When Su Wan woke up early the next morning, Lu Zhengchuan was already gone, but she didn’t mind. She went into the kitchen and made herself some meat congee and an egg for breakfast, which she ate with the pickled vegetables Sister-in-law Wang had given her.
She had just sat down in the courtyard, ready to wash the clothes from yesterday.
Just then, Zhang Ru came by to see her.
"Oh, Wanwan, doing laundry?"
Su Wan hurried to greet her. "Sister-in-law Zhang, what brings you here? Is something the matter?"
Su Wan led her into the living room and made her a cup of malted milk with hot water from a thermos.
Someone of Zhang Ru’s status and family background could certainly afford malted milk; they even had powdered milk at home.
But Su Wan came from a village and, young as she was, hadn’t held a job in years. Looking at the room—cozy, but filled with no shortage of things—it was no wonder people said she lived extravagantly and was just chasing the good life.
Any passing thoughts Zhang Ru had were fleeting, and she immediately got down to business. "Here’s the thing, Xiao Lu mentioned that your bed is too small and he wants to have a larger one built."
"Coincidentally, my family is preparing to have some new furniture made for our two children. They’re older now and are having marriage meetings set up. They could get married at any time, so we want to get the furniture ready first."
Su Wan offered her congratulations. "Sister-in-law Zhang, that’s wonderful news. Once they’ve found their matches, I’ll have to come for the wedding feast."
"As for building a bed? I had no idea. Did Lu Zhengchuan tell you?"
Su Wan was puzzled. ’What on earth is Lu Zhengchuan up to?’
"Xiao Lu didn’t discuss it with you?" Zhang Ru asked, a little surprised.
"No." Su Wan shook her head, seeing no reason to cover for him. In fact, she was quite curious about his motives. "When did he tell you this?"
"My Old Ji came home last night and told me. He saw Xiao Lu heading to the dormitory to sleep, and that’s when he realized you two were short a bed."
Su Wan hadn’t expected such a coincidence—that Lu Zhengchuan had run into Master Ji when he left last night. What frustrated her was that the excuse he’d come up with was that the bed wasn’t big enough.
Su Wan wondered if Lu Zhengchuan had done it on purpose.
"Oh, so that’s what happened. Sister-in-law, do you know what the price is for making a bed? Have the craftsman work on your family’s things first. We’re not in a hurry; we can manage by squeezing in." Su Wan had no intention of wasting money on a bed.
’After all, she wouldn’t be staying here for long. She’d be heading back in a month at most.’
’Getting a bed made would be a waste of money.’
Hearing this, Zhang Ru said with a smile, "Wanwan, you’re still young. You don’t understand that when you’re living with a man, you can’t sleep in separate beds. It’ll affect your relationship."
"You came all this way to the base, and Xiao Lu just happens to have finished a mission and is on a rare break. You should be a little more clingy with him, say some sweet things. Men, you know, they fall for that sort of thing."
Listening to Zhang Ru instruct her on how to get along with a husband, the tips of Su Wan’s ears turned a little red.
"Sister-in-law Zhang, I understand. I will," Su Wan readily agreed.
’She was afraid that if the conversation continued, Zhang Ru might bring up even more private topics.’
"Well then, come over to my place and take a look at what kind of bed you want. You can talk to the craftsman while you’re there. The craftsmen are a group of commune members from the village below. There are a lot of them, and the furniture they make is very practical and not expensive. A standard two-meter bed is about forty-something yuan."
"Since it’s organized by the brigade, you don’t need any ration coupons either."
Su Wan wanted to refuse. ’She absolutely did not want to share a bed with Lu Zhengchuan.’
But Zhang Ru enthusiastically pulled her along, giving her no chance to refuse.
Left with no other choice, Su Wan ended up ordering a bed from the craftsman and paid a ten-yuan deposit.
The more Su Wan thought about it back at home, the angrier she got.
She flopped directly onto the bed and refused to do any more chores.
When Lu Zhengchuan came back with lunch after morning training, he saw Su Wan was still sleeping.
"Su Wan? Are you not feeling well? Why are you still sleeping?"
Su Wan groggily heard his voice and opened her eyes to see Lu Zhengchuan standing by the bed.
"Can’t I sleep if I’m not sick?" Su Wan had been wanting to settle accounts with him anyway. Hearing his question, she sat bolt upright and stared at him, her voice cold. "Who told you to say we needed to buy a bed?"
Lu Zhengchuan was a little annoyed by her first sentence, but her second question made him feel a bit guilty, and he forgot about being angry.
"I ran into Master Ji last night. I just made up a random excuse, and he took it seriously."
"Sister-in-law Zhang came looking for me this morning. The bed has been ordered." Su Wan looked up at him. "What do you plan to do about it?"
"What do you mean, ’what do I plan to do’?" Lu Zhengchuan asked, confused.
"About buying the bed, of course. Are you really going to buy it? That’s forty yuan," Su Wan emphasized, reminding him of the cost.
Lu Zhengchuan was still confused. "That price is normal. It’s not expensive. Since it’s ordered, it’s ordered. It’s no big deal."
As he spoke, Lu Zhengchuan walked over and pulled a wallet from a drawer.
’Watching him count the money, Su Wan was somewhat satisfied. At least he wasn’t making her pay for it. He was being somewhat reliable.’
But to her surprise...
After counting for a long time, Lu Zhengchuan only managed to pull out thirty-five yuan, plus some loose change. In any case, it wasn’t enough to make forty.
A rare look of embarrassment crossed Lu Zhengchuan’s face as he glanced at her. "When I get my stipend next month, I’ll pay you back the rest."
Su Wan took the money without hesitation. ’Since Lu Zhengchuan had tricked her into marriage, it was only right that she take some of his money.’
After taking the money, Su Wan saw he was still standing there and gave him a light kick with her foot. "Go wash my clothes. I don’t feel well and don’t want to do it."
"No way. What kind of man washes his wife’s clothes? If word got out, my brothers would laugh at me." Lu Zhengchuan refused outright, his male chauvinism flaring up.
Su Wan raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so? As I recall, your monthly stipend isn’t small. Even though you send me one hundred yuan every month, you still have quite a bit left over for yourself. And now you can’t even come up with forty yuan? Where has all your money gone?"
’Su Wan hadn’t originally intended to question him about his spending, but since he wanted to argue, she might as well get everything out in the open.’
"...That’s men’s business. I can’t tell you everything." Lu Zhengchuan’s temper flared up as well. He sat down heavily beside her, fuming.
"Then who knows who you’re spending your money on. Since we’re married, we’re a single unit. Unless you want to divorce me, you can go on keeping your secrets."
Su Wan was not being the least bit polite with Lu Zhengchuan.
"Don’t talk about divorce. You can’t just throw that word around. People will laugh at us if they hear you," Lu Zhengchuan scolded.
Su Wan rolled her eyes, a gesture that somehow managed to look fetching. "Oh, people will laugh? But I’m already a joke. I’ve heard so much gossip since coming to this compound. That being the case, what do I have to be afraid of?"
Her words left Lu Zhengchuan speechless. He rubbed his forehead, a headache coming on. "The thing with the letter was my fault. I didn’t tell you the military inspects them. From now on, don’t write that kind of stuff in your letters to me, and people won’t gossip anymore."
"But you also know that there’s gossip no matter where you live. I can’t just demand everyone shut their mouths, can I?"
But even as he said this, his voice softened unconsciously, especially when he saw the redness in her eyes.