After getting off the train, Su Wantang saw a military truck waiting outside the station.
They boarded the vehicle.
Before long, Liu Hu started shouting, “Battalion Commander Lu, this isn’t the way back to the base.”
“Yeah, we’re going to the department store.”
“Look at my brain.” Liu Hu slapped his head. “I forgot that Battalion Commander Lu and Sister-in-law just got married, and the courtyard is completely empty. We’ve got to buy some tables, chairs, and furniture.”
“Sister-in-law, about what was said at the train station that morning, don’t take it to heart. Our Battalion Commander Lu is a man who dotes on his wife.”
“Liu Hu.” Lu Huaian cast a faint glance his way, and Liu Hu sheepishly shut his mouth.
But he couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
Battalion Commander Lu’s got a mouth—he should use it. Otherwise, how would Sister-in-law know how good he is?
Su Wantang agreed with what Liu Hu had just said. Lu Huaian was a responsible man, but that didn’t mean he cherished her or liked her—it only meant she held the title of his wife.
She closed her eyes and continued studying in the Spatial Dimension.
“We’re here.”
Su Wantang slowly opened her eyes.
The car door was pulled open by Lu Huaian, and Su Wantang stepped out.
The young soldier driving wanted to follow them down, but Liu Hu, who had an eye for these things, grabbed him.
“Battalion Commander Lu and Sister-in-law are having their own sweet time. What are you going to be a third wheel for?”
“If there’s anything you want to buy, we have the truck—we can get it all at once.”
Even if Lu Huaian hadn’t said that, Su Wantang had planned to do exactly that.
The base was some distance from the county town. Although there were transport trucks provided for military wives to purchase supplies, they didn’t run every day, which was quite inconvenient.
Since she had Lu Huaian, a big strong man, with her, she was definitely going to settle the bulky, hard-to-handle items now, so she wouldn’t have to struggle later.
“I want these two cabinets.”
“I’ll take all of this fabric.”
Lu Huaian furrowed his brow slightly.
Wasn’t she buying a bit too much?
His striking looks and admired profession made Lu Huaian the instant center of attention for countless unmarried young women the moment he walked in.
Seeing him frown, Liu Yu, who already harbored deep hostility toward Su Wantang for being prettier than her, couldn’t help speaking up.
“Some people… they’ve just got a pretty face, not a bit of sympathy for how hard their man works out there. Spending money left and right without a care. If it were me… I couldn’t bear to waste my man’s hard-earned money like that.”
“Thank you for complimenting my looks—after all, no matter how much face cream you slather on, you can’t compare to my natural beauty. And as for being willing or not… you first find yourself a man this handsome and this rich, then talk.”
“You…” Liu Yu’s face turned green with rage.
She pointed at Su Wantang’s nose and cursed, “That’s right, I’m not like you—a spoiled young miss through and through, a parasite on society living off a man.”
“Comrade, please watch your words.”
“The money I earn is for my wife to spend!”
“And my wife is outstanding—she’s a wonderful doctor. Now, please apologize to her.”
Lu Huaian’s defense only made Liu Yu burn with even more fury, her chest heaving violently.
Her face flushed red, her lips pressed tightly together, she planned to play dumb and stay silent to muddle through.
But Lu Huaian wouldn’t let her off the hook: “Call your supervisor over.”
Working at the department store in this era was a source of great pride.
They could get their hands on good things that were hard to find through internal channels, so plenty of people would fawn over them, which had bred a lot of arrogance among the salesclerks.
Usually, in such matters, even if Liu Yu was in the wrong, the customer wouldn’t dare make a big scene. Even if someone with a bad temper did, the worst that happened was a scolding.
But Lu Huaian was different.
He was a soldier, and judging by his rank, not a low one.
If this blew up, she might very well lose her job.
After weighing it over, Liu Yu muttered reluctantly, “I’m sorry.”
Su Wantang knew Lu Huaian was backing her up. Although she was a bit dissatisfied with an apology as quiet as a mosquito’s buzz, she didn’t want Lu Huaian to earn a bad reputation for bullying people because of her.
Before she could say “Let’s go,” she heard Lu Huaian add, “Didn’t you eat? Speak up.”
Liu Yu was crying from anger, but under Lu Huaian’s hawk-like gaze, she still shouted, “I’m sorry!”
Satisfying. Indescribably satisfying.
Lu Huaian pulled out money and ration tickets, took the goods from another salesclerk, and walked over to Su Wantang.
“Lu Huaian, you were really cool just now.”
“Cool?”
“Yeah—when you spend money on your wife, and when you have her back. Very manly.”
Su Wantang genuinely admired Lu Huaian’s character, and she said it to encourage him to keep up his good qualities. But she seemed to have forgotten one thing.
Lu Huaian’s wife was now her.
The shopping continued.
“I want this Phoenix-brand bicycle.”
“I want this Shanghai-brand watch.”
Su Wantang already had a watch—a Plum Blossom brand one that Su Zhichen had bought her, a Swiss brand. To avoid causing trouble in the future, Su Wantang decided to buy another one.
Lu Huaian had seen the watch on Su Wantang’s wrist before, but this time he didn’t frown. When Su Wantang had chosen her style and was about to pull out her money and tickets, he had already paid first.
Su Wantang was stunned for a moment.
That’s true—in the eyes of others, they were husband and wife now.
So she would return the money to him once they got back.
The two of them had been browsing the department store for nearly an hour.
In the end, they bought so much that they had to call Liu Hu and the soldier driver over to help carry things.
