There were no snacks to bring out for the guests, but fortunately, there was plenty of cool, thirst-quenching mountain spring water.
“Mother, I’ll pour some water for the uncles and aunts to drink.” Lin Shu did not intentionally lower her voice. A man heard this and teased good-naturedly, “Dashan, you’re the one with good fortune. One daughter left, but the Heavens sent back an even better one to make up for it.”
Lin Shu carried several bowls of freshly poured spring water over. She handed one to the man and said, “Uncle, those words aren’t quite right. What do you mean by ‘better’? Sister Yao and I both have our own strengths. No matter which one of us shows filial piety to my parents, they are blessed with good fortune.”
The man took the bowl, scratched his head, and smiled. “That’s right, that’s right. Shu-lass is right.”
“Uncles, you’ve been working for so long; have a sip of spring water first to moisten your throats. Later, I’ll roast some tea leaves and invite you all for tea.” Lin Shu distributed the water, handing the final bowl to Zhou Ye.
He was the one doing most of the work butchering the pig. With a kitchen knife in one hand and both hands covered in blood and grease, Lin Shu knew it wasn’t convenient for him. She held the bowl directly to his lips. Because he was tall, her arms were raised high. “Brother A-Ye, quickly drink some water. Look, you’re sweating.”
Since the bowl was already at his mouth, Zhou Ye couldn’t refuse. He bent down slightly to cooperate with Lin Shu’s movement, took the rim of the bowl in his mouth, and finished the water in a few large gulps.
He glanced at Lin Shu, his lips moving as if he wanted to say thank you, but he couldn’t quite force the word out. Lin Shu’s eyes instantly curved into crescents. “There’s no need for thanks, Brother A-Ye.”
The villagers stole glances at the two of them. Standing together, one was powerful and robust with dark skin, while the other was petite and delicate, as fair as white jade. There was an indescribable sense of contrast between them.
In the past, when Lin Yao and Zhou Ye stood together, they looked like a perfect match, yet it always felt as though something was missing; they walked together more like a pair of siblings. Now that Lin Yao had been replaced by this Lin Shu—good heavens—these two might not look compatible at first glance, but the more one looked, the more one felt… hey, this picture is quite pleasing to the eye!
“A-Ye has good luck!” someone teased.
Others joined in one after another.
Zhou Ye frowned, knowing the villagers had misunderstood. He wanted to explain that he only saw Lin Shu as a sister, but he didn’t know how to start.
Lin Shu, for her part, acted as if she didn’t understand at all. It was fine to have Zhou Ye as a shield; it would prevent those enthusiastic aunts and grandmothers in the village from meddling as matchmakers for her and disturbing her peace.
There was a time during the apocalypse when she had lived through extreme hardship, and people were constantly advising her to find a powerful ability user for protection. They always spoke as if it were for her own good, and Lin Shu had had quite enough of it.
Even if she were to look for a man, it would be someone she liked herself, absolutely not to depend on the other person or to lead an easier life.
“Brother A-Ye, I’ll trouble you to keep working.” Lin Shu smiled at the uncles and left with the empty bowl.
Zhou Ye licked his lips, which had been moistened by the spring water, and buried his head to continue butchering the pig.
Once the internal organs were sorted, the rest was much easier. He split the carcass directly down the middle. One half was kept for the family, and the other half was distributed to the villagers who had come to help.
Of course, it wasn’t given for free. However, while one needed money to buy pork outside, for the pork in their own village, they only needed to trade rice, grain, or coarse flour. Furthermore, Zhou Ye had said yesterday that he wasn’t picky about the items; anything the household was short of could be traded.
The villagers had long ago brought the grain and other items to exchange for the meat.
Some brought oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, and coarse tea.
High Grandpa’s family were bamboo weavers, so Uncle Gao brought bamboo baskets and other woven tools.
The pig raised by the village head’s family was being saved for the New Year, but they were craving a bite now, so they brought refined rice to trade.
There was even someone who directly traded a wooden basin for meat.
Zhou Ye didn’t concern himself with the trading; he left that to Lin Dashan. He went behind the house to wash his hands with spring water, then packed the processed pig heart, lungs, liver, and other offal, along with two racks of ribs, four hooves, and the large bones, into a back basket. He covered them with a thick layer of straw to prevent bruising and then added the live wild rabbit and pheasants he had brought back yesterday. The basket was nearly full.
He cut off a small portion of the remaining half-carcass to leave behind. Since a whole side of pork was easier to sell, he used the back basket as a support and laid the entire remaining side of the wild boar across the top of it.
Zhou Ye didn’t linger; he shouldered the load and prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Lin Shu quickly grabbed the pancakes He Guixiang had packed earlier. She remembered to hide them with her sleeve as she ran to catch up, reminding him in a low voice, “Brother A-Ye, you forgot your rations.”
Zhou Ye paused his steps, looked back at her, took the pancakes from her hand, and tucked them into his shirt.
Seeing that she wasn’t leaving, he asked, “Do you have something else to say?”
Lin Shu said with a look of regret, “I originally wanted to go to town with you to have a look, but my pace is slow, and I’m afraid of delaying your business. Next time, if you aren’t busy, Brother A-Ye, can I go to town with you?”
Zhou Ye gave an indistinct grunt of agreement, but in his heart, he thought: You clearly said last night that you had things to do.
“I woke up late today and couldn’t make food for you. When you get back from town, I’ll make something delicious for you.”
Zhou Ye was silent for a moment, then took the initiative to ask, “Is there anything you want to buy?”
Lin Shu shook her head, then said with a beaming smile, “Next time I go to town with you, if I see something I like, will you buy it for me?”
Zhou Ye said, “If it’s not expensive, I can.”
