“Sun Auntie, we don’t have many dumplings either—just enough for me and my husband. There really isn’t any to spare.”
Su Yiyi declined politely. She wasn’t someone who liked making enemies, so she preferred to refuse tactfully. But there was no way she’d be foolishly generous. In this era, let alone a few dumplings—even a few dumpling wrappers counted as fine grain, something valuable. Who would casually give that away? If word got out, wouldn’t everyone start treating her like an easy target?
“It’s just a few dumplings. You and your man can each eat two less, can’t you?”
Clearly, not everyone could take a hint—like this Sun Auntie. Either she didn’t understand, or she was pretending not to.
“Auntie, I’ve already made myself very clear. We’re neighbors, and I didn’t want to put it too bluntly. But you’re asking outright—not even borrowing—so why should I give you anything? Are we that close?”
“And besides, why don’t you bring your things over to my house?”
Su Yiyi fired off a series of questions, leaving Sun Auntie stunned. This woman talked too sharply—she didn’t even know how to respond.
“You… you… your family lives so well, what’s wrong with letting a child eat a few dumplings?”
People in this era woke up early. Su Yiyi noticed several military wives already poking their heads out to watch the commotion. Just as she was about to respond, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her back. A tall figure stepped in front of her.
Gu Zhenyang stood there, straight and imposing, his face expressionless. “The dumplings are already served. Go eat first—I’ll handle this.”
Su Yiyi didn’t argue and went back inside. There was no point wasting time arguing with someone like Sun Auntie.
“Sun Auntie, right? Did your son ever tell you that as a soldier, one must not take even a needle or thread from the people? That’s a rule set by the organization—and it applies to military families as well. Your son, Commander Sun, earns a decent allowance, doesn’t he? As his mother, asking others for food—does he know about this? If the child wants dumplings, you can have your son pay for them. It’s not hard to afford a meal like that nowadays.”
Gu Zhenyang usually appeared cold and quiet, but when he spoke now, every word struck right at the heart.
Sun Auntie panicked immediately, afraid he’d go complain to her son. She waved her hands quickly. “Hehe… I’ll buy it myself, I’ll buy it myself…”
Then she scurried off in embarrassment.
Gu Zhenyang noticed the onlookers but didn’t care. He closed the door and went inside.
The other military wives, seeing the show was over, immediately started gossiping.
“Why is Captain Gu home?”
“Aren’t their relationship bad? What, are they planning to live properly now?”
“Well, it’s none of our business, but did you see that? Both of them are sharp-tongued—Sun Auntie’s face turned green!”
“Exactly! She’s always relied on her age to take advantage of others. We never knew how to deal with her. I learned something today—next time she asks me for things, I’ll respond like that.”
“Same here! She’s taken advantage of my family plenty of times. Sometimes she ‘borrows,’ but never returns anything. I’d better go write this down before I forget!”
Meanwhile, Gu Zhenyang returned to the main room. Su Yiyi was already sitting cross-legged on the heated kang, eating.
Originally, he had put around thirty dumplings in her bowl, but now he noticed his own bowl had more than before, while hers was almost empty.
“You don’t need to give me so many,” Gu Zhenyang said.
“Go ahead and eat. I can’t finish that many anyway,” Su Yiyi replied honestly.
But Gu Zhenyang felt something different. She was worried he wouldn’t be full… did that mean she cared about him?
…No, that couldn’t be it. She had agreed to the divorce so readily. They were about to submit the divorce report—why think about this now?
He silently finished all the dumplings. Just as he was about to call Su Yiyi to head to the army together, there was another knock at the courtyard gate.
This time, Gu Zhenyang went to open it.
A young soldier stood outside, with a middle-aged woman behind him carrying a large bundle.
The soldier scratched his head. “Captain Gu, this auntie said she’s your mother, so I brought her here.”
Gu Zhenyang was stunned when he saw her. “Mom? What are you doing here?”
Zhao Yunzhi looked travel-worn. “Didn’t you write saying Yiyi was sick? I wanted to come earlier, but your father caught a cold, so I stayed to take care of him for two days. I didn’t expect your in-laws to leave ahead of me.”
She hesitated. “Nothing serious happened, right?”
Gu Zhenyang shook his head. “No. But since Dad wasn’t feeling well, you shouldn’t have come. And if you were coming, you should’ve told me—I could’ve picked you up.”
Zhao Yunzhi smiled. “What’s the big deal? I’ve been here before—I know the way. You’re busy with the army; I can come by myself.”
Gu Zhenyang nodded. Since she was already here, he turned to the soldier. “Thanks for the trouble.”
The young soldier looked embarrassed, his face turning red with excitement. This young captain was his idol.
“N-no problem, Captain Gu! I’ll go back to my post now.”
“Alright, thank you for your hard work.”
“Not hard at all—it’s my duty!” The soldier gave a crisp salute, then ran off.
Gu Zhenyang quickly took Zhao Yunzhi’s luggage. “Mom, let’s go inside.”
Zhao Yunzhi followed him in, smiling as she looked around the neat courtyard, clearly pleased.
Hearing the commotion, Su Yiyi came out. She was a bit surprised to see Zhao Yunzhi but still greeted her, “Mom!”
“Ah! You’re up so early. You should rest more,” Zhao Yunzhi said kindly, her face full of warmth.
Su Yiyi glanced at the sky. Although winter mornings were bright early, it was already fully light out…
…Not that early, was it?