AYLS – Chapter 86

Gu Huayuan’s temper lingered into the next day. Looking at Zhang Tuo, his eyes were bloodshot, his nose swollen.

Zhang Tuo looked haggard. Last night, when he went home, Li Yan had been crying and whining all night, so he hadn’t slept either.

This was the first time he truly felt exhausted. In the past, Li Yan didn’t like him, but at most, she would just ignore him—it was never like this constant commotion.

Honestly, he really felt drained.

He had originally wanted to talk to Gu Huayuan a bit, to ease his mental frustration, but Gu Huayuan didn’t give him any friendly expression.

“Why are you two treating me like this?” Zhang Tuo felt a sting in his heart. Life seemed to be getting messier and messier.

Gu Huayuan didn’t pity him at all. His voice was cool as he asked, “Why did your wife vomit yesterday? Was something at my place unclean? Did she get sick from eating?”

“No, that’s not it. She was just feeling unwell,” Zhang Tuo said, pressing a hand to his forehead in frustration. “She isn’t used to being here. You know the kind of life she had before. Her parents are both university professors, and her family comes from several generations of scholarly lineage—she’s never had to go through hardships.”

“Higher than everyone else?” Gu Huayuan was still annoyed. Zhang Tuo’s wife could bother him all she wanted, and he could sympathize as a brother—but this didn’t justify tearing ties with someone or refusing to see them.

But hurting his wife? That made him genuinely angry. Whose wife isn’t a precious gem? Just because Li Yan is ‘valuable’?

It wasn’t that he cared about women in general, but if a man had done the same thing yesterday, he would have intervened physically.

Seeing Gu Huayuan’s tone and expression, Zhang Tuo knew he was angry. “Shitou, don’t be mad. She’s a bit cold, but she means no harm.”

Gu Huayuan said, “I just think, to prevent her from getting a stomachache, she shouldn’t come when we host guests in the future.”

Seeing his brother dismissing his wife like that, Zhang Tuo felt awkward. “…Is that really necessary? You’ve never been the type to fuss over women.”

“It is. You care about your wife, I care about mine. Zhang Tuo, I only haven’t severed ties with you because I see you as a brother. Your wife didn’t touch a single bite of what my wife cooked yesterday, and I didn’t say anything. But then, after finding out that Li Ermei raises chickens… she vomited. What does that mean? And the last time in the capital, you know as well as I do—it wasn’t because she was full that she didn’t eat, right?”

“….” Zhang Tuo hadn’t expected this. He never thought Li Yan would be that kind of person.

But after Gu Huayuan’s reminder—recalling how Li Yan would rather starve than eat hotpot last time, and now refusing to eat the meal made by Lin Qiao—he started to feel uneasy…

He looked at Gu Huayuan, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Shitou… maybe I should apologize to Lin Qiao.”

Gu Huayuan sighed and patted his shoulder. “No matter what, our bond remains. As for my wife, I haven’t mentioned anything. I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable. Until last night, she thought Li Yan was just motion sick—never thinking further.” (Meaning his feelings weren’t influenced by his wife’s complaints.)

Because of this, Zhang Tuo also felt very uncomfortable.

He was somewhat distracted at work in the morning, but since he had just started there and no one had high expectations, he didn’t make any mistakes.

At noon, he returned from the cafeteria with his meal.

Li Yan was still sitting at home, staring blankly at the prose collection on the small table.

Her face looked exhausted beyond reason. In just a single day, she had suffered both physically and mentally.

Zhang Tuo placed the lunchbox in front of her. She glanced at it but couldn’t eat.

Zhang Tuo sat down himself and began eating heartily. Seeing her untouched meal, he couldn’t hold back his irritation and spoke in a rare stern tone: “The cafeteria meals are on a schedule. It’s inconvenient to cook at home right now. If you don’t eat now, there won’t be any food later.”

“I can’t eat,” Li Yan’s voice was hoarse.

Zhang Tuo said, “What do you mean you can’t eat? Don’t worry, the kitchen staff didn’t go raise chickens.”

Li Yan’s hand trembled slightly, and she looked at Zhang Tuo in surprise.

Seeing her reaction, Zhang Tuo realized Gu Huayuan hadn’t been exaggerating—Li Yan really disliked Lin Qiao raising chickens and wouldn’t eat food she made.

She had even vomited after eating what Li Ermei had cooked.

At that moment, Zhang Tuo felt conflicted.

When he had been with Li Yan before, he knew their upbringings were different. But he had thought the difference was only in literature and lifestyle habits, something they could overcome.

Now, he realized the gap was far bigger.

In the capital, her privileged environment hadn’t been so obvious. But here, the difference became glaring.

This was a huge difference in mindset and values.

He finished his meal and walked out, holding the lunchbox with a helpless expression.

Li Yan, seeing him leave like that, buried her face on the table and cried.

Lin Qiao was at home eating lunch, which, as usual, had been prepared by Gu Huayuan. She ate happily and curiously asked, “Do you think Zhang Tuo and Li Yan are adjusting okay?”

Gu Huayuan replied, “Why do you care?”

“Curiosity. When I first came here, it took me a long time to get used to things.” Lin Qiao didn’t admit the real reason—she just wanted to watch the drama and prove that her own struggles were normal.

