wanted it, and the competition would surely be fierce.
"Alright, when you go back to the city, remember to mail me the books. When I start making whitening products later, I'll give them to you too."
Sun Xiaowan sounded very confident, making Cheng You truly believe she would be able to return to the city.
"What kind of whitening products? If they're not legitimate and healthy, we wouldn't dare to use them."
Cheng You said, "I'm going to learn medicine with Uncle Li, but I might not practice medicine. I plan to learn pharmaceutical manufacturing. Later, I'll make whitening pills for you all to try."
Sun Xiaowan expressed doubt, thinking Cheng You might be using her as a test subject.
Cheng You saw her clearly disbelieving look, and her small face puffed up in annoyance.
"When I make them, don't you envy me! Hmph!"
Cheng You turned and walked out. Despite her petite figure, she exuded the imposing aura of a proud rooster.
When she returned home, she heard Song Yulian crying, lamenting the disappearance of the cured meat she had just received.
Cheng Tianhua was too lazy to bother with such trivial matters. "How could the meat just disappear? Did you forget where you put it?"
Cheng You snorted, "No need to look, I gave the meat away."
Cheng Tianhua frowned, "Where did you send it?"
"To the educated youth point and Uncle Li."
"Cheng You, you're utterly unfilial! Your father hadn't even eaten this cured meat yet, and you gave it away immediately!" Song Yulian's heart ached, mainly because she was coveting it.
She had originally planned to send a couple of pieces back to her own family.
"Aunt Lian, this cured meat was given to me. I can give it to whoever I want. What business is it of yours?"
Song Yulian said angrily, "It's not my business, but it's your father's, isn't it? How can you just give it away? Do you still have your father in your eyes at all!"
"My father is about to have another child with you. You'll be a happy family of three from now on, so what business do you have with me?" Cheng You said indifferently.
Song Yulian snorted, "I think it's because of Qi Chengyan? Many people in the village say you two have been very close lately. Aunt Lian advises you, he's from the city, how could he look down on a village girl like you? You should stay away from him."
Cheng Tianhua agreed with her words and nodded along.
"What your Aunt Lian said is right. Keep your distance from the educated youth point, don't get too close to them. If you do anything embarrassing later, I'll kick you out of the Cheng family!"
Cheng You scoffed, "What embarrassing things? Like what Cheng Tao did?"
If she didn't find a partner herself, she would be sold off by Cheng Tianhua.
She wasn't foolish; Cheng Tianhua would stop at nothing and surely drain her of every last bit of value.
Mentioning Cheng Tao, Song Yulian fell silent.
Cheng Tianhua huffed, no longer speaking to Cheng You.
For every word he said, she retorted ten. Talking to her was just asking for trouble.