“Dad, what happened to your hand?”
Yun Su had been up early watering the vegetable garden. Her big brother had gone out fishing and hadn’t returned yet, while her little brother was feeding the chickens in the coop.
It was in this relaxed atmosphere that Yun Su’s parents appeared at the courtyard gate.
They looked to be in good spirits, with a pile of luggage at their feet. The only thing wrong was that Yun Su’s father had his left arm in a sling around his neck.
Her little brother heard Yun Su’s voice and immediately ran over. Taking one look at the scene, he dashed straight to his father and stared at his injured arm.
“Alright, alright. It’s nothing. Just a minor injury—it’ll heal in a while. Su Su, don’t worry, help your mother with her things. Fuzai, the luggage on the ground is yours.”
Yun Su’s father cheerfully greeted the children, acting as if his injured arm was no big deal.
The four of them soon entered the main hall. Yun Su finally snapped out of it. “Mom, Dad, have you had breakfast?”
It was now a little past eight in the morning, approaching nine. The earliest boat from Yangcheng to here departed at 5:30 a.m.
“We had a couple of pieces of fermented rice cake. Don’t fuss. Your father and I will just have some malted milk in a bit. Huaimin is still out fishing, right?”
Yun Su’s mother spoke while hurriedly pulling all sorts of delicious treats out of their luggage, urging the kids to come and take some. She clearly doted on her children.
Fuzai didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately grabbed some goodies. When Yun Su’s mother saw that Yun Su wasn’t moving, she promptly took a piece of cake and put it in her daughter’s hand.
Yun Su had thought she would feel unfamiliar with her parents in this life. But feeling the warmth in her palm, she suddenly felt completely at ease.
Looking up at the loving smile on her mother’s face, Yun Su found herself smiling back, her eyes crinkling. She took a bite of the pastry in her hand—a sweet, soft, sticky rice cake. It made her feel even more content.
—
With their parents back, the most energetic one was still Fuzai. He busied himself bringing tea to his father, then fetching a towel for his mother, running around nonstop.
Once her big brother returned with a basket of fish, the house became even livelier.
“Your aunt is finally satisfied—she’s got a golden boy.”
After getting married, Yun Su’s aunt hadn’t been able to have children. Giving birth to a son this time was like a heavenly blessing for her.
“Your father injured his arm, so he’ll be resting at home for a few days…”
“Your grandparents are back too. Later, the three of you should go across the way to visit them…”
After Yun Su’s mother finished telling them about various matters in Yangcheng, Yun Su finally told her parents what had happened over the past few days. The main points started from the day he fell into the sea, to dealing with the Hu siblings, to Yun Feng’s blind date.
After hearing this, Yun Su’s parents were very angry. The Hu siblings had done such things while the couple was away—it was like treating them as pushovers.
“Mom, Dad, don’t worry. They’ve already been punished. Anyway, I’m not going to associate with Hu Chunhua anymore. And as for Yun Feng…”
As she spoke, Yun Su signaled to her big brother, indicating that he should find an opportunity to bring up the basket of old clothes and the gold bars.
But soon, visitors arrived at the house.
—
“Uncle, Auntie, you’re back! Oh, Uncle, is your arm okay? Grandpa said…”
Yun Feng came in smiling and chattering away, showing no sign of the embarrassment from the blind date that day.
Yun Su actually admired this person a bit. In a certain sense, Yun Feng was as tenacious as the cockroaches you could see everywhere on their island.
Sure enough, even though the blind date had turned into such a mess, it hadn’t stopped her from going to work and acting very diligent and motivated.
Anyway, she had this indomitable resilience. Truly worthy of being the female lead.
“Good to see you, Xiao Feng. By the way, your big brother told us about your blind date. Your parents aren’t still angry at you, are they?”
Yun Feng shook her head. “No, they were just worried in the moment. Now that it’s over, everything’s fine.”
Then Yun Feng chatted away naturally, effortlessly engaging Yun Su’s parents in conversation. Anyone watching might have mistaken her for a member of the family.
Yun Su thought about her personality and guessed she wouldn’t be rattling on for no reason.
Sure enough, within ten minutes, Yun Feng asked, “Auntie, are you going to work tomorrow?”
Hearing this question, Yun Su immediately sat up straighter. Here it comes, she thought.
The island’s military logistics unit periodically purchased dried seafood from surrounding production brigades. Yun Su’s mother was in charge of this work. Tomorrow just happened to be the day they delivered dried seafood to the military logistics unit.
Yun Feng sometimes tagged along with Yun Su’s mother, offering to help.
Realizing this, Yun Su immediately understood. This was how Yun Feng had gotten to know Gu Zhengrong—by going with her mother to the military logistics unit.
Otherwise, a fishing village girl like Yun Feng would rarely have the chance to meet a regiment commander in the military.
Once she figured this out, Yun Su knew why Yun Feng had come.
She wanted to go with her mother to the military logistics unit. Once there, she planned to try her luck and see if she could get in touch with Gu Zhengrong.
It seemed that the blind date that day, and the subsequent incident of pushing Gu Zhengrong to the ground, had greatly stirred Yun Feng.
Yun Su didn’t know how the two had met in the original book. But from what she’d observed over the past few days, she felt that if nothing happened, it would be very difficult for Yun Feng and Gu Zhengrong to make any progress in this lifetime.
Could it be that in the end, the original book’s male and female leads wouldn’t end up together?
Yun Su’s imagination immediately ran wild.
—
After Yun Feng left, Yun Su reached over and patted her big brother on the shoulder.
He understood and pulled their parents into the room to show them the gold bars.
After Yun Su sent her little brother to the yard to pick some scallions, she followed them inside.
