The door to the room was opened.
Aaron looked very embarrassed. He took the teacup that Madam Chen handed him and said, "Mom, what are you talking about?"
Madam Chen glanced at them. Seeing that both of them were fully dressed, she smiled awkwardly. It turned out to be a misunderstanding. But how could she not misunderstand if the door was closed in broad daylight?
In the countryside, the door is usually only closed at night.
Or when people are sleeping during the day.
Otherwise, the door would not be closed.
If you keep the door closed all day long,
people in the village might start spreading rumors, saying this family causes trouble at night and even more so during the day.
Madam Chen leaned close to Aaron and whispered, "Old boy, I'm just worried because you've been single for thirty years." Then she smiled and said to both of them, "You two talk, just talk. Don't do anything foolish, understand?"
Aaron closed the door again and handed the teacup to Stella without explaining much. He was never good with words.
Especially after being a soldier for so many years, he had developed a habit of not speaking much.
He watched Stella take the cup.
"Do you want to take a bath? I can heat some water for you."
Stella shook her head, "Later at night."
She looked at the teacup. It was a white enamel iron cup, considered old-fashioned in her time. If not stored well, this kind of cup easily rusts and breaks.
The cup had "Chinese People's Liberation Army" printed on it, with a red five-pointed star in the middle.
Below it was the name of some military unit. It felt very old-fashioned.
No, it wasn't just old-fashioned, it was a special mark of this era. She was now living in this era.
Looking at the brown sugar water inside the cup, Stella opened her mouth and took a sip. A small smile appeared on her lips.
She suddenly remembered reading stories about the past. They said if someone came to visit your home, serving them a bowl of brown sugar water was the highest form of hospitality.
Aaron went to the wardrobe, opened the door, and took out a basin.
This basin was bought new by him from the village while Stella was unconscious.
"These are all new and unused."
Stella looked at the basin he handed her. Inside were a towel, toothbrush, teacup, and toothpaste. She nodded slightly.
Madam Chen smiled as she watched Stella and Aaron walk into the room one after another.
"Washing your face, right? Come, girl, use the hot water to wash your face."
She picked up a ladle and scooped hot water from between two iron pots used for cooking.
In the countryside, the stove usually had a small iron kettle attached. While cooking, they could also heat two pots of water.
No need to boil water separately, saving firewood.
Stella glanced at the dirty kitchen and raised her eyebrows. It was really dirty, especially the stove, which was as black as could be.
She picked up the towel and cup from the basin.
"Thank you, Madam."
Madam Chen smiled and poured hot water into Stella's basin.
"What are you thanking me for? You're family, no need to be polite. Aaron, don't just follow your wife around. She just woke up. Why don't you go kill the old hen in the house and cook it for her to help her recover? Do you need me to tell you such a small thing?"
Aaron grunted in response.
"Madam…"
Stella was about to speak, but Madam Chen interrupted her with a scolding tone.
"Girl, don't say anything. Listen to me. It's just a chicken. You've been unconscious for so many days. You need some good food to recover."
Stella nodded slightly. It was just a chicken, and she didn't mind. There was no need to make a fuss over a single chicken.
Besides, could she even explain clearly?
Aaron had been guarding the room these days; everyone in the family knew it.
If they tried to explain there was nothing between the two of them, it would be like hiding a silver ingot underground but telling everyone it's not there. The family wasn't without women, so why was Aaron, an unmarried man, guarding her instead of letting the women help?
In Madam Chen's mind, Stella probably already carried Aaron's child.
Also, because of the habits formed over the past twenty or thirty years, Stella was not used to explaining things to others. She always gave direct orders, and those under her never dared to oppose her decisions openly.
The post-apocalyptic era was as harsh as ancient times, maybe even harsher. She was like a high and mighty ruler, and the others were her subjects. Would anyone dare to argue with the ruler's orders?
After all, in this era, no one cared about morals. There were too many unpredictable people.
Aaron turned and walked out.
After Aaron killed the chicken, he handed it to Madam Chen. Stella came out from the kitchen holding a bowl of sugar-coated eggs.
"Go sit in the sun."
Stella nodded and took the small bamboo chair Aaron handed her. She stirred the contents of the bowl with a spoon, tasted some sugar water, and frowned slightly. Too much sugar made it a little bitter.
Because of the production techniques, brown sugar now tasted quite different from modern industrial sugar.
Stella was quite particular about her food.
The hardship of the post-apocalypse was mainly for ordinary people. She ate food prepared by top private chefs every day.
Madam Chen came out carrying a wooden basin with a scalded chicken that had not yet been plucked.
She looked at Stella quietly sitting there with a smile on her face.
This daughter-in-law was probably one of a kind in the whole nearby area!
Now she could see how the village gossipers would have nothing to say about her anymore.
After eating two eggs, Stella found it hard to swallow more. She looked at the bowl and thought about throwing the rest away, but that would be disrespectful since it was made with kindness.
Besides, what time was it now?
There were only two old hens in the yard, and one had already been killed. The eggs in Stella's bowl were probably collected by the Zhou family over several days.
In this era, some women in confinement probably could not eat sugar-coated eggs every day!
"You don't want to eat?" Aaron asked, looking at the bowl he handed over. Stella shook her head.
"No appetite," she replied softly.
Madam Chen's smile grew wider.
Marrying a daughter-in-law like this, who didn't know how to care for her man, was the biggest fear.
