“Brother Huai, what did Comrade Cheng come looking for you for? Why do I smell chicken soup?”
“Our Brother Huai is really charming. So many female comrades in the factory already rush to curry favor with him, and now even in the countryside, there are still female comrades who like him.”
A group of young men chimed in one after another, making the entire courtyard suddenly noisy.
However, unlike other men, Zhou Yinghuai did not show a proud expression. Instead, his face slowly darkened, and his cold gaze swept across everyone present one by one. In no time, the courtyard quieted down again.
Having spent too many carefree and leisurely days in the countryside, they had almost forgotten that the man before them was the factory’s infamous cold-faced King of Hell. Though he was cold on the outside and warm on the inside, he could still be quite intimidating when he was serious.
They feared this leader, yet they also admired him.
“Comrade Cheng came to express her gratitude for today’s incident on the mountain. You’re here making up rumors about a female comrade—do you think that’s appropriate?”
“Not appropriate!” Zhao Zhigao was the first to jump in agreement. He must have had a moment of foolishness to join in on the jeering. Now, he felt both regretful and afraid, so he quickly took the lead in urging everyone to get back to work.
The others also realized that their joke had gone too far. No one dared to speak anymore, and they all buried themselves in work.
Zhou Yinghuai withdrew his gaze and stepped toward the kitchen. On the dining table sat a bowl of steaming hot chicken soup. The golden broth exuded a faint fragrance, and every piece of chicken and pine mushroom was coated in thick, rich juices.
After sitting down, he picked up a spoon and took a sip of the soup. As it slid down his throat and into his stomach, the taste was something only those who had tried it could understand. A flicker of amazement flashed in Zhou Yinghuai’s eyes. Immediately after, he eagerly took a bite of the chicken—it was both tender and soft, bursting with incredible flavor in his heated mouth.
And the pine mushrooms had a unique fresh aroma, like a gift nurtured by nature.
Zhou Yinghuai lowered his eyelashes, a faint smile gradually surfacing in his eyes.
—
Carrying a rice bucket and an iron tin, Cheng Fangqiu bounced all the way home. Just thinking about Zhou Yinghuai’s reaction filled her with uncontrollable joy, and the curve of her lips never faded.
“Mother, I’m back.” As soon as she entered the courtyard, Cheng Fangqiu called out. Hearing a response from the kitchen, she immediately brought the rice bucket over. Ding Ximei reached out to take it and, seeing how happy her daughter was, couldn’t help but be infected by her smile as well. She curled her lips slightly. “You delivered it?”
Seeing Cheng Fangqiu nod, the weight in Ding Ximei’s heart was finally lifted. Then, her attention shifted to the large iron tin in her daughter’s arms, and she asked in surprise, “Qiuqiu, where did this come from?”
“Comrade Zhou gave it to me.” Cheng Fangqiu placed the iron tin on the table. Its exquisite packaging stood out starkly in the otherwise simple surroundings.
“We can’t accept this. Hurry and send it back,” Ding Ximei said at once. She assumed that her daughter, being young and inexperienced, had accepted it without understanding its value. But she was different. Having lived a good life with her parents in her younger days, she could tell at a glance that this item was not cheap.
Cheng Fangqiu had already anticipated her mother’s reaction. Taking a sip of water, she leisurely repeated Zhou Yinghuai’s words.
“He said it’s not worth much, not even as much as the chicken soup I made.”
“This…”
Hearing her daughter’s words, Ding Ximei couldn’t help but press her forehead with a sigh, but she also understood Zhou Yinghuai’s meaning.
This male comrade was truly courteous—he absolutely refused to take advantage of others. But their intent in sending chicken soup was purely to express gratitude for his help, with no other implications. Yet, he had unexpectedly returned the favor with a gift, making the situation even more entangled.
Ding Ximei let out a slow sigh, looking at the iron tin as though it were a hot potato. Perhaps to Comrade Zhou, this item was of little consequence, but to them, it was something rare and precious.
