“Old Wan, this is someone else’s family matter. Stay out of it!”
The moment Sister-in-law Wan heard that, she came out of the house. Deputy Battalion Commander Wan, however, didn’t think he had said anything wrong.
He even looked as if he were giving Song Yunli sincere advice.
“I’m not wrong. Men already work hard enough outside. Men handle the outside affairs while women take care of the home.
Why do men get married? So their wives can keep the house in order and take good care of their husbands…”
“Deputy Battalion Commander Wan, the Qing Dynasty has been gone for a long time.”
Tang Jin finally couldn’t hold herself back and stepped outside.
Deputy Battalion Commander Wan’s eyes widened.
Good heavens!
Commander Song’s wife was actually this beautiful?!
No wonder he treated her like a little princess.
“Deputy Battalion Commander Wan, your thinking is problematic. Chairman Mao said women hold up half the sky. This is no longer an era where men work outside and women stay inside.
We’re revolutionary partners. Household chores should naturally be shared. She’s my wife—I care about her.”
Song Yunli sounded rather proud when he said this. Then he turned and headed for the kitchen.
For some reason, the sight amused Tang Jin.
Meanwhile, Deputy Battalion Commander Wan’s face turned bright red.
“Commander Song is right.”
Embarrassed, he hurried back home, secretly thinking that Commander Song only spoiled his wife because she was so pretty.
As for a wife like his own?
He certainly wouldn’t indulge her.
Sister-in-law Wan awkwardly apologized to Tang Jin.
“Little Tang, my husband doesn’t know how to talk. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“It’s fine, Sister-in-law. Old Song didn’t spare his feelings either.”
Tang Jin smiled with curved eyes.
After all, she wasn’t the one who had been embarrassed.
Sister-in-law Wan looked at her enviously.
“Your Commander Song is a good husband.”
Song Yunli’s words had been loud enough for everyone upstairs and downstairs to hear.
Some were envious.
Others were jealous.
With her sharp hearing, Tang Jin vaguely caught bits of gossip.
“They’re newly married and still in the honeymoon phase. Of course he says nice things now. Men are all the same. Let’s see what happens after some time.”
“If my son ever forgot his mother after getting a wife, I’d fall out with him completely.”
“…”
Tang Jin didn’t recognize any of the speakers. They were all hiding upstairs while talking.
After listening for a moment, she returned to her room.
While Song Yunli was out, Tang Jin entered her space and checked the private plot in her little courtyard.
To her surprise, the vegetables had sprouted.
Oh my God!
Covering her mouth in shock, Tang Jin realized that things grew faster inside the space.
Those seeds…
Had actually been saved.
Excited, she soaked several more types of seeds in well water, then went to the warehouse and pulled out some books and ancient recipes.
She also took out a complete set of skincare products she used daily.
Hair oil, face cream, hand cream, and more.
After arranging them neatly in the cabinet, Song Yunli happened to come in.
Carrying a large bucket of water, he poured it into the household storage tank.
“Ajin, are you going to wash up now? I’ll take you to the bathhouse.”
“Okay.”
The very mention of it gave Tang Jin a headache.
Because…
It was a public bathhouse.
Holding her washbasin, towel, and clean clothes, she looked utterly miserable.
Song Yunli was carrying his own change of clothes and quickly noticed her gloomy mood.
“Ajin, what’s wrong?”
“Are there a lot of people bathing at this time?”
Back when she lived at the cannery, the bathroom and washroom had been combined into one small but private space.
She wasn’t used to bathhouses.
“Probably quite a few.”
Song Yunli finally understood why she was unhappy.
“How about this? After training tomorrow, I’ll partition off a small corner at home and make a bathroom for you.”
“Really?”
Tang Jin looked up at him, her eyes sparkling.
This man…
He truly got things done.
“Of course. Why would I lie to you?”
Song Yunli laughed helplessly.
