Chapter 5

The still-warm pork belly was handed to Li Tao, but she instinctively pulled her hand back.

Guan Yue glanced at her. What was going on?

After a long pause, Li Tao managed to say, “The meat is a bit too hot.”

Guan Yue understood immediately and comforted her, “Don’t worry, I’m a good person.”

Li Tao was such a timid little thing. Guan Yue could flip her over with just a flick of her fingers. Why would she bully her? Besides, she was a backup candidate for a head chef. If Gu Sui wasn’t around, Li Tao could handle it too.

Guan Yue was quite satisfied with this timid little darling, Li Tao.

Li Tao didn’t even dare to ask how the wild boar had ended up crashing into a tree. She was entirely led by Guan Yue, not thinking for herself. If Guan Yue told her to make buns, she made buns.

Li Tao worked in a daze for a while and said, “There are no cowpeas.”

“There are indeed no cowpeas. You cut the meat first, I’ll go get some.”

Li Tao didn’t dare to disagree and obediently chopped the meat.

Guan Yue found two cowpea seeds in the house and turned to go to the back of the house.

The rhythmic sound of chopping meat from the kitchen was heard. Not more than ten meters away from Li Tao, the two cowpea seeds hit the ground, immediately sprouting, growing, flowering, and bearing fruit. The long cowpea vines grew, and when the pods were at their freshest, they were picked from the vines.

After picking enough, the cowpea vines, which had been climbing the tree, returned to normal.

Guan Yue came back and handed the cowpeas to Li Tao, “Is this enough?”

“Enough!” The kitchen still had ginger and other seasonings, and there was flour on the counter. With those, it was enough.

Li Tao secretly thought to herself. She had to admit, Guan Yue was really capable! Although they lived in the mountains, and it sounded like a miserable life from the outside, the grains she stored were fine grains, and the village chief’s family didn’t even have that much flour.

Guan Yue took the fried dumplings Li Tao had brought her outside to eat. The dumplings had been in the lunchbox for a while. They were supposed to be crispy, but now they had softened. Still, they were delicious.

The night before, Gu Sui had steamed some buns for her. They didn’t have much flavor, and she didn’t like them as much. The fried dumplings were much better.

Originally, Li Tao had come up to deliver the fried dumplings, but in a muddled way, she had ended up as Guan Yue’s cook. She fried the filling for the buns, kneaded the dough, and still had to wait for it to rise.

Guan Yue was outside making sour plum soup and called Li Tao over to have a drink. She still knew how to make soup.

Li Tao sat on the wooden chair beside Guan Yue, her legs pressed together, her back straight, and her eyes carefully avoiding looking around. She didn’t know why, but she always felt that Guan Yue was very dangerous, even more so than the burly men who looked fierce.

It was the kind of person who could be smiling one moment and then stab you to death the next.

Guan Yue didn’t pay her any attention and casually played with a little dog by her feet. Li Tao felt a bit less tense, and her gaze once again fell on Guan Yue’s face.

She had never graduated from elementary school and hadn’t learned any fancy vocabulary. All she could think of was that Guan Yue’s profile was so beautiful! Even when she was squatting on the ground, she looked stunning—everything about her was beautiful!

Having survived through the apocalypse, Guan Yue was no stranger to noticing things like the burning gaze from Li Tao.

“I heard the ones who caused trouble at my place the other day were enemies of your family?”

“Huh? Ah, well, kind of!”

Guan Yue picked up Gou Sheng’er and smiled. People at that time were so straightforward—if they wanted to harm you, they didn’t bother with subtle schemes, they just brought out their knives.

Li Tao was startled by Guan Yue’s smile and quickly stood up, “The dough should be ready by now. I’ll go check the kitchen.”

Li Tao rushed toward the kitchen, thinking to herself, *Why does this little fairy look so frightening when she smiles? What a waste of such a beautiful face!*

Li Tao steamed a big pot of buns for Guan Yue and also made a pot of vegetable soup. Guan Yue expressed her satisfaction with the meal.

Then she casually pulled out a bottle of pills from inside the house and handed it to Li Tao. “This is to thank you for making me dinner today.”

Li Tao’s eyes were fixed on the unremarkable wooden pill bottle, unable to tear her gaze away. *What should I do? I really want it! But I can’t be so greedy.*

“I don’t want it!”

