Chapter 17: Household Savings

Back at home.

“Guobin… I wonder how he’s doing now,” murmured Chen Rou, who was knitting a sweater. She couldn’t help but think of Han Guobin.

At this moment, Han Guobin was in the mountains.

It wasn’t easy to hunt wild animals, but today’s harvest was noticeably good. While he hadn’t come across any large game, he had caught quite a few wild rabbits and pheasants.

He had already filled half a burlap sack.

Han Guobin ate the beef pancakes his wife had prepared for him to bring along. Although they were cold by now, the taste was still excellent.

The vegetable and egg buns he had earlier were also delicious. His wife was worried he wouldn’t eat enough while out in the wild.

After eating, Han Guobin resumed wandering. He planned to head back early if he couldn’t find any more signs of wild animals.

This trip had already yielded a good number of pheasants and rabbits, which could fetch four or five yuan at the very least—definitely a fruitful outing.

However, just as he was about to wrap up, Han Guobin suddenly heard a heavy snorting sound not far away.

Later that night, the old Yang from the pig farm was shocked when Han Guobin showed up, exuding a fierce aura.

With a loud “thud,” a wild boar was thrown down in front of Old Yang, leaving him stunned.

“You… you caught this?” Old Yang asked, dumbfounded.

“It’s getting late. Just calculate the price. I need to get back before sunrise,” Han Guobin said.

He had carried this wild boar, which weighed over a hundred jin (approx. 50 kg), all the way here. Even for a robust man like him, he was feeling exhausted now.

Exhausted as he was, his heart was burning with excitement.

He never expected that when he brought the knife his wife gave him out into the mountains, he’d actually run into such a big wild boar.

If he’d had his old sickle instead, even if he’d come across this beast, he would’ve avoided it.

But the new knife his wife had bought—he had tested it once he got into the mountains—it was incredibly sharp.

That’s why he dared to venture deeper into the forest with confidence.

During the fight with the male wild boar, this knife played a key role. After he slashed the boar’s leg, it couldn’t run anymore. From then on, it was a matter of outmaneuvering it.

Even so, Han Guobin still had to exert a great deal of effort to finally kill it.

Old Yang was utterly shocked. He had known Han Guobin could fight—he had seen him take down multiple thugs in the past when they tried to rob him of his startup capital. Han Guobin had stepped in to help without hesitation.

That was why Old Yang had such a good relationship with him. His business only survived back then because Han Guobin had protected his funds.

But even knowing he could handle several men on his own, Old Yang had never imagined that Han Guobin could single-handedly take down such a massive wild boar!

This thing was notoriously aggressive—and its hide was thick and tough!

“How did you kill it?” Old Yang asked.

Despite his nickname, “Old Yang,” he actually had a square-shaped, stern face. People just called him that because his surname was Yang.

“Just lucky,” Han Guobin replied.

Seeing that Han Guobin didn’t want to talk about it, Old Yang didn’t press further and said, “Alright, I’ll take care of it for you now. Want me to pay you the black market price?”

“Yeah,” Han Guobin nodded.

The purchase price for a wild boar wasn’t high—only about 0.23 yuan per jin—but on the black market it could sell for over one yuan per jin. Still, the standard price he’d receive now was based on the usual rate. This particular boar weighed over 140 jin, so Old Yang rounded it to a flat 35 yuan.

At the time, even city wages were only around 20 yuan unless someone was a master craftsman. Those might earn over 30 yuan. So 35 yuan was a considerable sum.

On top of that, there were also the wild rabbits and pheasants to factor in. Altogether, Old Yang handed over four large ten-yuan bills.

“I figured you’d be coming soon. I’ve got the eggs here too—four jin,” Old Yang said, lifting a basket. “One jin of those is for your wife. Don’t be polite with me.”

Han Guobin had only requested three jin, but Old Yang brought him four.

Han Guobin nodded, and then cut off a piece of meat. Old Yang not only cut him a slab of pork belly, but also threw in two large bones for free.

“I’ll pay for those,” Han Guobin insisted.

“Just bring some more wild rabbits and pheasants next time. Also, I’ve got a thermos for you—I didn’t have it ready this time, but I’ll give it to you next time. Go home with those four big bills and make your wife happy,” Old Yang waved him off.

Han Guobin had already been thinking the same. He asked what time it was. Old Yang checked his watch—it was almost 3 a.m. Since it would take over two hours to walk home, Han Guobin didn’t waste any time. He gathered up his burlap sack of supplies and headed back under the cover of night.

At first, he couldn’t bring himself to eat the candy his wife gave him. But he was so hungry—starving didn’t even begin to describe it.

So halfway home, he unwrapped one and ate it.

She had given him two pieces. One was enough for now. He’d save the other for his next trip.

Back home, Chen Rou had already gotten up. She and Han Guobin had agreed he’d be back around this time.

She made millet porridge and ladled it out to cool. Then she started boiling water.

By the time Han Guobin returned, the water was just finished boiling.

“Go wash up first,” Chen Rou said after giving him a once-over. He had returned in one piece, so she relaxed a little.

“Alright,” Han Guobin replied, giving his wife a look. He used the hot water to brush his teeth and wash his face. Chen Rou poured him a cup of warm water to drink.

Only after drinking the water did he sit down to eat breakfast.

They had cornmeal porridge with salted dried fish and pickled vegetable chunks.

Chen Rou ate with him too, but since she was pregnant, she avoided the pickled vegetables and only ate the salted fish.

She had pan-fried it with a bit of oil—it was wonderfully fragrant.

