Chapter 24: Commander Lu, the Penniless Man

Lu Zhanlin and Chu Yue looked at each other. After everything that had just been said, the newly acquainted couple felt inexplicably shy, their breaths warm and a little unsteady.

“You’d better go change your clothes, or you’ll catch a cold. Put your socks on too.”
Lu Zhanlin, thinking of those slender, fair ankles of hers, especially reminded her, “I’ll tidy up the table and chairs. Come out when you’re ready to eat.”

“Okay.”

Chu Yue picked up her backpack and went into the room to change.

When she came out again, Lu Zhanlin had already swept away the cobwebs from the ceiling and wiped the table clean. Lu Yuanbao was using a rag to wipe down the stools. Everything was sparkling tidy—clearly, they had noticed she liked cleanliness and had put in extra effort.

Chu Yue handed the military coat back to Lu Zhanlin, who put it on. Then, without forgetting, he led Lu Yuanbao to wash his hands. Only once they were clean and seated did he take out the lunchboxes.

There were three in total.

Two of them were filled halfway with white rice and halfway with steamed buns. The rice was packed tightly, topped with some pickled vegetables. Lu Zhanlin placed these in front of Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao and handed them chopsticks.

The third box, when opened, revealed a fragrant, glistening serving of red-braised pork belly.

The pork had clearly been caramelized—the color was rich and glossy, oily and mouthwatering. Beside the pork, there were some fresh, emerald-green vegetables.

Gurgle, gurgle—

As soon as the pork box was opened, Lu Yuanbao’s stomach let out a loud, traitorous growl.

His face turned a little red—his body had reacted on its own. He swallowed secretly, eyes glued to the pork belly, completely unable to look away.

On the walk back from the military canteen, the aroma had teased him the whole way. His stomach had been in turmoil with hunger.

Lu Zhanlin pushed the pork box in front of Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao.
“You two were hungry all afternoon. Go ahead, eat.”

Lu Yuanbao clutched his chopsticks, swallowing his drool, but didn’t immediately start eating. Instead, he looked to Chu Yue.

Chu Yue picked up a piece of pork and placed it in his lunchbox. Only then did Lu Yuanbao finally dig in, chomping away in big bites.

Chu Yue looked at Lu Zhanlin in slight confusion.
“Aren’t you eating?”

“I ate earlier. I asked one of the kitchen squad soldiers to make this specially for you and Yuanbao, using my ration quota. Eat as much as you like.”

Since he said that, Chu Yue didn’t insist. She had only eaten a single steamed bun all day and was absolutely starving.

The room fell quiet, with only the sound of chopsticks as Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao ate.

Lu Zhanlin sat quietly to the side, watching them. Lu Yuanbao had never had red-braised pork before. It was his first time, and he was allowed to eat so much—he ate like a little tiger, tearing into the food, face practically buried in the lunchbox.

The soldier’s cooking skills were genuinely impressive. The pork was soft and springy. Even though Chu Yue wasn’t someone who craved rich food, she couldn’t help but eat several pieces.

After a while, Chu Yue put down her chopsticks—she was full.

It wasn’t that she naturally had a small appetite, but rather that her body’s original owner had grown up in the Chu family with barely enough food to eat. Over time, her stomach had shrunk, and now just a few bites filled her up.

Unfortunately, her lunchbox still had half a bun and about one-third of the rice left.

Wasting food was shameful—she figured she’d just heat it up again for dinner.

Just as she was thinking this, Lu Zhanlin glanced at her a few times, then asked,
“There’s still meat left. You’re not going to eat it?”

“I’m full,” Chu Yue shook her head.

“Alright.”
Lu Zhanlin didn’t say much, just added,
“I brought some biscuits and apples. If you get hungry later, eat those.”

As he spoke, he reached over and picked up Chu Yue’s lunchbox.

Chu Yue thought he was just going to cover it up, but then she saw Lu Zhanlin pick up her chopsticks—and then…

He started eating. Big bites.

Lu Zhanlin didn’t touch the pork; he only ate the remaining pickled vegetables and rice in her box. In just a few bites, he had finished it cleanly, then popped the remaining half bun into his mouth and polished it off—without leaving a single grain of rice behind.

