After finally serving food to the noisy group of young men calling her “Sister-in-law,” Qin Yu’e looked down at the completely empty basin in her hands—not even a drop of soup left—and let out a soft sigh before closing the serving window.
Aunt Liu came over from behind her.“Xiao Qin, how’s it going? Getting used to it yet? Don’t underestimate this little bit of work in the kitchen—it’s exhausting!”
Qin Yu’e smiled.“It doesn’t feel too tiring. I’ve been used to this kind of work back in my hometown.”
What puzzled her, however, was something else entirely.
After all, Qin Yu’e was someone who had come from the future, so she didn’t really understand just how poor this era truly was.
In her imagination, shouldn’t the army have the best food?
At the very least, they ought to have meat once a week, right?
But from what she could see now, it had clearly been far longer than a week since anyone here had eaten meat.
Today’s three dishes were all vegetables. The only difference was that one of them had been stir-fried using the broth from the braised pork they’d experimented with that morning. It carried a faint meat aroma, but there wasn’t even a scrap of meat inside.
And even that dish had been the first one emptied out.
Watching the soldiers outside practically scraping sparks from their lunch tins as they ate, Qin Yu’e couldn’t help turning to ask:
“Aunt Liu, why does it feel like the soldiers here can’t even eat their fill?”
At her words, Aunt Liu immediately sighed.
“Xiao Qin, people outside always think our troops eat meat every meal. But truth be told, even Company Commander Liu eats the same food as us! Sweet potato leaves and vines every single meal! Sometimes I look at these soldiers and feel bad for them too, but there’s nothing we can do.”
She pointed toward Xiao Dong, the purchasing clerk helping clean up in the back.
“Look, every time Xiao Dong goes out to buy supplies, he has to go door-to-door asking the villagers down the mountain. But in times like these, the villagers aren’t well-off either. Even if we offer money and grain coupons, it’s useless. Very few production teams can spare much grain.”
“As for pork, don’t even mention it! A production team only slaughters a pig once a year, and they even need approval for that. After slaughtering it, part of the meat has to be handed over to the state. The villagers themselves barely have enough left to eat. How could our troops possibly snatch food from the villagers’ mouths?”
Hearing this made Qin Yu’e’s heart tremble slightly.
If that was true, then perhaps the eggs she and the children had eaten yesterday were already the best food the troops could provide.
“What about the villagers raising chickens or ducks? Couldn’t we buy some?” she asked tentatively.
Aunt Liu waved her hand helplessly.
“The villagers only keep a few chickens and ducks. If they raise too many, they could get reported. Weddings, funerals, all kinds of major family events—they rely on those few birds for everything. How could we possibly take them?”
Her voice was full of helplessness, and Qin Yu’e couldn’t help sighing as well.
In the mountains, chickens and ducks were the easiest animals to raise. If they could just get some chicks and raise them themselves, then the soldiers could have meat in the future.
These young men were in the prime of their lives—how could they possibly get full eating sweet potato vines every day?
As she spoke, Qin Yu’e’s mind spun rapidly. Suddenly, she remembered that on the road here, in her dazed hunger, she seemed to have heard the cries of wild ducks somewhere nearby.
At the time she’d been too hungry to even keep her eyes open, so she wasn’t certain.
But if she had time this afternoon to go take a look, maybe she’d discover something worthwhile.
If luck was on her side, she might find some wild duck eggs. And if not, catching a rabbit would do too.
Rabbit meat might make you thinner the more you ate it, but meat was still meat!
“Xiao Qin, what’s wrong? Tired?” Aunt Liu gave her a light shove.
Qin Yu’e snapped back to reality and quickly smiled.
“No, I was just worried about the children.”
“Oh my, you’ve been raising those two kids by yourself since they were little, haven’t you? That’s only natural. Women are always like this when they’ve just left their children,” Aunt Liu said with a smile as she glanced at the nearly cleaned kitchen. “Alright, looks like things are about done here. Hurry back.”
Qin Yu’e had things on her mind and didn’t bother with polite refusals.
“Alright then, I’ll head back today. I’ll come earlier tomorrow to help out!”
Carrying a lunch tin filled with the leftover sweet potato porridge from the stove, Qin Yu’e walked out the door.
The moment she stepped out of the cafeteria, a tall figure followed behind her.
Without even turning around, Qin Yu’e knew exactly who it was, and her pace immediately quickened.
Watching the figure ahead suddenly speed up, Huo Guangji frowned.
What was wrong with this woman? Did she really dislike him that much?
He rubbed his still-aching nose from where he’d been hit earlier, strode forward, and grabbed Qin Yu’e’s wrist directly.
The moment he grabbed it, he froze in surprise.
Why was this woman so thin?
Her wrist wasn’t even as wide as two of his fingers together. Holding it made him feel an inexplicable pang of pity.
“Does Captain Huo need something?”
While he was lost in thought, Qin Yu’e’s indifferent voice rang out.
She stared at the hand gripping her wrist. His palm was large, his knuckles distinct, his calloused hand rough from years of work. She knew without trying that she wouldn’t be able to break free.
So instead of wasting effort, she coldly asked:
“Is this how Captain Huo treats his lawful wife? Groping her in public?”
Swish—
His hand immediately withdrew.
A flash of panic crossed Huo Guangji’s face, but he quickly calmed down.
“You misunderstood. I just wanted to give you the subsidy ration coupons from logistics.”
He pulled out a messy handful of meal tickets from his pocket. They were crumpled together, clearly stuffed in carelessly.
Qin Yu’e instinctively frowned.
Still, these were meal tickets for her and the children going forward, so she reached out, took them, and stuffed them into her pocket.
“Anything else? If not, I’m leaving.”
She didn’t want to stay a second longer.
But Huo Guangji reached into his pocket again and pulled out an old-fashioned cloth money pouch with faded dark-red embroidery stitched on the side, though the pattern was impossible to make out.
Opening the pouch, he took out a roll of money.
After counting carelessly, there were about ten yuan in total. He stuffed the entire wad into Qin Yu’e’s hands.
“The company commander said you’re short on money. This is all I have on me. Take it. And from now on, stop running to the company commander to complain about me whenever something happens!”
???
Qin Yu’e’s face filled with question marks.
When had she ever gone to Company Commander Liu to complain about him?
Then she remembered the dark expression on his face when he’d entered her room last night, and realization dawned on her.
So he’d gotten scolded by Company Commander Liu, and now he was blaming her for it!
What a huge scapegoat to dump on her shoulders—she wasn’t carrying that.
“Instead of suspecting me of speaking badly about you, Captain Huo, perhaps you should reflect on your own actions. Have you done something so outrageous and heartless that even Company Commander Liu couldn’t stand watching it anymore?”
With that, Qin Yu’e snatched the money from his hand and turned to leave.
What a joke—only a fool would refuse money! Besides, this was what she deserved anyway!