Chapter 39

Lin Yao didn’t sleep properly. She needed something to cuddle to fall asleep.

Before, when she slept alone, she would lock the door and either take a rabbit doll from the space or hug a small pillow to sleep.

Now that she had Gu Shi’an, Lin Yao immediately abandoned her pillow and clung to him every night.

Not only that, but she also liked to roll around in bed. One moment, she was lying at the head of the bed, the next, she was in the middle. There were several times when she nearly kicked Gu Shi’an off the bed.

The night before, just as Gu Shi’an had fallen asleep, a small, delicate hand reached out to him. She bit and nibbled on him, finally giving him a peck on the lips while mumbling, “Boss, this pig’s trotter is not tasty. It’s too tender. It should be fattier for better flavor.”

Afterward, the little girl smacked her lips, kicked Gu Shi’an, turned over, and went back to sleep.

Only Gu Shi’an, now burning with heat, could only take a deep breath in the darkness and went outside for a cold shower in the middle of the night.

After so many days, Gu Shi’an had gotten used to it. He gently moved the small white hand from his waist, kissed Lin Yao’s cheek, and quietly got out of bed.

Recently, the county police had broken a major child trafficking case. Two of the main suspects had fled to the provincial capital. To catch these fugitives, the police had gotten busy again after a few peaceful days.

Xu Xiangqian rode his bicycle to the big compound to pick up his brother-in-law and head to work. He had just enough time to say hello to Zhang Cuilan before riding off to catch up with Gu Shi’an.

Zhang Cuilan chased them to the door and called out, “No matter how busy you are, don’t forget to eat. Your health is important. If anything happens, let us know so we can put our minds at ease.”

Gu Shi’an waved his hand to acknowledge her.

When Lin Yao woke up from her nap, she rolled around on the soft bed before finally crawling out, still groggy. The East Wing was quiet, and the military-green blanket was neatly folded into square blocks. It seemed that Deputy Director Gu had already gone back to the police station.

In the courtyard, Uncle Dafu, who rarely had a day off, was at home resting. He was wearing a coarse cloth pair of shorts, his shoulders draped with a towel, and holding a large enamel mug filled with tea that had cooled in the morning. He wandered around the yard leisurely.

Aunt Dafu swatted him, causing him to jump in surprise.

“What are you doing, woman?”

“What am I doing? What do you think? You shameless old man! Walking around half-naked in broad daylight! We have unmarried girls in this courtyard! Are you going to stop them from leaving the house?”

Uncle Dafu suddenly felt embarrassed and quickly ran back inside to put on a vest. He was used to being around a bunch of rough men in the factory all day, and there was never a concern about appearance. It was hot, so he often walked around shirtless. At home, he’d forgotten about it.

He glanced over at the Gu family’s house. All the windows were shut tight, and with a sigh of relief, he sat down in a recliner, sipping his tea while lounging comfortably.

Aunt Dafu, preferring not to see anything, quickly pulled the curtains shut and started fanning herself inside the house.

Lately, things outside had seemed off. With school about to start soon, all the schools in Yunshui County weren’t preparing for the new term. Instead, several teachers with questionable family backgrounds had been suspended.

The higher-ups had also decided that all students in the county should participate in a large-scale steelmaking campaign, arguing that steel production was the best form of education.

This infuriated the people of Yunshui County, and many of them cursed at home.

Children are just children. They don’t have good meals or the chance to go to school, and now they’re being forced into some nonsense steelmaking campaign. Do they think kids have the same strength as adults?

It’s utterly absurd!

People were angry but helpless. Some were even getting anxious, secretly going to the provincial capital to gather news. Several northern provinces were still struggling after a disaster, and some were sneaking to the black markets in the countryside to buy food.

Zhang Cuilan discussed with Gu Mancang about buying some food to stockpile at their old home.

The elderly couple, always cautious, had a strong sense of forewarning.

