Chapter 53

Su Ye was well aware of the conditions in the countryside. If anyone thought she had deliberately assigned them this task to educate them, it would be a delightful misunderstanding.

These teenagers sure had overactive imaginations.

Yang Chenxing pulled a letter from his pocket, written by Ma Gensheng, and handed it to Su Ye.

Su Ye opened the letter, which included a receipt:

“Teacher Su Ye has provided 2,252 yuan from selling tea leaves for Shanggou Village, X County, C City. The funds were used to purchase 5,000 catties of sweet potatoes, 4,000 catties of sorghum flour, 500 catties of soybeans, and two sets of farming tools (plows and harrows). The village consists of 230 households, with each household receiving an equal share of the food.”

The receipt was signed by Liang Aiguo, the village accountant, and stamped by the commune and county revolutionary committees.

The items purchased were the cheapest and most plentiful: sweet potatoes priced at two cents per catty with ration coupons (or 50 cents per catty on the black market without coupons) and coarse sorghum flour, which, though rough on the throat, was drought-resistant, high-yield, and affordable.

Su Ye reviewed the numbers and realized how challenging it must have been to acquire food in the countryside.

In the letter, Ma Gensheng wrote:

“During this time, I and the village cadres visited many villages to purchase relief grain. The process was arduous and difficult, and I won’t elaborate further in this letter. The village’s grain needs are now secured, and distribution to the villagers will begin soon. Teacher Su, please don’t worry.

The village party branch and I have prepared a pot of tea and sincerely invite you to visit Shanggou Village during the summer holidays. Your assistance has been invaluable, and we are forever grateful!”

The overly formal tone was clearly not written by Ma Gensheng himself—he wasn’t this literate.

Su Ye pulled out another sheet of paper from the bulging envelope. It featured drawings of food—rice, sorghum, beans—and villagers lining up to receive their rations. The joy and excitement in the drawing were palpable, as though the lively atmosphere of the scene had been captured and delivered through the paper.

Su Ye smiled as she finished reading the letter.

Feeling a hunch, she opened her live stream backend, where the donations of rice and pork belly were visibly skyrocketing.

By the end, both rice and pork belly rewards had frozen at 100 catties each, leaving Su Ye astonished.

Previously, rewards had been stingy—where had this newfound generosity come from? In the past, even after exhausting herself teaching and grading, she’d only earned one or two catties of grain. Yet now, she’d received over a hundred catties in one go.

Why such a huge difference?

Su Ye, always one to reflect and analyze, speculated that while the value of labor might be hard to measure, the impact of that labor varied greatly.

One type of labor influenced the fate of individual students, while another affected the destiny of an entire village. The scope of impact determined the magnitude of the reward!

Although she couldn’t confirm it yet, this unexpected windfall reinforced her theory. Su Ye had just uncovered a new way to earn food!

One hundred catties of pork belly—what a delicious reward! This windfall was enough to keep her comfortable for quite some time.

The smile on Su Ye’s face deepened, and her mood grew even brighter. To be honest… she was starting to miss the taste of ice cream, hot pot, and cream cakes. At this rate, enjoying those in the future was no longer a dream!

The students, seeing her smile, felt even more aggrieved.

With a cheerful tone, Su Ye said to them, “I have good news for everyone. Captain Ma wrote in the letter that Shanggou Village is already arranging to buy grain, and they’ll soon have enough. Your trip to the countryside to fetch the tea leaves helped them a lot.”

Hearing this good news, everyone’s spirits lifted instantly!

What could be more uplifting than the news of food suddenly arriving in a famine-stricken area?

After a few students left, Yang Chenxing grinned and asked, “Before the Dragon Boat Festival, my dad brought back two boxes of tea. He bought them at the guesthouse, and they tasted pretty good. Teacher Su, I heard you’ve been selling tea recently? So, does this grain have something to do with your tea sales?”