Chu Yue was momentarily stunned, her eyes wide.

That was… food she had already eaten.

Even though they were now technically husband and wife, sharing a lunchbox—and especially eating her leftovers—felt far too intimate.

Chu Yue’s mind was a little scattered, her heart thumping like a startled deer.

But Lu Zhanlin remained completely composed throughout, as if none of this was odd at all. After finishing the meal, he even neatly collected the chopsticks and lunchbox.

It was a habit deeply ingrained in him as a professional soldier.

Beside him, Lu Yuanbao had finished a lunchbox that was bigger than his own face—scraped clean.

He had never eaten so much, nor felt so full and content. His happiness was practically overflowing—

“Hic!”

Lu Yuanbao let out a loud burp, his belly round and stuffed.

He licked the corners of his mouth, sucking on the sauce from the braised pork, sweetness still lingering on his lips, warmth flooding his heart. Then he jumped down from the chair.

“Hic—I’m going out to pull weeds. I haven’t finished the work from earlier.”

He said this to Chu Yue.

Chu Yue nodded.
“Alright, go on. A bit of work will help you digest.”

Lu Yuanbao patted his round tummy, sneaked a cautious glance at Lu Zhanlin, then dashed out in a flash.

With the child gone, only Chu Yue and Lu Zhanlin remained in the room.

Lu Zhanlin reached into the inner pocket of his military coat and pulled out a thick envelope, handing it to Chu Yue.
“I just stopped by the office in the unit and picked this up. From now on, everything goes to you.”

Chu Yue took it, puzzled, and opened the envelope to take a look.

Inside were ration tickets and some money—Lu Zhanlin had just handed over his entire fortune, entrusting her with the household finances.

There were quite a few ration tickets: rice coupons, flour coupons, oil coupons, sugar coupons, cloth coupons—everything. The most valuable among them was a bicycle coupon, which was extremely hard to come by and very precious in this era.

As for the money—it was in scattered amounts: dimes, twenty-cent coins, fifty cents, one yuan notes.

Chu Yue grouped all the money together and did a rough count—it added up to about thirteen yuan.

Wait a second!

Chu Yue paused for a moment, blinking in disbelief. She took the money and counted it again carefully.
One yuan, two yuan, three yuan…

The exact amount was thirteen yuan, five jiao, and eight fen.

Lu Zhanlin was a regimental commander, yet this was his entire net worth?

Thirteen yuan, five jiao, and eight fen?

He was basically a pauper, not even as well-off as Chu Yue herself.

Chu Yue gave him a few more incredulous glances.

Always calm and collected, Lu Zhanlin finally looked a little awkward under her gaze.

“You don’t need to count again. That’s all I have. There’s no more.”

Chu Yue was confused.
“What about your money? You’ve been on the front lines all along—you couldn’t possibly spend anything there.”

Lu Zhanlin replied,
“I sent it all home.”

“You sent it home?”

“Yeah. Both my family and yours needed money every month. Sometimes I had to send it twice a month.”

Chu Yue was stunned at first before realizing he meant the Lu family, A-Mei, and Chu Yaoyao.

So, Lu Zhanlin had basically been supporting two entire households on his own, totaling five or six people. No wonder he had no money left.

This man had hidden his military rank and identity, yet gave away all his actual earnings—Chu Yue didn’t know whether to call him smart or foolish.

Only someone like A-Mei, that kind of idiot, wouldn’t even think to ask how a mere platoon leader could send home so much money every month.

Talking about money in front of his wife made Lu Zhanlin a bit uncomfortable. He rubbed his nose and said,
“Now that you’re here, I won’t be sending money anymore. As for my family, my sister’s gone, my brother has his own family, and my parents don’t need that much. From now on, every month when I get my allowance, I’ll give it all to you. You’ll manage the household. You’ll control the money. Everything will be up to you—just don’t think it’s too little.”

Not long ago, Chu Yue had said she wanted to “live a life with him.” Now, through his actual actions, Lu Zhanlin was responding to those words.