Li Guofu's brows knit together when he heard the voice.
He turned around sharply.
Not far behind him stood Li Jianhua, his gaze was fixed on him with an intensity that made the air feel strangely heavy.
The moment Li Guofu recognized him, irritation surged through his chest.
"What do you want?" he barked impatiently.
Li Jianhua clenched his jaw before speaking.
"I need to discuss something with you."
His voice was low and steady.
"In private."
Li Guofu let out a disdainful snort and turned as if to leave.
But after taking two steps, he suddenly paused.
A thought flickered through his mind.
Slowly, he turned back and gave Li Jianhua a suspicious glance. Then, without another word, he jerked his chin forward and began walking toward a quieter corner near the back of the schoolyard.
Li Jianhua followed him.
The two walked past the main road where students were dispersing and stopped beside a row of old poplar trees behind the supply shed. The place was secluded, far from the flow of students leaving school.
Only then did Li Jianhua speak.
"What would it take for you to leave my sister alone?"
Li Guofu frowned in confusion.
For a moment, he almost burst out laughing in annoyance, thinking the boy had dragged him here to waste his time.
But when he looked closely at Li Jianhua's serious expression, something suddenly clicked in his mind.
A sly smile slowly spread across his face.
So…
Li Jianhua was afraid now.
The thought pleased him greatly.
Li Guofu cleared his throat and folded his arms.
"You stopped me just to ask that?"
He chuckled mockingly.
"I don't have time to stand here listening to nonsense."
He turned as if to walk away again, deliberately giving Li Jianhua a smug smile.
But Li Jianhua immediately stepped forward and blocked his path.
"Listen, Li Guofu."
His voice remained controlled, though the tension in it was unmistakable.
"My sister is still young. Yes, she beat you… but there was a reason for it."
His gaze hardened slightly.
"Our family is already struggling. You and your family weren't making things any easier."
He paused before continuing.
"So she acted a little aggressively. I know you're angry. That's why I came to talk with you today."
He looked straight into Li Guofu's eyes.
"What would it take for you to let her off?"
Li Guofu gave a cold snort.
"Let her off?"
His voice rose in mocking disbelief.
"Just because you say so?"
He leaned closer with a crooked grin.
"Who do you think you are?"
Li Jianhua felt a flash of irritation at the man's stubborn arrogance, but he forced himself to remain calm.
He knew very well that threatening Li Guofu too much would only make things worse.
He wasn't naïve enough to believe that the mention of the Public Security Bureau earlier would truly restrain a man like this.
Even a cornered rabbit would bite.
Let alone a street ruffian like Li Guofu—someone who would do anything for his own benefit.
Li Jianhua took a slow breath to steady himself.
Then he spoke quietly.
"You can take your anger out on me instead."
Li Guofu blinked.
For a moment he simply stared, as if he had misheard.
"What?"
His brows shot upward.
"You want to be the scapegoat for that little sister of yours?"
Li Jianhua didn't answer.
He simply stood there, his expression calm but resolute.
The silence stretched between them.
Li Guofu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Then, gradually, a malicious idea began to form in his mind.
His lips curled into a sly smirk.
"Well… since you're offering yourself so generously…"
He chuckled darkly.
"Fine. You can take your sister's place."
He glanced around to make sure no one was nearby. The schoolyard had nearly emptied, and the distant chatter of students had faded into the streets beyond the gate.
Satisfied, Li Guofu jerked his head toward the back alley behind the warehouse.
"Come on."
His grin widened with ill intent.
"Follow me."
Meanwhile, Li Shuying hurried back from the county, running almost the entire way home.
By the time she reached the small courtyard of her house, it was still afternoon.
The moment she entered the yard, Li Shuying instinctively looked around.
The house was quiet.
After confirming that her mother had not yet returned, she immediately slipped inside, entered her room, and quietly locked the door behind her.
Only then did she relax slightly.
With a thought, she entered the space.
The second harvest of corn and sweet potatoes had already been completed.
That morning, before leaving for school, she had harvested the batch she planted the day before. Now another full batch was ready.
Li Shuying walked forward without delay.
With a single thought she harvested the golden ears of corn and the freshly unearthed sweet potatoes and stored them inside the warehouse.
After finishing that, she headed toward the ranch section.
Two fluffy rabbit offspring were already hopping about energetically inside the small enclosure, their white bodies bouncing playfully across the grass.
Li Shuying couldn't help smiling faintly.
"You two seem quite lively."
