Chapter 84 : Open Fire Yourself

“Alright, we’ve had a good harvest today let’s go.” Yun Siying wasn’t afraid at all. As long as she used her mental power, nighttime was no different from day in her eyes. But she still obediently went down the mountain with Nangong Ruochen.

Nangong Ruochen wanted to say that her harvest today was indeed impressive. If she sold all the dozen or so ginseng roots she dug up, she could easily get at least 10,000 yuan. At a time when most workers only earned 30 or 40 yuan a month, it would take 20 years of hard labor to earn that much money.

If the villagers found out she made that much just from one trip to the mountains, they would definitely be jealous. Some bolder ones might even venture deep into the mountains themselves, who knew what kind of trouble that might lead to?

Back at the Youth Courtyard, Siying used a dustpan to lay out the mushrooms she had picked, letting them dry in the yard. She took out three wild ducks and placed them in a wooden basin, then put 26 wild duck eggs into a bamboo basket, ready to start cooking. This was her first time cooking in her own place. Even though it was just a rented room, it felt like her own home.

“Nangong Ruochen, thank you for looking after me during this time. You don’t have to cook dinner tonight, I’ll treat you,” Yun Siying said generously to Nangong Ruochen, who was still busy drying mushrooms in the yard. She was now, after all, a secretly rich woman, she could afford to host a meal.

“Alright. I’ll call Han Yuecheng and the others over later,” Nangong Ruochen said, though he suddenly felt a strange discomfort. During the autumn harvest, he had grown used to seeing Siying busy in his room after work it had felt almost like he was coming home to a wife.

Seeing Yun Siying getting ready to handle the ducks, he quickly finished spreading out the mushrooms in the basket and walked into her room. “Leave the ducks to me.”

“Okay, I’ll leave them to you then.” The two got to work together.

Guo Dongming and Wang Panpan each carried a basket of mountain goods into the yard. When they saw Nangong Ruochen by the well handling the wild ducks, they asked enviously, “Where did you get the wild ducks?”

“In the mountains,” Nangong Ruochen replied, not even lifting his head as he continued working.

“You’re so lucky! Why didn’t we see a single one? Nangong, can you sell us one?” Guo Dongming wanted to get some nourishment for Wang Panpan, but unfortunately, neither of them had any meat coupons.

Inside the room, Yun Siying heard their conversation. She poked her head out the door and smiled, “Sure! Comrade Guo, go ahead and pick one.”

“Thank you, Comrade Yun! How much should we pay you?” Wang Panpan asked happily. She hadn’t had meat in a long time, the last time was during the autumn harvest when they were given a bit of wild boar meat, but she had only managed two bites.

“Just three yuan!” Yun Siying said. The wild duck weighed around four pounds, and the price was very fair. On the black market, a duck like that would sell for at least three and a half yuan.

“Brother Dongming, go pick the duck. I’ll go grab the money,” Wang Panpan said, afraid Yun Siying might change her mind. She quickly gave her three yuan and added ten pecans as a thank-you.

“Comrade Yun, those mushrooms drying in the yard look so fresh. Did you pick them today?” Wang Panpan.

“Yes. Looks like you had a good day too, your two backpacks were packed full of mountain goods,” Yun Siying said with a smile.

“Yeah, we rely on these few days every year to gather as much food as we can for the winter.” The two chatted for a while before Wang Panpan went back to prepare dinner. Guo Dongming, ever the energetic type, helped out by her side. The atmosphere between them seemed quite warm and harmonious.

Yun Siying watched as Nangong Ruochen chopped the wild duck into small pieces and habitually instructed, “Nangong Ruochen, get some ginger and garlic, I’ll need them later… wash some vegetables too…” Nangong Ruochen wasn’t annoyed in fact the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

With Nangong Ruochen helping, Yun Siying turned one of the wild ducks into a spicy dry pot dish, stewed another duck, and cooked a vegetable dish.

When Han Yuecheng and Chen Banghua came back, they immediately caught the aroma of meat and their eyes lit up. Ever since Yun Siying had arrived, they’d been eating meat more frequently and her cooking tasted even better than food from the state-owned restaurants. After the autumn harvest, while the villagers and other educated youth had all lost weight, the four of them seemed to have gained a few pounds.

When Han Yuecheng saw Nangong Ruochen’s door closed, he felt a twinge of disappointment. But as his gaze shifted toward Yun Siying’s room and spotted the two familiar figures, his mood instantly lifted, and he and Chen Banghua quickly stepped inside.

“Siying, what delicious dish did you make today?” Han Yuecheng asked.

“I made two new dishes today, spicy dry pot wild duck and a clear wild duck soup. Come in and eat!”

“It’s spicy and savory, the meat is tender and smooth absolutely delicious,” Han Yuecheng praised after taking a bite. He quickly finished the food in his mouth and eagerly drank a bowl of wild duck soup. Smacking his lips, he said, “The soup is amazing too.”

The four of them ended up eating way too much, and Han Yuecheng volunteered to wash the dishes and chopsticks.

“Siying, why did you cook by yourself today?” Chen Banghua asked, a bit puzzled. Weren’t they getting along fine before?

“I planned to cook for myself when I first came to the Youth Courtyard. But the stove didn’t work at first, so I had to share with you,” Yun Siying explained.

“I thought maybe we did something wrong. Good to hear that wasn’t the case.” Chen Banghua felt a bit regretful. It had been nice having Siying around, her cooking was really tasty. Nangong’s dishes might be more diverse, but still…

Seeing that neither of the brothers tried to persuade Siying to keep cooking with them, Han Yuecheng grew anxious. He wanted to keep her there but couldn’t find a good excuse to do so. The next few days would be especially busy.

At eight o’clock that evening, Yun Siying packed the remaining food into a basket, covered it with a cloth to block the smell, and quietly left. She soon arrived at the cowshed and knocked again on the broken, creaky door.

The three people inside grew alert when they heard footsteps. Upon hearing the irregular knocking pattern, they had a guess.

“Who is it?”

“Old man, it’s me Yun Siying.”

Old Ming opened the door, grumbling, “Girl, why are you here again?”

Yun Siying quickly stepped inside and smiled. “I came to continue paying respects to my master.”

“Oh? Girl, what did you bring today?” Old Hua perked up, wondering if she’d take back the gift again like last time.

“I didn’t bring any gifts today. It was too much trouble taking them back last time, so I figured I just wouldn’t bring any this time.”

“Then what’s in that basket?” Old Hua gave her a skeptical look that clearly said, ‘Let’s see if I believe that.’

“This is a little something for you two elders and my future master. Don’t worry, you won’t have to return it.”