Chapter 31

After He Xianqiu and Ji Chen Zhou finished packing up their things, they were about to leave.

At that moment, someone shouted in panic, “The city inspectors are here!”

The moment people heard that the city inspectors were coming, everyone who had been busy hawking their goods quickly scattered. A large crowd fled into all sorts of corners.

When He Xianqiu heard “city inspectors,” she froze for a second. Then she suddenly remembered—if the inspectors caught them, it would be considered speculation and profiteering, a serious crime.

As soon as Ji Chen Zhou heard the words “city inspectors,” he immediately grabbed He Xianqiu’s hand and ran.

The city inspectors reached the black market and rushed to chase after those who hadn’t yet gotten far.

One of the inspectors began chasing the two of them. He Xianqiu was so exhausted she was gasping for breath, but she knew she was slowing them down.

The inspector ran behind them, yelling angrily, “You two up ahead, stop right now! Do you hear me?”

Hearing the inspector’s frustrated voice, He Xianqiu just wanted to say, How could we possibly stop? That would be walking right into a trap.

But she only muttered it to herself. Knowing she couldn’t run fast enough, she clenched her teeth and kept running alongside Ji Chen Zhou. The two of them darted left and right until they finally shook the inspector off their trail.

Just as they finally let out a sigh of relief, they heard another inspector’s voice. He Xianqiu grew worried, afraid the inspector would discover them.

The two of them headed toward a narrow gap between two walls that were only half a meter apart and hid inside.

The space between the walls was very tight. Both of them squeezed in together, making it a bit crowded. But with the inspector still nearby, they had no choice but to endure it.

In that quiet space, He Xianqiu could hear Ji Chen Zhou’s steady, powerful heartbeat and feel the warmth radiating from his body. She could even feel his breath moving around the top of her head, making her scalp tingle slightly.

She turned her head to face a different direction, trying to ease the sensation, though it didn’t help much.

Ji Chen Zhou quietly lowered his head to look at her. Her hair was thick and fluffy, with a hint of chestnut color, and its texture was excellent—shiny, smooth, as soft as silk.

Although he did his best not to touch her and leaned against the wall as much as he could, with only half a meter of space between the walls, there was no avoiding some contact.

Standing face to face like that, with He Xianqiu turning her head to the side, it looked as if they were an affectionate young couple hiding in the corner to steal a kiss.

After a while, the inspector finally walked away. He Xianqiu breathed out in relief, and the two of them stepped out of the corner.

That had been so thrilling—so dangerous. Fortunately, they’d managed to avoid getting caught by the inspectors. Otherwise, they might have had to spend several days at the station, or even longer.

Afterward, they left the area. He Xianqiu didn’t know the way, so she could only follow Ji Chen Zhou. She also washed her face clean with water.

They twisted and turned through several alleys until finally returning to the place where they’d stored their belongings. They quickly packed everything up and hurried away, not daring to linger.

But as soon as they stepped out, they ran into a militia officer. When he saw them coming out of the corner, he questioned them with a fierce look in his eyes: “What are you two doing here?”

To be honest, although He Xianqiu didn’t show it on the surface, she was still rather nervous inside.

Just as she was about to open her mouth to explain, Ji Chen Zhou calmly spoke up, “We’re a married couple visiting relatives. After picking up a package at the post office, we hurried over to see my aunt.”

Since this was a residential building, what he said sounded reasonable. The militia officer looked half convinced, half skeptical. “Then what were you doing hiding in the corner?”

Ji Chen Zhou glanced at He Xianqiu, then said in an indifferent tone, “We just got married, and couldn’t help being a little affectionate. We ended up hugging in the corner—didn’t expect you to catch us.”

Hearing that, He Xianqiu quickly lowered her head, pretending to look shy and embarrassed, like a delicate, pretty new bride.

When the militia officer saw how beautiful He Xianqiu was, he felt like he understood the situation. These two were newlyweds—no wonder the man couldn’t resist being affectionate.

Still, this was indecent—showing affection in public like this.

The militia officer looked at them coldly and said, “If I catch you doing this again, I’ll drag you both to the station.”

Then, glaring, he turned and walked away. He’d thought he’d caught two profiteers and was already imagining the commendation he’d get. Who would’ve guessed they were just a pair of lovebirds sneaking kisses in a corner? What bad luck.

Watching the militia officer leave, He Xianqiu finally let out a long breath. Ji Chen Zhou hurriedly pulled her along, afraid the man might think it over and come back.

Ji Chen Zhou climbed onto the bicycle. He Xianqiu held the packages and sat on the back seat, and the two of them quickly rode off.

Once they were out of the black market and onto another street, Ji Chen Zhou finally slowed down.

After that, they left the commune and returned to the Qinggang Production Brigade. It was already five o’clock when they arrived.

Ji Chen Zhou took a small path, planning to take He Xianqiu over to the educated youth dormitory.

He Xianqiu thought about the beef and cured sausages. Since she didn’t know how to cure them herself, she planned to go to Grandpa Zhong’s house to do the curing and roasting, then turn the beef into jerky to send to the capital.

Hearing this, Ji Chen Zhou took her to Grandpa Zhong’s. At that time, Grandpa Zhong was in the courtyard, gathering up the dried medicinal herbs.

