Chapter 77: First Update

A certain Comrade Gu was adamant one night about not using condoms. He wanted to break free wildly, having tasted the flavor of freedom, like a tiger whale rolling in the sea. How could he let himself be put back into a condom? At the very least, he needed to see Xiao Hu Niu first.

The next morning, Qin Yao kicked him several times. "So many of these, and you're not using them? Then go give them away."

Gu Cheng fastened his collar button, his handsome face stern. "Am I supposed to go out and give them away? What kind of person do you think I am? I'm not in family planning."

In the 1970s, the advocacy for family planning began, promoting smaller families and better child-rearing. It wasn't mandatory, but there were often personnel doing publicity, going down to villages to give out free condoms.

When Gu Cheng got married, he also received two for free.

The village supply and marketing cooperative sold condoms, but very few people bought them. Most of the people who used and purchased them were city dwellers, and many villagers didn't even know such a thing existed.

Gu Cheng didn't want to give them away, and Qin Yao understood. After all, it would be embarrassing for her to give them away too. So they decided to keep them. At worst, they could save them for the kids to blow up balloons in the future, right?

While she couldn't bring herself to talk about it with others, she couldn't help but mention it to her best friend, Chen Baozhen.

That night, when Gu Cheng and Gao Jianguo didn't come home, Chen Baozhen brought her sister-in-law Gao Yingzi to Qin Yao's house for dinner. That night, Qin Yao cooked dishes, and Gao Yingzi brought over a basket of steamed buns as the staple food.

The three of them couldn't finish all the buns, but Qin Yao had a refrigerator. She froze the leftover buns overnight, turning them into "ice rocks," which could last for several days. When steamed again, they tasted just as delicious.

"Yaoyao, you're amazing! You've accomplished a great feat!" Chen Baozhen was shocked after hearing Qin Yao's story. Her friend Yaoyao had caught enemy agents! It was like something out of a movie, something that might even make the newspapers!

Qin Yao smiled. "It was just luck."

That night, they planned to grill squid, a large basket of them, more than they could eat. Chen Baozhen and her sister-in-law Gao Yingzi were roped in by their friend Qin Yao to help process the squid.

Squid was delicious but troublesome to clean. Without much culinary skill, the three of them peeled the skin off by hand.

After soaking the squid in white vinegar, peeling the skin became much easier. Unskinned squid was both disgusting and difficult to handle, but the vinegar-soaked ones became a single piece, like tomatoes scalded with boiling water. The skin could be peeled off in large, neat pieces.

Even so, Chen Baozhen still found it troublesome.

Chen Baozhen was a lazy person and didn't like dealing with fish. Shellfish like clams, oysters, sea shrimp, and crabs, which could be washed and thrown into the pot, were her favorites.

The last time they caught mudskippers, they turned them into dried mudskippers and still hadn't finished eating them.

After all the squid was skinned and cut, Qin Yao put them into a large bowl with marinade, letting them sit for half an hour. Next to her leg was a reddish-brown basin full of clams.

"These clams look like snails," Chen Baozhen said, squatting down to look into the basin. Fresh clams were spitting out sand, their heads resembling snails. They looked slimy but moved quickly, like a "magic rabbit" among snails, stretching out and retracting rapidly.

The sight of many clams spitting out sand was impressive, and Chen Baozhen watched, entranced.

Qin Yao said, "Let's each eat a jin. Let's fry three jin."

Clams didn't have much meat, so a jin per person was about right. Two jin would be too much. They could fry three jin in two batches, 1.5 jin each. Frying three jin at once wouldn't taste good unless it was a large pot dish.

After dinner that night, Qin Yao brought out her homemade mulberry milkshake, handcrafted and exhausting to make, but it tasted great. The purple mulberry milkshake was full of mulberry particles. Unfortunately, there weren't any suitable large straws, so they had to eat it with ceramic spoons, each spoonful packed with ingredients.

"These are mulberries? They're so delicious!" Gao Yingzi exclaimed, discovering for the first time how tasty mulberries could be. For someone from the mountains like her, they weren't uncommon. When she was young, she would pick a few handfuls on the mountain to satisfy her cravings. Some were sweet, some sour, and whether they were tasty depended on luck.

She didn't like eating them much. After turning fourteen, she felt like an adult and left the roadside mulberries for the seven or eight-year-old village children.

Such wild fruits could be combined with milk. It was the city girls, like their sister-in-law, who knew how to savor good food.

Qin Yao said, "Do you want to learn? I can teach you how to make it."

"Yes, yes, I want to learn!" Chen Baozhen was more eager than anyone.

Upon hearing the voice of her best friend, Qin Xiaoyaoyao felt a tremor in her heart. She could only hope that Baozhen would "persecute" Lao Gao and not come after her.

"I’ll teach you how to do it tomorrow."

They lit the charcoal and slowly grilled oysters and squid. The delicious aroma wafted far away. Two children from the neighboring house caught the scent and ran over. Qin Yao gave each of them a skewer of grilled squid.

"Auntie Qin, your cooking is really good!"

"It’s so delicious!"

Zhou Jiajia took her younger brother back home and, in front of Zaohua, mentioned Qin Yao's cooking skills. The siblings both praised her highly.

