Over time, these three little girls would wait by the door whenever Zhou Kuangye was away, watching to see if Su Ying needed any help.
Their way of earning rewards through labor even put her, an adult, to shame.
Feeling a pang of guilt, Su Ying touched the tip of her nose and hurried after them, forcefully stuffing three sponge cakes into their hands.
“Are you not listening to me anymore? I won’t ask you to help with work from now on.”
“Eat them quickly, or I’ll get angry.”
With that, she turned and walked away without looking back. Truth be told, she didn’t want to see these three little girls.
Seeing them reminded her of her own helpless past, and she had already warned herself never to become like that again.
From now on, she would live more splendidly than anyone else.
Giving them food was nothing more than pity—three pitiful little things, unloved by their father and mother.
Yindi, the youngest, had the weakest willpower. She could hardly resist taking a bite and looked at her sister with hopeful eyes. “Can we eat it, big sister?”
Laidi pursed her lips. “Go ahead.”
“We must help Sister Su Ying with work again in the future to make up for this.”
“Okay.” Yindi carefully took a small bite, even licking the crumbs that fell onto her hand.
It had been a long time since they had tasted anything so sweet and fragrant, and they vowed to help Sister Su Ying with work in the future.
Sister Su Ying was the kindest person in the world. Although she was fierce, she was also the only one who would give them delicious food.
It’s easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go from extravagance to frugality—this saying truly held water. Su Ying had only cut two or three handfuls of wheat in the field before she was already panting from exhaustion.
As she worked, she grumbled to herself, “Why hasn’t Zhou Kuangye come back yet?”
If he were here, she wouldn’t have to suffer like this.
It wasn’t until the afternoon that Zhou Kuangye and the others finally found traces of wild boars—a sow and a piglet, digging for food in the ground.
Zhou Kuangye raised his hunting rifle and fired a shot, hitting the sow directly in the eye and knocking it to the ground.
The piglet, startled by the noise, ran around in panic but was quickly surrounded by the villagers.
Zhou Kuangye raised his rifle again, muscle memory guiding his aim, and fired another shot, hitting the target once more.
Both wild boars fell to the ground with a thud, and the men cheered with excitement.
These two wild boars would surely yield plenty of meat, and everyone would finally have meat to eat.
In the afternoon, Su Ying gave up completely. She hid under the shade of a tree, poking at ant holes on the ground with a small sickle while muttering to herself:
“Why hasn’t Zhou Kuangye come back yet? Did he run away? Was he eaten by a wild boar? He’s so big, the boar probably couldn’t even swallow him. Where on earth did he go…”
“Clang, clang, clang!”
“Everyone, hurry to the west end of the village! The Brigade Leader is back! He hunted two wild boars, and we’re distributing pork!”
“We’re distributing pork! Hurry, hurry! Every household can get three pounds of pork!”
The village accountant beat a gong, announcing the news to the entire village. Those working in the fields immediately rushed over, their faces flushed with excitement.
“We finally have meat to eat! Let’s go!”
“Sister Wang, hurry up! Stop working! Every household gets three pounds of pork. If we’re late, the good cuts will be taken. Let’s go!”
“Okay, coming, coming! Let’s go!”
In an instant, everyone in the fields ran toward the village. Hearing the news, Su Ying certainly wasn’t going to miss out either. She stopped pretending to be delicate and dashed off faster than anyone else.
Her two thick braids swung behind her as she ran, swaying with each step. The slight timidity she felt toward men vanished completely. If wild boars had arrived, he must have returned too. Happiness surged within her.
Spotting the exceptionally tall and conspicuous man standing among the crowd, she dashed over and threw herself at him. “A-Ye, you’re finally back! You’re amazing!”
Zhou Kuangye had been discussing how to divide the pork with the others when a little cannonball charged over and leaped onto his back.
If not for his steady footing, he would have been knocked over by her impact.
Yet, hearing her clingy and soft tone, he felt not a trace of annoyance.
He turned around and held her securely in his arms.
“Ying Bao, I told you I’d come back safely. You’ll have pork to eat soon.”
Seeing her cheeks flushed red from running, Zhou Kuangye felt nothing but warmth in his heart.
He gently smoothed the stray hairs on her forehead with his hand and pulled the two braids that had been tossed behind her back to rest in front of her chest.
At the mention of pork, Su Ying forgot all about the man and turned to join the bustling crowd.
One boar weighed about three to four hundred pounds, while the smaller one was still around one to two hundred pounds. With so much pork, it was enough to make anyone’s mouth water.
Seeing that almost everyone had gathered, the Brigade Leader shooed the people crowded at the front further back.
Clearing some space, he announced loudly, “Both of these wild boars were taken down by Comrade Zhou, so he gets half of the smaller boar. The rest of the men who participated in the hunt will each get ten pounds. Every other household gets three pounds. Does anyone have any objections?”
Zhou Kuangye hadn’t originally intended to take so much, but seeing how much his little woman loved it, he didn’t refuse.
Most people had no objections either. After all, they were getting pork without having lifted a finger—what was there to complain about?
Only Widow Liu, standing in line with her children, muttered under her breath:
“What about those of us without men at home? I’d like my husband to go hunt wild boars too, but I don’t have one. This isn’t fair. In my opinion, Comrade Zhou shouldn’t get so much.”
“We widows and orphans should get special treatment. He’s taking half a boar all to himself—how many people’s share is that?”
Her voice was soft but sharp, and everyone heard it. For a moment, silence fell over the crowd.
“Liu Yun, how can you say that? If it weren’t for Comrade Zhou, we wouldn’t have even gotten one wild boar—we’d be lucky if no one got hurt. Have you no conscience?”
“The Brigade Leader has always looked out for you widows and orphans. How can you pick a fight like this? Are you even human?”
Someone shouted a suggestion, “Brigade Leader, ignore her. We all agree. Just divide it as you said.”
Wang Jianguo, of course, knew who was reasonable and who wasn’t. He said directly, “Alright, since no one else objects, we’ll divide it this way.”
“Someone start a fire. Let’s butcher the pigs.”
Liu Yun’s second son, Xiao Zhi, tugged at her sleeve, his eyes filled with venom. “Mom, they’re all bullying us.”
“Let them bully us. What can we do? Your dad died too early. When you grow up, make sure you stand tall and get our pride back.”
Liu Yun’s resentment eventually faded amid the cheerful bustle of the crowd. Only Wu Yan watched the figures of the four children and their mother, her gaze dark and unreadable.
“Da Yong, you worked hard. Taking down such a big wild boar is incredible. Let me wipe your sweat.”
“W-wife, it wasn’t hard. It was all Brother Zhou’s skill. His marksmanship is godlike—one shot, one boar. He didn’t waste a single bullet.”
“In my heart, you are the most capable.”
“Oh my, Dayong, you’re truly blessed. Your wife is so considerate.”
Among the men going to hunt wild boars, only Dayong had just gotten married and was still in the honeymoon phase. Their affectionate behavior made others feel a bit envious, so everyone enjoyed teasing them.
But the tone was filled with admiration, without any malice, so neither of them got upset—they just blushed and avoided looking at each other.
Su Ying noticed this too, and a small, competitive thought stirred within her…