Chapter 2: Killing a Pig Tomorrow

Han Guobin was twenty-four years old this year. In this era, most people got married around twenty, and at the latest by twenty-two. At twenty-four, he should’ve had a child by now.

But he only got married this year. At twenty-four, his vigor was still going strong.

However, after the commotion today, he wasn’t thinking much about it. Seeing his wife fall asleep so quickly, he soon drifted off as well.

Earning ten work points wasn’t an easy task. Meals weren’t great, but the work had to be done with all one’s might. It was only because he was still young that he could endure it. Otherwise, he might not have been able to handle it at all.

Not long after, he also fell asleep.

Chen Rou got up in the latter half of the night to knead and proof the dough.

She still had some cornmeal and wheat flour stored in her space, but she only took out a bit of cornmeal to steam corn buns.

After kneading the dough and leaving it to rise, she returned to bed to continue sleeping. Only when dawn was approaching did she get up again to start steaming the buns.

She also went to the backyard garden to pick a handful of cabbage and washed it.

But for breakfast, it was just corn buns and boiled cabbage. They didn’t raise chickens at home, not even a single egg, so she hadn’t cracked one for Han Guobin yesterday either.

However, thinking about all the work they had to do today, Chen Rou hesitated. Reluctantly, she took an egg from her space and steamed it together with the buns.

As for the cabbage, naturally, it was simply boiled. There was no lard left at home. Although she had quite a bit of meat in her space, including fat meat, she hadn’t rendered it into lard yet. Eggs were one thing, but the meat was not easy to take out.

Corn buns with boiled cabbage—such a plain meal.

But Chen Rou had lived through hard times and didn’t find it unbearable.

Han Guobin was the same. In fact, having corn buns instead of half-cooked cornmeal porridge hastily thrown together was already beyond his expectations.

“Eat this egg,” Chen Rou said.

Han Guobin was stunned. Seeing the single egg, he naturally didn’t think it was meant for him. He didn’t expect his wife to actually offer it to him.

“Wife, you eat it,” Han Guobin shook his head.

Chen Rou replied, “I had one yesterday. There are more at home. If I want to eat, I’ll make one myself.” She said this to lay the groundwork for taking out more supplies later on.

But in the end, Han Guobin didn’t eat it. After finishing his meal, he left the house. Watching the egg left on the table, Chen Rou didn’t say anything, but a ripple of emotion stirred in her heart.

A man who wouldn’t even eat an egg himself, saving it for his family—such a man couldn’t be all bad.

As she ate the egg, Chen Rou thought that the meat in her space would have to be taken out at the right opportunity. Otherwise, she wouldn’t even have a drop of oil to stir-fry vegetables.

Besides, in the apocalypse, going out to search for food required a full stomach. Since he had to work, he should at least have something oily to eat.

With these thoughts, after washing the dishes, Chen Rou also shouldered a basket and headed out.

The original host didn’t do hard labor but would go to collect pigweed occasionally. However, even that was done lazily, as pigweed didn’t earn many work points. Collecting a lot would only get two work points a day.

But the original host could barely get one work point at best, sometimes just half a point, slacking off whenever possible.

Even so, it was to get a share of the headcount grain. Grain was distributed based on work points. Without them, she wouldn’t get any food.

That’s why she came to do this, just to scrape by.

“Oh, Guobin’s wife is better now? No more headaches? Yesterday you really went all out. I thought you’d be lying in bed for ten days to half a month after that fall,” an old woman said.

Collecting pigweed wasn’t a common task. Often, it was left to the elderly. Young wives like Chen Rou were supposed to work in the fields.

But the original host was notorious for being lazy and shameless. She’d go to the fields, then claim dizziness or blurred vision, purely to slack off.

That’s how she got sent to collect pigweed instead—an easier job.

Hearing the old woman’s comment, others turned to look at Chen Rou.

Chen Rou smiled and said, “Even going all out didn’t get me anything good. I only ended up scaring my Guobin. But after that fall, I figured it out. It’s better to live a good life with my Guobin. As for the rest, I don’t care even if it’s handed to me!”

After speaking, she shouldered her basket and went off to collect pigweed.

The others couldn’t help but look at each other in surprise. Did the Chen family’s daughter really have a change of heart?

The Chen family’s daughter, back at her parents’ home, already had a bad reputation. Rumor had it she dreamed of marrying into the city.

She turned her nose up at many suitors who came calling, which dragged things out until she was twenty-two and still unmarried.

It was only because Chen Laohan, Chen Rou’s father, saw Han Guobin as an older bachelor that, when the Han family came to propose, he agreed without hesitation.

But in reality, who in the village didn’t know?

Letting Han Guobin marry the Chen family’s daughter was a waste of such a good man. The Chen family’s daughter had a bad reputation—lazy and shrewish. People hoped marriage might change her, but did it?

She was the same in her husband’s house as she was in her parents’ home.

That’s why everyone said it was unfair to Han Guobin. Such a good man, earning ten work points a day, could have married anyone. But thanks to his biased parents, he ended up stuck with her.

Of course, when it comes to appearance, that Chen family girl is second to none—there’s nothing to criticize. Isn’t it precisely because she’s so good-looking that she’s grown so proud and arrogant?

