Chapter 17

The midday sun was blinding. When the meal was ready, everyone ate together in the main hall.

He Xianqiu ate very little, so she only served herself a small portion. Even though she had been here for several days already, she still couldn’t get used to the food.

She could eat enough to feel full, but it simply wasn’t tasty. The corn hadn’t been ground thoroughly, so there were many coarse grains that would catch in her throat when she swallowed.

It was the same with the black steamed buns. When they were hot, she could at least bite into them, but once they cooled, they turned rock-hard and were impossible to chew.

He Xianqiu took small, careful bites. The people at the educated youth station thought of the dishes she’d cooked before and asked her, “Comrade He, was this really your first time cooking?”

He Xianqiu nodded. “Yes, my first time.”

“I see. You’ll get better with practice.”

“Alright,” He Xianqiu replied.

When everyone finished eating, she carried all the bowls to the kitchen. Faced with the filthy dishes, she was at a loss for how to clean them.

Looking at the greasy bowls in the pot, she didn’t know where to begin or what to do.

Just then, Zhang Zhijuan came in. He Xianqiu quickly asked, “Sister Zhijuan, how do you wash these bowls?”

In this era, there was no dishwashing liquid or any such cleaning product, so He Xianqiu had no idea what to use.

Zhang Zhijuan smiled and said, “Wash them with lye water from plant ash. There’s some loofah sponge over there you can use to scrub.”

He Xianqiu nodded, indicating she understood. “Alright. Thank you, Sister Zhijuan.”

Afterward, she took the lye water from plant ash and cleaned the bowls. When the grease was washed off, she rinsed them several more times with clean water.

Looking at the clean bowls, she let out a sigh of relief.

Once she was done, she went back to her dormitory. But it was so boring in there that she soon went out again.

She remembered that the Qinggang Brigade had many mountains, which meant a lot of wild game. There were surely hunters who caught things up there. Thinking of her family in the capital, she wanted to send some wild game back to them.

Now that she had become the supporting female character, that character’s family was her family as well. And the character’s mother was very much like her own mother—her voice, her tone—so He Xianqiu felt a growing affection and anticipation. She very much looked forward to meeting them.

What’s more, the supporting female character looked exactly like her, and even had the same name: He Xianqiu. Surely there was some kind of connection there.

However, for now she couldn’t send anything back because she didn’t have the original character’s memories, so she didn’t know the address. She would have to wait until something arrived from the capital—then she’d know where to send things.

Still, she could at least make preparations in advance. But she didn’t know who in the brigade were hunters, so she’d have to quietly ask around.

After all, private buying and selling was illegal. It was considered speculation and profiteering, a criminal offense.

He Xianqiu wandered around the brigade, hoping to spot someone who stored game at home.

But she wasn’t familiar with the area, and she didn’t find anyone. After all, no one would loudly proclaim that they were a hunter. People hunted secretly and sold their catch on the black market.

She also didn’t know many people here and couldn’t find anyone to introduce her.

Then, all of a sudden, her eyes lit up. She could ask Little Ji—last time he’d even taken her to set traps, and they’d caught two plump rabbits.

But she didn’t know where to find Little Ji. All she knew was that he was from Qinggang Brigade, and people here called him Ji Laosi (Fourth Ji). As for his given name, she didn’t know it—he’d never told her.

How was she supposed to find him? She sighed. She hadn’t seen him for several days already.

He Xianqiu walked slowly around the brigade. She saw a few women sitting together chatting, but she didn’t dare go ask them where Little Ji was. She knew that the moment she did, word would spread to every corner of the brigade by the end of the day.

Thinking about it, she realized she had no idea when she might run into Little Ji again, so she decided to just go back to the educated youth station.

Unexpectedly, on her way back, she ran into Little Ji. She was so excited she almost jumped up. She ran over to him.

“Little Ji, I was just looking for you.”

Ji Chen Zhou saw her, and a hint of joy flickered in his eyes. In a gentle voice, he asked, “Comrade He, what is it you need?”

She looked at him with bright, shining eyes and spoke softly. “Little Ji, I wanted to ask if there’s anyone around here who sells game. I’d like to send some to my family.”

Ji Chen Zhou nodded. “There is. What kind of game do you need?”

She thought for a moment and said, “Anything is fine. But I’ll need quite a lot. Is that possible?”

“I don’t know how much Uncle Xu still has. I’ll take you there.” Ji Chen Zhou’s voice was calm.

She nodded and followed him up the path. They walked together to the back mountain.

There was only one household living there, a little ways from the brigade. It was quiet and secluded.

Uncle Xu’s house was surrounded by a fence. There were some vegetables growing in the yard. Ji Chen Zhou called out from outside, “Uncle Xu!”

A little boy came out of the house.

He Xianqiu took one look and realized it was the same little boy she’d met before. No wonder he was so well-fed—his family were hunters.

The little boy lifted his head and said to Ji Chen Zhou, “Fourth Uncle, Grandpa’s inside.”

When he saw He Xianqiu, he was visibly surprised. Wasn’t this the sister who’d given him a dime before?

He looked up at her and said, in a soft, sticky voice, “Sister, I have to give your dime back. Grandpa said we can’t take it.”

He Xianqiu smiled warmly. “You don’t have to. That dime is for you to buy some candy. Keep it, alright?”

She’d always been patient with good-looking children—she was a sucker for pretty faces—and she really liked this handsome little boy.

