TYH-DCI | Chapter 11: Innocently Cute

The lunchboxes contained braised beef and meat buns. The buns had gone cold, but in this heat, it didn’t affect eating.

Wang Shengnan also took out the food her family had prepared—an entire jar of beef sauce and a lunchbox of steamed dumplings.

Both of them placed their food on the small table in front of them. Seeing this, Jiang Lai also took out the steamed buns and pickled vegetables given by the aunts and neighbors.

She hadn’t eaten anything that morning, and by now she was indeed a little hungry. She did have food in her spatial storage from the packed meals at the state-run restaurant, but it wasn’t convenient to take them out here.

Besides, it would also be rude to waste everyone’s kindness.

After taking a bite of bun and swallowing it with water from a bamboo tube, she still felt a bit of discomfort. The coarse grain buns of this era were poorly milled and very dry, easily sticking in the throat.

Li Zhaodi’s situation was similar to hers, except she didn’t even have pickles.

The two of them silently ate their plain buns, not glancing at Xi’er or Wang Shengnan even once.

Seeing Jiang Lai constantly alternate between biting a bun and drinking water, Xi’er noticed that her bamboo tube quickly ran dry—and there was still a piece of bun stuck in her throat.

She struggled to swallow, trying to force it down with saliva.

Because she was sitting inside by the window, it wasn’t convenient for her to get more water.

At that moment, Xi’er took the initiative to open her water bottle.

“Jiang Lai, I still have quite a lot of water. If you don’t mind, I can share some with you?”

Jiang Lai was in no position to mind at all. She quickly handed over her bamboo tube.

Xi’er immediately filled it for her. Only after watching Jiang Lai take a big gulp did she relax.

Then she looked at Li Zhaodi as well.

“Zhaodi, do you want some water too? I still have plenty.”

Zhaodi still had enough, so she shook her head. “Thank you, Xi’er. I still have water.”

Xi’er nodded. “Alright. If you run out, just tell me. I’ll pour some for you.”

After drinking the water, Jiang Lai finally felt better and thanked her sincerely.

“Xi’er, thank you. If you run out of water later, I’ll help you fetch more.”

Xi’er waved it off cheerfully. “It’s nothing. We’re all revolutionary comrades going to build the country together. If we can help each other on the road, we should. Besides, it’s not a big deal.”

Looking at the dry buns in Jiang Lai and Li Zhaodi’s hands, she hesitated for a moment, then pushed her lunchboxes forward.

“Jiang Lai, Zhaodi, if you don’t mind, come eat with me. My mom packed a lot for me, and I can’t finish it all. It’s hot on the train—food will spoil if it sits too long.”

She looked at them expectantly.

Wang Shengnan, seeing this, thought for a moment and also pushed her food forward, her expression calm.

“I’ve got quite a lot too. Let’s eat together.”

Jiang Lai was slightly surprised. These two were… almost a bit too innocent.

Li Zhaodi, although she hadn’t had meat or white flour in a long time, still swallowed her saliva repeatedly and politely refused.

She didn’t have the ability to repay a meal like this, so she couldn’t accept it.

Jiang Lai also declined. Grain was precious in this era, and she didn’t feel comfortable taking advantage of others.

Seeing both of them refuse, Xi’er simply took out two buns and stuffed them directly into their hands.

“These buns already touched your mouths, I don’t want them anymore,” she said with a grin.

Neither Jiang Lai nor Li Zhaodi had time to react before she succeeded.

Zhaodi looked flustered and wanted to return the bun, but hesitated—like Xi’er said, they had already touched her mouth. She didn’t mind, but Xi’er was different.

So she sat there awkwardly, unsure what to do, and instinctively looked toward Jiang Lai for help.

Seeing her distress, Jiang Lai sighed helplessly.

“How can you travel without any guard against people? Aren’t you afraid we’ll cling to you later?”

Xi’er stuck out her tongue. “I’m not afraid. You two clearly look like good people. I don’t think you’d take advantage of me.”

Seeing Li Zhaodi’s pleading gaze, Jiang Lai thought for a moment and pushed her pickles forward.

“Then you should try mine too.”

Li Zhaodi hesitated, then gritted her teeth and took out three salted duck eggs from her bag, carefully pushing them forward.

“These are homemade. Please don’t dislike them.”

She had secretly preserved them herself, managing to grab five or six during the morning chaos.

Yesterday she learned her family planned to force her to take her younger brother’s place in the countryside.

Not only did they force her to transfer her temporary factory job to her brother, they also took all her money and ration coupons.

Last night, her mother even sat by her bed, afraid she would run away.

If not for her quick thinking—setting fire to the shared kitchen early in the morning—she would never have had the chance to take the eggs.

Xi’er happily picked at the pickles. “Wow, did you make these? They’re so good!”

Her reaction was exaggerated, but Jiang Lai found it amusing.

“It’s not mine, a neighbor gave it to me.”

Xi’er then divided the salted eggs among everyone.

She tapped the shell lightly; it cracked cleanly, and she peeled it open, taking a bite.

Her eyes lit up instantly.

“Wow, Zhaodi, this is delicious!”

She continued eating eagerly. “Try it! I’m not lying—it’s really good!”

Jiang Lai also didn’t stand on ceremony. She cracked it open, and red oil immediately flowed out from the yolk. She took a bite.

The taste was not overly salty. The moment she bit down, the rich yolk mixed with oil and egg white melted in her mouth.

Soft, sandy, and fragrant—the flavor exploded instantly.

She nodded at Li Zhaodi in approval.

“I didn’t expect you to be such a good cook. These salted eggs are really delicious.”

At that moment, the man and woman sitting nearby, who had barely spoken the entire time, suddenly spoke up.

“Tch. A bunch of country bumpkins. What’s so good about pickles and rotten eggs? You’ve probably never eaten anything decent in your lives.”

The woman’s sharp voice cut through the atmosphere, instantly freezing the mood.

Li Zhaodi’s smile disappeared, and she lowered her head again.

Jiang Lai’s expression turned cold.

“Comrade, please keep your leash tight. We don’t understand barking.”

The man looked embarrassed and tugged at the woman’s sleeve, signaling her to stop.

But she refused to let it go.

“You poor trash dare talk back to me? You look like beggars. Even my dog eats better than you!”

Wang Shengnan slammed her hand on the table.

“Did you eat manure before boarding? Your mouth stinks.”

The sharp sound silenced the surrounding noise for a brief moment before it resumed.

Wang Shengnan, already cold-faced, looked even more intimidating when angry.

The woman exploded.

“You…! How dare you talk to me like that? Do you even know who I am?”

Xi’er was furious too, but not good at arguing, so she could only glare at her intensely.

Jiang Lai had had enough.

She grabbed the bamboo cup beside her and pretended to splash it toward the woman.

The woman screamed instinctively and raised her hands to cover her face.