After dinner, Wen Nan was about to wash the dishes, but Chen Xu took the bowls and chopsticks. “Go with my grandmother to her room; she’ll help you prepare a place to sleep.”

He then took the bowls and chopsticks into the kitchen.

Wen Nan went to the room with the light on. Grandma Chen was making the bed. She went over to help, and also wiped down the table. The room’s furnishings were simple: a single bed, a small table by the head, and a wooden chest against the wall at the foot. Grandma Chen finished making the bed, went to the foot, opened the chest, and took out Chen Zhou’s clothes. “Put your clothes here. I’ll move Chen Zhou’s clothes to Xiao Xu’s room.”

Wen Nan realized this was Chen Zhou’s room.

She smiled, “Thank you, Aunt.”

“No need to be so polite with Aunt.”

By the time they finished making the bed, it was late. Grandma Chen, being old, couldn’t stay up late and went to bed.

Wen Nan opened her cloth bag, took out a few clothes, folded them neatly, and put them in the chest. As she was about to look up, she caught sight of several small figures carved into the chest with a sharp stone. Four adults and two children.

They were probably Chen Zhou’s grandparents, parents, and his brother’s family of six.

The figures were most likely carved by Chen Zhou.

After putting away her clothes, Wen Nan brought a basin of water into the room, turned off the light, took off her shirt, and used the clean towel Grandma Chen had given her to wipe her face and neck. She was wearing an old-fashioned undershirt, the kind nobody would wear in modern times. She lifted a corner of the undershirt to wipe a private area. She had spent the night crammed on a train, then taken a two-hour bus to Hongxing Commune in Fenglin County, followed by a two-hour donkey cart ride to get here.

Wen Nan felt she smelled terrible.

The room was dimly lit; Wen Nan could only see a little by the moonlight from the window.

Just as she was about to take off her pants, someone knocked on the door. Wen Nan jumped, dropping her hand. She didn’t know if it was Grandma Chen or Camp Commander Chen. Before she could ask, the person outside spoke, “It’s me.”

It was Chen Xu’s voice.

“Coming.”

Wen Nan opened the door and saw Chen Xu standing outside. He was tall and broad-shouldered, but the doorway was low. Standing outside, he almost blocked the moonlight, making the room even darker. His back was to the moon, so Wen Nan couldn’t see his expression, only that he was holding an old piece of white cloth and a hammer.

She blinked in confusion, “Chen… Brother, what’s wrong?”

Chen Xu hadn’t expected her to be wearing only an undershirt. Her neck and arms were fair and delicate, and a slender waist was faintly visible beneath the undershirt.

Slender and graceful, it was striking in the dark night.

A glimpse of spring he’d caught from the window earlier had made him feel awkward and uncomfortable.

Chen Xu turned around. His low voice unconsciously held a touch of stern reprimand, “Go back inside and put on your clothes. Don’t wear this at home either. If someone sees you, it will cause gossip, and it won’t be good for either of us.”

Wen Nan: …

His serious tone made her think she had committed a grave error.

She looked down at her old-fashioned undershirt. It was completely covered, far more conservative than modern undershirts.

However, Wen Nan didn’t dare say anything. She closed the door, took a clean white shirt with a floral print from the chest, put it on, opened the door, looked at the man’s straight back, and softly said, “Camp Commander Chen, I’m dressed.”

Chen Xu turned around, saw she was dressed, and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll hang a curtain for your room.”

When Chen Zhou lived here, they hadn’t been so particular, being two men. Now that there was a woman in the house, especially at night with the lights on, it was inconvenient to do anything if people could see inside.

Wen Nan glanced at the old six-pane window and stepped aside to let Chen Xu pass.

Seeing the man had to lower his head to avoid the low ceiling, she smiled, “Thank you, Brother.”

Chen Xu was used to being around men in the army and hadn’t interacted much with women like Wen Nan. He felt uncomfortable seeing her occasional smiles and hearing her repeatedly call him “Brother.” He placed the cloth on the chest and turned his back to Wen Nan. “No need to be polite.”

Then he picked up the hammer and hammered two nails into the window frame.

He was tall, and could easily reach. Wen Nan thought if she were to do it, she would need a stool.

