Witty Wife, Better Life-Chapter 582 - 572 Casting the Net Wide

"Forget it, if you don’t want to take it, I’ll just make do," the woman with curly hair said as if she felt quite aggrieved.

"Okay, big sister, if there’s anything else you need, just let me know," Shen Yunfang always maintained a smile.

The woman with curly hair didn’t say anything else; she stacked the items she had on the little table to make space and placed her lunch box down. She gently lifted the lid of the aluminum lunch box and a fragrance of rice wafted out. She glanced at Shen Yunfang out of the corner of her eye to see her reaction.

That was her purpose. She looked down on people. Although most passengers in the soft sleeper compartment were of some status, she didn’t think the couple below was of any significant influence. That’s why she deliberately brought back her meal to eat, wanting to see what their reaction would be.

If they showed envy or were visibly holding back, it would prove that the couple didn’t belong there. Actually, whether they belonged or not didn’t really matter to her; she just wanted to feel a sense of superiority over Shen Yunfang. She wanted to see Shen Yunfang give her envious looks, wanted to see Shen Yunfang show jealousy, wanted to see Shen Yunfang offer her a flattering smile.

However, her wishes were doomed to be unfulfilled. Shen Yunfang sat beside the aisle, head down, seriously reading her book, or occasionally checking on Li Hongjun’s condition across from her. In short, she didn’t even give her a glance.

The woman with curly hair thought Shen Yunfang was just pretending and expected that the sound of her eating would make them drool with desire. Thus, she ate with gusto, and to express how delicious the food was, she even deliberately smacked her lips.

Shen Yunfang felt a twitch at the corner of her mouth. Aren’t leaders supposed to be conscious about their image? How come they aren’t as sophisticated as ordinary folks?

And what on earth had she ordered? The smell of onions was so strong, it filled the entire carriage.

Shen Yunfang felt somewhat overwhelmed and slipped on her shoes to get off her berth.

The woman with curly hair thought her plan had succeeded and stopped eating, waiting for Shen Yunfang to speak up.

But after Shen Yunfang got down, she bent over, pulled the towel blanket up, and covered Li Hongjun, "The smell is too strong in this carriage, I’ll open the door to let in some fresh air. Cover yourself more so you don’t catch a cold from the draft." ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

"It’s okay," Li Hongjun felt that he was recovering well and that a bit of wind wouldn’t harm him.

"You can’t be careless with this. If you catch a cold now, it could be serious," Shen Yunfang still advocated for caution.

After making sure Li Hongjun was covered, Shen Yunfang turned around and slid the door of the compartment open. With both the inside and outside windows open, the air circulated freely and the smell was quickly dispersed by the wind.

The woman with curly hair hadn’t expected this outcome. She glanced between the couple and the food in her lunchbox and suddenly lost her appetite. After hurriedly shoveling a few bites, she took her lunchbox to go clean it.

Before long, the train stopped, and a man with somewhat grey hair, carrying a bag, walked into the compartment where Shen Yunfang and the others were. Shen Yunfang saw him and figured he must be the passenger who had the top bunk above Li Hongjun.

"Sir, can you manage the upper bunk? If not, we can swap, and you can take my lower one." Seeing the man’s white hair, Shen Yunfang felt that as a child of China, she should uphold some of the fine traditions of respect for the elderly and care for the young.

The man with white hair turned and smiled, saying, "Comrade, thanks, but no need. I’m not that old yet, and don’t call me ’sir’—I don’t like it. Just call me ’uncle.’"

Shen Yunfang chuckled, finding him quite humorous, "Alright then, Uncle, you’re quite spry on your feet."

The man with white hair put his bag on the luggage rack, took off his shoes, and in a few movements, he climbed up to the top bunk.

"Don’t think that just because I’ve got a lot of white hair, I’m old. I’ve just gone gray early; I’m only fifty this year, and my legs are still strong," the elder man with white hair said, refusing to admit his age.

At this point, the woman with curly hair came back, holding her meal box. Since the compartment door wasn’t closed, she had heard from a distance about Shen Yunfang offering to switch bunks with someone. She was so angry her nose was almost crooked. Wasn’t this bullying? When she humbly asked to exchange bunks, that woman wouldn’t switch, but now here was someone else, and before they even asked to switch, that woman was offering to do so. Clearly, the newcomer must be someone with a higher ranking than hers.

The woman with curly hair stormed into the compartment, threw her meal box onto the small table with a loud clang to express her discontent.

Shen Yunfang gave her a look as if she were looking at a fool. Is this person really a leader? With that temper, it’s a wonder she hasn’t been brought down yet. She must be lucky to be a fool.

The woman with curly hair glared at Shen Yunfang and the old man on the opposite bunk before huffily climbing into bed.

The elder man with white hair waited until the woman with curly hair turned her back on them, then made faces at Shen Yunfang, asking her what was the matter with this person.

Shen Yunfang innocently shook her head, indicating she was also clueless. I don’t know this person; we’re not acquainted.

The elder man with white hair chuckled, stopped speculating, and started chatting with Shen Yunfang and Li Hongjun.

This elder man with white hair was named Bai Guoqing, and he was the Director of the Agriculture Department in Z Province. He was on a tour inspecting the implementation of the household responsibility system across various provinces and cities. Originally, he was not alone, but due to some issues along the way, his team had returned early, leaving him alone for the final leg of the journey.

Shen Yunfang was very interested in the household responsibility system currently being rolled out across the country. It was one thing to learn about it from books, but experiencing it firsthand was quite another.

Director Bai was very articulate, talking about maintaining public ownership in collective economies, unified management, unified accounting, and how to contract out livestock breeding and sideline production.

Shen Yunfang and her husband listened with keen interest, recognizing that Director Bai was definitely no fool but a capable leader who could get things done.

Shen Yunfang thought to herself, no wonder Z Province developed so rapidly in agriculture in the future, with such a leader who understood and loved agriculture, setting a great precedent; the people would not have to worry about living poorly.

"Director Bai, after visiting so many provinces and seeing so much, you must already have a plan in mind," Shen Yunfang inquired tentatively.

"Heh, actually, our Z Province started implementing the household contract responsibility system as early as the beginning of the year. This trip was just to see if there were any other good practices in other provinces. This matter is not trivial; it relates to every common person’s vital interests. We can’t just work in isolation; we need to learn from the successes of others," Comrade Bai said earnestly, his thoughts always focused on the people’s welfare.

"You’re absolutely right, Director Bai," Shen Yunfang sincerely gave him a thumbs up. "So, in the future, apart from farmers, could other people also contract land in Z Province?"

"Oh? From what you’re saying, Xiaoshen, you also want to contract land to farm?" Director Bai looked at her scrutinizingly.

"Yes, I majored in agriculture, and I don’t want to just churn through books; I want to apply what I’ve learned to practice," Shen Yunfang didn’t hide her little scheme. She wanted to find a good spot to start a farm and become a farmer herself in the future.

"Ambitious! It’s rare for a girl like you to think this way," Director Bai commented approvingly, as nowadays, whether boys or girls, no university graduates would think of returning to the countryside to farm after finishing their studies.

"Ha ha, I’m just inquiring for now. My spouse is in the military, and I’m still studying. After graduating, I will definitely have to follow him, so right now I’m casting a wide net, and where I’ll end up will ultimately depend on him," Shen Yunfang stated honestly.