Chapter 18

Old sayings go, “Even dogs disdain a kid around eleven or twelve.”

Lin Yao had just such a child in front of her. With his unfiltered mouth, she put down her bowl and gave Gu Shidong a smack on the head.

“If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll smack your behind!”

Gu Shidong yelped and quickly ran away, covering his head.

Sigh, what’s the world coming to? You can’t even speak the truth without getting beaten. Is it true that pretty girls turn into tigresses once they get married?

The kid thought it wasn’t his sister-in-law’s fault but blamed his brother for being useless. He shook his head and sighed, looking so distressed that one might think he was facing a major crisis.

When Gu Chunmei came back from work at noon, she found Gu Shidong sitting on a stone bench with a face full of gloom. “Sister, I’m thinking of not getting married for the rest of my life.”

Gu Chunmei snorted. Her younger brother had mood swings every few days. The more she paid attention to him, the more he acted up.

As an older sister, she couldn’t be bothered, so she pushed her bicycle into the shed. After a moment’s thought, she added a big iron lock to the bicycle’s wheel for extra security.

Recently, things had been unsettled outside. The robber was still at large, hiding somewhere, and could strike again at any moment.

The Gu family’s bicycle was quite precious, akin to a Mercedes or BMW in modern times. Gu Mancang had wrapped the bicycle frame in a plastic bag, and Zhang Cuilan had covered the seat with a homemade cloth cover. The pedals were also wrapped in black plastic, making the bike look quite colorful and ridiculous. Locked securely, the little thieves wouldn’t be able to steal it.

Everyone was being extra cautious these days. Better safe than sorry.

Gu Shidong widened his eyes. “Sister, why lock the bicycle when we’re at home?”

The bicycle had a grass basket hanging from the handlebars, swaying as Gu Chunmei took it down and placed it on the ground.

Gu Shidong approached eagerly, reaching out to grab, “Sister, what good stuff did you buy?”

Gu Chunmei slapped his hand away. “Go away.”

Gu Shidong grumbled, rubbing his hand and sulking.

He thought his sister was a tigress even without being married!

If Gu Chunmei knew what her annoying younger brother was thinking, she’d probably kick him more.

The grass basket contained quite a few items: a can of unopened milk powder, two packs of warm sugared peanuts, three rolls of yarn, and some sewing supplies. Gu Chunmei sorted them out and handed Gu Shidong a pack of sugared peanuts.

Gu Shidong exclaimed with joy, “Sugared peanuts!”

The sugared peanuts were a local delicacy from the county, costing ten cents per pack. The peanuts were coated with a thin layer of sugary coating, crunchy and sweet with a hint of honey flavor.

“Did you get these for me, Second Sister?”

“Who else would I give them to, the dogs?”

“Hehe, I’ll take them outside to eat.”

Gu Shidong lifted his head, saying he’d take them outside, but in reality, he ran to the alley to show off.

*

In the hot summer, the big courtyard was sweltering. Lin Yao had finished breakfast and lunch, soaking some green beans in a basin to make green bean soup.

The old iron pot at the Gu family’s house was versatile, used for both frying and stewing. Since it was not needed at the moment, she cleaned it and put it away. She also wiped down the cupboard with a cloth. The cupboard still had some glutinous rice flour left from making zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Lin Yao licked her lips. With the heat, she craved something sweet. Why not use the ingredients she had—make some sugar cakes as a treat?

Smiling to herself, Lin Yao rolled up her sleeves, washed her hands, and got busy. The rice flour in the cupboard wasn’t enough, so she secretly added more from her storage. The sugar cakes went into the steamer, and she also prepared a pot of chilled green bean soup, sweetened with rock candy, and left it to chill in the well.

During the day, most neighbors in the big courtyard were at work, leaving only Grandpa and Grandma Sun in the front yard, who enjoyed their afternoon naps, often sleeping until three or four in the afternoon.

Gu Chunmei came back under the blazing sun, fanning herself with her hand. Finding her room too hot, she moved to the east wing to cool down.

Lin Yao was tidying up the room, which had been a mess since she got up. The wooden bed had a crumpled floral quilt on it, and white little shoes were kicked aside on the floor. The wicker box on the dresser was also in disarray.

Gu Chunmei washed a plate of fresh peaches and sat down with Lin Yao, each enjoying one.

The small pot in the kitchen was simmering sweetly. Gu Chunmei sniffed and asked, “Yaoyao, what are you steaming in the pot? It smells so good.”

