Chapter 19: Getting Familiar with the Family Residential Compound

The holiday ended, and Gu Ye went back to work, leaving Baoni alone at home with nothing to do.

She had originally thought about going out to visit the neighbors and build good relationships, but she didn’t have any suitable gifts to bring. She couldn’t even cook, and making pastries was out of the question. In the end, Baoni gave up on the idea.

After having lunch at the canteen, Baoni tidied up the house, did some laundry, locked the door, and then decided to take a walk around the Family Residential Compound.

The island housed a division of troops, nearly 10,000 soldiers in total, so the Family Residential Compound was quite large.

Baoni stepped outside her house. To the west of her home, there were no other residences. Not far ahead was the canteen, and to the west of the canteen was a wall. Beyond that wall was the training area.

The main gate was to the south. In front of Baoni’s house, there were still three more rows of houses. Further back, the families of those at the regiment level and above lived, and their houses were relatively larger.

At the very back lived the division commander, the highest-ranking leader in their area. Their house was the largest, essentially a small villa, with a spacious courtyard.

Baoni walked from the front to the back of the Family Residential Compound. There was a military service center, a clinic, a childcare center, and a small square.

In the small square, there were basketball hoops, parallel bars, ping-pong tables, a sandpit… Although small, it had everything.

At this time, those who worked were at their jobs, and the children had gone to school.

Those who weren’t working were busy with house chores—fetching water, doing laundry, taking care of the household tasks.

In just a short time, Baoni saw several women carrying water. She didn’t know any of them, so she didn’t greet them.

There were also some older women who had come to live with their sons, sitting at their doorways, watching over the younger children.

As Baoni walked along, the thing that struck her most was that life here wasn’t easy for anyone. Of the people she had seen, nine out of ten had patched-up clothes. Not to mention their pale faces and thin frames—there wasn’t much meat on their bones.

Though the island was large, there weren’t many areas where crops could be grown. Apart from the Family Residential Compound, there were other groups of people living here.

This was one of the main reasons why everyone’s conditions were so poor.

The people in the Family Residential Compound had it a little better because they had wages, but the most struggling group was the fishermen. People like Baoni’s Island First Team had it better; they had earned some money in the past from their skills.

Now everything had been nationalized, and fishing privately was no longer allowed. Occasionally, they could fish together, but seafood wasn’t enough to fill their stomachs.

Each family only had a small plot of land, and even the vegetables they grew didn’t last.

But that’s beside the point—the bigger picture wasn’t something that any one person could change.

Baoni walked around the Family Residential Compound, getting a rough sense of the layout before heading back home.

When she got home, Baoni wasn’t sure what to do. Gu Ye had said he wouldn’t be coming back for lunch, so she planned to head to her parents’ house for a meal later.

The three rooms in the house were all tidy, the kitchen had yet to be used, and the bathroom was clean. The water tank was full, and Baoni couldn’t think of anything else to do.

After lying down for a while, Baoni started to feel hungry and decided to go to her parents’ house to find her grandmother.

She hopped on her bicycle and left the Family Residential Compound. It only took a few minutes to get to Island First Team. At this time of day, the streets were empty except for those heading to or coming from work.

“Baoni, what are you doing back here?” Her grandmother saw her pushing the bike into the yard and asked in confusion.

“Gu Ye won’t be home for lunch. I didn’t know what to do alone, and I didn’t want to eat at the canteen, so I came back.” Baoni replied weakly, sounding tired.

“Feeling a bit lost now that you’re suddenly free?” Her grandmother knew that Baoni had just gotten married and wasn’t used to the change, unsure of how to spend her days.

“Yeah… it feels a bit strange, like I have energy but nowhere to put it.” Baoni admitted, feeling empty inside, unsure of what to do with herself.

“Grandma knows, it’s fine. There’s nothing much to do these days, so just come back. Or, you can turn over the courtyard, plant some autumn vegetables, raise a couple of chickens, something like that.” The old lady gave her granddaughter advice, helping this lost lamb find her way home.

“Mm, I’ll think about it. I’ll go over to the mountain later this afternoon.” Baoni thought for a moment and said. Climbing mountains or going to the sea were both no problem for her.

“That works. See if there are any mushrooms. It’s already September.” Grandma said. She couldn’t go up the mountain anymore, her old arms and legs couldn’t manage it.

At noon, Baoni and her grandma prepared lunch together.

Sweet potato and mixed grain rice, stewed fish, stir-fried vegetables, and some pickled vegetables.

