After waving goodbye to the group of sisters, Su Die pushed her bicycle back toward her own courtyard.
As she walked, she kept speculating about Shen Lin’s true identity.
Was she a foreign spy? Or one of those agents from TV dramas like a military intelligence or political bureau operative?
Either way, having someone like that undercover in the military compound was terrifying.
It would be one thing not to know, but now that she did could she even sleep at night?
Su Die decided that while she investigated Shen Lin’s identity, she would also take down the entire network.
Spies always operated in groups; it was impossible for one to act alone. So… the path ahead would be dangerous and long.
“Sis, you’re here.”
Feng Tao dropped what he was doing and ran over to unload the things from the bicycle.
As usual, Gu Jingzhou came over, and Su Die fetched a damp towel from inside to wipe his sweat. She not only wiped his face and neck but also carefully wiped each of his fingers, one by one.
“Wife, what’s wrong?”
Gu Jingzhou, trained as a reconnaissance soldier, immediately noticed something unusual about his wife.
“Come with me.”
Su Die grabbed his large hand and led him into the inner room.
Xiao Lu and Meng Shiguang watched enviously.
“Look at Brother Zhou’s luck he got a wife as perfect as our sister-in-law. Meanwhile, all we attract is trouble.”
Meng Shiguang grimaced. That morning, Huang Ru had tried to block him again, even grabbing his arm nearly making him sick with disgust.
Xiao Lu crouched down to lay cobblestones. “They say a girl’s marriage is like a second birth. And marrying the wrong wife is like destroying three generations. If I ever can’t marry someone I like, I’ll remain a bachelor for life.”
Meng Shiguang nodded in agreement. “I think the same way.”
Su Die had no idea that her arrival had just raised these two men’s standards for choosing a partner.
Once the door was closed, Gu Jingzhou held her slim waist and buried his face in the softness.
“I’m talking about something serious,” Su Die said, cupping his face with both hands. “Don’t fool around.”
The moment he heard that, Gu Jingzhou sat up straight. “Wife, I’m listening.”
“The pregnant Teacher Shen in the military compound you know her?” Su Die briefly described Shen Lin’s appearance.
“I know her. She’s Commissioner Fan’s second wife.”
Gu Jingzhou had been in the Northwestern Military District for years, so he was aware of some family situations.
“Second wife? What happened to Commissioner Fan’s first wife?”
“She and the child died after eating poisonous mushrooms from the mountains. Shen Lin is Commissioner Fan’s sister-in-law. Later, the two of them… got married.”
That was about all Gu Jingzhou knew. “You found out something?”
Su Die nodded and held his big hand carefully. As she had suspected, Shen Lin’s calluses were identical to Gu Jingzhou’s.
Gu Jingzhou was a sharpshooter in the military district able to hit targets with both guns effortlessly. His hands were covered in thick calluses.
And so were Shen Lin’s.
“Teacher Shen’s hands are just like yours,” Su Die said seriously.
“Ah?”
Gu Jingzhou was stunned.
When Shen Lin first came to the military compound, she was very plain and timid, barely looking people in the eye.
At first, Commissioner Fan had tried to find her a partner, but all the potential suitors complained she was too quiet and dull, unwilling to socialize.
After marrying Commissioner Fan, she was assigned a position in the military district’s training unit.
Gu Jingzhou fell into deep thought. He didn’t doubt his wife’s judgment he was worried the unit might be compromised.
“Wife… what do you want to do?”
Su Die narrowed her eyes. “Shen Lin has been undercover for years. The force behind her must be enormous. Whoever sent her here is the key we have to catch them all at once.”
Gu Jingzhou, proud of his wife’s awareness, hugged her tighter. “Then your man will cooperate.”
Su Die pecked his thin lips and smiled. “Good.”
Gu Jingzhou went out to work while Su Die went into the kitchen to cook with Feng Tao.
“You know about poisonous mushrooms?”
Though young, Feng Tao had spent most of his life in the mountains and knew the local crops well.
He sliced carrots as he spoke. “Of course. After every rain, the mountains in Tash Township grow a layer of poisonous mushrooms. They even grow alongside non-toxic mushrooms, and some of those can get contaminated. Eating them can make you sick. The most common are Amanita muscaria, little autumn caps, and white ghost parasols more than thirty types.”
Su Die’s question mainly stemmed from her suspicion about Commissioner Fan’s first wife’s real cause of death.
If Feng Tao, a local, could recognize so many poisonous mushrooms, a trained spy certainly could as well.
Could a fake sister-in-law have killed her inconvenient sister? It wasn’t impossible.
Her imagination was partly fueled by the palace intrigue dramas she had watched in the future.
Seeing Su Die distracted, Feng Tao thought she wanted to go gather mushrooms in the mountains.
“Sis, when you have time, I’ll take you hunting in the Tash Mountains. Not only is there plenty of game, but also herbs that sell for good money on the black market.”
Since his grandmother passed away, Feng Tao had been figuring out ways to earn money.
But given the times, the only option for a boy his age was to become a small-scale trader.
Hearing about herbs, Su Die’s eyes lit up.
The frontier’s highland herbs were abundant. Traditional Uyghur medicine combined influences from the Western Regions, Central Plains, and South Asia, and developed very well in later years.
Once she understood the situation, starting a local medicine factory would be excellent.
Of course, that was a future plan the priority now was catching the spy.
“Do you want to keep going to school?”
Su Die thought Feng Tao was smart and didn’t want him to waste his youth.
“No, I don’t like school. I’d rather study at home than carry a backpack every day and sit through class. Plus, I can’t sit still my butt hurts.”
Feng Tao was used to the outdoors and couldn’t stand school’s restrictions.
Su Die understood and didn’t force him. “If you have questions, you can ask me. I’ll guide you.”
“Thanks, sis. I’ll learn as much as I can. I still want to learn boxing from my brother-in-law.”
In the past couple of days, Feng Tao had grown familiar with Xiao Lu and the others and was increasingly drawn to military life.
By noon, the aroma of lamb pilaf filled the air.
To go with the pilaf, Gu Jingzhou planned to go to the compound to exchange for some onions and chili.
Su Die thought it was a good opportunity and went with him.
“Wife, should we exchange at Commissioner Fan’s house?”
No wonder they were a married couple sharing a bed. Despite being newlyweds, their cooperation was seamless.
“Mm, I’ll add some brown sugar.”
Su Die took a piece of wax paper, poured a little from the brown sugar bag, and wrapped it up.
Gu Jingzhou couldn’t help but smile his wife was thrifty, and her hand stitching was tight.
Su Die glared at him. “Frugality brings wealth.”