Chapter 47

The group of young hooligans were all very happy after receiving Su Ye’s approval. They started attending school more regularly, and even Lu Siyuan couldn’t gather anyone when he invited people to the state-owned restaurant for a meal.

Lu Siyuan was puzzled. He grabbed one of his men and asked, “Where are they?”

One of his subordinates awkwardly scratched his head and said, “They’ve been called back by Teacher Su for class. Everyone wants to learn some skills from her.”

Although Lu Siyuan’s father was the factory director, he couldn’t guarantee a job for anyone following him. However, they had heard that the students Su Ye had taught were now able to take on private jobs themselves. If they learned that skill too, wouldn’t they also be able to live well and enjoy life?

He stared at the clock on the wall, his mind clearly focused on going back to school. That simple thought was written all over his face, completely obvious.

Lu Siyuan kicked him in the backside. “What kind of skill do you want to learn? You think you can?”

Seeing the look on his subordinate’s face, who seemed to be in the wrong place, Lu Siyuan cursed, “Go, go, go.”

The subordinate ran away, still begging for forgiveness, “Alright, alright, big brother. You should also go back and listen to Teacher Su’s class! I think it’s really useful. Who knows, you might even get your graduation certificate!”

He thought that Lu Siyuan should go back to class too. Never mind anything else, Su Ye said something right: could he really live like this his whole life? Once he learned a skill from Su Ye, maybe he could teach his big brother and they could all work together to earn money.

Lu Siyuan looked around, but his close friend Xu Le wasn’t there, nor was Qin Lan, whom he had helped before. For a moment, his thoughts became complicated.

—

Military District Compound, Weekend.

Ning Xingdou returned home with a sausage he had gotten from Su Ye. Mother Ning carefully sliced a small piece and made sausage rice. This thrifty mother took a handful of white rice, used a clay pot to steam it, and steamed it seven times in a row, trying to get the rice to absorb as much water as possible to expand and save on food. This was the new method for steaming food promoted in C City.

To their surprise, the sausage didn’t take long to steam before a rich, appetizing aroma filled the room.

Father Ning was reading a newspaper inside. The smell of the meat was like little hands tickling, making it impossible to sit still.

Mother Ning endured as best as she could, but with the family urging her, she didn’t have time to steam the rice for the seventh time because, when she added water for the third time, Father Ning impatiently shouted, “Stop steaming, let’s eat.”

Fortunately, he stopped his wife in time, otherwise, the whole building would have been unable to sit still. The smell of meat had already wafted out of the window, and when the neighbors passed by after work, they asked, “Professor Ning, you’re having meat today?”

“Professor Ning, what are you cooking that smells so good?”

“Oh, you’re having extra dishes today?”

Mother Ning had no choice but to seal the stove and bring out the rice pot. She lifted the lid, and a small porcelain bowl lay steadily on top of the rice. The sausage slices inside the bowl had absorbed the golden oil from the steam process, and the oil dripped onto the rice, making the grains lightly glisten with oil, filling the air with an irresistible fragrance.

She was stunned. The sausage had rendered out a small bowl of oil, and the texture of the oil was rich and thick, with very little water mixed in!

Of course, she didn’t know that the meat Su Ye used to make the sausage came from a wild boar that was a reward in her live stream. It wasn’t just any ordinary wild boar, it was a high-quality breed that had undergone thousands of years of genetic evolution. Its meat was tender and fatty, with a higher oil content than regular pork, making it more filling.

Mother Ning couldn’t wait to serve herself a bowl of rice. The rice grains, now infused with the essence of the sausage, were smooth and delicious, with a slight sweetness that made her want a second helping. She picked up a slice of sausage, which was thinly sliced, so thin it was almost like a cicada’s wing. Soaked in oil, it was incredibly flavorful, making her mouth water and leaving a fragrant aftertaste.

Mother Ning had never eaten sausage this good!

She couldn’t stop praising it, smiling as she said, “Is this sausage made by Su Ye? It’s really delicious. I didn’t expect her skills to be this good. You’re really lucky, Xingdou.”

Ning Xingdou coughed violently and corrected her, “It’s made by Brother Xiangqian.”

Mother Ning teased, “Xiangqian didn’t know how to cook before. When he wasn’t married, we used to send him food. This cooking skill must have come from your sister-in-law, from the countryside.”

What she said wasn’t wrong, so Ning Xingdou didn’t argue.

The sausage-making skill definitely came from Su Ye. After Gu Xiangqian got married, the quality of their meals had gone up dramatically. Su Ye’s red-braised pork was so good that even the chefs in the mess hall couldn’t compare to it. After tasting Su Ye’s red-braised pork, Ning Xingdou had never gone to the military mess to eat it again.

Was marriage really that happy? Ning Xingdou began to consider the possibility of getting married.

After the meal, Mother Ning carefully packed the oil from the sausage, then took out a bottle of wine from their collection and handed it to Ning Xingdou.

“Take this to Brother Xiangqian tomorrow.”

Although it was good wine, it was the kind of thing that, in the past, would have cost hundreds of yuan and been considered a rare treasure. But now, no matter how good the wine, it couldn’t compare to the value of the pork. However, there was nothing more valuable in the house to give as thanks to Su Ye, so Mother Ning, a bit embarrassed, handed the wine to her son.

“Xiangqian and his wife often invite you to dinner. You need to remember this kindness, and when you have the chance, help your brother out more, alright?”

Mother Ning didn’t interact much with Gu Xiangqian’s wife. She had heard that she came from the countryside and didn’t know how to manage a household, nor was she very warm or attentive, so she had often been ridiculed by people in the compound. But after experiencing the thoughtful gesture from Gu Xiangqian and his wife and seeing the sausage-making skills, Mother Ning realized that they really knew how to live well.

