Chapter 75

Ye Qingshui and Xie Tingyu came home carrying a satchel stuffed full of jade, pearls, and antique treasures. Only after shutting the doors and windows tightly did Xie Tingyu begin taking the items out one by one.

With a clean cloth, he carefully wiped away the dust clinging to their surfaces.

The jewels sparkled so brilliantly that Ye Qingshui almost had to squint. Her feelings were a tangled knot, beyond words.

This was the first time she had ever seen so many treasures—antiques as if they were nothing more than “cheap cabbages.”

Flustered, she stammered, “I—I… What are we supposed to do with all this?”

Any single piece among them, fourteen years later, could fetch a sky-high price. Facing such scorching-hot possessions, Ye Qingshui’s heart thumped wildly, as though confronted with mountains of cash.

This was undeniably a staggering fortune.

Xie Tingyu kept patiently polishing, his movements gentle and meticulous. “They belong to you, Shui’er. However you wish to handle them is up to you.”

“Even Teacher Zhou’s medical fees—you’re the one who paid.”

Hearing that, Ye Qingshui’s heart grew even heavier. What had she done to deserve such treatment?

Perhaps in the eyes of others, given the era they lived in, these antiques and jewels seemed worthless. Yet in the eyes of those who cherished them, they would always be priceless.

Old Master Zhou had clearly treasured them deeply—why else would he have gone to such lengths to hide them?

Ye Qingshui stole a glance at her husband.

“What’s a little medical fee worth, especially when it’s to save someone’s life…”

From beginning to end, Xie Tingyu had never blamed her for “wasting money.” Instead, he had supported her.

Had it been any other man, a quarrel would’ve erupted long ago.

Xie Tingyu only smiled.

“If it had been anyone else, Teacher Zhou would never have given them away.”

At that moment, countless thoughts flashed through Ye Qingshui’s mind—should they accept the fortune without question, pretend ignorance and keep everything? Or…

But then she thought of the frail old man in the hospital, his decades of poverty, his daily toil cleaning public latrines, the dim oil lamp under which he painstakingly wrote with trembling hands…

The thought in her heart became clear.

“These aren’t ours,” she told Xie Tingyu firmly. “We can’t take advantage. Let’s hide them properly, keep them safe for Teacher Zhou. When they’re ready, we’ll return everything.”

“This matter must stay buried in our stomachs. Not a word to anyone.”

Xie Tingyu didn’t show much surprise. Watching her conflicted expression, he almost laughed. He reached out and pinched her cheek.

“Look at you, all tangled up. Someday, I’ll take you to see Grandfather’s collection—you’ll know what real treasures are.”

These antiques, valuable though they were, still had a price. But some things in life were truly beyond price.

Liu Yiliang had been right.

After carefully finishing the last piece, Xie Tingyu bent over and, catching her off guard, stole a kiss.

“My Shui’er is so good.”

Ye Qingshui froze, shocked. Her whole body went numb, the side of her face where he kissed her tingling as though the current ran straight into her chest.

Yet Xie Tingyu turned away at once, calmly packing the antiques as though nothing had happened—upright and proper, as serious as could be.

In the clear spring sunlight, he shrugged off his heavy sweater, leaving only a thin undershirt clinging to his solid chest. The fabric stretched over firm muscle, full of strength.

Ye Qingshui pressed her burning face in her hands and turned away.

Xie Tingyu wiped at his sweat, then ruffled her hair with a chuckle.

Such a shy, easily flustered little wife.

Taking advantage of the warmth of the Lantern Festival that just past, Ye Qingshui planned to make the “completion feast” she owed the villagers. Early that morning, she went to the supply store to line up—and happened to run into “Monkey” Zhang Yuanchao.

Seeing her, Zhang Yuanchao paused in surprise, then grinned. “Buying pork today?”

By now, Ye Qingshui was no longer the timid village girl who avoided everyone’s eyes. She no longer hid behind a mask, her smooth, fair face completely revealed.

In the pale morning light, her features were as clear and fresh as water, delicate and radiant, her cheeks softer than the tofu sold at the state restaurant down the street.

Zhang Yuanchao almost didn’t recognize her.

He stammered, “S-sister-in-law, d-do you want fatty or lean?”

If buying for herself, Ye Qingshui preferred lean—she and Xie Tingyu didn’t much like fatty cuts. But for a completion feast, fat was flavor. Six parts fat, four parts lean, the juices would run rich with every bite.

