After a whole night of tossing and turning, although the smooth wooden board underneath meant her body no longer ached like she’d been tortured, the growling hunger in her stomach was deafening.
She opened her eyes. The room was already empty.
On Cheng Beitang’s old desk sat an aluminum lunchbox with a sheet of paper tucked underneath it. Across the paper were several bold, wildly written characters:
【I’m taking the troops to training. Food’s in the box. Heat it up yourself if it gets cold. Don’t run around.】
The handwriting matched the man—untamed and forceful.
Su Huaijin curled her lips and opened the lunchbox.
Two white steamed buns, a scoop of scrambled eggs, and several slices of luncheon meat.
Luncheon meat!
In this era of scarce supplies, that was considered a luxury item. Su Huaijin’s eyes lit up slightly. The man looked cold and heartless, but his meals weren’t bad at all.
What she didn’t know was that Cheng Beitang had saved those from his own special ration allotment.
Su Huaijin didn’t stand on ceremony. After washing up, she sat by the table and finished breakfast. Once she was full, she looked around the dull gray room again and frowned.
Too dirty.
Though she was spoiled and hated housework, she was even more of a clean freak.
Especially the pile of clothes she had changed out of—the silk dress from yesterday covered in dust, and the nightgown she wore last night—all stuffed inside the washbasin.
“I don’t want to wash them…”
Looking at the hands she used to play piano, Su Huaijin sighed.
But in a place like this, who was she supposed to expect to help her wash clothes? Cheng Beitang?
Thinking about the terrifying expression he’d had while applying medicine to her last night, Su Huaijin shrank her neck.
Forget it. Better to rely on herself.
She pulled out a bag of washing powder, picked up the basin full of clothes, took a deep breath, and pushed open the door.
…
The family quarters’ washing area was outdoors, located around a row of water taps in the center of the courtyard.
It was ten in the morning, the liveliest time of day in the compound.
A group of military wives dressed in dark blue and gray coarse cloth clothing were gathered there washing clothes and vegetables while loudly gossiping.
“Hey, did you hear? That city wife Commander Cheng brought back caused a huge scene all night long yesterday!”
The speaker was a heavily built woman in a faded blue jacket with her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. She was Liu Guihua, wife of the Third Battalion commander, famously known around the compound as the loudmouth.
“How could I not hear? My house is right next door!” another tall, skinny woman chimed in with disdain. “Complaining the bed was hard, complaining there were too many mosquitoes, even making Commander Cheng fetch water for her feet in the middle of the night! Tsk tsk. Commander Cheng really has patience. If it were my husband, he’d have slapped her already!”
“Exactly! I heard she’s some rich young miss from the capital. How could a poor place like ours afford to keep someone like that? I say she’ll be gone in less than three days!”
“I agree. Women like her are just pretty vases. Good-looking and completely useless. Unlike us—we hold up half the sky!”
The women burst into laughter, their voices dripping with jealousy and hostility toward outsiders.
At that moment, the sound of light footsteps approached.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The crisp sound of little leather shoes clicking against concrete was completely different from the dull thuds of the cloth shoes they wore.
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Everyone turned to look.
Under the sunlight, Su Huaijin walked over carrying her pink plastic basin.
Today she wore a pale yellow floral dress with a bow tied at the collar. Her waist looked impossibly slender, and the skirt swayed like flower petals as she walked. Her hair was loosely tied up with a matching ribbon, several strands hanging beside her ears in a lazy yet charming way.
Though her face still carried a hint of unhealthy paleness and two medicinal patches were stuck on her neck to cover mosquito bites, none of it diminished her beauty. If anything, it made her appear even more delicate and pitiful.
The moment she appeared, the drab family compound seemed to brighten instantly.
The wives stared at her obviously expensive dress, then down at their own rough clothes and soap-covered hands. Jealousy nearly overflowed from their eyes.
Of course Su Huaijin had heard their gossip.
She had grown up in the capital’s military compounds. She’d seen this kind of backstabbing countless times.
Without sparing them a glance, she walked proudly like a white swan straight to the empty faucet at the far end.
Splash—
She turned on the tap, and icy well water gushed out.
Tentatively, Su Huaijin reached out one finger to touch it.
“Hiss!”
So cold!
Why did the northwest well water feel like melted ice?
She instinctively jerked her hand back, brows tightly furrowed. If she put her hands in that water, wouldn’t she get frostbite?
“Well, if it isn’t Sister Su?”
Liu Guihua immediately seized the opportunity, her loud mocking voice echoing through half the courtyard.
“What’s wrong? Is the water burning your hands? Or do you think our water is dirty?”
Su Huaijin turned to look at the broad-faced woman and smiled politely but distantly.
“Hello, sister-in-law. The water isn’t dirty. It’s just too cold, and I’m sensitive to the cold.”
“Sensitive to the cold?” Liu Guihua laughed exaggeratedly, flinging soap suds everywhere. “Oh my goodness! We military wives train through winter and summer alike! It’s the middle of summer and you think the water’s cold? Little sister, you’re way too delicate. We don’t raise freeloaders here.”
Snickers erupted around them.
“Exactly. Commander Cheng sheds blood and sweat on the front lines, and the wife he married can’t even wash clothes? That’s not a wife—that’s an ancestor!”