Lin Yao felt secretly happy upon hearing this. She had been trying hard to persuade her family to buy food in case of an emergency, but it seemed that she didn’t need to speak up. Her parents had already figured it out.

Moreover, Gu Shi’an and his sister both supported this plan.

Although Gu Shi’an was a serious and rigid man, his mother often scolded him for his stubbornness. That didn’t mean he was clueless. On the contrary, he was meticulous and able to deduce things easily, often identifying his enemies’ weaknesses without them noticing.

That’s why he had been promoted to deputy company commander in just a few years in the army.

Gu Chunmei was also very intelligent. The supply and marketing cooperative she worked at was directly across from the county’s grain depot.

In the past, when there was an abundance of grain, trucks loaded with rice and flour would line up outside the depot, and the people could always buy their fill.

However, starting in the second half of this year, there had been only a handful of delivery trucks each day. On one occasion, Gu Chunmei overheard complaints from the depot workers about the poor quality of the food in the staff canteen, with only watery porridge served every day.

If the canteen was in such a state, you could imagine how bad things were outside.

The whole family made up their minds to take action.

That evening, after Gu Shi’an finished work, the Gu family went about their usual dinner routine before heading to bed.

At midnight, the clock struck twelve, and aside from Gu Shidong, who was snoring in bed, the rest of the family silently sneaked out of their rooms.

Lin Yao pretended to be a little kitten, meowing twice in the courtyard. The dark night was silent.

Gu Chunmei was a bit anxious and started to make duck quacking sounds as she fluttered her hands. The courtyard remained eerily quiet, making it seem like no one dared to leave their homes.

At this moment, it was Deputy Director Gu’s turn to take action. He lightly tapped on the window in a rhythmic fashion.

“Knock—”

“Knock—”

“Knock—”

After several knocks, the courtyard remained still and quiet.

Satisfied, the Gu family was now reassured.

Gu Mancang led the way, with Gu Shi’an bringing up the rear. Father and son disappeared into the night, moving swiftly.

In Yunshui County, there was a grain dealer named Cui Daliang, who ran a rice shop before the liberation. After the liberation, his shop was nationalized, and the government arranged a job for him. But Cui Daliang, used to a leisurely life, wasn’t willing to work for anyone.

The government ended up compensating him for the nationalization of his business.

In recent years, Cui Daliang had thrived in the black market. He had connections and relationships, and anyone in the county who wanted to buy grain would turn to him.

Cui Daliang, the grain dealer, was a night owl with sharp ears. Father and son had bought a large amount of grain, so he arranged a donkey cart to deliver it in the dead of night to the Gu family’s old home.

The cellar of the old Gu house had already been cleaned out. They had bought three hundred jin of coarse grain, fifty jin of fine grain, five baskets of sweet potatoes, and three baskets of potatoes. The fine and coarse grains were placed in empty rice jars, filled to the brim and covered with thick wooden lids.

The sweet potatoes and potatoes were neatly arranged in baskets.

The four corners of the cellar were vented, and since the cellar was dark, the grain wouldn’t spoil over the winter.

Once they had everything in place, the father and son locked the door to the old house and hurriedly made their way back to the county.

The whole night passed, and by the time the first light of dawn appeared at six in the morning, the two of them were exhausted but finally returned home.

The family had been waiting for them. Lin Yao had prepared a batch of dough of various sizes, rolled out a pot of noodles, and took half a bowl of white flour. She sliced cucumbers into thin strips, mashed garlic, and prepared a tomato and egg sauce. She boiled water in the pot, added the noodles, and then threw in some green vegetables.

After boiling the noodles for a few minutes, Lin Yao stirred them, and when they were nearly done, she called Gu Shi’an over to scoop the noodles out.

Gu Shi’an quickly scooped up two big bowls of noodles.

Father and son each took a large bowl, added shredded cucumber, and poured on the noodle sauce, making their appetites soar.

