Lu Tingzhou returned to the regiment in the afternoon. As soon as he reached the regimental headquarters, Political Commissar Li put down his pen, picked up his enamel mug, and sat on the sofa in the office, looking at him. “Tingzhou, have a seat.”
“Your wife is here?”
Lu Tingzhou nodded. He heard Political Commissar Li sigh deeply and frowned.
“Tingzhou, is this divorce really necessary? You haven’t seen each other for three years, and maybe your feelings have faded. But as long as your wife hasn’t made any fundamental mistakes, you should try to talk it out and make it work if you can.”
Political Commissar Li spoke earnestly, genuinely concerned for his comrade, who seemed so lonely. In the army, he was always on his own. While others enjoyed the warmth of their families, he would head to the training ground before the rooster even crowed. Apart from training and missions, he had nothing else in his life.
Finally, he had a wife, yet he still didn’t go home. When he heard a few days ago that it was his wife who had brought up the divorce, he wasn’t surprised. The key was that he felt Lu Tingzhou hadn’t handled some things well either.
At the mention of this, Meng Ying’s tearful, aggrieved face automatically appeared before Lu Tingzhou’s eyes. Suddenly, his throat felt dry. He picked up the water on the table, took a few sips, and said, “Commissar, I won’t divorce.”
“What?” Political Commissar Li was stunned for a moment, then instantly beamed, patting his hand with a wide smile. “That’s the right attitude! Your wife is here now. Take this chance to build your relationship and live a good life together—nothing is more important than that.”
Lu Tingzhou nodded, knowing Political Commissar Li had worried a lot about this matter. He felt somewhat embarrassed. By the time he left, it was already past five in the afternoon. Just as he reached the vicinity of the training ground, someone darted out from the side.
“Regiment Commander!” It was his subordinate, Chen Feng.
Seeing Lu Tingzhou, Chen Feng grinned broadly, clearly a cheerful type.
Lu Tingzhou: “Haven’t you gone to eat yet?”
Chen Feng: “Not yet. I was hoping to follow you back and see what my sister-in-law looks like!”
As he spoke, he muttered to himself. For the past few days, everyone had heard that the regiment commander’s wife was coming. All the men in the regiment were excited, eager to see what kind of person could marry their regiment commander, who was as stern as the King of Hell.
They heard she was from the countryside, so they guessed she must be a dark-skinned, thin girl. After all, Chen Feng himself was from a rural area and knew what country folk looked like.
Hearing this, Lu Tingzhou frowned. Thinking of Meng Ying’s appearance, he felt unexpectedly unwilling for her to be gawked at.
“Don’t you have anything better to do? Your sister-in-law is exhausted and sleeping after a long day. She doesn’t have time for you. I still need to go buy things. We’ll talk another day.”
He flatly refused. Chen Feng was dumbfounded. He had been determined to see her today—all the guys in the regiment were waiting for him to report back. Now his plans were ruined. Seeing the icy look in the regiment commander’s eyes, he swallowed hard, his face full of disappointment.
“Alright.”
After dismissing Chen Feng, Lu Tingzhou immediately headed to the supply and marketing cooperative. He still needed to buy meat and some seasonings. The house was barely stocked with such things. If she saw it and was dissatisfied again, he’d have an even bigger headache. So he simply bought a lot of things in one go.
The older sister at the supply and marketing cooperative recognized Lu Tingzhou. Seeing him buy a large pile of items, big and small, she couldn’t help but be surprised.
When Lu Tingzhou returned, Meng Ying had already woken up from her nap. Having slept for a while, she was now full of energy. Moreover, since the man had promised not to divorce her, the heavy burden in her heart had lifted, and she felt much more relaxed. So, she started practicing Tai Chi in the yard.
She turned her head and saw Lu Tingzhou walking in with a bunch of things in his hands. The moment their eyes met, Lu Tingzhou awkwardly looked away. Meng Ying’s face was still flushed, like the red desert date flowers in the desert, so dazzling that one couldn’t look away.
“I bought everything back.”
