The young soldier turned, stood at attention, and saluted.
“Jiang Yingzhang!”
‘Jiang Yingzhang!’
Instantly, all eyes turned.
Jiang Baizhou felt the gazes of all the newly arrived educated youths fall on him.
Their expressions were a mixture of gossipy amusement and dawning realization.
‘So *that’s* him.’
“Comrade Bai, hurry up and say hello!
It’s Jiang Yingzhang!”
“He’s even more handsome in person than in his photo.”
“You two are so fated to be together!”
The female educated youths whispered among themselves, and Bai Shanshan, holding the photo, also felt this was a tremendous stroke of fate.
She shyly glanced at Jiang Baizhou, then pretended to be pushed forward.
She pulled down the scarf covering her face, took off her hat, and tidied her messy hair.
It was hard to tell if her face was red from the cold or from shyness as she walked up to Jiang Baizhou.
Wen Yan: ‘She can really take the cold.’
Wen Yan pulled her scarf up higher, leaving nothing but her eyes exposed.
She wanted to see what the relationship was between Jiang Baizhou and this female comrade.
Jiang Baizhou was wondering the same thing.
‘Isn’t she cold?
Do I even know her?’
This shy expression was completely inappropriate, given that he was a married man.
Jiang Baizhou offered a faint, distant smile and spoke in a very official tone:
“Hello, Comrade.
Welcome to our Black Province Reclamation Corps.
Thank you for your selfless dedication.”
As soon as he finished, Jiang Baizhou immediately turned his attention to the other educated youths.
“And I thank all of you comrades for coming as well.
Our Reclamation Corps is in need of aspiring, cultured young people just like you.”
With just a few words, Jiang Baizhou elevated the tone of the gathering.
Most people in that era were driven by faith and a desire to contribute, so they picked up on his words and started chatting enthusiastically.
“If the motherland needs us, we must come!”
“That’s right!
I’m just a brick, to be moved wherever I’m needed.”
“Building a granary for the motherland is my pride.”
…..
Amidst the ice and snow, a fire of passion was unexpectedly ignited.
Jiang Baizhou maintained a polite smile, his gaze drifting intermittently toward Wen Yan, who hadn’t said a word.
Those eyes seemed a little familiar.
‘But it can’t be her.’
‘How could Wen Yan possibly come here?
If she could, she wouldn’t have sent twelve telegrams demanding a divorce.’
It wasn’t as if he was deeply in love with Wen Yan; they had only met once.
But Jiang Baizhou felt that since he had married her, he had a responsibility to her.
So even though the divorce report had been approved, he still wrote Wen Yan a letter.
Along with mailing his wages, he explained that his circumstances were beyond his control.
He suggested that Wen Yan reconsider for another three months.
If she still wanted a divorce after that, he would sign the divorce report.
He had already applied for leave and was preparing to make a trip back.
Some things were better discussed face-to-face.
Wen Yan looked up just as Jiang Baizhou averted his gaze.
It was impolite to stare at a female comrade.
Bai Shanshan, who had been completely ignored, bit her lip.
She was frustrated that she hadn’t gotten to speak with Jiang Yingzhang, but she knew this wasn’t a good opportunity.
‘In truth, she had just lied.
Jiang Yingzhang hadn’t been set up on a blind date with her.’
‘She had come here on her own initiative.’
‘But Jiang Yingzhang is divorced now.
She was a young, cultured woman willing to endure hardships with him here, and she didn’t mind that he was a divorcé.
Plus, with her aunt acting as a go-between, he surely wouldn’t refuse her.’
Jiang Baizhou had already confirmed with the young soldier that the truck was fixed.
He glanced at Wen Yan with surprise, then walked over to express his gratitude and admiration.
“Thank you for your help, Comrade.”
Wen Yan met Jiang Baizhou’s gaze.
‘What a joke of a marriage,’ she thought.
‘We’re standing right in front of each other and we’re total strangers!’
However, she had come here to resolve things with Jiang Baizhou.
Since they had already met, there was no need to go their separate ways.
“You’re welcome.
I get a little carsick.
Can I ride in your sled?”
Jiang Baizhou showed a flicker of surprise before nodding.
“Of course you can.
It’s just that the sled is windy and cold.
It’s not as warm as the truck, which is also faster.”
The subtext was clear: ‘You probably shouldn’t.’
Wen Yan’s fingers curled inside her gloves.
Her rebellious streak surfaced.
“It’s fine.
I can handle it.”
