Meat was so scarce in their household that it could be counted on one hand, especially after her brother became disabled.

Her mother had exchanged all the family’s meat ration coupons with the neighbors for egg coupons to nourish her brother.

It had been a long time since the kitchen smelled of anything fragrant, let alone the enticing aroma of eggs mixed with the sour tang of tomatoes—it was so tempting that it made one’s mouth water.

Gu Jiaojiao looked up and saw the youngest daughter of the Su family staring wide-eyed, unclear whether in shock or anger.

“Aren’t eggs meant to be eaten?”

“Those are for my brother’s nutrition—we’re not allowed to eat them,” Su Qinchun replied, swallowing her saliva while stubbornly sticking to her stance.

“I never said they were for you. I made them for Dad, Mom, and your brother,” Gu Jiaojiao said casually.

“You… you… How can you be so vicious?!” Su Qinchun stuttered in rage.

Seeing how protective Su Qinchun was over the food, Gu Jiaojiao felt a little uneasy. In an era where going out required permits, eating required ration tickets, and even sugar and oil were limited, she really didn’t know what to do in the future. If only she still had access to her space!

“Jiaojiao, you eat first. Don’t mind Chunni. Our family still has eggs. While eating meat is a bit difficult, having eggs isn’t a problem,” Su’s mother quickly reassured her, afraid that her ignorant daughter would scare away her daughter-in-law.

“Mom, let’s eat noodles together.” Gu Jiaojiao’s eyes turned red in an instant.

Alone in this unfamiliar world, having such a kind mother-in-law was a blessing.

Su’s mother carried the bowl of noodles to the living room—since the Su family didn’t have a separate dining room, they always ate in the living room.

At that moment, Su Shuoci wheeled himself out, wearing a white shirt and green military trousers.

Su’s father helped push his wheelchair to the dining table. Wheelchairs in this era were far from the agile ones in later generations—they couldn’t even turn smoothly.

“Ci’er, your wife made this tomato egg noodle soup for you. Eat more.”

“Mm.” Su Shuoci responded indifferently.

As he looked at the steaming bowl of tomato egg noodles, his emotions were complicated.

Though he had been married for three days, he had never thought about getting along with his wife.

Especially since, on their wedding day, his newlywed wife publicly scorned him, calling him a crippled country bumpkin, saying he was a toad lusting after swan meat.

Was it he who wanted to eat swan meat?
Even when he was perfectly healthy, he had never thought of getting married. Now that he was paralyzed, how could he possibly desire marriage?

It was his superior officer, Commander Sheng, who personally spoke to him, sorrowfully explaining that his adopted daughter had been sickly since childhood and was unable to bear children.

Because of the scandal between them, no man would be willing to marry her in the future.

Marrying a paralyzed man like him was the best outcome for her.

Listening to his superior, Su Shuoci realized that he had been set up by the Sheng brothers.

With even more conviction, he refused, insisting that he was unfit for marriage due to his condition.

But his superior emotionally persuaded him, reasoning that as a son, he had a duty to bring home a good wife and give his parents peace of mind.

Su Shuoci was not someone who compromised easily. However, he had a secret deep inside—one that made him reluctantly agree.

Although he had lived in the military compound for years, he was not familiar with its residents.

Commander Sheng claimed his adopted daughter was obedient and well-mannered, yet on the wedding day, she nearly turned the Su household upside down.

Her vulgar insults were worse than those of the fiercest village shrews he had encountered in the countryside.

Her behavior completely overturned his perception of her, but he endured the disgust and gave her a stone pendant imbued with his deepest hopes.

Yet she smashed it to the ground, sneering:

“Crippled bumpkin! You think you can impress me with a worthless rock? Even if you carved out your heart for me, I wouldn’t be moved!”

Then, she just kept cursing—until she fainted from rage.

Dr. Sun diagnosed it as a fit of hysteria, assuring them that she’d be fine once she woke up, as long as she wasn’t further agitated.

For the past two days, he had been waiting for her to wake up and resume her scolding.

Divorce was out of the question.
Even if they despised each other, if she wasn’t a good person, then he would drag her down with him until death.

But when she woke up, she was… different.

At this moment, she was quietly eating noodles, savoring them as if they were some kind of luxurious delicacy.

Was this really the well-mannered girl Commander Sheng had described?

Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure about dragging her down with him.

Should he bring up the idea of divorce?

But…

“Ci’er? Ci’er? What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?” Su’s mother anxiously called out to him.

Seeing her son staring absentmindedly at the noodles, she worried that he was rejecting Jiaojiao.

Such a wonderful daughter-in-law was a rare find!

Hearing his mother’s voice, Su Shuoci snapped back to reality and replied, “Mom, it’s fine. It tastes good.”

“That’s good! Just now, I saw your wife working hard in the kitchen, carefully making these delicious noodles for us.”

Su Shuoci didn’t respond. He simply picked up his chopsticks and took a bite.

The moment the noodles entered his mouth, a rich, savory taste exploded on his taste buds.

Was this really the same woman from three days ago?

Su Shuoci glanced up again at the petite woman across from him, who was eating her noodles with absolute focus—as if she were enjoying a rare delicacy.

Gu Jiaojiao ignored everything around her, entirely focused on the battle with her bowl of noodles.

Even Su Qinchun, who had been hostile earlier, was now silently devouring her own portion.

It was just too good.

“Chunni, after dinner, take your sister-in-law out to see if she needs anything.”

“Mm. Gu—Sister-in-law, do you want to go out for a walk?” Su Qinchun had been eager to step outside.

For the past two days, she had been stuck at home doing chores. Besides, Jiaojiao looked stunning today—it was time to show off to those gossiping busybodies.

“Alright, let’s go have a look.” Gu Jiaojiao noticed Su Qinchun’s improved attitude and was willing to give her a chance to prove herself.

As soon as they stepped out of the courtyard, they heard a group of neighborhood women gossiping—and even upon seeing the subject of their gossip, they did not stop talking.

“Su Shuoci is such a good man. If he hadn’t been injured and paralyzed, how could he have been tricked by that sickly temptress?”

“Really? Did Gu Jiaojiao actually set him up? That poor Captain Su!”

“Of course! Marrying a fake daughter was already bad luck, but then she even caused a scene at her own wedding and fainted from anger!”

“The Su family is just too kind! Women like that deserve a beating! Knock her around a few times, and she’ll behave.”

“Right! A beaten wife is an obedient wife. She should be put in her place!”

“That weakling Gu Jiaojiao? She wouldn’t even survive a slap from Su Shuoci!”

“Wait… Could it be that he actually hit her? Is that why she was unconscious?”

“Who knows? They say she was fine before entering the bridal chamber, but after that, she fainted…”

“Are you serious? How do you know so much?”

“I live next door to them! I saw it all from my second-floor window—”

Before the woman could finish, a soft voice interrupted.

“Who, exactly, are you talking about?” Gu Jiaojiao asked gently.