The question was so direct that Aygul's heart skipped a beat.

She quickly lowered her eyes, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes.

Going to a performance? With Comrade Du?

She's never been to see anything exciting by herself with a young man before.

She bit her lip, her heart pounding.

The wind in the Gobi Desert seemed to calm down for a moment, and all that could be heard was the rustling sound of the two people's footsteps on the gravel road.

"Okay, okay." Aygul's voice was barely louder than a mosquito's buzz, and her cheeks were even redder in the shadow of her headscarf.

"Then it's settled!" Du Jianshan was delighted, and his smile widened. "I'll come and get you when the news arrives."

"Mmm." Aygul felt her face burning and quickly nodded.

The two walked in silence for a while longer, the atmosphere subtly quiet but not awkward.

Du Jianshan was secretly pleased, while Ayiguli lowered her head, a slight smile creeping onto her lips.

Soon we arrived at the familiar courtyard gate of Uncle Halikzi's house.

The courtyard had low adobe walls, and a faint smell of cooking smoke drifted from inside.

“We’ve arrived, Comrade Du.” Ayiguli stopped and reached out to take the basket from Du Jianshan’s hand.

"Okay." Du Jianshan handed her the basket, his fingers accidentally brushing against the back of her hand. Both of them quickly pulled back as if they had been burned.

“Then, I’ll go in.” Aygul stood at the gate of the courtyard, carrying a basket, the evening breeze lifting a corner of her headscarf.

"Go on in." Du Jianshan waved his hand and grinned, "Thank the uncle for lending the car for me!"

"Yes!" Aygul nodded vigorously, turned around, pushed open the courtyard gate, and ran into the yard like a startled fawn.

Du Jianshan stood at the door, listening to the indistinct whispers of Ayiguli and her father in Uyghur, and the soft creak of the door closing, before turning around with satisfaction.

He whistled off-key, pushed the empty cart, and wobbled towards the educated youth settlement.

These days in the countryside didn't seem so boring after all.

Du Jianshan pushed the empty cart back to the educated youth settlement, and the pungent smell of bear meat immediately filled his nostrils.

In the courtyard, Wang Tieniu was grinning foolishly at his bear's foreleg.

"Brother Shanzi! You're finally back!" Wang Tieniu chuckled and came over. "I've got it all planned out. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the cafeteria and ask Chef Zhang to stew it for me. It'll smell amazing!"

Du Jianshan parked the car against the wall, but frowned as he looked at the huge pile of bear meat in the corner.

The weather in this Gobi Desert is awful. During the day, the rocks are scorching hot, and at night it's chilly. The temperature difference is bizarre.

With so much meat, just salting it might work for one night, but it'll definitely go bad if left out for too long!

"Tie Niu, stop thinking about eating." Du Jianshan walked over and patted the pile of meat. "Hurry up and help! This meat needs to be processed quickly, or it'll be wasted tomorrow!"

Wang Tieniu was taken aback: "Huh? How do we handle it? Marinate it overnight?"

"I'll pickle some, and then make some jerky," Du Jianshan said, taking out a sharp dagger and coarse salt he'd bought on the black market from inside the house.

“Let’s split up. You’re stronger, so cut the good cuts of meat from the hind leg and ribs, with the good fat and lean meat, into strips this thick and this long.”