Chapter 51 Life or Death

Because the two brothers had diarrhea the night before, even though they were fine now, it was not appropriate for them to eat a lot of meat and fish right away.

At noon, Song Liyun made a thin noodle soup.

Perhaps it was the natural and pollution-free ingredients that reactivated Song Liyun's cooking talent. As long as she had eaten or heard of it, she could make it.

After making the noodle soup, Song Liyun shredded the radish she had picked from Song Laoer's vegetable garden and marinated it to remove the water. She then took out two taels of half fat and half lean pork, chopped it up, added seasoning and shredded radish, mixed it, and patted it into pancakes.

Fry it in a pan and the aroma will spread far away.

Song Zhenping, who was working, sniffed and said to Xiao An, whose face was already covered in mud, "Your second sister is making something delicious again."

Xiao An's eyes lit up, he nodded vigorously, and touched his belly and licked his lips.

I ate so much chicken yesterday, but unfortunately I pooped it all.

From now on, no matter how good the meal is or how much stomachache I have, I will resist the urge to go to the toilet.

Song Liyun took out a plate, arranged the radish and meat patties into a pyramid shape, and placed a handful of pickles on the edge of the plate. This way, the dish was nutritious, colorful, fragrant and delicious.

It’s a pity that all the pickled vegetables and chili sauce that Mrs. Gu had worked hard to make for many years were given to Song Liyun.

When it's time to eat, the dining table is placed under the eaves of the side courtyard.

In the early winter sunshine, the three brothers and sisters were happily eating cakes and drinking soup, but in Suijin Town and the migrant workers' sheds, rumors were rife.

By now, many civilians have learned that the Song brothers and sisters have signed military household registrations and are about to move into a new house.

Some people envy the fact that they will have houses and land from now on, while others criticize being a military household as unfilial and saying that their descendants will have no future.

As time passed, Song Zhenping had not gone back to sleep for a whole day and night, and the topic of the laborers changed from whether there was a way out to whether he had a chance to survive.

Some people even opened a gambling table, and many people placed bets, some even joining in the fun by paying a few cents.

Most people died gambling, and only a few still hoped to survive.

Some people were saying that they should take a letter to Song Dekui, who was driving a car in the military camp, asking him to find a way to come back and visit his fellow villagers.

If we arrive in time, we might be able to collect the body, but if we delay for a few days, we might not even be able to find the bones.

The atmosphere at the cook's place was also tense.

Mrs. Cui felt relieved. When her daughter regained consciousness, she told her the whole story. It was Song Liyun who went out in the middle of the night and she followed her to see what was going on, and then she lost her.

Although it was his daughter's fault that she had brought trouble upon herself, it was also because of Song Liyun's negligence and running around outside in the middle of the night.

Seeing that her daughter almost lost her life and is now running a fever, Mrs. Cui thinks that it would be best if Song Liyun was bitten to death by the evil ghost, only then would she be happy.

Aunt Guo frowned, pulling her husband outside the shed and muttering, "I say, Liyun, that girl, brought her brother with her to work. She's from a poor family too. What if something happens to her? You should find a way to get to that house and take a look."

Aunt Guo's husband was in his thirties, a simple, honest man. He scratched his head and said, "When we arrived, the soldiers told us not to wander off while working. It would take me at least an hour to get there. If the supervisor saw me, I'd probably get my wages docked, but I'm afraid I'd get whipped."

This is where the military camp is being built. Captain Luo set some rules for everyone when they first started working. Those who work here must eat and sleep together and are not allowed to run around without permission. If they are caught doing so, they will be treated as traitors.

Aunt Guo knew that her husband was an honest man, and it would be harder than climbing to the sky to get him to sneak away to do private things.

You can only think for yourself.

Although I can't go there in person, I can at least ask someone to ask around.

Aunt Guo didn't know the management of military households in the military camp. There was only one person she could contact and who was easy to get to know, and that was Xiaoqi Xue Zhuang, who had been coming quite frequently in the past two days.

Ever since he helped Song Liyun choose a house and land, Xue Xiaoqi has been going in and out of the kitchen shed.

Yesterday morning, Xu Yaner got lost at night, and it was he who brought people to find her.

He also brought a doctor from the military camp to see Xu Yaner and help her get medicine. He came to check on her several times during the day and was generous, enthusiastic and considerate. Everyone was very grateful.

After finishing lunch, Aunt Guo looked towards the military camp gate.

In the morning, she heard from Mrs. Cui that Xu Yan'er had caught a cold and had a fever and needed to take another dose of medicine, so she guessed that Xue Xiaoqi would come.

Sure enough, just after a quarter past noon, Xue Xiaoqi hurried out of the military camp with a bag of medicine and went straight to the civilians.

After a round of greetings, Mrs. Cui smiled and escorted Xue Xiaoqi out. She waved goodbye from a distance, as if she was a mother-in-law seeing off her son-in-law.

It’s no wonder that Aunt Guo thinks this way, it’s mainly because Mrs. Cui is so enthusiastic.

Mrs. Cui thought the same.

Xue Xiaoqi is in his early twenties, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a handsome appearance. Thanks to years of military training, he has a straight body, walks with a vigorous stride, and speaks with authority.

No matter how you look at it, he is better than an ordinary farmer's child like Song Zhenping.

The most important thing is that his clothes are different from those of ordinary soldiers, and he can manage people. He is an official of some kind.

Not only did he spend money to buy medicine that day, but he was also worried that the girl would find a bitter taste in the medicine, so he found a bag of candied fruits from somewhere.

This is a good choice for a son-in-law.

Oh! If only I weren't a military household.

Military households are of low status, and whoever encounters them will be unlucky. Only a fool like Song Liyun would jump into the fire pit and exchange a good civilian household for a military household, and their lives will never be able to turn over a new leaf for generations.

Mrs. Cui lamented the impermanence of life, then took the things Xue Xiaoqi bought and went back to make medicine for her daughter with peace of mind.

When Auntie Guo saw that Mrs. Cui had left, she quickly chased after Xue Xiaoqi and called him over just before he entered the barracks: "General Xue, wait a moment!"

Xue Xiaoqi stopped, turned around, and saw that it was Aunt Guo. He smiled and said, "Aunt Guo! What's the matter? Did Yan'er ask you to deliver a message?"

Aunt Guo hurried forward and said, "Master Xue, it's about Miss Song."

Xue Xiaoqi's smile faded, and he asked in a businesslike manner, "Oh! What's going on with her?"

Song Liyun looks weak, but she has a stubborn temper. I asked her to choose a house in the town, but she insisted on looking for that haunted house. She was deliberately going against me.

If Xu Yan'er wasn't there, he would have to try to please her and then train her after marrying her. Now... naturally, he doesn't need to bother with that.

However, it felt good to have two girls to choose from.

Aunt Guo was anxious, and regardless of Xue Xiaoqi's obviously cold attitude, she said directly: "Master Xue, Miss Song and her brother moved into their house yesterday afternoon, and they haven't come back for dinner yet. I'm worried, worried that something has happened."

Xue Xiaoqi was just about to say that Song Liyun had found the house herself and registered it with the clerk, so it had nothing to do with him now.

Suddenly it occurred to me that Captain Luo seemed to attach great importance to the military households who came to his door, and he even had to treat them well.

If I ignore it, if something really happens, I'm afraid Captain Luo will not listen to my explanation and I will be held accountable.

Thinking of Captain Luo's constant saying "military law is ruthless", Xue Xiaoqi decided to report it to his superiors.

Just not now.

(End of this chapter)