“S-Sister-in-law, slow down a little!”
Xiao Zhang, the guard, was carrying so many things that his hands were completely full. He had the bolt of navy-blue synthetic fabric tucked in his arms, a jin of cotton hanging over his elbow, and a box of silver acupuncture needles and several balls of thread in his hands. He followed Jiang Ning, glancing over his shoulder every few steps, afraid someone from the general store might come chasing after them.
Jiang Ning walked ahead with both hands free, her steps light and brisk. The hem of her tattered military overcoat flapped wildly in the wind.
“What are you afraid of?”
Without turning around, Jiang Ning’s voice drifted back to him on the breeze.
“I didn’t steal anything or rob anyone. It was a fair transaction, freely agreed upon by both parties.”
Xiao Zhang wore a miserable expression as he hurried to catch up.
“And you call that a fair transaction? That’s profiteering! If the disciplinary squad finds out, they’ll accuse you of undermining the socialist economy! Besides… that was the commander’s radio!”
Although the radio had been broken, and although the commander didn’t seem to care much about it, watching Jiang Ning sell it so openly for a hundred yuan had nearly shattered Xiao Zhang’s entire worldview.
His sister-in-law was even bolder than the time the commander had single-handedly stormed an enemy camp.
“A broken radio is scrap.”
Jiang Ning stopped and turned to look at him, her tone perfectly reasonable.
“Recycling waste and turning trash into treasure saves the country resources. As for profiteering, what I charged was a technical service fee. Without my repairs, that radio would have been nothing more than a pile of scrap metal. After I fixed it, it was worth a hundred yuan. I sold my skills. What’s wrong with that?”
Xiao Zhang opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to come up with a response.
Her logic… actually seemed to make sense.
“All right, stop looking so miserable.” Jiang Ning reached over and pulled the bolt of fabric from his arms. “Hurry up. We still have work to do when we get back. If Commander Gu comes home and finds no dinner waiting for him, he’ll take his anger out on you again.”
At the mention of Gu Ci, Xiao Zhang shuddered. He immediately shut his mouth and rushed toward the military family compound as though the soles of his shoes had been greased.
By the time they returned to the empty, single-story house, most of the unpleasant smell inside had dissipated.
Black Panther lay on a pile of torn cotton padding in the corner. Hearing the commotion, it twitched its ears but didn’t get up. It was still recovering and remained weak, but the wariness in its eyes had disappeared when it looked at Jiang Ning. There was even a hint of ingratiation.
After all, this woman might be fierce, but she really could save lives.
Jiang Ning tossed the things onto the table.
“Xiao Zhang, find me two wooden boards, a hammer, and a few nails.”
Xiao Zhang froze.
“Sister-in-law, what are you going to do?”
“Build a bed.”
Jiang Ning pointed at the empty space in the outer room.
“I’m not used to sleeping on the floor. Since Commander Gu won’t let me into the inner room, I’ll make myself a little nest.”
The real problem was that the floor was too cold. This body already suffered from an excess of internal cold. If she slept on the floor for another two nights, she might meet the King of Hell before Gu Ci even had another chance to lose his temper.
“Well…” Xiao Zhang looked troubled. “The regiment does have some discarded lumber, but I’ll have to ask the commander for permission…”
“You need permission for something this trivial?” Jiang Ning raised an eyebrow, her gaze turning chilly. “Then go ask him whether he’d rather have me keep climbing into his bed tonight or give me a few pieces of scrap wood so I can sleep by myself.”
Xiao Zhang’s face flushed red. Remembering what he had witnessed yesterday morning, he immediately shook his head.
“I’m going right now! Right now!”
Watching him hurry away, Jiang Ning turned her attention back to the room and picked up a pair of scissors.
She had bought them at the general store earlier.
She was going to cut up the synthetic fabric.
Half of it would become curtains. The windows in this house were completely bare, and at night, once the lights were on, anyone outside could see exactly what was happening inside. She didn’t like being watched.
The other half would become a new outfit.