If the wife didn't care for her own husband, how could the whole family live well?
A wife who didn't care about her husband would never care about the elders or children at home either.
Like the wife of the fourth brother, who only thought about herself when eating.
She never considered how hard the husband worked outside, never thought about giving him some food.
As for the two kids, forget it, just not fighting with them over food was already good.
Thinking about it, Madam Chen regretted agreeing to marry off this stubborn girl.
"Girl, eat. You just woke up and need to recover. He's strong like an ox and doesn't need to recover."
"I really don't have an appetite," Stella said calmly.
"Well, wait until Madam Chen cooks the old hen. Hold on until then."
"Okay."
Aaron took the bowl back and glanced at Stella. His dark face turned slightly red, and he felt a little pleased inside.
In this era, men and women were more reserved about emotions and relationships.
They kept a certain distance and did not cross the line.
Of course, there were exceptions, but they were very rare.
Such intimate actions could only happen between husband and wife, whether in modern times or this era.
Stella had no other meaning. This was Aaron's home, and since he was the first person she met here, she felt a little more familiar with him. For now, she chose to hand it to him instead of Madam Chen, who was plucking the chicken.
She did not expect that this simple act would cause Aaron to misunderstand.
Anthony wore simple homespun clothes. In this time, it was not that people had no clothes to wear. It depended on where they lived. People in the hilly areas had a better life than those on the northern plains.
There were many plants that could be made into linen fabric, like flax, ramie, jute, sisal, and banana fiber.
In these rural areas, not every family had a weaving wheel, but most did. The linen fabric they made could be sold directly to the local agricultural product buying stations set up by the government in the towns.
On his feet, Anthony wore straw sandals made from wheat stalks. When it got warm in the countryside, men and boys either went barefoot or wore straw sandals. They saved their cloth shoes for special occasions.
Women all knew how to make straw sandals. It was something they all had to learn.
Madam Chen was just about to speak to Stella when she saw Anthony, tall and honest-looking, walk in. "Anthony, are you here to see your brother?"
"Second aunt, yes, I have something to tell him. Third uncle asked me to tell big brother to go to the commune tomorrow morning."
"Go to the commune?" Aaron asked, confused.
"It seems the town's leaders are being replaced. They are unhappy with the leadership in the communes. This time, the new rule is that only party members who have served in the army can lead the commune. The new officials are making big changes. The communes around here, including ours, have had bad leaders these years. It is no surprise the new leaders are angry. Many people died living by the mountains. Anyone would be upset," Anthony said honestly.
The current commune leaders were a problem left over from the past.
They were not party members. When this area was liberated, the locals recommended these people as leaders.
They stayed in their positions for many years. Instead of serving the people, they became bullies causing harm.
Aaron nodded slightly. He knew the situation and agreed that the leaders had to be replaced by party members who would truly work for the people and stop cheating them. "Okay, I understand."
Anthony sighed and said to Stella, who was sitting on a bamboo chair, "Big sister-in-law, hello."
He worried that Aaron might just say "okay" without really meaning it, so he reminded, "Big brother, third uncle asked me to tell you that you must run for the position of commune secretary."
Aaron frowned, "I know, you do not have to tell me."
"But third uncle told you to do it. If you do not, he will scold you. And is it not good to be the commune secretary? The salary is twelve yuan and fifty-three cents per month. I want the job myself, but I can not get it. Anyway, I have passed the message to you. What you do next is between you and third uncle. Second aunt, big sister-in-law, I have to go now."
Madam Chen said "Mm" softly.
Aaron finished the sugar-coated egg in his bowl and turned to Stella, "Want some sweet soup?"
She shook her head slightly. Aaron drank the sugar water in the bowl in one gulp.
Madam Chen took the chicken feathers out of the wooden basin, shook the chicken to remove more feathers, and stood up. "Girl, you stay home. Big aunt will go to the river to wash the chicken."
Stella said "Mm."
Aaron put the bowl down in the kitchen and came back. He looked at Stella, who was closing her eyes and enjoying the sunlight. He knelt down beside her and asked, "Are you asleep?"
"No."
Aaron glanced toward his younger brother's door and whispered, "The things you said to me before you fainted, I have been thinking about them these days. You are not from this world, are you?"
There are many stories about gods and spirits on Earth, but they are just stories. Who really saw them?
But the universe is so big. Who can say humans on Earth are the only humans in the universe?
As for Chinese, maybe it is just a coincidence. After all, Chinese is a pictographic language, one of the oldest.
Anyway, there definitely is not a group of people like you on Earth.
If there were, why have we never seen them?
"Do you want me to explain the situation here?"
"No need, I already know."
Aaron nodded, glanced at Stella, and knew if he did not act now, he would completely lose her.
A man who is wishy-washy is not like him.
If he liked someone, he would be brave to chase her. He could not be scared just because she was strong.
He had lived thirty years and never thought he would have feelings for a woman.
He did not know why.
Especially these days, watching her quietly lying on the bed.
Just looking at her gave him a kind of peace he never had before.
It was like a drifting boat finding a safe harbor.
This feeling was strange but also something he treasured and did not want to lose.
He knew he had found his other half, the woman who would stay with him for the rest of his life.
If he lost her, he would be a lonely boat drifting on the sea, never finding a harbor.
Even if they did not match, he wanted to try.
He just wanted to protect and care for her.
Love? He was not sure.
Sometimes he wondered if it was because he cleaned the blood off her before.