Chapter 19

In the evening, the group of military wives who had gone to the outskirts to improve their living conditions returned.

He Meimei told Su Ye about the follow-up to their outing to improve their meals.

Although Niu Cuihua had gotten Su Ye’s fishing rod, she spent the whole day by the river but only caught a bit of algae and some small shrimp. The military wives who had been digging the rabbit holes had almost completely dug them out, but not only did they not see a rabbit, they didn’t even spot a field mouse.

It was a true, real-life confirmation of the saying: “If the fish are starving, how could there be rabbits?”

The luck was all Su Ye’s, it had nothing to do with anyone else.

Su Ye only smiled at this and didn’t comment. She was busy working, a plate of rabbit meat right beside her, eating while preparing lessons. It seemed like she was living the good life.

After He Meimei finished speaking, she couldn’t help but swallow, and Su Ye, seeing this, washed a pair of chopsticks and served her two pieces of rabbit meat.

He Meimei slowly chewed the rabbit meat. Originally, she hadn’t been envious of Su Ye for having rabbit meat to eat, but after finishing the meat, she was left astonished.

After all, He Meimei’s family still had half a jin (about 500g) of white pork left. Fat pork wasn’t any worse than lean rabbit meat, right?

But He Meimei was wrong—rabbit meat was actually this delicious! Su Ye’s rabbit meat wasn’t tough at all, it was juicy and delicate. Even the fine bones seemed to be infused with flavor. He Meimei ate it so eagerly she was sucking her thumb.

In such an uncertain season, being able to taste such a delicious meal was truly something only found in dreams.

She couldn’t help but sigh, “If I had that kind of luck, it would be great.”

Everyone went to improve their living conditions every week, but in reality, their lives hadn’t improved much. Su Ye, who had been dragged along, was the one whose life had genuinely gotten better.

Su Ye kept working, not even blinking as she said, “You definitely don’t want my luck.”

She had been living without worry, with enough food and drink, having worked hard for twenty-some years to finally get somewhere. Then, suddenly, she was reduced to being in a situation where she could barely eat enough but wouldn’t starve to death—Su Ye had really used up all her bad luck to fall into this “good fortune.”

It was just one rabbit. Su Ye had eaten however she liked in the past—eating bird’s nest soup, drinking a bowl and spilling another, doing all kinds of reckless things.

When He Meimei heard this, she thought of Su Ye’s parents who had both died of hunger and illness, and fell silent.

Su Ye came from a province that had suffered a great famine. She had heard that half the people in her village had starved to death.

When the school distributed the New Year bonuses, Su Ye spent the entire afternoon in the office eating snacks, saying she had never had delicious food before. But now, seeing her working diligently, volunteering for overtime, offering to help grade assignments, and using her already limited free time to tutor students…

He Meimei felt a pang in her heart. Looking at Su Ye, her eyes were filled with sympathy.

A person so pitiful had finally gotten some food and even shared it with her.

“Su Ye, let me help you study during the weekend!” He Meimei said.

“I majored in humanities, so I can only help you with Chinese and foreign languages. I’ll ask Teacher Zhou Yi to help you with science subjects. He’s quite good, we graduated from the same university, and he’s a top student,” Su Ye replied.

Su Ye rubbed her sore hands and said, “I haven’t finished grading the assignments yet. I’ll find time to study on my own. You should go home and take care of the kids!”

She glanced at He Meimei and reminded her, “Your mother-in-law doesn’t understand, so you need to take care of the child yourself. Have you thrown away the spirulina milk powder? Although the newspapers say it’s nutritious, it might not be all it’s cracked up to be. I told you last time, it’s better to use the money to buy some eggs or milk powder for the baby.”

He Meimei nodded, sighing in worry, “I did throw it away, but I can’t find any milk powder. I’m mixing some rice in the baby’s food to get through this time. I really hope the harvest this year is better.”

Su Ye knew this was impossible. The situation would only get worse. If someone like He Meimei, who had a decent income, was struggling with food, how would the poor manage?

Thinking about this, Su Ye’s speed in grading assignments picked up.

—

On Friday, Su Ye was teaching a practical lesson. After conducting a science experiment, she took up the chalk and carefully explained the principles of the radio.

The students sitting at the desk below were completely focused, their backs straight as they listened and took notes.

Other teachers might not have such attentive students, but Su Ye’s class had to be taken seriously. She was the one who could make a radio by tinkering with it for a while!

