Su Su lifted her clothes, revealing her slender waist.
Her translucent, delicate skin was like jade, irresistibly inviting a touch.
Qin Xutao awkwardly looked away.
Seeing Qin Xutao standing still, Su Su curled her lips slightly and hummed twice. “Qin Xutao, I really feel uncomfortable.”
Qin Xutao pressed his lips together helplessly. “Wait a moment.”
He placed his hand on a hot water bag for a while. After confirming his hand had warmed, he gently touched Su Su’s stomach, massaging it softly.
Qin Xutao had trained for years; his hands were dark, forming a sharp contrast with Su Su’s fair, delicate skin—a striking visual impact.
His large palms easily covered Su Su’s entire stomach, the calluses on his palms creating a slight tingling sensation on her skin.
Su Su let out a comfortable sigh.
“Your technique is really good.”
Seeing Su Su enjoying it, Qin Xutao’s stiff body gradually relaxed.
Before long, Su Su had fallen asleep.
Only then did Qin Xutao stop.
He carefully lifted Su Su from the sofa onto the bed and tucked her in.
Looking at her peaceful sleeping face, a warm feeling unexpectedly flowed through his heart.
The next day.
Su Su woke up naturally.
Qin Xutao was sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper.
Seeing Su Su come out, his gaze uncontrollably fell on her.
The girl wore a nightgown, revealing her fair, smooth shoulders, and her feet, still fresh and tender, touched the floor.
He frowned and said, “The heating in the room has been turned off. Wear more clothes.”
Su Su playfully stuck out her tongue and ran back to her room. “Wait for me a moment.”
Su Su braided her hair into a plait that hung over her shoulder.
She opened the wardrobe and picked out a cloth dress suitable for early spring, layered it with a woolen sweater for warmth, and wore a pair of black leather shoes.
Not only did it look simple and elegant, but it was also comfortable to wear.
After quickly washing up, Su Su and Qin Xutao sat together at the dining table.
Su Su bit a bun and asked curiously, “Aren’t you supposed to train today?”
Qin Xutao’s gaze fell on her face as he spoke softly, “The army granted me a day off to prepare for our wedding.”
Su Su looked a little confused. “What preparations are needed?”
Qin Xutao glanced at her and patiently explained:
“After we get married, you can choose to continue living here, or apply for a standalone house with a yard, but that requires an additional fee.”
“This morning I’ll take you to see it. If you like it, you can get the keys from the logistics office.”
“In the afternoon, we’ll go to the city to shop for anything you need, so you can move into the new house directly.”
Su Su nodded in understanding.
Generally in the army, single officers live in dormitories.
Only after getting married and having family accompany them can they apply for a standalone house, which requires an extra fee. Some families choose to stay in the dormitory instead.
Su Su, of course, didn’t want to continue living in the dormitory. On one hand, the space was too small; she wanted to buy many things. On the other hand, she wasn’t short of money and could easily afford the extra fees.
She immediately decided to move into a standalone house.
After finishing her meal, she followed Qin Xutao to the other side of the military family compound.
There weren’t many people who chose to live in a standalone house, so several units were still available.
One of them had been previously occupied, so it looked well-maintained and only needed minor repairs before moving in.
The other units were covered with thick dust, and ivy covered the walls, blocking the light.
Su Su didn’t hesitate and chose the well-maintained one.
After collecting the keys from the logistics office, she followed Qin Xutao to open the door.
Su Su’s eyes sparkled as she pointed to the bare land in the yard and said to Qin Xutao:
“We can plant roses here.”
“Over there, we can dig a fish pond and raise some fish.”
“That area can be used to grow some vegetables!”
Seeing Su Su so happy, Qin Xutao couldn’t help but smile, silently noting her ideas.
The house had two bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen, a bathroom, and front and back yards, providing plenty of space.
But the remaining furniture was old and used, looking worn.
Seeing Su Su frown, Qin Xutao knew she didn’t want to use secondhand furniture.
“New furniture and daily necessities can be collected from the logistics office. If you want to add more, we can buy them this afternoon.”
Su Su nodded with a smile.
“After buying daily necessities at the supply and marketing cooperative, we can go to Sister Fang’s younger brother’s place to choose some suitable furniture!”
Su Su was generally satisfied with the house. She wrote down all the items she wanted to buy and handed the list to Qin Xutao.
“Let’s go, first stop: the state-owned supply and marketing cooperative!”
Last time she came with Sister Fang, it was too crowded inside, and they couldn’t carry many things, so Su Su hadn’t bought much.
But this time, with Qin Xutao helping, she could freely buy as much as she wanted.
First, they went straight to the daily necessities counter. Su Su bought six red washbasins, two towels, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.
The new house had a kitchen, so later she could cook occasionally. Bowls, plates, chopsticks, spoons, frying pans, and other cookware were essential.
For the wedding bedding, she chose red. Her space didn’t have bright red items, so she bought them here.
She picked out quilts of varying thickness and a bunch of red pillows with mandarin duck patterns, which looked festive.
Next, they went to the agricultural supplies counter.
On the way, Su Su had planned that the new house had two yards: the front yard for flowers and the back yard for fruits and vegetables.
Since this era didn’t have ready-made lawns, they bought grass seeds to sow and wait for spring to sprout.
Su Su also selected some rose seedlings, flower seeds, and seasonal fruit and vegetable seeds.
Additionally, they needed to buy farming tools like shovels and hoes.
In the front yard, they could also dig a fish pond and put in ornamental fish, and build a small pavilion nearby to drink tea or coffee, and stay cool in the summer.
To build the pavilion, they needed wood and cement.
They bought the wood from Sister Fang’s younger brother, but cement was scarce and expensive in this era, so they went to several supply stores before buying ten bags.
After Qin Xutao paid, they went to Sister Fang’s younger brother’s house.
They had already chosen a two-meter-wide bed last time, so this time they just needed a dressing table, a wardrobe, some tables and chairs, and some wood for the pavilion.