Su Wan was long accustomed to the simple, unadorned ways of people in this era. Hearing this, she smiled faintly. "Auntie, this bowl wasn’t bought. I fired it myself in the old kiln in the village."
"What? You fired it yourself?" This was a bit beyond Aunt Liu’s realm of understanding. "I’ve heard of artisans who could fire kilns before, but later on, they were all recruited by the state to work in factories and contribute to the country."
"You don’t see artisans in the villages anymore. Though, the Victory Team down the way has an old kiln. I heard the villagers there used to fire their own pottery."
"With a skill like that, why didn’t you try to get into a ceramics factory?"
Lu Zhengchuan listened to them talk while he washed the clothes. The fact that Su Wan knew how to make pottery was both a pleasant surprise and a shock.
He couldn’t help but let his gaze linger on Su Wan. Her lovely hair flowed freely, and her beautiful face was stunning. Just looking at her was a visual feast.
"I was still in school back then. I did consider applying to a ceramics factory, but our county didn’t have one, so I gave up on the idea."
Su Wan didn’t try to hide her own talents.
Her eyes met Lu Zhengchuan’s in her peripheral vision. ’She didn’t feel like she was unworthy of him.’
The reason she had agreed when Lu Zhengchuan sent a matchmaker to propose was that she also considered him to be outstanding; they were a good match for each other.
Plus, he didn’t have parents, so she wouldn’t have to worry about issues with a mother-in-law.
To her, it was a better choice than marrying a city dweller.
’But who would have thought...’ Thinking of the matter between Lu Zhengchuan and Zheng Zhizhi, Su Wan shot him a resentful glare.
Lu Zhengchuan had no idea why, but he suppressed his confusion and turned back to scrubbing the clothes with renewed effort.
This time, however, it was obvious that he was much more willing to do the laundry.
"I see. Well, if you can fire this kind of Great Saint Pottery Bowl, does that mean you can also make red ’double happiness’ bowls?" Aunt Liu pressed.
Su Wan nodded. "I can. As long as I have the materials, the process is pretty much the same."
Hearing this, Aunt Liu enthusiastically grabbed Su Wan’s hand, her form of address changing as well. "Wanwan, could you help Auntie fire a set of ’double happiness’ pottery bowls?"
"Auntie, what do you need them for?" Su Wan asked, puzzled.
"My daughter is getting married! She’s marrying a soldier from the military district, Liu Lang. The wedding is coming up soon. Liu Lang’s family are both state employees, so their situation is quite good. I was thinking I had to prepare something nice for my daughter. I looked for some pottery bowls at the county supply and marketing co-op before, but none of them were very nice. I never found any I was satisfied with. With all the delays, the wedding is only half a month away, and I still haven’t bought everything."
Su Wan thought for a moment and said, "I can fire them, but I don’t know if I can build a small kiln in the courtyard of the family housing building."
"If I go to the village to borrow theirs, I’m afraid I’ll need to get approval. Besides, it’s just for a wedding, so I won’t need many. A small kiln would be enough."
"I’ll go ask for you," Aunt Liu immediately promised.
Since she hadn’t yet been much help, Su Wan took the initiative and offered to stew the chicken for her.
"Alright, I’ll go kill the chicken right now." A short while later, Aunt Liu brought over the prepared chicken.
Su Wan started stewing it for her on a stove in the courtyard.
After a moment’s thought, she added some medicinal herbs, the kind used when stewing chicken in Yang Province.
"Mmm..."
When Su Wan opened the aluminum pot, the rich aroma of chicken wafted out. She couldn’t stop a wave of nausea from washing over her and quickly covered her mouth as she ran to the bathroom.
But the bathroom wasn’t nearly as clean as the newly built one in the village. The foul smell made Su Wan truly and thoroughly throw up.
Lu Zhengchuan rushed after her and saw her face had gone pale from retching, her delicate brows tightly knitted. He reached out to pat her back. "Why are you throwing up again? Did the medicine you took before not work?"
