Chapter 31: Nourishing the Body, Secretly Feeding Her

“Company Commander Zhou came back yesterday and took care of Sister Chunling all night. With him there, Old Lady Li didn’t dare to cause trouble. Their house was peaceful the entire night. The only sound was the baby crying — no other commotion.”

“I went to see Sister Chunling early this morning. She’s already awake and knows it was you who operated on her. She really wants to thank you personally, but her body is still too weak, she can’t get out of bed yet.”

“But Sister Chunling asked me to pass on a message: Comrade Chu is her savior, and she’ll be grateful to you for the rest of her life. Once she’s a bit stronger, she’ll come thank you in person.”

Xia Xiaolan rarely said so much in one breath, and she did it without even gasping.

“Oh right, there’s also this.” Xia Xiaolan handed Chu Yue the bamboo basket she had been carrying. “Comrade Chu, Company Commander Zhou asked me to give you this to thank you for saving his wife and child.”

The bamboo basket was covered with a blue mesh cloth. When lifted, it revealed around twenty eggs.

Each egg was large, filling the basket to the brim.

These were eggs! In the 1970s, they were as precious as gold.

Back at the Jiang household, when Li Amei bought eggs, she would only secretly give them to Chu Yaoyao — not even Chu Jianshe got one. As for the original Chu Yue, she didn’t even get to smell an egg.

When Chen Fengying saw the basket of eggs, she laughed.
“That old woman Li Jinhua has two old hens. She saves every egg and won’t even let Wang Chunling eat one. Now she’s suddenly willing to give up so many? She didn’t throw a fit?”

Xia Xiaolan gave an awkward smile.

Clearly, Li Jinhua had definitely thrown a fit — and it wasn’t quiet or pretty.

“That woman caused me to lose my eldest grandson, and now you want to give her eggs? Are you crazy? Absolutely not! She should kneel to the Zhou family and apologize instead!”

That was Li Jinhua’s exact reaction at the time, though Xia Xiaolan dared not repeat it to Chu Yue.

But Chu Yue understood clearly — Zhou Zhijian’s insistence on thanking her and sending so many eggs wasn’t truly because she saved Wang Chunling and her baby. It was because she was Lu Zhanlin’s woman, and Zhou Zhijian couldn’t afford to ignore that.

Looking at the eggs, Chu Yue already had a plan in mind.

She picked out five eggs from the basket and placed them on the table. Then she covered the rest with the blue mesh cloth and handed the basket back to Xia Xiaolan.

“I’ll accept the eggs, but only five.”

Xia Xiaolan was confused.
“Comrade Chu, are you asking me to return the rest?”

Hmph, return them? Even if she returned them, they wouldn’t make it into Wang Chunling’s mouth.

“Not returning,” Chu Yue said firmly. “Xiaolan, keep the rest at your place. You live next to the Zhou family, so you’ll probably visit Wang Chunling often. Every time you go, bring a boiled egg and secretly give it to her. She just gave birth and still has to nurse — this is when she needs the most nutrition. Let her eat the eggs to strengthen her body.”

Xia Xiaolan looked at the eggs, then at Chu Yue, surprised and grateful.

Chen Fengying was moved and said,
“This is a great idea! It helps Wang Chunling recover without Old Lady Li knowing. Sister Chu, you’re so clever!”

She stared at Chu Yue with growing admiration — the more she looked, the more she liked her. Someone so perceptive and selfless… there probably wasn’t another like her in the entire compound.

“Sister Chu, tomorrow’s Friday. Every Friday there’s a shuttle down the mountain — we can go to town to shop. The supply and marketing cooperative, the department store, the wet market… we can go to all of them. Want to come with me?”

“Sure, having Sister Chen lead the way would be perfect. I won’t have to worry about getting lost.”

Chu Yue couldn’t be more eager.

There were still many things missing at home. While she could pull supplies from her personal space, if they suddenly appeared, others might notice — especially Lu Zhanlin.

That man was observant and sharp. She was afraid she couldn’t hide it from him.

So in everyday life, Chu Yue decided to live normally. Unless absolutely necessary, she would avoid using the supplies from her portable space.

Even if she had to use them — just a little at a time.

She didn’t want to end up in some science lab as a specimen to be dissected for being a “world unexplained mystery.”

That night, because of Song Hongmei’s reminder, Lu Zhanlin was assigned to train the new recruits and wouldn’t be back until late. It was no surprise.

