A vegetative person lying in bed for a long time without movement will gradually experience atrophy in their limbs, and various bodily functions will decline, eventually losing their capabilities.
Although she knew Shao Yan Shu would eventually wake up, she didn’t know when that would happen. If he lay in bed for three to five years before waking, his body would be far from what it once was. How could he continue his research and contribute to our country?
Zhu Xin couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache. In the Sixties Era, scientific research experts like Shao Yan Shu, who dedicated themselves to our country, sacrificed and shed blood to develop various advanced weapons, strengthening our nation and gradually helping it stand firm internationally, ensuring our country would no longer be bullied.
As a child born in an era of peace, witnessing the prosperity and strength of the motherland and enjoying the peace and tranquility earned by the sacrifices of previous generations, Zhu Xin felt a sense of responsibility and mission.
She would take good care of Shao Yan Shu, doing everything possible to help him regain consciousness as soon as possible, sparing him further suffering and allowing him to return to his scientific research endeavors sooner.
She picked up the hot towel from the basin, wrung it out, and carefully wiped Shao Yan Shu’s upper body twice. After changing him into a clean, soft pajama top, she removed his pants and began wiping his lower body.
After wiping his legs, it was time to clean a certain area.
Zhu Xin stared at the spot covered by his underwear, hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to proceed. She was a caregiver, and her job was to look after her employer. Yan Man Ru had specifically instructed her to keep Shao Yan Shu clean. If she cleaned everywhere else but neglected this spot, what if it became foul or unsanitary one day? Yan Man Ru would surely scold her, fire her, and she’d lose her job.
After all, Shao Yan Shu was currently a vegetative person, and she wasn’t a shy woman of this era who would blush at the mere touch of a hand. She was simply doing her within-duty work—nothing to make a fuss about.
Zhu Xin comforted herself inwardly. After a moment’s thought, she said to the unconscious Shao Yan Shu, “Mr. Shao, I’m going to wipe you down now. Please don’t blame me. Yan Yi instructed me to keep you clean, and I can’t neglect my duties.”
Wringing out the towel again, Zhu Xin closed her eyes, removed his underwear, and slowly brought the towel over…
Once finished, she dressed Shao Yan Shu in clean pants, covered him with a quilt, picked up the basin, and left without looking back.
It was her first time doing such a thing for a strange man, and Zhu Xin couldn’t help but blush, her heart racing with embarrassment.
That night, she slept in the small room next to Shao Yan Shu’s, enjoying the warm heating in the room and the soft quilt, sleeping particularly soundly.
Early the next morning, without a phone or alarm clock to remind her, Zhu Xin woke up promptly at six o’clock.
It wasn’t because her biological clock was accurate, but as soon as dawn broke, she heard the crowing of roosters nearby, mingled with the cries of Shao Wan Li, the infant in the house. She wondered who in the Machinery Factory Cadre Compound was keeping chickens.
After washing up, Zhu Xin went downstairs, yawning. Wang Xin Feng emerged from the bathroom and, upon seeing her, said in a light tone, “I love pasta, especially dumplings and buns. Today, I want pork buns. Make two for me, and remember to use scallion filling with plenty of sesame oil.”
That commanding tone made it seem as if she were the mistress of the Shao Family, expecting Zhu Xin to cook whatever she desired.
Zhu Xin couldn’t help but find it amusing. Last night, when Wang Xin Feng had handed her a cotton-padded jacket and informed her of the Shao Family’s tastes, she had thought Wang Xin Feng had changed her ways—that she wasn’t deliberately targeting her but simply looked down on her.
Now, it seemed this Wang Xin Feng was taking herself far too seriously, seizing the opportunity while the employers were away to throw her weight around in the Shao Family.
Zhu Xin couldn’t be bothered to engage with her. She went downstairs to the kitchen, took out the ingredients from the refrigerator, and pondered what to cook.