It was lucky they lived on an island, as Big Brother Lin had gone to the sea early in the morning to catch fish. Big or small, there was plenty of fish, and they stewed it all in a pot.

After lunch, Baoni carried a basket and went up the mountain.

There were many mountains on the island, covering a third of its total area. The elevation wasn’t particularly high, but it was very steep.

Except for the flat area at the foot of the mountain, the higher up you went, the steeper it became. Reaching the highest point, the vast and surging sea lay below.

Because of this mountain, life on the island was much better. It could block some of the typhoon’s attacks.

Baoni didn’t go to the top of the mountain. She wandered around halfway up, picking half a basket of mushrooms, gathering a bundle of wild vegetables. She also found a fruit tree with quite a few fruits on it. All of it became her spoils.

She put the fruits at the bottom of the basket, mushrooms on top, and carried the wild vegetables in her hands. Baoni began her way back.

At the foot of the mountain, Baoni thought about going to her secret base, but then remembered she didn’t have any spare clothes, so she gave up on the idea.

“Grandma, I’m back.” Baoni called as she entered the house, but didn’t see her grandma.

“Back already? Did you find any mushrooms?” Grandma Lin came out of the house and asked.

“Yes, I picked some. I found a fruit tree and picked half a basket of fruits. They’re pretty sweet.” Baoni spoke while unpacking her basket.

“I made some pickled vegetables, and fried a salted fish. Take it back with you and eat it tonight. Also, take some wild vegetables back. Blanch them with hot water, and when little Guo comes back, just add some seasoning and mix it up. It’ll taste great.” Grandma took the basket, packed some wild fruits and vegetables, and handed it back to Baoni to take with her.

“Alright, Grandma, I’ll head back. Please keep an eye out for anyone who has chicks for sale. I’ll buy a few. Tomorrow, I’ll dig up the land in the courtyard, and the day after, you can help me plant the vegetables.” Baoni had made her plans. She was going to raise chickens, plant vegetables, and keep herself busy for a while, as her father wouldn’t let her go fishing in the short term.

“Alright, I’ll keep an eye on it for you. The day after tomorrow, after breakfast, I’ll bring the seeds and help you plant them.” Grandma was very skilled when it came to planting vegetables; she was quite the expert.

“Grandma, wait for me at home. I’ll come by and pick you up on my bike.” Baoni didn’t want her grandma to walk there alone. It would be too tiring.

Before she left, she reminded her grandma once more, and then took the basket and rode her bike back home.

As she entered the Family Residential Compound, there were more people around. Small groups of people were gathered, mending clothes, knitting sweaters, and chatting idly.

Baoni didn’t get off her bike. She rode directly to her doorstep, opened the gate, pushed the bike inside, and entered the courtyard.

Outside, people started gossiping again.

“This must be Colonel Gu’s new wife. She looks pretty young.” The one speaking was the wife of the deputy battalion commander, who lived in front of Baoni’s house.

“Yeah, she does look young. No one expected Colonel Gu to suddenly get married. So many people in the team had their eyes on him, but who would’ve thought someone from outside would beat them to it!” If Baoni had been there, she would’ve recognized this voice as the one from the boat, the woman who had been wearing a floral dress.

Baoni couldn’t hear the gossip outside. She was busy cooking.

Baoni couldn’t cook vegetables, but she was good at steaming rice.

Both of them had big appetites, so Baoni steamed a large pot of rice. She then washed the wild vegetables, blanched them, and did the same with the mushrooms. After peeling garlic, she had all the ingredients ready by the time Gu Ye entered the courtyard.

“You’re back. Quickly wash your hands.” Baoni said, already having the water prepared, and greeted him warmly.

Gu Ye looked at Lin Baoni, who was busily moving around, with suspicion. Something seemed odd.

“Gu Ye, are you hungry? I’ve prepared all the vegetables. You can start frying them now.” Lin Baoni blinked her big eyes, looking at Gu Ye as she spoke.

As Gu Ye walked into the kitchen, he thought to himself: “So this is what she’s been up to. No wonder she’s being so attentive.”

On the stove, everything was ready. Baoni lit the fire and pumped the bellows, signaling Gu Ye to start frying.

The fragrance wafted out, and Baoni took a deep breath, thinking: “Her cooking skills are really impressive!”

It was their first time cooking after getting married, and Baoni had already established her dominance in the kitchen. As for the main cook in the house, Gu Ye would hold that position for decades to come.