Su Qiu deliberately let out a disappointed sigh. “Alright then, I also don’t like eating wild rabbit meat anymore.”
Wei Ye choked slightly and glanced sideways at the young girl. “You really won’t eat it?”
Su Qiu shook her head. “No.”
She ate meat every day anyway, so she was not that craving it.
Wei Ye did not expect her to have such personality. He could only take the apple from her hand.
“Fine, this time you can eat it, right?”
Su Qiu nodded and naturally handed over the milk biscuits.
“The biscuits are from last time’s gratitude. I still kept quite a lot for myself. These are for you.”
Wei Ye looked at her and let out a laugh. “You little girl really keeps things clear. Don’t take these small matters to heart—they’ll weigh you down.”
Hearing him tease her height, Su Qiu tilted her head without thinking and looked at him. “Then Comrade Wei is so tall, you probably can’t fit anything in your heart, right?”
Wei Ye gave a short laugh and raised his finger, about to tap her forehead.
Su Qiu quickly dodged. “Hey, Comrade Wei, that’s not fair. Only you can say me, I can’t say you?”
Wei Ye was so amused that he laughed instead. Since he had started it first, he had no retort.
“Alright, alright, you sharp-tongued little girl. Not someone I can afford to mess with.”
Su Qiu took a bite of the apple and said cheerfully: “Comrade Wei, you were the one who started it. I’m a grown girl and you said I was short. Good thing I don’t take it seriously—other girls would’ve cried already.”
Wei Ye, while watching the rabbit roast over the fire, smiled and said: “Yes, my fault. Thank you, Educated Youth Su, for being magnanimous.”
Su Qiu chatted casually with him while eating the fruit.
Unexpectedly, after all that random talking, she actually felt the conversation was quite pleasant.
After finishing the apple, the sun had risen higher. Seeing the basket empty, Su Qiu took her tools and went nearby to cut pig grass.
“Comrade Wei, you stay here and roast it. I’ll go cut some pig grass.”
Wei Ye replied: “It’ll be ready soon. Don’t go too far.”
“Alright.”
Su Qiu went nearby to look for pig grass. Her small body carried a large basket as she bent down and skillfully used the sickle to cut the grass.
Wei Ye could not help raising his eyebrows at the sight.
For the first time, he felt he had underestimated her.
This girl looked weak and thin, but she was actually very resilient. She was not as fragile as she appeared, and her movements were quick and full of energy.
Wei Ye shook his head with a smile and cut a piece of rabbit meat with a knife to taste the seasoning.
The flavor was just right.
He stood up, planning to gather some perilla leaves nearby to wrap the meat, when suddenly an accident occurred.
Su Qiu let out a sharp scream.
Wei Ye’s expression changed instantly, and he ran toward the sound.
Su Qiu had fallen to the ground, her face pale as she clutched her ankle. Beneath her ankle were two small bloody puncture wounds.
Seeing Wei Ye arrive, Su Qiu’s voice trembled. “Comrade Wei… I was bitten by a snake. I don’t know if it’s poisonous.”
Wei Ye looked at the wound. The blood showed a faint darkening color.
Without hesitation, he knelt down on both knees, quickly removed her shoe, held her ankle, and lowered his head to suck the wound.
He sucked out the blood and spat it onto the ground repeatedly.
After more than ten times, only when the blood gradually turned bright red did Wei Ye finally breathe out in relief.
“It’s fine now. I’ll go find some herbs to apply.”
Wei Ye had undergone military training before. He had learned wilderness survival and herbal medicine from military doctors, including the use of Lobelia Chinensis juice for snake bites.
Generally, where venomous snakes appeared, within a few meters there were often antidotal herbs growing nearby—nature balanced itself with mutual restraint.
Su Qiu felt weak all over. Her face was pale, and sweat formed on her forehead.
Seeing Wei Ye run off to find herbs, she secretly entered her dimension space and took anti-inflammatory and detox medicine just in case.
After swallowing it with mineral water, she quickly exited the space, and Wei Ye also returned.
“I found it.”
Wei Ye was covered in sweat, his lips still red from suction, and faint traces of blood remained at his chin. In his hand was a bunch of herbs, which he was chewing continuously.
He ran over, applied the chewed herbs onto her wound, then tore a strip from his clothing and wrapped it around her leg tightly.
The medicine felt cool on her leg. Combined with the medication she had taken earlier, Su Qiu no longer felt as frightened.
Looking at the slightly disheveled man in front of her, her gaze fell on the blood at his chin. She bit her lip and said softly: “Comrade Wei, thank you for saving me again.”
She still felt lingering fear. If there had been no one on the mountain and she had been bitten alone, improper handling could have cost her life.
Wei Ye saw her pale face and slightly red eyes and assumed she was frightened. He reassured her,
“Don’t be afraid. The venom was sucked out in time, so there should be no aftereffects. The village doctor has snakebite medicine. I’ll bring you some after we go down the mountain. Once you take it, you’ll be fine.”
Su Qiu nodded and said softly: “Mm, thank you.”
The usually thin and small girl now looked unusually obedient. Wei Ye felt his heart soften slightly.
Su Qiu suddenly sniffed. “Is the meat burning?”
Only then did Wei Ye remember the rabbit.
Su Qiu forgot about the snake bite entirely and hopped over on one foot to check.
Part of the rabbit had burned black, but Wei Ye quickly sliced off the charred section with his knife.
The rest of the meat was golden brown, emitting a fragrant roasted aroma mixed with seasoning. It smelled quite appetizing.
Seeing her approach, Wei Ye split the rabbit in half neatly. Holding one half in his hand, he handed the other skewered piece to her.
“Eat. We’ll go down after you finish.”
Su Qiu had been frightened earlier and was indeed a little hungry. She accepted it without hesitation.
However, there was quite a lot of meat, so she carefully ate only the rabbit leg portion.
Wei Ye finished his portion quickly, while Su Qiu only ate a small part in a delicate manner.
Seeing this, Wei Ye glanced at the rising sun and simply picked up the basket of pig grass and the sickle to cut more nearby.
Su Qiu watched him and wanted to say she could do it herself, but she could barely walk on one foot, so she silently kept that thought to herself.
She felt deeply moved. Truly, she had met a good person. Comrade Wei was practically a living Lei Feng.
After she finished the rabbit leg, Wei Ye returned with a full basket of pig grass.
Seeing the neatly piled grass, Su Qiu’s eyes lit up as she clasped her hands together. “Comrade Wei, thank you so much. I don’t even know how to repay you.”
Wei Ye walked over. “No need to be polite. Just a small effort.”
“You’ve eaten, so let’s go down the mountain. Otherwise, when the sun gets higher, you might get heatstroke.”
Su Qiu immediately said: “Comrade Wei, I’m already full. Let’s go down now.”
Wei Ye glanced at the half rabbit leg in her hand. She had not even eaten half of it.
He finally understood why she was so thin and small—she did not take eating seriously, and her appetite was like a kitten’s. No wonder she could not grow taller or stronger.
“It’s fine. I’ll wait for you. Eat more meat and grow taller.”
Su Qiu looked embarrassed, holding the remaining piece of meat. She was actually already full.
Wei Ye saw her expression and immediately understood she could not eat anymore.
He could not stand wasting food, and it was also inconvenient to bring the rabbit back to the Educated Youth Station. He casually took it and finished the remaining meat in a few bites.
“Let’s go.”
Su Qiu was helped up and felt slightly dazed.
Then her face turned slightly warm for no reason. Comrade Wei had eaten it so decisively…
But thinking about how scarce supplies were in this era, and how meat was not something easily available, it made sense that nothing would be wasted.