Chapter 52

In the following half month, Lin Yao endured the bumpy ride to work, clinging tightly to Gu Shi’an’s waist without letting go.

Gu Shi’an’s schemes succeeded, making him feel elated and almost divine in solving cases.

In mid-November, on a chilly autumn morning, the wind blew cold and soon turned into rain, pattering on the flowers and trees in the courtyard and leaving a blanket of yellow leaves on the ground. The courtyard was filled with a strong autumn atmosphere.

At the alley’s entrance, a row of tall ginkgo trees shed their leaves, covering the ground with a thin layer.

Lin Yao picked a few beautiful leaves and placed them in Gu Shi’an’s military book as bookmarks.

After the rain in the morning, Lin Yao lay in bed, enjoying the sound of the rain under her little blanket, reluctant to get up. The communal canteen’s meals had been nearly inedible lately.

In the Gu family, with four working and one in school, they needed substantial meals to have the energy for work.

Zhang Cuilan decided that in the morning, they would cook at home, eat at the factory canteen for lunch, and have leftovers from the canteen for dinner. That way, they’d have three meals a day covered.

Yet, there was still some dissatisfaction in the family.

Last night, the communal canteen served steamed bean dregs and sweet potato flour cakes. They called them “vegetable cakes,” but they were actually radish greens mixed with sweet potato flour and bean dregs, resulting in hard, bitter, and astringent cakes.

Dongzi, the little rascal, took a bite and refused to eat any more.

Gu Cuilan glared and waved her hand, forcing the boy to eat the cakes with a grim expression.

In reality, it wasn’t just Dongzi who disliked them. Bean dregs cakes were hard to swallow.

Everyone had to eat what they had, as having food at all was considered fortunate.

In the northern provinces severely affected by the disaster, people had to resort to eating things like sweet potato leaves, and even that was boiled. Director Ge emphasized at a meeting that under the dire circumstances, there was a high possibility that refugees from other provinces would come seeking asylum. The number of refugees could range from several thousand to tens of thousands. Once the floodgates opened, the situation could become very unpredictable.

If refugees did come to Yunshui County, the county’s police and armed forces would likely be overwhelmed.

The collective anxiety among the villagers was palpable. Just a few years after the founding of the country, people were facing the prospect of hunger again. Educated intellectuals cited the Soviet Union as a cautionary tale, lamenting, “We must not follow in the footsteps of the Soviet Union.”

When asked if they had any good solutions, these intellectuals offered nothing but highfalutin rhetoric, leaving listeners confused. Many decided it was better not to dwell on it and to just continue with their daily lives as best as they could.

After all, the situation had not yet reached that extent.

The Gu family’s grain storage was full to the brim. As the old saying goes, “A handful of surplus grains means a calm heart.”

Zhang Cuilan had cooked a pot of millet porridge in the morning, cracked two eggs into the bowl, and made a dish of chive and egg stir-fry. The chives were homegrown, always fresh, and continuously produced.

The Gu family genuinely had enough eggs. While eggs were hard to come by outside, Lin Yao ensured they had a supply. Every month, she “asked” Zhou Xiaoxue to buy a basket of eggs from the supply and marketing cooperative in the southern part of the city. A basket contained only fifteen or sixteen eggs, which was too few for their large family. They could only afford to cook a dish of eggs every few days, closing all the doors and windows tightly to ensure they could eat in peace and get enough nutrition.

Lin Yao, still sleepy, was pulled from the bed by Gu Shi’an. She snuggled into his broad embrace, reluctant to move. Gu Shi’an simply lifted her up and walked around the room a few times.

Still groggy, Lin Yao woke up when the cold, damp air from the window hit her.

“What are you spinning around for so early in the morning? What if Mom comes in?”

Realizing what was happening, Lin Yao kicked her legs and tried to get down.

Gu Shi’an smiled, bending down to kiss her gently. “Yao Yao isn’t sleepy anymore?”

“Not sleepy at all.”

Lin Yao quickly crawled back into bed, wrapping herself up in the blanket like a silkworm, worried that Gu Shi’an might act up and start running around the yard with her on his back. If that happened, she’d never want to leave the house again.

She pushed Gu Shi’an out the door, changed into her work clothes quickly, and went outside to wash her face, brush her teeth, and apply her snow cream before heading out to breakfast.

After the family finished breakfast, it had been raining lightly all morning. By the time they left, the rain had intensified.

Lin Yao, wearing rain boots and holding an umbrella, waited for Gu Shi’an to bring his bicycle to take her to work.

There were puddles at the entrance of the courtyard, and Lin Yao was reluctant to step into them. Gu Shi’an still needed to come and pick her up.

Liu Laidi, seeing this scene while taking out the spit bucket, spat on the ground in disgust. “That little fox, always flaunting herself. All she does is seduce men. Why didn’t that packet of croton powder end up in the Gu family’s water tank? If it had, maybe the fox would have a week of stomach troubles. Let’s see how she flaunts herself then!”

Since Liu Laidi lost her job, Zheng Dacheng had been absent from home frequently. When he was around, he would get irritable and start arguing, making their two children prefer school over staying at home.

Liu Laidi wanted to escape but had no place to go. She tried to stay with her elder sister, but her sister said it was inconvenient due to family matters. She then tried to stay with her younger sister, but her younger sister demanded rent.

