The two chatted, and Liu Yuemin took out the dress she had secretly kept, trying it on for herself. She planned to wear it when she visited her mother's family on the second day of the Lunar New Year, which would surely make Zhao Xiaoju’s envious saliva flow. With Chen Lishu not around, it felt like the heavens were far and the emperor distant, emboldening Liu Yuemin.
The corduroy outfit this time was truly beautiful. With such convenient conditions and no cost, she naturally wanted to keep one for herself. Besides, Lin Qi was just a runner; she didn't take him seriously. She and Chen Lishu were family. Even if Lin Qi wanted to report her, it depended on whether Chen Lishu believed him.
…
Time flew by until New Year's Eve. Although the soldiers were on duty and couldn't go home for the holiday, the usual festivities were still necessary. The camp leaders had begun preparations the day before, arranging the venue and organizing performances. By afternoon, everything was in order.
Wu Zheng was utterly exhausted. As soon as he returned to the office, he unceremoniously collapsed onto the chair, "My voice is hoarse from shouting. I should have gone training with Old Gu instead." Wei Gang was overwhelmed, and Wu Zheng volunteered to help, harboring a small intention to slack off. However, he ended up being dragged around, almost to the point of his legs becoming too thin.
Gu Xingdong looked up and scanned his listless appearance with a snort, "Serves you right." Wu Zheng clutched his chest as if deeply wounded and questioned, "Old Gu, are you still my brother?" Gu Xingdong raised an eyebrow, "Were you?" Wu Zheng was almost choked with anger but still tried to save face, "If you can get me a glass of water now, I'll forgive you." "I hope you die of thirst," Gu Xingdong said, though he still got up and poured him a glass of water. Wu Zheng gulped it down and, after wiping his mouth, returned the cup with a grin, "Sweet!" Gu Xingdong: "…"
"Old Gu," Wei Gang looked at Gu Xingdong, hesitating before speaking, "Have you heard any rumors from the family quarters recently?" Gu Xingdong asked, "What rumors?" "I heard your wife is reselling grain coupons." "Bullshit!" Before Gu Xingdong could speak, Wu Zheng directly cursed, "Heard? Heard from whom? Those old women in the family quarters?" "Old Wei, do you believe such baseless gossip? What kind of person is your sister-in-law? You know her best. She's a college student who's going to university, earning dozens in subsidies alone. Would she do this for a few cents? I wouldn't believe your wife would do this, let alone your sister-in-law." Wei Gang's face looked displeased, "I'm only reminding you for Old Gu's sake." Wu Zheng said, "Bringing this up in front of Old Gu shows you don't trust them as a couple."
"Old Wei, if I remember correctly, you send money home every month, right?" Gu Xingdong suddenly spoke, his dark eyes fixed on Wei Gang. Wei Gang was stunned by the question and nodded, "Yes. I have many brothers at home, and they need twenty yuan and five jin of grain coupons every month." "Is the money at home enough?" Wei Gang nodded again, "It's okay. The children are still young, and there aren't any big expenses at home." Gu Xingdong raised an eyebrow and looked at him with a half-smile, "Since I don't need to send money home and don't have children to support, do you think my wife needs to do such a thing?" Wei Gang's expression froze.
…
As it was New Year's Eve, even after his shift ended, Gu Xingdong stayed with the soldiers for a while longer before leaving for the family quarters. "You're back? I thought I'd have to wait a bit longer." Chen Lishu was kneading dough and, hearing the door open, poked her head out from the kitchen to look. "I came back early since there was nothing going on." Gu Xingdong said as he went to the bathroom to wash his hands. Entering the kitchen, he saw her kneading dough, with meat chunks next to her, yet to be minced. Gu Xingdong naturally rolled up his shirt sleeves, picked up a nearby cleaver, and began to cut the meat. His lean wrist held the handle steadily. Without him making much of a motion, a piece of meat was quickly sliced into uniform thin pieces. After all the meat was sliced, he systematically began to cut it into strips.
Chen Lishu couldn't help but laugh and tease him, "Xingdong, you must have been a cook before." Gu Xingdong turned his head, looking at her with smiling eyes, "You figured it out? Knowing too much isn't good for you." Chen Lishu immediately frowned in distress, "What should I do? Will someone interrogate me?" Gu Xingdong chuckled, "Maybe. You be careful tonight." Together, they quickly prepared the dumpling filling and wrappers and then began to make dumplings. "Why don't we put a coin in one?" Chen Lishu had a sudden idea. She quickly went to the room, found a one-fen coin, and took it to the kitchen to wash it clean. It was a custom in their area during the New Year that whoever ate a dumpling with a coin in it would have good luck for the year.
Soon, they had made a whole tray of dumplings. Gu Xingdong got up to clean the 'battlefield,' and Chen Lishu took them to the kitchen to boil. The plump, white dumplings soon floated to the surface. Chen Lishu scooped them all out with a slotted spoon, filling two large plates. She first gave two to their eagerly waiting cat, King Cat, before they sat down to eat. The dim yellow light cast a warm glow on the small room. Even though snowflakes began to fall outside, the two of them, in each other's company, felt as warm as spring.
"Huh? Why didn't we get any dumplings with coins?" Chen Lishu looked at the empty plates and, not seeing any coins, asked curiously. "Maybe they broke open in the pot?" Hearing Gu Xingdong's words, Chen Lishu hurried to pour out the water from the pot, but unfortunately, there was nothing. Since neither of them found a coin, Chen Lishu was somewhat bothered. Even after cleaning the kitchen thoroughly, she couldn't find half a coin. Chen Lishu began to suspect they might have accidentally swallowed the coin, even worrying about it a little. The truth was soon revealed the next morning when she was feeding the cat.
When she saw the coin lying quietly in King Cat's bowl, Chen Lishu felt a mix of amusement and helplessness. She reached out and vigorously rubbed King Cat's plump body, "King, are you going to have good luck this year?"
…
As January began, the start of school was approaching. Two days before reporting, Chen Lishu suddenly received a letter from Lin Qi. The letter stated that the accumulated fabric coupons had been used up, and all the 'fake collar' sets that had been made were sold out, with a total net profit of eighty-six yuan and two mao. Additionally, the corduroy fabric she had bought at the end of the year had seen fifty sets delivered to Zhou Bin, and the remaining ones were being rushed for production. Production in the team was about to start, and the progress would significantly slow down.
After reading the letter, Chen Lishu noticed a list attached to the back of the paper, clearly itemizing the fabric used and the distribution quantities for each person during this period. When Chen Lishu's gaze fell on Liu Yuemin's entry, her brow furrowed involuntarily.