"I’m fine." Su Wan wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose and turned to go to the kitchen to get some water to wash her face.
As she passed Lu Zhengchuan, she was on pins and needles, worried he might suspect she was pregnant.
"Let’s go to the clinic and have it checked out." Lu Zhengchuan grabbed her arm and started to lead her outside.
’Go to the clinic?’
’No way! They’d find out I’m pregnant as soon as I go. A three-month pregnancy is easy to spot.’
"There’s no need. I’m fine, it’s just an upset stomach lately. The doctor told me to drink more hot water, eat fewer spicy peppers, and avoid overly greasy food." As she spoke, Su Wan clutched her chest, feigning nausea.
Lu Zhengchuan frowned. Knowing that forcing her would only make her angry, he could only press his lips together. "Then take some more cold medicine. If you’re still not better in a few days, we’ll go to the clinic."
Su Wan agreed without the slightest hesitation.
"Okay."
Just as she’d hoped, Lu Zhengchuan wasn’t suspicious.
"Does this chicken need anything else? I’ll handle it, just tell me what to do." Lu Zhengchuan took over the task of cooking the chicken.
Su Wan said, "It doesn’t need anything else. Once it’s done stewing, just dish it up and take it over to Aunt Liu."
Stewed chicken didn’t need many seasonings anyway; its original flavor was fragrant enough.
"Okay."
Before dark, Lu Zhengchuan delivered the chicken soup to the Liu Family.
Aunt Liu was home and hurried to greet him. "Xiao Lu, why did you bring it over yourself? You could have just called for me, and I would’ve come over."
"It’s no trouble, Auntie. My wife made this. If the flavor isn’t to your liking, please don’t mind." The thought of Aunt Liu’s gossipy nature gave Lu Zhengchuan a bit of a headache. He hadn’t wanted Su Wan to agree to this in the first place.
Although he had eaten Su Wan’s cooking and it was indeed delicious, he couldn’t be sure that everyone would love her style of seasoning.
Hearing him say that, Aunt Liu’s heart leaped into her throat.
"It’s fine, I won’t mind." She took the chicken soup, placed it in her kitchen, and saw at a glance that not a single drop was missing from the bowl.
Aunt Liu couldn’t help but think to herself, ’Looks like Su Wan is a decent person. She didn’t even think to keep any for herself.’
She nodded in satisfaction. Not one to take advantage of others, she counted out ten eggs from the cupboard, came out, and handed them to Lu Zhengchuan.
"Take these back for Wanwan to help her recover her strength. Thank her for her hard work with the chicken tonight."
Lu Zhengchuan thought for a moment but didn’t refuse. After all, this was how neighbors built relationships and exchanged favors.
As soon as Lu Zhengchuan left, a family member from the next apartment called out, "Aunt Liu, why are you giving Battalion Commander Lu eggs?"
"They weren’t for Lu Zhengchuan, they were for Wanwan," Aunt Liu replied.
"Huh? You gave them to Comrade Su Wan? What for? Since when are you two so friendly?"
"What? Am I not allowed to give her eggs?" Aunt Liu said, displeased, her brows furrowed as she retorted.
The woman who had spoken gave an awkward laugh. "Aunt Liu, I was just curious. After all, she has a bad reputation. She’s only been in the compound for a few days and has already roped in so many people. Her skill at sucking up to others is really something else."
"That’s right." The dependent from across the hall couldn’t help but chime in. "I heard she’s living a real bourgeois lifestyle. She even puts a tablecloth on the table, and she makes Battalion Commander Lu help with the laundry. She didn’t come here to be a wife, she came here to be served like a queen!"
"HISS... and I also heard that when Battalion Commander Lu gets food from the mess hall, he always gets the most expensive meat dishes. He would never have dared to eat like that before. What a spendthrift wife."