Chapter 33: Exchanging Grain

“That’s right.” Father Gu straightened his back proudly. “He transferred back and was assigned as the deputy director of the steel factory.”

Mother Gu was completely stunned. It took her a long time to process this information before she exploded in anger. “That ungrateful brat! He’s already a deputy director, yet he only gives me ten yuan a month? And you! Why didn’t you say anything about this earlier?”

Had she known he was now a deputy director, would she have agreed to just ten yuan a month? Absolutely not!

Father Gu sighed. “All you ever think about is money.”

He hadn’t mentioned it earlier precisely because he was afraid Mother Gu would make a scene. Otherwise…

Sigh. To be honest, because Gu Cheng had spent so many years in the military, Mother Gu didn’t have a deep emotional bond with him. She valued money more than she valued him.

Father Gu was genuinely worried that one day, Gu Cheng would grow completely cold toward this family.

“Without money, how are we supposed to eat and drink? No, next time he comes, I have to talk to him!” Mother Gu huffed, then turned around and stomped back to her room.

“Father…” Eldest Sister-in-law Gu hesitated before cautiously asking, “Look… since little brother is now such an important leader—at a steel factory, no less—could he arrange a job for his big brother?”

Father Gu shot her a glance and asked, “Why don’t we just get a job for you too while we’re at it?”

Eldest Sister-in-law Gu was ecstatic and struggled to keep her face neutral. “If that’s possible, then of course, that would be great!”

If she managed to secure a job, she would be the most impressive woman in the entire area. Everyone would be envious of her!

Father Gu took a deep breath. “You’re dreaming. The steel factory isn’t his to run. Do you know what kind of era we’re living in? If he dared to do that, he’d be dismissed by tomorrow! You’d better give up on that idea.”

A tall tree catches the wind. It was already a blessing that the family had one city-dweller among them. If the whole family tried to move in, it might not necessarily end well.

Eldest Sister-in-law Gu’s smile froze, but she didn’t give up. She thought to herself that she would make sure to investigate Liu Yinyin’s family.

If Gu Cheng arranged jobs for Liu Yinyin’s relatives but not for her husband, she would never accept it!

After all, wasn’t her husband his own flesh-and-blood brother?

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Liu Yinyin was washing clothes at home when she heard a noise at the door. She looked up and saw Gu Cheng returning alone.

Coming back at noon in this heat—was he not afraid of the sun?

Liu Yinyin casually asked, “Why are you back so early?”

She had thought Gu Cheng would at least stay until the evening, maybe even spend a night or two at the Gu house.

Gu Cheng took the clothes from her hands and said, “Father and Mother are doing well. Since there was nothing urgent, I came back early. From now on, I’ll do the laundry. It’s not convenient for you with your big belly.”

Liu Yinyin didn’t ask any further. She simply smiled and said, “It’s fine. I can sit and wash—it’s no trouble. Oh, by the way, I made these two outfits for you. Try them on later, and if they don’t fit, I’ll adjust them.”

She had sewn them according to the measurements of his old clothes, so they should fit just fine.

Gu Cheng hadn’t expected the clothes in his hands to be for him. He felt touched and asked, “Why didn’t you make a couple for yourself?”

Liu Yinyin waved her hand dismissively. “I already have new clothes.”

The original owner of her body had worn patched-up clothes, which Liu Yinyin couldn’t stand. She had already made several new outfits for herself.

She had been hesitant to wear them before, but now that Gu Cheng was home, she didn’t feel as restrained.

Hearing that she already had new clothes, Gu Cheng didn’t say anything more. Instead, he changed the subject. “By the way, weren’t we planning to dig a cellar? I was thinking of inviting my brother and his wife over this afternoon to help. Hopefully, we can finish it within the next couple of days.”

Liu Yinyin: “…”

They had just finished digging up the sweet potatoes, and now he wanted to dig a cellar? This man really didn’t know how to rest!

With a hint of exasperation, Liu Yinyin said, “Let’s hold off for now. The village chief declared a holiday so everyone could rest. If you don’t rest, my brother and his family still need a break.”

The grain could stay in the kitchen for a few more days—it wasn’t an urgent matter.

Truthfully, Liu Yinyin didn’t want her husband overworking himself.

Even horses needed time to graze and rest. How much more did a person?

Gu Cheng thought about it and agreed. He decided to drop the idea of digging the cellar that afternoon.

But instead of resting, he went up into the mountains.

By the time the sun was setting, he returned—carrying two wild pheasants in his hands and a wild mountain goat slung over his shoulder!

Liu Yinyin was so shocked that her heart nearly stopped. She quickly asked, “Did you get hurt?”

The environment back then hadn’t been destroyed yet, and the mountains were full of wild animals. Some nights, Liu Yinyin could even hear wolves howling while she slept.

In fact, no one in the village dared to venture deep into the mountains. Even when foraging for wild vegetables, they only stayed near the outskirts.

Gu Cheng tossed the wild mountain goat down and put his hands on his hips, saying, “Don’t worry, I’m fine.”

Liu Yinyin looked down and saw the hole in the goat’s head. She immediately felt like she had discovered some important secret, but she wisely decided not to ask about it.

The two wild chickens were still alive, so there was no rush to deal with them.

However, the wild mountain goat was already dead. In this heat, it couldn’t last long. It might start to spoil by tomorrow morning.

It wasn’t suitable to make dried meat in such hot weather.

Gu Cheng simply said, “I’ll go talk to the village chief. We’ll keep some of the wild goat for ourselves, and exchange the rest for other things with the villagers.”

Meat was a rare commodity, and goat meat was just as good as pork. Since the villagers had been eating simple food for so long, many would likely be willing to trade for some goat meat.

The wild mountain goat weighed about a hundred jin, so it could easily be traded.

Liu Yinyin nodded. “Go ahead and do that.”

Of course, before leaving, Gu Cheng made sure to clean up the hole in the goat’s head.

Liu Yinyin went to the kitchen to boil water.

Gu Cheng returned quickly, bringing Liu Mingyuan along to help butcher the goat.

When Jiang Cuihua heard her son-in-law had caught a wild mountain goat, she hurried over to have a look.

“Oh my!” Jiang Cuihua exclaimed, both shocked and delighted, “What a big wild goat!”

How much meat would that be? Jiang Cuihua’s eyes crinkled with a big smile.

Liu Mingyuan’s eyes were also glowing with excitement. “Brother-in-law, next time you go to the mountain, can you take me along?”

This was all meat, and he wanted to give it a try too!

Jiang Cuihua shot a disdainful look at him and said, “If you encounter a wild boar, with your small build, you wouldn’t even be able to twist off one of its legs.”

It wasn’t that she was putting down her son, but realistically, with his clumsy nature, he had never caught a wild animal—let alone a wild goat. He hadn’t even managed to catch a rabbit.

Liu Mingyuan pouted, “But I’ll have brother-in-law with me.”

Gu Cheng immediately agreed. “Okay.”

When Liu Mingyuan heard this, he became excited and raised his eyebrows at Jiang Cuihua. “See? Brother-in-law doesn’t mind taking me along.”

Jiang Cuihua saw his silly grin and couldn’t be bothered to respond.

By the time the wild mountain goat’s blood had dried up, Gu Cheng and Liu Mingyuan had both picked up big knives to scrape off the goat’s fur.

Just as they finished butchering the wild mountain goat, Village Chief Liu Changquan arrived with a group of villagers to trade for the goat meat. There were quite a few people with him.