His mind involuntarily pictured Gong Ze’s shy, restrained furrowed brow when he was overcome with emotion—and then his gaze drifting downward. Lu Youling’s chest felt like a hundred deer were stampeding inside him.
Stop thinking about it, stop thinking about it…
It’s true—once you taste meat, you can’t stop craving it.
Lu Youling waved away the lewd thoughts from his mind, grabbed a small stool, and sat down next to Gong Ze. He warmed himself by the fire while cracking open the salted duck egg and spreading it onto the bun with his chopsticks.
The salted duck egg’s oil sizzled out. Lu Youling quickly broke off a piece of the bun, dipped it in the oil, and raised it to Gong Ze’s mouth. “Quick, eat it! The oil is dripping onto my hand.”
Gong Ze glanced at him, lowered his head, and took a bite.
He also sucked the egg yolk oil clean off Lu Youling’s finger.
“I already ate at home. I’m not hungry. You eat it yourself.”
“I know~”
Lu Youling was nearly driven wild by the way Gong Ze naturally licked his finger. His nose tingled with excitement.
He was absolutely head over heels for Gong Ze.
Grinning, he leaned against Gong Ze and ate the salted duck egg in small bites.
After finishing the bun, the fish soup was ready. Gong Ze also used a steamer rack to heat a large bowl of sorghum rice over the soup.
When it was done, Lu Youling happily slurped down the fish soup while devouring the rice. The soup was so fresh he almost swallowed his own tongue.
As the saying goes, a half-grown boy can eat his parents out of house and home. Lu Youling’s body was still developing, and his appetite was enormous.
Just like college and high school boys in modern times—give them a bit of pickled vegetables, and they can scarf down eight steamed buns in a row, only to get hungry again right after eating.
Hungry to the point where his eyes turned red.
His stomach felt like a bottomless pit, and no matter how much he ate, he never gained weight.
Gong Ze had prepared plenty of food for Lu Youling. During the day, Lu Youling also foraged for wild vegetables, dug up sweet potatoes, or scrounged by the river for things to eat.
Despite eating so much, at night he still suffered from growing pains due to calcium deficiency and malnutrition. Both his calves would cramp up, and he would curl up and roll around in pain. Gong Ze would have to massage his legs for a long time before he could fall back asleep.
“Tomorrow I’ll go into town and see if I can buy some beef or mutton, and maybe some large bones.” He also wanted to try and get some malted milk powder if possible.
Supplies were scarce in this era, and everything was hard to come by.
It wasn’t like modern times, where you could buy whatever you wanted—and if you couldn’t find it, you could just order it online.
Gong Ze was thinking it over.
Lu Youling wanted to mention that he had his spiritual spring water—in fact, just a drop would have eased his discomfort. But spiritual spring water was more effective for illnesses; it had little effect on hunger or growing pains.
That didn’t mean having the spring water meant he didn’t need to eat. That wouldn’t work.
Hearing Gong Ze’s words, Lu Youling didn’t act as polite and reserved as before. He felt grateful, but he no longer carried the guilt of being a burden by eating someone else’s food.
Probably because their relationship had changed.
Lu Youling wasn’t one to be overly modest. He suggested, “Then I’ll take care of getting some seasoning and making barbecue! I bet you’ve never tried grilled skewers before! And roasted bones are delicious.”
Gong Ze pretended he had never heard of such things and smiled. “Alright. I’m looking forward to it.”
After their late-night meal, it was already very late.
Even though there was still an old man on the kang, there was no other place to rest, so Gong Ze and Lu Youling slept on the other side.
Earthen kangs in this region were quite large—they could fit five or six people—so there was no worry about crowding.
Last time, there hadn’t been enough bedding and blankets, but afterward Gong Ze had sent Shuisheng with two more sets, so they weren’t lacking.
After laying out the bedding, Gong Ze told Lu Youling to sleep first. He would keep watch and wait for dawn.
Around four in the morning, the old man woke up and groggily called out someone’s name. Gong Ze, who had been dozing lightly, opened his eyes instantly. He got off the kang, helped the old man sit up, and fed him a cup of water.
“Old sir, old sir? Can you hear me?” Gong Ze called out tentatively.
“Where… am I…” the old man asked groggily.
“You were fishing by the river and fainted. My friend saved you and brought you home. Otherwise, you would have fallen into the river and frozen to death,” Gong Ze said.
