Chapter 58

The next day.

Su Ye saw the punishment notice on the political office bulletin board and was surprised to see the original female protagonist’s name. She didn’t expect this matter to have any connection to Yao Chunyu.

A well-respected intellectual, a doctor who had earned people’s respect, had been suspended for a month. Su Ye thought to herself that these past days were probably difficult for Yao Chunyu.

She turned her head to look at Gu Xiangqian and teasingly said, “Seems like Comrade Yao has some thoughts about you?”

Gu Xiangqian’s indifferent gaze landed on Su Ye’s face, and after a long pause, he coldly replied, “That’s not true, don’t overthink it.”

To Gu Xiangqian, this was a non-issue. His father had passed away when he was young, and although the Gu family still had some assets, it was nowhere near what it used to be. Before Yao Chunyu went to the Soviet Union, Gu Xiangqian had only been a small deputy company commander, far from being on the same level as those who had pursued Yao Chunyu.

But after Yao Chunyu returned from the Soviet Union, she became somewhat strange. She had become more enthusiastic than before, but that wasn’t something Gu Xiangqian concerned himself with. Su Ye’s accusation was unfounded.

In Su Ye’s view, it was a completely different story. Gu Xiangqian was so handsome, tall, and full of spirit—just standing there, every time she looked at him, her mood would improve.

He was righteous, kind, knowledgeable, and capable of getting everything done quickly. Although he appeared cold on the outside, his heart was warm.

Su Ye took his warm, dry hand and smiled as she said, “It’s good if that’s the case. Just remember to stay away from her in the future.”

Gu Xiangqian took Su Ye’s hand and casually responded with an “Mm.”

—

A few days after Su Ye had given the hens to Zhou Honghan, Zhou Honghan went to the vegetable garden to dig up some worms to feed the chickens. The next morning, she heard the loud clucking of the chickens. In the makeshift chicken coop, there were two pinkish-white eggs.

The eggs were still warm to touch, though small, they were real eggs. The newly laid eggs made Zhou Honghan very happy. The hens were considered a valuable asset these days, commonly referred to as the “chicken bank.”

Because eggs were a rare and nutritious commodity. The supply and marketing station sometimes had them, but there were often shortages. Even when eggs were available, most people couldn’t get them. Families that had hens treated them like treasures.

The villagers of Shanggou Village probably had this purpose in mind when they gave Su Ye the hens. Who knew that Su Ye didn’t have the means to raise chickens?

Zhou Honghan deliberately saved the eggs for Su Ye, but to her surprise, Su Ye shook her head and declined. “Grandma Zhou, keep them for yourself. The hens laid eggs so quickly thanks to your good care.”

“We still have some eggs left at home, but they won’t last in the heat. We won’t be able to finish them. How about this: when there are more eggs in the future, I’ll definitely come to ask Grandma Zhou for some. Don’t mind me if I end up being a nuisance.”

“Don’t mention it! If you want them, just come anytime.” Zhou Honghan pouted and said. She had tried to offer the eggs multiple times, but Su Ye kept refusing, and now she understood.

Su Ye wasn’t asking her to help raise the chickens, she wanted to give her the eggs. Zhou Honghan’s heart warmed at the thought.

Smiling, Zhou Honghan took something from the cupboard and handed it to Su Ye.

Su Ye opened it to find it was a property deed.

“My son has a house near the army base, it’s been empty for a while. You two are staying in the army dorms for now, and it’s fine for now, but when you have children, it’ll be too small. The house over there is empty anyway, so you can clean it up and move in whenever you want.”

Zhou Honghan actually had other properties, but considering Gu Xiangqian’s status, she didn’t want to give them something too extravagant. She chose the most suitable one for them.

This gift was far too precious! Su Ye was stunned after reading it. Was she witnessing the legendary exchange of food for a house?

Three hens for a small villa.

Su Ye had considered living elsewhere before. The density of the buildings in the courtyard was high, making it inconvenient to do anything. Even when she wanted to make something delicious, she had to be cautious not to make it too extravagant.

The deed listed a two-story standalone house with an area of around 200 square meters. The house wasn’t particularly flashy, but Su Ye was an upright young person, and despite the temptation, she firmly refused.