After breakfast, Chen Rou told him to scoop hot water, wash his feet, and then climb onto the kang (heated brick bed) to sleep.

Han Guobin happily soaked his feet, then brought over his thick cotton coat. It was a little dirty, and Chen Rou immediately decided she’d wash it and hang it up later.

“Where did this blood come from?” Chen Rou’s sharp eyes spotted a bloodstain, and her expression changed.

Han Guobin froze. When he saw the stain, he could only sigh helplessly. He had treasured this thick cotton coat that his wife made for him, and had waited until the wild boar had stopped bleeding before carrying it out of the mountains. But somehow, a bit of blood still managed to get on it.

“Take off your clothes, let me see where you’re hurt!” Chen Rou came over and started pulling at his clothes as she spoke.

“Wife, don’t worry, it’s not mine,” Han Guobin said quickly when he saw his wife’s face change.

“Not yours?” Chen Rou paused in her actions and looked at him. “You’re not just saying that to stop me from worrying, are you?”

Han Guobin pulled his wife into his arms and began pulling money out from under his thick cotton coat. “I was lucky and hunted a wild boar. It’s wild boar blood, not mine.”

He laid out four large bills in front of Chen Rou. Her expression didn’t change in the slightest as she continued to undress him until he was down to his underclothes. Only after thoroughly checking and confirming he wasn’t injured did she finally relax.

“Wife, I think I need a bath,” Han Guobin said, a little embarrassed.

He spent his days roaming the mountains. Even though it was cold, he’d picked up a bit of body odor.

“After we heat the brick bed this evening, you can wash inside the house. I’ll scrub your back,” Chen Rou said.

She also wanted a bath, but winter made that inconvenient. There wasn’t a proper place to bathe—unlike in the city, where there were bathhouses.

“Okay,” Han Guobin replied with a smile and a nod.

Chen Rou then gathered up the money. Every cent her husband brought home was hard-earned, and she intended to spend it wisely.

Everyone in the village thought she had spent every penny of that 50 yuan already, but actually, she had only used some to buy two jin of wool yarn for Han Guobin’s sweater.

The rest had gone toward supplies. She still had twenty yuan left.

Including what he just brought back and what they had saved earlier, they now had nearly 300 yuan in savings at home.

That was no small amount of savings, but it still wasn’t enough to build a proper three-room brick house.

One room would be for the couple, but they would also have children in the future. If they had both a son and a daughter, they’d need to sleep in separate rooms when they got older.

So both Han Guobin and Chen Rou felt that three rooms were necessary.

Chen Rou didn’t say much more and told Han Guobin to get some rest. He lay down, while she stayed up working on the sweater—there was still a lot left to finish.

She didn’t know how to knit, but she had seen her neighbor do it when she was younger. The memory was vivid.

Chen Rou taught herself based on that memory. Whenever she got stuck, she went to ask the elderly ladies in the village for help.

Her progress was slow, but in a few days, she expected the sweater to be finished.

Han Guobin, of course, was exhausted—completely worn out. He just hadn’t shown it in front of his wife.

Seeing her working on the sweater, he lay down and quickly fell asleep.

He slept straight through until noon. Chen Rou had woken up early to steam some mantou. She used the big bone he brought back to chop up and stew with radish. Another large bone was set aside—while there wasn’t much meat on it, it was still good for soup. But soup alone wasn’t enough.

So, she took a piece from the slab of pork belly Han Guobin had brought back and stewed it with string beans. As for the four jin of eggs, she stored them in the egg jar and didn’t touch them.

Once the meal was ready, she brought it in. Han Guobin had eaten cornmeal porridge in the morning, which had long been digested by now, and the aroma of the food woke him.

“Get up, wash your face, and come eat,” Chen Rou said with a smile.

“Alright.” Han Guobin grinned and got up to wash his face with cold water.

Chen Rou poured hot water into the basin for him. Their kettle didn’t retain heat well, so she had boiled the water before cooking.

Han Guobin went to the thatched outhouse in the backyard to relieve himself before coming back to wash up and eat.

The couple enjoyed a full, satisfying meal.

Thanks to the good rest, Han Guobin felt much better. After all, he was only twenty-four—still young and full of energy.

“We probably can’t go out much in the next few days. Third Uncle is getting married, and you’ll likely need to stay and help,” Chen Rou said.

“Mm.” Han Guobin nodded and cleaned up the dishes before going to wash them.

Han’s mother had come by the day before. Since Han Guobin wasn’t home, she worried Chen Rou might not pass on the message, so she came again today.

And when she arrived, she saw him washing dishes—she was furious.

“You’re so useless! Why don’t you just worship your wife like a queen while you’re at it!” Han’s mother scolded.

“Mom, is there something you came for?” Han Guobin asked.

“She’s just worried I wouldn’t tell you about Third Uncle’s wedding in the coming days,” Chen Rou came out and said.

Han’s mother sneered, “You still dare to show your face? That kind of work is a man’s job!”

“Guobin feels bad that I’m pregnant and doesn’t want me to touch cold water in this weather. He enjoys spoiling me. If you’d like, you can tell Dad to do the dishes instead,” Chen Rou said with a smile, glancing at Han Guobin as he washed the dishes.

Han’s mother nearly exploded—so what if she was pregnant? It’s not like no one else had ever given birth!

Han Guobin said, “My wife already told me. If there’s anything Third Uncle needs help with, just say the word, Mom.”

Han’s mother didn’t hold back anymore.

Unlike the weddings of Han Guowu and Han Guobin, this third brother Han Guolin’s wedding was going to be a grand event.

They would need a lot of hands on deck—including Chen Rou.