Zaohua, feeling a bit envious, said, "Is it really that delicious? I’ll grill some for you next time."

Zaohua, not having grown up near the sea, wasn’t proficient with most sea fish. She was only familiar with mudskippers, though. As for other fish, she would just marinate, boil, or steam them, served with her own dipping sauce. She didn’t have the inclination to grill.

At home, Political Commissar Zhou didn’t like seafood much. He preferred pork. Zaohua usually arranged for pork to be eaten when the men returned home, while on regular days, they simply ate salted dried fish, steamed with rice.

He once joked about how Xiao Qin always experimented with unusual foods. The last time he met Captain Gu, the milky smell lingered for a long time.

"Delicious, so delicious," Chen Baozhen lazily lounged on the sofa, eyes closed, feeling unusually drowsy. She yawned and, curious, asked Qin Yao for more details about catching the spy.

Under the bright moon, Chen Baozhen and Gao Yingzi helped clean up. They were about to go home to sleep.

As they were leaving, Qin Yao hesitated for a moment and mentioned something she had brought back.

"Zhenzhen, do you need any?"

Chen Baozhen: "?"

Seeing the pile of contraceptives, Chen Baozhen was surprised but didn’t think much of it and took some.

Having lived with her sister-in-law Gao Yingzi for some time, Comrade Chen Baozhen had learned the word "frugality."

Best friends share everything.

"This smaller size will be perfect for Lao Gao." Comrade Baozhen didn’t feel the slightest embarrassment and took several more.

Gao Yingzi, full of energy and confidence, said, "Can I take one of each type?"

After saying this, she didn’t blush or show any signs of shyness. Her round chin lifted, and her eyes showed no sign of hesitation or embarrassment.

Qin Yao: "?!"

Chen Baozhen: "!"

"I’ll keep them for future use," Gao Yingzi, with a thick skin, said. Her life philosophy was—if there’s a bargain, don’t miss it. One shouldn’t lose a whole forest over a single tree. After all, she would be looking for a partner soon, and these would definitely come in handy. Better to be prepared.

Qin Yao used clean wax paper to pack them so that outsiders wouldn’t see. The sisters-in-law happily took the items and went home.

When Gao Jianguo returned at night and saw what was casually placed in the couple's bedroom, he was momentarily stunned and curiously asked, "Baozhen, did you buy all these?"

"Qin Yao gave them. She went to the rubber plantation and even caught a spy!" Chen Baozhen said proudly, recounting her best friend's heroic feat.

*

Gao Jianguo nodded. "Oh."

He admired Qin Yao's good luck and courage, but he didn't feel envious. After all, being a spy isn't a game, and Gao Jianguo didn't want his wife to risk her life. Dangerous things were men's business.

"Am I also cashing in on Captain Gu's good fortune?" Gao Jianguo chuckled, realizing this was some wool he had pulled from Gu Cheng. What a deal!

Chen Baozhen nodded. "Yes, quite a lot. Yaoyao is very generous."

Gao Jianguo put the items in the cabinet, maintaining a mysterious smile, thinking these would last for a while. Like his sister, he felt naturally happy about saving money. It's foolish not to seize a bargain.

The quality was indeed good, and it was free. What a great thing.

"These are extras from their household. Anyway, Captain Gu can't use them, and this smaller size is just right for you." Chen Baozhen sat in front of the dresser, combing her hair. Her hair wasn't very long, just shoulder-length, but Comrade Baozhen treated her hair like a precious heirloom, combing it hundreds of times every night before bed.

She combed her hair seriously, unaware of the impact of her casual comment.

...This smaller one is unused by their family, and it's perfect for you.

Gao Jianguo: "..." Damn it!

As a highly competitive man, how could he not compare himself? How infuriating, the other man hadn't even bragged in person, yet he had been effortlessly outdone. Ahhh, so maddening!!!!

Had he known earlier, he would have rejected the free items.

Gao Jianguo tossed and turned all night without getting much sleep. The next morning, a brilliant idea came to him.

He was someone who held grudges. The Jiang family, headed by Jiang Dinghai, lived next door. Jiang had frequently boasted about his wife in front of Gao, and the two families had moved into the compound around the same time, frequently compared by the residents.

Gao Jianguo had swallowed plenty of frustration.

This time, he had a plan to gain the upper hand and make his neighbor Jiang Dinghai uncomfortable for a while.

Gao Jianguo found a chance to pull Jiang Dinghai aside for a chat. They whispered, and Gao Jianguo offered Jiang some additional items, brought back from the rubber farm, all high-quality items.

Jiang Dinghai: "Free?"

"We're neighbors after all." Gao Jianguo gave him a pat on the shoulder, wearing a pleasant and harmless smile.

Jiang Dinghai accepted a few and casually felt them. The quality was indeed good; Gao Jianguo wasn't trying to deceive him. What a good neighbor.

"I'll take them then. Thank you. I'll have my wife make some braised pork and send it over."

Gao Jianguo laughed. "Yes, yes, looking forward to tasting Sister Ling's cooking."

After the laughter, Gao Jianguo forced himself to keep a straight face, avoiding showing too much smugness. He quietly added:

"Actually, don't worry about it. I have no use for this smaller size, it's perfect for you."

Jiang Dinghai: "..." Damn it!