Tu Xiuxiu paused for a moment when she heard that.
She looked at Zhou Jingran with slight surprise.
Even now, he was still favoring her and that secretly pleased her.
This sense of being cared for and cherished filled the emptiness in her heart.
“Rubao’s personality has changed a lot. She’s throwing tantrums at you and treating me like an enemy. If you ask her to wash my clothes again, she’ll make an even bigger scene.”
Tu Xiuxiu enjoyed being cared for by Zhou Jingran, but she hadn’t decided to marry him yet. She didn’t want Tang Rubao to cause a huge disturbance, if things escalated, it would affect her too.
Zhou Jingran carried the bucket out of the washroom. “There’s porridge in the lunchbox. You and Xinxin can eat it. I’ll take these clothes back, have Rubao wash them, and bring them over.”
Tu Xiuxiu frowned. “Ah Ran, you’ll upset Rubao if you do that.”
“She burned your hand, it’s only right that she helps you with the laundry.”
“But she’s already talking about divorce. I’m afraid this will affect you negatively.”
Zhou Jingran looked at her, moved. “If your conscience is clear, you have nothing to fear. She’s just being unreasonable, it won’t affect me.”
Tu Xiuxiu knew that a divorce would affect his future.
As his wife, shouldn’t Tang Rubao think about that?
Zhou Jingran rubbed Ke Xin’s head gently. “Uncle Zhou is going back now. Be a good girl and listen to your mother.”
Ke Xin nodded obediently, tilting her little face up at him with hopeful eyes. “Uncle Zhou, after training today, can you come eat dinner with Xinxin?”
Zhou Jingran nodded, then looked at Tu Xiuxiu with a faint smile. “You don’t need to cook dinner. I’ll bring it back from the canteen.”
Tu Xiuxiu smiled and nodded, watching him leave.
Knock, knock—
Just as Tang Rubao was about to lie down for a nap, someone knocked on her door.
She opened her eyes and glanced out the window.
Judging by the daylight, it wasn’t even noon yet.
Had Zhou Jingran already prepared lunch and come to call her?
She got up and opened the door.
The moment she saw him holding a wooden bucket, she already knew what it was.
Inside were the clothes of Tu Xiuxiu and her daughter.
“You need to wash and dry Xiuxiu and Xinxin’s clothes over the next two days. Otherwise, they won’t have anything to wear.”
Tang Rubao said sarcastically, “Oh dear, Battalion Commander Zhou is so worried they won’t have clothes, why not just go to the store and buy them a few new outfits?”
Zhou Jingran frowned, displeased. “Stop talking nonsense. It’s almost noon. Wash and dry them as soon as possible.”
Tang Rubao sneered. “You’re really confident, aren’t you? Even now, you still think I’d wash Tu Xiuxiu’s clothes?”
Zhou Jingran’s expression darkened. “If you hadn’t burned her hand, she wouldn’t need your help.”
Tang Rubao laughed in anger.
She walked out into the living room, went to the table, picked up Zhou Jingran’s cup, and poured a full cup of hot water.
Then she brought it over, handed it to him, and smiled sweetly. “Thirsty? Have some water first.”
Zhou Jingran frowned, suspicious of her sudden change in attitude, but still reached out to take the cup.
Just as his hand was about to touch it, the cup suddenly tipped.
The hot water spilled directly onto Tang Rubao’s hand.
“Ah!” she cried out, and the enamel cup clattered to the floor.
Zhou Jingran froze in shock.
Clutching her scalded hand, Tang Rubao glared at him with reddened eyes. “Zhou Jingran, it’s one thing for you to hate me, but why did you burn me?”
Zhou Jingran stared at her, stunned. “I—I didn’t! I didn’t even touch the cup!”
Besides, the water hadn’t even been that hot.
Tang Rubao mimicked his tone. “I saw it with my own eyes, and you’re still denying it.”
Zhou Jingran: “…”
Bang!
