Chapter 17: The Deceived Girl in the 1970s: Fake vs. Real Daughter Story (17)

Li Wenli managed to hold back her anger—for now. After all, her family still had to rely on the Feng family. But Zhang Yumei couldn’t take it anymore.

“You two didn’t even work today and still can’t be bothered to cook?”

Feng Qingqing lowered her head apologetically. “I’m sorry… I was too upset. It slipped my mind.”

Lu Chuan added helpfully, “Hasn’t it always been you and Li Wenli doing the cooking?”

Zhang Yumei’s hands trembled with fury. “What, are we your maids now? We work ourselves to the bone all day in the fields and still have to come back and wait on you two? I held it in at lunch, but now you’ve lazed around all afternoon and expect us to cook dinner too? I’ve had enough. Do whatever the hell you want!”

She was truly furious. Why was it always her and Li Wenli who had to do everything?

If Li Wenli liked playing the servant, fine, that was her choice, but Zhang Yumei was done.

She’d only gone along with all this because she had a thing for Lu Ze. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have stuck around, much less gone along with every little thing Feng Qingqing wanted.

But now she’d finally seen it clearly—Lu Ze had no interest in any of the girls in their group. He was only ever polite because they grew up together and perhaps looked out for them for Lu Chuan’s sake.

She used to think maybe he liked her a little. After all, the five of them spent so much time together. Lu Chuan liked Feng Qingqing, and Qingqing had always acted like she didn’t mind the attention. She never outright rejected him.

Sure, Qingqing would sometimes find excuses to talk to Lu Ze, but Zhang Yumei had always figured she and Lu Chuan were a done deal.

Since Lu Ze knew his younger brother liked Feng Qingqing, he would never go after her, right?

As for herself, everyone just saw her as Feng Qingqing’s sidekick, part of the entourage. Not truly part of the group.

Lu Ze had always been kind to her, and that gave Zhang Yumei the illusion that maybe—just maybe—he had feelings for her too.

She liked him, and she thought eventually they’d end up together.

But since coming to the countryside, she’d seen the truth. Lu Ze didn’t like her at all—he was just used to looking after people. Otherwise, why would he lump her in with Li Wenli and assume she’d keep cooking like it was her job?

Her sudden outburst took everyone by surprise. Lu Ze felt like his head was going to explode. It had only been two days since they’d arrived in the countryside, and already so much drama.

How were they supposed to keep living like this?

He, Lu Chuan, and Feng Qingqing didn’t know the first thing about cooking. If Zhang Yumei really stopped, that just left Li Wenli, and she might not stick around either. No one liked being the only one doing all the work.

Lu Ze groaned internally.

And now, after a long day of labor, he was starving. His stomach was completely empty. As much as he wanted to snap, he had to hold back and smooth things over for now. At least until they’d had dinner.

Their provisions from the day before and earlier that morning were already gone.

Lu Ze shot a glance at his younger brother and Feng Qingqing. The two of them still looked completely oblivious, as if they’d done nothing wrong. He felt like he’d drawn the short straw in life.

Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he said, “Comrade Yumei, they were clearly in the wrong today, no doubt about that. But we still need to eat. None of us know how to cook. Can you and Li Wenli make dinner just for today? After we eat, we can discuss how to divide up the work going forward.”

Zhang Yumei sneered. “Don’t call me Yumei like we’re close. It’s Comrade Zhang Yumei from now on. And sure, go ahead—let’s hear your grand plan for sharing the workload. You three don’t do a damn thing, so no matter how it’s divided, it’ll still end up being on me and Li Wenli.”

So what if he called her by name all the time? That was what gave her the stupid illusion he liked her in the first place.

Lu Ze nodded. “Okay. Comrade Zhang Yumei, please don’t be angry. We all grew up together. You know what these two are like. Let’s just make dinner today, and tomorrow we can rotate. I’ll start learning too. The other person can handle fetching water and firewood. Sound fair?”

Zhang Yumei was starving too, and after a moment’s silence, she went to the kitchen to cook.

She knew the older, educated youth saw them all as one group now, and there was no going back. If she broke away, the others wouldn’t take her in, and she’d end up completely isolated.

But she wasn’t about to play maid anymore. She’d only put up with it because of Lu Ze. Now that she knew there was no hope, she had every reason to speak up. If she didn’t push back now, she’d keep getting walked all over.

Why did Feng Qingqing get to do nothing while the rest of them worked like dogs? She wasn’t doing it anymore.

Lu Chuan and Feng Qingqing, though they still didn’t think they were in the wrong, had enough sense not to open their mouths. In all the years they’d known Zhang Yumei, they’d never seen her this angry.

No one was in the mood to talk. Zhang Yumei and Li Wenli threw together a plain meal—just some porridge and stir-fried greens. Everyone was hungry, but the mood was so sour that no one had much of an appetite.

After dinner, Li Wenli cleaned up, and the group sat down to discuss logistics.

Lu Ze was the first to speak. “I won’t rehash everything that happened. Let’s focus on two things.

First, do we keep living at the educated youth point, or do we ask the brigade to rent us a place?

Second, how do we divide up the cooking and chores?”

No one spoke, so he continued, “I suggest we stay here. As for cooking, let’s split into two groups. The person not cooking handles the firewood and water.”

Zhang Yumei added, “I’m fine with that. As long as no one just lounges around waiting to be served.”

Li Wenli nodded. “No objections here.”

Feng Qingqing murmured, “I don’t know how to cook… or gather firewood… and I can’t carry water…”

Lu Chuan quickly stepped in, “It’s okay, Qingqing. I’ll help you.”

Lu Ze concluded, “Then it’s settled. Zhang Yumei and Li Wenli cook one day. Feng Qingqing and Lu Chuan are next. We’ll alternate. I’ll take care of water and firewood.”

Honestly, he was the one getting the short end of the stick. But with a hopeless younger brother like his, what choice did he have?

Otherwise, if three women were on cooking rotation and he and Lu Chuan just fetched water and firewood, it would’ve been a much easier deal.

Zhang Yumei agreed. “Fine. Then tomorrow’s kitchen duty is on Feng Qingqing and Lu Chuan.”

With that, everyone turned in for the night.

Whether it was the people at the educated youth point or Xiaoxiao herself, everyone thought the same thing: Surely, things will settle down now?

After all, with how busy life was, who had the time or energy to stir up trouble every day?