Liu Zhixia quietly lifted her head and flashed Zhou Yunting a radiant smile.
For a moment, Zhou Yunting wondered if what he had sensed earlier had merely been his imagination.
During the entire journey back from the hospital to the thatched hut, they no longer felt that watchful gaze following them.
The danger had passed.
That evening, the villagers they had rescued brought over some eggs, millet, and two jin of pork.
A woman in her fifties, Auntie Liu, arrived with her youngest son—the one who had been saved. With a loud thud, she knelt on the ground.
Her voice overflowed with gratitude.
“If it weren’t for you people, my Jianguo definitely wouldn’t have survived.
“From now on, you’re our family’s lifesavers. If you ever need anything—
“Just say the word. My son and I will never refuse.”
The other two families quickly chimed in as well.
“Our family too.”
“Same here…”
After seeing off the villagers, who were full of guilt and gratitude, Liu Zhixia did not join the conversation among the three generations of the Zhou family.
Instead, she took the millet to cook porridge and boiled the eggs directly.
There were still many things she could not openly take out yet.
But looking at the two injured men lying on the ground, Liu Zhixia suddenly thought—
Perhaps this was an opportunity.
The original host’s parents had given her quite a lot of money and ration coupons before she came.
The Zhou family men would never have been able to bring such things with them during the searches.
But this era was conservative. Women had many places where they could hide belongings, making it easier to gloss over.
Considering Liu Zhixia’s status as an only daughter, along with her father’s official position and the fact that she was the family’s sole child—
Even if she occasionally produced good food or useful supplies, it would not seem too strange.
Once she figured this out, her eyes lit up instantly.
At that exact moment, Zhou Yunting happened to look up and catch the dazzling sparkle in the young woman’s eyes.
They shone like stars.
It was as if light itself radiated from her body, capable of dispelling all gloom.
Originally, he had wanted to observe her reaction. He guessed Liu Zhixia had already realized that neither he nor his father would become crippled from their injuries.
But she also should have understood that, in order to avoid suspicion, the two of them would likely have to pretend to be disabled from now on.
Old Master Zhou was elderly.
If Liu Zhixia chose to remain here, then the burdens inside and outside the household would inevitably fall onto her shoulders.
The Zhou family already earned pitifully few work points, while the labor itself was exhausting.
For a delicate girl as beautiful as a painting, the wisest choice right now would be to leave the Zhou family and divorce him.
Yet at this moment, Zhou Yunting—who had once resisted this marriage and feared nothing—discovered something unsettling.
He was afraid.
Afraid that Liu Zhixia would truly leave.
As though she had seen through his thoughts, Liu Zhixia turned back with a teasing smile.
“What’s wrong?
“Could it be that our Comrade Zhou is afraid I’ll abandon the three of you and run away?”
The man’s sharp brows relaxed slightly. A trace of warmth briefly softened his usually icy handsome face before vanishing again.
She won’t leave.
That thought echoed repeatedly in Zhou Yunting’s mind.
He did not understand what was happening to him.
Clearly, he knew he should not drag Liu Zhixia down with him.
And yet, for the first time, he found himself unwilling to let her go.
As for all his previous thoughts—
He subconsciously pushed them aside.
Old Master Zhou was as sharp as ever. Seeing the states of both his son and grandson, how could he not understand?
The two men were probably fine.
Earlier, the old master himself had nearly collapsed because he already knew they had been sabotaged. He had instinctively assumed the injuries would be severe.
Combined with the doctor’s grim diagnosis, he had almost been crushed mentally.
Liu Zhixia peeled an egg for Commander Zhou, Zhou Yunting, and Old Master Zhou each, then served them bowls of millet porridge.
Old Master Zhou immediately pushed his portion toward her.
“I’m old. My appetite’s poor, I can’t eat much.
“Zhixia, you should eat more.
“Look how thin you are. Young girls look better with a little more weight.”
Zhou Yunting also handed his egg over to her.
“You eat.”
Short and direct.
Liu Zhixia silently cried out inwardly:
This man is absolutely a straight-laced blockhead!
Seeing Commander Zhou preparing to pass his egg over as well, Liu Zhixia hurriedly raised the unpeeled egg still in her hand to stop him.
“I have one too. Everyone gets one.
“That’s an order, okay?”
She gave a rare playful smile.
Then she redistributed the eggs back to them.
“I secretly brought some savings with me.
“Now that Uncle Zhou and Zhou Yunting are injured, they definitely can’t work for the next few days, and they shouldn’t go outside either.
“I’m thinking of secretly going to the county town to buy some food and simple household supplies.
“Life still has to go on…”
All three men froze slightly.
Old Master Zhou looked astonished.
“Zhixia, you actually brought money with you? During the searches…”
Liu Zhixia lifted her chin proudly.
“Grandpa Zhou, this just proves you soldiers aren’t meticulous enough.
“We girls always have ways to hide things.
“Anyway, you don’t need to worry about the family going hungry!”
Zhou Yunting watched the girl before him.
One moment she was decisive and clever.
The next, lively and mischievous.
And he realized that every side of her drew people’s eyes irresistibly.
Quietly lowering his head to continue eating, he found his heart calming because of her words.
He believed Liu Zhixia was not someone who spoke carelessly.
Because of what happened to the Zhou family, news spread quickly through the village.
The production captain was not a heartless man.
Unexpectedly, Old Master Zhou and Liu Zhixia were reassigned to work alongside the villagers during the autumn harvest.
This was something none of them had anticipated.
Still, it was undoubtedly good news.
On the first day before work, Liu Zhixia woke especially early.
She cooked a mixed rice meal using the leftover white rice and the millet the villagers had gifted them.
Then she took two tomatoes from her spatial storage and made scrambled eggs with tomatoes using yesterday’s eggs.
She had fully expected the Zhou family to ask where the tomatoes came from and had already prepared an explanation.
Yet after the entire meal, no one asked a single question.
At this time, most households had small private garden plots, and many villagers grew tomatoes themselves.
Besides, Liu Zhixia had been the one handling the gifts the villagers brought yesterday.
So whatever explanation she gave, the Zhou family likely would not question it.
Still, she had not expected them not to ask at all.
What Liu Zhixia did not know was this:
From the moment she willingly chose to accompany the Zhou family into exile, she had already become one of them.
Even if there truly were something suspicious about her, the Zhou family would absolutely help conceal it.
That was simply the kind of people the Zhou family were.
Though their family line was small, they were exceptionally united—and fiercely protective of their own.
When Old Master Zhou and Liu Zhixia arrived at the cornfields together, many villagers turned to look at them.
Among those gazes, one stood out the most.
It carried confusion, jealousy… and amazement.
Liu Zhixia also examined the young woman in return.
She was pretty—gentle and refined.
Around eighteen or nineteen years old.
She wore a red-and-white plaid shirt with dark gray cotton trousers and Liberation shoes on her feet.
The most striking thing about her was probably her hair: two loose braids hanging casually at her sides.
She looked noticeably different from the local villagers.
Liu Zhixia could not help glancing at her a few more times.
There was a depth in the girl’s eyes that did not belong to someone her age.
Interesting.