Chapter 9

Hearing Su Ye’s words, Li Hongli and Gao Anna’s expressions changed, and they nearly twisted their noses in anger.

Su Ye’s fishing rod seemed to catch fish one after another. In just one hour, the bucket was filled with over a dozen fish, each over ten centimeters long! Li Hongli grew restless, unable to focus on fishing anymore. It was true what they said—comparing goods made you throw them away, and comparing people could drive you crazy.

Especially when Su Ye threw back the fish less than an inch long into the river. Li Hongli and the others had spent the whole morning under the sun, only managing to catch two fish, each barely the size of a thumb! The woman from the Li family, who had come with them, had already packed up her fishing rod. With a stern face, she said, “Let’s go back. It looks like we won’t catch any more fish today.”

Su Ye packed up her fishing rod too. Meanwhile, the other military wives had quickly finished digging up the wild fish mint. Everyone carried their heavy spoils back, their smiles stretching from ear to ear.

Su Ye had caught a total of twelve fish. After dividing them, there were still two extra. When they returned to the compound, everyone stared at the fish in the bucket with intense, burning eyes. If looks could turn into tangible objects, the bucket would probably have been pierced through!

Many of them hadn’t tasted meat in a long time. Over the past year, the number of times they had eaten meat could be counted on one hand, and they probably even forgot what meat tasted like.

When Su Ye asked everyone to pick a fish to take home, many of them visibly swallowed, and there were faint growls from stomachs in the air. The woman with the steel helmet hairstyle said, “This can’t be right. After all, we’re half soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army. How can we just take your things without giving anything in return?”

This military wife was called Niu Cuihua. She was very grateful to Su Ye for helping them save face. In a generous manner, she went home and brought Su Ye a bunch of dried goods.

Other military wives who took Su Ye’s fish also brought some things back for her, including garlic, chili peppers, ginger, mushrooms, black fungus, lotus root, a few pounds of soybeans, handmade layered shoe insoles, potatoes and cabbage stored in the cellar for winter, and even a basket of wild fish mints they had dug up that day…

Su Ye didn’t expect such warm-heartedness from everyone. Looking at the various dried goods, her heart swelled with warmth. These were good things!

In the winter, when vegetables were scarce, Su Ye had been eating tasteless food for a long time, her body lacking vitamins to the point that her lips had started to blister.

With the help of the others, Su Ye’s supplies were suddenly plentiful. These things might seem insignificant, but gathering them bit by bit was no easy task. Before the New Year, Su Ye had nothing prepared, only an empty house that needed to be stocked with everything.

In the end, Su Ye returned home carrying a basket of spoils and three fish.

She looked at the three fish and the things the others had given her—fish mint, garlic sprouts, chili peppers, ginger, mushrooms, lotus root… Faced with such an abundance of supplies, Su Ye hesitated for the first time in a long while, unsure of what she should make.

This was truly a “happy trouble”!

If only she could have such worries every day, life would be so much better!

Although Su Ye wasn’t too fond of the strong smell of the wild fish mint, she couldn’t help but think of the image of the military wife hunched over, digging through the dirt with her hands. Su Ye quickly accepted the basket of fish mint.

In her indecision, Su Ye recalled a popular dish in the night market in recent years—spicy fish mint. She rinsed the wild fish mints under the faucet.

The muddy wild fish mints revealed their white, jade-like roots after being washed in clean water. Su Ye cut the grass carp into chunks, marinated it with spices, and was about to deep fry it… Oh, sorry, with the conditions here, she skipped the deep-frying step.

Su Ye added a few drops of lard to the pan and carefully fried the fish pieces. Afterward, she added chopped ginger, garlic, and green onions to the pan, stirring them in oil for a while. Then, she added the fish, enough water to cover the pieces, and seasoned it with salt, soy sauce, chili, and cooking wine. The mushrooms, potatoes, and lotus root were also thrown in.

Just before it was done, Su Ye added the wild fish mints and stirred them gently before quickly taking the dish off the heat. The smell of fish mixed with the strong aroma of the wild fish mint, creating a uniquely fragrant scent.

Before even tasting it, Su Ye’s mouth began to water. The pungent taste of the wild fish mint was beautifully balanced by its delicate, refreshing aroma, while the fish was tender, rich, and delicious.