Su Ye was a little surprised—she hadn’t expected her business to reach a student’s family.

She nodded honestly and said with a smile, “That’s right. If you want tea, you can buy it from me. I’ll give you a special insider discount—it’ll be much cheaper than what you’d pay at the guesthouse.”

Yang Chenxing chuckled and gave her a knowing look. “I’m not here to buy tea. How could you do something this interesting and forget about me, Teacher Su?”

“No problem, no problem. Next time, I’ll bring you along,” Su Ye replied, thinking to herself that free labor should never be wasted!

—

After work, Su Ye went to Li Xianjin and borrowed an empty room to use as a warehouse.

Having benefited greatly from Su Ye’s help, Li Xianjin readily agreed and quickly arranged for people to move the tea into the room.

Su Ye calculated that she had almost reached her 3,000 yuan goal and could meet Ma Gensheng’s target ahead of schedule. However, there was still a large amount of tea left, which wasn’t a bad thing—it meant she could earn even more money.

Seeing the room piled high with tea, Li Xianjin couldn’t help but remark, “That’s a lot of tea. Can you really sell it all?”

Not knowing much about Su Ye’s capabilities, Li Xianjin was understandably worried. Tea doesn’t keep well, and its flavor changes after the New Year. While the guesthouse might order another 200 catties, selling more than that seemed unlikely.

Su Ye nodded confidently. “Of course. Just watch—I’ll sell it all within half a month. By then, even the guesthouse’s tea order might not be enough.”

If anyone else had said such a bold thing, Li Xianjin wouldn’t have believed it. But coming from Su Ye, it carried some credibility. After all, if Su Ye didn’t have the skills, would people have entrusted her with their lifeline?

Returning from the guesthouse to the compound, Su Ye carried several packs of loose tea and delivered them door to door to the neighbors who had ordered them.

The family in Unit 1 happily received the tea from Su Ye, handing her a crisp yellow five yuan bill. Su Ye quickly made change, tucked the thick wad of cash into her pocket, and headed home.

As this scene unfolded, someone remarked, “Isn’t tea a state-controlled product? You need a ration coupon to buy it at the store.”

A military wife coldly responded, “She’s neglecting her proper work and getting involved in the stench of commerce.”

Her tone carried a barely perceptible hint of contempt.

Yao Chunyu watched as Su Ye’s figure gradually disappeared, smiling faintly and gently saying, “Tea isn’t necessarily a state-controlled product. Some farmers can sell their own tea, and even high-end teas in department stores don’t require coupons. I’m not sure if the tea Su Ye is selling falls under this category.”

“It’s perfectly normal for a military wife to take on side jobs to supplement her income, it’s good to be self-reliant. While we may not support her behavior, we should understand it. I’m not sure how she’s selling her tea, but I’ll buy a few pounds to try.”

While Yao Chunyu appeared to be defending Su Ye, she was actually drawing attention elsewhere. Su Ye was suspected of being involved in profiteering! Her actions had nothing to do with “self-reliance”—when others work hard to support themselves, it’s not the same as her profiting off others.

Sure enough, the attention of the others shifted to Yao Chunyu’s words, and there was a faint but visible frustration in their eyes. “Her packaged tea is selling for three yuan per pound, and the loose tea is two yuan per pound.”

“That’s pretty expensive. I’ll save my wages this month and buy a box to try. If it’s good, I’ll share some with you all.” Yao Chunyu lightly stirred the flames.

In reality, Yao Chunyu didn’t lack money. Having seized an opportunity, she was now financially comfortable and didn’t worry about food or drink. A few yuan for her was a small amount, but for others, it was a significant expense. The workers’ monthly wage was only around 30 yuan—hardly enough to buy a few boxes of Su Ye’s tea!

Yao Chunyu remembered that during the first year of Gu Xiangqian and Su Ye’s marriage, they had fought terribly. The argument had gotten so intense that they even submitted a divorce application to their superiors. At that time, her superior, Colonel Yao, had told her about it.

