Chapter 81

After He Fang got into trouble, Ye Qingshui finally realized that most of the unfavorable rumors in the village about her had likely started with her.

Once He Fang was taken to the Public Security Bureau, Ye Qingshui felt as though a long-burdening matter in her heart was finally settled.

It was as if a stone had been lifted—her heart instantly felt light.

It was like seeing the sun again, basking in its warm rays.

But Ye Qingshui didn’t have time to dwell too much on the matter of He Fang, because soon she was busy again—the woodshed at the Ye household was filled with the sound of “bang bang bang” as bones were chopped.

After all, she had invited the female educated youths from Zhou Tingting’s dormitory over for a meal.

Ye Qingshui happily carried home a bag of lamb ribs. When Grandma and Mother saw it, both frowned.

“Shuiya, why did you buy this pile of lamb ribs? What a waste of money. You two don’t even have children yet, you should be careful with spending—otherwise, when you have a baby later, how will you manage? You greedy girl!”

Grandma poked her granddaughter’s forehead, nagging.

From New Year’s onward, there had already been spending on things like distributing wedding candies, buying milk powder, and treating the villagers to a “completion of work” meal. In Grandma Ye’s eyes, that was already a considerable expense. Being able to eat meat these days was already very good—how could anyone think there should always be another feast after the last?

Ye Qingshui quickly protected her head and said, “This was given by Yiliang, I didn’t spend recklessly.”

Mother lowered her head and chuckled softly, not stopping her daughter. She knew her daughter had suffered grievances lately and was unhappy, so eating something good would cheer her up.

She said, “Shuiya knows her limits. She’s inviting a few educated youths over for a meal, not just being greedy for herself.”

When Xie Tingyu heard his wife had bought lamb spine bones, his brows furrowed. Lamb was too gamey—he rarely touched it. But as long as it was cooked by his wife, he ate it.

After chopping, Ye Qingshui rubbed galangal onto the lamb spines. She noticed Xie Tingyu’s look of distaste, but smiled sweetly and contentedly told him, “Yu-ge, don’t underestimate these bones—they’ll taste so good you won’t forget once you try them!”

Only after getting home did Ye Qingshui realize that Liu Yiliang had not only given her lamb spines, but also some leg bones and ribs. No wonder it felt so heavy. The leg bones would be perfect for boiling into soup stock. Holding the mortar, she patiently ground the spices into sand-like powder and marinated the lamb spines.

By noon the next day, the female dormitory at the educated youth spot was bustling.

“Dahong, where did my sneakers go?”

“Does this outfit look okay?”

“Move aside, let me look in the mirror too—you’ve hogged it long enough!”

The girls were busy dressing themselves up. One person rummaged through her grain bag and casually asked:

“Tingting, should we bring some grain with us later?”

Zhou Tingting felt a little helpless.

She thought back to the first time she went to the Ye family’s to eat—she had just finished farm work, all dusty and worn, but they hadn’t minded at all and had treated her warmly.

She shook her head. “Just bring ration coupons, it’s only a meal. No need to make it such a big deal.”

“No way, this is the first time Ye Qingshui’s treating us,” Sun Dahong said.

The fuss made by the female educated youths soon spread through the whole place. On the men’s side, Liu Yiliang counted his money and told Shen Weimin: “I’m not going to the canteen today, you go by yourself.”

Liu Yiliang glanced at Shen Weimin, who was always left out, feeling a bit sorry for him. But in his heart, he was also smug—after all, Shen had often looked down on his sister-in-law before. His sister-in-law had a good memory.

Shen Weimin dressed slowly and neatly, deliberately combing his hair sleek and shiny.

“Oh, I’m not eating at the canteen either. Sister-in-law especially invited me.”

Liu Yiliang was so shocked his jaw nearly dropped.

…

When Ye Qingshui carried out a big pot of lamb spine stew into the courtyard, the aroma that spilled out instantly made people unable to focus on work, their stomachs growling with hunger.

The lamb leg bones had been simmered overnight, extracting the marrow’s essence, turning the broth milky white and extremely savory. The lamb spines were stewed until soft, falling apart with a light touch. Sucking the creamy marrow out of the bones—it was rich, fragrant, and smooth.

People arrived one after another. Only after Ye Qingshui had served the rice did everyone start eating.

Zhou Tingting couldn’t wait—she grabbed a piece of lamb spine, bit into the meat, and exclaimed, “Mmm, it’s so delicious.”

Her taste buds were overwhelmed, her eyes widened instantly. Though she was from the capital and had eaten plenty of lamb spines before, she had never had ones so fresh and tender. Drinking a sip of broth, her whole body warmed, sweat quickly forming on her forehead.

Xie Tingyu slowly ladled a bowl of soup. He had originally intended to eat pork, but when the milky broth entered his mouth, its gentle warmth flowed down his throat. In that moment, it felt as though the whole world had gone quiet.

The broth carried a faint milky fragrance of lamb, pure and delicate. Unlike soups overloaded with seasonings, this one was pared down to the extreme—yet each drop was irresistible. This bowl, infused with the marrow’s essence, left Xie Tingyu stunned for a long while.

Ye Qingshui smiled softly. To better extract the essence of the bones, she hadn’t even made red chili oil this time—the milky broth best showed off the freshness of lamb spines.

The word fresh (鲜), when split, the right side is indeed “sheep” (羊).

She laughed a little and lowered her head, eating seriously.

Liu Yiliang sucked on a bone, his eyes lit up. He never expected that lamb bones unwanted by others could produce such a taste. His hands greasy, he clicked his tongue in satisfaction. After a night of simmering, the spines were soft enough that with a light slurp, the creamy marrow came out easily.

