That question completely stumped Lu Jingheng.
A soldier who had spent more than twenty years roughing it among men had never thought about something so profound.
In his simple understanding, wasn’t marriage just living under the same roof, eating from the same pot, having children, and spending a lifetime together?
He struggled for a long while, his face turning red before finally squeezing out an answer.
“It means… you have me in your heart, and I have you in mine. When trouble comes, we face it together.”
The answer caught Ruan Wen by surprise.
He spoke not of romance, but of responsibility and companionship.
She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes hiding the emotions stirring beneath them. After a long silence, she softly said,
“I understand.”
That phrase again!
Lu Jingheng felt as though he had thrown a punch into a pile of cotton. He was anxious and frustrated, yet completely powerless against her.
The next day, before returning to the army, Lu Jingheng placed another stack of cash and coupons on the table—thicker than the last one.
“For household expenses. Use them however you see fit.”
His voice was stiff and awkward, and he turned to leave as soon as he finished speaking.
“Wait a moment,” Ruan Wen called.
Lu Jingheng immediately stopped and turned around, his eyes full of anticipation.
Ruan Wen separated a small portion of the money and coupons and pushed them back toward him.
“It’s more than I need.”
“Just take it!” Lu Jingheng refused without hesitation. “What’s the point of a man earning money if not to spend it on his wife?”
He said it so matter-of-factly that Ruan Wen was left speechless.
She stopped arguing and put the money away, but another plan had already formed in her mind.
Early the next morning, while the streets were still quiet, Ruan Wen took the money and headed to a nearby secondhand market.
Back then, secondhand markets were often called consignment stores, places filled with all sorts of strange and unusual items.
Instead of browsing the porcelain and paintings, Ruan Wen went straight to the furniture section at the back.
In a corner lay a pile of battered tables, chairs, and stools, most of them broken in one way or another.
A salesman in a blue work uniform was leaning against the wall, dozing. Seeing a customer approach, he lazily lifted his eyelids.
“Comrade, what are you looking for?”
Ruan Wen swept her gaze across the pile of junk before stopping on a chair covered in thick dust, one leg broken clean off.
The chair had an antique design, with faint carvings decorating the armrests and backrest. The wood was a deep reddish-purple color.
“How much for this chair?” she asked.
The salesman glanced at it and snorted.
“Five yuan. I’m basically selling it as firewood. Take it or leave it.”
Five yuan could buy twenty pounds of rice in those days. To spend that much on a broken chair would seem foolish to anyone.
“I’ll take it.”
Without hesitation, Ruan Wen pulled out the money.
The salesman looked at her as if she were a rich fool from a landlord family. He quickly pocketed the money and didn’t even bother writing a receipt.
Ruan Wen continued browsing the market and purchased several more items that others considered worthless junk: a stained old carpet, a chipped wooden box, and a rusty bronze incense burner.
She hired a handcart and had the pile of “junk” transported back to the military compound.
The moment the cart entered the courtyard, it caused quite a stir.
“Isn’t that Battalion Commander Lu’s wife?”
“Where did she find an entire cartload of junk?”
“She’s really wasting money. Instead of buying food or clothes, she buys this stuff?”
Wang Li was sitting outside with her child, enjoying the sun. Seeing the scene, she curled her lips into a smug smile and deliberately raised her voice.
“Well, she is a capitalist’s daughter. Spending money recklessly comes naturally to her. Battalion Commander Lu sure married a wife who knows how to manage a household!”
The sarcasm was obvious to everyone.
Ruan Wen ignored her completely. She directed the cart driver to unload everything into the courtyard and paid him.
Then she walked around the pile of junk once.
Not only was there no trace of regret on her face, but she actually looked pleased.
Stopping in front of the broken chair, she pulled a cloth from her pocket, dipped it in water, and carefully wiped away the dust on the armrest.
As the grime disappeared, smooth, elegant wood with beautiful natural grain emerged beneath.
It wasn’t ordinary wood.
It was Huanghuali rosewood.
In her previous life, she had seen this very chair at an auction in Hong Kong.
The final sale price had reached seven figures.
And now, she had bought it for only five yuan.
A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, unnoticed by anyone.
In this life, she would not merely survive in peace.
She would live better than anyone else.
When Lu Jingheng returned from the army, the first thing he saw upon entering the courtyard was the mountain of junk occupying half the yard.
He froze on the spot.
Walking over to Ruan Wen, he found her sitting there with a small brush, carefully cleaning a dark wooden box.
His face was full of confusion.
“Why did you buy all this?”
Without even looking up, Ruan Wen replied calmly,
“I liked the look of them.”
The reason was so absolute that Lu Jingheng could not think of a single argument against it.
Scratching his head, he looked at his composed wife, then at the neighbors craning their necks outside the courtyard wall.
With a sigh, he rolled up his sleeves.
“Fine. If you like them, that’s enough.”
He crouched down beside her.
“I’ll help.”
The commotion in the yard had already attracted a crowd of curious neighbors.
Wang Li was still holding her child, the smug smile not yet gone from her face, when she saw Lu Jingheng immediately roll up his sleeves and squat down beside his wife.
Picking up a rag, he awkwardly copied Ruan Wen and began beating dust out of the filthy old carpet.
Dust flew all over his face, but he didn’t care. He simply wiped it away with the back of his hand and kept working.
At once, the gossiping voices outside the courtyard wall fell silent, as though someone had grabbed them by the throat.
Everyone could see exactly what Battalion Commander Lu was saying through his actions:
Whatever his wife bought—even if it was junk—was still a treasure in his eyes.
Wang Li’s face turned green and white in succession. Hugging her child, she slunk back into her house.
Qin Lan and Lu Yongjie also came out of the house. They paused in surprise at the sight of the pile of items.
“Wenwen, this…” Qin Lan began.
But Lu Yongjie was already grinning.
“I think the wood on this chair looks pretty good. Later I’ll find some tools and repair it. We can put it in the yard and use it during the summer.”
Qin Lan immediately caught on.
She shot her husband a look before switching to a bright smile and walking over to Ruan Wen. Pointing at the rusty bronze incense burner, she said,
“This one’s nice. Once it’s cleaned up, it’ll make a great decoration inside the house. Very stylish.”
As she spoke, she deliberately glanced toward the courtyard gate and added in a voice loud enough to be heard,
“Our family can arrange our things however we like. It’s none of an outsider’s business.”
A warm feeling passed through Ruan Wen’s heart.
She hadn’t been part of the family for very long, yet every member of the Lu family was accepting and protecting her in their own clumsy but sincere way.
With the support of the Lu family behind her, Ruan Wen became even more confident.
She directed Lu Jingheng to carefully carry the Huanghuali chair into the house and had him bring several basins of clean water.
For the entire afternoon, Ruan Wen stayed in the courtyard like a skilled artisan, meticulously cleaning her treasures.
Meanwhile, Lu Jingheng behaved like an obedient giant puppy.
Wherever she pointed, he followed.
Fetching water, wringing cloths, moving furniture—he stayed busy without a single complaint, all while wearing a slightly foolish smile on his face.