Whoever came up with this combination of wild fish mints and fish must be a genius—it was nothing short of magical! One bite of the fish slid down her throat, and Su Ye felt like she had been transported to another world, her body filled with energy.

Su Ye quickly cooked some noodles, soft and tasty, and ate them with the spicy wild fish mint. She was so satisfied that her mouth was greasy, and by the end, her stomach was full and round.

Su Ye let out a contented burp, squinting her eyes in pleasure. With her stomach full, she felt a deep sense of happiness swelling in her heart.

—

Next door, at the Li family’s house.

The aftershock of the braised pork incident still hadn’t worn off when Li Maogang caught a stronger, more intense aroma in the air. It lingered at the tip of his nose, refusing to go away.

Everyone in the entire compound envied Li Maogang for marrying such a good wife—efficient, capable, strong in everything she did, with a tough personality that could handle anything. Plus, her family was well-off, and both families supported the young couple. While they couldn’t have meat frequently, they were sure to have it at least once a month.

With a wealthy and capable wife, and no burdens at home, Li Maogang lived the dream life every man in the compound envied. It made many people jealous.

Of course, how things were behind closed doors was something only the couple knew—just like the saying goes, ‘^[1]“The coldness and warmth of water are known only to the one drinking it” is a metaphor for personal experience and perspective. It means that only the person who is directly experiencing … Continue readingThe coldness and warmth of water are known only to the one drinking it.’

At dinner, Li Maogang asked his wife, “Do you smell that fragrance?”

He frowned, trying to describe it, “It smells like wild fish mint roots… It actually smells pretty good?”

When Fang Xiulian heard her husband mention food again, her face immediately darkened. Was he hinting at improving their meals? And he even mentioned wild fish mint roots, something so unpleasant. Even pigs might turn their noses up at it if they were given it.

This morning, some rural military wives had given Fang Xiulian a basket of wild fish mint roots, and she hadn’t even looked at them twice.

Li Maogang then added, “By the way, did you check on Xianqian’s wife? How has she been lately? With Xianqian not around, she’s on her own, it must be tough for her. But I, as a man, can’t get too close to a woman.”

Seeing his wife’s unwilling expression, Li Maogang knew she didn’t really care. His wife had the typical airs of a city girl, too proud and aloof.

Fang Xiulian saw her husband’s expression growing more serious and, with a stern face, replied, “Her? She’s doing fine! But if I worry about her, she probably won’t appreciate it! Do you remember when Su Ye came to our house? She came in like a bandit, raiding the house. Every good thing in the house was taken away.”

“You pity her, but I pity your brother! Gu Xiangqian earned so many battle achievements, and his father is such an important man, yet he ended up marrying that kind of person.”

Fang Xiulian ranted for a while, wrinkling her nose. “Anyway, don’t ever let me have anything to do with people like her again!”

Li Maogang recalled the first time he picked up “Su Ye” from the train station and was immediately at a loss for words, unable to counter his wife’s sharp remarks. He forced himself to speak up, saying, “But we still have to look out for her.”

“This is something Xianqian specifically asked for. If he brought it up, we have to take care of it. Tomorrow, give Su Ye five pounds of grain coupons, and also the piece of cured meat from the yard. Xianqian may not be able to come home for the New Year.”

Five pounds of grain coupons and a pound of cured meat—it felt like Fang Xiulian had stepped on her tail. She immediately began to argue with Li Maogang.

“No, the cured meat is for us! If we give it to her, what will we eat for the New Year?”

No wonder, when she had seen Su Ye eyeing their cured meat before, it turned out that she had been eyeing it all along, wanting their cured meat!

Li Maogang insisted, “Your sister-in-law just came from the countryside. I heard that many people there are starving, and she’s been through a lot of hardship. She’s new here, it’s only right to give her some grain. You’ve eaten grain that Xianqian sent before, haven’t you? Why can’t his wife eat our food? What’s with all this fussing and being so stingy?”

Fang Xiulian had once pitied Gu Xiangqian for marrying a woman who was neither here nor there. Now, seeing her husband stubbornly wanting to help his sister-in-law, she was as rigid as a rock.

The thought of having to deal with this petty and opportunistic sister-in-law in the future made Fang Xiulian want to explode right there.