Those who mocked Su Ye for coming from the countryside and lacking education and experience were the ones truly blinded. Rural wives weren’t stingy. The sausage she sent was a full weight, and in these times, even biological parents might not do this much!

—

In the afternoon, Su Ye was shocked when she received the wine that Ning Xingdou had brought. She asked, “What… what is this?”

Ning Xingdou replied cheerfully, “My mom asked me to bring it. She said thank you for the sausage that Brother Xiangqian and Sister-in-law gave. She really liked it.”

What kind of wine is this? Su Ye didn’t have many hobbies, but tasting wine was one of them. She carefully examined the outer packaging and, after confirming that it was unlikely to be counterfeit, her skin prickled with excitement.

This was the predecessor of the highly regarded “Mao X” wine—the Lai Mao wine. After the year 2000, a bottle was auctioned for 10.7 million yuan at a fine wine auction and was bought by a wealthy businessman for his collection. People in the industry joked that “a drop is worth gold” and referred to it as the “working class can never afford it” series. Although the auction price might have been inflated, even if it were halved, the bottle would still be worth more than five million yuan.

Such an expensive wine was in her hands right now, and it was being exchanged for a pound of sausage? Su Ye suddenly rubbed her hands together and took a deep breath before handing the wine back to Ning Xingdou.

“Auntie, you’re too kind. I can’t accept something so valuable.”

Ning Xingdou gave her a complicated look. When Mother Ning handed the wine to him, she muttered, “I’m shamelessly trading wine for meat,” as if the wine wasn’t even that expensive.

In difficult times, food was the most precious thing. You could skip drinking, but you couldn’t go without a bit of fat in your belly.

Pork was more precious than gold to ordinary people, but not to Su Ye. She knew the value of this wine, but Ning Xingdou’s family didn’t. She didn’t want to take advantage of them without giving something in return.

However, how could Ning Xingdou let this opportunity slip away? Since he had brought the items, how could he return them as they were? Would he lose face?

“It’s alright, it’s not worth much. My dad has collected a lot of wines. We have another bottle of this kind at home. You take this one and enjoy it.”

Su Ye thought about the wine from 1953, which was quite recent, and that a lot of wine from the same batch still existed. She felt relieved. However, she took the dried meat from the shelf and, with a particularly sweet smile, said:

“Xingdou, take some dried meat back to try. Your parents will definitely like it. You had some last time, and it was really delicious, right?”

Thinking back to the taste of the cured meat from the last time, Ning Xingdou’s words of refusal lingered on the tip of his tongue but he couldn’t bring himself to say them. The cured meat from Gu Xiangqian’s family was really good.

The taste was so savory that a piece of meat could make someone eat several bowls of rice. Even the best state-run restaurant in C City couldn’t compare to this flavor.

Su Ye smiled as she wrapped the dried meat in paper and handed it to Ning Xingdou. “I’ve heard that Professor Ning is very knowledgeable, especially in math and science. If you feel uncomfortable accepting it, then you can ask him for me at home. I have a few questions I’d like to ask him. I wonder if he’d be willing to teach me.”

Professor Ning was a scientist featured in textbooks, an idol in the hearts of countless students. Just because of that, how could Su Ye let her idol go hungry?

Ning Xingdou was in inner turmoil.

He understood that Su Ye was clearly humoring him. Although his father was indeed accomplished in math and science, he wasn’t at the level where everyone would worship him. The fact that she specifically saved him some meat made him feel an indescribable sense of gratitude!

When Gu Xiangqian saw this scene, he couldn’t help but smile. “Xingdou, take it home. Otherwise, your sister-in-law might not be able to sleep tonight.”

Although he knew that Su Ye liked to drink, he didn’t realize that she would be willing to sacrifice her favorite cured meat for a bottle of wine. It seemed that he needed to buy more good wine to please her.

Since their marriage, Gu Xiangqian seemed to have never given Su Ye anything substantial. Although he didn’t remember the details, by the standards of their past life, it seemed rather shabby.

After sending Ning Xingdou off with a smile, Su Ye was pleasantly surprised when a soldier from the concierge office personally delivered a package to her door.

“Is Ms. Su here? A farmer outside the family compound has left something for you.”

Su Ye couldn’t help but feel delighted and thought to herself that Comrade Ma Gensheng was really efficient. Not only had he gotten the pass from the revolutionary committee leader, but he had also persuaded the villagers about the tea’s distribution. With such great effort, Su Ye naturally couldn’t let this go to waste.

After Su Ye sent the tea eggs to the countryside last time, the backend of her live streaming room had received a few more pounds of rice. This realization opened a new world for her. Although it was just a small crack, it was enough for Su Ye to use it to make a difference.

The definition of “labor” was broad, and Su Ye had previously read many books and researched the topic. Labor wasn’t just about teaching—any activity that could create material or spiritual wealth was valuable labor.

Teaching and educating students was no longer enough to satisfy Su Ye’s ambitions. She wanted to earn gold and rice, so she had to explore more opportunities.

Helping the villagers of Shanggou sell tea and solve their food issues seemed like something very meaningful in this era. Earning rice could save more people from starvation, and it should create some labor value. Besides, even without any food reward, Su Ye would still help if she came across the opportunity.

Teaching was too monotonous, and occasionally doing other things to adjust her mood wasn’t a bad idea.

“Is he still here?” Su Ye quickly asked.

The young soldier replied, “He left long ago. He brought a little donkey to carry the things.”