Li Zhan raced back to the military base without stopping and headed straight for the political commissar’s quarters, pounding hard on the door.
The political commissar, Old Zhao, opened it wearing only a coat, still bleary-eyed and clearly annoyed.
“Li Zhan! It’s the middle of the night! Your marriage application has already been approved. What more do you want?!”
“Something important.”
Li Zhan cut him off and handed him a thick stack of engineering blueprints.
“Take a look.”
Frowning, Old Zhao accepted the documents and glanced through them beneath the dim hallway light.
The sleep instantly vanished from his face.
“T-These are…?!”
His voice rose sharply, and his hands began to tremble.
“Where did you get these?”
“My wife gave them to me.”
Without another word, Old Zhao grabbed his cap and rushed out the door.
“Come on! We’re going to see the Commander!”
Ten minutes later, the Commander’s quarters were brightly lit.
The commander, a man in his fifties, adjusted his reading glasses and carefully examined every page. The more he read, the graver his expression became.
“If these are genuine…”
He suddenly slammed his hand on the table.
“This would be an enormous breakthrough!”
He barked an order.
“Wake the entire Technical Department! I want these authenticated tonight!”
Within minutes, the headquarters blazed with light.
Technical specialists were dragged out of bed and hurried sleepily into the conference room.
The instant they saw the blueprints spread across the table, every trace of drowsiness disappeared.
“My God!”
“This… this is the propulsion system blueprint for S Country’s newest destroyer!”
“And here’s the radar module design! The level of precision…”
“These could save us at least ten years of research!”
The conference room erupted into excited discussion as everyone’s faces flushed with excitement.
At the same time, dawn was breaking in Shanghai.
Several Red Armband officers kicked open the cellar door beneath the Xu residence.
Zhang Cuihua had nearly starved to death. Curled into a corner like a dried salted fish, she was barely conscious.
The sudden sunlight stabbed into her eyes.
Before she could react, rough hands yanked her outside.
“What are you doing?! I’m Madam Xu!”
She had barely finished shouting before a loud slap landed squarely across her face.
“Bah! Still acting like some rich madam?”
One of the Red Armbands grabbed her by the hair.
“The Xu family colluded with enemy agents and smuggled goods. The entire family is being paraded through the streets. Move!”
Zhang Cuihua and Xu Mingli had their hands tied behind their backs. Around their necks hung wooden placards reading:
Family Members of Counter-Revolutionaries.
They were shoved onto the back of a truck.
The vehicle slowly rolled through the streets of Shanghai.
Crowds lined both sides of the road.
Rotten vegetables and foul-smelling eggs rained down on them.
“Shameless old witch!”
“Traitors!”
A rotten egg exploded against Zhang Cuihua’s forehead, covering her face with rancid yolk.
Trembling, she asked her daughter,
“Mingli… what’s happening?”
Xu Mingli lowered her head blankly.
“Mom…”
“The world has changed.”
The truck finally stopped in a barren area nearly thirty kilometers outside the city.
The Red Armbands untied them and shoved them off the truck.
“Walk home yourselves! If we catch you riding a vehicle, we’ll parade you through the streets again!”
Under the blazing sun, Zhang Cuihua’s shoes wore through, leaving bloody blisters across the soles of her feet.
As she limped along, she sobbed,
“Why didn’t Wen Wan get what she deserved?! That barren hen…”
Xu Mingli suddenly laughed.
“Mom… don’t you remember?”
“Wen Wan is dead.”
“What?”
“She disappeared. They never even found her body.”
Despair filled her eyes.
“My brother already published a newspaper announcement divorcing her.”
Zhang Cuihua froze.
Images from the past suddenly flooded her mind.
When Wen Wan had first married into the Xu family, she had quietly made rock sugar and pear soup whenever Zhang Cuihua’s cough flared up.
She had embroidered warm hand sleeves for her during the New Year.
Even when Zhang Cuihua cursed her as a “barren hen,” Wen Wan had only lowered her head with reddened eyes and silently walked away.
Cloudy tears rolled down her cheeks.
She collapsed by the roadside and burst into heartbroken sobs.
“I’ve sinned…”
“I’ve committed terrible sins…”
Dragging their exhausted bodies, Xu Mingli and Zhang Cuihua finally staggered back to the Xu residence the following morning.
The moment they entered, they saw Xu Hao standing silently in the courtyard, his face grim.
“Any news about Wen Wan?”
he asked immediately.
Xu Mingli let out a cold laugh and collapsed onto the ground.