Back then, Yao Chunyu had already stopped caring about Gu Xiangqian. She hadn’t paid attention to the reason behind their argument. Thinking back on it now made her head ache—could this have been the opportunity?

Yao Chunyu decided to visit Su Ye’s house.

—

But on the other side.

Su Ye had received one hundred pounds of pork belly and was thinking of adding it to tonight’s meal. She was contemplating which dish to make: fish, which is fresh and tender, perfect for a fish hotpot, rabbit meat, which is firm and chewy, might make a nice spicy rabbit stew?

A stewed old hen soup also seemed tempting… Su Ye hadn’t had chicken or duck in a long time, and they were easy to catch—chickens and ducks are light and easy to manage, unlike wild boar, which can be difficult and noisy to capture.

Trying to catch a chicken by herself was hard, so Su Ye invited Gu Xiangqian to come downstairs for a walk, claiming it was to “strengthen their bond.”

Su Ye borrowed a bicycle from Li Maogang and sat lazily on the backseat, chatting casually with Gu Xiangqian, talking nonsense.

Su Ye cleared her throat and said, “You used to borrow Maogang’s bike to pick me up after work.”

“Back then, you often took me to remote places, hugging and holding me like we were in love. The little hill, the small grove… Do you remember those places? Take me there again,” 

Su Ye turned her head to look at Gu Xiangqian. His face was calm, and when he was silent with a cold expression, there was a subtle pressure around him that made people hesitate to approach. But when he smiled, it was warm and inviting.

Su Ye wrapped her arms around the waist that no other woman dared to imagine, with a playful grin, and asked, “You really forgot everything?”

When it came to the plot of a novel, the pull was indeed strong. A man who had been completely consumed by her, now, for the female protagonist, was “keeping himself pure.” Gu Xiangqian frequently ran into Yao Chunyu at various occasions. If Su Ye hadn’t been so indifferent about this aspect and focused solely on her career, any other woman would have caused a scene by now.

Gu Xiangqian heard her but had no recollection of what she was talking about. The corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily, but he didn’t want to correct her.

He wasn’t the type of person to engage in such childish acts. Since they were already married, why would they still need to sneak around?

He glanced at Su Ye calmly and took her to the little hill and the small grove.

Actually, Su Ye had tricked Gu Xiangqian into going to the grove. Not long after getting off the bike, a chicken suddenly ran out, clucking loudly. Su Ye immediately ran after it, gasping for breath as she chased it for a while before successfully “bumping into” a fat old hen.

Gu Xiangqian parked the bike and watched as Su Ye, sweating profusely, held two chicken feet, raising an eyebrow.

His wife really had an unusual ability—wherever she went, she managed to find meat along the way.

Standing next to the bicycle with his trousers neatly pressed, Gu Xiangqian’s lips curved slightly, looking handsomely messy. Given the deserted setting, it felt out of place not to do something else. Su Ye tied the old hen loosely with some grass and tossed it aside. She rushed over, gently tugging on Gu Xiangqian’s shirt collar, urging him to bend down.

She lifted her head, stood on tiptoe, and leaned in to kiss the man.

Gu Xiangqian watched as Su Ye rushed toward him in such a hurry. He instinctively held her steady, and as their bodies made contact, the closeness allowed him to see the beads of sweat glistening on her forehead and the rosy tint on her lips.

She extended her tongue, tentatively licking his lips.

Immediately, Gu Xiangqian’s mind went blank, a buzzing in his head, and it wasn’t until his lips were gently bitten that he came back to his senses. After they kissed for a while, both of them were out of breath, their bodies burning with heat. Su Ye’s eyebrows relaxed, a satisfied smile clearly visible in her eyes. Just as she was about to speak, her mouth was roughly sealed by his.

Gu Xiangqian thought to himself, sneaking around certainly had its own special charm.