Chapter 70.1

Jiang Nian looked up in confusion and met the cold, stern gaze of Lu Yu. She paused for a moment before asking, “What?”

Lu Yu: …

Lu Yu remained silent. His fingers interlocked with Jiang Nian’s, holding her hand firmly. “I’ll take you home.”

Jiang Nian: ???

Why did she feel that Lu Yu was a little weird?

Chen Yao drove while Lu Yu sat in the back with Jiang Nian, holding her hand. They arrived at the entrance of the embroidery shop, where Lu Yu got out of the car with her. “I have four days off in a few days. I’ll come find you then.”

Jiang Nian nodded. “Okay.”

Lu Yu turned and sat back in the passenger seat. Chen Yao rolled down the window and said, “Sister-in-law, we’re leaving.”

Jiang Nian waved her hand. “Drive slowly.”

By now, Yu Xia and the others had arrived at the embroidery shop. Shu Xue turned to look out the window and asked quietly when Jiang Nian came in, “Are you getting married?”

Jiang Nian was taken aback. “Why do you say that?”

She hadn’t disclosed to anyone about her plans to marry Lu Yu.

Shu Xue explained, “That Deputy Commander Song said Commander Lu is applying for family housing, so you’re about to move in. Isn’t that because you’re getting married?”

It was only now that Jiang Nian realized why Song Bai had mentioned that earlier for no apparent reason.

Seeing Shu Xue still pressing for an answer, Jiang Nian lowered her head and played with her embroidery needle, nodding slightly. “It should be soon.”

Yu Xia turned to glance at Jiang Nian, her brows furrowed tightly.

Jiang Nian was aware of Yu Xia’s gaze but pretended not to notice, continuing her embroidery work.

Fan Shan sat beside them, frequently turning to look at Jiang Nian and couldn’t help but sigh, “If you marry in the future, won’t you become the commander’s wife?”

She suddenly felt that Jiang Nian was incredibly fortunate.

This time, neither Yu Xia nor Jia Yuan said anything. Anything they said now would just be humiliating themselves.

Before, I thought Jiang Nian’s romantic interest was just a soldier, but it turns out he’s a commander.

Later, I found out that the commander is outstanding in every aspect. Maybe he only treats Jiang Nian as a casual interest. But in the blink of an eye, they were about to get married, and everyone around the commander called her sister-in-law.

One afternoon, the embroidery shop was quiet. By evening when work was over, Su Na came to find Jiang Nian: “Jiang Nian, could you accompany me to the supply and marketing cooperative later? I’ve run out of soap.”

Shu Xue said from the side, “I’ll go with you two.”

They didn’t go to the cafeteria, but went to the supply and marketing cooperative first. On the way, Shu Xue said, “Jiang Nian, did you notice the expressions of Sister Yu and Sister Dong this afternoon? They looked really ugly.”

Su Na had been busy outside the cubicle and hadn’t gone in, so she curiously asked, “What happened to them?”

Shu Xue said, “What else could it be? They feel embarrassed. Every time they mock Jiang Nian, they end up being slapped in the face by their own words. If I were them, I’d feel embarrassed too.”

Jiang Nian smiled and didn’t say anything.

Shu Xue continued, “I think Jia Yuan hasn’t been herself these past few days. Do you think she really can’t have children?”

Su Na, being more experienced, thought for a moment and said, “Maybe. I don’t know if she’s gone to the hospital for a check-up.”

Jiang Nian thought of Jia Yuan’s husband’s affair at the cinema. Then she thought of Jia Yuan’s efforts to maintain her happy and prosperous image in her in-laws’ home. Suddenly, she felt some sympathy for her.

The supply and marketing cooperative was close to the embroidery shop, just across the street. 

They walked into the supply and marketing cooperative. Su Na bought soap while Shu Xue looked at the newly arrived snowflake cream, hesitating whether to buy it. Snowflake cream was expensive, and she hesitated to spend the money. 

The salesperson at the counter said to Shu Xue, “This snowflake cream just arrived yesterday, and several bottles have already been sold.”

The voice of the salesperson sounded familiar. Jiang Nian looked up and was suddenly stunned.

She hadn’t expected it to be the woman she had encountered at the cinema, the one who was with Jia Yuan’s husband Tong Gang. Jiang Nian had thought she was a female worker in the textile factory, but she actually worked at the supply and marketing cooperative. 

In this era, to work as a salesperson at the supply and marketing cooperative, one either had connections through Tong Gang’s family or the woman’s own family connections. However, Jiang Nian was more inclined towards the latter.

Seeing Jiang Nian standing there in a daze and not moving, seemingly staring at the salesperson, Shu Xue tugged at her sleeve and said, “What are you looking at?”

The salesperson looked at Jiang Nian, frowned, but didn’t say anything.

Jiang Nian snapped out of her thoughts and smiled, “I was just thinking whether I should buy the snowflake cream. But I still have some left, so I won’t buy it for now.”

After Su Na bought the soap, they went to the cafeteria with Jiang Nian. There weren’t as many people in the cafeteria at this time. After they finished eating, they went to the bathroom to wash their dishes and then returned to the dormitory.

Just as they walked outside the dormitory building, they heard people arguing.

Jiang Nian turned her head and saw one of them was Yu Xia. At this moment, Yu Xia was holding her neck stiff, her face embarrassed and ugly. She was dragging a young woman out, followed by a man who bore some resemblance to Yu Xia.

Jiang Nian estimated he was her son.

There were people coming and going under the dormitory building at this time. Yu Xia saw Jiang Nian and the others, her face changed slightly. She lowered her head and hurriedly dragged the grumbling woman away, saying to the man behind her as she ran, “Hurry up and follow me. Don’t embarrass me here.”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and didn’t say anything.

