The two of them eventually carried their baskets and returned to the military housing compound.
The snow was falling heavier and heavier. Every step sank deep into the snow, shallow and uneven. By the time they reached the compound, Su Yiyi felt her cheeks were already numb from the cold.
Gu Zhanyang was still worried. Originally, he had planned to return after evening training, but he couldn’t settle down at noon, so he took advantage of a break and came back.
As soon as he entered the house, he saw Zhao Yunzhi alone and immediately frowned. “Where is she?”
Zhao Yunzhi was displeased the moment she heard this. “Her? What her? She’s your wife! Watch your tone!”
Gu Zhanyang deflated instantly. His mother had always been protective of this unreliable daughter-in-law. He knew that. “Mom, I didn’t mean anything else. I just wanted to ask where she went.”
“Where she went?” Zhao Yunzhi snorted. “Our Yiyi is much more considerate than you. She saw that I didn’t rest well or eat properly on the way, so she went out to buy groceries for me. Can you even think of that?”
Gu Zhanyang was slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected that.
He didn’t know when Su Yiyi would be back, but it was already almost lunchtime. Zhao Yunzhi went into the kitchen, cooked some rice, and prepared to wait so that once Su Yiyi returned, they could just start cooking without rushing.
Gu Zhanyang still didn’t fully believe Su Yiyi had really gone out just to buy food for his mother, but he said nothing. Instead, he went to the kitchen to light the stove.
Not long after the rice was set to cook, Su Yiyi pushed open the courtyard gate and walked in, a heavy basket on her back.
Zhao Yunzhi immediately gestured at Gu Zhanyang. “Hurry up and take that for her! Look how tired your wife is, and you don’t even have any sense of care!”
Her tone was full of dissatisfaction.
Gu Zhanyang: “……”
Still, he obediently went over and took the basket. Just one glance and he saw what was inside.
Su Yiyi ignored him and walked straight into the kitchen. “Mom, why are you already busy? Didn’t I tell you to rest properly?”
“I’ve rested enough,” Zhao Yunzhi said with a smile. “I couldn’t sleep anymore, so I thought I’d cook the rice first.”
Su Yiyi didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she smiled. “Today was lucky—I bought quite a lot of things. We’re going to have a good meal.”
“What did you manage to buy?” Zhao Yunzhi asked curiously.
Su Yiyi listed everything one by one. Being listened to so attentively made her feel surprisingly good.
“Why did you manage to buy so much?” Zhao Yunzhi was shocked.
Su Yiyi lowered her voice. “I went with a sister-in-law from the compound. She has connections.”
Zhao Yunzhi immediately brightened. “That’s really good luck then.”
Gu Zhanyang stood at the doorway, listening to the two women whispering. He frowned slightly.
Which sister-in-law? Since when was Su Yiyi going out with other military wives to buy things?
But seeing her and his mother getting along so well, he strangely felt a hint of warmth in the scene.
Su Yiyi glanced up and accidentally met his gaze, but only for a second before she turned away and continued working, as if he wasn’t even there.
That faint sense of being ignored made Gu Zhanyang feel a little uncomfortable. And yet… wasn’t this exactly what he wanted? Once they divorced, things would go smoothly.
But this morning, she had worried he wouldn’t have enough to eat and even gave him so many dumplings—wasn’t that proof she actually cared about him?
Gu Zhanyang found himself caught in a strange contradiction.
He should clearly stick to his original decision: divorce was the right thing.
Zhao Yunzhi wanted to help cook, but Su Yiyi firmly refused. After all, traveling by train for one or two days was exhausting enough, not to mention the poor conditions.
She soaked the dried vegetables Zhao Yunzhi brought and planned to make a cold dish later.
Then she took out a piece of fatty pork and started rendering lard. The smell of fat slowly filled the kitchen. She carefully scooped out the lard and stored it in a small enamel basin, leaving the cracklings behind for stir-frying.
She wasn’t fond of fatty pork, but once rendered, it became fragrant and much more tolerable.
Zhao Yunzhi watched quietly from the side.
Su Yiyi didn’t dare take out too many modern seasonings. Fortunately, she had her “universal cabinet” system—anything that existed in this era could be taken out.
And that was enough. In this era, even just salt made food taste good, let alone all the ingredients she had.
After confirming Zhao Yunzhi could eat spicy food, she had no issues cooking boldly. As for Gu Zhanyang—he wasn’t even part of her consideration.
She also sliced half a catty of pork belly and made stir-fried pork with garlic sprouts—fragrant and irresistible.
Then came egg drop soup, a cold dried-vegetable dish, and sweet-and-sour cabbage for digestion.
Altogether, it was two meat dishes, two vegetables, and a soup—a very generous meal.
Zhao Yunzhi looked at the table full of food and nervously rubbed her hands.
Seeing this, Su Yiyi smiled reassuringly. “Mom, just relax and enjoy yourself. Eat and rest well. This won’t bankrupt us—I can earn money.”
Gu Zhanyang didn’t object. Zhao Yunzhi, however, became curious. “You’re working here? I didn’t hear about that before.”
Su Yiyi smiled and shook her head. “Not a job here. I just write articles for a newspaper. I received my manuscript fee yesterday.”