Tang Rubao slammed the door shut.
The force of it sent a gust of wind brushing against Zhou Jingran’s face.
Standing there, as if suddenly awakened, he lowered his gaze to the enamel cup on the floor, his expression dark and unreadable.
Had he misunderstood Tang Rubao?
Could it really be as she said, that Tu Xiuxiu had hurt herself on purpose just to make him resent her?
Inside the room, Tang Rubao leaned against the door, calmly wiping the water off her hand.
Want her to wash Tu Xiuxiu’s clothes?
No chance.
Since Tang Rubao refused to help, and Tu Xiuxiu’s hand was injured, Zhou Jingran had no choice.
After thinking it over, he carried the bucket across the yard to the house of Deputy Battalion Commander He Chao.
Zhang Yunmei was in the middle of preparing lunch.
Seeing Zhou Jingran standing at the door with a bucket, she quickly walked over.
When Zhou Jingran asked her to help Tu Xiuxiu wash clothes, she hesitated, but she couldn’t outright refuse.
“Battalion Commander Zhou, I’m cooking right now. Can I wash it later?”
Zhou Jingran nodded and gave a polite smile. “Thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. Consider this a small token of my appreciation.”
He couldn’t just ask someone to do his laundry for free, so he took out three cents and handed them to Zhang Yunmei.
Zhang Yunmei’s face lit up with joy when she saw the money. She quickly reached out and took it.
Zhou Jingran put the bucket down and turned to leave.
Zhang Yunmei stopped him and whispered gossipingly, “Battalion Commander Zhou, you’re so good to Xiuxiu, when are you going to marry her?”
Hearing this, Zhou Jingran’s expression darkened. “I only see Xiuxiu as a younger sister. I have a wife. Don’t make wild guesses.”
Tang Rubao stood by the window and witnessed the whole scene.
It was true: men always treated their wives like free maids, free childbirth, free childcare, free housework, free fulfillment of their needs…
If you hired someone else to do these jobs, you’d know to pay them properly.
In her past life, she had washed Tu Xiuxiu’s clothes and cooked for her for an entire month and he hadn’t given her a single extra penny.
Seeing that Zhou Jingran didn’t return home after leaving Zhang Yunmei but walked straight out of the family compound, Tang Rubao knew he was going back to the army and wouldn’t come back to cook lunch for her.
Calling her after he’d cooked was just a way to satisfy a momentary urge. In her past life, he never cooked a meal for her and in this life, he never would.
Tang Rubao walked into the kitchen, found some noodles, eggs, and dried radish. She diced the dried radish and stir-fried it in oil.
She made another bowl of egg noodle soup, served with the fragrant dried radish, it smelled incredible.
Having fully let go of Zhou Jingran, Tang Rubao finally felt free, unbound, relaxed, and comfortable. Her appetite soared, and she ate a bowl of noodles with great relish.
After eating her fill, she returned to her room, locked the door, and lay down on the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
She woke in the evening, feeling hungry, and got up to cook dinner.
She prepared a full bowl of rice with stir-fried dried shiitake mushrooms and cured pork.
After finishing, she went for a walk around the family compound.
Some military wives she passed, knowing she was getting a divorce, whispered about her.
She didn’t care.
It was foolish to care too much about what others thought.
“Xiaomin, your amazing! Another article of yours has been selected. How much will you get paid this time?”
“Nine yuan.”
“Nine yuan isn’t bad. If you write two articles a month, you can earn eighteen yuan.”
Passing by the Chen’s house, she heard his sister, Chen Xiaomin, chatting with their mother, Liu, while sitting by the door.
Tang Rubao walked over and greeted Chen Xiaomin familiarly. “Sister Xiaomin, may I take a look at your article?”
Chen Xiaomin and Liu weren’t unreasonable people, but they were momentarily taken aback by Tang Rubao’s words.
Liu instinctively asked, “Can you read? Can you understand it?”