Without the password, even if the passbook were stolen, snatched, or even if Li Yanchuan used the household registration booklet to report it lost and apply for a replacement, he wouldn’t be able to withdraw a single cent.
Given the circumstances, this was the safest solution Su Jiuyue could think of.
She quickly recited a string of numbers.
770623.
It was the day she had coughed up blood and died in her previous life—June 23, 1977.
That date was branded into her soul like a searing iron, a constant reminder of the blood debt she had suffered in her past life—and a vow that she would never repeat the same mistakes.
Taking the brand-new passbook bearing the account name “Su Jiuyue,” she ran her fingers over its stiff cover and the thin deposit slip tucked inside.
The heart that had been stretched taut for so long finally relaxed a little.
At last, control over her financial lifeline was back in her own hands.
Holding Jiaojiao’s hand, she walked out of the post office. The afternoon sun was dazzling.
Looking up, Jiaojiao asked softly,
“Mom, are we going home now?”
“We are.”
Su Jiuyue crouched down and gently straightened her daughter’s crooked collar.
“But before we go home, Mom’s taking you to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something delicious.”
She shook the little handkerchief pouch holding their loose change and smiled warmly.
“What would Jiaojiao like to eat? Tell Mom.”
Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up like stars for an instant, but the sparkle quickly faded.
She lowered her head and whispered,
“If we buy food… will Uncle and Brother Tao Tao come and take it away again?”
In the past, “Daddy” had always given the best food and nicest things to Tao Tao first, always saying, “Tao Tao is weak. He needs more nutrition.”
Whenever Jiaojiao was lucky enough to receive a precious piece of fruit candy, before she could even enjoy it, “Daddy” would scold her for being selfish and tell her she should let her younger brother have it instead.
Su Jiuyue felt as though someone had stabbed her heart with a needle.
She hugged her daughter tightly. Her voice wasn’t loud, but every word carried unquestionable resolve.
“Jiaojiao, remember this. From now on, anything Mom buys belongs to you. No one is allowed to take it. And if anyone dares to, Mom will beat them with the fire poker!”
Jiaojiao looked doubtful, but the fierce determination shining in her mother’s eyes—a look she’d never seen before—filled her with a strange sense of security.
She nodded hard.
Mother and daughter headed to the supply cooperative.
Su Jiuyue bought without hesitation.
Two cans of fruit, one tin of malted milk powder, a pound of sponge cakes, half a pound of milk candies, and a length of red corduroy fabric with tiny white flowers, planning to sew Jiaojiao a new jacket.
Altogether, she spent nearly twenty yuan.
Even the sales clerk stared at her in astonishment.
Her husband just died, and she’s already spending money so lavishly?
Su Jiuyue ignored the judgmental looks.
Carrying a heavy mesh shopping bag and holding Jiaojiao’s hand—her daughter now wearing a brand-new pair of shoes—she walked home with her back straight.
These purchases marked the beginning of a new life for her and her daughter.
They were her declaration to the world:
Su Jiuyue had stood back up—and she intended to live well.
When they returned to the military family compound, it was the middle of the afternoon, and most people had already gone back to work.
The courtyard was fairly quiet.
Even so, the mother and daughter’s conspicuous shopping haul immediately drew several curious glances.
Ignoring them, Su Jiuyue walked straight toward her family’s row house.
She had just inserted the key into the lock when the door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
Li Yanchuan—wearing Li Haichuan’s face and living under Li Haichuan’s identity—stood in the doorway.
His face was livid, his eyes blazing with fury.
He had obviously heard about—or seen—their shopping spree.
“Su Jiuyue!”
Suppressing his anger, he forced the words through clenched teeth.
“My brother has only just died! His body isn’t even cold yet! And you’re already squandering the money he earned with his life on all this? Have you no shame?”
Su Jiuyue instinctively pulled Jiaojiao behind her before raising her eyes to meet his gaze.
Her expression was calm.
Mocking, even.
Something about that look made Li Yanchuan suddenly feel guilty.
“I’m spending my husband’s death compensation and my family’s savings.”