The boy scratched his head. “But Grandpa said I can’t take it.”

His eyes were large, his skin fair, his cheeks still round with baby fat, and his long eyelashes drooped as he looked troubled—he was very cute.

He Xianqiu felt her heart melt at how adorable he was. She laughed. “It’s fine. It’s from your big sister. Even if you try to give it back, I won’t take it.”

Ji Chen Zhou also smiled. “Little Jing, if your sister gave it to you, just keep it. Grandpa said I’d help you.”

Little Jing’s eyes lit up. If Uncle said it was alright, he didn’t have to be afraid Grandpa would scold him. A dime could buy so many things!

Ji Chen Zhou brought He Xianqiu inside. Uncle Xu was sitting on a stool weaving a basket. He looked up and saw Ji Chen Zhou had brought a very pretty young woman with him and exclaimed in surprise, “Chen Zhou, what’s this about?”

The moment she heard the name “Chen Zhou,” He Xianqiu froze. Her mind exploded.

Little Ji’s real name was Ji Chen Zhou? Was this the same Ji Chen Zhou she’d been thinking of—the villain Ji Chen Zhou? After all, there was only one Ji Chen Zhou in Qinggang Brigade.

Her thoughts were a complete mess. In the novel, there hadn’t been much detail about Ji Chen Zhou’s teenage years. Most of it was about how, after the reform and opening up, he’d clashed with the male and female leads out of hatred and ended up with a tragic fate in prison.

By that point, Ji Chen Zhou had become gloomy and cruel. To get rid of the male and female leads, he even hired people to kill them. His family suffered terribly—some went to jail because of him, others fell into gambling debt because of his schemes.

The novel hadn’t described much about his youth, except that the spot at the Workers, Peasants, and Soldiers University that was supposed to be his had been stolen by the male and female leads. Later, when he went into business, he ran into them again, and his resentment finally exploded into action.

But as a villain, he was doomed to a bad end. In the end, he was defeated by the protagonists’ halo and sent to prison.

Looking at the young Ji Chen Zhou in front of her—handsome and silent but gentle—she couldn’t reconcile him with the cold, ruthless man he would become.

She stared at him in a daze. She didn’t know whether he would still turn into that person.

And she didn’t know if the world of the book would still follow the original plot.

Thinking of the supporting female character’s fate, she shivered. She couldn’t let things proceed as they had in the story.

Otherwise, neither she nor Ji Chen Zhou would have a good end. But as things stood, she and the female lead, Zhao Yaling, clearly didn’t get along. Zhao Yaling had repeatedly targeted her, and He Xianqiu was not someone who would swallow her grievances. The two of them were bound to clash head-on.

So she needed to stay vigilant. She had to find out who had caused the supporting character’s death and eliminate that threat before she could feel safe.

Her mind was in turmoil. She didn’t know how to face Ji Chen Zhou. She was afraid of who he might become, but she also knew he wasn’t that person yet—and he had never harmed her. On the contrary, he had always been very kind to her.

And maybe he wouldn’t end up like the novel described—cold-blooded and unpredictable.

He Xianqiu stared blankly at Ji Chen Zhou. He noticed and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Hearing his voice, she looked up. His eyes held genuine concern.

She forced a small smile. “It’s nothing. I just suddenly thought of something.”

Clearly, he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t press the issue. Instead, he lowered his gaze and asked Uncle Xu, “Uncle Xu, do you still have any game left?”

Uncle Xu remained seated, his head down, and asked, “There’s still a little. What do you need it for?”

“Comrade He wants some.”

The moment he heard it was for an educated youth, Uncle Xu’s expression turned sharp and wary. “Chen Zhou, what are you thinking, bringing an educated youth here? Educated youths have gotten people arrested for selling them things—Old Zhang is still in prison because of it.”

Ji Chen Zhou shook his head. “Comrade He isn’t like that. Don’t worry, Uncle.”

Hearing this, He Xianqiu quickly added, “I wouldn’t do something like that. I just want to buy some to send to my family.”

With Ji Chen Zhou vouching for her, Uncle Xu’s demeanor softened a little. “There’s still some left. Come with me.”

He Xianqiu followed him into the storeroom. He took down some dried game and said gruffly, “This is all I have left. Pick what you want.”

Although her thoughts were still in turmoil, she forced herself to focus on why she’d come.

She lowered her head to look. There were dried rabbits, wild goat meat, and dried venison.

She chose ten dried rabbits, two pieces of dried venison, and one piece of dried wild goat.

Then she looked up and asked, “Uncle Xu, how much for all this?”

“Twenty yuan. I don’t want any more than that. And once you walk out that door, this never happened. You understand?”

He Xianqiu nodded to show she understood. But since she still didn’t know the address, she asked, “Uncle Xu, would it be alright if I come pick it up later? I don’t have time to send it right now.”

Uncle Xu reluctantly nodded. “Fine. Just make sure you pick it up soon.”

She smiled. “Thank you, Uncle Xu.”

When she came out of the storeroom, she saw Ji Chen Zhou waiting for her inside.

Thinking of all the kindness he had shown her, she realized she shouldn’t be afraid of him.

Because the Ji Chen Zhou standing before her was not the villain Ji Chen Zhou yet. Right now, he was just Qinggang Brigade’s Fourth Ji—and he had never done her any harm.