“We’re all sent-down educated youths from the same group. Su Xiaoqi got married early and doesn’t have to work so hard in the fields. I really envy her!” Xie Ning also wanted to find someone to marry.
Shen Ruhua wasn’t any different.
But she liked Xia Wenjie.
Zhou Ye parked his bicycle in front of the shop. “Xiaoqi, you’re hungry, right?”
“I’ve been hungry for a long time.”
The state-run shop had terrible service attitude, but when they saw Zhou Ye in a white naval uniform, the clerk immediately smiled. “Comrade, what would you like to eat?”
Zhou Ye glanced at the menu written on the blackboard.
“Xiaoqi, what do you want?”
“Give him a bowl of pork chop noodles. Then two sesame flatbreads, two fried dough sticks, and a bowl of soy milk. Also a bowl of salted porridge and a plate of spicy tofu.”
Su Xiaoqi listed everything while looking at the server.
“That’s all.”
“Pay here. Do you have meal tickets?”
The clerk’s eyes swept over Zhou Ye’s white naval uniform. It was the first time she had seen someone wearing a navy uniform in their commune.
Su Xiaoqi didn’t miss that look and felt a bit proud. She took the initiative to introduce him.
“My man is serving in the navy in Qingyang City.”
“What a nice uniform,” the clerk praised sincerely.
“He looks good too.”
Su Xiaoqi’s words made the clerk laugh. “You both look good—what a handsome couple.”
“Thank you!” Su Xiaoqi was in a very good mood.
The clerk took the money and tickets and returned five cents in change.
“Here’s your change.”
“Later, I also want to pack some meat buns, sesame cakes, and fried dough sticks,” Su Xiaoqi said. “Please reserve four sesame flatbreads and fried dough sticks, and six meat buns. Is that okay?”
“Alright.”
Su Xiaoqi sat back down on the long bench.
Zhou Ye brought over the soy milk and salted porridge. The porridge contained greens, peanuts, and fried rice, cooked very fragrant.
The spicy tofu was richly flavored.
Su Xiaoqi picked up a piece and immediately started hissing from the heat—she wasn’t good with spicy food.
Zhou Ye wrapped a sesame cake around a fried dough stick and handed it to her.
The slightly sweet sesame cake paired with the salty fried dough stick created a perfect contrast in her mouth.
It was incredibly delicious.
Su Xiaoqi took a big sip of soy milk, then another spoonful of porridge.
“So good,” she gave a thumbs-up.
Zhou Ye brought over the pork chop noodles again. “Eat this first.”
Su Xiaoqi quickly waved her hand. “That’s for you.”
Zhou Ye paused.
“I’ll just eat a little.”
“I already ordered you something simple,” Su Xiaoqi said, her mouth full as she chewed.
Watching her made Zhou Ye feel a bit… unsettled, yet amused.
“Xiaoqi, drink some noodle soup.”
“I can’t eat another bite,” she said, patting her belly and letting out a burp.
Then she immediately felt embarrassed and lowered her head, fiddling with her fingers.
The corner of Zhou Ye’s lips never stopped lifting. “Xiaoqi, don’t be shy. We’re husband and wife. Even if you burp—”
“Don’t say it!” Su Xiaoqi’s face turned red.
“Alright, I won’t.”
Zhou Ye quickly agreed.
He then finished all the remaining food by himself, eating calmly and elegantly, every movement pleasing to the eye.
Su Xiaoqi stared at him, slightly dazed.
She also marveled that he had eaten so much without his stomach showing even a hint of fullness.
It was… unfair.
After finishing, they packed up meat buns, sesame cakes, and fried dough sticks.
Then they went to the supply and marketing cooperative.
“How about a thermos?” Zhou Ye pointed at the counter. “And two jin of sponge cake, one jin of yellow rice cake.”
“Alright. Also weigh one jin of fruit candies.”
“What about peach crisp?” Zhou Ye asked, thinking she liked it since she had eaten it in the morning.
“No.”
Su Xiaoqi quickly refused.
She still had nearly twenty jin of peach crisps in her space—enough for two or three years.
“Comrade, please weigh one jin of yellow rice cake, two jin of sponge cake, and one thermos,” Zhou Ye said as he handed over money and tickets.
The clerk first brought down the thermos, then weighed the cakes while chatting with another clerk.
She handed over the goods and change.
Zhou Ye carried the cakes, while Su Xiaoqi held the thermos. “Where next?”
“To buy meat.”