Taking advantage of Lu Huaian’s distraction, Liu Hu winked at Su Wantang and whispered, “Sister-in-law, our Battalion Commander Lu is really a good man.”
Su Wantang was amused by his expression and nodded. “Mm.”
Sigh, this family just can’t function without me.
“Liu Hu!”
“Coming.”
Five minutes later, the group got back in the car.
Just as they arrived at the military compound gate, a young soldier who had been frantically looking for Lu Huaian stopped him.
“Battalion Commander Lu, Chief Lu just called looking for you.”
Grandpa?
Lu Huaian got out of the car, picked up the phone, and dialed—only to be promptly dismissed on the other end.
He looked up and called out, “Wantang, Grandpa wants you.”
Her?
Su Wantang was a bit confused, but she still got out of the car and took the phone.
The moment the voice came through on the other end, Su Wantang felt a chill run through her entire body.
“Wantang, dear, do you have a cousin named Liu Cuicui?”
In an instant, countless thoughts flooded Su Wantang’s mind.
Why hadn’t Liu Cuicui gone to the countryside? And how did she get into the military compound?
Since Liu Cuicui hadn’t gone to the countryside, did that mean Song Wanying also hadn’t been paraded through the streets and had gone to the northwest instead?
What did Grandpa say?
Wantang’s face had turned pale.
“Wantang, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Su Wantang snapped back to reality. “Just a little tired.”
She took a deep breath, suppressing the churning thoughts. “Grandpa, I do have a cousin, but she signed up to go to the countryside a while back and became a Sent-down Youth. She shouldn’t possibly be in the capital.”
“Alright, Grandpa understands.”
Someone’s impersonating Wantang’s cousin and showing up at the house to claim kinship?
Lu Huaian guessed as much and wanted to ask, but seeing Su Wantang’s clearly exhausted expression, he swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
“Chief Lu?”
Seeing the call end, Gu Huai poked his head in cautiously.
“Gu Huai, you’ve been a political instructor for several years now.”
Hearing this, Gu Huai felt an inexplicable jolt in his heart and forced out an “Mm.”
“Is this how you do your work? Not verifying someone’s background before bringing an unvetted person into the family quarters?”
“Old Chief, she knew the name of Huai’an’s wife, so I thought—”
“What do you mean ‘you thought’? Is that how you handle things? Do you want to be some kind of petty tyrant? What if she’s an enemy agent? What if she’s carrying a gun? Can you bear that responsibility?”
Lu Zhentian’s barrage of questions left Gu Huai completely speechless.
“Old Chief, I was indeed careless.”
“I don’t think you were careless—I think you’ve gotten too comfortable. You can’t teach your daughter properly, and you can’t handle your duties well either. It makes me wonder if you’re even fit to be this ‘political instructor.'”
Those words were undeniably harsh, and Gu Huai was filled with regret, hastily nodding and bowing in apology.
Lu Zhentian couldn’t stand to look at him like that and waved him off.
“You clean up the mess you made yourself.”
“Old Chief, rest assured. I’ll resolve this beautifully.”
Gu Huai walked over to Liu Cuicui and said, “Comrade, the Old Chief’s home doesn’t have clothes suitable for you. Coincidentally, I have two daughters—the Old Chief wants you to come back to my place to pick up a couple of changes of clothes.”
Liu Cuicui, exhausted from the journey, didn’t want to go at all. But then she suddenly thought of that woman Gu Nanzhi, who always dressed so beautifully.
Liu Cuicui didn’t think she was any less than Gu Nanzhi—it was just that Lu Huaian, that scumbag, didn’t hand over his allowance. Otherwise, if she dressed up, she’d definitely be prettier than that shameless woman who seduced a married man.
“Fine, but I want ones that haven’t been worn.”
Haven’t been worn? Who does she think she is?
Gu Huai suppressed the urge to slap Liu Cuicui across the face and forced patience into his reply. “Fine.”
After bringing Liu Cuicui out of the Lu residence, Gu Huai had her wait at the front door, then went inside and called the security office.
Before long, the guards arrived, covered the screaming Liu Cuicui’s mouth, and escorted her out of the military compound, delivering her to the police station.
After hearing the guards’ account of what happened, the police gave Liu Cuicui a verbal reprimand.
But Liu Cuicui threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and causing chaos, turning the police station into a mess.
Just as the police officers were at their wit’s end, the captain of the Victory Brigade from Changping County came in to report a missing person. When they compared names, they found an exact match.
When questioned, Liu Cuicui adamantly denied it, but her panicked expression had already betrayed her guilt.
Helpless, the police officers called in a female comrade, who indeed found the introduction letter on Liu Cuicui, confirming she was a Sent-down Youth.
Unable to educate the shrew Liu Cuicui, the police officers turned their attention to educating the Victory Brigade captain instead.
The Victory Brigade captain took a thorough scolding before finally taking Liu Cuicui away.
“No! I don’t want to go to the countryside!”
“I’m the cousin of the Lu family’s lady! You can’t do this to me!”
…
The family quarters.
Looking at the single-story house with a small courtyard, the furrow between Su Wantang’s brows softened into a faint hint of delight.
She was someone who enjoyed life and loved growing flowers and plants.
In her previous life, when she married Huo Jun, they lived in an apartment building with shared kitchen and bathroom—extremely inconvenient, let alone having any room for flowers.
Now, she finally had the conditions.
Unlike Su Wantang’s joy, Lu Huaian furrowed his brows instead.