Chapter 44: Radish Stems, Seafood Instant Noodles

Because of Aunt Huang’s excellent performance in yesterday’s team activities, when everyone gathered this morning, their small team attracted the attention of the other teams.

Aunt Huang stood tall, welcoming the envious and admiring gazes of the others.

The other women also felt proud and walked with their heads held high.

However, there was one person who stood apart. He kept his head down, fiddling with the pom-pom on Ming Dai’s woolen hat.

He had his eye on it since the morning and occasionally pinched it.

Ming Dai offered to put the hat on him, but he declined, simply content to pinch it from time to time.

Since it didn’t hurt or bother him, Ming Dai didn’t mind and let him do as he pleased.

Due to the wind, Ming Dai found him a neckerchief and turned it inside out to put on his head.

This made it much warmer, and with the added headscarf, the wind wouldn’t reach him.

Though he wasn’t afraid of the cold, he had suffered a head injury before, so it was better to be cautious and protect himself.

Soon, it was time to start work, and everyone began walking toward the fields.

While most headed toward the cabbage fields, their small team went in the direction of the radish fields, which drew even more attention.

Everyone stood tall, accepting the scrutiny of all eyes, and Ming Dai couldn’t help but feel proud. She had her moment as a model worker!

Who would have thought this would happen?

But that sense of pride faded as soon as Zhou Sinian took out the cleaver.

With his long arms, he swiftly pulled the cleavers from Ming Dai’s basket and Aunt Huang’s basket.

His eyes lit up as he examined the two knives, and he began to test them against each other.

The distinctive sound of metal clashing rang out, and everyone on the scene gasped in shock, quickly scattering and running into the fields.

In an instant, only Zhou Sinian, Ming Dai, and Aunt Huang were left standing.

Aunt Huang forced a stiff smile, though her eyes betrayed the fact that she was already screaming inside.

Ming Dai quickly snatched the cleaver away and returned it to Aunt Huang.

Aunt Huang swallowed nervously. Seeing how easily Ming Dai had taken the knife away, it felt like the saying “every creature is overcome by its opposite”—one thing can conquer another.

Once they reached the field and began working, all her previous discomfort with Zhou Sinian disappeared immediately!

Aunt Huang waved her hand grandly, signaling the women to put down their knives and start pulling radishes.

She left the task of cutting off the radish tops to Zhou Sinian, while Ming Dai and the children gathered the tops that were cut.

In this way, Zhou Sinian took on the entire task of chopping the radish tops for the team by himself.

Ming Dai was so busy collecting the radish tops he had cut that she barely had time to keep up with him. From a distance, it looked as though his knife was leaving behind afterimages!

It was yet another day of completing the task ahead of schedule.

The radishes were covered in dirt, so they needed to be cleaned thoroughly before being transported.

Once Ming Dai had the radishes she needed, the rest were packed into baskets and carried to the riverbank.

Since the riverbank was far, Aunt Huang commandeered a handcart from home.

The baskets were stacked high, but Zhou Sinian had no trouble pulling them.

When they reached the river, the women rolled up their pants and waded into the water to wash the radishes, telling the young wives and Zhou Sinian not to enter the water.

Ming Dai appreciated their kindness and quietly went back home to bring a pot of hot water and two bowls, with ginger slices and brown sugar in the pot.

She poured a bowl for each of the women working in the river, and they praised her for being so thoughtful.

When Zhou Sinian returned with the cart, he too wanted some. He pulled his tea mug from Ming Dai’s crossbody bag and poured himself a generous cup.

He gulped it down in one go.

Then he frowned and looked at Ming Dai.

Ming Dai blinked innocently. She really hadn’t meant to keep it a secret—there were ginger slices in it.

At first, the women were worried that Zhou Sinian might be angry and even feared he might lash out.

But when they realized he wasn’t upset, they relaxed and started to smile.

They distributed the remaining ginger-sugar tea to the people on the shore, and then began moving the cleaned radishes to the drying area.

With the handcart, their speed increased significantly.

Compared to cabbage, pickling radishes was a bit more troublesome.

The radishes needed to be cut into four equal parts, put into a barrel for pickling, and then taken out to dry until they were dehydrated.

Zhou Sinian was in charge of cutting, with everyone else assisting. Baskets of radish strips were evenly coated with salt in large basins before being spread on mats to air dry.

In the evening, when the other teams finished their last bit of cabbage work and came to the drying area to prepare sauerkraut, they were greeted by a vast spread of radish stems.

Is this even human?!

Is this even human?!

Two days of work, all completed in one!

Aunt Huang’s team had already disbanded and gone home to cook.

After sending the radishes to the vegetable cellar, Ming Dai and Zhou Sinian headed straight to the space.

They took off their shoes, went to the bathroom, and tossed their clothes into the washing machine.

Then they turned on the water, enjoyed a warm shower, and used bath salts to soak in the tub.

After this combination of activities, they both felt completely refreshed.

Sitting at the dining table, the two of them pondered what to eat, and finally, Zhou Sinian suggested he wanted instant noodles.

He had only had them once before, but it had stuck in his memory, and now, he still wanted more.

This had to be satisfied, so Ming Dai immediately prepared a deluxe version of instant noodles plus!

Adding eggs and sausage was the usual routine. After confirming that Zhou Sinian wasn’t allergic to seafood, Ming Dai added king crab and Australian lobster to the mix.

These were all items she kept in the fridge, and once they were used up, they were automatically restocked—so thoughtful!

When she first took out the king crab and lobster, Zhou Sinian gave her a look of refusal.

But once the steaming aroma filled the air, he began wandering around the steamer.

By the time Ming Dai was cracking open the crab, he was already softly whining in anticipation.

Ming Dai handed him a crab leg, and he eagerly gnawed on it, the sound of cracking echoing as he ate.

In the end, they both had a bowl of seafood instant noodles, which became, for a long time after, Zhou Sinian’s idea of a heavenly feast.

Meanwhile, at the New Educated Youths’ dining table, Qi Zhijun noticed that Fang Rou wasn’t there, and he felt a little down.

He knew there was a problem between him and Fang Rou.

She had unilaterally subjected him to silent treatment, but he didn’t know why. They had been fine just before.

He was somewhat angry.

Because of Fang Rou’s willfulness on the cart, he had lent her his military coat.

Had the old woman not pulled her cloak over him, would he have frozen to death?

Also, he had gotten sick because of her. She had the energy to use the sewing machine in the room but couldn’t even bother to make him a cup of hot tea.

In the end, it was Liu Yan who boiled the water for him.

Qin Fangfang scratched her head and said, “So Liu Zhiqing had me boil water for Qi Zhiqing?”

It was also Liu Yan who, after finishing work, came straight to check on him without resting.

But Fang Rou hadn’t asked him a single word.

Moreover, he had already decided to forgive Fang Rou, yet she wouldn’t even come over to eat. She would rather eat alone in her room than join him at the table.

He didn’t understand what Fang Rou was upset about; he had been taking care of her so much.

For her sake, he had even lied to his mother, followed her to the countryside, and put himself in this desolate place—tired and cold. How could Fang Rou still not be satisfied?

He had been working hard on their relationship, even though she wasn’t the “good girl” his mother had hoped for—she couldn’t cook or manage the house.

But she could play the violin! She was beautiful, and now it seemed like she could even make clothes!

Thinking of this, Qi Zhijun’s heart softened again.

Forget it, he would go apologize tomorrow. After all, she was the girl he liked—so talented, and a bit of a temper was only natural.