As the New Year approached, Qingshantun was hit by three consecutive days of heavy snow. Shen Qiuqiu fell ill. Gu Zhouye braved the blizzard and came back with a roe deer.
Bai Xueying had also run out of food. The educated youths in the village were out of grain, and Xiao Yi and the others who had gone to the county still hadn’t returned.
Some of the female educated youths were so weak from hunger that they no longer left their rooms.
Shen Qiuqiu was sick and could barely move. Ding Rui cooked and brought the food to her bedside.
“Qiuqiu, your man went out again. This weather… oh dear.”
Shen Qiuqiu was worried too, but she tried to comfort herself.
Gu Zhouye was the male villain. A villain like him couldn’t possibly die before the very end of the book.
“You see, this is what happens when you pick the right man. He knows how to take responsibility.”
That’s what Shen Qiuqiu said.
By evening, Shen Qiuqiu was feeling a bit better. She got out of bed and went outside to look around. Gu Zhouye still hadn’t returned. Ignoring the fact that she wasn’t fully recovered, she threw on her coat and went to knock on Ding Rui’s door.
“Gu Zhouye isn’t back yet.”
The wind and snow outside were so fierce that it was nearly impossible to see more than a meter ahead. Shen Qiuqiu and Ding Rui both saw the worry reflected in each other’s eyes.
Ding Rui asked a few of the male educated youths to check the village entrance. They only made it as far as the entrance; beyond that, the road was almost completely invisible.
Shen Qiuqiu still had a stiff smile on her face. Ding Rui knew she was worried and quickly tried to comfort her.
“Qiuqiu, your man is the toughest one around here. He’s strong and skilled. Nothing will happen to him.”
Shen Qiuqiu still had her wits about her. She certainly wasn’t going to do something as foolish as going out to search for him in a blizzard.
But that night, Shen Qiuqiu couldn’t sleep.
Usually, there was always a warm body next to her. Now, all she had was a cold, empty bed. That night, Shen Qiuqiu thought about many things.
She thought about why, in her modern life, she had always kept such distance when interacting with the opposite sex — yet after coming to this world, she had been able to form such an intimate relationship with a man so quickly.
At first, she thought it was because there was no phone and she was too bored.
But now she understood. It was because everyone was sincere. And so was she.
By the time dawn broke, Shen Qiuqiu was crying. Tears were streaming all over her face.
Just as she was about to call herself an idiot, there was a frantic knock at the door. Shen Qiuqiu didn’t even bother putting on shoes — she ran barefoot to open it. A massive gust of wind and snow rushed into the room. Gu Zhouye, frozen like a snowman, frowned.
“Why is it so cold in here? Don’t be stingy with the firewood.”
Gu Zhouye quickly carried Shen Qiuqiu inside, took off his coat, and started building a fire. Shen Qiuqiu sat there in a daze, watching Gu Zhouye’s busy figure. She wanted to cry, but she swallowed her tears.
“What were you doing all night? I couldn’t sleep a wink.”
Gu Zhouye smiled.
“I was about to come back when I spotted a suspicious person. I went to the military unit at the forestry station, and we spent the night catching them.”
Shen Qiuqiu’s eyes went wide.
“Several people? Spies?”
Gu Zhouye nodded.
“Yes, spies. They burned down the granary. They were planning to burn down the arsenal in a couple of days.”
This was a border region, with many soldiers stationed there, along with a large arsenal. Shen Qiuqiu let out a long breath, then suddenly widened her eyes.
“Does that mean you’ve rendered meritorious service? What kind of reward are they giving you?”
Gu Zhouye smiled slightly.
“I asked for food.”
Gu Zhouye lifted Shen Qiuqiu onto the bed and said, a bit reproachfully, “Get some rest. Don’t get sick again.”
Shen Qiuqiu lay on the bed and urged Gu Zhouye to eat quickly, saying there was some leftovers from what Ding Rui had made.
But Gu Zhouye pulled two white steamed buns from inside his coat instead. The food she used to dislike the most was now her absolute favorite. Gu Zhouye even heated up the buns, along with the leftover stewed meat from the day before, and brought everything into the room.
Outside, the wind and snow raged. Inside, it was warm and steamy, the air thick with the rich aroma of meat.
Neither of them bothered to say much — they just buried their heads and ate heartily.
After eating and drinking their fill, Shen Qiuqiu pulled Gu Zhouye under the covers. Lying in his arms, she said softly.
“Don’t laugh at me for saying this, but I cried earlier. I kept thinking — if you had really died, in this freezing weather, how could I, a woman alone, go find you? I’d probably have to wait until spring when the snow melted. And by the time I found you, you’d be frozen solid. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to cry.”
Gu Zhouye reached out and touched Shen Qiuqiu’s dry, rough eyelids.
“Cry about what? They’re as dry as can be, if you ask me.”
Truth be told, Gu Zhouye had been a little scared too. There were four or five of them, and they were all armed. If he had been spotted following them, it probably would have meant certain death.
But whenever he thought of Shen Qiuqiu — thought of this winter without enough food — his heart filled with courage again.
“Fine then. I’ll cry for you right now.”
Shen Qiuqiu’s hand moved to Gu Zhouye’s waist. Gu Zhouye’s handsome face flushed red. He quickly caught her mischievous hand.
“You’re weak right now.”
Shen Qiuqiu felt helpless. She swore to heaven that she really hadn’t been thinking about that. She wasn’t that much of an animal.
“Gu Zhouye, what kind of image do you have of me? How could my mind be only on that at a time like this?”
Shen Qiuqiu sounded sincere, but Gu Zhouye just laughed.
“When you say that yourself, don’t you feel the least bit guilty?”
Shen Qiuqiu kicked Gu Zhouye.
“See? There you go again — attacking my weakest point.”
“What weakest point?”
Shen Qiuqiu touched her own little face and looked at Gu Zhouye with complete sincerity.
“My skin.”
Gu Zhouye burst out laughing. He reached out and pinched Shen Qiuqiu’s little cheek.
“That’s actually your strongest point.”
…
At the county guesthouse in Zhoushui County, outside Qingshantun, Xiao Yi and several other male educated youths had been sleeping on the floor in the lobby for three days. The people from the organization kept telling them to wait for news.
The snow had been falling heavily for days. There were no vehicles, so they had no way to walk back either.
Song Qiang couldn’t help but look at Xiao Yi.
“Xiao Yi, didn’t you say you had connections? We don’t even have a place to stay. We’re out of money. The folks back in the village are probably starving by now. You need to figure something out.”
Song Qiang had originally planned to go hunting with Gu Zhouye, but his girlfriend had talked him into following Xiao Yi instead.
Now Xiao Yi couldn’t even afford a meal in the county, let alone a place to sleep. Song Qiang was full of regret.
Xiao Yi’s expression was terrible. Of course, he knew how urgent the situation was, but there was nothing he could do.
Just then, a man in military uniform walked in. He approached the group, a flicker of joy in his eyes.
“You’re from Qingshantun? Come with me quickly. The organization is sending grain to you.”
Xiao Yi was overjoyed at the news. The other male educated youths immediately looked at Song Qiang with disapproval.
“I told you Xiao Yi had a way. See? Egg on your face now, isn’t it?”