Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback

CHAPTER 59: The 1960s Marriage Swap: Marrying a Cook (13)

　　Now that his departure was really happening, the whole family felt a quiet heaviness in their hearts. Without saying much, Hao Wenfang had already begun packing his things.

　　“Mom, it’s fine. I’ll sort it out myself later. Things like daily necessities and bedding will be issued once I get there.”

　　Ye Bai had already asked around. There was no need to bring much. The army would provide everything.

　　Hao Wenfang shot him a look. “Enough with the dragging your feet. You’re always forgetting things. Pack it now, and tomorrow morning you can just grab your bag and go.”

　　Left with no choice, Ye Bai stepped forward to help her pack.

　　Compared to his parents and the rest of the family, who were clearly downcast, he did feel a bit reluctant to leave. Still, what filled him more was excitement and anticipation.

　　——

　　Toward evening, as the sun was about to set, Duan Ziyu arrived.

　　He knew everyone had been exhausted from the autumn harvest these past couple of days, so this time he brought a bag of bones with a bit of meat still attached, a nice cut of pork shoulder, and another cloth bag filled with fine grain, two jin of rice.

　　He had come prepared to cook a proper meal for them, to help everyone recharge.

　　Having him personally cook in their home made the Ye family feel a bit awkward.

　　So the whole family pitched in. Whoever needed to wash vegetables washed vegetables, whoever needed to stoke the fire tended the stove, and Ye Su helped pass over the seasonings.

　　When he heard that Ye Bai was going to the army and leaving the next day, Duan Ziyu even specially agreed to make his favorite dishes, braised meat patties and stir-fried pork with chilies.

　　Ye Bai was so grateful he practically clung to him, treating him like a sworn brother.

　　The first dish was a big pot of bone soup. The bones had been chopped into small pieces, with chunks of potato and carrot added in, and a handful of chopped scallions sprinkled on top. It smelled rich and savory, and even the color alone made it look appetizing.

　　The pork shoulder was partly used for stir-fried pork with chilies and partly for the braised meat patties.

　　The stir-fried pork with chilies depended heavily on heat control. The chilies had to be fried first before adding the meat. Using the same ingredients, Duan Ziyu still managed to cook it far better than most people.

　　The braised meat patties were even simpler. The meat was minced and stir-fried until fragrant, then mixed with sweet potato starch. The mixture was pressed into a bowl greased with oil and steamed until cooked through. Once cooled, it could be cut into pieces and eaten however you liked, making it both tasty and convenient.

　　The last small piece of pork shoulder was saved for the end.

　　Duan Ziyu knew Ye Su liked sweet flavors, so he sliced it into even, not-too-thick pieces, marinated them with seasoning, then coated them in potato starch and fried them into cutlets. After frying, he sliced them into strips and drizzled them with sauce, turning it into teriyaki-style pork shoulder.

　　The plain white rice carried a light fragrance, each grain full and plump.

　　The whole family ate with their heads down, barely stopping to talk. Seeing how much everyone enjoyed the meal made Duan Ziyu genuinely happy as well.

　　Since the Ye family had enjoyed his cooking so much, they sent him off with quite a bit of dried goods when he left.

　　Ye Su personally saw him out and even slipped him a piece of hard fruit candy, only relaxing once she saw him eat it.

　　It was something she made in her space kitchen, using concentrated fruit juice and syrup as the base. Most importantly, she had melted a Revitalizing Pill into it.

　　She had only made a small jar, about twenty pieces in total.

　　She had originally made it before the autumn harvest and planned to give it to him, but she worried someone else might end up eating it.

　　Since the candy contained medicinal effects, she decided to keep it herself and only give him one occasionally.

　　In the end, things had been too busy during the autumn harvest, so he only got to try one of those candies on the day he helped with the farm work.

　　Today was his second one.

　　As Duan Ziyu ate the sweet candy, it wasn’t just his mouth that felt sweet, his heart did too.

　　He took her hand, gently kissed the back of it, then quickly let go again.

　　Ye Su couldn’t help but laugh. “Is it really that serious?”

　　Duan Ziyu looked a little shy, his eyes clear and bright as he nodded.