But when it comes to living a proper life, what good is a pretty face? You need to know how to work hard and take care of the household!

Like her—she even slacks off when cutting pigweed. Just the other day, she went into town and seemed to have bought quite a lot of things. Doesn’t all that cost money?

I heard from Mother Han that their little household barely has any food left!

But thoughts are just thoughts. After all, it’s not their own family’s business. Whether she’s really changed for the better, no one’s going to interfere.

Chen Rou simply focused on cutting her own pigweed. Today, she truly wasn’t slacking off, though she was somewhat dissatisfied—only two work points, far too little.

She didn’t want to keep cutting pigweed; she wanted to work in the fields. She felt she could easily earn five work points there—more than double what she got for pigweed.

After cutting enough, she went to hand in the pigweed and then headed home to prepare lunch.

Today, her pigweed was evaluated as “good,” which was quite unexpected. She had indeed gathered a lot. Could it be that this Guobin’s wife was truly starting to come around and improve herself?

If so, then the young couple’s days wouldn’t be so bad after all.

They were all from the same village, and there weren’t any deep grudges. No one would really begrudge them living a good life.

But this was just the beginning—who could say what the future would bring? Whether she had truly changed or not was still to be seen.

Chen Rou didn’t care what others thought. Cutting pigweed wasn’t tiring; it was just a bit stuffy today. But considering it was already September, it wasn’t so bad. August—that was when the heat really baked you alive.

Back home, she tidied up quickly and began to cook.

For lunch, they’d have cornmeal porridge. It had been soaking all morning, so it was ready to cook.

But they didn’t even have a side dish. Chen Rou figured even cutting pigweed was tiring for her, let alone how exhausted Han Guobin must be from fieldwork.

It was imperative to bring out some meat to render lard for cooking.

Actually, the free market in town did sell pork. The price was a bit steep, and it was mostly scraps and trimmings, but at least you didn’t need ration tickets. In these times, any bit of oil or fat was a precious luxury.

There certainly wouldn’t be any left by now, so Chen Rou decided she’d go take a look early tomorrow morning. After all, there was no reason to let the meat in her space go to waste.

Wouldn’t that be like holding a golden rice bowl while begging for food?

Han Guobin came home, eating the dry, bland cornmeal porridge without a complaint. After eating, he immediately went to sleep. Having worked hard all morning, he was naturally exhausted.

Especially with the autumn harvest coming up—that was the real grind. By the end of it, the men would all be a size smaller, and the women wouldn’t fare much better.

In the afternoon, Chen Rou gathered quite a bit more pigweed, earning herself another two work points. This rare display of diligence earned her a fresh look from quite a few villagers.

Mother Han heard about it too. She merely sneered and dismissed it from her mind.

She felt she had seen through this second daughter-in-law of hers—just a lazy, gluttonous fool!

She couldn’t even be bothered to mention it. After all, they had already split off into their own household.

Back home, Chen Rou began kneading dough, adding salt, eggs, and water, then letting it rest for thirty minutes.

While the dough rested, she went to take a bath. As she was bathing, she vaguely heard some broadcast announcements outside.

After washing up, she came out to see Han Guobin had returned. After working all day, his skin was now a sunburned, dark-red hue. Chen Rou poured him a cup of warm water and asked, “I didn’t catch it just now—what was the broadcast saying?”

“Tomorrow morning, the brigade is going to slaughter a pig. We can get a share of the pork,” Han Guobin replied.

Chen Rou’s eyes lit up. She had just been thinking of buying some, and now this opportunity popped up! “But it’s not a holiday. Why are they slaughtering a pig?”

In a normal year, the village only slaughtered pigs twice: once after the autumn harvest, and once at the end of the twelfth lunar month.

For them to slaughter one tomorrow was unheard of.

“This year, the brigade is expecting a big harvest. They’re afraid people won’t have the strength to keep up, so they’re slaughtering a pig early to give everyone a boost, so we won’t fall short later,” Han Guobin explained.

This pig was originally meant to be butchered after the autumn harvest. Essentially, they were moving it up to let everyone eat some meat for strength.

Chen Rou didn’t care about the reasons. The important part was—there’d be meat to eat tomorrow. That was absolutely wonderful news!

“You go take a bath. We’re having noodles tonight,” she said as she went back to busy herself in the kitchen.

Seeing the dough had rested enough, she divided it into portions, rolled them out with a rolling pin, dusted them with flour, folded them, and sliced them into thin strips.

Lifting the strips up and giving them a shake, the noodles came apart beautifully.

From their small plot of land, a few tomatoes had ripened. She made a tomato noodle soup—tangy, refreshing, and perfect for a hearty meal.

When Han Guobin, freshly bathed, saw the bowl of tomato noodle soup on the table, his stomach grumbled audibly. He couldn’t help but swallow hard.

He firmly believed in the principle of “men work outside, women manage the home,” so he never questioned how the household money was spent.

This relieved Chen Rou immensely. She smiled and said, “I’ll make sure you eat well. In just a little while, the autumn harvest will start. You better not collapse then—the family’s counting on you to hold up the fort.”

Not that women didn’t carry half the sky as well, but a few words of flattery never hurt.

Han Guobin was deeply touched. Looking at his wife, he said earnestly, “I won’t let you go hungry!”