Before getting married, Lu Huaian had heard a thing or two about the family quarters—the wives there all preferred living in the apartment buildings.
Officers at the rank of platoon leader and above were eligible to apply for family quarters, and as a battalion commander, Lu Huaian’s credentials were more than sufficient.
But his marriage report had been filed suddenly, and the housing had been applied for along with his grandfather’s report. To avoid any hassle, Lu Huaian had asked a comrade who drove to pick up the keys from the logistics office in advance.
Whether it was an apartment or a bungalow, Lu Huaian didn’t care either way.
“There are two types of housing for military wives—one is the apartment building, and the other is this kind of bungalow with a courtyard. If you don’t like it…”
“I like it very much.” Su Wantang’s eyes sparkled.
Seeing that she genuinely liked it, Lu Huaian didn’t say anything more.
Lu Huaian carried a stool out from the house and wiped it with his sleeve: “You rest for a bit. I’ll call the others to move the things in.”
Those large items—she couldn’t move them herself, and for the small ones, it wouldn’t make a difference whether she carried a trip or two. So Su Wantang didn’t refuse.
Of course, the most important thing was that Su Wantang’s mind was in turmoil.
Was there someone behind Song Wanying and Liu Cuicui helping them? Or had Liu Cuicui escaped while the street office staff weren’t paying attention?
She needed to write a letter to ask her father.
If Song Wanying hadn’t gone to her father, then it was probably Liu Cuicui who had escaped on her own.
If she had gone…
Then behind Song Wanying…
Perhaps her father’s death in her previous life hadn’t been an accident.
But what was there worth scheming for in the Su family?
Su Wantang couldn’t figure it out, so she had to set it aside for now. She planned to probe Su Zhichen indirectly when she wrote her letter, to see if there was any information she didn’t know about.
Having sorted through her thoughts, Su Wantang’s panicked heart, which had been thrown into chaos by Liu Cuicui finding her at the Beijing compound, gradually calmed down.
By the time Su Wantang finished thinking, the three men had already unloaded everything from the car and were chatting by the door.
She stood up, tore open a bag, took out some things, and walked over.
“Thank you all for your help. Here are some candies and pastries—take them back to eat.”
“No need, sister-in-law. This is all what we should do.”
Lu Huaian glanced sideways at Su Wantang. He had thought she liked eating these things, but it turned out she didn’t…
“Take them. It’s a token of your sister-in-law’s appreciation.”
“Thank you, sister-in-law.”
After seeing the two off, Lu Huaian began moving things inside.
Su Wantang was surveying the layout of the house—two bedrooms and a living room. No more sharing a room. She was very satisfied.
Seeing Lu Huaian carrying over a large cabinet, she pointed in a direction and said, “Huaian, put the cabinet over there.”
Lu Huaian paused for a moment, then changed direction and placed the cabinet there.
After that, Su Wantang directed, and Lu Huaian moved.
“Put this there.”
“Put that here.”
……
Half an hour later, looking at the neatly arranged furniture, Su Wantang’s eyes sparkled.
“Huaian, you rest for a bit. Leave the cleaning to me.”
Lu Huaian grunted in acknowledgment and said, “I’ll head back to the dorm.”
“Hu Zi, what good stuff are you holding in your arms? Don’t hide it—we’re brothers.”
Zhou Qing said the familiar words while his hand was already making a sneak attack toward Liu Hu’s arms. The others sharing the room, seeing this, quickly moved to provide cover.
“Yeah! Hu Zi, that’s not very cool of you. We’re brothers who share the same pants, and you’re eating and drinking well behind our backs.”
“I’m not…” Liu Hu craned his neck stubbornly. If he wanted to eat secretly, would he have brought it out? “Hey… Zhou Qing, you bastard, don’t grab it all from me! I only got to eat one piece of White Rabbit Creamy Candy.”
Bang.
The bundle slammed onto the table, exposing the pastries and White Rabbit Creamy Candy.
Zhou Qing stuffed his pockets and stuffed his mouth, a burst of milky sweetness exploding in his mouth. Damn, that hit the spot.
But his mouth still complained: “Hu Zi, why didn’t you buy some meat? You went and bought things women like. Ooh ooh ooh, have you got your eye on some female soldier?”
“Nice! Hu Zi, you’ve actually got something going on behind our backs! We agreed we’d stay single and be brothers forever!”
“No! No! It was from the sister-in-law!”
“Which sister-in-law? So generous? I want to go get in her good graces too.”
“Battalion Commander Lu’s wife!”
“What?” Zhou Qing jumped up excitedly. “Our Battalion Commander Lu has a wife?”
After the shock wore off, Zhou Qing felt even less guilty and stuffed another piece of pastry into his mouth.
Mm, this was wedding candy and wedding cake!
“Really? You’re not fooling us?”
“Why would I fool you? The sister-in-law has already come for military accompaniment… Zhou Qing, you bastard, leave some for me!”
With Liu Hu’s roar, Wu Xu, who had been helping block people the whole time, turned around.
Looking at Zhou Qing with pastry crumbs all over his mouth, his anger shot straight up. This black-hearted bastard had used him as a shield again.
And so, a grabbing battle erupted in the dormitory.
When Lu Huaian arrived, this was the scene he saw.
“What are you all doing?!”
With Lu Huaian’s stern shout, the three froze as if someone had pressed the pause button, immediately lining up in a row and standing at attention.
“Battalion Commander Lu…”
“Wipe your mouths. You didn’t even close the door—aren’t you ashamed?”
