Chapter 5 : My Man is not Dead

Su Zhaozhao’s body was extremely weakened, and after standing for a while, she felt faint. She quickly sat down.

“Oh, Mom, Aunt Gu asked me to tell you to rest for another day and not rush to go out to the fields.”

Who is Aunt Gu?

Su Zhaozhao recalled from the memory: she was the village head’s wife, a very warm-hearted person who had helped their family a lot. The original self had a soft personality and didn’t like to cause trouble, so Aunt Gu often advised her to be a bit more assertive.

“Alright, I understand.”

After saying this, Gu Nian busily picked up a broom to sweep the yard. Su Zhaozhao watched her in admiration; she was so diligent! Without needing any prompts.

The yard was small, and it was swept clean in no time. Gu Nian put down the broom and picked up a basket. “Mom, there’s nothing much at home. I’ll go up the mountain to dig some wild vegetables.”

Su Zhaozhao looked at the sky. “It’s sunny this afternoon, and the wild vegetables will have wilted. Don’t go.”

Gu Nian set the basket down. “Then I’ll go find my brother and help him pick cicada nymphs.”

Su Zhaozhao sighed, noting that today’s children were so hardworking, never taking a break.

“Xiao Nian, from now on don’t call me ‘Mom.’ It’s a new society now. Let’s change it to ‘Mama’ instead.”

Whether it’s ‘Mom’ or ‘Mama,’ she wasn’t used to either. But every time she heard them call her ‘Mom’ and looked at the anachronistic thatched house, it always felt like she was in ancient times rather than the modern era.

“Okay, Mama.” Gu Nian agreed without hesitation. In textbooks, ‘Mom’ was always referred to as ‘Mama,’ and she had heard that people in the city only used ‘Mama’ and ‘Papa’ instead.

“Make sure to tell your brother too.”

“Mm-hmm.”

After Gu Nian left, Su Zhaozhao lay down in the house. She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but she vaguely heard someone calling Zhaodi. When she opened her eyes, a tall figure was standing there.

She was startled! Su Zhaozhao covered her chest and quickly sat up.

The figure was backlit. At first, it only looked like a dark silhouette. As she focused, she saw, “Aunt Gu?”

Oh my! How did she get in here?

“It’s me.” Aunt Gu sat down at the bedside without any awareness of having startled her. “How are you? Is your head still dizzy?”

“Not dizzy anymore,” Su Zhaozhao said, though she felt more faint from the shock of the surprise than from dizziness. Su Zhaozhao sighed internally.

In the village, people who had good relations with each other often acted as if they were at home and entered houses freely.

“It’s good if you’re not dizzy. I planned to come see you this morning, but I’ve been busy. I happened to meet Xiao Nian this morning and asked her to pass on a message. Did she tell you?”

“Yes, she did. Thank you for thinking of me.”

Aunt Gu waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, no need for such polite talk.”

Su Zhaozhao knew she shouldn’t lie down any longer. She got up from the bed and went to the main room to talk.

Aunt Gu looked around the room. “The house is really clean.”

“The children did it.”

Since there were no cups in the house, Su Zhaozhao poured a cup of plain water for her in a bowl. There was no sugar or tea in the house to add flavor.

“Look at you, being so polite. I can get it myself.” As she spoke, she took the bowl, drank it down quickly. She hadn’t had any water all afternoon and was very thirsty.

“I’ll pour you another bowl.”

Aunt Gu waved her hand. “No need, this is enough.” Before Su Zhaozhao could react, Aunt Gu quickly fetched water from the water tank, rinsed the bowl, and put it back in the cupboard.

So efficient!

“Xiao Nian’s mom, don’t blame me for speaking too much. It’s really tough for you to manage with two children on your own. You see, if there was a man around to help, you wouldn’t have fallen ill just from the autumn harvest.” After quenching her thirst, Aunt Gu opened up.

“My purpose for coming today was to check on you and also to advise you to think about the future and find a man to support you.”

Aunt Gu didn’t give Su Zhaozhao a chance to speak. “Sister-in-law knows what you’re thinking. You’re worried that a new partner might not be good for the children. Sure, there are such men, but there are good ones too, right?”

She grabbed Su Zhaozhao’s hand and patted it. “Take, for example, Li Erzhu from our village. He’s strong and hardworking. His wife passed away last year, and the one he’s with now is his second wife. He brought a daughter with him from his previous marriage, and he dotes on her as if she were his own. Now he’s looking for another wife…”

“And then there’s Wang Dachun from the neighboring village. He’s also strong and the same age as you—twenty-seven this year. He hasn’t married yet. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with him; it’s just that he’s had a tough few years. First, his father passed away, and then his mother, which delayed things. He’s poor, but there are no in-laws to worry about. Once he’s married, he’ll be able to work together with his wife, and in a few years, he’ll be well off…”

“Now, everyone’s working on cooperatives, and the central government supports this. They’ve issued documents for guidance, and I’ve heard that in many places, they even provide support for tractors! We might get our turn soon. Life is only getting better!”

Aunt Gu chattered on and on, leaving Su Zhaozhao feeling dizzy from listening.

“You have a gentle temperament. Having a man in the house would prevent you from being bullied…”

“Do you think what Sister-in-law says is right? Among these two, which one seems better to you? If you’re willing, I’ll definitely help you with this matchmaking! But don’t keep saying you don’t want to find someone. It’s so lonely lying alone at night.” Her last words were accompanied by a knowing look and a lowered voice, suggesting she knew what she was talking about.

Oh my, she finally stopped talking. “Sister-in-law, I… my husband seems to still be alive.”

“Really? What?” Aunt Gu’s first reaction was that Su Zhaozhao had agreed to find a new partner. “Who’s still alive?”

“The father of my two children.”

Aunt Gu was stunned, her eyes wide open. “Wasn’t the children’s father dead?” If she remembered correctly, when Su Zhaodi had come back like a beggar, she had said that her husband had been killed by a bomb dropped from an airplane and that her in-laws were also killed by bandits, which was why she had returned to her parents’ home.

“I’m confused.” Aunt Gu slapped her forehead. “How could he still be alive? I didn’t catch that.”

“I only found out recently.” Su Zhaozhao quickly explained, “Not long ago, I went to the town to buy some things. I was tired and sat down outside the post office. There was a person sorting through a pile of old newspapers, and out of curiosity, I glanced at them. I happened to see a photo of my husband in one of the newspapers…”

She paused and looked at Aunt Gu, who was getting anxious. “Then what happened?”

“Then I asked that person to let me take a closer look at the newspaper. It really was him. Although it had been many years, he hadn’t changed much. He was in military uniform and looked quite spirited. The newspaper reported that he had become a battle hero.”

Aunt Gu hurriedly asked, “What about the newspaper?”

“The person took it away.”

What a great reason!

At the beginning of the book, the heroine had kept a newspaper featuring the hero’s glorious deeds before she met him. Seeing the photo in the newspaper, she immediately felt a connection. Later, when someone acted as a matchmaker, she agreed to meet him because she knew he was the hero from the newspaper. The heroine often said that the newspaper was their first matchmaker.

Su Zhaozhao made use of this perfectly. According to the timeline, it should have been published a long time ago.

As for why the original self didn’t see it and why it never appeared in the book, it was probably because newspapers, being paid items and generally read by cultured individuals, were rare in such a small village.

Moreover, only Su Zhaodi knew what the hero looked like; others, even if they saw the newspaper, wouldn’t recognize him as Su Zhaodi’s deceased husband.