Chapter 21 [Edited]

Lin Yao was left utterly dazed by Gu Shi’an’s sudden confession.

Wait, how did Gu Shi’an end up confessing first?

Wasn’t she supposed to have the upper hand and take the lead?

But… perhaps this wasn’t so bad either.

Lin Yao was quite practical by nature. She originally planned to talk to Gu Shi’an, to see if he had any feelings for her. If he did, then they could continue to develop their relationship, if not, it was no big deal. After all, three-legged toads might be hard to find, but two-legged men were plentiful.

Sister Chunmei once said something very true: marrying a man means securing your clothes and food. Whether it was arranged marriages, parental orders and matchmaker’s words, or the free love of later generations, getting married was undoubtedly the most important thing in a woman’s life, without a doubt.

How important was marriage? There’s an old saying that marriage is a woman’s second reincarnation. In marriage, it’s either the east wind prevailing over the west wind, or the west wind suppressing the east wind.

As for which wind Lin Yao represented, that was yet to be determined.

After all, Lin Yao was only physically attracted to Gu Shi’an—she was interested in his looks and physique. She hadn’t reached the point where she was deeply in love, where she would marry no one but him.

Talking about deep love like the ocean—that’s definitely something to fool the gullible!

Now that Gu Shi’an had confessed to her, Lin Yao felt a mix of slight shyness and an overwhelmingly good mood.

Lin Yao cheerfully held the small velvet pouch in her hand. Despite her bright and radiant look, her face was serious, and her words carried a hint of coquettishness and a clear sense of seriousness.

“This is the private stash you’ve handed over, and I’m really accepting it.”

Once it’s accepted, there’s no going back—you’ll have to hand over your money for the rest of your life!

At this moment, Gu Shi’an was feeling incredibly pleased. He lightly cleared his throat, and with a low, magnetic voice, he responded with a gentle “Mm.”

Hearing this, Lin Yao felt even better. When she was in a good mood, she decided it was time to reward Deputy Director Gu.

“Gu Shi’an, come over here.”

Gu Shi’an thought the young woman had something to say, so he obediently took a few steps closer.

But he was simply too tall—over 1.8 meters—while Lin Yao was only 1.6 meters tall. So, she closed her eyes, stood on her tiptoes, and gave him a quick kiss on his thin lips.

Hmm, just like last time, kissing him felt soft and cottony, like marshmallows.

After taking advantage of Deputy Director Gu, Lin Yao was ready to escape. But Gu Shi’an’s eyes darkened, and in the next moment, his long arms reached out, pulling her in close. He whispered something in her ear, and then a sweeping kiss took over.

“…”

In the end, Lin Yao stifled a whimper, hitting his chest in grievance.

Only then did Gu Shi’an reluctantly let her go.

*

That night, Lin Yao slept particularly soundly with her little pillow.

On Saturday morning, the sun outside was so hot that it made people break out in heat rashes. In those days, there was no such thing as a two-day weekend. Workers in the county only got Saturdays off.

Gu Mancang rarely had a day off at home, and Zhang Cuilan planned to go to the countryside at noon to visit her mother. He eagerly wanted to tag along.

But Zhang Cuilan drove him away with a mix of coaxing and scolding.

“You old fool, why are you following me back to my mother’s house? You finally get a day off, so you should stay at home and rest, instead of making trouble for me.”

In truth, Zhang Cuilan just wanted her husband to have a good rest at home.

Gu Shidong woke Lin Yao up. Outside, the two big chimneys of the steel mill were already visible from a distance, with smoke billowing out.

That little rascal usually woke up later than Lin Yao, but today he was up early, eager to ask his sister-in-law what his brother had said to her yesterday.

He had planned to eavesdrop last night, but accidentally fell asleep.

When he opened his eyes in the morning, hey, his brother had already left for the Public Security Bureau, as usual.

The little rascal jumped out of bed in no time, and with a few thuds, he was banging on Lin Yao’s door.

Lin Yao was sleeping soundly, hugging the little savings booklet that Deputy Director Gu had handed over, when Gu Shidong started banging on the door outside like a wild dog.

Sleepy-eyed, Lin Yao turned over in bed, pulling the quilt over herself, hoping to sleep in a bit longer.

But Gu Shidong, bouncing around like a green grasshopper in spring, was driving her crazy.

Reluctantly, Lin Yao dragged herself out of bed. She hid the small velvet pouch with the savings booklet in the topmost rattan box on the dresser, pressing a few picture books on top of it, and finally felt secure.

Gu Shidong was still standing guard at the door, munching on a wild vegetable bun.

As soon as Lin Yao opened the door, the little rascal, with the bun still in his mouth, rushed over, “Sister-in-law, want a bun? The commune’s canteen just made them, with purslane^[1]Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a common edible plant that is found in many parts of the world. It is a low-growing, succulent plant with thick, fleshy leaves and small yellow flowers. Purslane is … Continue readingfilling, eggs, and lard—it smells so good.”

In Yunshui County, as soon as spring and summer arrived, wild vegetables would grow in abundance. This was the peak season for the freshest and most tender purslane. Little Zheng, who was in charge of the commune’s canteen, had been worried about what to prepare for the daily meals. Given the current conditions, there wasn’t enough grain or meat to go around. It was impossible to have braised fish and sweet-and-sour pork every day, like when the cafeteria first opened.