“Though if you bathe at home, you’ll have to heat the water yourself. The bathhouse provides free hot water.”
“Then I’ll heat it myself.”
Tang Jin instantly brightened.
Still, when they arrived at the bathhouse, she found it was better than she had imagined.
Although it was communal, there were at least individual stalls.
The problem was that there were no curtains.
The moment she entered, she saw women bathing naturally in the open-front stalls.
Tang Jin: “…”
The embarrassment made her want to curl her toes into the ground.
After only a few steps, Sister-in-law Wan called out to her from a stall.
“Little Tang, you’re here to wash up too?”
Tang Jin: “…”
Forcing a smile, she replied,
“Yes, Sister-in-law. I’ll go wash first.”
She found the last stall in the corner and set down her things.
It took her quite a while before she finally gathered the courage to take off her dress and begin washing.
Just as she started lathering soap—
She suddenly heard Sister-in-law Wan’s voice behind her.
“Little Tang, your skin is so nice.”
Tang Jin: !!!
Not daring to turn around, she weakly asked,
“Sister-in-law… do you need something?”
“No, I just wanted to tell you I’m done and heading outside to do laundry. Take your time.”
Halfway through speaking, Sister-in-law Wan noticed how uncomfortable Tang Jin was and burst out laughing.
“Little sister, are you not used to public bathhouses? It’s okay. After a few times, you’ll get used to it. We’re all the same anyway.”
Tang Jin: “…”
She could only be grateful that the lights were dim.
Everyone looked blurry in the poor lighting.
Otherwise, she would have gone crazy.
Knowing Tang Jin was shy, Sister-in-law Wan left.
Tang Jin didn’t even bother properly scrubbing with soap. She rushed through the bath and quickly got dressed.
Outside the bathhouse, everyone was gathered around the faucets doing laundry.
The moment Song Yunli saw her, he immediately took the basin from her hands.
“I’ll wash them.”
“No, no, I can do it myself.”
Tang Jin was far too embarrassed to let him wash her undergarments.
The military wives nearby watched the scene and teased them with smiles.
“Commander Song really dotes on his wife. Sister-in-law, you’re so lucky.”
“My husband just dumps his dirty clothes on me and runs off. He’s nowhere near this diligent.”
“Sister-in-law, what do you use on your face? Your skin is so fair.”
“…”
“Little Tang, over here.”
Sister-in-law Wan waved her over.
Tang Jin quickly carried her basin to the faucet beside her.
Song Yunli could only rub his nose awkwardly and move to a less crowded faucet nearby to wash his own clothes.
“Little sister, see that one on the far right?”
Sister-in-law Wan lowered her voice.
Following her gaze, Tang Jin spotted a rather beautiful woman.
Among the plainly dressed military wives, her elegant bearing stood out immediately.
In a mysterious whisper, Sister-in-law Wan said,
“That’s Jiang Wei, the wife of Battalion Commander Mo, who lives next door to you. Battalion Commander Mo is a full ten years older than her.”
“Huh?”
Tang Jin was genuinely surprised.
Since moving in, the neighbors had all shown varying degrees of curiosity.
Only the Mo family had remained completely absent.
She had assumed they were rarely home.
She hadn’t expected to meet them that evening.
“You think it’s a pity too, don’t you?”
Sister-in-law Wan lowered her voice further.
“I heard her family background isn’t good. She’s the daughter of a capitalist family. People say Battalion Commander Mo’s career advancement is basically finished because he married her.”
Tang Jin: “…”
That wasn’t something she could comfortably comment on.
After all, her own class background wasn’t particularly ideal either.
Sister-in-law Wan continued talking to herself.
“That’s why everyone says Battalion Commander Mo got the short end of the stick marrying her. She’s really lucky.
I heard Jiang Wei works at the supply and marketing cooperative. She acts like she’s above everyone else.
I’ve greeted her several times, and she’s always been cold and distant.”