Chapter 26

Lin Yao was held and kissed thoroughly. Her rosy lips were moist and alluring, her almond-shaped eyes glistening with a misty red, as if she had suffered some great grievance.

And indeed, she felt wronged. This scoundrel of a man came home, embraced her without warning, and kissed her out of the blue…

With her cheeks puffed in anger, Lin Yao complained, “You scoundrel, who gave you permission to hug me?”

Gu Shi’an chuckled lightly, his tone full of delight. “Next time, I’ll make sure to ask for Yao Yao’s permission in advance.”

Lin Yao: “…”

Pah, who said there’d be a next time? Shameless!

Outside, the scorching heat steamed the air, and the ground of the courtyard was unbearably hot, blanketing everything in the small yard with waves of heat.

For her meal, Lin Yao paired the leftover braised pork with half a cornbread bun from the morning. She boiled a pot of mung beans with rock sugar and chilled it in the well. When the family returned later, they could pull it out and enjoy the icy, sweet drink—a refreshing delight.

After just a short while of work, Lin Yao’s cheeks were flushed from the heat. She grabbed a juicy peach, washing it clean before taking a bite. Squinting at the glaring sun outside, she sighed inwardly. The sun was so harsh today. It was said that the drought in the northern regions was severe. Even in the canteen, meals were getting worse day by day. Once abundant with meat and white steamed buns, now all that was served were salted vegetables, buckwheat buns, sweet potato pancakes, and wild vegetable porridge—devoid of any trace of meat.

The members of the commune grumbled, but complaints wouldn’t change anything. Life had to go on as it always did.

Though Lin Yao’s space supermarket was stocked with rice, flour, and meat, she couldn’t just take it out openly.

Finally, when the sun climbed above the roof and the factory’s dismissal gong sounded, Uncle Mancang was the first to return home. He still remembered his wife’s instructions to buy tiles from Wang Shijiang. Coincidentally, Gu Shi’an was also home, so the father and son decided to go together.

Lin Yao, naturally unable to sit idle at home, fetched water and left it in the courtyard to cool. It would be ready for Aunt Cui Lan and Sister Chunmei to wash their hands and faces when they returned.

However, before Zhang Cuilan and her daughter could return, Dongzi, the little rascal, darted home first.

The mischievous boy immediately caused trouble, grabbing the iron scissors that Zhang Cuilan used for cutting fabric and making shoe soles, and attacking the cactus on the windowsill of the south room. Lin Yao quickly stopped him. “Dongzi, what are you doing?”

The cactus was a gift from Da Tou Brother to Gu Chunmei, and she treasured it dearly. She kept it on the windowsill, watering it every two or three days, and it had grown beautifully.

The cactus had even bloomed, with delicate yellow flowers. The flowering period of cacti was short, lasting only a day or two.

Gu Shidong snorted in frustration. “I’m going to chop down this cactus!”

Lin Yao, puzzled, thought: A cactus isn’t an animal, so how do you chop it?

But that wasn’t the point. The point was she couldn’t let the rascal cause trouble.

Beside the cactus pot, Zhang Cuilan had dried a few strings of chili peppers. Lin Yao grabbed Gu Shidong by his collar, hauled him aside, and pushed open the side room door. Tossing the little troublemaker inside, she told him to stay put. “Behave yourself for a while, and I’ll bring you a snack later.”

Hearing there was food, Gu Shidong finally calmed down.

Munching on a piece of egg cake, the rascal couldn’t hide his joy. “Sister-in-law, this egg cake is so delicious! If I could eat this every day, I’d do anything you ask.”

Lin Yao gave him a sidelong glance. “You’ve got quite the imagination. How about I let you live like Lin Daguo, getting scolded and beaten every day? Would you like that?”

Gu Shidong: “…then forget it.”

He would rather chew on coarse cornbread than end up like Lin Daguo, that bastard.

The little boy continued munching on the sponge cake, crunching away even on the crumbs that had fallen into his hand.

Lin Yao felt a pang of sorrow as she watched. She patted the little one on his head and, in a rare gesture, handed him another piece of cake. Gu Shidong was so overjoyed he was momentarily speechless.

Lin Yao wandered around the room a couple of times, yawned as drowsiness set in, and went back to her room to catch up on sleep.

Since she had already eaten lunch, and there wasn’t much to do at home, she figured a nap wouldn’t hurt.

Around midday, Zhang Cuilan and Gu Chunmei returned one after the other, sweat dripping from their foreheads under the scorching heat. Gu Shi’an and his father also came back, carrying roof tiles.

