Chapter 11 Meat Buns

"Fine, since they will probably give us another break close to the Spring Festival, we can go shopping then." After saying this, Yang Xuehua bid farewell to Xia Xiao and left with the other educated youths.

Xia Xiao felt depressed; she couldn't go out and had to sit here waiting for Zheng Xianghong and the others to return. How long would she have to wait?

Looking around, she saw only places where cattle carts gathered for the market. Gao Jiaxing had also disappeared. Xia Xiao looked up at the sky, thinking about her life in the future. Although she wasn't born into a wealthy family and couldn't be considered a "rich beauty," she was still a beautiful college student.

In her past life, she had spent her youth studying and had never dated or held hands with a boy. Nevertheless, Xia Xiao had always looked forward to love and hoped for a sweet romance, but unfortunately, she had no chance in her previous life.

In this life, her youth would be spent supporting construction and development in the south, and in this era, dating as in the future was impossible. A special period it was, probably just holding hands would attract judgmental remarks.

But she couldn't go back; she had already died in her previous life. At this moment, Xia Xiao felt an immense sense of loss. Although she resented how her parents tried to control her life, she still preferred the future.

Regarding this era, although Xia Xiao understood the history, it was not the era she had originally lived in.

For a time, Xia Xiao felt engulfed in loneliness. She tried tiptoeing a few steps, thinking that once she reached the county town, she should at least look around and consider filling her empty space with something.

"Going to throw your foot away?" Gao Jiaxing had appeared next to Xia Xiao at some point, holding a bag in his hand.

Xia Xiao gave a sheepish smile, "Brother Gao, you're back. I was just seeing if I could walk."

"My mom is good at this; I'll have her fix it for you when we get back."

Xia Xiao made an affirmative noise, and Gao Jiaxing brought out a steamed bun and a bun from the bag and tossed the bag toward Xia Xiao.

Xia Xiao caught it hastily, seeing there was one steamed bun and two buns inside. She quickly said, "I'm not hungry."

"Just eat it if I offered, no fussing," Gao Jiaxing said, taking a bite of a meat bun and adding, "These buns from Zhang Ji are the best in the county."

"Thank you, Brother Gao." Xia Xiao took out one bun, handed the bag back to Gao Jiaxing who declined to take it, so she sat down and placed the bag aside.

Zhang Ji's buns were indeed delicious. Although Xia Xiao had tried many delicacies in the future, the meat bun from Zhang Ji tasted exceptionally good.

"It's really tasty," Xia Xiao couldn't help but praise aloud, feeling a bit embarrassed for benefiting from it.

"If it's tasty, eat more," Gao Jiaxing suggested.

Xia Xiao vigorously shook her head, "Brother Gao, no need, you have it."

"I'm full," Gao Jiaxing shook his head.

Xia Xiao wasn't one to take advantage, so she immediately said, "Brother Gao, how much does each bun cost? I'll pay you."

As soon as Xia Xiao finished speaking, Gao Jiaxing immediately showed displeasure, "If you won't eat, just throw it away."

Gao Jiaxing had already made his way to the carriage and was sitting down, no longer paying attention to Xia Xiao. Xia Xiao felt awkward and thought she'd leave the food for Zheng Xianghong to eat later.

Everyone was not rich, and a bun might not have meant much to her in the past, but now when food was scarce, a large meat bun was very tempting.

After about two hours, Zheng Xianghong and her group returned, carrying large and small bags. In contrast, Xia Xiao only had a bag with two buns and nothing else, which she didn't even pay for herself.

She wanted to give them to Gao Jiaxing, but he didn't want them, so Xia Xiao had no choice but to carry them herself.

"Did Xia Xiao not buy anything?" Zheng Xianghong asked.

Xia Xiao shook her head and quickly claimed her seat on the carriage as she saw everyone getting on; otherwise, she'd have no place and wouldn't be able to walk back.

The ride back was even more crowded than on the way there since everyone had bought many things. Xia Xiao tightly gripped the handrail, fearing she might fall off with every jolt.

Enduring the discomfort, Xia Xiao struggled all the way back to the production team. When the ox cart reached the Gao family's place, she sighed in relief, got off the carriage, and thought to herself that she'd rather not go into town next time than endure such a crowded journey—it was too exhausting.

"Mom, her feet have blistered. Can you take care of it?" Gao Jiaxing called out to Zheng Xianghong.

Everyone looked towards Xia Xiao, and her face turned slightly red as she said to Zheng Xianghong, "Aunt, my feet are blistered."

"People from the city are really delicate," someone in the crowd suddenly said.

"Yes, went to the county town and couldn't even enjoy the visit, just took up space," another woman chimed in.

Gao Jiaxing said, "Auntie, the most delicate in the village is none other than Guifang."

At this, the women turned to look at the first person who had spoken, Lin Xuebi, Gao Jiaxing's younger aunt by marriage, who had once been a landlord's daughter. Her family had fallen on hard times, and to survive, she married Gao Jiaxing's younger uncle.

Lin Xuebi had four sons and one daughter, whom she treasured incredibly, raising her in a manner so she did nothing but embroider and dress up—without knowing, one might think she was raising an ancient lady of high standing.

This time, Lin Xuebi went to the county town and bought many hair accessories, red cords, and Clam Oil for skincare for Gao Guifang. Maybe because she had many sons, Lin Xuebi favored her daughter the most; all the sons in the family had to treat this daughter well.

Lin Xuebi's favoritism towards her daughter was witnessed by everyone in the village. Now, Gao Guifang was fifteen and in the first year of junior high, attending the same school as Gao Jiaxing. Protected by several older brothers and blessed with some beauty, Gao Guifang was known throughout the village for her arrogance.

Lin Xuebi glared at Gao Jiaxing, wanting to say something but merely glanced disdainfully at Xia Xiao, thinking her short, frumpy, and ugly appearance couldn't compare to her own daughter.

Xia Xiao was speechless. Did she have a face that invited dislike, or why else would it seem as if everyone was against her?

Touching her face, she had seen it herself: though a bit dark, her features were well-formed and delicate, with much room for improvement.

Don't they say a woman changes eighteen times by adulthood? Now reincarnated in her original body, with resources at her disposal, Xia Xiao wasn't worried about how she'd look in the future. Even if she wouldn't become a great beauty, she could still turn into a pretty girl.

"Let's all go back. Gao Er, take the ox cart back to the team," Zheng Xianghong said, watching the women disperse. She then turned to Xia Xiao and said, "Don't mind them. Come inside."

Xia Xiao followed Zheng Xianghong inside and placed the bag of buns on the table, saying to Zheng Xianghong, "Aunt, Brother Gao bought these. They've cooled down now, but you can reheat them to eat later."