Zheng Dacheng had given his nephew an idea: during this season, wild vegetables were plentiful outside the city. He suggested that the kitchen staff help the elderly women gather a few baskets of purslane, blanch it, chop it finely, mix it with minced meat, and then add a few eggs. They could then steam several trays of wild vegetable buns made with three-mix flour. One bite would give a mix of meat and vegetables, enough to fill everyone up with three meals a day, one solid meal and two lighter ones. This would ensure that the commune’s members were well-fed.

Little Zheng had no other ideas at the moment, so he decided to give it a try. To his surprise, his uncle’s method worked quite well.

However, the future still looked challenging.

The rice and flour in the commune’s canteen had already dwindled by more than half, and with the grain supply from above not arriving soon, the commune’s canteen might not last until winter, relying solely on the ten kilograms of rice and flour from each household.

Lin Yao glanced at the wild vegetable bun in Gu Shidong’s hand but had no appetite at all. Last night, she had eaten half a bag of biscuits and drank a cup of milk, so she wasn’t hungry.

Seeing that Lin Yao wasn’t interested, Gu Shidong, with a mischievous grin, sidled up to her, “Sister-in-law, my brother…”

Lin Yao’s face turned red immediately, “What about your brother?”

“My brother left early in the morning.”

Lin Yao: This little rascal is asking for a beating, isn’t he?

Gu Shidong laughed twice, then dashed off like a grey rabbit.

Heh, looks like his brother is doing well this time—he’s about to win over his sister-in-law!

Gu Shidong hadn’t run far when he was brought back by Zhang Cuilan.

The little rascal, bored out of his mind, had gone to Aunt Dafu’s house and tried to touch the long ears of a little rabbit in her vegetable garden.

The mother rabbit that Aunt Dafu raised was extremely protective of her babies. As soon as Gu Shidong reached out his hand, the mother rabbit bit him, making him howl in pain.

When Aunt Dafu came out of the house and saw it was little Dongzi from the Gu family, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh dear, it’s little Dongzi again. This child never listens—being bitten by a mother rabbit really hurts.”

Aunt Dafu called over Zhang Cuilan, “Cuilan, come quickly, your Dongzi got bitten by a rabbit!”

Zhang Cuilan rushed over in a panic. Fortunately, the little rascal was lucky—he only got a small bite on his hand from the mother rabbit, and a bit of iodine was enough to disinfect it. There was no need to go to the health clinic.

This little rascal couldn’t go a day without causing trouble. Zhang Cuilan made him stand in the courtyard as punishment.

The neighbor, Aunt Dafu, came over to chat and also stopped by the Gu family’s house.

Though she claimed it was just a casual visit, it was clear she had a reason for coming.

Last month, Aunt Dafu’s younger daughter, Jiaxin, gave birth to a healthy baby boy weighing over six pounds. The whole family was overjoyed, but along with the happiness came a problem.

Adding a new member to the family is a good thing, but the issue was that Jiaxin was physically weak and had no breast milk after giving birth.

In these times, if a newborn doesn’t have milk, the options are to either nurse from multiple women, feed the baby rice soup, or give them formula.

However, Aunt Dafu’s grandson couldn’t stomach rice soup. She wanted to give him formula, but formula is rationed and requires tickets to purchase. Without connections, it’s almost impossible to get.

For the past two weeks, Aunt Dafu has been asking friends and relatives to help her exchange for milk powder tickets. Her grandson has a big appetite and goes through the formula quickly. The one can of formula she managed to get was almost gone in less than half a month.

Out of desperation, Aunt Dafu came to the Gu family. After all, isn’t Chunmei working at the supply and marketing cooperative? She might have better access to buy formulas.

As a mother herself, Zhang Cuilan immediately agreed to help upon hearing this.

Aunt Dafu was so grateful that she didn’t know what to say, holding Zhang Cuilan’s hand and wiping her tears, even looking at Lin Yao with a kinder expression.

A few minutes later, Aunt DaFu returned to the Gu family and handed Lin Yao a red envelope.

“Yaoyao, I must have been muddle-headed. You’ve been married into our compound for almost two months now, and I haven’t given you a red envelope yet. Let me make up for it today. Please, take it.”

Lin Yao held the red envelope and glanced at Zhang Cuilan.

Zhang Cuilan smiled and nodded. Aunt Dafu was a straightforward person. Feeling indebted to the Gu family, she found an excuse to express her gratitude.

Lin Yao obediently accepted the red envelope. “Thank you, Auntie.”

“What’s there to thank me for? You’re such a pretty girl. I’m sure your children will be beautiful too.”

Aunt Dafu then held Lin Yao’s hand and asked, “Yaoyao, you’ve been married for some time now. When do you plan to have a little one?”

Lin Yao: “…”

After sending off the enthusiastic Aunt Dafu, Zhang Cuilan tidied herself up, changed into new clothes, grabbed a basket, and headed off to Zhangjia Village with Gu Mancang.

—Uncle Mancang was so clingy with his wife that Auntie Cuilan had no choice but to drag along this “big third wheel.”

With the elderly couple off to Zhangjia Village, Chunmei and her brother went to the street to watch a movie and invited Lin Yao to join them.

Lin Yao looked at the scorching sun outside and immediately shook her head.

It was too hot. She’d rather stay home and take a nap.

In the cool, quiet afternoon, Lin Yao changed into a small floral nightgown, hugged her blanket, and curled up on the bed like a cat.

She slept until a little past five in the afternoon. As she was groggily waking up, Gu Shi’an returned home from work.

Gu Shi’an pushed his bicycle into the courtyard and bent down to lock it. A breeze blew by, pressing his white shirt against his abdomen, outlining his lean and toned waist.

Lin Yao couldn’t help but swallow.

Say what you will, but our Deputy Director Gu sure has an enticing physique.