After class, Su Ye kept a few diligent and honest students behind.

Su Ye took out twenty yuan from her pocket and placed it on the desk, one by one. The students didn’t understand what the teacher was doing, but they carefully averted their gaze from the stack of money.

Su Ye smiled and asked, “During this time, you’ve probably come across many broken radios that are beyond repair, right?”

The students nodded.

Su Ye pulled out a watch that was completely damaged, saying, “Like this kind of watch, some parts of the movement are completely broken, no matter how hard you try, it can’t be repaired.”

She opened it up, and Yang Xue could clearly see that the dial was broken, and the movement was damaged. The dial wasn’t a big deal, but the movement was the most important part of the watch. If that’s broken to a certain extent, no amount of human effort can fix it.

If Yang Xue had seen this kind of watch, she would definitely have rejected it and said it couldn’t be repaired. Of course, there aren’t many people who lack that kind of self-awareness.

A watch that’s broken to this extent is essentially just a pile of scrap metal. After all, it’s made of stainless steel, and if the citizens took it to the scrap yard, they could exchange it for a few cents.

Su Ye said, “If you come across a watch like this, just use a one- or two-yuan coin to help the teacher collect it based on its condition.”

She handed out twenty yuan to the students, giving each of them one or two yuan.

Yang Xue shook her head repeatedly, saying, “Why are we collecting them? They can’t be fixed.”

And giving so much money… wouldn’t that just be letting the people take advantage?

Su Ye knocked on her head and said, “You don’t need to specifically go out and collect them, just keep an eye out and mention it when you come across one. If the person is willing to sell, then collect it.”

“Come find me on the weekend, okay?”

These kids had already been helping the neighbors fix watches for free for a while, and their reputation had gradually spread. Many adults were now willing to bring their broken watches to them.

Collecting one or two broken watches wasn’t difficult. In just one short weekend, Yang Xue had collected five or six broken watches.

On Monday, they obediently came to school and handed the broken watches to Su Ye.

Su Ye was very satisfied when she saw the collected watches. These kids weren’t stupid, they were very clever. The watches they collected were in much better condition than those at the scrap yard.

In the office, Su Ye carefully dismantled each one and gave her students a “watch renovation” lesson, leaving them all in awe.

“Is this kind of watch unrepairable? No, it’s not.”

Su Ye patiently took out the tools and began removing the parts—movement, case, back cover, glass, and hands. She carefully wiped off the dust with a cloth, removed the rust, and applied some lubricating oil. Each part was cleaned thoroughly. Su Ye picked out the good parts and assembled them into a case that looked good.

Su Ye spent two hours assembling it carefully. After putting on the last part, she twisted the chain, and the hands of the watch started ticking.

“The teacher has fixed it. How much do you think this watch is worth?”

The watch in her hand was wiped clean, looking as good as new.

The four students exclaimed in awe, their eyes shining with excitement.

A watch costs around a hundred yuan, and these broken watches were collected for just a few yuan! Their breathing grew faster in response.

Su Ye patted the students on the head and explained the concept of recycling waste materials. “These parts are all precise and valuable, each one reflecting the hard work of our workers. Our productivity is still quite low, so we need to save wherever we can. These watches, if bought from department stores, would cost a lot, and for many families, that’s a significant expense.

But if we can use the knowledge we’ve learned to repurpose waste, we’ll be creating resources for the workers and for our country.”

Her words left the students in stunned silence, their blood boiling with excitement, their eyes burning with enthusiasm.

“At the same time, I’ve noticed that many students in our grade come from poor families. They can’t afford the tuition fees and are forced to drop out. So, I’ve decided to set up a small team. During our weekends, we’ll refurbish these second-hand watches for free, and the profits will be used to help fund these students. Would you like to join?”

When Yang Xue heard about the poor students, she immediately understood. Her eyes began to well with tears. She was one of those who had received financial assistance! She quickly raised her hand, “Teacher Su, teach me! I want to learn!”

“I want to join too!”

“I’m willing to join!”

Su Ye smiled, her lips curving up as she gently patted their heads, thinking to herself that these were all good kids.

After school, Su Ye opened the live stream backend and found that there was an extra pound of fatty pork. She was excited.

After dinner, Su Ye finished grading the homework and couldn’t resist checking again. There was now an extra pound of rice. The next day, Su Ye went out to buy lubricating oil, alcohol, and other necessary supplies, teaching everyone how to refurbish the watches. Unconsciously, the backend now had an additional five taels of peanut oil.