She bent down and fed both the rabbits and the chickens a bundle of dry hay.
The chickens clucked softly as they pecked at the feed, and before long she collected the freshly laid eggs from the nesting corner.
After checking the warehouse inventory, she discovered she now had twenty-four eggs stored in total.
One of the chickens had also grown large enough for processing.
Without wasting any time, she headed toward the processing workshop.
Inside the workshop, only two machines were activated.
One was the poultry processing machine, and the other was a hammer mill.
Li Shuying worked quickly.
She placed the mature chicken into the poultry processing machine and poured a basket of dried corn kernels into the hammer mill.
The moment she activated them, the machines began operating smoothly.
Within minutes, the poultry machine completed its work.
Different parts of the chicken—breast, thighs, wings, and bones—were neatly separated and placed onto a metal tray before being automatically transferred into the warehouse storage.
At the same time, the hammer mill finished grinding the corn.
Fine corn flour flowed out from the machine and was automatically packed into sturdy cloth sacks, which were then stacked neatly inside the warehouse.
What surprised Li Shuying the most was the packaging.
The flour had been packed into simple cloth bags commonly used in this era.
That meant she wouldn't have to worry about finding suitable packaging if she wanted to sell them outside.
"That saves me quite a bit of trouble," she murmured to herself.
After finishing with the machines, she gathered a bundle of dry hay and carefully wrapped the twenty-four eggs inside it for protection.
Then she took out two sacks of corn flour, each weighing fifty jin.
She also retrieved the tray containing the processed chicken.
With a thought, she exited the space.
Back in her room, Li Shuying quickly transferred the chicken pieces into a white enamel basin.
She filled another big enamal basin with cool water and placed the small one with chicken pieces into it and covered the basin with a lid, leaving it near the corner of the room to keep the meat fresh.
After finishing everything, she finally sat down on the edge of the bed.
Now she was simply waiting for her brothers to return home.
A faint trace of guilt surfaced in her heart.
Her brothers were probably still waiting for her near the county gate.
But she had no other choice.
After all, tomorrow she planned to take some of the supplies from her space to sell at the black market Zhang Wenhao had mentioned earlier.
After thinking for a moment, Li Shuying suddenly stood up again.
"I might as well make dinner tonight."
Her mother probably wouldn't be home for at least another two hours.
She selected four eggs from the pile of twenty-four.
She also pulled out several white radishes from her space.
After a brief moment of thought, she added a piece of chicken breast to the ingredients.
Then, without delay, she left her room and walked straight into the kitchen.
In her previous life, Li Shuying had spent her final years living alone.
During that time, she had learned how to cook many dishes and had even developed a fondness for experimenting with new recipes.
Over the years, she had tried countless meals—from simple countryside fare to delicate city-style dishes.
As a result, her cooking skills had become quite good.
Yesterday, she had already bought salt, oil, and several basic spices, so she now had enough ingredients to prepare a proper dinner.
However, when she stepped into the kitchen, she couldn't help sighing softly.
The room was covered in dust.
Many of the metal utensils that once filled the kitchen had long since been melted down and handed over to the state during the steel collection campaigns.
What remained now was pitifully little.
An old iron pot, a few chipped bowls and chopsticks, and a simple earthen wok rested quietly on the stove.
Ever since the communal canteen had been introduced the previous year, they had rarely cooked at home.
Not because the canteen meals were plentiful.
But because their house simply had no grain or food supplies to cook with.
In such times, the kitchen had gradually fallen silent—its hearth cold, its utensils unused.
Until today.
Li Shuying rolled up her sleeves.
First, she fetched a rag and quickly wiped down the stove and table. After a short while, the place looked at least somewhat usable.
Only then did she step into the backyard, where several bundles of dried firewood for upcoming winters had been stacked against the wall by her brother's.
She carried a small armful back inside and crouched beside the kang stove, arranging the sticks carefully beneath the iron pot.
Lighting the fire proved less simple.
Her hands hesitated slightly as she struck the match.
After all, she had not done this in many years.
The first attempt failed.
The second produced only a thin wisp of smoke.
But on the third try, the dried wood finally caught, and a small flame flickered to life, crackling softly as it spread through the bundle.
Soon the fire burned steadily beneath the stove.
Before she began cooking, she moved through the kitchen with deliberate care.
One by one, she closed all the doors and windows tightly.
In these times, the smell of good food drifting through the air could be more dangerous than one might imagine.