“I can’t accept this. It’s too valuable.” She shook her head, smiling as she said, “Xiangqian probably won’t accept it either. If Grandma Zhou really wants to thank me, she can just invite me to have more bowls of sweet egg soup in the future.”

Zhou Honghan forced the property deed into her hands. “You may not want it now, but when you have children, you’ll come to ask me for it. Don’t feel embarrassed then.”

“When are you two going to have a wedding banquet and invite your relatives to celebrate? You’ve been together for almost half a year, and not having a wedding banquet would be a bit strange.” Zhou Honghan asked.

She had already prepared a wedding gift list long ago. Su Ye and her husband had been postponing their wedding banquet, and it seemed like her gift list would only keep growing longer. After all, this child was simply too endearing.

Su Ye pretended to blush teasingly. She hadn’t thought about organizing a wedding banquet yet, she had previously just planned to live casually with someone. As for children, that wasn’t even on the horizon. Men were treated like decorative vases—good to look at from a distance but not for close interaction. How could there possibly be children?

In a flash, Su Ye understood something.

Previously, she thought that Gu Xiangqian, constrained by the plot, was still holding onto his chastity for the female lead, awkwardly avoiding her advances. But a few days ago, Su Ye discovered that he had no feelings for Yao Chunyu at all. Could the root of the problem be with her?

Su Ye smiled and said, “The wedding banquet isn’t urgent. From what I see, Xiangqian’s people were either injured or on the battlefield before, where would they have time for a wedding?”

Zhou Honghan nodded. “You’re right. Now that both of you have time, it’s best to hold the reception as soon as possible. If you don’t mind, you can hold it in this house. The furniture and appliances over there are more complete than mine.”

Su Ye held the property deed Grandma Zhou had given her, feeling conflicted as she returned home.

That evening, Su Ye took out the property deed and showed it to Gu Xiangqian. He glanced at it briefly and asked in surprise, “Do you want to move there?”

Su Ye nodded. “I do. It’s bigger, and there’s even a small yard. Should we go tidy it up tomorrow?”

Gu Xiangqian looked at the deed, then handed it back to her. “No need. We have our own house. You can return it to Grandma Zhou.”

He rummaged through the second drawer for a while before pulling out another property deed and handing it to her.

So he had his own house! Su Ye’s eyes lit up.

She had always thought that Gu Xiangqian was just a military officer living on a fixed salary. But thinking about it, how could a male lead like him not own his own house? After all, he owned a car!

Compared to Su Ye’s delight, Gu Xiangqian’s expression remained somewhat cold as he said, “I placed the property deed with my salary in the drawer before.”

Su Ye, now looking at the new property deed, felt a bit awkward. She had been preoccupied with the idea of running away from the marriage and had never properly counted Gu Xiangqian’s assets. He had a lot of things, just the files and documents that filled several large boxes. Su Ye had no interest in going through them, nor could she have managed to.

“I rarely touch your things,” Su Ye said, closing the deed.

On Sunday, Gu Xiangqian took Su Ye to see the house.

If Yao Chunyu saw this, she would definitely be shocked. This was the very small western-style house she had dreamed of in her past life.

It had white marble columns intricately carved with hanging flower patterns, and inside was a small two-story building with a thick, smooth redwood staircase spiraling upwards. The house had an eclectic design, although the area was small, it seemed to be only two or three hundred square meters.

Su Ye thought the house was probably too small, which was why it hadn’t been taken in earlier. Compared to the army’s single dormitory, this small house was much better.

Gu Xiangqian said, “I’ve never lived here. It’s very dusty. If you want to live here, I’ll write an application, clean the house for a few days, and then move in.”

“Of course, of course, hurry up and write the report!” Su Ye eagerly nodded.

Cleaning up a small house didn’t require a few days, so Su Ye gathered a few people to help, and they had it tidied up in a day.

Su Ye called some colleagues she was close with to help tidy up the house.

Teacher He clicked his tongue for a while, looking at her with the kind of look that rich people often give, and said, “Little Su, I didn’t expect this…”

He had always thought she was a poor village girl and had taken good care of her, even giving her extra candy during the New Year. He never imagined that she would have such a nice house in the city.

Zhou Yi said indifferently, “Why say so much? Let’s finish the work quickly.”

He Meimei had long heard about the Gu family’s wealth, so she wasn’t surprised by the sight of the small western-style house. Before the Gu family donated their assets, there were few families in the entire compound with wealth as solid as theirs.

