Chapter 13

After Su Ye returned to the military compound, she found that Gu Xiangqian was not home.

Su Ye grumbled to herself, “He’s injured but still doesn’t take it easy. It’s obvious he’s not a man who likes to stay put.”

She took out a bottle of oil and a packet of sugar she had bought from the black market.

The supply of oil, being such a precious item, had long been out of supply at the supply and marketing cooperative. Su Ye had spent a high price to buy a small amount from the black market. One liang (50 grams) of pig fat costs one yuan. It was very expensive, and if Su Ye weren’t so fond of eating, she probably wouldn’t have even bothered to look at it.

With the New Year approaching, she planned to use the lard to make some pastries to reward herself.

Although life was hard, she still wanted to make it enjoyable. Having something to look forward to gave her the motivation to keep working.

The school had distributed some light and fluffy rice cakes as part of the New Year subsidy, but Su Ye had already eaten them all before the school day ended. It wasn’t even enough to ^[1]“Fill the cracks between her teeth” is an idiomatic expression that refers to eating small amounts of food, especially when someone is very hungry and needs even the smallest bit to … Continue readingfill the cracks between her teeth.

For someone who was often hungry, high-energy sweets were irresistibly attractive. Su Ye had been craving them terribly over the past few days, constantly thinking about how much she wanted to eat them.

The “lamp wick cake” was a traditional sweet that had been passed down from the Qing Dynasty. It looked simple, but it had been rated as a top specialty during the ^[2]“Xianfeng era” refers to a specific period during the reign of Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty in China. Emperor Xianfeng ruled from 1850 to 1861, and his reign is often associated … Continue readingXianfeng era. The cake had a clean, fragrant white color, a soft, smooth texture, and left a lingering fragrance with a slight herbal taste.

The process of making it was as complicated as repairing a radio.

Su Ye sifted the glutinous rice and soaked it in hot water, then fried it with sand to make popped rice. After crushing it, she ground it into glutinous rice flour. She mixed sugar and water, heating it to make syrup, until it could be pulled into thin sugar strands.

As she added a few drops of osmanthus oil during the sugar-making process, the room filled with the sweet scent of osmanthus flowers, and Su Ye couldn’t help but drool as she stirred.

Su Ye mixed the dried Chinese medicine powder with the glutinous rice flour, added the syrup, and placed it into a box. She continued to pound and press the mixture, ensuring the medicinal powder and syrup were thoroughly incorporated, which would increase the flexibility of the cake.

In the bitter cold of winter, Su Ye worked up a sweat making the lamp wick cakes. When she finally carefully sliced them into thin strands resembling lamp wicks and presented a box of white, delicate cakes, she was nearly moved to tears.

Su Ye pulled off a piece of the lamp wick cake, and it was fragrant, sweet, and soft—melting instantly in her mouth with a faint herbal fragrance. The cake she made was just as good as the ones the school distributed! In fact, the slight addition of osmanthus oil, which she’d splurged on, gave it a unique aroma and taste.

Su Ye made a total of one jin (500 grams) of lamp wick cakes, but because she ate as she worked, by the time the finished product was ready, only half a jin was left.

With her belly full of sweets, Su Ye licked her thumb, which was coated in sugar powder, and let out a contented burp.

As Su Ye began preparing dinner, her gaze fell on the frozen ribs outside the window. Without thinking, her hands moved to take them down.

She blanched the one jin of ribs, stir-fried them with plenty of minced garlic, added tomatoes for flavor, and covered the ribs with water to simmer.

Su Ye eagerly devoured the first portion of ribs. Only when she had nearly finished did she remember that Gu Xiangqian hadn’t eaten yet. Since they were his ribs, and she’d eaten them all, her conscience pricked her. Reluctantly, she left a few pieces of meat for him.

After dinner, the director of the Women’s Federation came to find Su Ye. She knocked on the door and asked, “Oh, you’re already eating dinner this early?”

Looking around and seeing no sign of Gu Xiangqian, she asked, “Su Ye, is Xiangqian here? I need to talk to him.”

Su Ye casually replied, “He’s not back yet. What’s the matter? Why do you need to talk to him?”

Seeing that Su Ye was eating alone and there was no sign of Gu Xiangqian in the room, the director frowned in disapproval.