Gu Huayuan hummed. “Not just adjusting—back then, you even threatened to go on a hunger strike.”

Lin Qiao immediately kicked him under the table. “Nonsense! I didn’t! I was just saving food.”

“Alright, Lin Qiao is conscientious and hardworking. She got to work in the fields not long after arriving.”

Lin Qiao felt embarrassed after he complimented her. “Let’s not dwell on the past. We should look forward.”

Then she asked, “Will Li Yan be working in the fields? Sister Wang asked me about it today, wondering how to make arrangements. I said Li Yan’s education is quite high, so I’m not sure what would be suitable.”

Gu Huayuan shook his head. “That’s Zhang Tuo and their business. We don’t need to get involved.”

Lin Qiao nodded. “That’s true. Comrade Zhang Tuo can support his wife. It’s fine if Li Yan doesn’t work.”

She glanced at Gu Huayuan. “Unlike some people who always urge their wives to work in the fields.”

Gu Huayuan: “…”

Lin Qiao didn’t plan to interfere with Li Yan’s affairs anyway, so she let it go after asking.

It was Sister Wang, however, who, after a few days, came looking for Lin Qiao to ask about Li Yan. She hadn’t heard what Li Yan intended to do after arriving.

If Li Yan didn’t work, she wouldn’t have her own ration by the end of the month.

Li Ermei spoke bluntly, “I’m not trying to be harsh, but it seems she hasn’t even stepped outside once.”

Lin Qiao replied, “I’m not sure either. I’ve been busy these past few days and haven’t seen her.”

Sister Wang said, “I thought you two were familiar with each other and might know her plans. Looks like I’ll have to speak to her myself.”

When Sister Wang went, she couldn’t even meet Li Yan, who refused to open the door. She called out twice from outside, but Li Yan just said she wanted to rest and ignored her.

She immediately came back to Lin Qiao to vent her frustration.

She said she had never met anyone with such a temper. Back then, Su Weizhen was also proud, but when someone came to speak with her, she would at least respond politely. Su Weizhen was courteous.

Sister Wang wanted to try to reason with Li Yan, to ask her to endure a few days, assuring her that with her education, she would be prioritized for a good position later. But now… forget it.

She warned that with such a temper, teaching children would be difficult; the kids might end up wronged.

“Lin Qiao, I’m only doing this because of you, so please don’t take it the wrong way.”

Lin Qiao quickly waved her off and scratched her head. “Actually, I’ve only met her a few times. It’s just that Zhang Tuo and Gu Huayuan are close.”

“Comrade Zhang Tuo is good though, very hardworking. Ah, choosing a partner… never mind, let’s not worry about it. If she doesn’t get much food at the end of the month, it’s not our fault.”

“People from the capital with high education are really different.”

Li Ermei fanned the flames, “That’s why hardworking people from humble backgrounds still get things done, right, Sister Wang?”

Lin Qiao: “…”

Sister Wang decided to stop worrying about Li Yan, and naturally, no one else cared either.

After all, here, rations were based on work points. Do as much work as you can, and that’s what you get. If you don’t work, you only eat your husband’s share.

If the husband doesn’t mind, the other families might gossip behind your back, but no one can openly force you.

Lin Qiao mentioned this to Gu Huayuan, saying that Sister Wang wasn’t happy and that Zhang Tuo should keep it in mind.

Gu Huayuan didn’t respond, instead asking, “Are you going to hatch chicks again? How’s the preparation going?”

“Starting tomorrow. I’ve already told you.”

Talking about hatching chicks got Lin Qiao excited. She said this time there were more eggs than ever—forty in total. Once hatched, the chicken farm would continuously expand with new members.

“I even did some calculations during my free time. If we keep hatching like this, our scale will multiply several times over. Our current yard won’t be enough. Oh, I need to talk to Sister Zhang about expanding the yard; otherwise, the chickens’ living space is too small, which could affect their growth.”

With work-related concerns, who even remembered Li Yan’s little issue?

After finishing her meal, Lin Qiao went to talk to Sister Zhang about expanding the chicken farm.

Sister Zhang had also visited the farm and agreed that expansion was necessary. Previously, the small number of chickens could be kept in the courtyard, but with the increased scale, a new plot nearby would be needed to build a proper chicken farm.

For the army, this wasn’t considered a large project. The whole company could complete it in two days with the available tools and equipment.

No bricks needed to be fired; they could just use yellow clay to mold earthen bricks.

Hearing “large project” excited Lin Qiao. The chicken farm was truly moving toward its goal.

Of course, this was just Sister Zhang’s preliminary plan. The actual implementation depended on the success of Lin Qiao’s batch of chicks.

If the hatch rate was high, the project could start immediately.

Lin Qiao felt a heavy sense of responsibility and promised to give it her all. With Zhenzhen’s “golden touch,” she was confident.

Once news of the farm expansion spread, the whole courtyard buzzed with excitement. Everyone knew new people would be added.

They rolled up their sleeves, eagerly waiting for the opportunity.

While Lin Qiao, Li Ermei, and the other military families worked tirelessly for the chicken farm, another commotion happened in the courtyard: the new recruit, Li Yan, was sent to the infirmary.

It was said she had been eating too little for a long time and had fainted from hunger.