In all the years she’d been at the military dependents’ compound, she had never seen anyone send a package like this.
Su Die’s arrival with the army completely shattered Liu Juan’s expectations.
“Sorry to trouble you to come in person.” Su Die was pouring mung bean soup into a bowl and casually filled one for Liu Juan as well. “Sit down and chat for a bit.”
Liu Juan happened to be thirsty, so she didn’t refuse and accepted it with a cheerful smile. “This soup is really good.”
Even though everyone lived in the military compound, few families would bother making mung bean soup with sugar life was lived frugally.
Gu Jingzhou wiped the sweat from his face and strode over. “Wife, I’ll take them to carry the packages.”
“Then go ahead.”
Su Die and Liu Juan sat in the courtyard, sipping mung bean soup and chatting.
The borderlands had a big temperature difference between day and night. By the end of August, evenings already carried a slight chill, much more comfortable than daytime.
Liu Juan wasn’t a gossip, but as the compound supervisor, she had heard about Huang Ru crying outside Su Die’s door in the afternoon.
“What exactly happened?”
Su Die rolled her eyes. “Rejected suitor, of course. Captain Meng doesn’t like her, but she insisted on bringing gifts. Ill-intentioned what’s there to cry about?”
Liu Juan sighed. “You can’t really blame Huang Ru for going after Meng Shiguang. There are so few good young men with prospects in the military district. No one wants to stay on the frontier; anyone with connections gets transferred. There are barely any decent men left, so it’s natural for someone to be pursued.”
As they chatted, night fully fell. Liu Juan had to hurry home to cook, so she took her leave.
The others helping carry the packages also left one by one.
Gu Jingzhou held a sealed letter, puzzled. “Wife, this came from U City in northern Xinjiang. I don’t know anyone from there.”
Su Die yawned and stood up. “Let’s look at it when we get home. I’m exhausted.”
“I’ll ride you home.”
Gu Jingzhou glanced at the 26-inch women’s bicycle in the courtyard and smirked.
It was small, but it wouldn’t stop his wife from holding onto his waist.
“Mm.”
As soon as Su Die sat on the bike’s rear seat, Gu Jingzhou grabbed her small hand and placed it on his abs.
Su Die: “……”
Back home, they opened the gate. The two dogs ran over on their short legs, barking excitedly.
“Woof woof woof…”
Su Die knew they were hungry. She petted their adorable heads before going inside to look at the letter.
Gu Jingzhou parked the bicycle and went to the kitchen to prepare their meals. The dogs wagged their tails happily and followed him.
The letter had been sent by Xie Longping after taking office. He was a vice governor parachuted in from above, traveling incognito, so almost no one knew his true identity.
But the letter to Su Die clearly stated who he was a sign of unconditional trust for the woman who had saved him.
Besides a sincerely worded letter of thanks, there were 20 “Great Unity” coupons, 3 meat coupons, 4 nationwide food coupons, and 2 cloth coupons.
“Wife, who’s the letter from?”
Gu Jingzhou finished preparing hot water, took a quick cold shower, and then came in to hold Su Die on his lap.
“It’s from the person I saved on the train,” Su Die said, showing him the letter.
“He’s even a high-ranking official.”
Reaching that level in these times was no small feat definitely a capable person.
Gu Jingzhou hadn’t expected Xie Longping to go into politics, but more friends and more connections were always a good thing.
“Go take a bath. Sleep early tonight.”
“Carry me there.”
Su Die didn’t want to move, lying in Gu Jingzhou’s arms like a docile little white cat, teasing him unbearably.
Gu Jingzhou restrained his restlessness, quickly gave his wife a bath, then carried her back to the kang (heated bed) and tucked her under the covers.
“Wife, I want… to…”
“You’ve worked all day. Aren’t you tired?”
“Not tired. It feels good and relaxing.”
Su Die gave him a scolding glance. “Don’t take too long.”
Amidst indulgence, Su Die was secretly annoyed with herself she should have let this man go hungry for two days. Once they started, there was no stopping him.
Satisfied, Comrade Gu Jingzhou didn’t fall asleep until 3 a.m., holding his wife in his arms.
……
Unsurprisingly, Su Die overslept again the next day.
Before heading to the military compound, she stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative.
Many of the frontier’s ethnic minority comrades lived there. Today’s supplies included pork, as well as beef and mutton.
Yesterday, Feng Tao said he could make polo (pilaf).
Su Die remembered that the famous influencer Lan Z had once praised Kashgar polo in a video: “so delicious it makes you dance,” “won’t let go even if slapped” she had to try it.
Kashgar polo used lamb, carrots, raisins, and other ingredients.
So she took a piece of bone-in lamb, 8 pounds of carrots, and a bag of rice from her storage.
After preparing everything, she rode her bicycle to the military compound.
At the gate, she ran into a group of sisters carrying baskets chattering energetically.
Liu Juan came over to greet her. “Little Su is here.”
Su Die got off her bike. “Sisters, where are you going?”
“To the hill behind to dig licorice root and make tea with it.”
Licorice was an herb that thrived in the frontier environment.
So local villagers and military dependents often went in groups to dig it.
The roots could be boiled into tea or exchanged for grain with the locals.
“Want to come along?” one of the sisters invited warmly.
Su Die shook her head, politely declining with a smile. “Next time. My yard isn’t finished yet.”
“Oh, you’re so reckless. Teacher Shen is pregnant. What if you hurt the little boy?”
Looking up, a chubby little boy had accidentally bumped into the pregnant woman called Teacher Shen.
Teacher Shen gently rubbed the boy’s round head with her right hand, smiling kindly. “Ermao didn’t mean it.”
“Sorry, Teacher Shen.”
Lu Ermao, scolded by his mother, lowered his head and apologized obediently.
Seeing this, Su Die slightly frowned. Teacher Shen’s hands were unusual.
Her palms, the “tiger mouth” (area between thumb and index), and knuckles were all covered in calluses only someone who had held a gun for years would have such hands.
Moreover, Lu Ermao had bumped into her from behind with some force. Any ordinary woman would have been knocked over.
But Teacher Shen’s stance was solid. Without over ten years of systematic training, this wouldn’t have been possible.
Su Die’s heart skipped a beat. She began studying Teacher Shen carefully.
Short hair to the ears, wearing a faded dark gray Lenin suit, a plain face with no makeup, a gentle smile she looked harmless, blending into the crowd.
Yet, in her deep, calm eyes, a flicker of sharpness and impatience could be detected.
So… beneath this simple, docile mask, lurked a fearsome wolf.
Su Die let out a resigned smile. She seemed to have a knack for encountering dangerous people.
Their eyes met briefly. Shen Lin looked away first.