“Mother, what is this? Something good to eat?”
At that moment, Cheng Xuejun ran in from outside, his eyes scanning the iron tin up and down, unable to make sense of the crooked foreign words on it.
Hearing this, Ding Ximei found it both amusing and exasperating. She rolled her eyes at him but still answered, “Chocolate.”
Upon hearing this, Cheng Fangqiu, who had been drinking water, put down her cup and looked at Ding Ximei in surprise. She knew about her mother’s background, but she hadn’t known that she could read foreign words. This discovery made her lean closer to Ding Ximei, feigning ignorance as she asked, “What’s chocolate?”
Curious, Cheng Xuejun and Cheng Baokuan also huddled in.
Seeing the whole family asking, Ding Ximei couldn’t help but chuckle, and at the same time, her memories drifted back many years. Back then, her father had forced her to learn a foreign language, saying that if there was a chance, he would send her abroad to broaden her horizons. But in the end, it all turned into nothing but an illusion.
Thinking of this, a trace of melancholy flickered in Ding Ximei’s eyes before she said, “It’s similar to the candy you eat during the New Year, but also not the same.”
As she spoke, she found herself unsure of how to explain it. Just then, Cheng Fangqiu reached out, opened the iron tin, took out a piece of chocolate, tore off the packaging, broke off a small piece, and stuffed it into Cheng Xuejun’s mouth. She moved so quickly that by the time Ding Ximei wanted to stop her, it was already too late.
“Just taste it, and you’ll know what it is.”
There was nothing wrong with her logic, but Ding Ximei had originally been thinking of finding an excuse to return the gift to Comrade Zhou. Now…
Forget it. Since he gave it to them, returning it would be inappropriate. It would be better to think of another way to repay the favor.
Just as Ding Ximei was fretting over this, a small piece of chocolate was stuffed into her mouth as well. Startled, she looked up and saw Cheng Fangqiu grinning brightly at her.
“Mother, you know so much. Hurry and try it to see if it’s really chocolate. Father, you should try it too.”
Cheng Fangqiu broke the chocolate into small pieces and gave everyone a share, not forgetting to eat a piece herself. The chocolate of this era contained no artificial additives or complex processing—just pure, rich fragrance filling her mouth. She pressed her lips together, slowly savoring the taste.
On the side, Cheng Xuejun happily ate the chocolate, but to his surprise, it wasn’t as sweet as he had imagined. Instead, it had a bitterness he had never tasted before. His face immediately scrunched up like a steamed bun. “Mother, didn’t you say it was like candy? Why is this stuff bitter?”
His exaggerated expression and tone made everyone burst into laughter.
“It’s from abroad. I just can’t get used to it.” Cheng Baokuan also frowned, forcing himself to finish his small piece. Then, he called everyone to sit down for dinner. He had already heard about what happened today from Ding Ximei, and as soon as they sat down, he started lecturing the siblings about safety. Not even the delicious pine mushrooms and chicken could shut him up.
Cheng Fangqiu and Cheng Xuejun responded perfunctorily while devouring their meal, their mouths glistening with oil.
Finally, Ding Ximei couldn’t bear to watch any longer and stopped Cheng Baokuan from continuing. The family ate their meal harmoniously.
After dinner, as the sky darkened, everyone washed up and went to bed since they had to work the next day.
Lying in bed, Cheng Baokuan was about to sleep when a sudden thought flashed through his mind. His eyes snapped open, and he quickly propped himself up. “Didn’t you go see Li Lifen today? What did she say?”
Hearing this, the drowsy Ding Ximei was instantly wide awake. She had been meaning to tell him about this, but the incident on the mountain had distracted her, making her forget. It wasn’t too late to mention it now.