Su Ye, while moving boxes, smiled and said, “Thank you, everyone. After we’re done cleaning, I’ll make something delicious for you to try.”

After finishing training, Gu Xiangqian returned to the army dormitory, only to find the room cleaned up. He could only helplessly head to their new place.

He arrived at their new place and opened the door. The first thing that greeted him was the spotless floor, each corner wiped clean, the small space neatly arranged. Books were dusted and placed back onto the shelves.

Su Ye was busy in the kitchen, tying her beautiful scorpion braid and using an old shirt as an apron. She was washing pig’s trotters, gently scrubbing off the hair, and then blanching them in water.

The little yellow fish was being fried in pork lard, sizzling and crackling, with a rich aroma of pork and fish blending together as they fried.

In addition to the pig’s trotters and crispy fish, Su Ye also made stuffed eggplant, wrapping minced meat and mushrooms in starch and stuffing them into eggplant slices. The purple and white eggplants were lightly fried with pork, and when they were perfectly fried, a layer of prepared sauce and a thin coating of cornstarch slurry were poured on top.

The kitchen was filled with an irresistible fragrance, the kind of aroma that could drive people from the materially poor era crazy.

Gu Xiangqian seemed to understand why Su Ye wanted to move out. If they stayed in the army’s family compound, with her cooking like this, she’d probably have the neighbors knocking on the door to steal food.

Teacher He, who had been working like a mule for half the day, was already so hungry that his eyes were gleaming. He couldn’t help but stretch his neck to peek into the kitchen.

However, standing at the kitchen door was the cold and rigid officer, his collar and cuffs sharp, a faint chill emanating from him despite the scorching heat. Teacher He, even if he had no fear for his life, dared not urge Su Ye to serve the food.

He Meimei, covering her mouth, smiled as she introduced, “This is Su Ye’s husband. You all should have seen him before, he’s come to the school to pick Su Ye up a few times.”

She introduced the colleagues one by one, “These are Su Ye’s colleagues, this is Teacher He who teaches Chinese, Teacher Zhou who teaches math, and those are Teachers Lu, Fang, and Wang.”

Gu Xiangqian withdrew his gaze and shook hands with each of Su Ye’s colleagues, “Thank you all for taking care of Su Ye in the past.”

“Oh, not at all! It’s Su Ye who takes care of us!” Teacher He coughed loudly.

“Su Ye is very outstanding. She takes great care of her colleagues at school,” Zhou Yi said with subtlety.

The pig’s trotters had been stewing for an hour. Five minutes before finishing, Su Ye added a handful of chili. When she took the trotters out, the aroma was mouth-watering, making everyone drool.

Because there were many people to feed, Su Ye prepared a lot of food. She used four pounds of meat coupons to get two pounds of pig’s trotters, two pounds of small fish, one pound of pork belly, and one pound of pig intestines. These weren’t expensive ingredients, but in the 1960s, when food was scarce, any piece of pork was a rarity.

Su Ye was generous with the lard, and it smelled wonderful, giving the food an exceptional taste.

While Teacher He was working, he kept talking, but when it was time to eat, all that could be heard was the sound of people eating, with not a single word more.

Everyone got four or five pieces of pig’s trotters, enough to enjoy the meal, but everyone chewed on the hard bones, savoring the flavor until it was all sucked out before spitting out the bones. The small yellow fish was eaten whole, bones and all, with no one bothering to spit them out.

The pig’s trotters, after an hour of stewing, were tender and fragrant. The skin was soft and elastic, like fine skin, and the flavor was rich, spicy, and savory.

The small yellow fish was fried crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, soaked in fragrant pig lard, with every bite filling the mouth with a delicious flavor that many would remember for a lifetime.

The stuffed eggplant was exceptional as well. The eggplant was first fried and then braised, soft and tender. The stuffing, made from minced pork, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms, was flavorful and had a satisfying texture. The pork had a delightful fragrance, and the mushrooms were fresh and crunchy.

Even more extraordinary, Su Ye had some fine wine, a high-quality wine that cost two yuan with a wine coupon. After everyone had eaten their fill, they each had a cup of wine, its lingering taste so tempting that no one wanted to leave Su Ye’s house.