It wasn’t until the dead of night that Chu Shenyu finally came home, enveloped in a bitter chill.

A layer of white frost clung to his long eyelashes, and the tip of his nose was red, which only accentuated his pale complexion and stern expression.

"Why are you so late? I’ve already woken up twice," Zhu Yun said. She was home all day, and while the apartment building had heating, the pipe insulation wasn’t as good as in later years. The heat was merely lukewarm by the time it reached their unit.

It was about twenty degrees Celsius in the room, but with the fierce wind raging outside the window, a bone-deep chill still managed to seep in.

At this hour, she couldn’t be bothered with looking elegant. She had thrown on a thin, padded cotton jacket and matching pants. The outfit was puffy and covered in a floral print. Paired with the two simple braids she’d woven her hair into, she looked just like a waitress from a countryside diner. It was a look where rustic charm and beauty somehow went hand in hand.

Her eyes were still hazy with sleep, but she didn’t forget to pour him a glass of water.

Mrs. Chu heard the sounds and glanced at her watch. Knowing the young couple was close, she decided not to get up and disturb them.

Chu Shenyu quickly steadied her and settled her onto the sofa. He said, both amused and exasperated, "If I was thirsty, I could have gotten it myself. You can barely keep your eyes open, and with that belly of yours... you’re far too reckless."

Zhu Yun hugged a petal-shaped throw pillow, which Mrs. Chu had sewn for her from coarse cloth and cotton, and stared blankly as he took off his coat, washed his hands, and returned to stoke the stove and warm himself by the fire.

"Have you eaten?" she asked with a light laugh. "Mom and I made dumplings tonight with a chive and egg filling. The chives we’re growing on the windowsill are really fresh and tender, but there wasn’t much—only enough for one meal. We’ll have to wait for the next harvest to have them again."

Before Chu Shenyu could say a word, his stomach rumbled in response.

He rubbed his nose, slightly embarrassed. "I got so busy I lost track of time. I wasn’t even hungry before, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m starving."

"You stay seated," he said, getting up. "I can handle boiling the dumplings."

Zhu Yun was wide awake now. Clutching the throw pillow, she followed him to the kitchen and leaned against the doorframe to supervise.

As the water began to boil, she couldn’t help but ask, "Are you all finished with your work?"

"Project Golden Rice Bowl" had started in late August, and less than four months later, the grain in the warehouse was enough to support everyone in the factory for a whole year.

Although the Organization had started to reduce the factory’s grain ration quota, they were doing it gradually, not cutting it off completely. Besides, even if times got tough in the future, how could they leave over ten thousand people with no rations at all?

So, as long as they planned carefully, the factory’s employees and their families would be able to make it safely through the coming three years!

While waiting for the water to boil, Chu Shenyu pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear, "For four months, all the employees and their families have been setting aside more than half their grain rations every day. Imagine how much that adds up to."

"So, there’s still a lot to move. We’ll have to work overtime these next few days to get it all done."

Zhu Yun, of course, knew exactly how much there was. She was the one who had painstakingly recorded every bit of grain set aside in the ledgers. Even though she wasn’t officially managing it anymore, she still made a point to inspect the warehouse every week.

After all, she was still shamelessly collecting two salaries from the factory, so she couldn’t just abandon her duties of planning the menus, training apprentices, and overseeing the warehouse.

"Did you find a good place to store it? Where?" she asked curiously.

"The research institute," Chu Shenyu said with a smile. "The Organization considers it an extremely important place. No one can get in or out without a letter of introduction from a designated higher-up department."

"That means the location is secure and has the official authority to back it up. It’s guarded by heavy troops around the clock, which is a whole different level of security compared to the demobilized veterans we had patrolling before."

"However, we still have to keep up appearances. Plus, the institute is making its own preparations as a backup."

Zhu Yun gave him a confused look. "But the people at the research institute... don’t they all have the highest professional ethics? Are you actually worried someone might leak the information?"

Chu Shenyu kissed her soft, rosy cheek.

She always smelled so good—a perpetually sweet and gentle fragrance. It was like she always carried the tempting scent of fruit.

He caught the fresh scent of apples on her and couldn’t resist kissing her again and again, his tender kisses gradually deepening into something more.

Zhu Yun’s hands clutched at the sweater around his waist. Part of her joyfully surrendered to his domineering conquest, but another part was worried about her mother-in-law, leaving her unsure whether to push him away or yield.

Her hesitant, push-and-pull response only served to arouse him further.

"The water’s boiling..." Zhu Yun managed to whisper, her soft voice sending a tingle across his scalp.

But her husband had gone completely single-minded. Without looking back, Chu Shenyu hooked his foot out and closed the stove damper. He swept her into his arms and headed for their room. "I don’t care. I’m going to eat you first."

They were both inexperienced, soon-to-be first-time parents. Worried about harming the baby, they were usually quite restrained, especially with Mrs. Chu also living in the house.