“Shen Yu!”
Lin Qichuan, who had been too afraid to speak up until now, could no longer hold back.
He wanted to marry Wang Zhaodi for the sake of that uncertain recommendation quota.
But these four hundred yuan were real, tangible cash!
If he married Shen Yu, wouldn’t this money become his?
He rushed forward in a few steps, blocking Shen Yu’s path.
“You’re just leaving like this? For money, you’d even throw away your reputation?”
Lin Qichuan was heartbroken: “Don’t be foolish! If you follow this soldier without any proper status, how will you ever have the face to come back? I’m doing this for your own good. If you just admit your mistake, I can still beg my father…”
Another sharp slap rang out.
This one was even fiercer than yesterday’s, sending Lin Qichuan spinning in place.
Lin Qichuan was stunned: “You hit me again?!”
“So what if I hit you? Do I need to pick a special day?”
“Lin Qichuan, is your head filled with manure? No proper status? Let me tell you, the commanding officer has already submitted our marriage report. Once it’s approved, I’ll be a proper officer’s family, a sister-in-law following the army!”
She took a step forward, forcing Lin Qichuan to retreat repeatedly.
“In terms of background, I’m the child of a martyr, while you’re the spawn of a rich peasant. In terms of men, my man is a commanding officer, while you’re a soft rice man who has to sell yourself for a university quota. In terms of money, I have four hundred yuan in my pocket right now. Can you even scrape together fifty cents from yours?”
Shen Yu sneered, each word cutting to the heart: “Why would I give up a good life to go back to eating chaff and vegetables? Am I sick?”
The onlookers were stunned.
Four hundred yuan was enough to buy two courtyards in the county town. This Shen Yu had soared to the heavens in a single step!
Wang Zhaodi was nearly clawing through the wooden door.
She had originally wanted to watch Shen Yu make a fool of herself, but instead, she watched helplessly as this wretched woman took the money, linked arms with that handsome commanding officer, and left in a blaze of glory!
“Enough, stop wasting words.”
Gu Huai’an was growing impatient. He grabbed her by the collar, pulling her toward him like a chick.
“Kid, keep your eyes sharp from now on. If you dare harass my wife again, I’ll show you what it really means to ‘lose face.’”
With that, Gu Huai’an took Shen Yu and left.
It wasn’t until the military vehicle kicked up a trail of yellow dust and drove out of the production brigade headquarters that the crowd finally snapped out of their daze.
Once in the car, Shen Yu slumped against the seat and let out a long sigh of relief.
She clenched her pocket—this was her first pot of gold to secure her footing in the 1970s.
With this money, even if she left Gu Huai’an in the future, she could head south to dabble in business and become one of the first wealthy women to dive into the market.
Before she crossed over, she had been in overseas trade, so she wasn’t the least bit intimidated.
Just as she was scheming, a large hand reached over and pinched her chin.
Sitting there with her eyes darting around, it was obvious she was up to no good.
Gu Huai’an’s dark eyes fixed on her: “Done using me? Already planning your escape route?”
“How could I?” Shen Yu grinned cheekily. “I was just thinking, did I embarrass you earlier?”
“No embarrassment, but you even schemed against me. Were you using me as a weapon just now?”
“That’s different. Weapons are inanimate objects, but you’re a living person. Besides, whether a gun is effective or not depends on the person using it, doesn’t it?”
Xiao Zhang wished he were deaf at that moment.
Was this something that could be said so casually?!
Gu Huai'an was so furious he laughed instead, grinding his back teeth. "Fine, Shen Yu. You'd better pray that marriage report doesn't get approved. Once the certificate's stamped, we'll see how I deal with that mouth of yours."
Shen Yu curled her lip. "Then I'll wait and see. Just don't turn out to be all talk and no action."
Gu Huai'an's eyes darkened frighteningly, his Adam's apple bobbing once.
He released her and kicked the front seat. "Pull over! I need a smoke!"
If he didn't smoke to calm his temper, this car ride would be impossible.
…
Following the original owner's memories for directions, Shen Yu guided the car along the bumpy dirt road until it finally stopped before a dilapidated mud-brick house at the village's edge.
If you could even call it a house.
This area had been converted from cattle sheds, far from the Educated Youth Point and even farther from the few wealthy households in the village. The surrounding weeds grew as tall as a person.
When the wind blew, Gu Huai'an almost mistook it for a desolate graveyard.