Guan Yue glanced at her. Her eyes clearly said she did.

Guan Yue threw the pill bottle into her arms. “Didn’t you say you gave half of the summer heat-relief pills to your grandma? Summer’s just started. Does your family have enough?”

When someone gives something, they expect a return. That’s how Guan Yue’s mother had taught her. Besides, for her, medicinal herbs were always available, and pills weren’t expensive.

Even though she had made it through without the summer heat-relief pills before, having them was definitely better. Li Tao clutched the pill bottle in her hands, unsure of what to say to express her thanks.

Li Tao thought for a long time before finally saying, “I’ll cook for you when I have time.”

“Sure!”

Li Tao left, turning around several times. Although Guan Yue was a bit ruthless, she was still a good person, right?

Li Tao returned home, her mother had just finished making lunch. Her calves were covered in mud, and sweat was still dripping from her forehead. It was obvious she had rushed back right after finishing her work.

Zhang Cuihua was anxious. “This lazy girl, what have you been doing all morning? Where’s the food I told you to make?”

Li Tao took out the pill bottle, and Zhang Cuihua’s furrowed brows relaxed. A smile appeared on her face. “Oh, did Guan Yue give this to you?”

“I thought Guan Yue didn’t know how to cook. She told me to steam buns for her, and then she gave me this.”

Li Da snatched it away. “Let me see.”

Zhang Cuihua hurriedly slapped Li Da’s hand away. “Give it to me, don’t break it.”

“This isn’t made of tofu, how could it break?”

“Give it to me! When I tell you not to touch it, don’t touch it.”

Zhang Cuihua took the pill bottle from him and asked her daughter, “How many pills are there?”

“Probably the same as yesterday.”

Zhang Cuihua thought for a moment. Though reluctant, she handed the bottle to her son. “Take it to the village chief. The weather’s been so hot recently, someone is bound to need it.”

The day before, Grandma Sun had almost collapsed in the field. It wasn’t easy for someone that old to still be working for points. Since they were all from the same village, it wouldn’t hurt to help each other out. They still had some stock left at home, and it wasn’t worth hoarding too much.

Though she said this, Zhang Cuihua still felt a pang of reluctance. She scolded her son, “Hurry up and take it to the village chief. Once you’re done, come back quickly, eat lunch, and rest. You’ll have to work in the afternoon.”

“Stop scolding, stop scolding, I’ll go right now.”

Zhang Cuihua sighed. Life in the countryside was tough, and it was all due to the lack of medicine and medical care.

Yang Guozhu stroked the pill bottle. “You’re telling me, your sister makes food for Guan Yue, and Guan Yue gives her a bottle of medicine?”

“Yeah!”

“No wonder!” Yang Guozhu thought to himself. The girl definitely couldn’t cook. First, it was Gu Sui, and now it was Li Tao. As long as the food tasted good, she could get medicine in exchange.

Yang Guozhu felt like he had discovered a way to get rich! After the summer harvest, the grain the Qingsong Brigade sent in exchange for medicine could easily be saved. He could just have Li Tao cook for people and get more medicine that way!

Li Da scratched his head. “Village chief, what are you talking about?”

Yang Guozhu glanced at him. This big fool, what was there to say to him? “Hurry back and eat, I’ll go find your mother tonight to discuss things.”

Li Da went back and mentioned it to his mother, but Zhang Cuihua didn’t pay much attention. She was too busy.

The summer heat was intense, and there was plenty of work to do in the fields. No one in the countryside had any time to relax. Gu Sui walked a long way along the mountain road to the town. The town was quiet, and even if there were people, they were barefoot and wearing no sleeves. After buying what he needed, he quickly made his way home.

The elementary and middle schools in the town were operating normally. After all, it was close to the countryside, and being able to study without working the fields was something everyone appreciated, so they cherished their opportunity for education. Gu Sui went to the health clinic. When he mentioned what he needed, the staff at the clinic looked troubled. They were also lacking supplies!

Gu Sui was a legitimate Barefoot Doctor with a letter of introduction. After some rummaging, they finally handed him a few things to send him on his way.