“Six parts fat,” she said.

With a flourish, Zhang Yuanchao hacked a cut that was seven parts fat.

The store’s butcher nearly blew his beard in anger. “Zhang Erhou! Look at that cut! How am I supposed to work with this? Get out of here, stop making trouble!”

Zhang Yuanchao only laughed. “They’re holding a completion feast after building a house. Bought ten catties already—what’s a little extra fat?”

Pleased, Ye Qingshui took the heavy slab of pork and turned to go, when Zhang Yuanchao hurried after her.

Scratching his head, embarrassed, he mumbled, “About those rotten things I said before… Sister-in-law, please don’t take them to heart. Don’t let it come between you and Brother Yu…”

But Ye Qingshui had long stopped caring. Smiling, dimples deep as she hefted the pork, she said, “Mm.”

At the mention of Xie Tingyu, her dimples deepened further, sweet as spring water.

Watching the girl he’d once bullied—now radiant and confident—Zhang Yuanchao flushed with shame.

He scratched his head, struggled for words, and finally blurted, “If you ever come buy pork again, just say the word. However fatty or lean you like, I’ll cut it for you.”

Though she preferred lean, seeing the young man’s red face, she nodded gently. “Alright.”

A late apology, decades behind, but sincere. Ye Qingshui felt no waves in her heart. All she thought of was the pork in her hands, and the feast to come.

She gave him a polite farewell. “I’ll be going now.”

And like a swallow taking flight, she pedaled away swiftly, vanishing into the street.

Watching her disappear, Zhang Yuanchao’s chest tightened with a strange feeling. He had witnessed with his own eyes the transformation of this village girl—from plain to beautiful, from timid to proud.

He recalled something Liu Yiliang once said and sighed.

Even the loveliest face will one day age. But a kind, good heart—that is the true priceless treasure.

Only now did he understand. Too late.

Back home, Ye Qingshui ran into Liu Yiliang.

When he heard the Ye family was preparing a completion feast, he had come early carrying two catties of fresh pork bones and ribs.

Last time, he’d freeloaded at the “groundbreaking feast.” This time, unable to help with the house-building because of his work at the livestock station, he made sure to contribute some meat.

At that moment, Grandma and Little Uncle Ye were off borrowing tables and chairs from neighbors. Ye Qingshui washed and chopped the ten catties of pork, scooping out ladles of pea flour until her palms were white.

Meanwhile, Xie Tingyu washed a whole load of greens.

Watching the husband and wife working together in harmony, Liu Yiliang felt a pang of envy.

Especially when Ye Qingshui picked a few vegetable leaves off her Yu-ge, and instead of minding her flour-covered hands being dirty, he only smiled. The harmony and sweetness between this young couple shocked Liu Yiliang.

“Yu-ge, you’re looking good this year.”

Xie Tingyu gave a mysterious little smile and kept washing the vegetables.

Seeing that Liu Yiliang had brought so much meat, Ye Qingshui couldn’t help scolding him: “It’s enough that you came—why spend all that money!”

Liu Yiliang chuckled sheepishly. “It’s nothing, I’ve eaten plenty of meals at your place too.”

So Ye Qingshui added another dish.

For this completion feast, the Ye family had been busy since before dawn. By mid-morning, the meaty fragrance drifting from the firewood shed spread far, making mouths water from a distance.

Before noon, the yard outside was packed full. The tables were already too few to seat everyone.

This time, even more people came—whole families, with a child on one hip and another tagging along, all sitting down together.

They’d heard that Ye Qingshui’s cooking was so fragrant it made you drool—no one wanted to miss out.

Ye Qingshui had expected this. Last time, her big trays of braised pork barely managed to give each person one piece, enough that everyone’s belly got a taste of oil.

This time it definitely wouldn’t be enough, so she made steamed pork with rice flour. Each slice of meat was cut thin, steamed till glistening with oil. The bean flour soaked up the fat’s essence, becoming soft, fragrant, and almost meaty itself.

Liu Yiliang and Xie Tingyu took turns serving food. When the dishes came out, everyone held their breath—the greedy, dark eyes shining with expectation were impossible to suppress.

“What is this? Smells amazing…”

“Tastes amazing too—there’s fat pork!”

The steamed pork came out of the fire, gleaming white, still dripping oil when served. The fatty pork, blended with the pea flour, was soft, glutinous, silky on the tongue—rich but never greasy.