　　It was.

　　When she was good to him, his heart softened, and he just wanted to be even better to her in return.

　　Seeing right through him, Ye Su smiled and hooked her finger around his. “Alright then, such a good boyfriend.”

　　His face warmed up even more, but he actually liked it when she teased him like that from time to time. He gently held onto her finger in return.

　　Maybe because he was so happy, he felt a slight warmth rising in his throat. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just light and refreshing.

　　It seemed like the last time he had eaten this candy, he had felt the same thing. That night, his throat had felt warm too, and by the next day it had actually felt better than usual.

　　Duan Ziyu was observant by nature. Thinking about how Ye Su only ever gave these candies to him, it seemed like no one else had them at all, not even Ye Su herself.

　　He pulled out his little notebook and wrote: “Does this candy have something that helps treat my throat?”

　　Ye Su glanced at it and didn’t deny it. She casually explained, “Yeah. I once saw a method like this in an old miscellaneous notes book, so I thought I’d try it out. If it works, great. If not, there are no side effects anyway.”

　　Duan Ziyu immediately wrote again: “I feel like it works. Every time I eat it, my throat feels a bit different.”

　　Ye Su acted a little surprised, then grabbed his hand and laughed. “Then that’s great. We’ll stick to one every day from now on.”

　　He nodded and gently patted the top of her head. He had a lot he wanted to say, a lot of gratitude he couldn’t quite put into words.

　　Ye Su tilted her head up and smiled. “It’s okay, I know what you want to say. Ziyu, I’m really happy I can help you.”

　　Duan Ziyu held back the urge to pull her into his arms and instead gave a bright smile. He raised his hands, gesturing from himself to her and then to his chest, trying to show how much he liked her.

　　Ye Su took his hands down and personally taught him how to make a heart gesture. “Like this, both hands together makes a heart. You can also pinch it with your fingers like this…”

　　The two of them ended up lingering at the entrance of the Ye family’s home for quite a while again.

　　It wasn’t until a passing uncle teased them that they finally snapped out of it.

　　“Hey now, why are you young folks just standing at the door instead of going inside?”

　　Ye Su immediately laughed and replied, “There are too many people at home. Not exactly the best place for quiet talk.”

　　The uncle chuckled and walked off with his hoe over his shoulder.

　　Duan Ziyu’s lips curved slightly. He reached out and patted her head, signaling that he should head back.

　　Ye Su nodded and waved with a smile. “Go on, go on. It’s getting dark soon, just be careful on the way.”

　　He nodded, then pushed his bicycle away from the gate, glancing back every few steps as he left.

　　That made Ye Su laugh again. She watched his figure disappear down the road, humming softly as she turned back home.

　　Now this was the kind of romance she liked. Easy, sweet, and quietly satisfying.

　　——

　　On the “contrast group” side, Ye Liu’s situation was a complete mess.

　　At first, when Ye family’s parents heard the bride price was only 20 yuan, they flat-out refused to let her marry.

　　Her father even said, “You’re not even as good as Ye Su. People are willing to offer one or two hundred to marry her. You’re my own daughter and only worth 20? Do you have no shame?”

　　Ye Liu burst into tears. She had never been insulted like this in her life.

　　When she first returned to this family, she thought she had finally become someone from the city, naturally above everyone else.

　　But reality was nothing like that. No one gave her spending money, she didn’t even have a room of her own, there were endless chores every day, and nobody cared whether she was doing well or not. After all this time, she was still wearing her old clothes.

　　She had finally thought she could marry a military officer and escape this household, only to be accused by her family of accepting too little bride price.

　　But she had no money and nowhere else to go. So during the day, she could only go to the Tan family, helping out and trying to win favor.

　　At night, she would come back and curl up for another uncomfortable sleep.

　　She endured it like that for over half a month, even writing letters to Tan Jun urging him.

　　Only later did he reply, saying that his marriage approval had finally come through and he would return in a few days to get married.

　　Ye Liu’s gloom vanished instantly. She was overjoyed, thinking she had finally secured this man, and everything ahead would finally settle into place.

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