“She agreed. She said she’ll let me know as soon as there’s a suitable young man.” After saying this, Ding Ximei turned over in the darkness and looked at Cheng Baokuan, her brows furrowed with visible concern. “But when I saw her expression, it didn’t look very good…”
Before she could finish, Cheng Baokuan interrupted her, “Our Qiuqiu is so beautiful. How could she not find a match? Normally, there are already plenty of young men in the village chasing after her. Now that we’re formally discussing marriage, even more will come forward. We just have to sit back and pick.”
He wasn’t worried about this at all. On the contrary, he was full of confidence, his face brimming with pride.
A father always sees his daughter as perfect. Although Ding Ximei shared some of his thoughts, she still needed to consider the situation objectively.
Cheng Fangqiu had plenty of bad habits—she was pampered, disliked hardship, looked down on the poor while favoring the rich, was lazy, couldn’t tolerate grievances, and had a temper…
Any one of these traits would be a major flaw when it came to marriage, something that in-laws would criticize heavily.
And being beautiful wasn’t necessarily a good thing. The young men who pursued her were all the kind of village boys who had no real prospects, only attracted by her looks. Once the novelty wore off, who knew what would happen?
Besides, relying on beauty to please others—how long could that last?
Ding Ximei herself had experienced being targeted by ill-intentioned people because of her appearance, so she understood that beauty was a double-edged sword, bringing both fortune and misfortune.
“It’s not as simple as you make it out to be.” She rolled her eyes at Cheng Baokuan, then said slowly, “Our family’s conditions are clear. We’re not looking to climb high, but at the very least, we need to find a match that’s well-suited, right?”
She had no intention of considering families that were worse off than theirs. What kind of mother would send her daughter off to suffer? That alone significantly narrowed the choices. On top of that, they didn’t want Cheng Fangqiu to marry into another village, which further limited their options.
To be honest, when it came down to it, she didn’t like any of the young men in the village. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone to Li Lifen for help.
“Of course.” Cheng Baokuan was on the same page as Ding Ximei. He scratched his forehead, unable to help but feel troubled as well. After a long silence, he sighed and said, “If only I had been more capable and had gotten into the meat factory back then, Qiuqiu wouldn’t just have to settle for marrying a cadre’s son—she could easily marry a worker.”
A few years ago, the meat factory had come to the countryside to recruit workers specifically for slaughtering pigs. Cheng Baokuan had nearly been selected, but unfortunately, he was rejected in the end.
That was a golden opportunity. The men who had been chosen back then had already moved their entire families to the city last year. It was said that they ate meat every day. The eldest daughter of one of those families had even married a worker from the meat factory. Their whole family lived in comfort, enjoying good food and drink, becoming the envy of the entire village.
“Why bring that up?” Ding Ximei patted his hand and comforted him gently, “Our family is doing pretty well now too.”
Cheng Baokuan was just sighing over it. Seeing that the atmosphere had become somewhat heavy, he lightened the mood with a joke. “If we didn’t have to consider family background, I’d really like Comrade Zhao. That young man has a good temperament—just by looking at him, you can tell he’d cherish his wife. If he could be our son-in-law, I’d be so happy I’d smile in my sleep.”
“You’re really dreaming big. He’s from the provincial capital.” Ding Ximei chuckled along, not taking it seriously. However, a tall figure surfaced in her mind. She followed his words and added, “Then I’d say I like Comrade Zhou. He’s tall, good-looking, kind, and upright. He even saved our daughter.”
The more she spoke, the more satisfied she felt.
Unfortunately, reality was what it was. This was nothing more than wishful thinking. As long as Qiuqiu could marry an honest, reliable, intelligent, and hardworking man who would cherish her, she would be content.
“I still need to have a talk with Qiuqiu about this. In the end, it’s most important that she likes and is willing to marry the person herself.”
“This kind of thing is for you and Qiuqiu to decide. Tomorrow, she has to report to the brigade leader, so remind me to wake her up early. If she oversleeps, that’ll be bad.”
“Alright, let’s sleep.”