“That child, Xiangqian, doesn’t take care of his health at all. He’s young, so he’s wasting his energy, but when he gets older, he’ll regret it. You should remind him more often to take care of himself, so he doesn’t ruin his future. He hasn’t eaten and is out in this cold weather. Where did he go?”

Su Ye was irritated by the lecture but didn’t want to argue with the director, so she reluctantly put out the fire, put on her coat, and went outside to look for Gu Xiangqian.

Before leaving, Su Ye grabbed a handful of lamp wick cakes, eating as she walked, planning to finish the whole bag before returning home. But unexpectedly, she wandered all the way to the military district training field and spotted Gu Xiangqian.

He was standing straight in his pine green uniform, perfectly still. The setting sun bathed him in its warm glow, and for a moment, he looked so serious and disciplined that he could have been in a military promotional video.

Su Ye’s gaze lingered on him, her mind filled with frustration. After a long moment, she shouted angrily, “Gu Xiangqian! What on earth are you doing out here in the freezing cold? I told you to rest, but you just can’t stay still! Why are you standing in the middle of the field like a power pole? Get back home and help with the cooking!”

As she approached, walking off the field, she realized that Gu Xiangqian wasn’t alone. He was holding a teaching ruler, conducting a class with a group of trainees. When he saw her, he froze for a moment.

The trainees all turned their curious eyes toward Su Ye, clearly impressed by the loud and authoritative shout she had just made. Their gazes were a mix of surprise, teasing, and curiosity as they watched her.

No matter how thick-skinned Su Ye was, she couldn’t help but blush. She quietly asked Gu Xiangqian, “Why are you practicing here in the military family’ compound?”

Gu Xiangqian replied briefly, “I had some free time.”

He glanced at the soldiers he was training, who were all gossiping and looking at them. Gu Xiangqian immediately issued a command, his voice steady: “Attention, rest, about-face!”

The tall, lean, and energetic trainees turned in perfect unison, and their intense, burning gazes disappeared.

Once the trainees had turned around, Gu Xiangqian looked at Su Ye. He studied her for a long time before finally reaching out to gently wipe the powder from the corner of her mouth.

He asked, “What did you eat?”

Su Ye was completely caught off guard by this man’s casualness. She widened her eyes, and her face underwent a dramatic change—her expression quickly shifted between surprise and annoyance.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and teasingly replied, “Of course, I ate something delicious. It’s all gone, and there’s none left for you. Gu Xiangqian, you’re something else, secretly practicing here in the family’ compound. If I catch you doing this again, I’ll report you to the political commissar and get you locked up for a month of solitary confinement!”

“Since you have so much energy, why don’t you take care of all the housework? Three meals a day, washing vegetables, cooking, sweeping, mopping, and tidying up—”

After saying this, Su Ye didn’t even bother to look at Gu Xiangqian’s reaction. She turned and quickly left the training ground.

A soft laugh could be heard from one of the trainees, unable to hold it in any longer. Having overheard the boss’s conversation, they now felt that their earlier frustration about being dragged out for training during the holiday was completely wiped away.

Gu Xiangqian withdrew his hand and said in a flat tone, “Dismissed!”

Without showing any expression, he returned to the family’ building.

When he arrived home, Gu Xiangqian was immediately hit by the sweet smell of pastries wafting through the air. He instantly realized what Su Ye had eaten earlier.

He washed his hands and pulled out a cabbage, intending to wash the vegetables and cook. But when he lifted the lid of the pot, he found a pot of stewed ribs already simmering inside.

The rice was fragrant and soft, and the ribs with tomatoes had stewed to tenderness, filling the air with a mouth-watering aroma. Even though the fire had long since been put out, the dish was still warm.

For the first time in a long while, Gu Xiangqian’s typically indifferent face showed a rare smile. He ate three bowls of rice, dipping it in the tomato-stewed ribs sauce.

The meal was so delicious that it almost gave him the illusion that the New Year had already arrived.

Gu Xiangqian didn’t remind Su Ye not to waste food. He figured she had just come from a disaster area and endured hunger for so long, so a little indulgence wouldn’t hurt.

—

After Su Ye returned home, she skimmed through the 1960s mechanical books she borrowed from the library to prepare for tomorrow’s practical class.