Chu Yue wasn’t the least bit upset. In fact, she was quite happy about it.

If Lu Zhanlin had come back, they’d have to sleep in the same bed. Sure, he was easy on the eyes — but the longer she could delay that, the better~

…

The next morning.

When Lu Yuanbao found out that Chu Yue was going down the mountain alone to shop, he became completely deflated. Even while eating breakfast, he couldn’t lift his head, just circling around Chu Yue gloomily.

Chu Yue had already taught him: when you’re feeling upset, you need to speak up; the same goes for worries in your heart — you have to learn how to express them.

Lu Yuanbao looked up at Chu Yue several times, and finally gathered the courage to ask:

“Can’t I go with you?”

“Not this time. It’s my first time going, and I have a lot to buy. It’ll be inconvenient to bring you along. Once I get familiar with things, I’ll take you with me next time.”

Chu Yue walked over and gently patted Lu Yuanbao’s fluffy little head — it felt quite nice.

“Yuanbao, what are you worried about? Afraid I’ll run away? My home is right here — I’ll be back this afternoon. I heard there’s a Xinhua Bookstore in town that sells old storybooks. Do you want to read some?”

Lu Yuanbao widened his eyes. “You know how to read?”

“You little rascal, are you looking down on me?”

Chu Yue flicked his forehead playfully. Not to mention that Chu Yue herself had once attended a prestigious 211 university, even the original owner of this body had been the top scorer in the college entrance exam and got into a top university in Shanghai.

A little old storybook wouldn’t trouble her.

“Do you want a storybook or not?”

Lu Yuanbao nodded eagerly. “Yes!”

“Good. Then stay home like a good boy. I know you’re very capable, but don’t go into the kitchen or mess with fire. I’ve left eggs, steamed buns, and biscuits on the coffee table. Eat those if you get hungry. If you want to do something, you can turn the soil in the courtyard. If not, just rest. You can go outside and play too, but don’t leave the compound, got it?”

Lu Yuanbao had grown up on his own, so Chu Yue wasn’t too worried about leaving him at home. Besides, the compound was enclosed, with sentries stationed at the entrance, so there was no fear of him wandering off.

Lu Yuanbao listened carefully to Chu Yue’s instructions.

Chu Yue checked her pocket, which held the money and ration coupons Lu Zhanlin had given her. Today was the big day to show her skills.

She stepped out of the compound.

“Chu girl, over here!”

From afar, Chen Fengying spotted Chu Yue and immediately waved her over.

Chu Yue walked over quickly and greeted her with a bright smile. “Morning, Sister Chen!”

There were quite a few people around Chen Fengying — some Chu Yue recognized from her first day, and others were unfamiliar. They all carried either bamboo baskets or wore bamboo backpacks, ready to go shopping down the mountain.

They gathered in small groups, and snippets of conversation drifted over now and then:
“That’s her.”
“She’s the commander’s wife.”
“She’s so young. Is she even twenty yet?”

Chu Yue ignored the gossip completely, keeping a cheerful smile on her face.

As the saying goes, people don’t hit smiling faces. With her fresh, youthful looks and innocent demeanor, most people wouldn’t even think of giving her trouble.

Even if… some of them had seen her knock Li Jinhua out cold with a single karate chop.

Before long, someone shouted, “It’s here! The car’s here!”

The moment Chen Fengying heard that, she grabbed Chu Yue’s hand. “Come on, Chu girl! Stick close to me! Push forward, push forward!”

Because the car was small, the people were many, the seats were few, and the journey was long, everyone wanted to grab a seat — no one wanted to stand.

So, like a tide, the crowd surged toward the small car door, pushing and scrambling to get to the front.

This scene — wasn’t it just like the rush during an apocalypse? Chu Yue was all too familiar with it.

She appeared to be following behind Chen Fengying, but quietly used some force to push the taller woman forward. As a result, they were among the first to board the vehicle.

Chen Fengying, quick-eyed and quick-handed, snagged a two-person seat and pulled Chu Yue down to sit with her.

“Chu girl, sit quick! The road down the mountain is winding and bumpy — people can’t stand steadily. You need a seat.”

While they were still talking, all the seats were quickly taken. The last row was crammed with six or seven people, and even the aisle was packed.

Chu Yue smiled and gave Chen Fengying a big thumbs-up. “Sister Chen, you’re amazing. Thank goodness you brought me!”

Chen Fengying beamed, her face blooming with pride.