"This is where you've been holed up?"
Gu Huai'an pushed the car door open and stepped out, his brow furrowed.
What kind of place was this for humans to live?
Not only was half the wall plaster peeling off, but the roof tiles were also incomplete, barely covered with a few pieces of tarpaulin.
Shen Yu, however, remained unfazed. She pulled a key from her pocket and went to unlock the door.
"Think it's shabby? That's because someone like you, a Compound kid, has never known hardship. This is what they call 'vast lands where much can be accomplished.'"
"Cut the sarcasm. This dump is so poor even rats would leave you two grains of rice."
Gu Huai'an strode over in a few steps, waving his large hand. "Move aside."
Impatient with the stubborn lock, he lifted his foot and kicked.
With a loud crash, the two broken wooden doors met their end.
Gu Huai'an: "…"
Shen Yu crossed her arms and laughed. "Well done, commanding officer. First thing you do is wreck the house. Pay up."
Gu Huai'an couldn't be bothered to respond.
The inside looked even worse than the outside. The only remotely clean thing was a bunch of wildflowers in a tin can on the windowsill.
The phrase "bare walls and empty rooms" would have been a compliment.
At nearly 1.9 meters tall, he had to stoop to enter. Standing in the center of the room, he felt cramped just turning around.
Gu Huai'an turned to look at Shen Yu, who had followed him in, his gaze lingering on her waist.
How could a place like this, no better than a gutter, produce someone like her?
"Pack up."
He dragged over a broken stool, studied it for a moment, and decided against sitting.
Instead, he planted one foot on it, resting his elbow on his knee. "Only take what's valuable. Leave the junk behind."
Shen Yu pulled a wooden chest from under the bed.
When she opened it, inside were only a few old jackets, a black-and-white photo of the original owner's parents, and the martyr's certificate.
She tucked the photo and certificate into her clothes, then picked out two slightly thicker old cotton-padded jackets.
"These are my winter essentials. They may be old, but the cotton's still solid." Shen Yu said as she folded the clothes. "Life in the army is still about getting by. Save where you can—these can still be altered and used."
A large hand suddenly reached over, snatched the two jackets, and tossed them carelessly to the ground.
"Hey! What are you doing?"
Shen Yu panicked, reaching to grab them back.
Gu Huai'an easily restrained both her wrists with one hand, twisted them behind her back, and pinned her against the earthen wall.
"You think I'm short of money for cotton?"
Gu Huai'an looked down at her. "Shen Yu, I'm really curious. Living in a place worse than a pigsty, eating chaff and vegetables—how did you manage to grow this body?"
He pressed his knee between her legs, trapping her firmly.
"Plenty of flesh where it counts. Anyone would think you were some pampered young lady raised in a wealthy landlord's household."
Gu Huai'an freed one hand and pinched her waist through the fabric.
Shen Yu felt her face flush from the heat radiating off him, but she refused to back down.
"Beauty is a gift I can't help but possess. Feeling sorry for me?"
Gu Huai'an snorted coldly. "I'm just surprised. Living in this den of wolves, you haven't been devoured by those good-for-nothing bachelors—seems you have some skill."
Some skill, my foot, Shen Yu thought to herself.
The original owner was attractive and gentle-natured. Even though everyone knew she was engaged, many still took advantage under the pretense of work, touching her face or hands.
The Lin family wasn't wealthy, but they were well-liked in the village. Plus, with the Xiangyang Brigade being close to the military district, no one dared to force themselves on her for fear of causing trouble.
But who would have thought Lin Qichuan would change his mind?
If she hadn't come along, the original owner would have already been violated and thrown herself into the river.
Thinking of this, Shen Yu pursed her lips and said, "If I didn't have some tricks up my sleeve, I'd have jumped into a well long ago. How could I have kept my purity to block your car?"
Gu Huai'an released her hand, pulled a few industrial coupons and a stack of colorful certificates from his pocket, and slapped them onto the rickety table.
Shen Yu looked—they were National Grain Coupons, cloth coupons, and cotton coupons.
There were also a few rare industrial coupons and overseas remittance certificates.
"Then throw away all that junk of yours. I'm making this clear today: from now on, living with me, Gu Huai'an, you won't have to pick up other people's leftovers."
He pointed at the wooden box. "Apart from that photo and your documents, if you dare take even one piece of junk from this room, I'll toss you and that box right by the roadside."