Chapter 10

When Su Ye returned to the military family compound, she noticed a man dressed in pine green standing at the entrance of her house as soon as she reached the stairs.

The man appeared very young, tall, and held a bag of flour in his hand. His side profile was slightly more attractive, with a rugged charm as he tightly pressed his lips together while waiting for someone.

Su Ye immediately felt a bit nervous. Could this… be the male lead?

The man heard the movement and turned his head, offering a slight smile to Su Ye.

His face could probably pass for a sunny, handsome guy in the entertainment industry, but he didn’t quite match the description from the novel. He wasn’t as good-looking as the cold, aloof soldier Su Ye had met a while ago.

Su Ye’s heart skipped a beat. “You are—” Is he Gu Xiangqian?

Unexpectedly, the man took off his military cap and revealed a bright smile, showing off a set of white teeth. “Sister-in-law, don’t you recognize me? I’m Li Maogang. I’m here to bring you some food.”

“Brother Xiangqian is on an urgent mission and might not be able to come home for the New Year. Take the food and use it for the time being.”

It wasn’t Gu Xiangqian. Su Ye let out a relieved sigh.

Not coming home for the New Year? That was just fine. Su Ye could eat and drink to her heart’s content alone, and she wouldn’t have to worry about anyone else.

Li Maogang was a bit of a fool. Who stands outside the door of a married woman who lives alone like this? The way he was holding the bag of food and waiting for someone to come home, Su Ye almost thought he was Gu Xiangqian.

In the novel, Li Maogang was a good friend of the male lead, from a well-off family, ^[1]“raised in a honey pot” is not a common idiom, but it can be interpreted metaphorically. It likely refers to someone who has grown up in a very comfortable, indulgent, or sheltered … Continue readingraised in a honey pot with no bad intentions. His relationship with his wife was especially good, and they were considered a model couple in the compound. At first, his presence made Gu Xiangqian seem even more lonely.

When it comes to dealing with the unreasonable sister-in-law, Li Maogang played a leading role. But after Gu Xiangqian and the female lead became sweetly involved, the female lead’s virtuousness gradually highlighted Fang Xiulian’s harshness, and Li Maogang’s seemingly perfect marriage fell apart. Eventually, the female lead successfully introduced her best friend to him.

At this moment, Su Ye couldn’t help but feel that her perception of Li Maogang had shifted.

“Oh, it’s Brother Maogang! Ah, you’re too kind! You even brought food to help me out, but I already borrowed some from my colleagues. I’ll manage with what I have,” 

Su Ye said with an awkward smile, pulling out her keys. “Xiangqian is not home, so Sister-in-law can’t invite you in.”

Su Ye didn’t want Li Maogang to come in. She was just joking, but if he saw the string of bacon hanging in her window or the half-finished bag of wheat flour, she’d definitely ruin her image as someone who was struggling financially.

She quickly tucked the keys back into her pocket.

Li Maogang didn’t seem to have any intention of coming inside. He had come just to deliver the food.

“Take it, you’re all alone. It’s not easy,” Li Maogang said.

“I’m a teacher at No. 1 High School now. Do you think I’d be starving?” Su Ye said, putting on a tough face.

Li Maogang placed the refined grains on the ground with a “swish” and quickly disappeared down the hallway. By the time Su Ye reacted and tried to follow him, he was already gone, not even leaving a trace.

Su Ye stared at the refined grains lying on the ground—five kilograms of it. The wheat flour was as white as snow, with a faint fragrance wafting from it. It was hard to come by so much refined flour these days, which showed just how well-off Li Maogang’s family was.

Everyone was short on food now, especially fine grains, which were as hard to find as the sky. In times like this, offering fine grains was a deep bond of friendship, and few people could refuse such a gesture.

But did Su Ye need anyone else’s charity?

She looked at the food on the ground, her head throbbing with a dull ache. She couldn’t just accept so much fine grain without a second thought. She picked it up, thinking she’d return it when she had the chance.

—

At the border military hospital.

The room was filled with the smell of disinfectant, and Gu Xiangqian lay on the bed, pale and motionless, his brows tightly furrowed.

During a shift change, the nurses, with some free time, began gossiping quietly among themselves. “The leader in bed 108, I heard he’s no ordinary person. If he wakes up, he’ll be a hero.”

Whenever the nurses spoke of the leader in bed 108, a faint blush appeared on their faces. The leader was incredibly handsome. Even though he lay in bed, unconscious, day after day, it was impossible not to steal a glance or two.

The nurses competed fiercely for the chance to be on his shift.

A nurse with a ponytail scoffed and said, “Who here hasn’t been a national hero to get into this ward?”

Another nurse lowered her voice, “This one’s different! I heard he captured an enemy spy. That person was even a leader. In order to catch him, this leader broke his bones, but he still refused to let go, dragging him along the whole way. When he wakes up, he’ll surely be awarded at least a second-class merit.”

“What’s the use of such empty honors?” Another nurse sighed. “It’s pitiful. He couldn’t even survive the year. I wonder how his family will cope.”

This statement prompted a wave of sympathetic sighs.

A nurse with two shiny braids remained silent, carefully organizing medical supplies. Her eyes were clear and bright, her skin delicate and fair, and her white uniform gave her a pure, graceful, and elegant aura.

She knew Gu Xiangqian wouldn’t die so easily.

Yao Chunyu and Gu Xiangqian were old acquaintances. The first time, Yao Chunyu had given up on Gu Xiangqian for her studies and gone to the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, just as Sino-Soviet relations soured, she had to return to China shortly after arriving. This time, Yao Chunyu was determined not to let Gu Xiangqian go.