Meng Ying quickly stepped forward, took the items, and opened them to find all sorts of food and drinks. Her eyes curved into a smile as she hurriedly carried them to the kitchen. “Go rest for a bit. I’ll cook tonight, and you can taste my skills.”
Entering the kitchen, Meng Ying glanced around and noticed that while there were pots, pans, bowls, and utensils, the variety was limited. There wasn’t even a clay pot. She thought about how she wanted to make lotus root and pork rib soup in the future, as well as lamb paomo, since she’d heard the lamb here was delicious.
Opening the mesh bag, she found a large piece of pork belly, but the only vegetable was potatoes. Thinking about the barren land here, Meng Ying blinked, determined to work hard and enjoy a variety of vegetables as soon as possible.
For now, she could only make braised pork belly with potatoes and stir-fried greens with chili sauce.
She cut the pork belly into chunks, blanched them in a pot, then scooped them out and stir-fried them in a wok to render out the fat. She added various spices, with soy sauce being the most important, then poured in water and simmered it for about half an hour. Finally, she added the potatoes and continued stewing for another half hour.
By the time the dish was ready, it was already 6:30, just when families were having dinner. Meng Ying reheated the steamed buns Lu Tingzhou had brought back from the canteen and placed them on the table.
Lu Tingzhou had been tidying up the firewood piled in the corner of the yard. When he caught the aroma, his expression shifted—his delicate wife actually knew how to cook.
“Let’s eat,” Meng Ying said as she placed the greens on the table.
On the table, a large porcelain bowl was filled to the brim with glistening braised pork belly and potatoes, almost overflowing. Even Lu Tingzhou was captivated by the rich, enticing aroma.
Seeing him standing there motionless, Meng Ying frowned impatiently. “Come and eat.”
Lu Tingzhou was hungry too. He sat down, picked up a steamed bun and chopsticks, and began eating heartily. The moment the pork belly entered his mouth, its savory yet not greasy, melt-in-your-mouth texture immediately won over his taste buds. He couldn’t help but speed up his chopsticks.
Seeing his reaction, Meng Ying knew he enjoyed the meal, which made her happy. She narrowed her eyes slightly and picked up her chopsticks as well. She loved potatoes, especially when stewed with meat—it made them even more flavorful. However, many spices were missing; she had only added star anise, so it wasn’t as delicious as it could have been.
The meal left both of them satisfied. Meng Ying had barely eaten anything in the past two days, and this meal completely revived her appetite. She sat lazily on the stool, feeling utterly content.
After finishing his meal, Lu Tingzhou took the initiative to clear the table and even washed the dishes in the kitchen.
When he came out, he saw Meng Ying inspecting the room. He strode over to her with his long legs and said, “Meng Ying, let’s talk.”
Meng Ying was taken aback and turned to look at him.
The two sat facing each other in the room—Meng Ying on the edge of the bed and him on a stool.
“How long are you planning to stay here?”
Meng Ying knew this guy hadn’t caught on yet—he’d misunderstood, thinking she was just here for a visit, that their feelings for each other weren’t deep yet, so their dynamic was bound to be like business partners. Plus, Lu Tingzhou was a bit rigid and by-the-book.
She might as well just tell him outright and make her stance clear.
“I’m staying with the army!”
“Huh?”
Lu Tingzhou was taken aback. “Are you sure?”
“I know you think I’m delicate and can’t handle the hardships of living here, but since I’ve come, I’ve made up my mind. We’re husband and wife—living apart for so long isn’t good for either of us. Or are you tired of me already, unwilling to live together?”
As she spoke the latter half, Meng Ying was on the verge of tears.
Seeing her about to cry again, Lu Tingzhou felt a headache coming on and grew flustered. “I’m not tired of you.”
“Hmph, I’d like to see you try,” Meng Ying retorted coquettishly, her beautiful eyes sparkling. Her slightly teasing words fell on his ears, and Lu Tingzhou shifted his gaze uncomfortably.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll be living here from now on. We’ll discuss household matters together, but you have to go along with everything I say and never make me angry.”