Chapter 64: I Was Scared—So I Pretended

Lu Zhanlin and Xu Feng set down the supplies in the courtyard, especially the two wild mountain chickens. They tied their feet with hemp rope to prevent them from flying off and becoming someone else’s dinner.

Inside the house, Chu Yue took Lu Yuanbao in with her. She poured hot water from a thermos into a washbasin. There was no time to change clothes, so they would at least wash their faces and hands to get somewhat clean.

Chu Yue washed up quickly, then wiped Yuanbao’s face. Afterward, she set the basin on the floor, so he could wash his hands with some soap she pumped into his palms.

Yuanbao had been digging yams, and his fingernails were packed with mud. By now, he knew he wasn’t allowed to eat unless he cleaned up properly—he’d be scrubbing for a good while.

Once Xu Feng entered the house, he quickly introduced himself again to Chu Yue.

“Little sister-in-law, let me reintroduce myself. I’m Xu Feng, company commander of the 5th Company, 3rd Regiment, and I was once in the same trench as Regiment Commander Lu—we’re old comrades and close brothers now. Back at the train station, I really didn’t know about your relationship with him, and I didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

Xu Feng’s eyes practically pleaded with her, just short of flat-out saying It was all Lu Zhanlin’s fault, not mine!

Chu Yue more or less already understood what had happened at that time, so she smiled and shook her head slightly, showing she didn’t mind.

Lu Zhanlin frowned slightly from the side—sister-in-law was sister-in-law, what was with the “little sister-in-law” nonsense? It sounded weird and inappropriate.

Xu Feng was a cheerful type, and seeing that Chu Yue didn’t seem offended, he quickly added, “Little sister-in-law, I already had your wedding candies. I’ll come over soon to bum a meal too—sorry to bother you both.”

“It’s just a meal, it’s no big deal,” Chu Yue said casually.

She looked up at Xu Feng, who was about the same height as Lu Zhanlin, studying him from head to toe like she was evaluating a slab of pork belly.

Being eyed by the petite Chu Yue made Xu Feng feel a bit uneasy, like something was off but he couldn’t put his finger on it.

Lu Zhanlin couldn’t help but ask, “What are you looking at?”

Chu Yue smiled. “Commander Xu looks strong—he must be very good at labor.”

What she meant was: sure, he could eat—but not without doing his share of the work.

Xu Feng didn’t realize the implications of that yet. He grinned and nodded. “Little sister-in-law, just tell me what you need—I’m your man!”

—

Soon after, Chu Yue built a bonfire in the courtyard. She brought out all the pinecones she’d carried back—plus a few she discreetly took from her space—and stacked them nearby.

She tossed the green pinecones into the fire. After ten or so minutes of roasting, the moisture inside evaporated, and the outer layers turned pitch black.

The scales on the pinecones—like fish scales—began to split open. At this point, they were ready to be taken out of the fire.

Once they cooled slightly, she split them open and showed Xu Feng how to extract the pine nuts from the cracks in the scales. (Illustration here.)

Chu Yue demonstrated the entire process, then turned to Xu Feng. “Commander Xu, I’ll have to trouble you.”

“No problem! I got this!” Xu Feng said confidently and got to work.

At first glance, it seemed easy—but once he started, he realized it wasn’t so simple. The pinecones had a lot of moisture, and during roasting, they gave off thick smoke that irritated the eyes and nose.

It was evening now, and the cold wind blew from all directions—no matter where he stood, smoke would sting his eyes. He couldn’t stop tearing up.

Then came the second step: extracting the pine nuts from the cracked cones.

The pine nuts were small and numerous. Xu Feng, being a rough, straightforward guy, took a stick and started whacking the cones. A bunch of seeds fell out—he figured that was good enough.

But there was a little supervisor nearby—Lu Yuanbao.

In his crisp voice, Yuanbao called out:
“Uncle Xu, there’s still more in there!”
“Uncle Xu, you didn’t clean it out! No wasting!”
“Uncle Xu, this stuff is expensive—it can be sold for money!”