When he heard knocking outside, he set down his work to open the door. Seeing that it was He Xianqiu and Ji Chen Zhou, he said, “You’re back?”

He Xianqiu nodded and told him, “Grandpa Zhong, I bought some beef and would like to use your place to roast it.”

Grandpa Zhong nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll be in the backyard collecting herbs.”

He Xianqiu and Ji Chen Zhou brought their things into the kitchen. He Xianqiu didn’t know how to prepare it, but she had a clear idea in her mind of how to make beef jerky.

So, as usual, she explained the steps, and Ji Chen Zhou carried them out.

They often cooked together at Grandpa Zhong’s. This was their typical division of labor: He Xianqiu knew many recipes, and Ji Chen Zhou was skilled in the kitchen, so he did the actual cooking.

After so many days of practice, Ji Chen Zhou had already learned how to make many dishes, and his cooking had become even more proficient.

While He Xianqiu helped with minor tasks, Ji Chen Zhou cut the beef into strips, seasoned it with spices, and marinated it for twenty minutes. Once the flavor had soaked in, he got the roasting going.

To speed things up, he kept the fire hot. After a long while, the beef jerky was finally ready.

Ji Chen Zhou did an excellent job—even though it was his first time making jerky, the result smelled delicious.

He Xianqiu handed him a piece, then took one herself and began to eat.

The beef jerky was tender, with a sprinkling of sesame seeds. It was chewy without any grassy odor, rich and savory, leaving a lingering taste on the tongue.

Grandpa Zhong smelled the strong aroma of cooked meat and came over from the yard.

Seeing him, He Xianqiu waved him over to try it.

Grandpa Zhong walked over with a big smile, picked up a piece, and took a bite. His eyes immediately brightened—this flavor was incredible.

He grabbed two more pieces before returning to the yard to continue gathering his precious medicinal herbs.

After eating a few pieces, He Xianqiu wrapped the jerky in oiled paper. Ji Chen Zhou helped her wrap it up.

Ten catties of beef became fifteen packages. He Xianqiu planned to keep three and send the rest to the capital.

The three packages were for herself, Ji Chen Zhou, and Grandpa Zhong.

Since Grandpa Zhong’s home wasn’t suited to storing them, He Xianqiu planned to bring them back later. When she went to Uncle Xu’s to buy more game, she would pack everything up and mail it to the capital.

After cleaning up the kitchen, the two of them went to the backyard to help Grandpa Zhong collect herbs.

There were a lot of herbs. With He Xianqiu and Ji Chen Zhou lending a hand, Grandpa Zhong had a much easier time.

He Xianqiu wasn’t very strong, and Grandpa Zhong was old, so Ji Chen Zhou became the main laborer, filling sacks with herbs and carrying them into the house.

When everything was packed away, He Xianqiu took out the cured sausage and some flour and asked Ji Chen Zhou to make noodles.

Ji Chen Zhou obediently agreed. Whenever He Xianqiu had ingredients, they used hers; when Ji Chen Zhou had hunted something, they used his.

Grandpa Zhong mainly provided the kitchen and fresh greens from his garden.

Ji Chen Zhou kneaded the fine flour into noodles, cut the sausage into small pieces, and put them into the pot to cook. Remembering there was still some dried rabbit meat, he diced it and added it to the pot, along with a handful of fresh greens.

Soon the noodles were done. He Xianqiu carried them out, and she and Grandpa Zhong waited for Ji Chen Zhou to bring out the rest.

In no time, Ji Chen Zhou joined them, and the three of them sat down to eat.

There were many ingredients in the noodles, both meat and vegetables. The colors, fragrance, and flavor were all enticing. The sausage was sweet and savory without being greasy, and the noodles were chewy—everyone ate heartily.

He Xianqiu’s eyes curved with a smile. “This is so delicious. The broth is wonderful too.”

Grandpa Zhong chuckled. “Ever since you came, the food has been tastier and the house livelier. Before, it was just me and him—he’s so quiet he barely said a few words all day. No matter how much I wanted a little noise, there was none.”

Hearing Grandpa Zhong talk about him, Ji Chen Zhou looked slightly embarrassed, but quickly regained his composure.

He Xianqiu smiled. “It’s nice when it’s lively.”

Ji Chen Zhou didn’t reply, but for some reason, he was suddenly worried she would think he was dull and uninteresting.

But he had always been this way since childhood—silent and reticent, rarely saying much.

His family had never liked him, and when he did speak, they responded with harsh words, so eventually he stopped bothering to talk to them.

Thinking of the job at the commune, which had been taken from him after they made a scene, and then sold out by those people, his gaze grew cold.

But of course, he hadn’t let them get that money for free—he’d turned around and taken it back from them. It was what he deserved.

Still, coming back and meeting He Xianqiu was a stroke of luck.

The time he spent with He Xianqiu always made him happy. He smiled more than he ever had.

Ji Chen Zhou remembered the first time he’d met He Xianqiu—it was at the commune. She was wearing an exquisitely beautiful dress and a pair of small, polished leather shoes, and she’d walked up to him.

Then, in her soft, gentle voice, she’d asked, “Could you help me?”

He’d nodded almost without thinking, carried her pot for her, and then helped her load it onto the ox cart.

He, who usually never involved himself in other people’s affairs, had gone out of his way to help someone—especially a woman. He’d been surprised himself. But he had truly wanted to help her.