Chapter 27: Waiting Patiently

Li Yaqin carried a heavy basket on her back, walking home step by step.

The basket was crammed full of various wild vegetables, wild fruits, and even a few rare herbs, making her shoulders ache.

Li Panpan, heavily pregnant, stood at the door, looking at Li Yaqin with a complex expression.

Her eyes held a mixture of jealousy of Li Yaqin's competence, anxiety about her own idleness, and an unspeakable worry.

Li Yaqin knew that until she got a job from those two officers, she had to appear even more diligent.

She needed to show Li Panpan and her family her value, so she could gain more say in her own life.

At least, she couldn't let them think she was just a lazy bum.

So, no matter how heavy the basket was, no matter how arduous the gathering process, she gritted her teeth and persevered.

She even picked up the withered branches and leaves by the roadside, bundling them up to take home as firewood.

What others saw as worthless, Li Yaqin considered potential resources.

Who knows? Perhaps one day in the future, these inconspicuous "trash" would prove invaluable.

Not to mention the precious herbs, which Li Yaqin picked with utmost care, afraid of damaging even a single leaf.

She meticulously identified each herb, picking only the mature, most potent parts.

The young plants, however, she deliberately left to grow.

This wasn't because Li Yaqin had a particularly noble environmental consciousness; it was simply that the seedlings were too small, their medicinal value insufficient, and not worth picking now.

The medicinal value was too low, and processing them was troublesome; it wasn't worth the trouble of storing them in her spatial storage—they would take up too much space.

She could wait until they grew larger and had a stronger medicinal effect before picking them.

Thick, dark clouds churned in the sky, the leaden-gray sky hanging low, as if about to press down on people's heads.

The forest was shrouded in darkness, eerie and filled with an ominous atmosphere.

Li Yaqin thought of herself, a modern person who should have been researching plants in a laboratory.

But because she was watching a spectacle, a sudden car accident sent her to this era of scarcity.

This cruel joke of fate was too much.

She couldn't help but lament inwardly, "What kind of fate is this?!"

She tightened her tattered, patched clothes and quickened her pace home.

For the past seven days, she had diligently gone into the mountains every day, searching for various wild vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

With her spatial ability, she wasn't afraid of encountering any wild animals.

With a mere thought, she could store anything she wanted into her spatial storage, which would even automatically clean it—very convenient.

However, she dared not easily take out any meat.

Li Panpan guarded the things in the house more closely than anything else; she probably wouldn't let even a chicken feather escape her notice.

To possess a treasure trove yet be left only to sigh in vain—this feeling was utterly frustrating.

She found a secluded mountain hollow and took out a ceramic pot from her spatial storage.

She had traded some surplus wild vegetables with the villagers.

She skillfully gathered some dry firewood and lit a campfire.

Then, she took out a prepared pheasant from her storage, placed it in the pot, and slowly began to stew it.

The clear mountain spring water bubbled and churned in the earthenware pot, gradually becoming murky.

The aroma of chicken, rising with the steam, filled the air, incredibly enticing.

Li Yaqin took a deep breath, savoring the long-awaited meaty scent, her mouth watering.

She carefully picked up the pot, gently blew on it, and slowly took a sip.

The delicious chicken soup slid down her throat and into her stomach, warming her entire body, making her feel so comfortable she almost groaned.

For Li Yaqin, these seven days were merely passing the time wandering through the mountains.

But for Zhao Chengyu and He Chengyang, lying in the hospital, each day felt like an eternity.

The hospital's white walls appeared even colder in the gloomy weather.

The air was thick with the pungent smell of disinfectant mixed with various ointments, suffocatingly so.

Zhao Chengyu lay in his hospital bed, one leg in a thick cast, unable to move.

He Chengyang's condition wasn't much better; the two were truly brothers in misfortune.

A broken bone takes a hundred days to heal, let alone a fracture.

The excruciating pain, penetrating to the bone, came in waves, making them feel like they were dying.

But what they found even more unbearable was the pressure from all sides to get married.

In their thirties, in this era, they were considered "older single men."

