Zhao Yunzhi was genuinely angry. Elderly parents all hoped their children lived well, especially when a young couple’s relationship was at stake—if things went wrong between them, the whole household would turn chaotic.
If the couple already had problems between themselves, that could still be understood. But what kind of situation was it when an outsider deliberately stirred trouble? And this person was a military wife too—she was simply rotten at the core.
Liu Lijuan was also shocked by Su Yiyi’s sharp tongue. The old Su Yiyi had never been this clever before. Now she seemed like a completely different person—so different it was even a little frightening. At that moment, Liu Lijuan even felt like she wasn’t facing Su Yiyi at all, but rather… Gu Zhengyang himself.
For a moment, she forgot to retort. The onlooking military wives’ expressions became even stranger.
Although this incident wouldn’t necessarily escalate to the political commissar, many people had witnessed it today. When these women went home at night, they would surely tell their husbands. From now on, Liu Lijuan’s reputation in the compound would be completely ruined.
Su Yiyi didn’t think she had gone too far. After all, when Liu Lijuan spread rumors about her, she hadn’t considered any of this. Besides, she had clearly tried to sow discord in front of Zhao Yunzhi. If Zhao Yunzhi had been a difficult mother-in-law, she would have already started arguing with Su Yiyi.
“Forget it. We all live in the same compound. We see each other when we look up and down. I won’t pursue this matter for now. But listen carefully, sister-in-law—if there’s a next time, I won’t let it go so easily.”
Liu Lijuan had already been frightened by Su Yiyi’s repeated talk of reporting to the commissar and questioning her “background.” Hearing that she wouldn’t pursue the matter anymore, she didn’t even think and immediately thanked her.
“Thank you, sister… thank you…”
Su Yiyi merely smiled faintly and then pulled Zhao Yunzhi away to another area.
Zhao Yunzhi was dissatisfied. “Yiyi, we’re just letting her off like this?”
Su Yiyi shook her head with a smile. “Mom, you might not understand the situation here. Zhengyang and her husband are comrades-in-arms. It wouldn’t be appropriate to make this too ugly. But from now on, she won’t be able to hold her head up in this compound.”
“Come on, Mom. Since we’re already out, let’s go shopping.”
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law left the compound affectionately together. Originally, they had planned only to stroll around the compound, but Liu Lijuan had ruined the mood, so they simply went out shopping instead. Su Yiyi wasn’t short of money anyway.
Only after the two left did Liu Lijuan finally realize something was wrong. She had just thanked her. Why did she thank her? Why was she thanking her at all?
She turned around and indeed saw the surrounding military wives looking at her with obvious disdain. Her heart immediately sank.
Now she understood—she was completely finished.
By saying that, she had essentially admitted to everything Su Yiyi accused her of. And with so many witnesses, this would become leverage against her. It could even affect her husband.
At this moment, Liu Lijuan regretted it so much she wanted to slap herself twice. Why did she come out to stir trouble? But most importantly—what had happened to Su Yiyi? She used to be nowhere near this sharp.
Unfortunately, she would never guess that the person standing in front of her now was no longer the original Su Yiyi.
She could only flee in embarrassment while the military wives gathered and discussed the matter enthusiastically.
None of this was Su Yiyi’s concern anymore.
Even if she was going to divorce Gu Zhengyang later, she still needed to slowly improve her reputation. After all, she planned to do business in the future, and she might continue living in this city. She didn’t want to open a shop someday only to be drowned in rumors.
This wasn’t paranoia—women in this era, and even in later generations, were judged harshly. A beautiful woman was labeled improper; a capable woman was said to have backing. Unfortunately, Su Yiyi felt she was both.
Especially if she opened a shop in the future, gossip would definitely affect business.
She led Zhao Yunzhi to the streets. Although Zhao Yunzhi had been to the army compound before, she had never really gone out to shop, so everything felt new to her.
This was a provincial capital after all. It was much livelier than the rural town she came from—more shops, more people, though everything was still state-run.
Even those with bold ideas were still observing from the sidelines, not daring to open private shops yet.
Su Yiyi took her to the department store. Since there wasn’t much fresh food left at home and it was already late, she decided to buy something else instead.
At a clothing counter, she immediately noticed a women’s padded cotton jacket—blackish gray with a neat front closure. It looked warm and well-made.
Of course, the price was also beautiful: one jacket cost about a month’s salary of a formal worker.
But Su Yiyi thought it was worth it.
Although people in this era preferred making clothes themselves, she wasn’t native to this time. In her eyes, thirty yuan for such a coat was already cheap.
Zhao Yunzhi thought she was picking something for herself. “This style is nice. Yiyi, it’ll look good on you!”
Su Yiyi smiled and covered her mouth. “Mom, this suits you. I prefer brighter colors.”
Then she said to the sales clerk, “Comrade, please help me take this down so my mom can try it on.”
Zhao Yunzhi immediately became nervous. “Yiyi, just buy for yourself. I don’t need it. It’s too expensive. I still have to work in the fields when I go back—I wouldn’t even wear something this good…”
In fact, Zhao Yunzhi’s life in the village was already relatively decent. The family could afford new clothes every year, but they were always homemade. She didn’t dare even try the coat, afraid she might damage it and have to pay for it.