If Chu Yue was a big money-grubber, then Lu Yuanbao was a little money-grubber. He treated Chu Yue’s words like gospel: she’d told him pine nuts were more valuable than pork belly, and he took that very seriously.

Chu Yue had gone through so much effort climbing to the top of a pine tree and hauling these down—they couldn’t be wasted.

With Yuanbao’s constant reminders, Xu Feng had no choice but to pick up each pinecone again and carefully pick out every single little pine nut.

Holding a handful of seeds up to Yuanbao, he asked, “Is this good enough now?”

Lu Yuanbao examined it carefully, and once he was satisfied, he nodded seriously with his little face all solemn. “Mm, that’s good. Next one.”

Oh!

He was even giving orders like a little boss now—just like Chu Yue.

At first, it looked like the kid was being pitifully worked to the bone by his landlords or something…

But now, Xu Feng felt like he was the real pitiful one!

If word got out, people would say: Company Commander Xu became a laborer just to get a good meal—working hard without complaint.

The smoky scent drifted out into the air, and a few neighboring women, curious about the smell, came over to peek.

“What’s going on? Is there a fire in Commander Lu’s courtyard? Why’s there smoke all of a sudden?”

They grabbed stools, stood on them, and peeked over the courtyard wall—just in time to see Xu Feng being bossed around by Lu Yuanbao.

“Oh! It’s Company Commander Xu… Hahaha! This is the first time I’ve ever seen Commander Xu doing chores. Hey Xu, if you keep it up for a few more days, maybe you’ll end up with a wife just like Commander Lu!”

The wives were on friendly terms with Xu Feng, so they teased him cheerfully from over the wall.

Lu Yuanbao’s black eyes darted around, and he asked innocently, “Uncle Xu, you’re this big already and still don’t have a wife?”

“Hahahaha…”

The wives on the wall burst out laughing.

Xu Feng’s eyes were red from the smoke, and through watery tears, he shouted with red-faced frustration, “Shoo! Go cook for your own man—stop teasing me. And you, Lu Yuanbao, what do you know about getting a wife at your age? Here—look, is this one okay?”

Lu Yuanbao wasn’t interested in whether or not Xu Feng had a wife. He just stared intently at the pine cone and pointed with his little finger.

“Here, there’s another tiny pine nut right here.”

Xu Feng: This kid is going to be the death of me…

—

Inside the house.

Chu Yue grabbed a kitchen knife, then picked up one of the wild mountain chickens and walked toward the corner of the courtyard.

Lu Zhanlin saw the glinting knife and quickly asked, “What are you doing?”

“Killing a chicken,” Chu Yue replied calmly, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Commander Xu is your brother, and he’s been helping us out—he’s staying for dinner, so we can’t treat him poorly. Sister Zheng gave me some chestnuts yesterday. I’ll kill one chicken and make chestnut-braised chicken.”

Everything Chu Yue said made perfect sense—nothing to argue with. But the way she said “kill a chicken” without the slightest blush or heartbeat, as calmly as if she were plucking a weed from the garden—that was something else.

Her demeanor at that moment was more like someone casually snipping chives in the yard.

Lu Zhanlin looked at her clean, delicate face, then at her slender wrist—which was actually thinner than the handle of the kitchen knife.

He asked, “Aren’t you afraid to kill a chicken?”

Chu Yue paused.

Why would she be afraid of killing a chicken? She’d fought off wild beasts in the apocalypse—even wolves. But… this wasn’t the end of the world anymore. She wasn’t alone. She didn’t always have to be strong or emotionless.

Under Lu Zhanlin’s concerned and confused gaze, something inside Chu Yue silently began to shift.

She thought for a moment and said, “I am scared. I don’t dare do it. Zhanlin, you do it.”

Lu Zhanlin quietly let out a breath of relief.

—

Lu Zhanlin (internally): My wife is acting cute with me~