The young nurse kept her word and asked a familiar fellow villager to save the fattest chicken for He Chunli.
In the morning, when He Chunli got up, washed up, and walked out of the guesthouse, a middle-aged man wearing an indigo short-sleeved shirt—dark-skinned, strong, and looking rather fierce—walked toward her.
He Chunli was startled and quickly took two steps back, bumping into the steps outside the guesthouse and almost falling. She swayed and barely managed to steady herself, staring warily at the man in front of her. "You… what do you want? This is the guesthouse of the military hospital!"
The man looked at her in surprise. "I… I'm a fellow villager who sells chickens. You're from Captain Lin's family, right? Nurse Jiang asked me to find you at the guesthouse. She said this is the best one!"
Only then did He Chunli notice that he was holding a sack made of woven plastic, with a fertilizer logo printed on it. A hole had been cut at the bottom, revealing the bright red head of a rooster.
The rooster seemed unwilling to be confined in such a small sack. It fluttered its wings from time to time, letting out a series of loud clucks.
Realizing she had misunderstood, He Chunli's face flushed slightly with embarrassment. She awkwardly asked, "Oh… so, how much is this chicken?"
The middle-aged man quickly replied, "This is the fattest one. It's half a head bigger than the others. Nurse Jiang introduced me, so I'll still give you the same price—1.4 yuan per pound. Is that okay?"
1.4 yuan per pound—this price was unbelievably cheap. Twenty years later, you wouldn't even be able to buy half a chicken leg for that. He Chunli nodded in agreement.
The man took out a scale from his backpack, hooked the sack onto it, adjusted the thin rope, and, once balanced, counted before moving the scale in front of He Chunli. "6.7 pounds, that comes to… 9.38 yuan."
A big, fat chicken for just over nine yuan—given how prices had skyrocketed in her previous life, He Chunli thought this was an absolute bargain. However, she suddenly realized she had no cash on her.
But since the chicken had already been weighed, and the seller seemed familiar with the nosy nurse, if she didn't buy it now, the nurse would definitely spread the news throughout the entire hospital. Those gossip-loving women would laugh at her behind her back.
Imagining that scene, He Chunli, who was naturally proud, reached into her pocket, pulled out the last of her large-denomination bills, and handed it to the man.
The man gave her 0.62 yuan in change. After counting the little money left on her, He Chunli realized she now had just a little over five yuan left, and her heart ached.
But what troubled her even more was—what was she supposed to do with the chicken? The heavy sack dangled from her hand. In her past life, when she lived in the countryside, her family had been poor and couldn't afford to kill a chicken for two or three years. Naturally, she had never done it herself. After moving to the city, whenever she bought chicken, it was always cleaned and prepared in the market.
As a result, she had no idea how to slaughter a chicken—and she was terrified of doing it.
She regretted her impulsive words from last night. Why had she taken on such a thankless task? She had only made things harder for herself.
With no other choice, He Chunli gritted her teeth, carrying the sack into the ward under the curious gazes of others.
Just as she entered, the young nurse, who had just finished giving medicine to another patient, returned with a tray. Upon seeing the scene, she didn't even put the tray down before scolding with a stern face, "Sister-in-law Lin, this is a hospital ward! Why did you bring a live chicken in? Captain Lin has so many wounds on his body—what if the feathers spread bacteria and cause an infection? Even if there are no bacteria, the rooster's clucking will disturb the patients' rest. Take it out immediately!"
Lin Laoshi also chimed in, "Chunli, we have nowhere to raise chickens. If you really like raising them, I'll bring you two broods of chicks when we return home. But for now, take this chicken to the kitchen and ask the cafeteria chefs to lend you a knife to slaughter it."
Who wants to raise chickens!
He Chunli was furious, but there were only three people in the ward. Lin Laoshi was a patient, and the nurse had work to do, so no one could help her. In the end, the task fell to her—whether she wanted to do it or not.
Carrying the chicken, He Chunli left the ward, feeling utterly dejected. She borrowed a knife from the cafeteria chef, took the rooster out of the sack, stared at it for a while… and still had no idea where to start.
After standing at the doorway for half an hour, a kitchen worker finally couldn't bear it anymore and came out to help. He took the chicken, plucked a small section of feathers from its neck, picked up the knife, and swiftly slit its throat. Holding the chicken's head downward, he let the bright red blood drain into a large porcelain bowl.
Once the blood was fully drained, the kitchen worker handed the chicken back to He Chunli. "The hot water is over there. Use this basin," he said before leaving, abandoning He Chunli to deal with the mess on her own.
Fortunately, although she had never killed a chicken herself, she had seen the process before. She knew the next step was to pluck the feathers.
She brought over a basin of hot water, scalded the chicken, and started plucking its feathers. Then she gutted it and removed the internal organs.
It was a grueling job in the sweltering summer heat. By the time she finished, she was drenched in sweat. A few drops of blood and scalding water had even splashed onto her brand-new white dress.
Heartbroken over her ruined dress, He Chunli silently vowed never to offer to buy a chicken for Lin Laoshi again.
After cooking the chicken, her work still wasn't over. Since she wanted to prepare something special for Lin Laoshi, she had to cook the soup herself.
After working all morning, she was completely exhausted, but at last, the golden chicken soup was ready. She poured it into a lunchbox, grabbed another box of food, and carried everything back to the ward.
Just as she was about to reach the inpatient department, He Chunli spotted the young nurse standing in the shade under a tree, tilting her face up to talk to a fair-skinned young man wearing glasses. The man handed her a bag, and she accepted it with a radiant smile.
Tsk, tsk. Look at her, acting all stern and fierce in the ward, but the moment she sees a man, she turns into such a sweet, demure thing. It's unbearable to watch.
He Chunli guessed that the man was either the young nurse's boyfriend or someone she had a crush on.
She deliberately slowed down and waited until the nurse left before walking toward the inpatient department.
At that moment, the man happened to pass by. As they crossed paths, He Chunli accidentally stepped on a loose stone and nearly fell, but the man quickly reached out to steady her.
"Are you okay?" As soon as He Chunli stood firm, the man let go and immediately stepped back to maintain a proper distance.
He Chunli first checked her lunchbox. Seeing that the food hadn't spilled, she let out a breath of relief, then looked up at him with a smile as bright as a crescent moon. Sweetly, she said, "I'm fine. Thank you for helping me just now, or I would've definitely fallen. By the way, I'm a relative of a patient on the third floor. My name is He Chunli. What about you? I haven't seen you before. Are you here visiting someone?"
The young man answered sincerely, "No, my name is Yu Mengshu. I'm here to visit my girlfriend. She's a nurse on your floor."
cannot be completely changed.
After suddenly discovering such a big secret, He Chunli wanted to die. Why did she just now try to alienate the relationship between Jiang Yuan and her boyfriend? What if they quarreled and broke up because of what she said today? Then Jiang Yuan would be single in the future, and the probability of something happening between her and Lin Laoshi would be much higher.
Isn't she just shooting herself in the foot, creating obstacles for herself and causing trouble for herself? What's the big deal?