Zhou Ye had no idea what Su Xiaoqi was thinking. If he had known, his invisible tail would have been soaring into the sky.
Within just an hour, the meal was ready.
A pot of fragrant rice—soft and perfectly cooked.
A plate of sweet and sour spare ribs.
Braised pork with tiger-skin eggs.
Stir-fried pumpkin shoots.
Cucumber and egg soup.
Old Lady Jiu quietly turned away and wiped her tears when she saw the spread on the table.
Su Xiaoqi tilted her head and peeked at her secretly.
The handkerchief was already soaked.
Old Lady Jiu met a pair of curious eyes through the gap.
Her heart softened instantly.
She gently patted Su Xiaoqi’s shoulder.
“You little girl… you make this old woman both laugh and cry.”
“Life is already bitter. Then don’t cry anymore.”
Su Xiaoqi helped her sit down.
Three people, three dishes and one soup.
She picked the best piece of ribs for the old lady, then added a perfectly stewed piece of braised pork.
“Grandma, eat this piece.”
“And have a tiger-skin egg too.”
Old Lady Jiu quickly waved her hands.
“You young people eat more. I’m just an old lady…”
Su Xiaoqi raised her eyebrows.
“You’re a refined old lady. What’s wrong with eating a little meat?”
“I’m old. My teeth aren’t good anymore.”
“Then we’ll go to the county hospital and get you a set of gold teeth. You’ll be able to crack bones like ka-ka.”
Then she added,
“A’Ye made it in a way that suits your taste perfectly.”
Old Lady Jiu could see it clearly.
Young people liked firm rice, but today’s rice was slightly softer and wetter.
Clearly, it had been made for her.
“Don’t accommodate me next time. You young people should…”
Before she could finish, Su Xiaoqi interrupted her.
“A’Ye and I both like soft food. Right, A’Ye?”
Zhou Ye: “……”
That somehow didn’t sound like a good phrase.
Under Su Xiaoqi’s threatening gaze, he hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Yes. Xiaoqi is right.”
Su Xiaoqi proudly placed a large piece of fatty pork into his bowl.
“Good boy. That’s your reward.”
Old Lady Jiu was delighted.
So the fearless Zhou Ye was actually afraid of his wife.
After the meal, the old lady grew sleepy.
Su Xiaoqi helped her to bed, but just as she was leaving, she was called back.
“Xiaoqi.”
“Yes?”
“Stay and talk with Grandma for a bit, alright?”
Su Xiaoqi stroked the old lady’s hair gently, like coaxing a child.
“Grandma, just sleep peacefully.”
“A’Ye is a good boy. Once he falls in love, it lasts a lifetime.”
The old lady had never been able to let go of Zhou Ye—she had watched him grow up.
“I know, Grandma. I’ll take care of him in the future.”
The old lady smiled.
“He’s a man. He should be the one protecting you. You just need to give him your heart.”
Su Xiaoqi sighed inwardly.
What a sharp old woman.
She smiled.
“Then if I give him my heart, it’ll last a lifetime too, right?”
The old lady pretended not to hear.
“What did you say? I didn’t catch that. How many children are you planning to have?”
Su Xiaoqi froze.
How did the topic jump to children?
“How many? How many children?” the old lady pressed eagerly.
Su Xiaoqi gritted her teeth.
“Three… five… the more the better!”
The old lady laughed so hard her toothless mouth couldn’t close.
“Speak softer! I’m not deaf!”
“Three plus five—that’s eight children. That’s too many!”
Su Xiaoqi: “……”
Outside, Zhou Ye paused while washing dishes.
So she’s already thinking about how many children to have… I need to work harder and earn more military merit so she can live well.
“Grandma, you tricked me!” Su Xiaoqi pouted. “Hmph. I’m not talking to you anymore.”
The old lady pulled out two beautifully green jade bracelets from under her pillow and slipped them onto Su Xiaoqi’s wrist.
“Take them.”
Su Xiaoqi tried to refuse, but her eyes betrayed her excitement.
“Hehe… I’ll just take a look, then I’ll return them.”
“I’m an old woman, I don’t need them anymore.”
“These were meant for A’Ye’s wife.”
Tears almost welled up in Su Xiaoqi’s eyes.
She slipped them onto her wrist immediately.
“Grandma, do they look good?”
“They do. But you must hide them well.”
Su Xiaoqi nodded.
“Grandma, you should eat snacks more often. A woman can skip meals, but she can’t skip snacks, right?”
The old lady’s heart melted.
“I want to, but I don’t have food coupons.”
“I do.”
Su Xiaoqi pulled out food coupons, grain coupons, and meat coupons.
“You take them. Just ask someone to help you buy things at the commune.”
“A’Ye gives them to me every time he comes home.”
“Then we’ll both give them to you. Just spend them.”
She tucked everything under the pillow and coaxed the old lady to sleep.
Only then did she come out and show Zhou Ye her jade bracelet.
Her eyes sparkled.
“Grandma gave it to me. You don’t have one.”
Zhou Ye had already finished washing the dishes.
“It looks good.”
“You’re jealous?”
“I am. Jealous—but also happy.”
What he didn’t say was that the old lady had actually left him even more things. He just hadn’t found the right time to give them to Su Xiaoqi yet.
And in this era, it was still a bit risky to reveal them.
Better to wait.
He picked up a wood-cutting knife.
“I’m going to chop some firewood.”
“Okay. I’ll go to the educated youth station.”
“Alright. I’ll come find you later.”
Su Xiaoqi said nothing.
She went alone to the educated youth station.
People were still out working or gathering firewood and wild vegetables. Only a few remained in the dormitory.
She shared a room with Hu Min, Zhang Kangmei, and Shen Ruhua.
She pulled out her wooden box from under the bed.
The lock had been opened.
Inside, everything was in disarray.
A blue sweater and a wool coat were gone.
She had left them here for safekeeping after fearing the Xu family would steal them.
Now they had really been stolen.
She first took a few candies from her space and slipped them into her pocket.
Then she noticed the “one-yuan instant kill mission” still unfinished.
She immediately completed it.
One yuan for 500 jin of rice.
Click.
Five bags of rice appeared in her space.
The space had a preservation function, so she didn’t have to worry about spoilage or insects.
After finishing the purchase, she went to the next dorm.
Only one girl was inside, lying in bed.
“Hey, Wang Xiulan.”
Wang Xiulan turned over.
“Su Xiaoqi… can you get me a glass of water?”
“What’s wrong with you?”
“I caught a cold.”
She was too weak to even get up.
Su Xiaoqi checked the kettle—it was empty.
She went next door, fetched hot water, and took two sponge cakes from her space.
Then she returned.
“Drink.”
Wang Xiulan forced herself up and saw the cakes.
Her mouth watered instinctively.
“For me?”
“Yeah.”
She quickly ate both cakes and drank the water.
“Finally… I feel alive again.”
She looked at Su Xiaoqi gratefully.
“Why are you back at the dorm?”
“To get my things.”
Wang Xiulan’s expression changed slightly.
“The box was opened.”
“Do you know who did it?”
“…It was Xia Wenjie. He said you gave him the key.”
Su Xiaoqi frowned.
The original owner was greedy for money, but not careless enough to give away keys.
“He had a key?”
“Yeah. About a month ago, he took it, opened your box, and took two pieces of clothing.”
“And gave them away?”
“No idea. But he suddenly became quite generous after that.”