“Comrade—no, I mean, sir, my name is Luo Fei, and this is my boss, Lu Ze. The two of us accidentally fell in here. Can you give us a hand?”
“Luo? Lu? There’s no one with those surnames in Xiangyang Village. Who are you?”
“Why are you in this area?” Gu Rou didn’t immediately help them, instead voicing her doubts.
“Don’t worry, we’re not bad people. We’re both soldiers and have our ID cards. I can show you mine.” Without hesitation, Luo Fei explained.
“Then throw your things up so I can see.”
Luo Fei sized Gu Rou up. Seeing her in coarse clothes and carrying a basket, she was likely a nearby villager. Her face was beautiful and memorable. But right now, saving his boss was more important. In case of an accident, he still had a bullet in his gun—worst case, mutual destruction. Thinking this, Luo Fei tossed up his military ID.
Gu Rou picked up the green ID. From the original owner’s memories, people seemed to have a natural respect for soldiers. She confirmed they weren’t bad people and decided to help them.
“Wait a moment.”
The pit was deep; they couldn’t be pulled up by hand alone. Scanning the area, Gu Rou’s gaze fell on a small white flower growing on a vine nearby. The vine was very tough—perfect for pulling someone up. She walked over quickly, uprooted a vine in a few motions, and fashioned it into a sturdy rope. She tied one end to a tree and tossed the other down into the pit.
“Can you climb up with this?”
“It’ll be difficult. I’ll need some help.” Luo Fei could climb alone, but carrying his boss would be too much. Gu Rou promised to do her best.
Fortunately, Luo Fei was strong. With Gu Rou’s help, both of them were finally pulled out of the pit.
“Comrade, thank you so much. May I ask your name? Once we’re settled, we’ll come to thank you properly.” Luo Fei wiped the sweat from his forehead, grateful.
Thankfully someone had passed by; otherwise, they might have been stuck there indefinitely. Looking at Gu Rou with eyes full of gratitude, it wasn’t just ordinary comradeship—it was as if she were a lifesaving angel to him and his boss.
“Don’t worry about it. They say the army and civilians are one family. You should get that person to a hospital; he doesn’t look well. It’s almost dark, and it’ll get harder to move later.” Gu Rou returned their IDs and left, still thinking about the meat she wanted tonight. Their injuries were already taken care of, so she didn’t need to rush.
When she got home, her family hadn’t returned from work yet, so she started preparing the wild chicken. During this, Gu Chuan came back. Seeing Gu Rou plucking the chicken, his eyes went wide.
“Sis, where did you get that chicken? Did you kill one of our chickens?”
“I found it in the mountains.”
“Sis, you’re amazing!”
“Wow, we get meat tonight!”
Amid Gu Chuan’s exclamations, Gu Rou quickly finished preparing the chicken, even cleaning out the innards for a spicy stir-fry dish.
“Go light the fire.” Gu Rou’s face showed no smile. She had spent so much time in the lab before, rarely chatting. Now, with family around, she hadn’t quite adapted—but she didn’t plan to change. She wasn’t afraid of others’ judgment; having lived through death once, it was normal for her personality to have changed. Any questions, she thought, were Gu Li’s fault.
“Sis, why cook it all? You should save some. If Grandma finds out, she’ll scold you for being wasteful.” Gu Chuan whispered.
In these times, food was precious, like dividing one penny into two. A single chicken could feed a family for three days, but to Gu Rou, it was just one meal.
“This is meat I got. I can decide how to use it.” She wanted to eat properly—just a piece or two at a time wouldn’t satisfy her. After finishing, she could go back to the mountains for more. Seeing her so confident, Gu Chuan also felt emboldened.
He happily started the fire while Gu Rou prepared to stir-fry the chicken. She sautéed ginger, garlic, chili, and scallion oil to release the aroma, then added the chicken. Soon, a delicious smell filled the kitchen, making Gu Chuan drool.
After a few minutes, she added water to simmer the dish and tossed in potato chunks and green beans. In the end, she made a large bowl of chicken and used the broth to cook some vegetables. She also simmered a pot of sweet potato rice. Gu Rou liked rice, but seeing that there wasn’t much left, she didn’t use it all.
As the workday ended, villagers returned home from the fields. In the past two days, Grandma Gu had been eating at home, so the three of them came back together. Li Xiufang’s footsteps were quick as she planned dinner, but then someone commented nearby:
“Xiufang, did your family kill a chicken again? The smell’s so strong I can barely walk!”
Nearby villagers sniffed toward Gu Rou’s house. The aroma was indeed enticing, making their mouths water.
Li Xiufang laughed: “No, only two chickens left. How could we dare eat them?”
These chickens still laid eggs; she wanted to save some to trade at the supply station. Meat was only eaten on major holidays or New Year; otherwise, even if bought, it was only a small portion. She thought everyone imagining meat was crazy.
Approaching home, she grew worried. Could Gu Rou really have killed the family chickens? Li Xiufang ran toward the house, realizing the aroma was indeed coming from her own kitchen. Her little golden chickens…
“Mom, look! Sis has made dinner. You can eat as soon as you get home.”
“These are wild chickens Sis caught in the mountains.” Gu Chuan quickly explained before Li Xiufang could start crying. Still, her eyes were red seeing the pot of white rice. That girl didn’t understand the value of rice, oil, and salt. One pot of rice could feed them for two days. Li Xiufang, seeing so little rice left, panicked. The elders always said, “When there’s grain at home, the heart isn’t worried.” With so little grain left, what would they do next?
“Mom, I have money now. I can go buy more in town.”
“My classmate’s mom works at the supply cooperative; buying rice won’t be difficult.” Gu Rou said confidently, giving herself authority wherever she went.