The lamb spines were quickly finished off. Even after being full, the educated youths still longed for the taste lingering on their tongues.

After eating something so delicious, how could they go back to facing the bland, greasy, tasteless food at the educated youth canteen? Several of the girls were already mourning for their own stomachs.

But Liu Yiliang’s mood was steady—he was already planning to be more diligent in the future, and pick out more bones.

Sister-in-law loved these the most. If he picked more, maybe another feast would come soon!

This meal lasted a long time, and only when the last drop of soup in the pot was finished did everyone finally leave.

During the meal, Mother Ye was overjoyed, smiling so much she couldn’t close her mouth. This was the first time so many educated youths had come to their home. Wiping the grease from the corner of her lips, she said cheerfully:

“You’re all from the capital, full of knowledge and culture. In the future, you must help our Shui-ya more. She hasn’t had much chance to go to school, but she’s very ambitious. If you have free time, come to our home often and teach Shui-ya.”

Hearing this, Zhou Tingting and the others only felt that Mother Ye was being overly modest. In her mouth, Ye Qingshui became someone who hadn’t studied much. But when it came to culture, who here could compare to Educated Youth Xie?

Still, they responded sweetly, “Of course!”

Although Ye Qingshui could make things like the water instrument, she indeed hadn’t attended middle school, so they truly had the ability to help her.

When the meal was over and everyone dispersed, Grandma Ye tidied up the table. She counted the ration tickets and meat coupons the educated youths had left behind, along with money. Clutched in her hand, it had quite a bit of weight. Counting carefully, she found ten jin of ration coupons, three jin of meat coupons, and two yuan.

She froze—never had she imagined that this pile of cheap bones could be exchanged for so many coupons. Her granddaughter had made one meal and earned everything back with interest!

For a moment, Grandma Ye’s feelings were complicated. It seemed she had just discovered a way to make money.

…

After the busy spring plowing was done, the days flowed by like water, slipping unknowingly through her fingers.

The tender green seedlings drank the spring dew and gradually grew taller.

Aunt Ye’s belly grew bigger by the day. By the time of the autumn harvest, it was already round and bulging high. Her due date was in September—just around the corner.

During the harvest, Xie Tingyu, as a strong laborer, left early and returned late for several days in a row. His skin gradually darkened, his fair complexion turning to a light wheat color.

Thanks to Ye Qingshui frequently giving him nourishing food, his body became much stronger. Compared with his once refined and scholarly appearance, now he looked brighter, more handsome, and masculine.

One day, while Xie Tingyu was on night watch at the farm, he looked out into the pitch-black surroundings—ten miles in all directions without a single lamp. Gazing at the silent starry sky, he lowered his head and said to his wife with emotion:

“Our village ought to have electricity.”

At least then his wife wouldn’t strain her eyes reading at night, and sewing and mending wouldn’t waste so much kerosene money. Electricity was much cheaper than kerosene. Though he couldn’t give her a wealthy life, at the very least, he couldn’t let her suffer alongside him.

When Ye Qingshui heard his idea, her drowsiness disappeared. But then she remembered that Ye Family Village didn’t get electricity until the 1980s. She shook her head. “It’s too hard. Our place is poor. They’ve pushed for years to bring electricity, but it never happened.”

Xie Tingyu rested his hand on his wife’s head. When he had first arrived in the village, he had written a few times to the Revolutionary Committee, requesting electrification, but the letters had disappeared into the sea with no reply.

Feeling the softness beneath his palm, he gently comforted his wife: “Then let’s at least solve the problem of lighting and cooking first.”

Seeing her puzzled look, he explained: “I recently read in the newspaper that biogas is also a kind of energy. In many foreign countries, they use it instead of electricity for lighting and cooking. I think we have plenty of biogas here, don’t we? If we could use it, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

When Ye Qingshui heard “biogas,” she lowered her head, remembering that it wasn’t until the 1990s that biogas energy was promoted in their village. After that, Mother never wanted to waste electricity anymore.

Her eyes sparkled. “Yu-ge, how did you come up with that idea? It’s such a good one.”

Her heart burned warmly, and she clung to Xie Tingyu’s arm. “Grandma really raised you well!”

Xie Tingyu couldn’t help laughing and crying at the same time. He hooked her nose with his finger. “If you praise her like that, she’ll be delighted to know.”

Why did he have such thoughts?

His grandmother had once written to him: “Each person makes different choices, and Grandma respects yours. Most people’s lives are ordinary, plain, but even in ordinary positions, we can make extraordinary contributions…”

“I want our children to one day open their eyes to a life where they don’t need to light an oil lamp,” Xie Tingyu said.

Hearing this, Ye Qingshui’s cheeks flushed pink.

This man, honestly—this wasn’t what she meant to ask at all! She leaned close to his ear and whispered, “You think about children all day long. Do you want them that much?”

Xie Tingyu said seriously, “Of course I want them. But we should let it happen naturally…”

Suddenly, Ye Qingshui thought of a problem. It was already autumn, and the resumption of the college entrance exam was not far off. With Tingyu busy with all this, would he still have time to study?

But after thinking about it, she quickly pushed the thought aside, because the next day she received a package from the capital.

She and Xie Tingyu went together to the post office to collect it. The box was square, not too big or too small, something that could be carried in one hand.

The moment Ye Qingshui received it, a nearly instinctive premonition rose in her heart. Her heartbeat thumped wildly.

Could this be… news of Teacher Zhou’s book?

“Yu-ge… do you think this could be clothes or bedding that Grandma sent you?”

“Why don’t you open it and see?”

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