Liu Laidi was furious, cursing her younger sister for being ungrateful. Her younger sister, however, retorted, “Sister, I don’t like what you’re saying. I may not have married as well as you did, and my husband isn’t as capable as my Brother-in-law, but our factory workers are quite honorable. When you were enjoying the good life, you didn’t think of your younger sister. Our house is only about ten square meters, and there’s barely room to sleep. We’ve made a bunk bed with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law on the lower bunk, and my husband and I on the upper bunk. It’s so cramped that turning around is difficult. If you came to stay with us, you’d have to make do with wooden planks as a bed. And as for food and drink, it’s not free. I don’t have any money left. If you don’t give me any, you’ll have to go without!”

Liu Laidi was left speechless by her younger sister’s rebuttal.

She wished she could go back to the days when money was easily accessible. Though it was only cash notes, it was still money.

Now, her pockets were emptier than her face, with Zheng Dacheng hiding all the household money, and Liu Laidi’s private stash already spent.

Liu Laidi had no choice but to return home, washing Zheng Dacheng’s dirty socks and underwear, getting up early and staying up late to handle the chamber pot. She wondered when this wretched life would end.

In December 1958, a nationwide sensation occurred when the Soviet Union suddenly severed ties with the country. Not only did they withdraw their aid scientists, but they also took away confidential documents.

The Soviet and Chinese armies were stationed along the border, tens of thousands of troops were on high alert, and a major war could break out at any moment.

To address the complex international situation and counter the US and Soviet threats, the central government called for a nationwide mobilization. Factories across the country responded by forming their own militia units. These units were not only equipped with rifles but also had anti-aircraft guns and mortars stored in warehouses of some county offices, large factory hospitals, and important facilities.

Even the county elementary school formed a children’s brigade. Dongzi carried a red wooden toy gun every day, braving the wind and rain, looking just like a little soldier.

When Lin Yao first heard about this, she was genuinely shocked.

According to the historical developments of her previous life, it wasn’t until 1960 that the country officially fell out with the Soviet Union, and in May 1964, in response to the “Prepare for War, Prepare for Famine, and Serve the People” strategy, the central government called for military preparedness and nationwide mobilization.

Everything has happened five or six years earlier than in the previous life, but at least there are previous events to lay the groundwork.

After the initial shock, Lin Yao quickly came to terms with it.

If she could transmigrate into a book, what else was impossible?

In the afternoon, after school, Gu Shidong ran home, rummaging through boxes and cabinets to find a small box. He was clamoring to sew a cover for his precious wooden toy gun.

Just then, Gu Chunmei happened to visit her family. Hearing her younger brother’s request, she laughed and said bluntly, “Oh, come on. With those clumsy hands of yours, how can you possibly sew? Let me do it.”

Gu Shidong widened his eyes, grinning as he leaned in, “Sister, why have you suddenly become so virtuous?”

Gu Chunmei took out some needles, threads, and scraps of fabric from a basket, set them on the table, and sat down on a nearby chair. “The basket doesn’t have any red fabric. Go ask Mom for a piece.”

“Okay, got it.”

The scraps of fabric in Zhang Cuilan’s hands were considered treasures. There was no way she’d give them to the youngest son to mess around with.

In the end, Lin Yao dug out a piece of red cloth from her bundle, and only then did Gu Shidong’s face light up with joy.

Gu Chunmei was sewing by the window, and Lin Yao brought a chair over to watch.

The two sisters chatted while Gu Chunmei hadn’t been home for several days.

Today, since there wasn’t much to do at the supply and marketing cooperative, she took the opportunity to visit her family.

On her way home from work, Lin Yao bought some sugar-coated chestnuts. The chestnuts from Yunshui County were different from others. They were as big as a fist, round and plump, coated in sugar frosting. They were filled with osmanthus honey, rock candy peanuts, and white sesame seeds, and had been rolled in oil until golden. Biting into them, they were both fragrant and sweet.

Gu Chunmei ate several pieces in a row, smacking her lips at the sweetness.

“Yao Yao, you really don’t mind spending money. A pound of these chestnuts costs eighty cents. I can’t bear to spend money on them.”

Lin Yao bit into a chestnut and said, “Isn’t earning money from work meant for spending? Why save it? With your monthly salary and Da Tou Brother’s earnings, you’re so frugal. Are you saving up for raising children in the future?”

Gu Chunmei’s ears turned red.

Lin Yao had guessed correctly. Gu Chunmei and Da Tou Brother were indeed trying to have children. The wooden bed in their room shook until midnight every night. Not to mention, they weren’t young anymore. The next-door Aunt Hu had given birth to Hutou when she was twenty and was now in her early thirties, already a mother of three.

Since Gu Chunmei got married, her female colleagues at the supply and marketing cooperative kept asking when she would have a baby.

Father Xu and Mother Xu were also looking forward to having a grandchild, so Gu Chunmei inevitably felt some pressure.

Lin Yao comforted her, “What’s there to be anxious about? Having a child depends on fate. You’ve only been married for a month, there’s no need to rush.”

Gu Chunmei nudged her with her elbow, looking curious, “Hey, aren’t you and my brother in a hurry?”

Lin Yao put on an innocent face, “Nope.”

Gu Chunmei pondered for a moment, “True, at his age, rushing won’t help.”

Deputy Director Gu, who just walked in: “…”

While Lin Yao wasn’t in a hurry to have children, Lin Hongna was going crazy trying to conceive.