Coming out of the clinic, Gu Sui sighed in frustration. The most valuable thing they had given him was a steel syringe and two needles. The needles were reusable and had to be boiled in hot water for sterilization after each use.

He carefully packed up the items, but he still needed to go to the county.

After waiting for a while, a dilapidated car from the county finally arrived. Gu Sui took the car to the county, where the scene was quite different.

At just the right time, a group of people came by, with the leader holding a flag that had a slogan on it, shouting chants. When they reached the vicinity of the school, there were plenty of people being dragged around and torn apart.

Gu Sui steered clear of the area and asked someone for directions to the post office. Once he found it, he took out the letters he had prepared in advance and sent out five of them.

After taking care of the official business, he wandered around for a while but couldn’t find the things he was looking for.

What was he looking for? Piglets!

There was a pig farm in the town, and the piglets for the surrounding communes and teams all came from there. Yang Guozhu had said that the piglets had already been distributed to the various teams at the beginning of the year. Now it was June, and finding piglets was no easy task.

There were none in the town, and none in the county either. It was getting late, and after walking around for a couple more circles, Gu Sui prepared to leave.

“Brother, looking for piglets?”

A man with a scruffy beard, a toothpick hanging from his mouth, and a casual, swaggering demeanor called out to Gu Sui.

Gu Sui turned around and sized him up. “No, you’ve got the wrong person.”

“Hey, don’t leave! I know you’re looking for piglets. Let me tell you, piglets are only available for collective purchases now. Ordinary members can’t get their hands on them.”

“If they’re so hard to get, why did you stop me?”

“Heh, others can’t get them, but I, Zhu San, can definitely get them. It’s just that the price…”

Gu Sui gave a faint smile. “The price can be negotiated.”

The piglets were sold with an extra basket, the little pigs tightly bound, their mouths gagged so they couldn’t make a sound and alert anyone.

Gu Sui, with the piglets on his back, boarded a car. He also carried a bunch of food and supplies.

By the time he got off the car in town, the sky was painted with the colors of sunset. By the time he made it through the mountain road to Qingxi Village, the moon was already up.

He turned on his flashlight, preparing to climb the mountain. The piglets in the basket couldn’t make a sound. He didn’t want the Educated Youth people to hear them and cause trouble.

Next to the wooden house, logs were being burned, and the area around the fire was lit up. Guan Yue had grown impatient and was about to return to the deep mountain treehouse to sleep.

Gu Sui arrived.

He set down the things on his shoulders. “Have you had dinner?”

“I’ve eaten.”

Gu Sui was surprised. “Did you cook it yourself?”

“Heh, I was waiting for you to come back and cook, but it’s already dark. It wasn’t me who cooked, though. It was Li Tao.”

In the afternoon, Li Tao had been busy gathering pig grass. After finishing her work, she came up again and, without much effort, made a bowl of egg noodles for the clumsy Guan Yue.

Guan Yue proudly said, “Even without you, I can still have good food.”

Gu Sui glanced at the basket on the ground. “Looks like you don’t need me anymore. You probably don’t care about what I brought either.”

“What did you bring?”

“Piglets.”

Guan Yue jumped up. “Who said I don’t care? I care a lot! Hurry and take them out, let me see. I’ve never seen a live piglet before.”

Gu Sui smiled faintly. The flickering light of the fire cast shadows across his face, and his tall, slender figure stretched across the ground. The sweat on his forehead, face, and neck only made his handsome features seem even more masculine.

A refined young man, now with a rugged manly charm!

Guan Yue clicked her tongue, impressed. “Not bad-looking, huh?”

But after seeing the piglets, Guan Yue changed her mind. The little piglets, freshly untied, were white and soft, grunting cutely. They were so adorable, and what was more, they were delicious.

“They’re so cute! So this is what piglets look like.”

Gu Sui was curious. The village was right down the mountain, yet she had never seen a piglet before? What kind of family had she grown up in? If she hadn’t seen piglets, it couldn’t have been a rural family.

Guan Yue kept stroking the piglets, and Gou Sheng’er, feeling jealous, barked loudly and ran toward them. The piglets weren’t knocked over by him, but they tumbled onto their backs by themselves.

Guan Yue burst into laughter. Seeing her laugh, Gu Sui couldn’t help but laugh along.