Her notebook was filled with notes, and when she looked up again, the night had already fallen. Her stomach was growling from hunger. She took out her keys, unlocked the cabinet, and took out a bag of lamp core cake in front of Gu Xiangqian.

Gu Xiangqian, freshly wiped off, glanced over curiously.

Su Ye popped the sweet cake into her mouth, and when she saw Gu Xiangqian’s Adam’s apple move, it seemed like he was starting to get upset, and she couldn’t resist poking at his heart.

“Gu Xiangqian, what are you looking at? Take your gaze away, don’t keep eyeing it. I haven’t had enough of it myself. I borrowed money from a colleague to buy it, so it’s precious. By the way, you need to give me two pounds of grain coupons and five yuan, I’ll return the money later.”

As she spoke, Su Ye stuffed another mouthful of cake into her mouth. She could clearly see the resentment building in Gu Xiangqian’s eyes, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself.

After finishing the cakes happily, Su Ye spoke from the heart, “Gu Xiangqian, I’ll tell you the truth—you’re not right for me.”

She sighed, “You’re too poor. I’ve suffered from poverty enough, watching my parents starve to death in front of me. I swore that I would live a good life from now on.”

Su Ye wasn’t sure where she found the courage to say that to him, considering he was earning 99 yuan a month in a courtyard full of single men, yet here she was rejecting him for being poor.

But isn’t that exactly how it goes with these kinds of people? Ugly on the outside, thinking they deserve the best, never bothering to look in the mirror to see if they’re worthy.

“The head of the Women’s Federation came to find you today. We’ll go talk to her tomorrow and retract that marriage report. Since we’re still young, I can still find someone else, but if we wait a few more years, you’ll have wasted my time.”

Gu Xiangqian remained silent for a long time without saying anything. He simply reached out and touched Su Ye’s head, “Go to sleep, don’t think too much.”

He pulled up the blanket, carefully shifted his body, and curled up in bed, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Su Ye tossed the pen aside, tore off a scrap of paper, and crumpled it in her hand. Her face changed several times, then she cleared her throat and continued, “Unless you give me all your wages and allowances, and from now on, whatever I tell you to eat, you eat, only then will I feel at ease.”

Gu Xiangqian responded with a hum, “The first compartment on the left side of the cabinet, that’s where my salary and allowances are.”

Su Ye couldn’t help but curse under her breath.

He wasn’t showing any authority—did he really think people wouldn’t take him seriously? From what she remembered, this marriage shouldn’t have been so hard to break, and Gu Xiangqian didn’t have such a good temper. This man must have turned into a ^[3]“saintly tortoise” isn’t a common idiom, but in this context, it seems to be a metaphor used to describe someone who has become exceptionally patient, passive, or enduring, possibly … Continue readingsaintly tortoise by now.

The next morning, Su Ye woke up before five o’clock. After waking up, she nudged Gu Xiangqian.

“Get up, I’m hungry. Go make breakfast. I want some pork bones from yesterday. Do you know how to get pork bones? Take the coupon to the canteen and ask the cook for some. Make sure you pick the ones with more meat, don’t let anyone take advantage of us.”

Gu Xiangqian opened his eyes. His wife had already rambled on for a while. He grunted, got out of bed, and went to wash up.

Gu Xiangqian had always received nutritional meals provided by the hospital after his injury, so he had never experienced the task of personally using a coupon to exchange for pork bones. He had hardly ever done something like this, taking advantage of opportunities.

But since Su Ye insisted on having them, after Gu Xiangqian finished washing up, he took the coupons and went to the canteen to get a pound of pork bones. The cook, recognizing Gu Xiangqian, didn’t need to be reminded about which bones were fatty or which had more meat. He carefully selected the best for him.

“Xiangqian, you should eat more, take good care of yourself. You’ve lost weight.”

Gu Xiangqian bought a pound of ready-made noodles, washed the vegetables, sliced the meat, cut ginger and red dates, simmered the soup with the bones, and boiled the noodles, meticulously following every step.

When Su Ye woke up, she was surprised to see Gu Xiangqian seriously tasting the soup, and was startled. The soup was bubbling on the stove, and the bones served were rich with meat and clear broth, floating with tender ginger slices. On the table were two steamed buns and two cups of cooling wheat milk essence.