—

On Monday, Su Ye arrived at school bright and early.

The sky was still gray and the sun hadn’t risen yet. While the other teachers were likely still asleep, Su Ye had already opened the office door.

Once inside, Su Ye immediately began grading the assignments. She flipped through the students’ work, and after each one, she carefully wrote a comment in the notebook.

Su Ye was filled with great enthusiasm for her work.

After Su Ye finished grading the assignments, she stretched her neck and looked up, only to find the teachers around her staring at her. Su Ye asked, “What’s going on?”

Teacher He said, “Nothing, nothing, Su Ye, you go ahead and keep working.”

The only science teacher at the school who would seriously grade students’ assignments was Zhou Yi, and now there was another one—Su Ye. In science, assignments were usually marked with just a “reviewed” to indicate that the teacher had checked them.

Of course, the teachers didn’t want to be lazy, but sometimes, they couldn’t even understand their students’ work themselves. They could get away with it in class, but when it came to grading, the flaws would show. Over time, many teachers would rather take on the label of being “lazy” than actually grade assignments.

This phenomenon, where teacher quality varied, existed in many schools. It wasn’t until Zhou Yi arrived that things at the no. 1 high school gradually started to improve.

After teaching for a few days, Su Ye had more or less figured out the situation at the school.

Su Ye was a part-time teacher, and science was considered a supplementary subject in the middle school curriculum, with only two lessons a week for each class. Once Su Ye finished grading her own assignments, there was nothing else for her to do.

But could she tolerate being idle? Of course not! To Su Ye, any kind of mental work was like delicious, juicy pork belly, or soft and chewy steamed buns, or fragrant, tender rice.

Sitting next to her was the math teacher for Class 1 in the first grade. Su Ye saw the math teacher quickly scribbling the word “reviewed” on the notebooks, nodding off as she did.

Su Ye shamelessly asked, “Teacher Lu, can I take a look at the math assignments for Class 1?”

She took the assignments, and without thinking, grabbed a red pen and began correcting them. After she had finished a few notebooks, she suddenly realized what she had done, and looked guilty. Su Ye said to Teacher Lu, “Ah, sorry, Teacher Lu.”

“You see what I’ve done—I accidentally started grading your class’s math assignments. I don’t really have any hobbies, but I just love being a teacher. When I see students’ assignments, I can’t control myself.”

Su Ye continued shamelessly, “Could I grade these kids’ math assignments?”

Her face was practically glowing with ‘I love grading assignments,’ and Teacher Lu was left stunned by her sudden burst of enthusiasm. It turned out that Teacher Su Ye was a passionate education enthusiast.

After a while, Teacher Lu snapped out of it and quickly nodded, pushing a mountain of assignments toward Su Ye. “Su Ye, you can take your time grading them.”

Someone actually wanted to grade assignments—Teacher Lu was more than happy to oblige. He yawned and lay down on his desk, falling asleep.

Su Ye diligently started grading the assignments for Class 1. While she was at it, she also corrected the physics assignments from Class 2 next door, and even reached over to grab the chemistry assignments from the third-year students in the classroom across the hall.

“Teacher Jiang, could I take a look at your biology assignments?”

“Teacher Wu, it seems like your class’s math assignments have quite a few mistakes…”

Su Ye quickly finished grading the pile of notebooks. She turned around and spotted Teacher He, her eyes lighting up. “Teacher He, do you need any assignments graded?”

Teacher He, who had been drinking water, nearly choked. He coughed a few times. “Ah… no need, Su Ye. I teach humanities.”

Su Ye’s hands kept flipping through the notebooks, and all day long, the sound of pages rustling filled the air at her desk.

Everyone in the office knew that Su Ye was the teacher who loved to grade students’ assignments.

Fang Zhou and Liu Qiu, upon hearing this, snorted inwardly. A person without an education or cultural background could only earn respect through such humble actions.

‘Ding’ — The streamer rigorously teaches and carefully grades students’ assignments, enabling the students to realize their shortcomings, which alters the life paths of 5 individuals. Reward, 1 jin (500g) of rice.

Finally, rice to eat! Su Ye rubbed her almost-cramping hand, nearly shedding two lines of tears. Su Ye was a true southerner—she couldn’t stand eating only plain flour every meal.