Shen Yue looked up, her eyes shining as she gazed at Su Nanyue.
This girl Xiao Su is really something!
She appears delicate and fragile, yet her mind works quickly.
Li Da Ni hadn’t expected Su Nanyue to say such words. She looked up at her in disbelief.
Meeting her gaze, Su Nanyue pressed her lips together, looking at her with a delicate and innocent expression, though her eyes held undisguised provocation.
Li Da Ni grew anxious. “You…”
Before she could finish speaking, her arm was grabbed firmly by He Hong Jun. “Shut up,” he snapped.
After scolding Li Da Ni, his expression immediately shifted when he turned to Jiang Yan, adopting a somewhat ingratiating tone. “Deputy Regimental Commander Jiang, I still have training to attend to, so I’ll take her back now.”
Jiang Yan responded with a faint “Hmm.”
With Li Da Ni gone, everyone who had been watching the spectacle quickly climbed into the vehicle. Wang Jian Guo also got in and sat with the other wives.
The delay meant they were a few minutes later than usual.
During this era, there were no regulations against overloading. Su Nanyue held Xiao Bao in her arms while Da Bao sat with her in the passenger seat.
After the vehicle started moving, Jiang Yan glanced sideways at Su Nanyue, who was pursing her lips tightly. “I’ll have a talk with He Hong Jun and make sure he keeps his wife in check.”
Su Nanyue murmured, “Hmm.”
Da Bao clung to Su Nanyue’s arm, his little face puffed up with anger. “That auntie was so mean, bullying Mom.”
He wanted to grow up quickly so he could protect his mother.
Xiao Bao chimed in with a childish voice, “If she bullies Mom again, I’ll hit her next time.”
Su Nanyue didn’t dwell on the incident; she was good at managing her emotions.
Though she might feel momentarily uncomfortable or irritated, she never let insignificant people affect her mood.
Still, seeing how protective Da Bao and Xiao Bao were of her warmed her heart.
She leaned down and kissed each of them on the forehead. “You’re both wonderful. You can protect Mom now, and that makes me very happy.”
The two little ones, kissed and praised, immediately brightened up.
Despite the delay caused by Li Da Ni, Jiang Yan drove steadily and swiftly, arriving in the city just before eight o’clock.
After parking the vehicle, Wang Jian Guo stayed to watch it.
Jiang Yan first took Su Nanyue and the two children to the department store.
The store had just opened, so there weren’t many people inside yet.
Jiang Yan led them directly to the clothing section.
He picked out two sets of clothes for each of the children: one set consisted of military-green trousers and a jacket, and the other featured a brown jacket with black trousers.
Because of the cold weather, the two little ones were still wearing Jiang Yan’s jackets.
After paying with money and ration coupons, Jiang Yan and Su Nanyue helped them change into the military-green outfits.
It was Xiao Bao’s first time wearing new clothes, and such nice ones at that. The moment he put them on, he was overjoyed.
Da Bao, being more reserved, still had a sparkle in his eyes.
Seeing them like this, Jiang Yan felt a pang of guilt.
It was his failure as a father that had made Su Nanyue and the children suffer so much.
He picked up both children and turned to Su Nanyue. “Which ones do you like?”
Su Nanyue looked at the clothes hanging on the wall and selected a white blouse, brown trousers, and a jacket.
During this era, clothing styles were limited, so there wasn’t much to choose from.
After Jiang Yan paid with money and coupons, the shop assistant took the clothes down for them.
There was a dedicated fitting area here, a very small partitioned space.
Su Nanyue took the clothes inside to change.
Although this body had long suffered from malnutrition and severe internal weakness, its development was quite good—everything that should be there was there.
Jiang Yan had been bowing his head talking to Da Bao and Xiao Bao. Hearing movement, he looked up, a flash of admiration crossing his eyes.
Though Su Nanyue’s appearance didn’t align with current mainstream beauty standards, one had to admit she was very good-looking.
