He had to go buy food. He could go hungry, but his wife and daughter couldn’t.
Jiang Yue couldn’t conjure food and drinks out of thin air in front of him either. Only when the courtyard was empty could she finally take out the fish soup she had stored in her space last night, along with some hard-boiled eggs, to have a quick bite.
Fortunately, she had been foresighted and boiled over thirty eggs, storing them in her space so she could take them out to fill her stomach whenever she felt hungry.
Probably because she was breastfeeding, she got hungry quickly now. Once she felt hungry, she had to eat immediately; otherwise, she would feel flustered and her hands would tremble, which was somewhat unbearable.
On the shelves of the Space Supermarket, there were also packets of middle-aged and elderly milk powder. At this point, she wasn’t picky. She took one out, boiled water, and made a cup of milk.
The Commune canteen only served breakfast and lunch. The villagers at the market came early and left early, so preparing dinner wouldn’t sell.
Lu Jingzhou directly used grain tickets to pave the way, adding money to have them make food on the spot.
Since other dishes weren’t easy to carry, he ordered meat buns and also asked for a serving of Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs. He asked the attendant what a woman in Zuò yuèzi should eat, and they said she should have soup—pig trotter soup, fish soup, or chicken soup would all work.
But the canteen didn’t have any ready-made soup. They did, however, have a cleaned old hen that hadn’t been stewed yet.
Lu Jingzhou emptied his pockets before he managed to buy it as he wished.
By the time he hurried back from town, it was already getting dark.
Anxious, he pedaled his bicycle as if it were about to take off.
As he passed the village entrance, a figure darted out. He was going too fast, and seeing someone ahead, in his panic, he could only swerve sharply and brake abruptly. The inertia of the braking nearly sent the items hanging on the handlebars flying off.
Lu Jingzhou was furious, but when he was angry, he didn’t shout or yell. Instead, he would fix you with a dark, intense glare. If provoked, his hammer-like fists would also swing out.
“S-sorry, did your things spill?” Wu Jiahui apologized frantically, whether out of guilt or panic, her hands tightly clutching the hem of her clothes.
Lu Jingzhou couldn’t be bothered to speak and was about to push his bicycle away.
“Brother Lu, wait!” Wu Jiahui bravely rushed to the front of the bicycle, blocking his path.
At this, Lu Jingzhou was truly enraged and asked sharply, “What do you want?”
Wu Jiahui was frightened by him. Her eyes reddened, her lips quivered, and she looked on the verge of tears, feeling wronged and about to cry, “Brother Lu, why are you so fierce?” I just wanted to talk to you.”
“I’m not familiar with you. There’s nothing to talk about.” Lu Jingzhou found it utterly baffling. Delaying his return home with the food would let it get cold, and then his wife wouldn’t be able to eat it. He had heard that women in Zuò yuèzi shouldn’t eat cold food.
“Wait! Don’t you remember me? That year when you came back to visit family, you saved me. Really, think carefully. Later, I even wrote you a thank-you letter, and you wrote back. I still have that letter!”
Wu Jiahui excitedly pulled out a worn yellow envelope from her bosom.
Eager to prove it, she even took out the letter inside, unfolded it, and showed it to him.
Lu Jingzhou stared at the letter, saw the signature on it, and only then did he recall that there seemed to be such an incident.
“I didn’t read your letter. The reply was probably written by the instructor. It has nothing to do with me.”
As for saving someone, he really couldn’t remember.
Wu Jiahui’s face was filled with disappointment. In her imagination, Lu Jingzhou had saved her, chased away the bad guys for her, she wrote letters, and he replied—it was the most romantic encounter, something that only happened in novels.
She had even fantasized that on some lonely nights, Lu Jingzhou might take out that letter and savor it carefully. After all, her writing was quite good, and the gratitude expressed in the letter bore a striking resemblance to admiration.
But his wife was an illiterate who couldn’t even recognize a single character.
Seeing Lu Jingzhou about to leave again, Wu Jiahui couldn’t resign herself to it. Ignoring the glances of the villagers passing by, she trotted after him.
“I heard you had a falling out with your family—was it because of Jiang Yue? Before you came back, she was constantly arguing with your parents, showing them no respect as elders. You shouldn’t let her run wild. Filial piety is the foundation of all virtues. As a soldier, you should understand this principle. Have you considered what would happen if your parents took this matter to your unit? Would your superiors side with your wife or your parents?”
“Even for the sake of your career, your wife should learn to endure and strive to be a virtuous wife and loving mother. Only then can she be of help to your future. Brother Lu, don’t walk so fast—I still have so much to say to you!”
As they neared his home, Lu Jingzhou finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Whether my wife is good or bad is none of your concern. Besides, I don’t think she’s done anything wrong. I hope you, comrade, will refrain from spreading rumors in the village and tarnishing my wife’s reputation.”
Wu Jiahui looked utterly incredulous. “Even after all this, you’re still defending her? Don’t you want to divorce her?”
Lu Jingzhou found it baffling. “Comrade, are you out of your mind? I’m going home now. Stop following me.”
Wu Jiahui was deeply shaken. She couldn’t make sense of it!
Everyone in the village, young and old, men and women, spoke ill of Jiang Yue. They said she had a terrible temper, was disrespectful, acted like a rogue, and was nothing but trouble, tearing a perfectly good family apart.
Some women even warned each other never to find a daughter-in-law like her, or the household would never know peace.
The men felt the same way. So why was Lu Jingzhou’s perspective completely different from theirs? Where had things gone wrong?
Lu Jingzhou paid no mind to her thoughts. He was brimming with energy.
Upon returning home, he rushed into the house with his purchases.
“Wife, get up and eat. I kept it close to my chest—it’s still warm. I also brought Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs. They didn’t have chicken soup, so I bought a chicken. I’ll stew it tonight, and you can have the soup tomorrow.”
Lu Jingzhou set the things down and headed straight for the kitchen. He lit the fire, boiled water, rinsed the chicken, and tossed it into the pot.
Jiang Yue followed him in and, seeing his method, quickly intervened, “I have ginger here. You need to remove the gaminess from the chicken. Once it boils, turn the heat down to a simmer. Don’t let it burn.”
“Got it. Go eat now, don’t let the smoke bother you. I’ll be done soon.”
As soon as the fire was lit, the kitchen began to fill with smoke.
Jiang Yue had no choice but to leave.
She went out to the courtyard and noticed the gate was open. As she walked over to close it, she spotted Wu Jiahui standing there with a resentful look, like a bitter woman.
She was speechless. What did this woman want?
The two of them stared at each other from a distance for a moment before Wu Jiahui finally left. She needed to go back and think things through carefully.
Lu Jingzhou brought the water to a boil, then removed the large firewood and let the fire simmer down.
Wiping sweat with his sleeve, he entered the inner room and saw half of every dish left on the table.
“This is saved for you. You’ve been busy all day—eat quickly!”
Her sudden gentleness caught Lu Jingzhou off guard. “You saved so much. Are you full? Should I leave some for you?”
Jiang Yue shook her head. “Too much meat gets greasy. I’ll have some chicken soup later.”
Sitting on the bed, she soothed their daughter while watching him eat.
After a while, she couldn’t resist asking, “Do you get enough to eat in the army?”
This wasn’t just wolfing down food—it was like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.