“I overslept today. I’ll get up earlier tomorrow.”
The man glanced at her but didn’t say anything. Su Wan didn’t mind—she was hungry and sat down to eat.
The lunchboxes were opened, and Su Wan was curious about army food—maybe it would be good.
Braised tofu, steamed pork with rice powder, and stir-fried eggplant.
Both lunchboxes had the same dishes.
The man pushed one box toward Su Wan. She picked up a piece of the steamed pork with her chopsticks and took a bite.
It was fatty, not thoroughly steamed, and the rice powder was of poor quality. The taste wasn’t very good.
She couldn’t eat it. A greasy aftertaste rose in her throat, and she spat out the piece of pork.
The man looked at her. “What’s wrong? You’re not used to it?”
Su Wan felt a little embarrassed. She had just decided not to act like a spoiled lady, and now she was already contradicted.
If it had been back in Beidahuang, she could have eaten this piece of fatty pork.
But in recent days, she had been eating delicious home-cooked meals, and her taste buds had been spoiled.
Besides, she was a good cook herself; even back in Beidahuang, her cooking would have been far better than this greasy piece of pork.
“I… this meat isn’t cooked through, and I don’t like fatty pork,” Su Wan admitted honestly.
She just couldn’t eat it now. Even if the man thought she was being finicky, she couldn’t help it!
The man said nothing. He rummaged through his own lunchbox, found a few lean pieces, and put them into her bowl.
“Eat. The cooking in the army isn’t great, and it’s all big-pot meals. You might not be used to it. I’ll cook for you tonight.”
Su Wan immediately said, “No, I’ll cook tonight. Don’t go to the canteen for meals.”
The man looked at her in surprise. “You can cook?”
His gaze was full of disbelief and doubt. He clearly didn’t trust it.
Su Wan knew her image in his mind was probably just a lazy, spoiled lady.
But now she was brimming with confidence—she wanted to impress him!
She was confident in her cooking skills. If it weren’t for the limited ingredients here, she would have loved to make a full banquet for him.
“Wait and see what I cook tonight!” she thought, excitedly digging in.
Gu Huaizhi raised an eyebrow. “But there aren’t any ingredients here. What are you going to cook?”
Su Wan’s eyes flicked. She had plenty in her space, but it wasn’t convenient to take out.
“I sent salted meat over. Can we get some vegetables around here?”
Gu Huaizhi said, “The neighbors grow a lot of vegetables. Don’t think about buying—just trade something. It wouldn’t be right to pay for a few vegetables.”
It was a sensitive time; no one dared to sell anything.
Gu Huaizhi finished his meal. He had other things to do, gave a few instructions, and left.
After eating, Su Wan started unpacking the large packages from last night.
She had sent some salted meat, though not much; her space stored more.
She also had fresh meat, canned meat, canned fruits, and candies—quite a stock.
She took some out of her space and combined them with the packages, laying everything out together.
The clothes and bedding she sent were a bit wrinkled. Su Wan was particular about her clothing and suddenly remembered that she hadn’t sent her iron.
By the time she finished organizing everything, it was already afternoon. She checked her watch—three o’clock.
She opened a pack of White Rabbit milk candies and went outside—the man had mentioned the house on the right.
Outside the bungalow was just a patch of bare earth; nothing was planted in front of their door.
Gu Huaizhi didn’t farm, so it didn’t matter, but the two neighboring houses had vegetable gardens.
The garden on the left was clearly worse, sparse and full of weeds.
The one on the right was well-tended, with neat rows full of vegetables.
It was late September. Eggplants, cucumbers, loofahs, tomatoes, green beans, and yardlong beans were still growing.
The cucumber leaves were slightly yellowed—at the end of the season. Once it got colder, the leaves would fall.
Su Wan went straight to the right-hand house. The door was open, but no one was inside the main room.
She called out, “Is anyone home?”
A woman with short, ear-length hair came out of the kitchen. She looked around thirty, with darker skin, slightly wide lips, and a plump figure. She smiled warmly.
“And you are?”
Sun Li’s eyes betrayed surprise. She was seeing Su Wan for the first time, trying to guess whose wife this might be. The woman was strikingly beautiful.
“I’m Gu Huaizhi’s wife, Su Wan. I just came to the army with him. How should I address you?” Su Wan smiled and introduced herself.
Her soft Wu dialect immediately made Sun Li feel at ease. Being from the North, she hadn’t heard such a gentle voice before. The way Su Wan called her “sister-in-law” warmed her heart.
“Oh! So you’re Captain Gu’s wife! Wow, you’re really beautiful. I’m Sun Li. My husband, Zhang Guoqiang, is in the same rank as your husband.”
Sun Li was friendly and outgoing. She led Su Wan into the main room. When she saw the pack of candies in Su Wan’s hand, she felt a bit embarrassed.
Candy was a luxury. Why would Su Wan bring sweets just to drop by?
Su Wan handed her the White Rabbit candies. “Sister-in-law Sun, I’d like to pick some vegetables from your garden. My household doesn’t grow any. Can I trade these candies for some?”
Sun Li finally understood. Su Wan wanted to cook dinner but had no vegetables. The candy was far more valuable than the few vegetables, so it was unnecessary.
“You can just take whatever you want from my garden. No need to give me candy,” Sun Li waved her hand.
But Su Wan insisted. “I cook every day. I can’t just take your vegetables for free. Consider these candies a small token of my thanks. Don’t refuse.”
Sun Li hesitated but eventually accepted the candy.
She didn’t mind Su Wan picking vegetables, but it was nice that Su Wan offered something in return. Unlike some people who would take vegetables and complain about insects.
Sun Li led Su Wan to the vegetable garden. “Pick whatever you like, Su. I planted all of this. I won’t brag about other women, but I’m really good at growing vegetables!”
“Comrade Sun, who’s this?” someone passing by asked, noticing Su Wan’s unfamiliar face.
Both Sun Li and Su Wan looked over. Su Wan’s expression changed—what a narrow world.
Behind the woman was a familiar figure—one of the elderly women who had fought with Su Wan for a train seat.
They seemed to be coming back from washing clothes, each carrying a wooden basin.
“This is Captain Gu’s wife, Su Wan. Su, these are your neighbors on the left, Aunt Zhou and her daughter-in-law Liu Mei.”