She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Fang Yingdi remained silent all morning, even while working in the workshop, she just kept her head down and ignored people who tried to talk to her.

Qiao Yi, who worked in the same workshop as her, naturally assumed that she had offended her that morning. So, when they were having lunch after work, she grabbed her and said, "Xiao Fang, don't walk so fast, wait for me."

Fang Yingdi pursed her lips, waiting for her to change her clothes.

"I heard the cafeteria chef made stuffed green peppers today. I missed out last time, so I'm definitely going to try and get some this time." Qiao Yi pulled someone to join the queue. She stood behind Fang Yingdi and muttered to herself as people who had already received their food.

"I've heard others talk about how delicious it is, it goes really well with rice, I'm getting a little hungry for it." Qiao Yi looked longingly at the long line in front of her, "I hope it'll still be available when it's my turn."

Fang Yingdi lowered her head, her hand clenched into a fist in her pocket, and she held a piece of pickled vegetable in her other hand. "Then I hope you can hit it today."

Qiao Yi chuckled.

When it was Fang Yingdi's turn, since everyone before her had already ordered this dish, the cafeteria worker pointed to the remaining portion and a half of stuffed green peppers and asked, "That's all left. Do you want to just buy the rest?"

Fang Yingdi stammered, her mind in turmoil.

Qiao Yi knew she was reluctant, so she called out from behind, "I want the whole lot, Master, just put it on."

After saying that, she took out the meat ration coupons and money she had prepared and stuffed them into Fang Yingdi's hand.

But Fang Yingdi didn't take it this time. After taking a few deep breaths, she took her hand out of her pocket, holding her tickets and money. "Master, take them both. I have tickets."

The cafeteria worker chuckled, "You two young ladies are arguing about who should pay? Fine, I'll put them all in her lunchbox."

Fang Yingdi only ordered one and a half portions of meat and rice, and didn't ask for anything else.

Seeing this, Qiao Yi handed over her lunchbox, filled it with other dishes, and hurriedly followed her, "Xiao Fang, are you not going to make ends meet? There's still a long time until the next payday, do you still have money?"

Fang Yingdi: "Yes, of course we have some. If we're careful, we can make it to next month. Don't you love this? Eat more."

She scooped most of the stuffed meat into Qiao Yi's lunchbox, saying, "I haven't tried it yet, but I'll get to eat it today."

Her voice was low, and there seemed to be a faint sob in it. Qiao Yi didn't dare to eat anymore. Could it be because she had made a fuss about wanting to eat meat? In the morning, she had said that she had taken some of Qiao Yi's meat, so she wanted to repay her with a meal. There was no need for that.

Qiao Yi took out the meat coupon from her pocket. "Don't worry, I still have coupons here. This dish is on me."

"Why didn't you take my money just now? It was me who wanted to eat, not you. Now you've given me all the food. Aren't you losing out?" Qiao Yi handed over the ticket and money while trying to give her some back, and also wanted to give her some of the two dishes she had ordered.

Fang Yingdi refused to accept the money, saying, "Qiao Yi, you eat. It's my treat. You've already taken good care of me. Don't take what I said this morning to heart. I was just talking nonsense. You've been good enough to me."

Qiao Yi was taken aback. "What's wrong with you?"

Fang Yingdi said, "You know, I'm a perfectly good worker, and I get the same pay as you every month, so why am I living such a miserable life?"

Upon hearing this, Qiao Yi buried herself in her food, unwilling to reply.

Fang Yingdi gently tapped the table. "Qiao Yi, tell me, don't ignore me, are you angry with me?"

Qiao Yi: "You know the reason yourself, so why should I say anything?"

Fang Yingdi ate a piece of meat angrily, "I know you all look down on me."

Qiao Yi: "I didn't. If I looked down on you, I wouldn't be with you every day."

Fang Yingdi: "Comrade Xia looks down on me."

Qiao Yi: "Nobody looks down on you. If she did, she would have scolded you long ago. Why would she wait until now?"

Fang Yingdi: "She insulted me."

Qiao Yi recalled the previous time, "Of course she scolded you because you caused her trouble. She's not some kind of saint. If you provoke her, she'll scold you. It's good that she didn't hit you or report it to the police."

Fang Yingdi thought about it and realized that it was true; scolding was the least effective tactic Comrade Xia could use, and he hadn't even laid a hand on her.

"Do you also think I'm a disappointment?" Fang Yingdi ate the meat, which she rarely got to eat, with no appetite. It was delicious, but she felt very depressed.

Qiao Yi: "I can't judge, but the fact that you've worked so hard to become a worker shows that you're quite capable. You can think about the rest yourself."

Fang Yingdi said, "I may not have told you about my family situation. I have four daughters, and I am the third among them. I also have three sons. I am the only one among my daughters who has completed high school, but I haven't finished yet."

Qiao Yi's eyes widened. "You didn't graduate from high school, how did you manage to get in?"

Fang Yingdi: "I joined the factory two years earlier than you. At that time, the factory was short of people and came to our high school to recruit. My teacher felt sorry for me, so he recommended me for a position. Maybe because they were short of people, I took the exam and got a certificate of completion, and the factory accepted it."

“My parents didn’t really want me to finish high school. They didn’t even want me to finish junior high. But I had good grades, and my teachers visited my home several times before they finally got my parents to reluctantly agree to let me go to high school. After I finished high school, my family was already planning to get me married off. They wanted to collect a dowry to build a new house for my older brother to get married.”

Qiao Yi covered her mouth, "This is too much."

Fang Yingdi: "It's not excessive. I'm already the happiest daughter in the family. It's good that I've been able to go to school for so many years. My eldest and second eldest sisters got engaged and married early on. My parents paid the dowry, and they got married in tattered clothes. By my age, they already have two or three children."

“I have two older brothers and one younger brother. None of them are good at studying. We spent so much money to repeat a grade, but they still couldn’t graduate from junior high school. They are perfectly capable men who work in the fields but don’t earn as many work points as my two older sisters. If it weren’t for the fact that I am a worker, my two older brothers would not be able to get married.”

"And my sister, who is two years younger than me, was arranged to marry the woman's mentally challenged brother in order to help my brother get married.

Qiao Yi was shocked: "Your sister agreed?"

Fang Yingdi: "Can we disagree? If we disagree, we'll tie him up and send him over there. If we agree now, at least he can stay at his parents' home for a while longer. Serving his parents' family is easier than serving a fool. The elders there aren't easy to get along with either."

Qiao Yi: "This is terrifying, this is absolutely terrifying."

Fang Yingdi: "When you look for a partner in the future, never look for someone from the countryside, especially our village. You can't even imagine that a woman's status there is lower than that of a chicken raised by the brigade. Of course, a man's life is also less than that of a pig. However, as long as you don't do anything stupid, you shouldn't end up courting death."