Chapter Five: Data

“Good!” Jiang Baoshan responded promptly without any hesitation.

It wasn’t the season for gathering from the mountains now, but he knew some old hunters and their families probably had supplies stored at home. It wouldn’t be hard to find some if he asked around.

Four cans of malted milk powder were enough to marinate her thoroughly! As for the powdered milk, that was an even rarer, high-grade product, usually reserved for children and the elderly. Ginseng, such a precious life-sustaining item, didn’t require such a big fuss, did it?

“Malted milk powder and powdered milk should be for Chengcheng to drink! I feel like I’m not in that bad a shape!” Jiang Jingzhu thought she wasn’t that delicate—just a bump. Since she woke up, she hadn’t noticed any aftereffects. This prolonged unconsciousness really needed to be verified. Logically, her injury shouldn’t have been that severe. Was it a matter of the wound’s location?

“You think that’s just your illusion. You don’t get to have an opinion on this. Chengcheng is eating well and isn’t picky. My husband and I can raise him just fine,” Jiang Jingnan said firmly, embodying the typical “I don’t want your opinion, only mine matters” attitude. The other three agreed.

They needed to prepare the ration coupons early. Supplies were tight now, everything was rationed, and nothing could be bought without coupons. They had money, but coupons had to be exchanged through connections. Without coupons, good goods were simply out of reach.

The black market might not require coupons, but these days, speculation and profiteering were serious crimes. One wrong move could ruin an entire family’s standing. No one dared to take such risks.

“Don’t worry so much. Our family isn’t like before, when only Mom and Dad worked to support the four of us and our schooling. Now, with six people and five earning wages, your eldest brother getting promoted, your second brother working in a factory, only you remain a student, which is hardly a burden!” Zhu Zhu went to university with her tuition fully waived and even received scholarships and allowances, barely costing the family anything.

“Our family lives a normal life—aside from ensuring we get enough nutritious food and not scrimping there, we don’t have huge expenses. Saving money instead of spending it when it’s not necessary means we can save for having more children!”

Their life wasn’t wealthy, but it was comfortably sufficient. Nowadays, supporting a family of five to eight on thirty or forty yuan a month was common, but none of their wages were below thirty.

Jiang Jingzhu had graduated from university and was assigned to the Jinhe Forestry system. After five years of work, she had just received a salary adjustment, now earning 78 yuan at grade 19 in category six regions. Her husband was a demobilized soldier assigned to their local police station, a civil servant retaining previous benefits with a slightly higher salary.

Together, their combined income placed them among the relatively well-off. Most importantly, her family occasionally sent them subsidies. With only one child, Chengcheng, their monthly expenses for food, social obligations, and some support to families of fallen comrades were well covered. Raising one child was a light burden, and they still saved a considerable amount monthly. There was no need for her younger sister to worry.

Suppressing her sister’s objections, Jiang Jingnan shifted to another matter she had noticed: “Has Yin Zhen been transferred to work in the Northeast?”

Their family had been under immense stress these days and hadn’t had time to think about other things. Only now did she learn that Zhu Zhu had been rushed to the hospital by Yin Zhen, and they owed him a great deal.

Her impression of the man had long faded; if her mother hadn’t mentioned him, she might have forgotten entirely. Yet, there was some connection between him and their family.

Before the Liberation, he had been entrusted to their parents’ care by the Yin family matriarch for a period. The younger children didn’t recognize him—he came before they were born.

“Little Yin was temporarily assigned to a mission. Jing’an asked him to help look after Zhu Zhu and bring her some things, and he happened to be there!” The details of the mission were confidential, a matter deeply understood by veterans, so they didn’t pry.

Jiang Baoshan and his wife were still shaken by fear. Had it not been for Little Yin arriving just in time to take Zhu Zhu to the hospital, who knew what suffering she would have endured? The thought of possibly losing her was terrifying.

“Yin Zhen? If I get the chance, I’ll thank him in person!” Jiang Jingzhu had heard the name before, in her eldest brother’s letters and occasional conversations with their parents, so it wasn’t unfamiliar. But she had never met this lifesaver.

Was he the one who gave the final rescue command she heard?

A lifesaver deserved proper gratitude! A drop of water should be repaid with a spring. All the more so for a life-saving deed—she was always someone who repaid kindness.

“Mom, have you seen my shoulder bag?” Jiang Jingzhu wanted to confirm one more thing.

“It’s here, it’s here. Look, it’s right in the cabinet. The strap is tied in your unique knot style—no one has touched it! Little Yin put it on you when he rushed you to the hospital and has kept it safe ever since!” Tong Shufen opened the bedside storage cabinet and took out the olive green military shoulder bag for her daughter to see before putting it back.

The olive green bag, embroidered with a red star, had faded over time. Zhu Zhu had received it back in high school when Jing’an sent it to her after completing his recruit training. She had used it for four or five years.

When she entered school, it was called the Huining Military Industry University backpack, and she had given it as a gift to Jingping, who had just proudly started working.

Inside, it usually held her study materials and notes, treasured dearly. She had even devised a unique knotting technique no one else could easily replicate or undo.

The bag’s strap had been mended by Zhu Zhu herself; no outsider could have touched it. It was easy to recognize at a glance. Especially since Zhu Zhu’s studies were all critical knowledge, the importance of that backpack was even greater. That she still worried about her bag even after injuring her head showed how much she cared!

Good that it was still there and untouched, Jiang Jingzhu breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside was a crucial notebook, recording the occasional flashes of inspiration she had dreamed up, mingled with her current academic knowledge—daily notes of research designs, scattered sketches, and fragmented yet advanced and unstructured theories.

Now that her memory was returning, she understood the importance of those materials more clearly. They represented her previous life’s academic achievements surfacing subconsciously.

Some common-sense knowledge from sixty years ago was actually advanced today. Most importantly, these must never fall into the hands of the hyena-like collaborators eyeing them greedily.

The school dormitory was not a good place to hide such things, but her vigilance was decent. Over the past two years, she had consciously sent filled notebooks back home or to her eldest sister. Their home was under military management in the construction corps; her eldest sister lived in a police family compound. Those materials and models were safer there and would be properly arranged later.

“All right, Zhu Zhu, your head’s injured, don’t overthink it. Rest more and recuperate first!”

After a short conversation, worried that Jiang Jingzhu’s worries might affect her recovery, they urged her to rest more.

Such a clever mind like Zhu Zhu’s—any injury, even slight, would be a huge loss!

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