Volume One, Chapter 13: Catching Rats???

"Captain, the chicken soup is ready."

The cooking squad had delivered a large enamel basin of chicken soup. Its fragrance was so intoxicating that Wang Hu had swallowed his saliva countless times along the way.

...

"Don't cut your hair anymore. Keep it long. You're a young girl, yet you walk around looking like a tomboy every single day. Who would dare come to ask for your hand in marriage like this?" Wang Cui complained softly while tenderly applying medicine to Xia Niannian's forehead.

Such a wonderful child—how could anyone have the heart to hurt her? Whoever did this was no mother; she was a sworn enemy.

Wang Cui was five or six years older than Xia Niannian. Because of years of farm work, her skin was rough and dark. Though she wasn't even twenty-five, she looked forty. If they went out together, people would easily believe they were mother and daughter.

Hearing Wang Cui’s concern, Xia Niannian felt a warmth in her heart. She giggled and readily agreed.

Once the dressing was changed and her hat was back on, she headed straight for the kitchen. She had only eaten sweet potatoes, corn, and hazelnuts that morning, paired with the pickled radishes Hou Xiu'ai had sent over, and her stomach was already beginning to rumble.

But no sooner had she stepped into the kitchen than she heard footsteps in the courtyard. They were quiet, but she could clearly tell that the pace was cautious and furtive.

Wang Cui’s house had three rooms: one where Wang Cui lived, one that had belonged to her late mother-in-law and was now used as a storage room, and the third, which was the kitchen.

A stack of firewood sat right outside the kitchen window. Standing by the window, Xia Niannian happened to see someone crouched by the woodpile against the wall, as if searching for something.

"Who are you? What are you doing there?"

Xia Niannian’s sudden shout startled the man, who was bent over searching the corner, causing him to fall flat on his backside.

The man reacted quickly. Even as he tumbled, he turned his head to look at the person standing behind him and began to introduce himself.

"Hello, my name is Yu Mingliang. I’m an educated youth who arrived in the village half a month ago. I saw a mouse run in here just now, so..." Yu Mingliang stammered a frantic explanation.

Before he could finish, Xia Niannian interrupted, "So, you’re helping me catch a mouse?"

Upon hearing this, Yu Mingliang scrambled up from the ground and nodded like a woodpecker. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, that’s exactly right."

Xia Niannian’s expression changed instantly. She really wanted to snap, "Right my foot," but she held it in.

Seeing the shifty, rat-like look in his eyes, she suddenly became interested.

"Did you catch it then? Do you need my help?" As she spoke, she casually picked up a shovel leaning against the wall and held it mid-air.

"No, no, I’ll just bring a cat over tomorrow." Yu Mingliang waved a hand to decline and turned to leave.

Watching him scurry away in a panic, Xia Niannian put down the shovel and glanced toward the woodpile. Wang Cui kept an orange cat; in this house, one wouldn't even find a mouse hair, let alone a mouse.

"Captain, that looked like Yu Mingliang from the educated youth team!" Wang Hu said, looking at the man limping away from Wang Cui's courtyard in the distance.

Gu Nanzhou gave Wang Hu a look, picked up the enamel canister, and strode toward Wang Cui’s house.

Seeing that everything was normal in the yard and that Xia Niannian was unharmed, he felt an inexplicable sense of relief.

"Is there something wrong with this flour?" As soon as Gu Nanzhou stepped into the kitchen, he saw Xia Niannian staring blankly at the half-bag of flour. He set the enamel canister on the stove and walked over.

Xia Niannian looked up, blinked her large eyes, shook her head, and stared at Gu Nanzhou with a mischievous grin.

Caught off guard by her expression, Gu Nanzhou felt his heart soften. He lowered his head slightly to meet her gaze and uttered a single word: "Speak."

Xia Niannian felt a bit awkward at his sudden command. She knew her shift in attitude was a bit abrupt and hard for him to process, but she had no choice! One had to have the right attitude when asking for a favor.

She pursed her lips, pointed at the flour bag, and said pitifully, "I want to make noodles for my sister, but I don't know how to roll the dough." She looked at him with a beaming smile. "Do you know how to roll noodles?"

Most soldiers knew how to make steamed buns or dumplings, but she still held a glimmer of hope that he could handle noodles.

When she saw him take off his jacket and roll up his sleeves, revealing his dark, sturdy forearms, she knew she had asked the right person.

"That enamel canister has chicken soup in it. We'll have chicken soup noodles in a bit," Gu Nanzhou said, gesturing toward the stove.

Only then did Xia Niannian notice the yellow canister on the counter. She opened it, and a rich, savory aroma of chicken soup wafted out, making her mouth water.

She had been here for days, and her diet had left her looking sallow and thin. Now, seeing the golden soup, she wanted to hug the canister and drink it all.

...

While Gu Nanzhou kneaded the dough, Xia Niannian wasn't idle. She plucked some garlic sprouts from the backyard garden and dug a red radish out of the soil in the corner, washing it and slicing it thin.

There weren't many vegetables in winter, so having garlic sprouts for flavor and red radish for garnish was quite a treat.

She started a fire and added a spoonful of lard to the pot. The moment the garlic sprouts hit the pan, the entire kitchen was enveloped in a savory fragrance. She threw in the radish slices, stirred them, added a pinch of salt and some store-bought seasoning, and poured in a little water. A simple, delicious sauce was ready.

She ladled it over the chicken soup noodles—a perfect dish in color, aroma, and taste.

Xia Niannian took a large bowl to Wang Cui in her room and sat down in the kitchen to eat with Gu Nanzhou.

As she ate, she praised his noodle-rolling skills, noting how they were uniform in thickness and perfectly textured.

She couldn't help but feel happy for that female nurse; with such a capable boyfriend, she would surely be very happy in the future.

"Thank you!" Xia Niannian said, her greasy little mouth splitting into a grin. Her carefree, guileless expression made Gu Nanzhou momentarily doubt his earlier assumptions.

She had been well-cared for on the train, and that night as well—if Gu Nanzhou hadn't pulled her away, she would have ended up at the police station too.

Gu Nanzhou put down his chopsticks and ruffled Xia Niannian’s hair. "Don't say thank you to me again. Just eat."

Xia Niannian nodded, assuming he was just treating her like a child, and didn't think much of it.

After Gu Nanzhou left, Wang Cui emerged from the room with a mischievous grin. Leaning toward Xia Niannian, she suddenly asked, "Does Captain Gu like you?"

"..." Xia Niannian nearly choked on her food. She coughed lightly and waved her hand. "Captain Gu has a partner; she's a nurse at the hospital."

She wished this Captain Gu were the man on her marriage certificate, but unfortunately, he wasn't. They were worlds apart.

Upon hearing that Gu Nanzhou was taken, and by a nurse no less, Wang Cui’s mood instantly soured.

Still, she patted her shoulder comfortingly. "It's alright. There are plenty of young men in the military. After the New Year, I'll have someone introduce you to someone even better than him."

Her sister was beautiful and kind-hearted, tall and capable—she could find any good man she wanted.