The smile on Lin Shu’s face immediately faltered.
Big brother, you really are rational. It’s strangely reassuring.
Zhou Ye didn’t delay any longer and strode away. The basket full of items plus half a large wild boar looked heavy, but his back didn’t bend in the slightest, and he was soon far off.
Lin Shu stared at his back for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the muscles that bulged with the swinging of his arms.
His physique hit all her aesthetic preferences; his features were rugged and resolute, and his character stood up to scrutiny. If she wanted to fall in love, someone like Zhou Ye would perfectly fit the requirements.
It was just that this man already had the female lead in his heart; she was likely a “White Moonlight” existence to him.
No matter how good a current partner is, they can’t beat the charm of a “White Moonlight.” When she fell in love, it had to be to make herself happy; she couldn’t stand even a bit of grievance. On this most important point, Zhou Ye unfortunately didn’t fit.
As long as Zhou Ye didn’t have those feelings for the female lead, since the Tianshui villagers all assumed she would marry him in the future, she could have let nature take its course and had a relationship.
Thinking back to her previous life, she had been so busy killing zombies and getting food that she had no time for anything else. She had remained single from birth until the day she died, which was not without a tiny bit of regret.
Survival was difficult in the apocalypse; order had collapsed, and human ethics and morality had decayed. People practiced hedonism: women would immediately attach themselves to another man after a boyfriend died; sisters would openly be with their brothers-in-law after an elder sister died; men would have a group of women around them in a harem. If they had just survived a terrifying zombie siege, there were men who would grab a woman and dive into a small grove, and even more reckless ones who would do it right there in the car…
Lin Shu loathed those dark years when order had collapsed, but she didn’t loathe the idea of a relationship. She had seen lovers who depended on each other in life and death die together in a zombie tide, and couples where one awakened an ability and the other didn’t, yet they could still accompany each other always.
In her previous life, a rival had tried to pull her into the mire and kept talking about the benefits of having a man, saying a lot of crude things. Lin Shu had actually listened to some of it and was somewhat curious about the affairs between men and women.
Pulling back her thoughts, Lin Shu returned to the courtyard. Her father was still there, joyfully distributing the pork.
On the market, the price of wild boar was more expensive than domestic pig, but Lin Dashan distributed it according to the price of domestic pig. Usually, a single cut would result in an extra two or three ounces; Lin Dashan wouldn’t count those. All the villagers who came today had helped, so the extra few ounces were given for free. This was the main reason why villagers liked to trade for pork within the village. If they went to town to buy meat, every ounce and gram was calculated clearly, and there were no savings to be had.
Once the pork was distributed, a little was left, which they kept for themselves.
“Mother, we’ll eat whatever for breakfast. Save the pork for dinner to eat with A-Ye,” Lin Dashan said to He Guixiang.
He Guixiang agreed and went to make breakfast.
The villagers who had helped in the courtyard also left one by one with happy expressions. Especially the two women who helped process the intestines and other offal; they had come empty-handed but took back a good amount of pig intestines. Although the stuff was smelly, it was still fatty, and moreover, it was a windfall!
When everyone had left, Lin Dashan looked toward Lin Dashui, who was hesitating and hadn’t left yet. He asked knowingly, “Third Brother isn’t trading for pork, so why haven’t you left after all this time? Do you want me to keep you for breakfast?”
Lin Dashui kept his head down and didn’t speak.
“Follow me inside,” Lin Dashan snorted and invited him into the inner room.
Fifteen minutes later, when the brothers came out again, both of their eyes were red. Lin Dashui’s eyes were still wet.
Lin Xiaopu whispered into Lin Shu’s ear, “Sister, I saw Third Uncle wiping away tears.”
Lin Shu made a gesture to her. “Shh, adults need to save face. Don’t say it out loud.”
Lin Xiaopu stuck her tongue out, then asked mysteriously, “Sister, do you like Brother A-Ye?”
“Cough, cough-cough!!” Lin Shu was choked by her own saliva.
Exactly what part of her made Xiaopu think she liked Zhou Ye?
Lin Xiaopu said in a quiet voice, “The way Sister looks at Brother A-Ye is almost the same as the way I look at pork.”
Lin Shu burst out laughing. “Pfft! So in your eyes, Brother A-Ye is just a piece of pork? If I were to eat a living person, wouldn’t I be a demoness?”
Lin Xiaopu pouted. “Although I didn’t say it accurately, it’s just very similar. When Sister speaks to Brother A-Ye, your smile is especially beautiful, and sometimes you secretly look at his exposed arms.”
Lin Shu was defiant. “Is my smile not beautiful when I talk to you, or to Father and Mother?”
Lin Xiaopu shook her head. “It’s also beautiful, but it’s not quite the same.”
“And what if I look at his arms? I just think his arms are solid and powerful, and I’m looking at them with an appreciative eye.”
In the apocalypse, everyone liked those with muscle, regardless of gender. She was naturally no exception.
Lin Xiaopu questioned, “Father’s arms are also solid. Why don’t I see you looking at his?”
Lin Shu: …
She finally understood why Zhou Ye had hidden his secret so well, yet Xiaopu had been able to discover it.
With such a little clever-clogs around, what could possibly be hidden from her?
Lin Shu was about to explain that she just liked Zhou Ye’s “type” and didn’t actually like him—and that smiling at him was only because she had a little scheme in mind, counting on him to do work for her. They had only known each other for a few days; how could one talk about like or dislike? It wasn’t as if it were love at first sight.
However, Lin Xiaopu suddenly said with a giggle again, “I also discovered that Brother A-Ye likes you, too.”
Lin Shu looked completely bewildered.
Huh? What?
Who does Zhou Ye like? Who likes her?