They went to the meat counter and bought two jin of spare ribs and two jin of pork belly. After thinking, they also bought seasonings and half a jin of rock sugar, plus twenty jin of rice and ten jin of flour.
Now their basket was already full.
“Want to buy clothes next?”
“No. Let’s buy them in the county later,” Su Xiaoqi said. The original owner already had plenty of clothes from going down to the countryside, many of them still fashionable.
“Alright. I’ll take you to the county later.”
Zhou Ye pushed the bicycle. “Then let’s head back?”
“Let’s go back.”
Su Xiaoqi had come to the commune mainly to try different food and see what this era’s commune looked like.
It was just like what she had seen in period dramas.
“Su Xiaoqi. Didn’t you buy any clothes?”
Shen Ruhua walked over alone, her expression unpleasant.
“No.”
“You must have spent your money on buying clothes for Xia Wenjie, right?” Shen Ruhua covered her mouth. “Sorry, I misspoke.”
Zhou Ye frowned.
He snapped back coldly:
“Comrade, you can eat whatever you want, but you can’t speak nonsense. If you can’t control your mouth, then don’t come here embarrassing yourself. You look classless.”
Shen Ruhua had just run into Xia Wenjie and was angry, so she came to pick a fight with Su Xiaoqi, hoping to stir trouble between her and Zhou Ye.
She didn’t expect Zhou Ye to be so sharp-tongued.
Su Xiaoqi said slowly:
“Shen Ruhua, I know you’re straightforward, but I didn’t expect you to spit filth from your mouth.”
“You—” Shen Ruhua was furious. “Why are you causing trouble?”
“Who’s causing trouble? You came looking for it. You don’t do a single decent thing.”
Su Xiaoqi didn’t even bother dealing with her anymore.
“Zhou Ye, let’s go.”
Shen Ruhua bit her lip.
She hated how Su Xiaoqi’s fox-like beauty attracted all the unmarried men in the commune and production team, and how she even married a military officer.
She had also asked around—Zhou Ye wasn’t just a low-ranking squad leader; his rank in the navy was quite high.
Her eyes filled with calculation as she turned and left.
On the way back to the village, Zhou Ye frowned.
Su Xiaoqi had a lot of trouble in the village.
There were always people trying to harm her.
He had to firmly stand by her side and not let her feel wronged because of his identity as a soldier.
“Xiaoqi, don’t be afraid of trouble. Strike when you should strike. I’ll teach you some practical grappling techniques. We’re not afraid of causing trouble.”
“If I can’t win, I’ll run. I’m already like a black bear and a wild dog—most people can’t beat me anyway.”
At first, Su Xiaoqi thought Zhou Ye was a gentle, compliant man.
She didn’t expect him to be this kind of man—so to her taste.
His body, his looks, his ability to fight, and even his slightly unhinged personality—it was like he was tailor-made for her.
“Don’t worry. I never suffer losses.”
Zhou Ye wanted to say something about her past, but swallowed it.
Near the village, Zhou Ye turned onto a small road. “Xiaoqi, can you come with me to see Ninth Granny?”
“Sure. Tell me about her.”
“Ninth Granny is from a capitalist family but also a revolutionary. She fell in love with Ninth Grandpa, who was her comrade.”
He paused.
Later, Ninth Grandpa was abducted and never heard from again. Ninth Granny came to his hometown, cared for his parents until their passing, and helped raise his nephews and nieces until they started their own families.
She never remarried.
Su Xiaoqi felt emotional hearing their love story and their devotion to the country.
“Did the nephews and nieces live with her?”
Zhou Ye sighed. “After they married, they wanted her property. She drove them out, but… some things were taken by them.”
Su Xiaoqi clicked her tongue. “What ingrates.”
Ding—Host who gets easily riled up. Detected: one Song dynasty antique vase, a pair of jade bangles, ten large gold bars, twenty small gold bars… a pearl necklace, various silver dollars, a pair of Qing dynasty cloisonné pieces…
“Take it back,” Su Xiaoqi said excitedly.
Zhou Ye: “…”
“You can’t take it back. No one has found where they hid it.”
Su Xiaoqi fell silent, then pointed at a nearby house. “That’s the nephew’s house?”
“Yes. How do you know?”
“I guessed.”
She felt extremely pleased.
Sang Biao was still principled—it only black-eats-black.
“Host, please stay here for ten minutes so your lovely Sang Biao can move the goods.”
Before it even finished speaking, Su Xiaoqi hurriedly told Zhou Ye to stop.