The clothes she was wearing had already started to stink. She could wash them and wear them again, but she couldn’t stand the mixture of sweat and dog blood any longer.
Jiang Ning’s hands were steady. She didn’t have a sewing machine, but she was quite skilled with a needle and thread. In her previous life, she had practiced countless times on fabric while honing her surgical suturing techniques.
The scissors snipped through the material with a steady snip, snip, snip.
By the time dusk approached, Xiao Zhang returned carrying several old door panels and two long benches.
“Sister-in-law, the commander is in a meeting. I spoke to Old Wang in logistics. These are all materials that have already been replaced, so using them doesn’t violate any regulations.”
Xiao Zhang was sweating profusely. After putting everything down, he immediately helped Jiang Ning assemble the bed.
They positioned the two benches, laid the door panels across them, and covered the surface with the newly purchased cotton and some old padding.
A simple single bed was ready.
It was crude, but at least she would no longer have to sleep on the ground.
Jiang Ning hung the remaining fabric over the window, blocking the curious eyes outside.
The room immediately grew darker, but it also felt considerably safer.
“All right, you can go now,” Jiang Ning said, shooing him away.
Xiao Zhang hesitated.
“Sister-in-law, what about dinner…?”
“That’s none of your concern.” Jiang Ning patted the stack of ten-yuan notes still in her pocket. “I have money. I won’t go hungry.”
Not long after Xiao Zhang left, the courtyard gate was pushed open.
Gu Ci had returned.
Carrying a chill with him, he entered with a mesh bag in his hand. It contained no lunchboxes from the mess hall, but rather a bag of uncooked rice, a piece of raw meat wrapped in newspaper, and even a bundle of dried noodles.
He stepped inside, glanced at the new “bed” in the outer room, and then at the blue curtains hanging over the window.
His footsteps paused.
The house had changed.
It was still crude, but the oppressive, lifeless atmosphere had diminished. In its place was something warmer, something that made the house feel a little more like a home.
Gu Ci said nothing. He simply tossed the bag onto the table.
THUD.
The sound was heavy, as though he were expressing some kind of displeasure.
Jiang Ning was sitting on her new bed, sewing clothes with a needle in her hand. She didn’t even raise her head.
“Has Commander Gu suddenly struck it rich? I can’t believe you’re willing to buy meat.”
“I’ve grown tired of eating at the mess hall.”
Gu Ci delivered the curt reply and turned toward the inner room.
“Wait.”
Jiang Ning bit off the thread, put down her work, and stood up. She walked to the table and inspected the bag.
Uncooked rice. Raw meat. Dried noodles.
Everything was raw.
“Are you expecting me to cook?” Jiang Ning asked.
Gu Ci stopped at the entrance to the inner room and turned his head, looking at her with a faintly mocking expression.
“What? Didn’t you say you wouldn’t support idle people? I don’t keep useless people around, and you don’t tolerate idlers either. Since I’m not letting you into the inner room, you can do some work out here. Call it… a fair transaction.”
He was taking revenge.
He was getting back at her for saying “fair transaction” the previous night.
Jiang Ning looked at the pile of raw ingredients, then glanced around the house, where there wasn’t even a coal stove.
“No pot, no stove, no fire.”
She spread her hands.
“Does Commander Gu want me to eat everything raw? Or are you planning to demonstrate how to make fire by rubbing two sticks together?”
Gu Ci pointed toward the corner outside.
“There’s a honeycomb briquette stove left by the previous occupants. The coal briquettes are piled against the wall.”
With that, he went straight into the inner room and locked the door with a distinct click.
“Call me when the food is ready. If you can’t cook, eat it raw yourself.”
His voice was cut off by the door.
Jiang Ning stood still, staring at the raw meat for three seconds.
Wonderful.
The man wasn’t just crazy. He was petty, too.
She took a deep breath and walked outside.
The wind was fierce, stinging her face. There really was an old honeycomb briquette stove against the wall, with half a sack of damp coal briquettes piled beside it.
Jiang Ning picked up the stove without worrying about getting dirty and skillfully cleared out its interior.