Gu Mancang set up a ladder by the kitchen door, and Gu Shi’an nimbly climbed up. The Gu family’s kitchen was built by hand using cheap bricks from the factory, mixed with locally dug clay. The roof was supported by wooden beams and covered with red tiles, which made it a decent house for the time.

Even so, the kitchen roof needed repairs every few months. The tiles often shifted, but Gu Shi’an moved across them with ease, as if walking on solid ground. In no time, he had replaced the broken tiles.

Gu Shi’an wore a slightly worn white tank top and casual pants, revealing his strong shoulders and arms, along with faintly visible muscle lines around his waist. There was an undeniable charm in a man focused on his work. For some reason, certain inappropriate images from the previous night flashed through Lin Yao’s mind. Flustered, she turned away and went to help Zhang Cuilan in the courtyard glue matchboxes.

With so many housewives unemployed, so Director Ge found a job for them to paste matchboxes, paying them 10 cents for every 30 they made.

Lin Yao, with her free time at home, managed to make fifty or sixty boxes a day, earning 20 cents a day. Over a month, she could make five or six yuan. It wasn’t much, and she didn’t really need the money, but it was a way to pass the time and earn some pocket money.

Of course, gluing matchboxes wasn’t a long-term solution. Lin Yao had been quietly keeping an eye out for hiring notices at nearby factories. She wanted to land a stable job to support herself.

Relying on Deputy Director Gu to support her? That was out of the question. Depending on oneself was always better, and relying on a man wasn’t even worth considering.

Although Lin Yao didn’t doubt Gu Shi’an’s sincerity toward her, the thought of staying cooped up at home all day, eating, drinking, and sleeping, made her fear losing touch with society and turning into an unkempt housewife.

After fixing the roof, Gu Shi’an was soon covered in a thin layer of sweat from the heat. He went to rinse off with cold water.

After lunch, those who had to work left, and those who could nap did so.

Gu Shi’an had to return to the public security bureau later in the afternoon. The suspect in a robbery case had been caught.

The suspect, Wang Guifa, was a former coal miner. In 1955, a flood caused a cave-in at the mine, killing several people. Wang Guifa narrowly escaped, but he lost a finger in the accident.

Later, the coal mine was relocated to the outskirts of the county. Unable to handle physically demanding work due to his age, Wang Guifa was reassigned to a lighter job at the power plant, where he tended boilers for sixteen yuan a month.

In those days, money had great value. Sixteen yuan was enough for a bachelor like Wang Guifa to live on. However, his gambling addiction was his downfall. After work, he would gamble away everything he had.

When he ran out of money and couldn’t suppress his urge to gamble, he resorted to robbery.

Conveniently, the power plant was near the county cinema, where people with money often gathered.

Wang Guifa would loiter outside the cinema, scouting for targets. Over time, he noticed a female salesperson who carried a leather purse and wore shoes worth more than ten yuan a pair. Her partner was the child of a county official!

Spotting such an easy mark, Wang Guifa’s eyes gleamed with a sinister excitement.

But he didn’t anticipate that the pregnant woman would be so fierce, managing to escape from him.

Failing to rob her, Wang Guifa fled in the pouring rain.

During the day, he continued his job as usual, but at night, he hid in an abandoned coal plant, hoping to lay low until the situation cooled down.

Unfortunately for him, he ran into Gu Shi’an, who not only apprehended him but also uncovered two unsolved cases from before the liberation. This time, Wang Guifa faced multiple charges and a lifetime in prison.

With Wang Guifa’s case nearly wrapped up, Lin Daguo’s latest antics caused another ruckus.

Lin Yao washed her face and hands before heading back to her room to focus on her skincare routine. She applied a thin layer of Snow Cream to her neck and hands, spreading it evenly until her skin emitted a faint fragrance.

Satisfied, she smiled, opened her wardrobe, and began organizing her clothes.

Gu Shi’an, still damp from his shower, walked into the room. He quickly dressed, meticulously buttoning his shirt all the way to the top, transforming back into the stern and composed Deputy Director Gu.

Suddenly, his long, slender hand reached out to gently pat Lin Yao on the head.

“Yao Yao, I’m leaving,” he said, his touch reminiscent of stroking a kitten.

Annoyed, Lin Yao scratched at him. “Hurry up and go already!”

As he left, the man had the audacity to add, “I’m off tomorrow. Let’s go get our marriage certificate then.”