Chapter 29

Lin Yao was tossed around by someone until the middle of the night. She only managed to fall asleep around two or three in the morning.

After such a commotion the previous night, Lin Yao couldn’t get up the next day.

At 5:30 in the morning, Gu Shi’an got up as usual to go for a run. He had developed the habit during his years in the army, and every day he would run two laps around the alley, each lap two kilometers, a total of four kilometers. He would finish running without even breaking a sweat, and still have the strength to carry a tin water bucket back.

Lin Yao was too exhausted to move, so she stayed in bed, holding the quilt and catching up on sleep.

— Anyway, she always stays in bed, and everyone in the family was used to it.

Gu Shi’an knew she was exhausted, so after his morning run, he simply took a quick shower while Gu Shidong went to the canteen to get breakfast.

The canteen food had been getting worse day by day. Yesterday they had dry rice, and this morning it was old salted vegetables with a thin, watery porridge.

Gu Shidong, irritated, jumped up and down, “Mom, look at this meal! After drinking a belly full, it’s gone, and we’re still hungry! How are we supposed to work like this?”

Gu Chunmei slapped her younger brother, “You little rascal, keep quiet if you don’t know how to speak properly.”

Gu Shidong covered his head and ran off, muttering, “My sister is a tigress.”

Zhang Cuilan looked at the dark, bitter vegetable porridge. Having grown up in hardship, she remembered how the poorest families in the village used to drink wild vegetable soup to fill their stomachs.

Gu Mancang sighed and pulled out a yuan and a few ration tickets from his pocket. “Food is important. We can’t skip breakfast. The state-run restaurant on the street serves small wontons. Dongzi, go buy a few portions of wontons.”

Gu Shidong’s eyes lit up. Hey, wontons! The wontons from the state-run restaurant have thick fillings and thin skins. The thin skin wraps around the fragrant filling. He can easily finish a large bowl of them!

Zhang Cuilan scowled. “What kind of crap wontons are you eating? We still have half a bag of cornmeal at home. Chunmei can make a pot of corn porridge, and we can have it with a slice of homemade pickled cucumber. That will be breakfast.”

Gu Chunmei made a sound of agreement, rolled up her sleeves, and got to work. She quickly started the fire, accustomed to cooking. In October, it was cold in the county, and they had just begun burning honeycomb coal, which they would use for half a year. The rest of the time, they mostly burned small wood chips from the lumber yard.

Zhang Cuilan then pulled Gu Mancang into the house. The old couple had both gone hungry before, and they never wanted to experience that feeling again. With the situation not being great, they decided to go outside to buy some rice, flour, and coarse grains to stockpile at home.

Gu Mancang might be simple-minded, but he thought things through carefully. After pondering for a while, he decided that hiding the grain in the courtyard wasn’t safe. Instead, they should store it in the old family cellar.

White smoke rose from the chimney in the Gu family’s kitchen, and Lin Yao finally opened her eyes. The basket of jasmine flowers she bought yesterday was half dried for tea and half kept in a shallow vase, filling the quiet east wing with the fragrance of jasmine.

She struggled to get out of bed, her back and legs aching. She lifted her nightgown to check, and her soft, fair skin was marked with several red marks from someone’s large hands.

“That bastard!” she muttered angrily. “He should be more gentle!”

Fuming, she slapped Gu Shi’an’s pillow, planning to teach him a lesson.

So when Deputy Director Gu came to wake Lin Yao for breakfast, the girl purposely stayed tucked in the covers, refusing to get up.

Gu Shi’an thought she was just too tired to wake up and planned to gently wake her. But as he approached, he noticed her little white feet moving under the covers. He smiled and said nothing.

Lin Yao kept her eyes closed, waiting for him to come closer. After a long wait, she peeped from beneath her lashes and saw him sitting at the table reading a book. As if nothing had happened, he raised an eyebrow and asked, “You’re awake?”

Lin Yao’s face flushed red with anger. “Bastard, take this!” she shouted, and lunged at him.

But with her tiny arms and legs, she was easily pinned in his embrace and unable to move.

And she still had the nerve to say she would teach him a lesson.

Gu Shi’an chuckled, his voice deep and pleasant. “Yao Yao, do you want to teach me a lesson?”

Lin Yao glared at him with her watery, almond-shaped eyes. “Yes!”

“Stop always bullying me!”

She struggled a few more times, but her strength was no match for him, and she couldn’t break free. But she was determined to maintain her pride.

Gu Shi’an’s smile grew even deeper as he gently coaxed, “Yao Yao, I have a good way for you to teach me a lesson.”

Lin Yao blinked, naive. “What way?”

Gu Shi’an whispered a few words, and Lin Yao blushed with embarrassment. Before she could spit out a protest, her soft lips were captured by his.

“………”

*

Outside, the scorching sun beat down with not a single cloud in the sky, and the people on the street were sweating profusely.

Gu Shidong chewed on an ice pop bought by his older brother, squatting in the courtyard, studying how bamboo grows.

Lin Yao, frustrated after failing to get her revenge, spent half the day hiding inside. She didn’t come out until Gu Shi’an brought her breakfast—fried dumplings, her favorite. After some resistance, she finally forgave him.