During these difficult years, when many families struggled to fill even half their bowls, the aroma of meat or eggs could easily draw curious neighbors—or worse, unwanted attention.
Best to keep such things quiet.
As the old saying went "The tall tree catches the wind."
With the kitchen secured, she finally began preparing dinner.
First came the radish and egg drop soup.
She washed the radishes and sliced them into thin rounds before placing them into the iron pot filled with water. The fire beneath the stove slowly brought the pot to a gentle boil.
A pinch of salt went in.
When the radishes softened, she beat the eggs in a bowl and slowly poured the golden liquid into the simmering soup.
Delicate strands of egg blossomed in the broth like floating yellow petals.
The soup was simple, but warm and fragrant.
Next came the stir-fried chicken with radish.
From a small jar she took out a piece of wild boar pork fat she had brought home the day before. Cutting off a thin slice, she placed it into the earthen wok.
As the wok heated, the fat slowly rendered into clear lard, releasing a rich aroma.
Once enough oil had formed, she added the sliced chicken breast, stir-frying it quickly until the surface turned pale and slightly golden.
Then the radish strips followed.
The wok hissed as the ingredients met the hot lard.
With a few quick turns of her spatula, the dish began to release a savory fragrance that filled the small kitchen.
A little salt.
A splash of soy sauce.
Nothing more was needed.
Lastly, she prepared the steamed cornmeal buns.
The coarse corn flour was mixed with water into a thick dough, which she shaped into small rough rounds.
These were placed carefully inside a steaming wooden basket over the pot.
Before long, warm steam rose gently, carrying with it the comforting scent of grain.
Meanwhile, Li Jianmin and Li Jianguo were hurrying down the dirt road that led back to their village.
Their footsteps were quick, almost anxious, kicking up little clouds of dust behind them.
Li Jianmin walked slightly ahead, his brows tightly furrowed.
"I just hope Little Shuying is already home," he said as he quickened his pace. "If she isn't… then we'll have to go back to the county and search for her properly."
His tone carried obvious worry.
Li Jianguo nodded, though confusion still lingered on his face.
"If she really came home early, then she'll definitely get scolded today," he muttered.
"How could she leave without telling us?"
He frowned.
"Doesn't she know we wait for her at the same place every day?"
Li Jianmin nodded in agreement, though the situation still puzzled him.
The two brothers had waited at their usual meeting place near the county gate for nearly an hour.
But Li Shuying had never appeared.
At first, they thought she might still be in school, so they waited patiently.
Eventually, growing uneasy, they went to check her school—only to learn that classes had ended more than an hour earlier.
That was when their worry truly began.
Without wasting another moment, the two brothers immediately began the long walk back toward the village.
As they approached the familiar dirt path leading to their courtyard, Li Jianguo suddenly froze mid-step.
His eyes widened.
"I… is that smoke?"
His voice trembled slightly.
Li Jianmin followed his gaze.
Thin gray smoke was indeed rising from the chimney of their kitchen.
For a moment, he simply stared.
Then his face changed dramatically.
"Why is smoke coming out of our house?"
A sudden thought struck him, and his heart lurched.
"Did… did our house catch fire?!"
The moment those words left his mouth, the two brothers bolted forward.
They rushed through the gate of the courtyard like arrows released from a bow.
"Little Shuying! Are you inside?!"
Their anxious voices echoed through the yard.
Inside the house, Li Shuying had just finished arranging the last dish on the table when she heard the shouting outside.
Recognizing her brothers' voices, her eyes brightened instantly.
"They're back!"
Smiling happily, she hurried toward the door, intending to surprise them.
But before she could even reach it—
Bang!
The door was abruptly pushed open from the outside.
Li Jianmin and Li Jianguo burst inside in a panic, their faces pale with worry.
Li Jianguo was the first to reach her.
The moment he saw Li Shuying standing there unharmed, relief flooded his chest.
Without thinking, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Shuying!"
His voice was filled with concern.
"Are you alright?"
"Did anything happen?"
Li Shuying blinked in confusion.
"Huh?"
She looked up at him, utterly puzzled.
"What's going on? I'm perfectly fine."
Meanwhile, Li Jianmin had already rushed past them toward the kitchen, worried that the smoke meant something had caught fire.
But the moment he stepped inside—
He stopped abruptly.
His body froze.
"Ah—!"
A sharp gasp escaped his lips.
Hearing the sound, Li Jianguo immediately released Li Shuying and hurried into the kitchen.
"What's wrong?"