The children of their peers were already running around, while they didn't even have a partner.

The elders in their families were frantic, taking turns to plead with them.

Even their superiors in the military would occasionally come to "inquire" about their personal lives.

Their words, implying nothing more than urging them to find a partner, get married, and have children.

Zhao Chengyu remained expressionless, but inwardly he was incredibly agitated.

Being confined to a hospital room and subjected to incessant nagging about marriage only fueled his resentment.

How could he, Zhao Chengyu, be worthy of those ordinary women?

He had his own plans for marriage; the woman he wanted to marry had to be someone who could stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

A woman who could understand and support him.

He Chengyang, on the other hand, sighed repeatedly, constantly pulling at his hair.

He was the type to speak his mind; when he was anxious, he couldn't hold back his words.

"Chengyu, do you think we'll ever find wives in this lifetime? I'm bedridden like this, forget about finding a wife, I haven't even seen a female mosquito!"

He Chengyang asked weakly.

Zhao Chengyu glanced at him but didn't answer.

He was healthy, but hadn't met the right person and didn't want to get married.

Besides, it didn't matter who he married.

The wind howled, and the rain poured down, the raindrops pounding against the windows with a loud patter.

Their parents even began to suspect that their son might have some hidden illness.

Li Yaqin was already used to this daily life of gathering supplies in the mountains, living among the plants.

In these seven days, her storage space had grown considerably.

Various wild vegetables, wild fruits, and herbs—everything imaginable was there.

She even found some rare fungi, which delighted her and made the trip worthwhile.

A flame always burned in Li Yaqin's heart.

It was the expectation of being able to use those two officers.

She felt an overwhelming desire to repay a life-saving debt.

After all, their status and position could bring her considerable convenience.

Of course, there was also a dislike for Li Panpan.

This woman was always scheming, always looking for trouble, and sometimes picking fights for no reason.

She had to find a way to get rid of her.

Every time Li Yaqin's bottom line was crossed, she told herself that pregnant women were a vulnerable group and needed to be protected!

She had to endure it; pregnant women shouldn't get angry or stressed.

She would endure it…

Until Li Panpan gave birth.

When she found an opportunity, she would make Li Panpan pay the price!

What she needed to do now was endure, endure until Li Panpan lowered her guard…

After all, she couldn't afford to completely break off relations.

Li Yaqin had been waiting for a job opportunity for far too long; her patience was almost completely worn out.

Li Qiang finally returned, ending his long and arduous mission.

He was travel-worn and weary, yet still maintained the upright posture of a soldier.

As soon as Li Panpan saw her husband, she rushed to him and hugged him tightly.

She told him in detail about Li Yaqin's frequent trips into the mountains over the past few days.

Her words were filled with worry, fearing that Li Yaqin might have encountered some danger in the mountains.

Li Qiang listened, his brow furrowing slightly, but he didn't take the matter entirely to heart.

In his view, it was perfectly normal for rural children to go into the mountains to gather wild vegetables.

But he still found it strange that Li Yaqin, a city girl who had only recently arrived,

could be so familiar with the mountains and always return with a full load.

He decided to find an opportunity to ask Li Yaqin about it.

Li Qiang remembered the telegram from his hometown, which mentioned the real reason Li Yaqin had come with him to the army.

It turned out that Li Yaqin had come to the army with him to escape her family's arrangements.

Li Yuehua, too, had committed a despicable act due to her audacity.

Fortunately, the matter was over.

Li Yuehua found temporary work at a textile factory, which didn't jeopardize her future.

Li Yaqin's escape from this ordeal was a testament to her intelligence and resourcefulness.

Thinking of this, Li Qiang couldn't help but sigh; every family has its own troubles.

Everyone has their own hardships and helplessness.

He gently embraced his wife, softly comforting her.

"Panpan, don't worry. Yaqin seems like a sensible girl."

"Besides, although the mountains are somewhat dangerous, we haven't heard of any large wild animals roaming around here."

"After I've rested, I'll ask her and tell her to be more careful in the future." With that, he wearily closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.