The father and son slurped down their noodles and drank two big cups of water each before finally sitting down to catch their breath.

In September, the autumn rain arrived suddenly, with a light drizzle tapping down, as if it cut off everything outside.

The family members chatted back and forth, asking about everything that had happened during the day. Once they confirmed that everything was taken care of, smiles appeared in their eyes.

Zhang Cuilan slapped her thigh and went inside to fetch the grain and oil account book and the money tickets, calculating how much food they could still buy.

Originally, the Gu family planned to buy as much grain as possible, but Cui Daliang didn’t have much stock left, so they agreed to wait for the next shipment of grain to make another trip.

In the afternoon, with the fine rain still falling, Lin Yao was worried about her precious rabbit getting cold, so she asked Gu Shi’an to reinforce the rabbit hutch and cover it with a tarpaulin. The female rabbit was pregnant, and she didn’t want it to catch a cold and get sick.

At school, during the day they were making steel, and in the evening, Gu Shidong had to follow his older brother, running laps in the yard.

This poor kid was exhausted, his arms and legs felt like they weren’t his own. Every day he lay in bed unwilling to get up. He was truly tired; his whole body ached. It felt like what his second uncle had described when he was seven or eight—raising sheep and herding cattle for the rich landowners as a little worker, all while slipping back into the cruel old society.

Gu Shidong now understood the deep love from his older brother and immediately felt that going to school was much better than staying at home.

How great school was! He wanted to go to school!

As the weather grew colder outside, Lin Yao occasionally went with Dongzi to pick up coal pieces at the city gate tower.

Gu Shi’an felt sorry for her and didn’t want her to go.

It was hard to understand why a good girl would come back black and grimy just to pick up a few scraps of coal, which wasn’t worth it at all.

Lin Yao grinned and shook her head. She wasn’t just going for the coal. First, there was nothing to do at home, so she figured she could fight boredom and exercise at the same time. Second, she had noticed that recently, someone had been following her when she went out!

This was serious business. A woman’s sixth sense was always spot on.

Although every time Lin Yao turned around, she didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the people walking behind her, she couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. Her back would prick with an unsettling feeling, and that instinct couldn’t be wrong.

It wasn’t just her. Gu Shidong had also felt that someone was following them when they went out, but every time they turned around, there was no one in sight.

After discussing the matter, the big and small decided to stay calm. They would walk a few loops on the street each day, just to catch this sneaky follower.

Before they could catch the stalker, they heard some good news they had been waiting for.

The county textile factory’s logistics department was hiring!

Textile factories were big industries in those days, with their profits second only to steel and iron factories. The logistics department, being a relaxed area, had less pressure and really was an easy place to work.

Lin Yao felt this was the right job for her. After going to the countryside for a while, she realized that her weak constitution made it impossible for her to do farm work.

While Lin Yao was asking around about job opportunities, she didn’t forget to continue knitting Gu Shi’an’s sweater.

After one autumn rain, the temperature outside quickly dropped.

Gu Chunmei also knitted a gray sweater for Da Tou Brother, which Xu Xiangqian wore every day at the police station, proudly showing it off to everyone.

Especially in front of his future brother-in-law, Da Tou Brother made sure to show off the sweater from every angle, his attention-seeking behavior hard to ignore.

Gu Shi’an’s face remained expressionless as he grabbed Da Tou Brother and gave him a good beating, then casually checked if the sweater had been finished.

Lin Yao saw through him but didn’t point it out. She secretly laughed to herself.

This guy was such a cold and brooding man. Did he really want a new sweater but couldn’t bring himself to admit it?

Always trying to save face and suffering for it!

On Mid-Autumn Festival, Deputy Director Gu’s long-awaited “love sweater” was finally ready. Early in the morning, he changed into it before heading to work.

While Xu Xiangqian was once again flaunting his sweater, Deputy Director Gu smiled faintly and subtly revealed the black sweater from his police uniform underneath.