“…Thank you…”
The old man spoke, still not fully conscious.
Gong Ze helped him lie back down and said soothingly, “No need to thank me. I’m going to fetch the village chief. You rest a little longer.”
Then Gong Ze woke Lu Youling. Lu Youling rubbed his eyes. “What? He’s awake?” After hearing Gong Ze’s words, he shook himself alert and quickly went to check on the old man.
“He’s still a bit feverish. I’ll go brew some more medicine for him.”
“Okay, good. You stay here and watch over him. I’ll go get the village chief.”
Gong Ze hurried out. Country folk rose early, and by this time, some chimneys were already smoking. Gong Ze walked through the cold, misty dawn, braving the chill to reach the village chief’s house. He knocked on the gate.
Dogs barked for a moment, then soon footsteps approached.
The gate opened, and the village chief appeared, still wrapped in his cotton jacket, bleary-eyed. “Who is it?” he called out.
“It’s me.” Gong Ze called back, “Uncle, it’s Gong Er.”
“Gong Er? What’s wrong? You’re knocking on my door this early. Don’t tell me the old woman—”
The village chief’s eyes snapped into focus.
It wasn’t surprising that he thought this way. In the countryside, if someone knocked on your door late at night or early in the morning, and that person’s household had elderly members, it usually meant something had happened.
Gong Ze explained, “Uncle, you’ve misunderstood. My aunt is fine. It’s Youling—he found an unconscious old man by the river.”
“She didn’t know what to do, so she came to me. Village Chief, could you come take a look and see whose family’s elder this is? I haven’t been back in the village for a long time; he looks unfamiliar to me.”
This was serious. The village chief immediately raised his voice. “What? I’ll go get dressed. Wait for me!”
The village chief went back inside, put on his warm cotton pants and hat, and hurried out with Gong Ze to Lu Youling’s house. When he saw the man on the bed, he started in surprise. “Isn’t this Old Mr. Feng?!”
Gong Ze’s eyes flickered with a hint of understanding.
Feng?
So it really was the protagonist top’s grandfather.
Lu Youling didn’t know this, so he asked curiously, “Is he from our village? Why hasn’t anyone from his family come looking for him?”
The village chief explained, “Old Mr. Feng grew up in Fenshan Village when he was young. He left to make his way elsewhere when he was younger. Old Mr. Feng is a very capable man, and kind-hearted too. Later, when he got older and his health declined, he missed his hometown, so he came back to Fenshan Village for a while.”
“He built up his livelihood elsewhere, and his family is there too. Unfortunately, his son passed away very early, leaving behind only his daughter-in-law and grandson. I think his grandson is some sort of military officer.”
Hearing the word “military officer,” and given modern people’s trust in official institutions, Lu Youling immediately felt favorably toward this grandson.
“So he’s all alone here in Fenshan Village? What should we do now that he’s fallen this ill? No one can take care of him.”
“Well…” The village chief looked troubled.
At this point, Gong Ze spoke up. “How about this, Uncle? Give me the address of his family elsewhere. Today, I’ll go into town and send a letter. As for taking care of him… Uncle, you know Youling is a young woman, and her place is very small…”
He looked at the village chief with a conflicted expression.
Why would Gong Ze let Lu Youling take care of Old Mr. Feng, like in the original story, just to create an opportunity for the protagonist top?
In the original plot, the protagonist top should have been in Fenshan Village with his grandfather right now. And the old man hadn’t been saved by Lu Youling in this way.
Probably, due to Gong Ze’s arrival, some changes had occurred.
Lu Youling had been about to say “I don’t mind,” but then remembered his female disguise and held his tongue.
The village chief understood that it truly wouldn’t be appropriate for Lu Youling to care for the old man. He said, “Thank you, Gong Er. I’m truly grateful to Lu Youling and you for your heroic deed in saving Old Mr. Feng.”
“How about this: help me carry Old Feng back to my house. I have an extra room there where I can take care of him. And I’ll write down the address for you.”
“Then it’s settled.”
In the end, Gong Ze carried Old Mr. Feng on his back, and together they returned to the village chief’s house.
After the village chief handed him the address, Gong Ze took Lu Youling and first went back to the Gong residence to cover his tracks, making sure the Gong family didn’t realize he had been gone all night.
He then called Shuisheng, and the three of them caught a ride on a villager’s donkey cart to head into town.
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