Chapter 26

Originally, Xie Tingyu had only made that comment in jest, not expecting Ye Qingshui to take it seriously. But once she did, she got right to work.

Ye Qingshui was like a busy little squirrel, picking through the books she needed and flipping through them one by one with earnest focus. At times she would fall into deep thought, sometimes furrowing her brows, clutching blank sheets of paper where she kept writing and sketching nonstop. There was a tenacity about her, as though time itself had frozen around her. She was so immersed in her concentration that, if no one interrupted her, she could likely go on until morning.

Xie Tingyu thought absentmindedly: If only she studied this hard during school…

He called Ye Qingshui several times, but she just mumbled vague responses without really registering them.

And so, dinner time passed by without her realizing it.

By the time Ye Qingshui had filled up half a notebook with her thoughts and finally looked up, it was already completely dark outside. The night had fallen deep and still. Just then, Ye Ma knocked gently on the door with a bowl of sweet potato porridge in her hands, smiling.

“Shuiya, time to eat.”

She stepped into the room just in time to catch her son-in-law staring intently at her daughter, and was a bit surprised. In her mind, it had always been her daughter chasing after her son-in-law, dead set and hopelessly devoted. Though Ye Ma normally appeared open-minded, it took a lot of sugar-coating of their relationship in her own heart to feel reassured.

Ye Ma said to Ye Qingshui, “You two have been holed up in here all day. I called you several times, but you didn’t respond. So I went ahead and made dinner.”

“You two eat up now.”

Ye Qingshui was starving. She took the bowl of sweet potato porridge and quickly started eating. Then, glancing at the bowl in front of Xie Tingyu, she thought: He probably looks down on this kind of plain village food.

Considering he needed more nutrition due to his condition, Ye Qingshui told Xie Tingyu, “I’ll go buy you some malted milk powder another day. It’s not right for a patient like you to eat the same food as the rest of us.”

As she spoke, she snatched the bowl of sweet potato porridge from in front of Xie Tingyu and said briskly, “Wait a bit, I’ll make you a bowl of noodles.”

Ye Qingshui walked out of the house with the bowl, hesitated for a moment, and then finished the sweet potato porridge herself. She ate until she was completely stuffed—two whole bowls, to the point her stomach felt bloated.

Ye Qingshui was a practical person. Although she had left the village and experienced the outside world, at her core she was still frugal and simple. Since she had accepted money to take care of Xie Tingyu, she wasn’t about to skimp on his meals. With her thrifty nature, she couldn’t bear to feed the sweet potato porridge to the chickens either.

Xie Tingyu watched her take the bowl and sneak outside to eat it. She thought she was hiding under the eaves where no one could see her, but her vague silhouette on the ground gave her away.

The dim glow from the window spilled across the ground like scattered gold, revealing a small shadow spooning the food into her mouth. Watching her quietly finish the entire bowl filled Xie Tingyu with a strange, complex emotion.

In his entire life, he had never met a woman as foolish as Ye Qingshui.

…

Ye Qingshui headed to the woodshed. That morning, she had boiled some bone broth while making buns. The fire had been kept going all day, specifically to produce a rich stock she could use for soup dumplings the next day. She planned to sell those at ten cents each—the same price as those in state-run restaurants.

But now, she ladled out most of the broth, sacrificing her profits to use it for the noodle soup.

The broth had simmered all day, turning a milky white and filling the air with a rich aroma. The fatty meat on the bones had long since melted into the broth, and the marrow’s nutrients had fully seeped out. The longer it simmered, the more flavorful it became. By now, it was a concentrated essence of bone marrow and meat.

Normally, Ye Qingshui wouldn’t go to such trouble at home—the firewood cost was too much. Her mother could only carry back a small bundle each trip to the mountain, and her strength didn’t match Qingshui’s. Making this broth was purely for the sake of earning money.

She kneaded and stretched the dough with practiced ease, the fresh wheat scent filling the air. After 99 stretches and slaps, the dough became soft and springy. She opened a jar and scooped out a spoonful of tu huang you (pure crab roe oil), adding it to the broth for an extra boost of umami.

The crab roe oil was handmade by Ye Qingshui. Back when she used to catch crabs, there were some that didn’t have much meat—too wasteful to throw away. So she scraped out the crab roe and used it to make a small jar of the prized condiment. After so many crabs, she had only just managed to accumulate that one jar.

One golden spoonful of crab roe, full of the fresh scent of river seafood, melted into the rich broth. The freshly pulled noodles were blanched in boiling water, then cooled in cold water to keep them chewy and smooth. She fried a sugar-hearted egg (with a soft yolk), poured the steaming broth over the cooked noodles, and topped it all off with a few hefty pieces of meaty bone.

When the steaming hot bowl of noodles was placed in front of Xie Tingyu, he was already famished.

The soup was rich and creamy, steaming hot. Ye Qingshui fed him spoonful by spoonful. The broth was flavorful and scalding, with a taste so good it was almost shocking. Xie Tingyu had had bone broth before, but never one as tantalizing and delicious as this.

She fed him the noodles too. Although he was injured and had limited mobility, he ate with gusto. The noodles were perfectly cooked—fragrant and chewy, soft but not mushy, springy and satisfying. They were clean and smooth, without the slightest starchy aftertaste. Even after finishing the entire bowl, the noodles retained their silky texture. When hungry, nothing felt better than a bowl of piping hot soup noodles.

After finishing the delicious bowl, Xie Tingyu thought about how Ye Qingshui had earlier hidden under the eaves to eat the leftover sweet potato porridge.

“You don’t need to make me separate meals in the future,” he said.

Even though… he really did want to eat it.

“Whatever you eat, I’ll eat too.”