It smelled as delicious as the sweet zongzi from the Dragon Boat Festival.

Lin Yao smiled and said, “I just steamed some sugar cakes. Would you like to try?”

“Of course!”

Gu Chunmei eagerly nodded, having only had a couple of egg cakes at the supply and marketing cooperative, with no rice left at the commune’s canteen. Her stomach was empty, and the peaches weren’t enough!

Lin Yao gave her a “wait a moment” look. After a while, she brought out a plate of steaming sugar cakes.

Gu Chunmei was excited and quickly grabbed a piece with chopsticks. As soon as she tasted it, she was amazed.

She had eaten sugar cakes before, but those from the old street in Yunshui County were usually overly sweet and sometimes bitter. Lin Yao’s sugar cakes, however, were white and translucent like jade, soft, sweet, and fragrant with a rich glutinous rice aroma—better than the sweet zongzi!

Gu Chunmei enjoyed herself immensely and ate several pieces in one go.

Lin Yao was worried that Gu Chunmei might overeat and get indigestion, so she stopped her from eating more.

Gu Chunmei, having eaten her fill, drank a cup of green bean soup and looked at Lin Yao with sparkling eyes. Her expression seemed like she wanted to hug Lin Yao and take a bite out of her.

Lin Yao quickly stepped back, guarding her face with a wary look. “Sister Chunmei, what’s with that look?”

Gu Chunmei, grinning widely, said, “Yaoyao, my brother’s taste is impeccable. He’s really lucky. Oh, and I still smell something fragrant in the courtyard. Look at all this sugar cake left in the pot. With only a few people in our family, we can’t finish it all. Let’s keep some at home and send the rest to the Public Security Bureau so that my brother and Da Tou can taste Yaoyao’s excellent cooking.”

Lin Yao: “………”

It wasn’t impossible.

*

At the county Public Security Bureau, a group of young officers in big hats were busy with files and documents.

Gu Shi’an was studying the robber’s profile. The robber was missing his little finger on his right hand. He remained silent and asked Xu Xiangqian to retrieve the archive files from the 1955 coal mine collapse in Yunshui County.

Xu Xiangqian was puzzled. The coal mine collapse from 1955 had been resolved a long time ago, hadn’t it?

Back then, due to excessive mining and inadequate safety measures from the higher-ups, the ground had cracked. The old folks had always predicted that something bad would happen to the coal mine sooner or later.

Several times, while going to school, Xu Xiangqian could vaguely see the dark, towering coal piles and the cracked ground through the mine’s gate.

Later, during a heavy rain, the old coal mine couldn’t withstand it and collapsed. The rain had washed away the thick supporting columns, which tilted and disappeared into the ground. Several lives were lost in this accident. An old miner lost a leg, and a middle-aged miner, who was pinned at the cave entrance, survived but lost a finger.

Xu Xiangqian’s eyes widened in surprise as he dove into the archives room and didn’t come out.

The archives room of the Public Security Bureau was cleaned only once every half month, filled with dust, and the files were stacked high with dust covering them.

Gu Chunmei waited outside the Public Security Bureau with the sugar cakes and almost didn’t recognize him.

Xu Xiangqian’s face was covered in grime, with dust even in his hair. He looked so dirty that he barely made eye contact.

Xu Xiangqian first washed his face in the yard, revealing his clean and handsome features. He then came over with a broad smile, showing his neat white teeth. “Chunmei, what brings you here?”

Gu Chunmei shook the lunchbox in her hand. “It’s sugar cakes that Yaoyao made. I brought them for you all to try.”

Xu Xiangqian was surprised. “Yaoyao can make desserts?”

Gu Chunmei didn’t like the tone of that question. “How can you say Yaoyao can’t make desserts? Do you know how to speak?”

Seeing his fiance’s displeasure, Xu Xiangqian quickly changed the subject. “Shi’an has been busy all morning and hasn’t had lunch yet. I’ll bring this to him to fill his stomach.”

Gu Chunmei sighed. “My brother is like this, so focused on work that he forgets everything. I know you’re all busy, but you still need to eat.”

Xu Xiangqian immediately vowed to follow Chunmei’s instructions and even sneakily held her hand.

Gu Chunmei, blushing, hurried away.

Brother Da Tou hummed a tune and, in high spirits, returned to his office. He placed the lunchbox on the desk and said cheerfully, “Old Gu, your little wife made these desserts and sent them over!”