After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Zhao Shanhe rolled his eyes.

"Xiuxiu, I know you're on Ye Cheng's side. But this isn't about who's on your side, it's about money."

Zhao Xiuxiu put the basin of water on the ground and walked to the stone mill to stand.

"Money? Okay. Then let me ask you, who found you that job?"

Zhao Shanhe opened his mouth.

"What did you, Zhao Shanhe, do every day before the quarry opened? You led a bunch of hooligans up the mountain to steal firewood, and down to the river to catch fish and shrimp. In the end, you couldn't even afford a decent pair of cotton gloves. Ye Cheng gave you a job for twenty yuan a month, and you've already eaten your fill, and now you're turning your back on me?"

Zhao Shanhe blushed.

"But we can't work for free."

Zhao Xiuxiu ignored him and turned to look at Zhao Dahai.

"Dad, I have something to say to you, are you going to listen?"

Zhao Dahai put down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth.

"you say."

"You know Ye Cheng better than I do. Back when our Dahe Village caused trouble at his quarry, they didn't hold it against us. When the two villages got married, the dowry of 300 yuan plus the 'three turns and one ring' (referring to a set of three watches, one radio, and a watch) was decided by his sister."

Zhao Dahai lowered his eyelids and remained silent.

"They're in trouble now, their money's frozen, it's not that they're reneging on their debt. Think about it honestly, if our Dahe Village just abandons them at a time like this, what will people think?"

Zhao Dahai took a puff of his pipe and slowly exhaled.

Zhao Xiuxiu squatted down and lowered her voice.

"Father, Ye Cheng is the man I'm going to marry. He said he'd sell everything he owns to raise the wages, and he definitely will. If you lead the people of Dahe Village to make trouble now, how will I be able to hold my head high in the Ye family after I marry him?"

Zhao Dahai had his pipe in his mouth, the cigarette butt glowing faintly.

Zhao Shanhe wanted to say something, but Zhao Xiuxiu glared at him and shut him up.

The courtyard was quiet for a while.

Zhao Dahai tapped the ashes out of his pipe and stood up.

"Alright. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

He walked into the house with his hands behind his back, and paused at the door.

"Xiuxiu".

"Um."

"Don't tear off the red cloth from your wedding dress yet. We'll talk about it after the money comes in."

Zhao Xiuxiu stood in the courtyard, watching her father's figure disappear behind the curtain. Zhao Shanhe was still squatting beside the stone mill, looking resentful and muttering something to himself.

Zhao Xiuxiu picked up the basin of water from the ground and walked over to him.

"Brother, if you dare to cause trouble in the arena tomorrow, I'll throw this bucket of water in your face."

Zhao Shanhe shrank back, picked up his bowl, buried his head in his rice, and dared not utter another sound.

---

The next morning, at the quarry.

The sun had just climbed over the mountain, and the dew on the pile of rubble hadn't dried yet. Ye Cheng had arrived the earliest and had already been stacking stones in the shed for half an hour.

People from Heishan Village arrived one after another.

Ye Zhu was the first one, carrying a sledgehammer, spitting into his palm and rubbing it.

"Brother Cheng, which section are we digging today?"

"That slope on the east side. They blasted it yesterday, and the rocks shattered. We need to split the large pieces into smaller strips."

Ye Zhu carried the hammer and headed towards the east slope. Behind him followed three or four young men from Heishan Village, each more silent than the last, but each more agile than the last.

Ye Cheng watched their retreating figures, his Adam's apple bobbing.

Everyone heard the rumors. Not one of them came to ask him about his wages.

Fifteen minutes later, Aunt Wang, who helped with the stove at the quarry, came over carrying a bamboo basket. The basket contained a few cornbread buns and a pot of cooled boiled water.

"Chengzi, try this."

Ye Cheng took the steamed bun and paused for a moment.

"Auntie, is this noodle yours?"

"What's wrong with our own? Eat it if you don't mind." Aunt Wang waved her hand and walked towards the kitchen. "I'll think of something for lunch, see if I can get some dried vegetables."

Ye Cheng took a bite of the cornbread, chewed it a few times, swallowed it, picked up the water bottle, took a sip, and continued moving stones.

Around 10 a.m., the people of Dahe Village arrived later than usual.

Zhao Shanhe walked at the front, followed by seven or eight men, all with their heads drooping and walking slowly.

Ye Cheng came out of the feed shed and glanced at them.

"You're here? Dongpo's side needs help, go over and help chop rocks."

Zhao Shanhe slung the hammer handle over his shoulder and stood still.

"Ye Cheng".

Ye Cheng stopped in his tracks.

"I've heard about the wages." Zhao Shanhe's eyes darted around. "Give me a straight answer: when exactly will they be paid?"

Ye Cheng looked at him.

"The loan application has been submitted and is currently under review. Once approved, the funds will be disbursed immediately, without delay."

"How long does it take for the approval to be processed?"

"If it's fast, it will take ten days to half a month."

Zhao Shanhe took a breath.

Ye Cheng nodded.

"Shanhe, I understand you. If you really can't hold on, you can go back first. I'll send someone to the village to let you know when the money arrives."

Zhao Shanhe opened his mouth, then looked at the group of people from Dahe Village behind him. Those people avoided his gaze; some were kicking pebbles, others were wiping sweat with their sleeves, and none of them uttered a sound.

"Alright, let's get back to work!" Zhao Shanhe waved his hand and led everyone to work.

---

Around noon, voices could be heard coming from the mountain path.

Zhao Xiuxiu carried the load on a shoulder pole as she walked down the dirt road. The bamboo basket at the front was covered with a piece of coarse blue floral cloth, making it bulge. The basket at the back contained several large lumps of old newspapers wrapped tightly together, the paper soaked through with oil and blood, the dark red color visible from a distance.