Although she forgave him, when she went outside to wash up, Gu Shidong, the little brat, came bouncing over, staring at her mouth and asking, “Sister-in-law, why is your mouth so red? Did a mosquito bite you last night?”

Lin Yao choked and, without a word, pinched Gu Shi’an’s waist, then casually withdrew her hand.

She felt a little guilty but nodded awkwardly.

Gu Shidong sighed, “That’s the bad thing about summer, there are too many mosquitoes.”

The little brat wanted to continue the discussion, but Gu Shi’an dragged him off to fetch water.

“Brother, I was talking to sister-in-law. Why are you pulling me?”

“The barrel is empty.”

“Who said that? There’s still half a barrel left!”

“You’re mistaken.”

“I’m not!”

“You are!”

The two brothers argued back and forth, and in the end, Gu Shidong was left confused. “Could it be that I’m seeing things?”

Lin Yao, watching the little brat’s confused expression, lazily walked inside to eat her fried dumplings.

She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet—or was it now more like brunch since it was already past 10 AM?

The fried dumplings in Yunshui County were delicious, golden and crispy. They didn’t break open, and Lin Yao devoured them, savoring every bite.

When Gu Shidong came back after fetching water, he lectured her like an old man. “Sister-in-law, you slept in so late, you missed what they served in the commune canteen! Guess what? Cornbread? No, buckwheat pancakes. If it had been that, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But no, they served wild vegetable porridge! It’s awful, I could barely swallow a bite!”

Lin Yao hadn’t expected that the commune’s canteen had consumed so much grain in just a few days.

It made sense when she thought about it—the commune had over a hundred people, and with three meals a day, that was a lot of food to consume. They no longer had government food subsidies like before.

The government didn’t have grain either.

Lin Yao asked what they were having for breakfast at home.

Gu Shidong rested his chin in his hand, looking lethargic as he replied, “Just corn porridge, what else could we have to eat?”

Hearing this, Lin Yao’s mood sank. She looked at the fried dumplings in her lunchbox and couldn’t bring herself to eat them.

“Dongzi, are you hungry?” she asked.

Gu Shidong rubbed his stomach. He was indeed hungry. He loved running around, and hadn’t had enough to eat in the morning.

Lin Yao decided to give him the fried dumplings from her lunchbox.

Gu Shidong’s eyes brightened, but he shook his head. “Sister-in-law, you eat them. I’ll just have the corn porridge.”

Ah, this boy was so thoughtful, Lin Yao felt almost moved to tears.

In the end, the dumplings in the lunchbox went to the little one.

Suddenly, Lin Yao remembered that she had to go register for their marriage in the afternoon. She couldn’t eat too much, or her stomach would stick out and it wouldn’t look good.

Besides, she hadn’t taken a bath yet. Getting married was a once-in-a-lifetime event, and she wanted to look her best.

She quickly called Gu Shi’an to heat some water for her while she lazily lay on the wooden bed, avoiding work.

She had eaten enough, and now felt drowsy. She decided to rest a little before taking a bath.

Gu Shidong was used to his sister-in-law being so delicate and lazy. He finished the dumplings in the lunchbox, washed it in the kitchen, and happily went to help his older brother heat the water.

So, his sister-in-law was registering her marriage with his older brother today. How nice!

The two brothers were busy, and within half an hour, Lin Yao had finished her bath. She took her time, and it wasn’t until Zhang Cuilan came back from work that she finished.

Zhang Cuilan, after hearing from her older son about the marriage registration, was overjoyed. When she saw Lin Yao’s face, which was flushed red from the steam of the bath, she pulled her hand and smiled broadly, “Yao Yao, getting married is a big deal for a girl. You must dress beautifully. The daughter of the Wu family from the county wore a suit to register her marriage, and she looked so stylish. That red dress of yours is the best choice, it’s vibrant and looks great on you.”

Lin Yao smiled brightly and nodded, cleverly calling out, “I know, Mom.”

Ah, that “Mom” sounded so sweet, it made Zhang Cuilan smile all evening.

Wu Dahu, in the old society, had been the richest person in Yunshui County. The county’s pawnshops, restaurants, rice shops, and fabric shops were all his property. After the liberation, Wu Dahu donated all his assets to the country.

The government, in return, took care of him by giving him two stores, and now, under a joint public-private venture, he received dividends every year. He was living quite comfortably.

Last year, his only daughter registered her marriage in a fashionable dress, causing quite a stir in the county.

Lin Yao followed local customs. She braided her hair into two twists and wore a red dress that accentuated her slim waist and pale, flawless skin. Her eyes sparkled, and she was so beautiful it seemed unreal.

Gu Shi’an usually wore military or police uniforms, but today he wore a white shirt and black pants, which made him look tall and handsome, the kind of appearance that would make anyone’s eyes linger on him.

Aunt Dafu heard that the couple was going to register their marriage, so she came over to congratulate them.

Zhang Cuilan and Gu Mancang happily watched their son and daughter-in-law leave.

The couple rode their bicycles to the county’s people’s commune office to register their marriage. At the same time, Lin Hongna was at home, lost in a sweet dream.