Back in her previous life, she had spent plenty of time doing this sort of work at the orphanage. Lighting fires and cooking meals were nothing difficult for her.
The only problem was that this body was terribly weak. Even carrying the stove left her panting.
Half an hour later, the rich aroma of meat spread throughout the house.
Jiang Ning diced the meat and cooked it with rice to make a thick meat congee. Then she added the dried noodles and made a hearty bowl of noodles in a thick, meaty broth.
In this era, a combination of carbohydrates and fat like this was the height of culinary luxury.
She carried a large basin of noodles inside and set it heavily on the table.
“Dinner.”
She called toward the inner room.
The door opened.
Gu Ci walked out, holding a towel and wiping his hair. He had just washed his face with cold water, and some of the hostility had faded from his features, though his expression remained hard and cold.
He glanced at the noodles on the table, then at Jiang Ning.
She had already filled a bowl and was sitting at the table, eating heartily. Her table manners were still far from elegant, but the vibrant life in her movements somehow made the dim room seem brighter.
Gu Ci sat down and picked up his chopsticks.
After the first bite, his movements paused.
The taste was… unexpectedly good.
The meat was tender, and the rice was soft and creamy. The seasoning was just right. It was more than a match for the food served in the mess hall.
He said nothing, but his eating pace quickened.
The two of them devoured the entire basin of noodles, leaving not a single bite.
When they finished, Gu Ci put down his chopsticks and lit a cigarette.
“You sold the radio for a hundred yuan?”
He spoke suddenly, his gaze piercing through the smoke and fixing itself on Jiang Ning’s face.
Jiang Ning continued wiping her mouth.
“Mm. A hundred.”
“That was public property.”
“That was scrap.” Jiang Ning tossed the cloth onto the table. “Commander Gu, if you want to hold me accountable, you can have me arrested. However…”
She pointed at the empty basin on the table.
“You’ve eaten my cooking. Does that count as accepting a bribe?”
Gu Ci was so exasperated that he almost laughed.
He flicked the ash from his cigarette. A dangerous glint flashed in his bloodshot eyes.
“Jiang Ning, you’ve got a lot of nerve.”
“How else would I have dared to marry you?”
Jiang Ning took the still-unopened box of silver acupuncture needles from her pocket and pushed it toward Gu Ci.
“Now that dinner is over, it’s time to get down to business.”
She opened the box, revealing a row of gleaming silver needles. Under the dim yellow light, their slender points gleamed with a chilling sharpness.
“Commander Gu, ten yuan from that hundred went toward this box of needles. The remaining ninety went toward fabric and cotton. I didn’t pocket a single cent.”
Jiang Ning looked at him, her gaze sharper than the needles in her hand.
“These needles are meant to save lives. Yours… and my meal ticket.”
Gu Ci stared at the box.
The needle tips were extremely fine. Just looking at them was enough to make his scalp tingle.
“You’re going to stick those into me?” he asked, his voice revealing no emotion.
“Mm.” Jiang Ning nodded. “In your head. Are you brave enough?”
The head was one of the most vulnerable parts of the human body. The slightest mistake could result in death or permanent disability.
Gu Ci crushed his cigarette butt in the ashtray.
He stood up and looked down at Jiang Ning. The oppressive authority of a man accustomed to being in command instantly descended upon her.
“Jiang Ning.” He bent forward, bringing his face close to hers. “If you mess me up, I’ll chop you into pieces and feed you to Black Panther.”
Jiang Ning didn’t even bat an eyelash.
“Don’t worry.”
She picked up the longest needle and twirled it between her fingers.
“I’m very fond of staying alive. If I ruin you, I won’t survive either. I know how to calculate the risks.”
Gu Ci studied her for a long time.
Then he turned and walked toward the bed in the inner room.
“Come in.”
He tossed out the two words.
“Don’t keep me waiting too long.”
Holding the silver needle, Jiang Ning watched his retreating figure, the faintest curve appearing at the corner of her mouth.
The first step had succeeded.
That mad dog had finally agreed to bare his neck willingly.