Translator: SJade, Editor: Dj22031
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Ye Lan now lived on campus, so no one cooked dinner. Ye Ning was too lazy to cook, so she always picked up food in the cafeteria and brought it back. Occasionally, she added braised pork, which made Ye An very happy.
“Sister, will second sister live on campus from now on?” Ye An took the chicken leg and took a bite. It was so delicious.
“What’s wrong, she will come back on the weekend? Do you miss your second sister?” Ye Ning glanced at him.
Ye An nodded and shook his head, “I think about her, but I don’t want her to…” He frowned in confusion, not knowing how to express it.
It could be said that he was raised by Ye Lan, who was half his mother. Of course he would think about her if they were separated suddenly.
But Ye Lan was too serious. In addition to supervising Ye An’s studies, she would also take him to plough the land and plant vegetables. According to her, farmers must know how to farm, and they must also be frugal in food. Ye Ning was not at home at noon, so she could do as she wanted. Now that she was not at home, no one urged him to get up early to water the vegetable field. He ate at school at noon, with vegetables and meat. In the evening also, his eldest sister brought delicious food back. Moreover, as long as he completed his homework, he could go to the house of his classmates to play. So he didn’t want his second sister to come back.
“Xiao An, do you think the second sister is too strict with you?” Ye Ning had never taken care of a child, so she didn’t know how to educate him, but she still understood the basic principles. For example, Ye An said such words, so he must obviously have misunderstandings about Ye Lan, “Your second sister is a little stricter, but it’s all for your sake. You took first place in the class in this unit exam. Isn’t it because your second sister helped you review in advance? If your grades are good, teachers will praise you, right? Has your teacher become kinder to you? Are your classmates also more friendly to you?”
Ye An lowered his head and thought, really, when he was in his hometown, his grades were average, and the teacher didn’t even know who he was, and his best classmates were just like him. But after he got first place in the exam, the teacher praised him in front of the whole class and asked all the students to study with him. So, those who studied well in the class took the initiative to talk to him, and He Lili also talked to him. Yes, she was the most beautiful girl in his class, she was also a member of the literary and art committee, and he had heard she had many talents.
“What are you thinking about?” Ye Ning tapped Ye An’s bowl with chopsticks, “You have to know that your current achievements are inseparable from your second sister’s supervision. Of course, your own hard work is also important. You can’t blame the second sister for this, but you should be grateful, you know?”
“I don’t blame the second sister, I just feel that the food is better if second sister is not here.” Ye An lowered his head in shame.
“Aren’t they all eaten in the same way?” Ye Ning knew about Ye Lan’s frugality, she bought the oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and rice noodles and put them in the cupboard. She grew her own vegetables, so there shouldn’t be any difference.
“It’s different.” Ye An shook his head, “Second sister uses too little oil and it’s not fragrant. When we were in our hometown, I didn’t feel bad eating it every day. But after I ate delicious food in the city, my mouth became selective, but the second sister is just like before, when she is cooking, she just wipes the pot with the skin of the meat, and it doesn’t have any flavour at all.”
Ye Ning really didn’t know what their lunch was. Anyway, every time she came back to eat, the oil in each dish was just right.
“I think it’s okay.”
Ye An took a sip of the soup and said with a smile: “Second sister said that you are the earner and the breadwinner of the family, so you have to eat enough. She and I are freeloading at home and don’t go out to work, so we don’t need to eat oil.”
This was really what Ye Lan would say. She sighed. Ye Lan’s typical thoughts of her mother’s generation were correct. It could only be said that the environment in which she grew up was different.
On Saturday afternoon, Ye Ning was packing her things and getting ready to get off work. Yang Wanqing poked her head in from the door. Before Ye Ning could speak, Director Yang said seriously: “What is the little girl looking for? What’s wrong?”
“I’m not looking for you. I’m looking for Ye Ning.” Yang Wanqing came in quickly and stood still like a primary school student.
Director Yang glanced at Ye Ning, “Go back when you’re done.”
“Director, I’m leaving first.” Ye Ning put her bag on her shoulder and went out with Yang Wanqing, “What do you want from me?”
“Tomorrow is the weekend for us. I plan to go hiking in Jingfeng Mountain outside the city. Now that the leaves have turned yellow, it is a very beautiful scenery. There are many people going together. Do you want to go?”
Yang Wanqing raised her chin arrogantly, “If you go, bring your own food. We will arrive at five o’clock tomorrow morning. Meet at the station. No one will wait for you if you are late.”
Ye Ning lowered her head and smiled, “Well, I understand.”
“Are you going or not?” Yang Wanqing asked, turning her head.
“Go.” Because Director Yang was more serious, Ye Ning rarely went out to hang out with other people and didn’t have time, so she didn’t make many friends. She thought she would just take this opportunity to make a few more friends.
As soon as she unlocked her bicycle, she saw Wang Bin running over, “Ye Ning, a lot of people will go hiking at Jingfeng Mountain tomorrow. Do you want to go?”
Ye Ning was a little surprised. She thought Yang Wanqing came to her because of Wang Bin, but she didn’t. It occurred to her that she meant it herself.
“Yang Wanqing told me about this. I will go tomorrow.” More and more people were getting off work. So, Ye Ning nodded to Wang Bin, got on her bicycle and left.
As soon as she left the factory gate, she saw Bai Xue and her party standing there. When she saw Ye Ning, she turned her head away. Just like before, Quan Dang didn’t see Ye Ning.
