Rebirth in 1980: The Farm Wife Makes a Comeback
Chapter 370: Inedible Meal

Chapter 370: Chapter 370: Inedible Meal

People trudging through the heavy snow arrive to enjoy a freshly baked pancake, followed by a bowl of steaming porridge, instantly feeling much warmer, and finding it not so cold anymore while walking on the road.

Xiang Nuan trudges to class every day through the deep and shallow snow. Boarding students aren’t greatly affected, but day students, especially those living further away, find it quite troublesome coming and going. Occasionally, students cycling would fall over in the snow. Thankfully, there are few cars around these days, and with more cyclists, serious accidents are less likely.

"Lately, the school cafeteria food is just awful," Li Li stuck out her tongue, "Deathly bland, not even a speck of green vegetables—just plain noodles or rice stewed with napa cabbage every day. Eating napa cabbage day in and day out, I’m close to turning into one."

"Same here," Mao Xiaomei couldn’t help but complain as well, "There’s nothing else to eat but tofu and napa cabbage every day. I’m not demanding meat, but can’t we have some other vegetables? I’m about to gag."

After venting, the two looked at each other and made a retching gesture.

Qin Xiangnuan could imagine their plight. After all, she used to eat the same way when her family was poor and had no choice. Back then, having napa cabbage was considered pretty good. Nowadays, people’s lives have improved, and they’ve started to dislike napa cabbage and tofu. Seasonal vegetables weren’t as abundant back then; nobody had access to greens, cucumbers, and green beans every day like herself. The greenhouse-grown vegetables were thriving with the warmth inside, allowing many summer vegetables to grow. The produce from the three greenhouses was more than enough for several families. Originally, they had no plans to sell it, just for their own consumption. The Jians and the Qiao Family would pull out vegetables to eat here. Of course, they wouldn’t take advantage without giving something in return. Both families were not the type to freeload off others. Each month, they’d give Granny Lu fifty yuan for vegetables. Initially, they wanted to give one hundred yuan, but Granny Lu refused to take it, so they settled on fifty. Even so, the Jians and the Qiao Family felt somewhat embarrassed, as their children were now living here under Granny Lu’s care. Granny Lu adored the children, especially the still young Taotao, whom she accompanied to and from school every day, taking good care of the plump boy, who kept growing taller but somehow never seemed to slim down, probably because of the plentiful food.

With children around, Granny Lu herself felt happier, always busy, which made her feel livelier.

Qin Xiangnuan found herself daydreaming and only snapped out of it after a while, only to find her two friends still grumbling about the lackluster cafeteria food. She glanced at her watch; half an hour had passed. Like their leisurely shopping trips where they might end up buying nothing but shop the whole day in high heels, their gossiping knew no end.

The next day, Qin Xiangnuan asked Granny Lu to make extra dumplings to bring to her two friends, along with a cucumber salad and stir-fried green beans. If only their studies weren’t so intense and other students were allowed to leave campus, she would’ve invited them to dine at her home.

"Wow, dumplings!"

Li Li hugged the large food container, rubbing it against her face—it was still warm. Without tasting, she knew it would be delicious. They had eaten Granny Lu’s dumplings more than once and knew whether it was meat-filled or vegetarian, they were all delicious.

Mao Xiaomei was also eagerly rubbing her hands together; chopsticks at the ready.

Qin Xiangnuan opened the two food containers.

One held the cucumber salad—a cold dish indeed, but sitting together, no one felt cold. The other contained stir-fried green beans and another with stir-fried leafy greens, all still hot, fresh from Granny Lu’s wok.

Oh, cucumbers and green beans too! The two girls gazed at the dishes as if they hadn’t seen such food in ages, treasuring them so much they hesitated to even use their chopsticks. But after tasting just a mouthful, they had to believe it—it was indeed the real flavor of cucumbers.

"Where did these cucumbers come from, in the dead of winter?" asked Li Li, amazed by the dish usually only available in summer.

"They’re from my home," Qin Xiangnuan joined them and picked up a piece for herself, finding food always tastes better when shared with friends.

"From your home?" Li Li’s eyes sparkled, "You can grow them even in winter?"

"Yeah," Qin Xiangnuan put down her chopsticks, "It’s not hard. We have a greenhouse at home, and with the temperature kept high, summer vegetables grow easily. It just takes some effort and extra things like charcoal." She mused that if they sold the produce, they could cover the greenhouse costs, but there were no spare hands at home to manage the fields, so it was only for personal consumption.

Li Li placed her hands on Qin Xiangnuan’s shoulders, her face and tone utterly serious,

"Xiang Nuan, we’ll be relying on you for food from now on. Once we’re through with this senior year, tell me what you want, and I’ll buy it for you, okay?"

"Sure," Qin Xiangnuan readily agreed. With exams approaching, she had no issue providing food for the next few days. Once the exams were over, she figured the cafeteria might improve its offerings come spring, not limited to just tofu and napa cabbage every meal.

From that day on, Qin Xiangnuan faithfully kept her promise, bringing food for Li Li and Mao Xiaomei every noontime. Sometimes it was noodles, sometimes rice, or, like today, dumplings. She helped her friends break free from their diet of greens and tofu, and their faces became even more tender and fresh.

In the blink of an eye, the semester came to an end, and it was time for the final exams.

Qin Xiangnuan felt conflicted, anticipating the exams but also dreading them.

Regardless, no matter the fear, the exams arrived as scheduled. The end-of-term exams in their elite senior class were extremely rigorous, and cases of cheating were rare. Their academic performance wasn’t bad; everyone was among the top five in their previous classes, so how could they possibly fare poorly? When the exam papers were distributed, nearly everyone began diligently tackling the questions. Qin Xiangnuan was one of them, nothing special or privileged about her.

She never considered herself a "female lead" with some kind of plot armor.

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