“Look at the clothes in her basin. What kind of fabric is that? Slippery-looking stuff that probably doesn’t even absorb sweat. Pretty but useless. Such a waste of money!”
The smile on Su Huaijin’s face faded slightly.
She looked at the silk nightgown in the basin. Her mother had given it to her as a birthday gift. If these women scrubbed it against a washboard, it would probably be ruined instantly.
“You’re right, sister-in-law.”
Rather than getting angry, Su Huaijin nodded seriously.
“I also think this life is far too hard. That’s why I’m planning to divorce Cheng Beitang. Unfortunately, he refuses to let me go and insists on keeping me here.”
That direct strike instantly choked Liu Guihua speechless.
What?
Commander Cheng refused to divorce her?
Impossible! Cheng Beitang was famous for being cold and impartial. How could he possibly be bewitched by beauty?
“You’re lying!” Liu Guihua rolled her eyes. “Obviously you’re the one refusing to leave because you want to mooch off military rations!”
Su Huaijin merely laughed softly and ignored her.
Since she couldn’t wash the clothes, she simply wouldn’t.
She turned off the faucet and prepared to carry the basin back. Worst case scenario, she could pay a local woman to wash them. Or… dump them onto Cheng Beitang.
Either way, she was not sacrificing her hands.
Just then, a pack of half-grown children burst into the courtyard like monkeys.
“Woohoo! We’re fighting a war! I’m the commander!”
The children were all dark from the sun, dressed in patched-up clothes and sniffling constantly.
As soon as they rushed in, they spotted Su Huaijin standing by the faucet.
Every single child screeched to a halt.
Such… such a pretty lady.
And she smelled so good.
The faint sandalwood soap fragrance clinging to Su Huaijin was irresistibly attractive in this courtyard full of sweat and grime.
One bold little boy sniffed loudly and stared at Su Huaijin’s delicate white hands.
“Auntie, are you a fairy?”
Su Huaijin burst out laughing.
She set down the basin and crouched so her eyes were level with his.
“I’m not a fairy. I’m your Commander Cheng’s wife. You can call me…” She thought for a moment. “Call me Sister Su.”
“Sister Su!”
The children shouted together sweetly.
After all, who didn’t like a beautiful, gentle older sister?
Liu Guihua immediately became unhappy. That was her son.
“Er Gouzi! What nonsense are you shouting? That’s your aunt! Get over here!”
But Er Gouzi didn’t move, because he saw the beautiful lady pull something from her pocket as though performing magic.
Brightly colored candy wrappers with a white rabbit printed on them.
“White Rabbit milk candy!”
The children’s eyes widened instantly like searchlights.
In this era of shortages, even fruit candies were saved for New Year’s celebrations, let alone expensive White Rabbit candies sold at the supply cooperative. A whole handful like this had to cost a fortune!
“Do you want some?” Su Huaijin shook the candy in her hand with a smile.
“Yes—!”
The children answered in perfect unison, practically drooling.
“Then whoever behaves best and has the sweetest mouth gets one.”
She unwrapped a candy and stuffed it into Er Gouzi’s mouth.
The rich creamy sweetness exploded across his tongue, and the little boy squinted in bliss.
“Sister Su is the prettiest! Sister Su is the best sister in the world!”
“I want one too!”
“Sister Su, I praised you too!”
In an instant, the children crowded tightly around Su Huaijin like baby birds waiting to be fed.
Su Huaijin wasn’t stingy at all. She had brought two whole bags of milk candy on this trip, originally intending to eat them on the journey.
She handed them out one by one while smiling.
“Slow down, everyone gets one. After you finish, remember to throw the wrappers in the trash.”
The wives nearby stared so hard their eyes nearly popped out.
Watching her son’s cheeks bulging with candy, Liu Guihua felt both greedy and furious.
Greedy because she wanted to taste the candy herself.
Furious because Su Huaijin’s wasteful behavior infuriated her.
“Oh my heavens!”
Liu Guihua slapped her thigh dramatically.
“That handful of candy must cost two or three yuan! And you’re just giving it to a bunch of kids? What a spendthrift! How could Commander Cheng’s salary possibly support you wasting money like this?”
In an era where the average monthly salary was only thirty or forty yuan, Su Huaijin’s candies truly counted as a “fortune.”
Su Huaijin stood up and dusted the sugar powder from her hands, still smiling brilliantly.
“Sister-in-law, what’s a little money?”
She deliberately paused and swept her gaze slowly across all the jealous faces around her before lazily continuing:
“Besides… isn’t my husband’s money meant for me to spend? If I don’t spend it, should I save it for another woman instead?”
Boom—
That sentence landed like a bomb in the hearts of these military wives who worshipped thrift and hard work.
Too arrogant!
Too shameless!
Pure rich capitalist young-lady behavior!
“Y-you—what kind of thinking is that?!” Liu Guihua’s finger trembled in anger. “I’m going to report you to the political commissar! I’ll accuse you of extravagance and corrupting the revolutionary children!”
Su Huaijin shrugged indifferently and picked up her basin.
“Go ahead. While you’re at it, ask him when he’s approving my divorce papers. I’d like to leave sooner too.”
With that, she walked away like a victorious little peacock, her high heels clicking sharply against the ground.
Behind her remained a group of furious women practically smoking with rage—and a gang of traitorous children with candy in their mouths still shouting:
“Bye-bye, Sister Su!”