There wasn’t much in the refrigerator: a few wilted potatoes, a head of Chinese cabbage, several green peppers, two round-headed preserved mustard tubers, and then some fish and meat.
Zhu Xin knew that in this era, transportation was underdeveloped, logistics were nonexistent, and there was no nationwide policy to vigorously support the opening of vegetable markets. Ordinary people could only eat locally grown vegetables.
It was now winter, and in the cold northern regions, even if local departments went to great lengths to grow vegetables in heated greenhouses, the quantity of fresh produce was scarce—far from enough to supply an entire area.
Typically, fresh vegetables were prioritized for the canteens of state cadres and factory units. The remaining vegetables were then transported to local Supply and Marketing Cooperatives or Non-Staple Food Stores for limited supply. If ordinary people wanted fresh vegetables, they had to wake up early and rush to buy them.
The Shao Family still had vegetables stored in the refrigerator, likely supplied fresh daily by the Machinery Factory’s logistics department, though it was unclear when they were delivered to the Shao Family.
Since Yan Man Ru was from Shanghai City, her tastes naturally took priority. Wang Xin Feng had mentioned yesterday that Yan Man Ru didn’t care for wheat-based foods and preferred Shanghai cuisine, though Zhu Xin wasn’t sure if that was true.
In these times, everyone struggled to get enough to eat. Even though Yan Man Ru had always lived comfortably, in an era of scarcity, refined grains like wheat flour and rice were rare treats for ordinary households. It was unlikely Yan Man Ru had eaten so much of them to develop a picky aversion to wheat-based foods.
Zhu Xin decided to prepare two different types of breakfast to see what Yan Man Ru’s tastes truly were.
She scooped out a large bowl of flour from the flour sack, rolled up her sleeves at the kitchen’s marble countertop, and began kneading the dough, planning to make pan-fried buns and plain noodles in soup.
These two dishes were typical breakfast options in Shanghai—light yet delicious—and should suit Yan Man Ru’s palate.
To be safe, after kneading the dough, Zhu Xin set it aside to ferment and rest. First, she used a pot to simmer a porridge of minced vegetables and meat, steaming a small portion of rice in a steamer above it. She took out some dried shrimp from the refrigerator and a small preserved mustard tuber, shredded the tuber, and dressed it with salt, Soy Sauce, and sesame oil for a cold side dish, placing it on a small plate.
This way, there was rice and porridge—not only for Yan Man Ru but also for Shao Yanshu and his son.
Next, she took the meat from the refrigerator, minced it into filling, and mixed in some ginger, scallion, and garlic for flavor. Once the dough had fermented, she divided it into two portions. One smaller portion was shaped into small buns, placed in a pan with oil and water, and pan-fried until golden and crispy. The other portion was stretched into thin noodles, which she cooked into two bowls of plain noodles in soup.
Why two bowls instead of three? Because Wang Xin Feng had said she wanted buns, so she presumably wouldn’t eat noodles.
After preparing the main dishes, Zhu Xin pan-fried a Spanish mackerel, paired it with a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup, and a small dish of shredded ginger and vinegar as a condiment. With that, breakfast was ready.
After setting all the dishes on the table, she thought about brewing a pot of hot tea for Yan Man Ru. If Yan Man Ru didn’t eat noodles later but had rice instead, she would pour tea over it—this was the Shanghai-style way of eating tea-soaked rice.
Zhu Xin searched around the kitchen but couldn’t find any tea leaves. She then checked the refrigerator and the living room, but still found none. She wanted to ask Wang Xin Feng where the tea was stored, because judging by Yan Man Ru’s refined appearance and elegant demeanor, the family must surely keep tea leaves on hand for her to drink.
But when she went upstairs and politely asked Wang Xin Feng where the tea was kept, Wang Xin Feng simply said she didn’t know and slammed the door shut with a bang.
Left with no other choice, Zhu Xin went back downstairs and knocked on the door of the master bedroom on the first floor, where Yan Man Ru was staying, to inform her that breakfast was ready.
