“If she bullies you, just tell me. I’ll scold her for you,” Liu Shuzhen said seriously to Mu Youyou.
Mu Youyou looked at her, and Liu Shuzhen, seeing her gentle demeanor, thought of Wang Guihua, who was quite fierce-looking.
“Haha, don’t underestimate Shuzhen. She’s known in the military family housing as the iron-tongued lady—no one can outtalk her,” Li Yumei teased.
“Li Yumei, you’re exposing me again!” Liu Shuzhen protested. She and Youyou had just met—couldn’t she leave a good impression?
The three chatted as they made their way into the village.
First, they went to the supply and marketing cooperative. Li Yumei bought snacks for the children and some household seasonings, while Liu Shuzhen, who also had a daughter, bought quite a few things.
Mu Youyou picked up some seeds and sewing supplies. That morning, she had noticed a hole forming in Gu Beiting’s uniform pants while they were drying in the yard.
After leaving the cooperative, the three went to the dock, just as the fishing boats returned with freshly caught seafood.
After weighing the catch and setting aside the portion to be handed in, the rest was available for sale.
The three waited a moment. Mu Youyou only bought some shrimp—seafood tastes best fresh. Li Yumei and Liu Shuzhen continued choosing seafood, while Mu Youyou noticed villagers selling vegetables and bought some to take home.
All three returned home with their purchases.
Back at home, Mu Youyou first planted the seeds. Cucumbers and tomatoes needed support frames, and she realized she’d need bamboo from the hillside. Feeling a bit awkward, she decided to go see if there were bamboo shoots to cut for the frames.
With a sickle and water bottle on her back, she set off.
“You Youyou, where are you going?” Li Yumei asked, puzzled by the sickle in her hand.
“Yumei-jie, I’m going to cut some bamboo in the mountains,” Mu Youyou replied with a smile.
“Why not have your Battalion Commander go?” Li Yumei asked.
“No need. His training is really tiring every day. These little things shouldn’t trouble him,” Mu Youyou said with a smile. Being an orphan, she was used to handling things herself and didn’t like troubling others.
Climbing the mountain, she noticed a lush growth of wild vegetables. Not carrying her basket, she had Caicai buy one from the space mall similar to the one at home.
While picking wild vegetables, she spotted a wild rabbit. Her eyes lit up—spicy rabbit meat!
She quietly followed the rabbit and, just as it was about to leap away, lunged forward.
“Ah!” she cried, falling down a small hillside.
“Sis!” Caicai sensed her fall through the space but couldn’t transport her in time.
“I’m okay, really,” Mu Youyou reassured herself, standing up. Her elbow had scraped a little, and she moved her ankle—fortunately, it wasn’t twisted.
“Sis, how are you getting back up?” Caicai probed, checking her surroundings and confirming no wild animals were nearby.
“…Look at this slope. So steep? Falling and not getting hurt is really lucky,” Mu Youyou muttered.
“Caicai, I want to eat that rabbit,” she said through gritted teeth.
“It ran away…” Caicai responded helplessly.
“I don’t care. I want to eat it.”
“…Alright,” Caicai had no choice. It bought a wild rabbit from the mall, rendered it unconscious, and placed it beside Mu Youyou.
“Now, you should worry about getting back up,” Caicai reminded.
“Wait and see. Gu Beiting hasn’t noticed I’m missing yet. He should come looking for me,” Mu Youyou sighed.
“Caicai, I won the lottery and got a system like you. I feel like the chosen one, and yet… all this just chasing a rabbit…”
“The chosen ones don’t usually fall down hills chasing rabbits,” Caicai commented, exasperated.
“Shouldn’t I have just bought it from the mall?” Caicai asked, facepalming.
“Cough… I forgot when I saw the rabbit,” Mu Youyou admitted sheepishly. Even with such a godlike system, she still got caught up chasing a rabbit.
While Mu Youyou sat on the hillside chatting with Caicai, an hour had passed, and Li Yumei in the family housing was getting worried. She ran to the military training ground.
“Honey, what brings you here?” Deputy Battalion Commander Cui was surprised—Li Yumei rarely came to the training field.
“Where’s Battalion Commander Gu?” Li Yumei panted, running.
“What happened?” Cui asked.
“Mu Youyou went up the mountain to cut bamboo, and she hasn’t come down for an hour. I’m worried something’s wrong. You have to tell Gu Beiting,” Li Yumei grabbed Cui’s hand.
“All right, I’ll go find Beiting. You rest here for a moment,” Cui said, running toward Gu Beiting’s training ground.
“Beiting,” Cui called.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Beiting, training new recruits, looked up.
“Your wife went up the mountain… it’s been an hour—” Before Cui could finish, Gu Beiting glanced at Zhang Hui and sprinted toward the mountains.
In just five minutes, Gu Beiting reached the back mountain. His heart was racing as he climbed, calling out for Mu Youyou.
“Mu Youyou!”
“You Youyou!”
As he climbed, he spotted her sickle lying on the ground.
“Mu Youyou!”
“Where are you?”
“Gu Beiting, I’m here,” Mu Youyou called from the hillside.
“Gu Beiting, I’m down here.”
Confirming her location, Gu Beiting leaped down the hillside without regard for propriety, checking her for injuries. Seeing only a scraped elbow, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Who told you to go up the mountain for bamboo?” he asked sternly.
“I just wanted to cut some for a vegetable frame,” Mu Youyou said, feeling a little guilty in his serious gaze.
“Gu Beiting, don’t be angry with me, I…” she began, tears welling up.
“Don’t cry!” Gu Beiting was at a loss. He wanted to hold her but restrained himself.
“Don’t cry. I shouldn’t have scolded you. I won’t ever again,” he said gently.
“Really?” Mu Youyou sniffled, looking at him with tearful eyes.
“Yes, but you must promise me. From now on, I’ll handle these things,” he said earnestly.
“Mm,” Mu Youyou nodded solemnly.
“But… how do we get back up?” she asked, eyeing the steep hillside above.
Gu Beiting picked up her basket and placed the rabbit inside, handing it back to her. He crouched in front of her.
“Get on,” he said.
“Ah?” Mu Youyou blinked, then looked at his broad back, cheeks reddening.
“Quick, get on. I’ll carry you,” he urged.