Some couldn’t wait, popping a piece straight in—so smooth it slid down their throats. They were stunned after swallowing.

Even without braised pork for everyone, there was still red-cooked pork: three pieces of steamed pork and two pieces of red-cooked pork per person. The strong, fragrant flavor, the mouthfuls of savory fat—everyone ate to their heart’s content.

They chatted as they ate. Someone sighed, “That Shui-girl’s family really has good fortune, their days keep getting better and better.”

“Isn’t it just because she married a good man, flew up to be Madam High-Branch? Not like us rural women scratching in the fields.”

“But she’s capable too—she led us to dig the well. Without her, we wouldn’t have gotten so much grain this year.”

After the meat, everyone’s whole bodies felt comfortable and satisfied.

Someone dreamed aloud: “If only we could eat meat like this every day…”

The words had barely left his mouth before someone smacked him. “Eat meat every day? You wish!”

Still, there was no denying—the meat really was delicious. Ye Qingshui’s cooking just tasted different from anyone else’s.

The educated youths not only craved the meat, they also envied the couple’s good relationship.

Zhao Yan silently lowered her head. Even after so many days, her face was still pale, no longer rosy like before.

This was the first meat she had eaten in many days.

He Fang held her bowl of meat without knowing what to feel. All around her were voices praising Ye Qingshui. These villagers—whoever gave them meat, they praised. The Ye family was building a house now, but she didn’t sincerely want to help. Still, since everyone from the youth spot went, she had no choice but to follow.

She and Zhao Yan left quickly after eating.

“Why didn’t they finish their meat? Left so much?”

“These delicate educated girls—wasting meat! Daring to waste meat is asking to be struck by lightning!”

One quick man snatched up their leftovers and ate with satisfaction, while the slower ones regretted bitterly.

…

After the feast, for days the village was full of people praising Ye Qingshui’s cooking—like an endless stream of water. After the New Year, the Zhang family wanted her to cook wedding banquets, the Li family wanted her to cook for their ninety-year-old matriarch’s funeral feast.

Ye Qingshui refused them all. She didn’t have that much time to be chopping vegetables and cooking for others.

She wasn’t a hired kitchen cook!

So the villagers’ hopes of another taste of her food fell flat. Likely they’d only be so lucky when the Ye family next held a wedding. But when would that be?

The taste of Ye Qingshui’s cooking became an unforgettable memory. Some educated youths eventually returned to the city, living lives with meat on the table every day. But never again did they feel the same excitement—that thrill of tasting surprise and happiness amid hardship and poverty.

That bowl of meat became their comfort in hard years, and their courage to keep longing for a better life.

Years later, no meat ever tasted as good as it did back then.

…

After refusing all the banquet requests, Ye Qingshui freed up time to buy a map. With Zhou Cunren’s manuscript in hand, she went personally to the publishers.

At first sight—an unknown name, never heard of—the editors became far less polite.

Looking at the shabby manuscript, their brows furrowed. The author wasn’t famous, not an expert, just some nobody from a remote backwater—still wanted to publish a book?

“We don’t lack science textbooks and study guides here.”

One rejection after another. Ye Qingshui spent over half a month running around the city, only to be turned away by every publisher.

Dejected, she went to find the county officials who had once given her an award and attended her celebration banquet.

The county office still remembered her. After hearing her out, they warmly referred her to Red Flag Press, which promised seriously to organize a scholarly review.

But when Ye Qingshui and Xie Tingyu happily brought Zhou Cunren’s other manuscripts a few days later, Red Flag Press changed its tune.

“The book is written diligently, the content is quite good. But this Teacher Zhou’s political status… I’m afraid it won’t pass review. He should focus on reforming himself, not publishing books.”

Disappointed, Ye Qingshui took back the rest of the manuscript. What had been neat when she submitted it came back torn, missing pages, even stained—looking suspiciously like footprints.

Seeing this, the editors first looked guilty, then sneered:

“Just a worthless book. If not for a leader’s recommendation, who would bother with you?”

Swallowing her anger and grief, Ye Qingshui didn’t argue about Zhou Cunren’s “bad status.” Instead she left behind one bitter line:

“Worthless or not—you’ll see.”

Clutching the manuscript, she walked out.

Xie Tingyu saw her expression and knew what had happened inside. He gently rubbed her head in comfort:

“Don’t be sad. Yu-ge will take you to eat something delicious.”

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