Her voice remained even, every word crystal clear.
“What business is it of yours?”
“Comrade Li Haichuan, you’re only my brother-in-law. Are you planning to manage everything under heaven—including how your younger brother’s widow spends her own money? What are you, the world’s policeman?”
“You—!”
Li Yanchuan choked on his words, his face turning bright red.
He was used to the old Su Jiuyue—sometimes gentle, sometimes hot-tempered, but always lacking confidence in front of him.
He had never seen her strike back with such icy composure.
Especially when she addressed him as “Li Haichuan.”
The name pierced him like a needle.
Drawing a deep breath, he remembered the role he was supposed to play and forcibly swallowed his anger.
Replacing it with an expression of sorrowful responsibility, he spoke in a heavy voice.
“Sister-in-law, I understand how heartbroken you are. But you have to think about the future. Before Yanchuan left, the people he worried about most were you and Jiaojiao.”
“He held my hand and begged me to take good care of both of you. Now that he’s gone, as his elder brother, I have no choice but to shoulder this family.”
Taking a step forward, he tried to project the authority of an elder brother.
“How about this? Give me the deposit certificate and whatever money you have left. I’ll keep it safe for you. Every month I’ll give you living expenses. That way you won’t spend recklessly and eventually run out of money.”
Su Jiuyue almost applauded.
His lines were practically identical to those from her previous life.
The only difference was that back then, stealing from her had been so easy that he hadn’t bothered with such righteous speeches first.
So brute force hadn’t worked…
Now he was trying emotional manipulation and deception instead.
Apparently, he’d already discovered there was no passbook inside the box.
He was getting desperate.
She didn’t respond.
She merely looked at him coldly.
Mistaking her silence for hesitation, Li Yanchuan pressed on, finally revealing the trump card he had carefully prepared—and his true objective all along.
“Sister-in-law, you’re still young, and Jiaojiao is still little. You have many years ahead of you. Yanchuan was my own younger brother. I can’t bear to see his wife and child suffer alone.”
“So…”
He paused, studying her face before saying each word deliberately.
“Since Yanchuan is gone, according to the customs back home… it’s not impossible…”
“…for the elder brother to marry his younger brother’s widow.”
“Or, as the saying goes, to carry both family branches on one shoulder.”
“From now on, I’ll take care of you and Jiaojiao. I guarantee neither of you will ever be wronged.”
Carry both family branches on one shoulder.
He had finally said it.
In her previous life, those words had only been brought up after she had been driven “mad,” when he and Bai Lili manipulated the situation until the arrangement became an accomplished fact.
But in this life…
He couldn’t even wait until the mourning period was over before proposing it.
Good.
A flash of icy light crossed Su Jiuyue’s eyes.
Under Li Yanchuan’s hopeful yet nervous gaze, she suddenly turned around and yanked open the front door, which had only been left ajar.
Facing the quiet military compound, she gathered every ounce of strength in her body and screamed at the top of her lungs—
“Help! Molester! Someone catch the molester!”
“Help! Somebody! Catch the molester!”
Her shrill, terrified cries instantly shattered the afternoon silence.
Li Yanchuan felt as if he’d been struck by lightning.
He froze.
He had imagined every possible reaction from Su Jiuyue.
She might cry.
She might refuse.
She might bargain.
She might even agree.
But he had never imagined…
…that she would throw all caution aside and start screaming for people to catch a molester.
“What nonsense are you shouting?!”
Panicking, he instinctively rushed forward to cover her mouth.
Su Jiuyue had anticipated it.
Still shouting, she quickly retreated into the open courtyard.
“Help! Li Haichuan is trying to molest me! He broke into my house!”
The effect was immediate.
Doors all around the courtyard flew open with loud bangs.
Military wives taking afternoon naps, family members who hadn’t gone to work, and children playing outside all rushed toward the commotion.
“What happened?”
“Who’s the molester?”
“Oh my, it’s Su Jiuyue! Commander Li’s wife!”
“Isn’t that Battalion Commander Li? No… that’s Li Haichuan now…”