“We can barely survive ourselves. Who has time to worry about her? Besides, if she’s dead, all the better. At least she won’t be in our way.”
Xu Hao stared at her, disappointment filling his eyes.
“She was your sister-in-law, Mingli.”
“You’re beyond saving.”
Without another word, he left the Xu residence and headed straight for the Wen family home.
The once-grand estate now stood sealed shut, with official notices plastered across the gate.
Stopping a passing neighbor, he asked what had happened.
The neighbor sighed.
“The Wen family was investigated. Wen Lin is being sent to the countryside. Old Master Wen was reportedly exiled to Heilongjiang.”
Xu Hao’s heart sank.
Using every connection he had, he finally learned where Wen Lin was leaving from.
He found him at the docks, just as he was preparing to board a ship.
“Wen Lin!”
He grabbed the man’s shoulders, his voice trembling.
“Wen Wan… is she really…”
Now that Wen Wan had safely contacted the family, Wen Lin knew Xu Hao was still a member of the disgraced Xu family.
Fearing that any information might implicate his sister, he slowly shook his head.
“They searched the river.”
“They turned all of Shanghai upside down.”
“They never found her.”
“The chances are… very slim.”
“Comrade Xu…”
“Please let her go.”
Xu Hao slowly released his grip and closed his eyes in agony.
If only…
If only he had acted sooner.
If only he had taken Wen Wan away from the Xu family before it was too late.
If only he hadn’t hesitated because of family reputation.
Would she still be alive?
Clenching his fists, he made a silent vow.
He would go to Heilongjiang.
He would take care of Uncle Wen.
It was the least he could do to honor Wen Wan’s memory.
Li Zhan didn’t return for three consecutive days.
Instead, two young soldiers arrived punctually every day, delivering meals from the military cafeteria.
Wen Wan didn’t feel lonely.
She used the quiet time to thoroughly organize the house.
One afternoon, several soldiers carried over a set of gently used tables and chairs.
“The regiment commander asked us to deliver these.”
Running her fingers over the smoothly polished tabletop, Wen Wan felt warmth spread through her heart.
Later that afternoon, Li Hua burst into the courtyard carrying a huge basin filled with golden apricots.
“Comrade Wen! Our apricots are finally ripe! I brought you some!”
While munching happily on one, she asked,
“A few of us are going into town tomorrow. Want to come?”
Since her storage space already contained everything she could possibly need, Wen Wan shook her head.
“I’ll pass.”
Li Hua curled her lips.
“My sister-in-law insists on going. She says the house is too shabby and wants to buy some carved wardrobe or fancy cabinet.”
Rolling her eyes, she muttered,
“Capitalist young ladies sure are delicate.”
Wen Wan simply smiled and continued peeling an apricot.
After they finished eating, Li Hua suddenly became awkward.
“Um… Comrade Wen…”
“About before…”
“I was wrong. I spoke without thinking.”
“My sister-in-law already scolded me.”
“I’m sorry.”
Wen Wan waved dismissively.
“No need to apologize.”
“I’ve actually been wanting to learn how to light a proper stove.”
“Could you teach me?”
Li Hua’s eyes immediately lit up.
“That’s my specialty!”
Rolling up her sleeves, she crouched beside the stove and skillfully demonstrated how to stack firewood, arrange kindling, and start a fire.
“You city folks are really pampered.”
“You don’t even know how to light a stove.”
“I can teach you anything you don’t know.”
Wen Wan studied every movement carefully.
Then Li Hua suddenly asked,
“Can you carry a shoulder pole?”
“How hard could that be?”
Without waiting for an answer, she placed the carrying pole across Wen Wan’s shoulders and hung two full wooden buckets of water from each end.
“Come on!”
“Give it a try!”
The moment Wen Wan stood up, the tremendous weight bore down on her shoulders.
The buckets swung violently.
Water splashed everywhere.
She staggered several steps, nearly falling headfirst into the courtyard with the buckets.
“Oh!”
Li Hua hurried over to steady her.
“You’re even more delicate than I thought!”
Just then—
Creak.
The courtyard gate opened.
Li Zhan stood in the doorway, travel-worn and dusty.
His gaze immediately landed on Wen Wan’s reddened shoulders and the soaked hems of her trousers.
His brows instantly knitted together.
The moment Li Hua saw him, she instinctively shrank back.
“Commander Li!”
“I wasn’t bullying Comrade Wen!”
The words had barely left her mouth before she turned and fled as fast as a rabbit escaping from a wolf.