Liu Hu: “Ashamed of what? The sister-in-law treats us well. Are we afraid of others finding out?”
Lu Huaian didn’t say anything. He casually closed the door, walked to his desk, pulled open the drawer, took out his bankbook, and tucked it into his pocket.
The trio sneaking peeks turned their heads, humming, “Yo yo yo…”
When Lu Huaian’s gaze swept over them indifferently, they immediately clamped their mouths shut.
Opening the wardrobe, Lu Huaian began packing his luggage. The three spectators felt a mix of emotions.
Battalion Commander Lu now had a wife and wouldn’t be living with them anymore—they were still old bachelors…
But that feeling lasted only a moment. As Lu Huaian’s hand landed on the doorknob, Zhou Qing couldn’t help asking, “Battalion Commander, when will you and Sister-in-law hold the Housewarming Feast? We’d like to help out.”
Liu Hu ruthlessly called him out: “You want to help? I think you’re just craving meat.”
Zhou Qing raised an eyebrow. “You don’t?”
Liu Hu choked on his words. Wu Xu weakly raised his hand. “Battalion Commander, I crave it.”
“Clean up the house.”
The three hung their heads in dejection.
“As for this matter, I’ll go back and ask your sister-in-law. It’ll probably be a couple of days—she still has to go to the hospital for work. When she’s off, I’ll let you know.”
“Thank you, Battalion Commander and Sister-in-law.”
Bang.
The door closed again, and the men let out a cheer. Lu Huaian’s lips curled up slightly.
“Sister-in-law is a military doctor? Then I’ll go to her for all my medical needs from now on.”
“Get out of here, you’d exhaust her to death.”
“Sister-in-law is that beautiful and a military doctor too—Battalion Commander Lu hit the jackpot.”
“Huzi, you’re the only one who’s seen her. How beautiful is she? Prettier than those female soldiers in the art troupe?”
…
Su Wantang had no idea she was the subject of curiosity for Lu Huaian’s three roommates. At this moment, she had just finished cleaning the house until it was spotless.
She rubbed her sore waist and sat down, starting to calculate the money.
The bicycle, the watch, and the fabric for making clothes—these were all for Su Wantang’s own use, so she’d cover the full cost.
As for the other furniture that they’d both use, Su Wantang planned to pay half.
After calculating the total amount, Su Wantang opened the wooden box stored in her Spatial Dimension.
Even though she’d opened it once before, her eyes still welled up when she opened it again.
Inside were 2,000 yuan in cash, over a dozen land deeds, half a box of gold, silver, and jewelry, plus some rare vouchers—radio vouchers, watch vouchers, bicycle vouchers…
It was far more than simple money; it was more like the dowry Su Zhichen had painstakingly prepared, afraid she might suffer.
Little did he expect it would benefit Liu Cuicui instead.
Wiping away her tears, Su Wantang took out the money and vouchers, planning to give them to Lu Huaian later.
She turned back into the room and wrote a letter to Su Zhichen, intending to mail it tomorrow.
After affixing the stamp, Su Wantang placed the letter on the table.
Hearing footsteps in the house, Su Wantang knew Lu Huaian was back. She took the money and walked out.
Coming out of her room, she didn’t see Lu Huaian, but his door was open—he must have gone inside.
After entering the house, looking at the two rooms, they’d tacitly agreed to one room each. However, Lu Huaian had voluntarily chosen the small room with poor lighting, leaving the main room for Su Wantang.
Knock, knock, knock.
Su Wantang knocked on the door.
Although the door was open and she could see Lu Huaian organizing his clothes, she didn’t rudely walk straight in.
“Something wrong?”
Su Wantang nodded.
Lu Huaian walked out, and the two went to the living room.
“Here, this is the money and vouchers for what we just bought. The bicycle, watch, and fabric are for my own use, so I’m covering that entirely. For the rest of the furniture, we’ll split it evenly.”
“No need.”
“Since you married me as my wife, bearing the household living expenses is my responsibility.”
Su Wantang wanted to say, “We’re in a fake marriage,” but the bankbook Lu Huaian suddenly handed over cut off her words.
“This is the allowance I’ve earned over the years in the military. Apart from the portion I send home monthly, it’s basically all here. You’re free to manage it as you see fit.”
“Ah? That’s not quite right… We…”
“We’re husband and wife now!”
Meeting Lu Huaian’s earnest gaze, Su Wantang suddenly understood.
This was a man with strong traditional values.
But not a bad one.
“Mm.”
Su Wantang didn’t brush aside Lu Huaian’s gesture. She accepted the bankbook but had no intention of touching the money inside—she’d simply keep it safe for him.
Seeing Su Wantang accept the bankbook, Lu Huaian thought of something and added, “My monthly allowance is one hundred and twenty yuan. I send twenty home, use ten for myself, and give you the remaining ninety as soon as I receive it each month.”
“Oh… alright.”
Seeing that Su Wantang seemed not to fully grasp it, Lu Huaian pressed his lips together, as if wanting to say more, but ultimately stayed silent.
Wantang worked at the hospital and earned thirty to fifty yuan a month too—over a hundred should be enough for expenses…
“There’s an unwritten custom in the family compound—when a new sister-in-law arrives, a Housewarming Feast is held. You…” Lu Huaian paused.
His probing gaze fell on Su Wantang. Though he’d seen her buy cookware, he still couldn’t be sure whether she knew how to cook.
Housewarming Feast…
Su Wantang wasn’t unfamiliar with it.
It was the dark day she’d seen Huo Jun’s hypocritical face.