After changing Shao Wan Li’s clothes and carrying him downstairs, Wang Xin Feng couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the sight of the dining table laden with a full spread of dishes. Right in front of Yan Man Ru, who had just stepped out of her room, she remarked sarcastically, “Well, look at all this food—such extravagance and waste. Anyone who didn’t know better would think our Shao Family is incredibly wealthy, with endless money and so much grain we can’t finish it, making a full imperial banquet just for breakfast.”
Wang Xin Feng had disliked Zhu Xin from the moment she entered the household, convinced that someone so beautiful and young, coming to work as a maid for the Shao Family, must have ulterior motives—just like the other young women who had previously worked as maids for the family.
She looked down on Zhu Xin from the bottom of her heart, thinking that an eighteen-year-old girl from a poor rural area in the Southwest couldn’t possibly have much experience or have tasted many delicious dishes, so how could she cook anything worthwhile?
And Yan Man Ru was just as troublesome—while others struggled to have enough to eat and wear, she insisted on being particular about cuisine styles and flavors.
In the past, maids who didn’t cook to her taste or whose dishes weren’t clean enough would be scolded a few times. If they didn’t improve or refused to change, Yan Man Ru would dismiss them without a second thought, showing no leniency.
For instance, the previous cook, Xiao Tang, was fired because she ignored Yan Man Ru’s advice and kept making their Northeastern-style stewed dishes, even using pickled cabbage that had grown mold. Yan Man Ru told her to throw it away, but she insisted on eating it anyway, which led to two days of diarrhea. With no energy left to care for Shao Yan Shu, he went hungry for two days, prompting Yan Man Ru to dismiss Xiao Tang without hesitation.
As for Wang Xin Feng herself, if it weren’t for the fact that Shao Wan Li’s mother had hired her to care for him since his birth, given her own many flaws, she would likely have been fired by Yan Man Ru long ago.
When Zhu Xin came upstairs to ask where the tea was, even if Wang Xin Feng knew, she wouldn’t tell her. She was hoping Zhu Xin would be criticized and embarrassed by Yan Man Ru, and get dismissed sooner rather than later. That way, she could bring her younger sister over to work as the maid.
Wang Xin Feng’s younger sister had just turned eighteen this year and was as pretty as a flower. She had always wanted her sister to work as a maid for the Shao Family, but when she brought her to meet Yan Man Ru, Yan Man Ru merely glanced at her and told Wang Xin Feng to take her back. She neither agreed to hire her nor explicitly refused. Every time Wang Xin Feng brought up the idea of her sister working as a maid, Yan Man Ru would skillfully change the subject.
She had no idea what Yan Manru was thinking, but she had eavesdropped on a phone call between Yan Manru and a senior leader. She learned that even though Shao Yanshu was now a vegetative person and might never wake up, the organization still wanted to arrange a marriage partner for him—a female comrade who would take care of Shao Yanshu and his young child.
Shao Yanshu’s wife had died in childbirth less than two hours after giving birth, and the child had been under her care ever since.
Before Shao Yanshu’s accident, the organization had sent people to him multiple times, trying to introduce him to a new marriage partner, but he had always found various excuses to decline.
Now that he was in this state, certain people in the organization still refused to give up on finding him a new partner.
The main reason was that Shao Yanshu had once been sent by the state to study in Country M for three years. The organization worried that after spending so much time abroad, he might have been dazzled by the decadent capitalist society there and could betray his homeland. They wanted to ascertain whether his loyalty to the country remained unwavering and were determined to keep him within the country by any means necessary, lest he be recruited by foreign forces and defect, causing significant losses to the nation.
Finding him a new partner to anchor his heart was deemed essential.
Author’s Note:
The male lead’s name is pronounced Shao Yanshu (shu, first tone).
Note: As reminded by the editor, the author hereby declares that all characters in this work are fictional and do not involve any real individuals. Please read with discretion.