The young soldier from earlier: “…”
Jiang Baizhou: ‘From the way you’re bundled up with only your eyes showing, you don’t look like you can handle the cold.’
But it wasn’t right for him to refuse again.
Fortunately, there was another soldier on the sled.
Seeing Jiang Baizhou agree, Bai Shanshan, who had put her hat and scarf back on, frowned.
‘What’s this woman’s problem?
Hasn’t she heard that I’m supposed to have a blind date with Jiang Yingzhang?
Why is she trying so hard to get close to him?’
Bai Shanshan took a step forward, not to be outdone.
“I get carsick too.
I’ll ride the sled as well.
I can keep you company.”
Bai Shanshan acted as if they were old friends and reached for Wen Yan’s arm.
Not only did Wen Yan not dodge, but she also moved closer to Bai Shanshan and whispered, “I’m the wife who sent Jiang Baizhou those twelve telegrams.
We’re not divorced.”
Wen Yan pulled her arm away and walked toward the sled, completely ignoring the devastating blow her blunt words had dealt Bai Shanshan.
Bai Shanshan froze on the spot.
She couldn’t even remember how she ended up getting on the truck afterward.
Also stunned was Jiang Baizhou.
Others couldn’t hear what Wen Yan had said, but he had been standing close by and heard everything clearly.
‘My wife is here?’
“CRACK!”
The whip cracked.
The young soldier driving the sled expertly wielded the whip and shouted, “Hold on tight!”
The horse’s nostrils flared with heavy breaths, its hooves pounding in rhythm as the sled began to glide smoothly over the snow.
The wild grasses, snowdrifts, mountains, and trees on either side flew backward, disappearing into the swirling snowstorm.
Jiang Baizhou and the young soldier sat in the front, while Wen Yan sat in the back, her back to him.
Jiang Baizhou had so many questions, but in the end, he only took off his greatcoat and handed it to Wen Yan.
“Here, cover yourself with this.
I have a fur-lined jacket on underneath, I’m not cold.”
The young soldier driving the sled watched out of the corner of his eye, his own eyes wide.
‘Jiang Yingzhang finally knows how to care for a female comrade!’
‘This is great!’
‘He must be divorced.’
‘A good comrade and leader like Jiang Yingzhang deserves a caring wife who looks after him.
The one who sent twelve telegrams wasn’t worthy of him.
We all felt it was an injustice.’
The young soldier was so excited the reins in his hands began to bounce in rhythm.
“No need.
You blocking the wind for me is enough.”
Wen Yan refused bluntly.
She shifted to the side, looked up at Jiang Baizhou, who hadn’t put his coat back on, and asked, “You don’t want to block the wind for me?”
Jiang Baizhou instinctively shook his head.
“Of course not.”
Wen Yan raised an eyebrow, her sly, fox-like eyes seeming to ask, ‘Then what are you waiting for?’
‘For some reason, Jiang Baizhou got the feeling Wen Yan thought he was… slow?’
“I can still block the wind for you even if you wear it.”
Without taking no for an answer, Jiang Baizhou draped the heavy coat over Wen Yan’s shoulders.
He shifted back a little and said, “Lean against me.”
“Okay.”
Wen Yan didn’t refuse this time.
It would be foolish to pass a single coat back and forth in a blizzard with temperatures over thirty degrees below zero.
The young soldier, who had been watching everything, was ecstatic.
‘So the Commander is this smooth!
I never noticed before.’
‘This divorce was a great thing!
A wonderful thing!
An absolutely fantastic thing!’
‘Just what does the female comrade in the back look like?
How did she get our Jiang Yingzhang to offer up his coat and even let her lean on him?’
‘I’m so curious!’
Driven by curiosity, the young soldier urged the sled on, and it surprisingly didn’t end up much slower than the truck.
They arrived one after the other at the Reclamation Corps’ encampment.
Wen Yan didn’t have time to observe her surroundings before Jiang Baizhou extended a hand to her.
“Your legs must be numb from the cold.
Let me help you.”
Wen Yan unhesitatingly took his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
She then stomped her feet a few times.
The young soldier’s eyes darted about, his gossipy heart soaring to the heavens.
‘They’re holding hands already?
They’re holding hands already??’
‘Even if it’s through gloves, Jiang Yingzhang is still moving at lightning speed!’
Jiang Baizhou shot a glance at the young soldier beside him, knowing full well what nonsense was running through his head.
“What are you looking at!
This is my wife, Comrade Wen Yan.”