“Comrade Ye Ning, please wait. We are going to climb Jingfeng Mountain tomorrow. Do you want to go?” It was the tall Zhang Jingyang who spoke. It was really strange. Because she was relatively close to Wang Bin and the others, she hardly talked to Zhang Jingyang and others. Like Bai Xue, he turned his head away whenever he saw her. His relationship with her was worse than that of strangers. What was he doing by inviting her to go hiking together? And it was also Jingfeng Mountain, so it would be very lively tomorrow.
“Sorry, Comrade Yang Wanqing just told me that I have agreed to go with her.” Ye Ning smiled sheepishly.
“It doesn’t matter. We might be able to come there tomorrow. There is a spring on the mountain of Jingfeng Mountain. It is very sweet. I heard that wealthy families in the past would go there to get water. You can bring a bucket and bring some back. We will also come there then to get the water.” Zhang Xu smiled.
“Thank you, I wouldn’t know if you didn’t tell me.” Ye Ning greeted them and rode back.
Looking at Ye Ning’s back, Bai Xue said angrily: “I don’t understand. She is just a village girl from the countryside. Why should I be so nice to her?”
“Why should a country girl take the exam with us?” Zhang Xu glanced at Bai Xue, “According to the information I found, she and Wang Yao were classmates in the same dormitory and had a good relationship. Wang Yao helped her get the exam qualifications, and after she went to work in the factory, Brother Bo Nian also helped her.”
“Hello.”
“Brother Bo Nian?” Upon hearing this name, a flash of admiration flashed in Bai Xue’s eyes, and then there was jealousy. Brother Bo Nian was indifferent to everyone, so why should he treat that village girl Ye Ning differently.
“It’s probably because Wang Yao asked him for help.” Zhang Jingyang glanced at Bai Xue, “Otherwise, how could Brother Bo Nian know someone like Ye Ning.”
Bai Xue’s face looked better, but she still felt uncomfortable. It so happened that tomorrow Brother Bo Nian would also climb the mountain with them, and when the time came to embarrass Ye Ning, Brother Bo Nian would know who she was.
Ye Ning didn’t know that she was being resented because of someone she didn’t know at all. She was currently patrolling her shop. The outer wall was already in place, and the inner partition was in place. She would wait for it to be painted with white dust and left to dry for a few months, then it would be opened in February or March next year.
Excited, she bought half a braised duck. When she got home, she saw Ye Lan cooking. She handed the braised duck to her and said with a smile: “Xiao Lan is back. In the past few days when you were away, Xiao An and I have been missing you.”
“It’s a dish, right?”
“Yes.” Ye An nodded.
Ye Lan glanced at the two people who had gained a lot of weight, poured the roast duck into the basin, and said with a smile: “Sister, I’m not that picky. Spend money at what you need. You and Xiao An are so thin, so you should eat more meat.”
“We’re okay. You have to work hard in high school. It’s a waste of your brain, and you have to take supplements. I’ll give you some duck legs later.” Ye Ning looked at Ye Lan carefully, her face looked a little worse, and she frowned, “You don’t have a good meal in school?”
“Yes.” Ye Lan replied while choosing food.
“Xiao Lan, people are like rice and steel. When you are growing, you must not only eat enough, but also eat well. The family must not be unable to open the pot. Don’t save anything and don’t save money. You should know that if your body collapses, how will you take the college entrance examination then?” Ye Ning had nothing to do with Ye Lan.
“I really eat well, maybe it’s because I’m under too much pressure from studying.” Her tuition fee exemption was not unconditional. She must stay within the top 20 in her grade. If she fell out, she would not be eligible for free tuition in the next semester, and she knew it was impossible without hard work.
Looking at her expression, Ye Ning probably guessed something, so she sighed: “Don’t worry about the tuition fees. You shouldn’t burn out your body for this little money. I will buy some meat tomorrow, and then make you some meat sauce and you can take it to school to eat.”
Speaking of tomorrow, Ye Ning remembered that she hadn’t told them that she was going to go hiking tomorrow. “I’m going to go hiking with my colleagues in the factory tomorrow morning. I may not be back until the afternoon. I’ll go take a look first. If it’s fun, let’s go hiking together next week.”
“Let’s talk about it then.” Ye Lan took the vegetables and went to the well to wash them.
Judging from their lack of interest, it was clear that they were not interested. Ye Ning did not explain that this mountain was not like the other mountain, and went over to help Ye Lan wash the vegetables.
At four o’clock in the morning the next day, Ye Ning rubbed her eyes and got up. At this moment, she regretted agreeing to go hiking. It was too early and it was easy to sleep in.
After some ideological struggle in her heart, she finally felt that one could not break one’s word, so she got up to wash up and get ready to go.
The autumn morning was a bit cold. Ye Ning put on a coat and found a pair of canvas shoes to put on. Then she washed and cut the fruits prepared last night and put them in a lunch box. She also packed a lunch box of various dried meats, the leftovers from what Sheng Chuan sent last time.
“Sister, wait a minute.” Ye Lan heard the noise and got up together. She knew that her sister was going to climb a mountain. She kneaded the dough last night and it was ready now. “I’ll make some sugar cookies for you. Then you can share it with your colleagues.”
Because she wanted to share it with others, Ye Lan was cruel and added two more spoons of sugar. When it was just made, the sugar water came out when it was opened, and it looked delicious.
“Sister, give me one.” Ye An got up to go to the toilet and came over smelling the fragrance.
“Like a dog’s nose.” Ye Lan glared at him and gave him one.
Ye Ning counted, there were nine in total, she took out two, stuffed one into Ye Lan’s mouth, and ate the other by herself, “That’s enough, they must have eaten it too.”
“Hmm.” Ye Lan quickly took over, took a bite and squinted her eyes, it was so sweet.
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