Time always flies when you’re busy.
Before you knew it, it was past one in the afternoon.
If it weren’t for the falling snowflakes, Luo Song would still be immersed in the joy of harvesting in the village.
In just a few hours, besides collecting a dozen eggs, he also gathered some garlic and mushrooms.
The snow started falling again.
After glancing at the time, Luo Song turned and headed home.
“If it doesn’t snow tomorrow, I can go hunting in the mountains early and see if I can catch some wild rabbits or pheasants to store in my spatial storage.
I can take them out when I want to eat them,” Luo Song thought to himself.
He hadn’t eaten wild game in a long time.
In recent years, even in the city, resources had become so scarce that wild game had become extremely rare.
Even if you had money, it was very difficult to find hunters selling wild game.
Even ordinary pork required waiting the night before, otherwise you couldn’t buy it.
Although he craved wild game, Luo Song wasn’t in a hurry.
He preferred refined grains, so every month he exchanged his meat and cloth coupons, and even had to pay high prices to buy more, otherwise he wouldn’t have enough to eat.
But things would be better from now on.
With his new “Manipulation System,” he wouldn’t have to worry about food and money.
“I can’t openly eat meat every day; I have to do it secretly to avoid arousing envy,” Luo Song thought to himself.
“I can’t cook it in the yard either.
I have to prepare it in the countryside first, store it in my spatial dimension, and then secretly take some out when I want to eat it.” Luo Song was really racking his brains for food.
In these times, everyone was short of food.
When people are starving, they’re capable of anything, so Luo Song couldn’t afford to be careless.
“Looks like I’ll have the confidence and resources to go after I deflower the girl.
It’s not too late to indulge then.” Even if his hunt is fruitless tomorrow, at least he’ll have more than enough rewards from the system.
He won’t lack for food anymore.
“I need to cook more dishes.
After all, the system rewards so many resources.
I can kill some chickens and ducks, cook pork, beef, and vegetables, and then put them in my space.” The space is in a state of time freeze, so no matter how long it’s stored, there’s no need to worry about spoilage.
What goes in is what comes out, which is very convenient.
As he walked back, he thought about all the delicious food, his mouth watering.
Just as he reached the bottom of the mountain, a muffled thud was heard, followed by someone crying out, “Ouch!” “Someone fell?” Luo Song’s heart skipped a beat, and he followed the sound.
After walking a few steps and rounding a bend, Luo Song saw a woman lying on her side in a muddy ditch not far away.
Judging from her figure, the woman was probably young.
She was carrying a basket on her back, had a long braid, a scarf around her neck, and wore a thick cotton-padded coat and trousers, making her look somewhat bulky.
This time, she wasn’t crying out, but lay motionless in the ditch, hissing and gasping for breath; it seemed she had fallen quite hard.
Luo Song hurried over and recognized her.
“Oh dear!
Isn’t this Sister Qin?
Are you alright?” Luo Song bowed and greeted her loudly.
This person was Qin Huairu, Qin Jingru’s cousin.
She lived with Luo Song in a large courtyard house in the city.
Their courtyard house was a three-courtyard house, said to have formerly been a noble’s residence, and quite large.
Qin Huairu lived in the middle courtyard, and Luo Song lived in the front courtyard.
Although they were from the same hometown, they didn’t interact much, only nodding acquaintances, rarely speaking.
Before Qin Huairu got married, Luo Song was still studying.
After Qin Huairu got married, because her mother-in-law was watching her, she didn’t dare to talk much to other men in the courtyard.
Even though they both knew they were from the same hometown, they would only smile and nod when they met, which was their greeting.
Hearing Luo Song’s voice, Qin Huairu, thinking that he had seen her embarrassing situation, was so ashamed she wanted to disappear into the ground.
But now, a piercing pain shot through her ankle, and with her foot stuck in the ditch, she couldn’t move.
She had no choice but to call for Luo Song’s help.
So, suppressing her embarrassment, her face flushed, she said, “Xiao Song, you’ve come at the right time!
I twisted my ankle and can’t move.
Could you help me up?” “Sure, I’ll help you up right away!” Luo Song nodded, quickly putting down his machete and hoe, and went to help Qin Huairu up.
“Ouch…ouch!” As soon as she was helped up, Qin Huairu gasped in pain as her foot gave way, and she instantly slumped into Luo Song’s arms.
“What happened?” Luo Song chuckled inwardly, but his face remained serious as he asked the question.
The two were embracing, their faces almost touching, their breaths warm on each other.
Qin Huairu’s charming face was flushed, and she grinned, whispering, “I twisted my ankle, I can’t put weight on it!” “Then what should we do?
Should I go to the commune to get a doctor?
Or should I carry you back to Qin Family Village first?” Luo Song tightened his grip on her waist, his face filled with worry.
But in his heart, he was thinking, Qin Huairu truly lived up to her reputation as the most beautiful woman in the courtyard.
Her body was supple, her figure full of charm, with a hint of milky fragrance.
At twenty-seven or twenty-eight, she was in the prime of her life, radiating captivating beauty.
Furthermore, she possessed an innate allure; every movement, every smile, exuded a captivating charm, truly mesmerizing.
Especially her alluring eyes, now furrowed and brimming with tears, stirred a deep sense of pity in one’s heart.
Hearing Luo Song’s question, Qin Huairu thought for a moment, deciding that going to the commune to find a doctor would cost money and waste time.
If she were to return to Qin Family Village, her current disheveled state would be utterly humiliating.
Come to think of it, she had only returned to her parents’ home once, after her son Banggeng’s one-month celebration; almost ten years had passed since then.
It was impossible for her family not to harbor resentment after so many years away.
She was returning to her parents’ home because they were running low on food and she wanted to see if she could take some sweet potatoes and potatoes back.
Cornmeal or a mixture of corn and wheat flour would be even better.
If her parents and uncles saw her like this, she’d probably not only get no food, but also be subjected to a good scolding.
Qin Huairu knew all too well that they were all short-sighted.
Coming to her senses, she glanced at Luo Song, who was holding her, and suggested, “Xiao Song, why don’t you take me to your house to rest for a while?” “Don’t misunderstand, I’m visiting my mother.
If her family sees me like this, I’ll lose face.” “After I get to your house, I can rest for a bit, and once my feet don’t hurt anymore and I wash off the mud, I can go back to my parents’ home looking clean and refreshed.” Seeing her eyes darting around, Luo Song roughly knew what she was thinking.
Carrying a basket back to her parents’ home—at this age, besides needing food, she knew nothing else.
Only her husband, Jia Dongxu, had urban residency, and their monthly grain ration was only about thirty jin.
Six people in the family—three adults and three children—where was that enough to eat?
However, Luo Song didn’t expose her.
He smiled, nodded, and carried her on his back.
Then he retrieved his own goods, and carrying Qin Huairu, they chatted and laughed as they went home.