In September, Su Ying would dump Zhou Kuangye and return to the city by herself. By then, if she appeared by Zhou Kuangye’s side and stayed with him through thick and thin, he would surely be hers.
Just thinking about the life of an official’s wife in the future filled her heart with fighting spirit.
Beside her, Wen Zi rubbed her chin and said out of the blue, “Close your eyes and open them again…”
“Close your eyes and never open them again…”
“Imperial Palace Jade Wine…”
Wu Yan showed no reaction at all.
Wen Zi could basically conclude that Wu Yan was not from the same era as her.
“Comrade Wen, Comrade Wu, are you both awake?” Lu Pingshu’s voice came from outside the door.
Wu Yan got off the kang and opened the door, her tone flat. “Comrade Lu, what do you need?”
“I heard you fell. I brought you some medicinal oil. Rub it on, and you’ll recover faster.”
Wu Yan thought for a moment and accepted it. “Thank you, Comrade Lu. We’ll pay you later.”
“No need…”
Thud. Before Lu Pingshu could finish, the door closed.
He frowned slightly, wondering why Comrade Wu seemed so much colder toward him. Maybe she was in a bad mood because of her injury?
In the west room of the villagers’ house, Zhou Kuangye opened the door to his room, sat at the foot of the bed, and carefully stitched a woman’s small white garment, one needle at a time.
The hands that once held guns now held a tiny embroidery needle with steady precision. The fine, even stitches showed he was a skilled worker.
Outside the room, Su Ying, wearing a yellow dress like a little sun, ran all over the courtyard.
She poured two full bowls of malted milk and placed them on the table in the yard. Pushing one bowl toward the white-haired old woman in front of her, she said in a particularly loud voice:
“Grandma Ding, this bowl of malted milk is for you. This one is mine. We each get a bowl.”
Grandma Ding’s eyes were cloudy and white, her hands covered in brown wrinkles trembling as she reached toward the table. Su Ying grabbed her hand and guided it to the bowl. “Grandma Ding, the bowl is here.”
Though she couldn’t see and her hearing was poor, the milky fragrance was like heavenly nectar. She had never dared to dream of such a thing before, but now she had a whole bowl.
In her lifetime, she had given birth to three sons. Her eldest son and her husband died early in a flood, and she raised the two remaining sons on her own.
During the hardest times, she couldn’t bear to eat even a single black steamed bun, splitting it between her two sons. That was how she raised them and found them wives.
She thought she could finally live a good life, but the two brothers left to work without even saying goodbye. For over twenty years, there had been no news from them.
She was already over sixty, and her health was getting worse. She had thought about ending her life to avoid burdening others, but then she met the young girl Su Ying and Zhou Kuangye.
They came to stay at her house, not only paying her but also taking care of her. Whenever they had meat, they would save a bite for this old woman.
At first, she refused to eat, but the little girl would fuss until she gave in.
Miraculously, she managed to hold on for two more years.
She thought that in this lifetime, fate had been kind to her, allowing her to meet such caring young people before her time came.
With both hands trembling, she lifted the bowl, not spilling a single drop of the malted milk.
Taking advantage of her blindness, Su Ying openly supported the bottom of the bowl, unafraid of the heat, holding it with one hand and slowly raising her arm to feed Grandma Ding.
When she had drunk most of it, Su Ying directly took out a pound of sponge cake and placed it in Grandma Ding’s dedicated snack basket.
She took one piece and fed it to her. “Grandma Ding, this sponge cake is fresh out of the oven. It’s delicious.”
Ding Guizhi took a bite, feeling the rich milky flavor fill her mouth.
The bamboo basket beside her was also filled with sponge cakes. She fumbled, trying to take them out. “I don’t need these, you eat them, Ying girl.”
“Grandma Ding, I have plenty. I have even more than you.”
“You eat them. When they’re gone, I’ll have Zhou Kuangye buy more.”
Su Ying glanced toward the room where they slept, then leaned close to Grandma Ding’s ear and whispered, “He has a lot of money. The two of us could never spend him poor.”
She knew Grandma Ding’s story and had keenly noticed that Grandma Ding’s health was declining. She didn’t have much to offer, but she wanted Grandma Ding to taste something sweet every day in her final days.
If her mouth was sweet, her heart would be sweet too.
Even at the end of life, memories wouldn’t be filled only with pain.
A faint smile slowly spread across Ding Guizhi’s wrinkled face, warming her heart. “You clever little imp.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” In the end, she didn’t argue.
She thought that all the hardships she had endured in this life were meant to lead her to this little girl. Ding Guizhi was a blessed person after all.
Zhou Kuangye glanced up every few stitches. The grandmother and granddaughter were sweetly enjoying each other’s company, while he only had the occasional warm breeze passing by.
He scanned the room, his gaze landing on her favorite White Rabbit milk candies.
A loud “bang” came from the west room. Su Ying glanced over curiously and saw Zhou Kuangye actually eating her White Rabbit milk candies.
She sprang up and darted into the room like the wind, snatching the candy he was biting from his mouth and quickly popping it into her own.
Her lips pouted in displeasure. “Who said you could eat my candy? You big meanie, you’re not allowed to eat it!”
Zhou Kuangye tossed the wrapper aside, licked his lips—sweet.
The candy in her mouth, the one he had bitten, was now tainted with his saliva. The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
“I spent the money, and I can’t even have one?”
Not even one for him—this little girl was utterly domineering.
Su Ying sat down beside him warily, no longer running around. Her big eyes fixed on him, making sure he didn’t sneak any more. “You bought them for me, so they’re all mine. I won’t let you eat them.”
She was just that bad. If he couldn’t stand it, he should dump her quickly.
The woman’s body brushed against his arm, and a faint milky scent lingered around them. Zhou Kuangye felt at ease and picked up the embroidery needle again to continue sewing.
The man lowered his head. Despite his bold and unruly appearance, his eyes and brows held a surprising softness, creating a stark contrast.
Su Ying stared at him intently, soon losing herself in thought. Why did he seem to be getting handsomer?
She swallowed hard, warning herself that good looks were useless—money was the only thing that truly mattered.
Just as she was about to start causing trouble again, a voice came from outside.
“Kuang Ye, are you home?”
Zhou Kuangye put down the small clothes he was working on and went outside. It was a fellow villager. “Da Zhu, what’s up?”
“The Brigade Leader wants us to go repair the dam. Are you free now?”
“I’m free. You go ahead, I’ll catch up in a bit.”
“Alright, then hurry up.” Da Zhu left after saying this.
Zhou Kuangye went back inside to remind Su Ying, “I’m going to repair the dam. I’ll be back late tonight. Make yourself something to eat.”
Su Ying stuffed another candy into her mouth. She was about to agree when she suddenly realized something and said with a mix of grievance and petulance, “No!”
“I don’t know how to cook. You make it for me.”
A woman as unreasonable and lazy as her—Zhou Kuangye should be fed up by now.
Causing trouble when he was at his busiest—she didn’t believe he could handle this move.
“Tsk.” Zhou Kuangye ran his tongue over the inside of his cheek, wanting to grab her and give her a beating again. She was so unreasonable it was infuriating.
His voice deepened. “Be good, just this once.”
“No, no, no, no, no! Not even once!”
“If you don’t make it for me, I’ll starve. I’ll starve myself to death!” Su Ying was only 1.65 meters tall, a full two heads shorter than him. Afraid she lacked presence, she stood directly on the bed, hands on her hips, looking down at him from above.