Chapter 7: It's Truly So Satisfying

As Wen Xi crouched on the ground washing these things, the icy water made her gasp from the cold. There were no matches and no firewood, so there was no way to boil hot water for washing; she could only use the well water.

At that moment, a knocking sound came from the door again. Wen Xi turned her head to look and saw a strange male comrade standing outside, pushing a cart full of firewood. Wen Xi was certain she didn't know this person. Feeling puzzled, she stood up and walked over. Only upon getting closer did she recognize him—to her surprise, it was Jin Changfeng, dressed in casual clothes.

"Comrade Jin, it's you!" Wen Xi gave an embarrassed smile.

"Comrade Wen, who did you think I was?" Jin Changfeng looked at Wen Xi, his eyes filled with a smile.

Wen Xi felt a bit bashful. "You changed out of your military uniform and put on casual clothes, and your temperament changed instantly. I really didn't recognize you!"

Seeing Wen Xi's shy manner, Jin Changfeng didn't continue the topic, but instead said, "Comrade Wen, I saw that you didn't have any firewood here, so I brought some over for you, along with a basket of straw for kindling. That way, you can boil hot water for yourselves tonight."

Wen Xi hadn't expected this whole cart of firewood was for her, and she immediately felt embarrassed. "Comrade Jin, thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you properly. Otherwise, let me give you money, as if I'm exchanging it with you, how about that? How much money should I give you for this much firewood?"

"Two yuan," Jin Changfeng said.

"What?" Wen Xi asked suspiciously.

"For this cart of firewood, two yuan will do," Jin Changfeng explained. He then delivered the straw to the kitchen and began unloading the firewood from the cart.

Wen Xi hurried over to help unload the firewood as well. However, as soon as her fingers touched the wood, a sharp sting shot through them. The pain made her let out an involuntary cry. Jin Changfeng rushed over, grabbed her hand to inspect it, and saw a tiny splinter stuck in her finger. A flash of self-reproach crossed his eyes.

Jin Changfeng had no fingernails, so after several attempts, he couldn't pull the small splinter out. He told Wen Xi to bear with it, then pressed his two fingernails together to gradually squeeze the splinter out from her fingertip. The pain caused tears to well up in Wen Xi's eyes.

Once the splinter was out, the tension in Jin Changfeng's heart finally eased. However, he thought to himself that these city girls were quite delicate; she was almost crying just from a tiny splinter.

Yet, he truly couldn't bear to see her in pain, even if it was just from a splinter.

"I... I'll go get the money for you, Comrade Jin." Wen Xi withdrew her hand awkwardly and turned to walk into the house. Finding the house quiet, she was somewhat surprised. She went to check Shen Jiaojiao's room and found that the girl had fallen asleep sitting on the floor, slumped against the edge of the bed.

Wen Xi helped Shen Jiaojiao onto the bed and covered her with a quilt, then went to Jiang Yue's room. Jiang Yue was also asleep, slumped on the bed, so Wen Xi covered her with a quilt as well.

Wen Xi returned to her own room, closed the door, took two yuan from the Sign-in System's warehouse, and went out to hand the two yuan to Jin Changfeng.

Jin Changfeng did not refuse and reached out to take it directly. If he didn't take the money, Wen Xi might stop associating with him in the future. For the sake of future opportunities to meet, he accepted the two yuan.

Jin Changfeng pulled a box of matches from his pocket and handed them to Wen Xi. "You've just arrived, so you certainly haven't prepared these things. Use this box of matches for now."

"Comrade Jin, thank you." Wen Xi didn't know how to thank him. They had only just met, yet he was already providing her with so much help.

Jin Changfeng didn't say much more. He unloaded all the firewood, piled it in the courtyard, and then pushed the wooden cart away. Although he wanted to stay longer, he didn't want to be counterproductive. Moving step by step, slowly entering her heart, was just fine.

After Jin Changfeng left, Wen Xi closed the courtyard gate, returned to the well, and continued washing the tableware. However, before she had washed even two items, the knocking sound rang out again.

This time it was Captain Qian, who had brought over the rations for the three of them.

For one person, it was ten catties of rice, twenty catties of sweet potatoes, and twenty catties of potatoes.

For three people, that meant thirty catties of rice, sixty catties of sweet potatoes, and sixty catties of potatoes. When Wen Xi arrived, she had also packed twenty catties of rice and twenty catties of white flour. Combined, this was enough to feed the three of them for a while.

They had just arrived in the countryside and had no work points yet, so they couldn't distribute grain through the system. They could only borrow or buy. Buying meant spending money directly, while borrowing meant repaying with work points. Wen Xi thought about it and decided to buy, because buying grain in the village didn't require food stamps, making it cheap and practical.

Wen Xi didn't wake Shen Jiaojiao or Jiang Yue; she simply paid for the grain directly. Since she was paying more, she would just have Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue put in more effort later!

After Captain Qian left, Wen Xi locked the courtyard gate, then carried water to the kitchen, poured it into two iron pots, and started a fire to boil water.

The iron pots she and Shen Jiaojiao brought had been used constantly at home and weren't actually dirty; they just needed to be scalded with hot water. Wen Xi had brought a smaller pot, which they had always used for cooking and boiling water at home. Since it had no grease, Wen Xi continued to use it to boil water for drinking.

Once the water was hot, Wen Xi washed both pots, refilled one completely with water, and started the fire again. Once it boiled, she poured it into the thermos.

Wen Xi and Shen Jiaojiao each brought one thermos, which was enough for the three of them. If only she could sign in and get a thermos one of these days.

After eating two steamed buns and drinking a cup of malted milk, Wen Xi felt much better. After washing up, she left a note for Shen Jiaojiao and Jiang Yue on the table along with the buns, then went back to her room to rest.

The bedding was icy cold in the winter. Wen Xi didn't even take off her clothes and went straight to bed. Only when the bedding gradually warmed up did she take off her clothes and socks.

This wasn't the Northeast, so there was no need to sleep on a large heated kang, but the youth hostel had large communal bunk beds. Several people slept on one large bed without even a partition. If you turned over, there was a face on your left; turn over again, and there was a face on your right. It was terrifying.

Some people even liked to point their smelly feet toward others' heads; it was truly unbearable. Moreover, in her past life, she had lost quite a bit of money because there was nowhere to hide it; even if she put it in her pocket, someone would feel for it.

Having suffered in her past life, Wen Xi did not want to suffer again in this one.

Being able to sleep in her own bed alone now was truly wonderful.

Wen Xi lifted her wrist to check her watch. This watch was something her second brother had saved up for several months' worth of wages to buy her when he first started working!

Thinking of her second brother and her parents, Wen Xi's heart couldn't help but ache. She really missed them so much!

(End of Chapter)