Chapter 50

After eating and drinking, it was time to sleep.

The little hut that Wang Changping had built was clearly a sturdy and reliable shelter, with a roof tightly thatched, able to withstand even a hailstorm.

However, the downside was that the hut was too small!

There were two of them in one hut, and the space was already limited.

Liu Yu was a big girl, and Wang Changping was a young man. The two of them lying together inevitably led to sharing the same bed and pillow!

“Let’s sleep early, we’ll have work tomorrow.”

Wang Changping, sitting by the fire, suddenly spoke up.

What?! Is he inviting her to share the bed with him?!

Although Wang Changping was a handsome young man, and Liu Yu was a big girl, it seemed like Liu Yu was the one getting the advantage, but… this… they barely knew each other! This was too sudden.

Liu Yu didn’t know what to say, her face turned red, and she looked down at her shoes, feeling conflicted.

Even though she was an outgoing girl from the twenty-first century, deep down she was still quite innocent. But men and women were different after all!

Should she reject him? And then reject him again? Or should she just accept it, since he was good-looking?

Well, she decided to accept, since it would be a shame to not take advantage of a handsome guy offering! But she still hesitated slightly.

“Hmm~”

Liu Yu shyly pressed her lips together and was about to say something to refuse, to appear more reserved.

However, Wang Changping continued, “You should go to sleep. There are wild animals in the mountains, just having the fire is not enough. Someone needs to keep watch. I’ll keep watch for the first half of the night, and you can take over later.”

He was serious, concerned about their safety, and anyone who thought otherwise, was obviously Liu Yu! And anyone who thought this was inappropriate, was again Liu Yu!

She could tell he was not interested in her. Fortunately, she hadn’t spoken her mind, or she would have embarrassed herself!

Liu Yu quickly stopped talking and hurriedly crawled into the hut.

At first, Wang Changping didn’t understand why Liu Yu suddenly became quiet. He squatted down by the fire and poked the flame with a twig, which made him realize!

Liu Yu was upset!

What should he do? He really liked her, but what if she never spoke to him again?

When a woman is upset, there’s no point in arguing—just comfort her!

Looking at the hut, Wang Changping thought he should explain, but on second thought, if he went in now, it would only make things worse! He couldn’t let Liu Yu think he was a bad guy!

He decided to wait until tomorrow.

Outside the hut, both of them had their thoughts running wild.

Liu Yu lay on a canvas by the fire, using her arm as a pillow, staring up at the sky. She could see the stars through a small gap in the roof.

She didn’t understand why Wang Changping had left a gap in the roof, or what it was for, but there were too many things she didn’t understand, so she just couldn’t be bothered to think about them all.

She was frustrated with herself for thinking so much about Wang Changping.

Did she like him? No, that wasn’t it! It was just a mild feeling of admiration! Once she was sure she didn’t like him, Liu Yu turned over and went to sleep!

Liu Yu slept deeply, and Wang Changping, despite saying they would take turns keeping watch, didn’t wake her up at all. He kept the fire going, taking short naps as he kept watch until morning.

Outside the hut, he greeted Liu Yu, “I’m going into the woods for a while. You can come to the logging team later.”

Liu Yu, half-awake, mumbled a response.

By the time she woke up fully, she saw the food box placed on a stone stove outside the hut. It contained hot cornmeal porridge, bubbling and giving off a delicious smell.

Seeing no one around, Liu Yu realized that Wang Changping had left it for her. She happily went behind the hut to brush her teeth, and after cleaning her mouth, she took the food box and drank a few mouthfuls of porridge, which tasted sweet.

—-

After tidying up, Liu Yu went to the logging team. The workers were already busy, some cutting trees, others hauling logs. When a tree was felled, it was gathered together to wait for oxen and horses to be sent by the team to transport it down the mountain—there were too few workers to carry everything by themselves.

Liu Yu found Wang Changping, and the two of them, being disliked by the others, were assigned to a corner to trim branches. This job wasn’t physically demanding, but it was tedious—an old tree could have over a thousand branches.

They worked until dusk. Wang Changping once again went hunting, this time finding a rabbit’s nest and bringing back two large, fat rabbits.

Liu Yu squatted by the fire, blowing on the flames, while Wang Changping skinned the rabbits. The rabbits were so fat that they had thick layers of fat.

Wang Changping scraped all the fat into the food box and cut the remaining meat into small pieces, skewering them on a twig and roasting them over the fire. The meat’s smell wafted through the air, tempting everyone nearby.

The scent of roasted rabbit meat spread, and the nearby young people, who ate cornmeal every day, were drooling. The smell was too enticing, and some of them couldn’t resist coming over to watch the half-cooked meat.

“Wow, you guys are eating well.”

A girl with a braided hairstyle smiled, hoping the two would offer them some food.

However, Wang Changping didn’t respond, and Liu Yu didn’t even look at them.

One of the young people couldn’t hold back and asked, “Where did you get that rabbit?”

Liu Yu didn’t even look up, “Comrade Wang caught it.”

Hunting was a skilled job, and if not for Wang Changping, she would only be watching.

Wang Changping then spoke, “I still have one, about five or six pounds. I’ll trade it for three pounds of white flour.”

He knew that the young people had no prepared food and had to bring their own grain to cook, with some even bringing finer grains.

No matter how much food Liu Yu had, it was still coarse grain, which didn’t nourish the body like fine rice and flour. He wanted to get something good for her to eat.

From an exchange perspective, trading a five or six-pound rabbit for three pounds of white flour was a good deal. But everyone was poor, and three pounds of white flour wasn’t easy to part with. Some of the young people hesitated, and one asked, “How about I give you three pounds of cornmeal instead? It’s new flour, freshly milled this year.”

Wang Changping kept roasting the rabbit meat without showing much expression, “I don’t want cornmeal.”

The smell of the meat was irresistible, and one young person, still unsure, asked, “What about two pounds of white flour and one pound of cornmeal?”

Wang Changping didn’t complain. He made the exchange happily, giving the rabbit to the person in exchange for the flour.

The person who got the rabbit was very happy, and the person who received the flour was also content. But the girl with the braided hair, who wanted the meat but didn’t want to part with her flour, stomped her foot and said, “We’re all comrades in the revolution, and you won’t share any rabbit meat with us!”

Liu Yu smiled and replied, “Didn’t you say we were your enemies? Changing your mind now?”

The girl with the braids had no retort. Angrily, she stormed off, muttering, “As if I care about your crappy rabbit!”