Chapter 13: Of Course, My Wife Goes with Me  

Three catties of meat could not possibly be eaten in one meal—that would be far too extravagant.  

Su Ruanruan handed the meat over to Liu Xiue, but when Wang Maoni found out, she went straight to the kitchen and sliced off the large chunks of fat from the pork belly, rendering them into lard.  

Lard had a longer shelf life, and using a little while cooking would add a rich meaty aroma even to vegetarian dishes.  

As for the remaining lean meat, half was stored in the cupboard, while the other half was reserved for lunch.  

To ensure that everyone got a taste of the meat, Wang Maoni instructed Liu Xiue to slice it all into thin pieces and stir-fry it with green beans, eggplant, and chili peppers.  

Liu Xiue was nearly forty and had been cooking for over twenty years. She had developed decent knife skills, slicing the meat so thinly that, once mixed with the vegetables, it was difficult to pick out—assuming there was even a choice.  

Of course, there was no choice.  

Everyone scooped a ladle of food onto their rice, mixing it together as they ate. How much meat they got depended entirely on luck.  

Getting more was a delightful surprise, while getting less was just something they had to accept.  

However, it was not entirely up to chance.  

Liu Xiue was the one serving the food. She shook the ladle skillfully, reminding Su Ruanruan of the cafeteria aunties from her past life.  

Though the era and location were different, their ladle-shaking techniques were strikingly similar.  

When serving others, Liu Xiue’s hand shook with a steady rhythm.  

But when it was her husband’s and son’s turn, her hand suddenly became much steadier.  

Su Ruanruan noticed but pretended not to.  

At the end of the day, it all came down to poverty.  

If they had meat for every meal, there would be no need for such tactics just to give a husband and son a little more to eat.  

That said, dishes stir-fried with meat truly smelled delicious.  

Even with minimal seasoning, everyone ate hungrily, their heads bowed, almost burying their faces in their bowls.  

As Su Ruanruan focused on her own meal, a pair of chopsticks suddenly placed a piece of meat into her bowl.  

She looked up, meeting Fu Wenjing’s gaze.

“No need to give me any.” Su Ruanruan said softly. “What’s in my bowl is enough. You should eat too.”  

Before Fu Wenjing could respond, Li Laidi’s voice rang out from the side.  

“Seventh’s Wife, why are you being polite with Seventh? You two are husband and wife—what difference does it make who eats it? Besides, it’s only because Seventh is home now that he can serve you food. In a few days, when he returns to the Military Unit, even if you want him to serve you, he won’t be able to.”  

Su Ruanruan did not care much about most of what Li Laidi said.  

But this particular remark struck a chord.  

Her smile faded slightly as she turned to Li Laidi with cold eyes. “Second Sister-in-law, you—”  

“Second Sister-in-law is overthinking.” Fu Wenjing interrupted calmly. “Of course, my wife will go with me to the Military Unit. I can serve her food every day.”  

Hearing this, Su Ruanruan completely forgot about Li Laidi. She turned sharply to Fu Wenjing, her eyes wide with both surprise and joy. “You’re taking me with you?”  

“Of course.” Fu Wenjing replied as if it was only natural. “You’re my wife. If you don’t follow me, are you planning to stay home alone?”  

Su Ruanruan’s eyes lit up. At that moment, she found Fu Wenjing incredibly handsome. “I won’t stay home. I’ll go with you to the Military Unit!”  

“What?” Li Laidi immediately objected. “Seventh, you’re taking your wife to the Military Unit? How can that be? You’ve been away from home for so many years, unable to fulfill your filial duties to Father and Mother. Now that you’re married, if you can’t care for them yourself, then your wife should! How can you take her with you? Are you planning to forget your mother now that you have a wife? Mother, don’t you agree?”  

Wang Maoni gave Li Laidi a lazy glance. “Agree with what? Seventh’s wife was married to him, not to me. If she doesn’t follow Seventh, should she stay with me? To bear my children?”  

Li Laidi was even more shocked. “Mother, you’re actually agreeing to let Seventh’s wife go to the Military Unit? How can that be? She’s supposed to stay here and take care of you and Father—”

“I don’t need her to be filial to me.” Wang Maoni directly interrupted Li Laidi. “I already have six daughters-in-law around me. One more or less makes no difference.”  

“Seventh is serving in the military so far away, without any family by his side, not even someone who knows if he’s warm or cold. I was eager to find him a wife so that someone could take care of him—not to have her serve me.”  

Her expression grew more serious as she swept her gaze over everyone in the courtyard. “If you sisters-in-law feel it’s unfair, if you don’t want to stay near me and prefer to go with your husbands instead, I have no objections. Same rule applies—you can do as Seventh does. Send me 20 or 30 yuan every month, and I don’t care if you go to the ends of the earth. As children and daughters-in-law, you either contribute money or effort to care for your elders. If you don’t want to do either, then leave with nothing—don’t even think about taking a single blade of grass from this house.”  

Compared to Wang Maoni’s long speech, Fu Chunshan was much more concise.  

“Your mother’s words are my words.”  

With that, it was settled—Su Ruanruan would go with Fu Wenjing to the Military Unit.  

What the rest of the family thought no longer mattered, because they had no power to change this decision.  

Su Ruanruan flashed Wang Maoni her sweetest smile. “Mother, I will take great care of Wenjing. Next time he comes back, he’ll definitely be fatter than he is now.”  

Hearing this, Wang Maoni’s wrinkled face bloomed into a bright smile. “Good! With you saying that, I’m completely at ease! I’ll leave Seventh in your hands!”

“Mother, don’t worry!”  

Now that the matter of following the army was settled, Su Ruanruan felt that even the food in her mouth tasted better.  

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The summer harvest had just passed, and it was not a busy farming season. There was no need to head to work early in the afternoon.  

After lunch, everyone returned to their rooms to rest.  

Su Ruanruan and Fu Wenjing also went back to their room.  

She was not sleepy, so she spread the fabric on the heated brick bed, preparing to cut out materials for two sets of clothing.  

This was something Fu Wenjing could not help with, so he simply sat to the side and watched.  

As he observed, he started to notice something different.  

“Wife, these aren’t for yourself, are they?”  

Su Ruanruan glanced at him in surprise, then smiled. “You have sharp eyes. No, these aren’t for me—they’re for Father and Mother.”  

The original owner of this body had excellent sewing skills, especially when it came to measuring with her eyes. She was like a walking ruler, able to determine the size at a glance without needing to physically measure.  

Moreover, people did not wear fitted clothing these days—everything was made loose and comfortable. Precision was not necessary, so there was even less need to measure by hand.  

Since Wang Maoni and Fu Chunshan had not made things difficult for her and had readily agreed to let her follow Fu Wenjing to the Military Unit, Su Ruanruan naturally wanted to show her gratitude.

Making each of them a new set of clothes was her way of expressing filial piety.