Delicious!
Chen Yue Lian’s face showed a look of enjoyment as she swallowed the piece of meat.
No seasoning, no side dishes, just stir-fried in the pan and sprinkled with a little salt.
Simple, yet it was already a rare delicacy.
Food was scarce now, people couldn’t even eat enough, let alone meat, which was even more precious.
Chen Yue Lian carefully looked at the ‘kid’ in front of her, discovering he had changed drastically compared to before.
Although he was still as taciturn as before.
But now, Qin Si’s eyes were no longer filled with the shyness and weakness of the past, they had become steady.
His features were exquisite, but not delicate; his three-dimensional contours gave him a look of resolute determination.
He had a calm demeanor, giving a strong sense of security.
His face was marked with the hardships of time, making him look even more mature.
Unknowingly, he had already become a man who could support a family…
“You feel different from before,” Chen Yue Lian said with emotion.
Qin Si paused his chopsticks, swallowed the food in his mouth, and lowered his eyes.
“What’s different?”
“You are only seventeen, but you look like you are twenty-six or twenty-seven,” Chen Yue Lian laughed.
“Poor children grow up early, they age faster,” Qin Si explained.
Chen Yue Lian nodded, acknowledging this reason.
Seeing that he had gotten away with it, Qin Si secretly breathed a sigh of relief and continued eating.
A woman’s intuition… it’s truly scary.
Qin Si was indeed not seventeen, the seventeen-year-old ‘Qin Si’ had died the day he transmigrated.
The corpse was almost frozen solid.
Qin Si had buried him behind the house, then took on the identity of ‘Qin Si’.
To avoid being discovered by the villagers, Qin Si had always covered his face with a scarf.
Today he really didn’t have the energy to cook, so he saw Chen Yue Lian with his true face for the first time, and she noticed the difference.
Fortunately, although their ages were different, his appearance was almost exactly the same as ‘Qin Si’s.
The only difference was the marks left by a few years of time.
“About today…”
Chen Yue Lian worried, “Zhao Da Wu will definitely cause you trouble in the future, Qin Si, I got you involved.”
“You’re overthinking it, it’s nothing serious.”
Qin Si swallowed the last mouthful of rice and said warmly, “The situation is special now, that guy suffered a loss today and won’t dare to come looking for trouble again, he’s afraid of death.”
The new country had only been established for less than three months, and everyone was watching.
How was the country? How was the government? What about the policies?
They were all unknowns.
In these times of universal fear, that guy wouldn’t dare to go to the officials to report what happened today.
One look at him, and you knew he had a dirty past, full of shady dealings.
If his dirty laundry was exposed, he’d be the first one to be shot.
Who among the officials would dare to protect him?
Even the closest relationships had to be severed and kept at a distance now, otherwise, you’d be tainted with guilt and unable to explain yourself.
Qin Si wasn’t afraid of him coming openly, he was afraid that the guy would try something shady today, harming Chen Yue Lian.
This kind of hooligan, ruthless and vicious, was impossible to guard against.
However, Qin Si didn’t tell Chen Yue Lian this, fearing that she would be worried.
He had to deal with that guy as soon as possible… Qin Si thought to himself.
Danger should be nipped in the bud!
It was better to take the initiative than to wait for others to come knocking.
If it wasn’t in the village today, that shot… would have been aimed at the man’s head.
“That makes sense, no wonder you have the guts to shoot,”
Chen Yue Lian sighed, “Who knows when this world will finally have good days again.”
“It will get better, the current government is good.”
Qin Si said in fairness.
“How is it good?” Chen Yue Lian scoffed, “The officials are all living in the city, there are so many soldiers, but they don’t fight the bandits, and today Chen Jia Gou was robbed again by the White Tiger Mountain bandits, our winter grain is gone, many more people will starve to death.”
So, the bandits who came today were to Chen Jia Gou.
Qin Si recalled the woman in red he saw today, her fox-like eyes gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
Had he seen her somewhere?
“Didn’t they distribute the land? It will get better in the future.”
Qin Si said.
“Yes, that’s true,” Chen Yue Lian nodded, “My parents were killed by the bandits, to be honest, the current government is already very good by distributing land.”
Chen Yue Lian was from Chen Jia Gou, and when the village was robbed today, she couldn’t help but grumble.
Seeing that the conversation was becoming increasingly heavy, Qin Si changed the subject.
“Who was that guy today?”
“Zhao Da Wu, don’t you remember?” Chen Yue Lian said with resentment, “Do you remember Zhao the Landlord? Back then, all the land in the surrounding ten miles was rented from his family, he didn’t treat us peasants as human beings.
When Si Jiu Cheng just peacefully liberated, he took his family and went to White Tiger Mountain to become a bandit.”
Zhao the Landlord?
This was the first time Qin Si had heard of this man, he didn’t ask any more, just listened quietly.
“Beat the landlords and divide the land, this Zhao the Landlord was also a coward, he ran faster than a dog, why didn’t they catch him and shoot him?”
Chen Yue Lian said regretfully.
“Is Zhao Da Wu related to this Zhao the Landlord?” Qin Si asked.
“Zhao Da Wu? He’s not even worth that!”
Chen Yue Lian said disdainfully, “Zhao the Landlord had a wicked slave named Zhao Niu, who always helped Zhao the Landlord do bad things, bullying our common people, Zhao Da Wu is Zhao Niu’s adopted son.”
Oh, so he wasn’t even a dog, at best he was a dog’s dog.
Qin Si understood Zhao Da Wu’s situation and was relieved.
Zhao the Landlord was a dog that wasn’t even worth bringing along when fleeing into the mountains, what kind of strength could he have?
The fact that the surrounding villages still allowed him to act arrogantly meant that they were probably intimidated by Zhao the Landlord’s past power.
They were afraid that Zhao the Landlord would bring the bandits back for revenge.
Although it was unlikely, what if?
As long as the bandits on White Tiger Mountain were not eradicated, Zhao the Landlord would forever be a yoke around the necks of the people in the surrounding ten miles.
A sword hanging over their heads.
Si Jiu Cheng had been liberated, a new country had been established, but the feudal shackles in the hearts of these villagers had not been completely broken…
After eating, Qin Si got up to go home.
“Take these things.”
“For you.”
Qin Si was concise and straightforward as he left.
Chen Yue Lian looked at the dozen or so pounds of meat and rice in her hands, her eyes filled with gratitude.
This was the fifth time Qin Si had sent her food this month.
It all stemmed from a month ago when she had a kind heart and gave him some food.
In this world, where people could starve to death at any time, food was a matter of life and death.
Giving someone a bite to eat was equivalent to saving their life.
But he had repaid her great kindness long ago.
If it weren’t for his repeated gifts of food, she would have starved to death long ago.
Chen Yue Lian looked at Qin Si’s back, aloof and cool, as if he were not from this world.
Her eyes twinkled, she suddenly smiled and quipped, “You stinky kid, trying to support me, want to eat your sister-in-law?”
Qin Si stumbled, his steps quickening, looking a bit flustered.
Married women in the countryside couldn’t hold their tongues… They were too tough.
Chen Yue Lian laughed.
She hugged the food tightly in her arms.
With food, she felt at ease.
She glanced at the needlework on her clothes, she didn’t know what she was thinking about.
Her face turned even rosier.