Chapter 35: If you give me some money to make me happy, I’ll let you go today

“Thank your grandmother for me,” said Aunt Chun, far too polite.

She handed over cornmeal pancakes mixed with white flour, laced with a bit of sugar—soft and sweet, with a delicate fragrance. The captain’s family was well off and generous with their food.

The other children, seeing this, silently vowed to help Sister Lin gather more pigweed tomorrow.

“All right, come one by one, I’ll divide it up,” Lin Jingyue lifted the lid from the pot, releasing a rich aroma.

The children inhaled deeply, mouths watering. They stared longingly at the clay pot.

Lin Jingyue couldn’t help but laugh. She ladled out a bowl for each, making sure the meat portions were about the same. “Eat the meat and potatoes first—later, everyone gets half a bowl of soup.”

“Sister Lin, aren’t you going to eat?” Zhaodi, holding her bowl, was about to dig in but paused when she saw Lin Jingyue hadn’t served herself.

The other children looked over as well.

“Sister Lin, you should eat.”

“Sister Lin, is there none left? I have extra, I can share with you.”

“I have some, too.”

They all clamored to offer her their food. The world of children was pure, and Lin Jingyue’s heart softened.

Taking advantage of the basket’s cover as a screen, she slipped a bowl out from her hidden space. “I’ll eat, there’s still some left in the pot. I don’t need much—there’s enough.”

“Hurry and eat, careful, it’s hot.”

She served herself mostly soup, with just two pieces of meat and three or four chunks of potato.

The potatoes, simmered until tender, had soaked up the chicken broth. They melted in the mouth, fine and flavorful—utterly delicious.

Lin Jingyue cradled her bowl and sipped the soup. The children ate carefully but with immense satisfaction.

Some, like Zhaodi, even had tears in their eyes.

At home, just a sip of meat broth was a luxury—not something they could have every day. To get it even once a month was a sign of generosity at home.

In truth, everyone was the same now—some families went half a year without tasting meat.

“Hey, is that the smell of meat?” In the hills, Li Tongchui and Sun Tiezhu—two village idlers—caught a whiff of meat in the air.

With keen noses, they made a living off petty theft, stealing chickens and dogs in the village. No good food escaped their attention.

One was a relative of the captain, the other of the Party secretary. Their small-time crimes were tolerated—no one dared offend them, for fear of retribution from the captain or secretary.

“I smell it too—someone’s sneaking a meal up the mountain.” The two exchanged a look and followed the scent.

“Well, well, eating meat on the mountain—undermining socialism!” Li Tongchui burst onto the hillside, seeing only a handful of children and a strikingly pretty young woman.

His eyes darted greedily. The children jumped in fright, nearly choking.

“Uncle, don’t talk nonsense!” Tiedan, the captain’s grandson, wasn’t afraid of Li Tongchui. He puffed out his cheeks and stood up.

Only now did Li Tongchui spot him. “Little Tiedan, did you steal meat from your house? Watch out, your grandma will break your legs.”

“You little brats—why should you get meat? Hand it over!” Sun Tiezhu, impatient, barked at them.

He had no fear—his own uncle was the Party secretary.

The children cowered, not daring to eat further. Only Zhaodi hurried to shove her last two pieces of meat into her mouth, glaring fiercely at Sun Tiezhu.

“Hey, you little brat, I told you not to eat—looking for a beating?” Sun Tiezhu rolled up his sleeves and charged.

“Bang—”

But he didn’t even get close to Zhaodi before being kicked clear off his feet, tumbling down the hillside.

The children stared, eyes wide as saucers.

Li Tongchui beside him was stunned, staring in awe at Lin Jingyue, who calmly retracted her leg. Incredible!

“Thinking of stealing meat yourself?” Lin Jingyue looked at him coolly, as if considering whether to give him a kick as well.

“Thinking… No, not at all.” Li Tongchui’s instincts screamed that this girl was not to be trifled with.

He knew when to back down.

Lin Jingyue withdrew her gaze and addressed the children, “Finish eating and let’s go home.”

Afraid someone else would try to steal their food, the children hurriedly wolfed down the rest, not daring to savor it.

Lin Jingyue packed up, shouldered her basket, and led them down the mountain. Li Tongchui trailed at a distance, but she ignored him.

There was an unspoken rule in the village: whatever you caught on the mountain was yours to deal with.

“There she is—that little brat dared lay a hand on me!” At the foot of the hill, Sun Tiezhu had gathered a group. Seeing Lin Jingyue, his fury flared.

His gang were all local loafers.

“Isn’t that… Comrade Lin from the educated youth spot?” someone muttered uncertainly.

The prettiest and toughest girl among the city-sent educated youth.

“I don’t care what educated youth she is—today I’ll beat her to death!” Sun Tiezhu and Li Tongchui hadn’t been around lately, so they didn’t know about Lin Jingyue’s reputation for fighting.

Even the villagers had only heard tales and didn’t quite believe them.

“She was eating meat up on the mountain—might have good stuff on her,” Sun Tiezhu’s eyes glinted with malice. “Besides, that smooth skin… If we get our hands on her, wouldn’t it be nice to get ourselves a wife for free?”

They had used such tricks to take advantage of many before.

The men’s eyes grew heated—Lin was a rare beauty, not just in the village, but in the whole county.

“Sun Tiezhu, if you dare touch Sister Lin, I’ll tell Grandpa you bullied me!” Tiedan stood in front of Lin Jingyue.

The other children, though scared, instinctively clustered around her.

After all, Lin Jingyue was the first to ever give them so much meat.

“I’m not afraid of you!” Sun Tiezhu spat.

He glanced at Li Tongchui. “Tongchui, together!”

Li Tongchui hesitated but didn’t object.

Lin Jingyue patted Tiedan’s head. “Take them over there. I’ll be fine.”

“I won’t—Sister, they’re bad people!”

“Do as I say. Go.”

Under her gaze, Tiedan and the others pouted but moved to the side, glaring at Sun Tiezhu’s gang.

Tiedan saw Zhaodi secretly picking up stones, so he quickly gathered a few and handed them out to his friends.

Dawa, holding a stone, quietly slipped away.

“Comrade Lin, if you’re willing to give us some money to buy meat, we’ll let you go today,” Sun Tiezhu drawled.

“If you give me some money to make me happy, maybe I’ll let you go,” Lin Jingyue mimicked his tone.

“Ha, you’ll regret this!”

He charged first, and the others, eager for a share, swarmed after him.

“Bang—”

Sun Tiezhu was sent flying, crashing to the ground.

A slap—Lin Jingyue pulled work gloves from her basket, put them on, and struck.

With a punch to the stomach, the man on the left doubled over, face contorted in pain.

Lin Jingyue had learned some moves in the modern world, and with the original body’s great strength, a few grown men were no match for her.

In no time at all, the group—including the hesitant Li Tongchui—were sprawled on the ground, thoroughly beaten.