“Yao Chunyu, why aren’t you hurrying to change the leader’s dressing?” one of the nurses called out.

Yao Chunyu prepared the medicine and was about to walk into the room when an excited voice came from inside. “He’s awake! He’s awake!”

As she was about to enter, a dispute suddenly broke out from within the room.

The young nurse was reluctantly pushed out, and the others exchanged confused glances, asking, “What happened? Did she upset the leader?”

The nurse, with red eyes, said, “The leader said he didn’t want to stay in the hospital and wanted to go home. He just woke up, how can he leave now? I’m going to find the military doctor!”

Yao Chunyu entered the room and saw Gu Xiangqian sitting by the window, bending over to pack his belongings.

“You need to stay here for at least another month!” Yao Chunyu hurried to the bedside and said sternly.

Gu Xiangqian turned his head and saw her. He paused his packing, and his hand stopped. “Yao Chunyu? What are you doing here? Isn’t this…?”

His words trailed off, and as he thought about the situation, the words that were on the tip of his tongue were swallowed. He said, “It’s fine, I’m in good health. I can leave the hospital tomorrow.”

He then pulled out a package, hesitated for a moment, and after a long pause, a faint smile appeared in his dark eyes. It was something his wife had sent him, inside were a few pieces of moldy dried meat. The climate here was damp and hot, and Gu Xiangqian hadn’t had a chance to eat it before it went bad.

—

Meanwhile, at C City No. 1 Middle School.

Before Su Ye could truly shine at her new post, the school had already begun distributing New Year’s welfare bonuses. On this day, all the teachers in the office were eagerly awaiting, having heard that this year’s bonus was even smaller than before. Everyone seemed to lose their enthusiasm for work.

In previous years, the New Year’s bonus included a pound of peanuts with skins, a pound of rice, half a pound of pastries, and three taels of rapeseed oil—comparable to what workers received in factories.

But this year, there was no rapeseed oil, and the amount of pastries had been cut in half.

Teacher He, holding a heavy bundle of food, distributed the New Year’s welfare, her smile bright as the sun. Although Su Ye had joined late, she still received her share of the New Year’s bonus.

Su Ye took her share of food and grabbed a few peanuts and melon seeds to try. It had been so long since she’d had snacks. Normally, these small things didn’t catch Su Ye’s attention, but now, they seemed exceptionally rare.

The peanuts were fragrant and crisp, and the unroasted melon seeds were sweet with a refreshing aroma.

The pastries were the simplest kind of lantern-shaped cake, made with rice flour and lard. The flour was finely ground, and the cake was white, soft, and smooth, with a delicate fragrance. Su Ye ate one and was already thinking about the next. She had never realized how appealing these simple foods could be.

The teachers in the office watched as Su Ye indulged, shaking their heads at what seemed like a waste. Teacher He smiled and asked, “Teacher Su, aren’t you saving some for visiting relatives during the New Year?”

When Su Ye was called out, she finally stopped her voracious eating. She lowered her head, feeling embarrassed, and said, “I’m from the countryside, and I’ve never had such delicious food before. I won’t eat anymore.”

Su Ye put away the snacks.

The others immediately felt sorry for her. Little Su Ye was from the countryside, no wonder she woke up early and worked tirelessly, as diligent as an ox.

After filling her stomach, Su Ye, with her textbooks in hand, went to class full of energy. Thanks to that pound of rice, her patience was at an all-time high.

Su Ye had worried about running out of food during the New Year, so in the last class, she made sure to remind her students, “Even during the holidays, don’t forget to study. Every Friday, I’ll be in the office. If anyone wants to learn how to make a radio, come find me. I can not only make radios, but also fix them, fix watches, and repair bicycles. If you learn these skills, you can save yourself some money, right?”

After saying this, Su Ye couldn’t help but wipe her face. To earn a living, she had completely abandoned her pride and was even trying to grab repair jobs.

As soon as Su Ye finished speaking, the children were shocked and exclaimed, “Wow!” They eagerly raised their hands to sign up, “I want to sign up! Teacher Su, you’re amazing!”

After finishing her last class, Su Ye took the New Year’s welfare bonus from the school and headed back to the military family compound.

She took down the beautifully cured bacon that had been hanging by the window, admiring the glossy, translucent fat. After a while, she happily cut a portion of the bacon, placed it on top of rice to steam, and sprinkled chopped green peas, mushrooms, and wood ear mushrooms over it.

Before she returned, Su Ye had bought some red paper to decorate the house. Even though she would spend the New Year alone, she wanted to make it special. She grabbed a pair of scissors, hummed a tune, and started cutting out paper decorations.

Halfway through steaming the bacon rice, Su Ye suddenly remembered the clothes she had left to dry in the yard. She hurriedly left the stove, rushed downstairs, and went to collect the clothes.

After Su Ye left the house, Gu Xiangqian returned home.

As soon as he entered, he felt a wave of warmth greet him. With the presence of a woman, the house seemed to have changed. There were signs of womanly things everywhere—coal stove, knives, and a table full of cooking essentials like oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Red, sharp chilies and plump garlic bulbs hung by the window. The glass panes were adorned with delicate and beautiful red paper cuttings, and two sets of couplets were still waiting to be pasted on the table.

What was once cold and lonely now had a sense of warmth, filled with the atmosphere of the New Year.

The air was thick with the rich aroma of meat. Lifting the lid of the pot on the stove, he found the enticing smell of preserved meat rice, garnished with vibrant green peas, wood ear mushrooms, and mushrooms. Gu Xiangqian couldn’t help but scoop himself a bowl and eat.