Over the course of two days, with Su Ye’s continuous efforts, the once stingy backend seemed to have transformed, and the material rewards kept coming in. Su Ye felt as if she had suddenly gone from being a poor slave to an independent, self-sufficient worker.

On Wednesday, after a month of recuperate leave, Gu Xiangqian officially returned to the army.

The day before he reported back, Gu Xiangqian told Su Ye that he had official business and wouldn’t be home that evening, so she didn’t need to prepare dinner for him. Upon hearing this, Su Ye’s eyes couldn’t help but shine with excitement.

After school that afternoon, Su Ye, with a big smile on her face, went to the black market and bought a bottle of expensive liquor.

A bottle of expensive liquor cost 8.2 yuan, but Su Ye didn’t mind. She quickly paid, planning to go home and treat herself to a hearty meal.

In the military compound.

Su Ye returned home, happily took out a pound of fatty pork, and simmered a pound of ^[1]Dongpo pork (东坡肉, Dōngpō ròu) is a famous Chinese dish named after the renowned Song Dynasty poet and statesman Su Dongpo (Su Shi), who is said to have created it. It is a type of braised … Continue readingDongpo pork in the pot, pouring some liquor into a bowl.

She took a small sip. It’s said that everything in the 1960s was backward, but surprisingly, the brewing process for alcohol wasn’t. The pure manual brewing method, combined with the fermentation of time, made it taste almost like the fine liquor of later generations.

While eating the meat and drinking the liquor, Su Ye finished almost half a bottle in one go, feeling an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

Labor is truly incomparable in its satisfaction! It’s like the sweetest, most fragrant fruit on the autumn branches, a bite of which is so sweet it warms your heart.

She propped her chin, thinking about future ways to earn a living. As she thought, it became late into the night, and before she knew it, the bottle in her hand was empty. Around 10 PM, Su Ye realized Gu Xiangqian had come back.

Gu Xiangqian was dressed differently than usual, in a 55-style military uniform with three stars on his epaulets. His clothes were perfectly pressed, and the brightness and sharpness of his brows and eyes under the hat made him look so formal, as if he were receiving foreign guests. He took off his jacket, revealing a cotton shirt underneath.

Su Ye leaned in and sniffed. There was no smell of sweat, unlike after his usual training, and he still carried the fresh scent of soap.

Gu Xiangqian’s fingers trembled, unable to undo the button.

Su Ye reached her hand up to his neck. “I’ll help you, I’ll help you.”

At this moment, Su Ye thought Gu Xiangqian looked like a completely different person—he looked so handsome, no matter how she looked at him. Under the soft light, his high nose, slightly protruding, handsome Adam’s apple, and long legs made her slowly wonder why she had never noticed how handsome he was before.

Gu Xiangqian steadied her waist and helped her stand straight. He furrowed his brow and asked, “How much did you drink?”

Su Ye gestured with her fingers, her eyes half-lidded, her voice crisp. “Half a bottle, but—I’m not drunk from the alcohol, seeing you makes me drunk…”

She burped loudly, then, with a forceful tug, ripped all the annoying buttons off his shirt, feeling satisfied, and kissed Gu Xiangqian.

She smacked her lips. It tasted so good.

Gu Xiangqian looked at the empty bottle on the table, his temples throbbing. This… wasn’t just half a bottle.

He hadn’t expected Su Ye to act so soft and clingy when drunk. He knew she had drunk too much, so he politely pushed her away. However, Su Ye came in for another round of kisses. Gu Xiangqian, afraid of hurting her, controlled himself and didn’t apply any force.

Su Ye wasn’t afraid at all. She kept stoking the fire, kissing and complimenting Gu Xiangqian with sweet nothings, saying all sorts of things that even a man couldn’t bear to hear.

—

The next morning.

The birds chirped on the branches, and Su Ye woke up with a start.

A firm arm lay across her body, and Gu Xiangqian’s sleeping face was calm, his breath long and steady. Su Ye suddenly froze, quickly grabbing the blanket and shifting a few inches away.

Gu Xiangqian, disturbed by the movement, slowly opened his dark eyes.

Su Ye saw the traces of her actions from the night before, and her breath almost stopped. She felt a lump in her throat, unable to speak. After a long pause, she mumbled, “Sorry… sorry… I didn’t mean to.”