Inside, her parents were staring at the gold bars, clearly startled as well.
“This thing is too hot to handle!”
Yun Su’s mother exclaimed. She tried hard to think back, confirming that nothing unusual had happened during their time in Yangcheng.
“Anyway, we don’t need this for now. Just hold onto it and see if any rumors surface outside.”
Speaking of Yangcheng, Yun Su’s mother suddenly remembered the doctor at the hospital.
“Right, that Doctor Ji—his name is Ji Xiangtian. He’s a new friend. I didn’t expect him to be the doctor treating Dad’s injury.” As soon as his mother asked, Yun Huaimin immediately recounted his interactions with Ji Xiangtian.
“Exactly! That young man is remarkable. Handsome and capable. Such a fine young man—who knows in the future…”
Yun Su listened to her mother praise Ji Xiangtian from head to toe without repeating herself once. She almost wondered if the person her mother was describing was even the same Ji Xiangtian she knew.
Still, she hadn’t expected such a deep connection with him.
Yangcheng was a big city with so many hospitals. Yet when her father had his accident, they happened to run into Ji Xiangtian.
She thought they should invite him for a meal when he returned, to thank him for his help. She just didn’t know how long that would take.
Little did Yun Su know that she would get the chance sooner than expected.
——
“You don’t need to bring anything else. Mom brought water for you. Put your hat on—it’s hot on the road…”
Early in the morning, Yun Su got up and started eating breakfast. Meanwhile, her mother, Comrade Ma Ailan, was eating while repeatedly reminding Yun Su what to keep in mind when going to the military logistics unit.
Today, her mother was working—she had to deliver a batch of dried seafood to the military logistics unit. Seeing how eager Yun Feng was, Yun Su decided to go along with her mother today and watch the drama unfold.
Anyway, she was very curious whether the original story’s female lead and male lead would actually end up together.
They used an oxcart for the delivery. Her mother was responsible for driving the cart, delivering the goods, and settling the payment with the military logistics unit. This wasn’t an easy job—it required someone who could drive a cart and handle numbers.
“Alright, I get it. It’s just that sitting with Yun Feng the whole way is really uncomfortable.”
“Then just lean against the cart and sleep. Ignore her.”
After her mother came home yesterday, the two of them had talked a lot. Only then did Yun Su learn about Ma Ailan’s attitude toward Yun Feng—if Yun Feng was eager to work, let her work. After all, only a fool turns down free help.
This kind of thinking was exactly the sort of cannon-fodder mindset found in novels. Yun Su couldn’t help but think that she and her mother were truly mother and daughter.
Yun Feng arrived quickly. The three of them went together to the brigade’s warehouse, picked up the seafood, and set off with the oxcart.
On the cart, Yun Feng tried several times to chat with Yun Su. But she soon realized Yun Su had her eyes closed and wasn’t talking. Her mother was busy driving the cart and didn’t speak either. In the end, Yun Feng obediently fell silent.
Yun Su secretly watched her deflated expression and found it quite amusing.
The oxcart arrived at the military base around ten in the morning.
——
The troops stationed here were numerous, so the quantity of seafood they needed was large. They had to deliver the goods to the mess hall first, where the head steward would inspect them. After confirming everything was correct, the steward would sign off. Then they would take the signed form to logistics to get paid.
That was the process—Yun Su had asked her mother about it in advance.
“Where are you going?”
Her mother was inside talking to the head steward. Yun Su was waiting by the oxcart when she saw Yun Feng heading toward the back kitchen.
“I’m going to chat with some aunties I know.”
Yun Su didn’t say anything more. After watching Yun Feng leave, she thought for a moment and then followed.
“Yeah, I heard that match is a relative of the deputy chief of staff. The blind date is tomorrow.”
“That’s impressive. Getting connections to the deputy chief of staff’s family.”
“See, people say Regiment Commander Gu is capable. He doesn’t need to pull strings. When you’re that good, good matches just come knocking.”
Yun Su hadn’t expected to hear this news as soon as she entered the back kitchen. The “Regiment Commander Gu” these older women were talking about was most likely Gu Zhengrong. She glanced ahead at Yun Feng and noticed her pace quicken.
“Auntie Guihua, what are you all chatting about?”
“Oh, it’s Yun Feng! Here delivering seafood? Your brigade’s dried seafood is excellent—clean and fragrant.”
The woman called Auntie Guihua was a middle-aged woman chopping radishes with a kitchen knife. She’d also been the loudest one chatting just now.
Yun Feng naturally blended into their conversation and quickly confirmed that the “Regiment Commander Gu” they were talking about was indeed Gu Zhengrong.
“So Regiment Commander Gu’s match has really good qualifications?”
“Of course! Any family would love such a good match.”
Hearing this, Yun Feng clenched her fists tightly.
Just then, Yun Su’s mother called out to them from the entrance. Yun Su walked out.
“Where’s Yun Feng?”
“Inside, chatting with the kitchen staff. Apparently, that Regiment Commander Gu is about to have a blind date.”
Yun Su had already told her parents about Yun Feng’s target yesterday. Ever since the fall into the sea, she suspected Yun Feng had a hand in it. Naturally, she didn’t want Yun Feng to get what she wanted—at the very least, not smoothly.
Hearing now that Gu Zhengrong was going on a blind date, with a well-qualified woman no less, Yun Su felt a certain schadenfreude.
Just as mother and daughter were talking, a thin, weathered old woman walked toward the back kitchen.
The moment Yun Su saw her, she recognized her immediately.
What a lucky day today, she thought. The male lead Gu Zhengrong’s mother has shown up at the kitchen!
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