“Sister-in-law, you’re here.”
When Zhang Cuihua saw Su Qing standing at the courtyard gate, she hurried out to greet her.
Then she noticed the pretty little girl standing beside Su Qing, and her eyes lit up. She gazed fondly at Zhou Wantang. “Sister-in-law, is this your daughter? She’s such a pretty little thing!”
Su Qing nodded and glanced at the two children. “Say hello to Aunt Zhang.”
“Hello, Aunt Zhang!”
Zhou Yunzhou and Zhou Wantang spoke together in their sweet, childish voices.
“Hello!” Zhang Cuihua answered brightly, unable to resist pinching Zhou Wantang’s little cheek.
Straightening up, she said to Su Qing, “Sister-in-law, I’ve finished cleaning the house. If there’s anything you’re short of, just tell me.”
Su Qing hadn’t expected Zhang Cuihua to clean the house for her. Grateful, she said, “Thank you!”
“Don’t mention it!” Zhang Cuihua waved her hand dismissively, then pointed to the courtyard on the right. “I live right next door. Just call if you need anything.”
Su Qing thanked her again.
After Zhang Cuihua left, Su Qing took the two children by the hand and led them into the courtyard.
The middle of the yard was paved with bricks about ninety centimeters long. On either side was freshly turned soil, with a few stubborn weed roots still left in it.
The first floor had two rooms, a kitchen, and a bathroom.
Upstairs were four rooms and a bathroom. One room was larger and was probably the master bedroom; the other three were smaller.
Each room had some basic furniture, but they would have to gradually buy the things they needed for daily life.
“Let’s live upstairs.” Su Qing looked down at her son and daughter. “Go pick whichever room you like.”
Zhou Wantang exchanged a look with her older brother and said excitedly, “Older Brother, we’ll each have our own room now!”
“Mm!”
The siblings held hands and went to look at the rooms.
Su Qing stepped into the room beside the master bedroom. It faced south, with a large window overlooking the courtyard. There was a bed inside, along with a wardrobe.
She planned to move everything out, buy a large table and two cabinets, and turn the room into her studio.
“Older Brother, I like this room. You can see the flowers in the courtyard across the way from here.”
Hearing Tangtang’s excited voice, Su Qing followed the sound.
“Mom, I want this room.” When Zhou Wantang saw her mother come in, she looked up at her with shining eyes.
Su Qing nodded. “All right.” Then she looked at Zhou Yunzhou. “Will you take the room next to Tangtang’s?”
“Sure,” Zhou Yunzhou said.
“Is Comrade Su Qing home?”
A woman’s voice came from the courtyard.
Su Qing went downstairs and saw Han Mei standing at the gate with Du Nianchu.
When Han Mei saw her, she smiled amiably. “Hello, Comrade Su Qing. I’m Han Mei, Nianchu’s mother.”
As she spoke, she gave Du Nianchu a little push between the shoulder blades.
Du Nianchu glared fiercely at Su Qing and said nothing.
“What did Mom tell you before we left?” Han Mei asked her daughter quietly.
Du Nianchu looked up at her mother, then pursed her lips and addressed Su Qing with obvious reluctance. “Aunt Su, I’m sorry!”
Su Qing paid no attention to the little girl’s insincere apology. Her voice was cool as she said, “If there’s nothing else, you can go.”
“You shameless woman! I apologized, so what more do you—”
Han Mei clapped a hand over Du Nianchu’s mouth and looked at Su Qing apologetically.
“Comrade Su Qing, she’s just a child and doesn’t know any better. Please don’t take it to heart.”
“Get out!” Su Qing couldn’t be bothered to watch the mother and daughter put on an act in front of her.
Han Mei was speechless.
She’d brought Nianchu all this way to apologize, and this woman still had to put on airs?
Han Mei took two deep breaths before she managed to tamp down her anger.
Gripping Du Nianchu by the wrist, she said, “Well, you go ahead with what you were doing. We’ll be off. I live in the house up ahead. Huaijin isn’t here, so come find me if you need anything.”
Her look was an unmistakable provocation: Huaijin and I are on the same side. You’re the outsider.
Su Qing understood what Han Mei meant, but didn’t care.
She was going to divorce Zhou Huaijin anyway. She didn’t care in the slightest what happened between him and Han Mei.
Right in front of Han Mei, she slammed the courtyard gate shut.
Han Mei could no longer keep her anger from showing on her face. But then she thought that Su Qing must have slammed the gate because she was angry.
As long as she’d made Su Qing mad, she was satisfied.
“Mom, you’re hurting me.” Du Nianchu struggled against Han Mei’s grip on her arm.
Han Mei came back to herself and let go. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Mom, why did you make me apologize to that shameless woman?” Du Nianchu said indignantly. “You said that if it weren’t for her, Zhou Dad would be my real dad.”
“Shh!” Han Mei glanced around. “Don’t say things like that.”
“Just remember this: you need to get along with Zhou Yunzhou and Zhou Wantang. You have to make sure they listen to you.”
Du Nianchu was good at that. She puffed out her little chest and said proudly, “All the children in the military family compound like listening to me.”
Those two country bumpkins, Zhou Yunzhou and Zhou Wantang, would be easy to handle.
“Nianchu, you’re so clever!” Han Mei praised her.
…
The next day, Su Qing made yangchun noodles. After breakfast, she took the two children to register at school.
The Zhou family had probably contacted the school beforehand, because the enrollment process went smoothly.
Teacher Zhou, the preschool class’s homeroom teacher, said warmly, “Sister-in-law, you can leave the children with me. Don’t worry.”
Su Qing nodded.
She looked down at Tangtang, who seemed a little frightened, then crouched and hugged her.
She gently patted her back. “Tangtang, don’t be scared. You’ll make new friends at your new school, and your older brother will be here with you.”
The child had never felt secure, even from a young age.
And the children in the village had always called her a bastard. That had only made Zhou Wantang, who already lacked a sense of security, even more timid in a new place.
Zhou Yunzhou took his sister’s hand. “Tangtang, don’t be scared. I’ll protect you.”
Only then did Zhou Wantang nod.
Teacher Zhou took Zhou Wantang’s hand and spoke gently. “Tangtang, I’ll be your homeroom teacher from now on. If anything happens, you can tell me. There’s no need to be afraid, all right?”
At the sight of the kind, approachable young teacher, Zhou Wantang finally smiled.
After watching Teacher Zhou lead the two children away, Su Qing left the school and headed straight for the post office.
When Luo Zhixia got Su Qing’s call, questions came tumbling out of her one after another. “How are things in Beicheng? Has the Zhou family been giving you a hard time? Is the divorce going smoothly? When are you coming back?”
Su Qing was silent for a moment.
“Zhixia, I don’t plan to go back to Huaxizi Village.”
“You’re staying in Beicheng?” Luo Zhixia asked in surprise.
Su Qing nodded. “Zhou Huaijin is away on a mission and isn’t at the military district. When he gets back, I’ll divorce him.”
“I don’t plan to marry again. Beicheng is a big city, and people are more accepting here. As a woman raising two children on my own, I won’t be discriminated against.”
Luo Zhixia knew that Su Qing was staying in Beicheng mostly for Yunzhou and Tangtang.
As though she’d made up her mind, Luo Zhixia gripped the receiver. “Su Qing, I want to come to Beicheng and find you. We can keep building our business together!”
“Are you running away from your arranged marriage?”
Luo Zhixia rolled her eyes as she thought of the match her family had arranged for her. “That idiot? Who’d want to marry him?”