Hers was the kind of beauty that struck the heart at first glance.
A mix of enchantment with a touch of innocence, even the plain, ordinary clothes looked on her like something worn by a poster star.
Xiao Bao was the first to speak. “Mom, you’re so pretty.”
Su Nanyue had been looking down at her worn-out cloth shoes.
Hearing Xiao Bao’s words, she lifted her head, a smile curling her lips. “Thank you.”
Her voice carried a hint of delight.
Although in her view, this outfit—whether in style or fabric—was just average, it was the best set of clothes she had worn in the nearly half month she’d been here.
She was quite satisfied with it.
Noticing Da Bao hadn’t spoken, she stepped closer and teased him on purpose, “Da Bao, why aren’t you saying anything? Do you think Mom doesn’t look good in this?”
Da Bao, somewhat shy, still spoke up. “You look good.”
Seeing his little face flush red, Su Nanyue felt extremely pleased.
Jiang Yan had already composed himself and added, “It suits you well.”
Su Nanyue glanced at him in surprise. “Thank you.”
Jiang Yan pressed his lips together and said nothing more.
Xiao Bao’s eyes sparkled as he looked from one person to another, everything feeling wonderfully new.
Da Bao, nestled in his arms, looked at him, then at Su Nanyue.
The little one wore a serious expression, adorable in the way children mimic adults.
The group headed toward other counters.
They had just moved into the house and only managed to tidy up one room; the bedding inside was still what Jiang Yan had brought from his dorm.
So there were many things they needed to buy.
At the counter, Jiang Yan pulled a slip of paper from his pocket listing the items to purchase.
Seeing Su Nanyue’s curious look, he explained proactively, “I wrote it last night, afraid I might forget in today’s busyness.”
He had remembered everything thoroughly—toothbrushes, washbasins, towels, even cooking oil, salt, and vinegar for the kitchen.
There were quite a few items, and after buying them, Jiang Yan’s hands were full.
Su Nanyue reached out. “Let me take a few things!”
Jiang Yan refused outright. “No need, I can manage these. You hold Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s hands.”
Since he refused, Su Nanyue didn’t insist further.
They went to where the vehicle was parked and loaded all the items inside.
There was still over an hour before the vehicle would depart.
Su Nanyue looked up toward a bookstore not far away.
She said to Jiang Yan, “I’m going to the bookstore.”
It was 1973, and with the college entrance examination set to resume in four years, she could start by finding some books to study in advance.
“I’ll go with you,” Jiang Yan offered.
“No need,” Su Nanyue refused directly. “I’ll go by myself. You stay here with the children and wait for me.”
Without waiting for him to respond, she had already started toward the bookstore.
Jiang Yan thought about following but, recalling her words, stopped himself.
In the bookstore, Su Nanyue was in luck: besides finding a full set of high school textbooks, she also discovered a complete collection of the “Self-Study Series for Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry,” all seventeen volumes.
After all, once the college entrance exam was reinstated, many Educated Youth would rely on this very series to get into university.
She never expected to find the complete set. Hugging these books, she was completely overwhelmed with excitement.
She then picked out two Lianhuanhua suitable for Da Bao and Xiao Bao’s age and went to the counter to check out.
Since she was going out today, she had specifically withdrawn one hundred yuan.
All the previous expenses had been covered by Jiang Yan.
While waiting for the cashier to give her change, Su Nanyue’s gaze swept around and finally landed on a piece of paper nearby, which read “Translator Wanted.”
After receiving her change, she took the initiative to ask, “Hello, I’d like to ask—are you hiring translators here?”
She raised her hand and pointed to the paper beside her.
The cashier glanced at it and nodded.
Su Nanyue smiled and said, “I’d like to give it a try.”
The cashier looked at her, expression unchanged, and replied, “Sure, but you’ll need to do a test translation first.”
She pulled out a foreign-language book from a drawer, flipped to a random page, and said, “Translate this page.”