She couldn’t help but speculate in her heart: could that woman be her daughter-in-law?

Sure enough, Su Na’s next words confirmed Jiang Nian’s guess. She said, “Sister Yu’s youngest son and his family are here to ask for money again.”

Shu Xue hadn’t been at the embroidery shop as long as Su Na. She had only been here for two years. Before Jiang Nian arrived, she quietly embroidered alone and rarely spoke to anyone, so she didn’t know about these things.

She said, “I don’t think I’ve seen them.”

Su Na said, “That’s because they didn’t enter the embroidery shop. They always stay outside. When I see them, I go in to call Sister Yu. They come over every three months, causing a ruckus like bandits, not letting Sister Yu live peacefully at the shop.”

Jiang Nian immediately had the urge to eat melons: “Doesn’t Sister Yu’s husband do anything?”

Su Na shook her head and said, “Sister Yu’s husband had passed away. She has two sons and a daughter. Both sons live in the countryside. The older son is more honest and rarely visits Sister Yu. But the youngest son and his wife are troublesome. Every time they come, they always try to rip Sister Yu off. Sister Yu’s daughter is also pitiful. She finally married a city guy, but her husband’s family was found to have misconduct, and the whole family was sent to the countryside.”

Su Na knew this so clearly from the conversation between Sister Yu and her daughter-in-law.

Every time the couple came to find Sister Yu, they would argue outside. Over time, she knew a bit about it, so she added, “Sister Yu often sends things to her daughter without letting her daughter-in-law know. I guess her daughter-in-law found out this time she came.”

Shu Xue sighed, “Looking at it like this, Sister Yu really has it tough.”

Jiang Nian looked back outside the dormitory building and couldn’t see Sister Yu’s figure anymore. From Sister Yu, she saw the shadow of Sister Zhai. Sister Zhai’s daughter also married someone from the city, but ended up in such a situation. But compared to Sister Yu, Sister Zhai was luckier. At least Sister Zhai’s husband managed everything at home.

As for Sister Yu, a widow, she had to take care of two sons and a daughter, which was indeed quite troublesome.

Back in the dormitory, they carried enamel basins to the bathroom to wash up. Jiang Nian finished washing up first and returned. Su Na and Shu Xue were washing clothes in the bathroom. As soon as Jiang Nian walked into the dormitory, someone knocked on the door.

Jiang Nian turned around and saw Sun Ying standing at the door, holding her belly. Although her figure was swollen, her face was still attractive. The mole below her right eye gave her a mature and charming look, but the jealousy in her eyes destroyed some of that beauty.

“Is there something?”

Jiang Nian put the enamel basin under the bed and spoke in a cold and distant voice.

Sun Ying clenched her hand against her pregnant belly, watching the slender figure and fair face of Jiang Nian, a strong jealousy fermenting within her. Clearly, she had once been like Jiang Nian, even more successful, but now she had fallen to the level of a middle-aged woman.

She knew she could have done better, could have gotten closer to Lu Yu, could have continued working as a nurse in the hospital, and yet all of it had been ruined by Jiang Nian!

If she hadn’t brought Tang Ze to find Sun Yuan that day, none of this would have happened. She wouldn’t have been sent here like a street rat, living in hiding, afraid of being pointed out by others.

The more Sun Ying thought about it, the more she wanted to personally strangle Jiang Nian.

She looked at Jiang Nian’s bright eyes, struggling to suppress her jealousy, and said, “Can we talk?”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips, feeling that there was nothing to talk about between her and Sun Ying.

Seeing Jiang Nian’s hesitation, Sun Ying continued, “Just a few words.”

Jiang Nian: “Hmm.”

The night was cold, so she wrapped a scarf around herself and followed Sun Ying to the corner of the dormitory building under the locust tree. It was windy there, and the wind blew fiercely. Jiang Nian’s face shrank into the scarf. “What do you want to talk about?”

Sun Ying also shivered from the cold and moved to the corner of the wall to avoid the wind. She looked at Jiang Nian, hidden in the darkness, and said, “About me and Wu Youshan, I hope you won’t spread rumors.”

Jiang Nian: …

So that’s it?

She didn’t care about Sun Ying and Wu Youshan’s affairs at all, and she wouldn’t go around spreading rumors about them. She didn’t want to upset Sun Ying, a pregnant woman, any more.

But thinking of Tang Ze’s more haggard appearance than before, Jiang Nian asked for Tang Ze’s sake, “Do you think you’ve done enough for Tang Ze?”

Sun Ying’s face changed suddenly, as if someone had touched her scales. Her voice was louder: “That’s my business. It’s not up to you to ask!”

Jiang Nian: …

Although Sun Ying didn’t say anything, she felt that Sun Ying was probably regretting it.

Sun Ying said, “You haven’t answered my question just now. I hope you won’t talk nonsense about me and Wu Youshan.”

After she finished speaking, she looked around. The locust tree was far from the stairs, so their voices could not be heard over there. She looked at Jiang Nian again, wanting her to promise in person, but Jiang Nian replied, “That depends on my mood.”

Sun Ying’s brows were tightly furrowed, almost gnashing her teeth. “What do you mean? Are you threatening me?”

Jiang Nian smiled, but there was no smile in her eyes. “All I can say is, if you don’t provoke me, I won’t actively look for trouble with you.”

With that, she turned and walked away.

Sun Ying looked at Jiang Nian’s back and stomped her feet in anger.

If she had known that Jiang Nian would come to Yuan City, she would not have listened to her father’s arrangement for her to work in the textile factory in Yuan City. At the same time, she was also a little curious. Lu Yu was staying there, so why did Jiang Nian come here?