Zhao Dahai followed behind, a pipe dangling from his lips, a bundle of firewood slung over his shoulder. Zhao Shanhe, head bowed, carried a small half-sack of cornmeal on his back.

Ye Cheng took two steps forward to greet her. "Xiuxiu? What brings you here?"

Zhao Xiuxiu put down the carrying pole, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and smiled.

"I've brought meat for everyone."

Ye Cheng peeked into the basket behind him. A corner of the newspaper was lifted, revealing large chunks of pork ribs with tendons and membranes, two thick leg bones stuffed next to them, and a few radishes and potatoes squeezed into the gaps.

"This is……"

Zhao Xiuxiu had already bent down, slung the basket over her arm, and walked towards the kitchen without looking back.

"My family's pig for the New Year."

Ye Cheng opened his mouth.

"Did you slaughter a pig?"

"Killed them." Zhao Dahai strolled over slowly, tossed the firewood aside beside the kitchen, and tapped his pipe. "He chopped half a spare rib and two leg bones."

Ye Cheng glanced at Zhao Xiuxiu's back, then at Zhao Dahai, his lips moved twice, but he didn't say anything.

The muffled sound of chopping bones could already be heard coming from the kitchen.

Zhao Xiuxiu was quick and efficient. She chopped the ribs into short pieces, split the leg bones at the joints, and cut the radishes and potatoes into chunks. She lit the firewood in the stove, and flames licked up from under the iron pot, quickly causing the well water inside to bubble and froth.

When the bones are put into the pot, the first thing that comes out is a raw, fishy smell.

Aunt Wang came over after smelling the odor, stuffed two more bundles of firewood into the stove, and helped skim off the blood foam with an iron ladle. Neither woman said much; one managed the stove and the other the cooking area, working together smoothly.

Half an hour later, the fishy smell dissipated.

A thick, white steam began to billow from the kitchen chimney, carrying an intense, irresistible aroma of bones, drifting on the mountain breeze toward the pile of rubble.

The young men working on the east slope were the first to stop hammering and all looked toward the kitchen.

"What's that smell? Who's stewing meat?"

Ye Zhu sniffed twice and swallowed.

Zhao Xiuxiu poked her head out of the kitchen and shouted, "Brother Cheng, tell everyone to wash their hands and eat!"

She lifted the blue cloth from the bamboo basket in front, revealing a neatly stacked pile of cornbread cakes, golden and crispy, with the aroma of burnt rice crust. She had made them at home before leaving the house.

As soon as the lid of the iron pot was lifted, white steam billowed up.

The soup was simmered until very tender, with a thick layer of oil floating on top. The ribs were stewed until the meat separated from the bone, and the marrow in the leg bones dissolved into the soup. The radishes and potatoes were stewed until soft and flavorful, falling apart at the touch of chopsticks.

The aroma of meat completely masked the earthy smell of the rubble.

People were heading towards the kitchen from all directions.

---

Zhao Dahai stood in front of the material shed, tucking his pipe back into his waistband. He glanced at the workers gathering from all corners of the yard toward the kitchen, then at Ye Cheng.

"Chengzi".

Ye Cheng straightened his back.

"Uncle Zhao."

Zhao Dahai rubbed his hands together.

"I've been thinking about the wages all night."

Ye Cheng waited quietly.

Zhao Dahai took a breath, and it took him a long time to squeeze out the words.

"Forget about the money for now."

Zhao Shanhe peeked out from the kitchen doorway, his eyes wide.

Zhao Dahai waved his hand at him and continued.

"But there's a condition."

"Uncle Zhao, please speak."

Zhao Dahai pointed to the steaming iron pot in the kitchen.

"You can eat your fill."

He spoke each word carefully.

"In my Dahe Village, there are fifteen strong laborers. We'll provide them with three meals a day, enough to fill their stomachs. Cornbread or steamed buns are fine, as long as there's something dry and something liquid. We can't let our brothers swing the sledgehammer on an empty stomach."

Ye Cheng felt a lump in his throat.

"Uncle Zhao, take care of it. Don't worry about three meals a day. As long as I, Ye Cheng, have something to eat, the brothers of Dahe Village will have something to eat too."

Zhao Dahai snorted and turned his face away.

"Alright, stop getting sentimental, let's eat."

He waved his hand and went into the kitchen first.

More than forty people squatted on the open ground of the quarry, drinking bone broth from rough porcelain bowls and eating cornbread while sweating profusely.

Zhao Xiuxiu was busy in the kitchen, adding soup to bowls one after another. Ye Cheng stood beside her, holding a bowl, and glanced at her several times.

"Stop looking, eat your food," Zhao Xiuxiu said without looking up.

Ye Cheng lowered his head and took a sip of soup.

The soup was piping hot, with a thick layer of oil, the bones were stewed until tender, and the radish was infused with flavor.

He held the bowl, kept his head down and didn't say a word, and drank the soup clean.

Outside the kitchen, Ma Zhigang squatted against the wall, munching on a cornbread while peering into the threshing ground. More than forty people, from Heishan Village and Dahe Village, were eating together, chatting and laughing—a stark contrast to the tense atmosphere of the previous two days.

He touched the note in his pocket, thought for a moment, and then withdrew his hand.

Let's wait one more day. The situation is stable for now.

He stuffed the last bite of the pancake into his mouth, patted the dust off his bottom, stood up, and walked towards the other side of the bridge.

Halfway there, he stopped again and turned to look in the direction of the kitchen.

Zhao Xiuxiu was standing next to the stove, adding water to the pot with a ladle. Ye Cheng had walked up to her at some point and was helping her put firewood into the stove.

The two of them didn't say a word. One added water and the other tended the fire, working together like an old couple who had lived together their whole lives.