Xie Tingyu thought to himself that next time, he’d remember to remind her to cook dinner.

After a pause, he added, “Today’s soup tastes a little different. It’s really good—do you want to have some too?”

Hearing Xie Tingyu invite her to taste the soup he had already drunk, Ye Qingshui felt a bit put off.

She quickly waved her hand. “I’m already full.”

As she spoke, Ye Qingshui fed him the last bit of soup as well, not willing to waste a single drop. Xie Tingyu ate heartily, and soon, the urge to urinate came.

The satisfied expression on his face gradually faded, his gaze started to wander, trying to divert his attention.

Unfortunately, Ye Qingshui wasn’t as observant as usual. She began cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks and returned to reading and thinking hard. Drawing on her past life’s experience, she was organizing a draft.

In her previous life, she had worked on a reservoir for a whole year. At that time, many educated youths from the countryside had returned to the cities, and female labor had to make up for the workforce. She had learned from Xie Tingyu, picked up some literacy, and gained a basic understanding of engineering. Sometimes, she even assisted the engineers with minor tasks and accumulated a lot of experience.

After building up courage for a long time, Xie Tingyu cleared his throat. At that moment, Zhou Tingting from the educated youth camp came looking for Ye Qingshui. She knocked on the window and softly said to her:

“I heard about what happened today after I got back. If I had been there, I would’ve stood up for you.”

Zhou Tingting glanced at Xie Tingyu, who looked displeased. Thinking she had interrupted something, she quickly continued:

“I heard everything. Qingshui, you were really brave to say what I didn’t dare to. I was part of the team that selected the well location too, but they dismissed my suggestions as too rigid. My dad studied geology, and their methods are childish. Let me tell you how they did it…”

Zhou Tingting quickly answered the two questions Ye Qingshui had asked the educated youths during the day—how they chose the location and what surveying methods they used. After hearing Xie Tingyu’s methods and comparing them to the ones Zhou Tingting described, Ye Qingshui could clearly see that his were scientific and meticulous, while the others’ were crude and simplistic. Truly, comparing goods makes you want to throw some out; comparing people just makes you angry.

“If I had been there… maybe I could’ve helped you,” Zhou Tingting said, her voice dropping to a whisper. She leaned in and added, “Don’t let today’s events discourage you. Those girls gossip like that because they’re jealous. Don’t take it to heart. Teacher Xie comes from a wealthy family… and has a promising future. Quite a few of us are interested in dating him.”

“I’m also thinking of finding another location for a well,” Zhou Tingting sighed.

She then glanced at Ye Qingshui’s densely written manuscript and couldn’t help but gasp. “Qingshui, what are you doing?”

“I’m designing a water-finding device,” Ye Qingshui replied.

Zhou Tingting was completely shocked.

Seeing that Ye Qingshui was about to launch into a long explanation, Xie Tingyu’s face darkened. Unable to bear it any longer, he coldly cut in:

“Comrade Zhou, if there’s nothing else, please leave. I have something to discuss with Shuiya.”

His voice was icy, nearly devoid of emotion.

Although Ye Qingshui felt a flicker of hesitation—she really wanted Zhou Tingting to stay—she took one look at Xie Tingyu’s barely suppressed expression and immediately understood what he wanted.

Suppressing a smile, she hurriedly tore a page from her manuscript and handed it to Zhou Tingting.

“I want to find another well too. Let’s work together. I wrote down all my ideas here. Take a look tonight, and if it makes sense, tell me tomorrow.”

She stuffed the draft paper into Zhou Tingting’s hand and walked her out.

Zhou Tingting clutched the fragile sheet of paper in confusion, the image of Teacher Xie’s cold expression lingering in her mind. She had no idea what she had done to displease him and shivered involuntarily. So Teacher Xie was this strict in private… how scary.

She ran all the way back to the educated youth dorm under the moonlight.

…

Ye Qingshui was very perceptive. Xie Tingyu rarely had such vivid expressions—gritting his teeth, eyes lit with restrained fire. Thinking back to the soup from earlier, she figured he might’ve drunk too much. Trying not to laugh, she solemnly brought out the chamber pot, carefully placed it in front of Xie Tingyu, then quickly left the room.

Xie Tingyu stared at the dark shadow at the doorway, trembling as if blown by the wind. He could easily imagine that little girl secretly laughing.

His temples throbbed faintly as he slowly undid his pants and painfully positioned himself over the chamber pot to pee.

Xie Tingyu couldn’t understand how couples could become so intimately close. This level of intimacy had already pushed him to his limit.

Ye Qingshui waited a long time before tentatively asking, “Yu-ge, are you done?”

She knew he must be annoyed, so she waited a long while to let him calm down, and even softened her tone when she asked.

“…Mm.”

Only then did Ye Qingshui go in, eyes averted, to carry the chamber pot out for cleaning. As she washed it, she silently thought: In her past life, she hadn’t realized Xie Tingyu had such an adorable side—so awkward, yet so restrained.

Just how long had he been holding it in?

Author’s Note:

Ping Shengjun: This level of intimacy… “pushed to the limit”?

Emmmm, Yu-ge, I’m afraid once you truly understand it, you’ll be holding back a lot more…

Also, congrats to Yu-ge for accomplishing today’s “insert-a-flag” mission.

Yu-ge: “…”

Sansukini: Crab roes are very yummy, especially when you slather it onto steaming hot rice. Just that it has very high cholesterol, so eat moderately.

Support Sansukini on Ko-fi

Thanks for visiting. If you like this story, then I’m shamelessly asking you to visit NovelUpdates and give a 5⭐ review. (人❛ᴗ❛)♪тнайк　чоц♪(❛ᴗ❛*人)

You can also check out my other translations Here