Chen Xu hammered the nails, threaded the curtain wire through the top of the curtain, and fixed it to the nails, perfectly covering the entire window.

After hanging the curtain, Chen Xu left immediately.

Wen Nan threw the water out by the vegetable patch and brought in half a basin of water to wash herself. Now that there was a curtain, she turned on the light. The April night was cool, and Wen Nan shivered, crawling into bed. The quilt had a faint scent of soapwort, the pillow was filled with rice husks, and the bed was covered with a mattress. It was hard and uncomfortable, not like the soft beds of the new century, but better than sleeping outside.

Wen Nan had traveled a long way, and she slept soundly that night, so soundly that she only woke up when Grandma Chen knocked on the door the next morning.

“Nannan, it’s time for breakfast.”

Wen Nan said, “Aunt, I’m awake.”

She put on her shoes and opened the curtain. As soon as she did, she saw Camp Commander Chen in the yard. He was chopping wood with an axe. The moment the axe went down, his arm muscles tensed. Seeming to notice her gaze, Chen Xu looked over. Wen Nan immediately smiled, opened the window, and cheerfully greeted him, “Good morning, Brother.”

Chen Xu: …

He nodded to Wen Nan, “Breakfast is ready. Come eat.”

Wen Nan smiled, “Okay.”

She went into the yard and saw a pile of chopped firewood at Chen Xu’s feet. She awkwardly pursed her lips. She hadn’t been woken by the sound of chopping wood. How soundly had she slept?

Wen Nan took a basin to the well to draw some water. The water drawn from the well in the early morning was icy cold. Even washing her face made her fingers numb. A flash of army green caught her eye. Turning her head, she saw Chen Xu squatting next to her, drawing more than half a basin of water, splashing it on his face, neck, and arms. The cold water soaked his collar and sleeves, but he didn’t care, and washed his hair as well.

Wen Nan: …

She asked, “Aren’t you cold?”

Chen Xu got up, took a towel from the rope, wiped his head, looked down at Wen Nan’s shrinking hand slowly touching the cold water: …

He said, “There’s hot water in the thermos in the kitchen. If you’re cold, add some hot water. I’m used to washing with cold water.”

Wen Nan: …

Wow, are soldiers’ physiques all this strong?

Rolling in the snow shirtless in winter, basking in the sun shirtless in summer. Wen Nan thought that if it were her, she’d be dead.

She was freezing from the well water and went to the kitchen to get some hot water from the thermos. The warm water felt much better on her fingertips.

Grandma Chen made fried eggplant, steamed corn cakes, and porridge for breakfast. Chen Xu had a large appetite, eating four or five large corn cakes and a full bowl of porridge. When he got up, Wen Nan subconsciously glanced at his stomach.

Flat, firm, lean, and powerful, without an ounce of excess fat.

After breakfast, Chen Xu went to the army with Tuan Commander Du next door. Wen Nan collected the bowls and chopsticks. As she entered the kitchen, a military wife came, the Tuan Commander’s wife, Zhang Xiaoe, whom she had met yesterday.

She saw Wen Nan entering the kitchen with the bowls and sat on a stool next to Grandma Chen, who was washing clothes by the well. She exclaimed, “Auntie Hou, why is that girl at your house again? Didn’t Camp Commander Chen say yesterday that she had the wrong person?”

Zhang Xiaoe was known for her gossip. Anything that happened in the family quarters would reach her ears, and within half a day, the whole area would know. Although she was the Tuan Commander’s wife, the other military wives avoided her, afraid of accidentally revealing their family secrets and having them spread throughout the family quarters.

Grandma Chen scrubbed her clothes, saying, “She’s my faraway married sister’s granddaughter. We haven’t been in touch for many years, and Xiao Xu hasn’t met her, so he thought Nannan had the wrong person.”

“Oh, I see.”

Zhang Xiaoe looked through the kitchen window at Wen Nan washing dishes, her gossip instincts tingling. “Don’t her parents care for her? Why would they let such a young girl come alone?”

Grandma Chen knew what kind of person Zhang Xiaoe was and wanted to use her to spread the word about Wen Nan.

She got up, hung Chen Xu’s clothes on the rope, and told Zhang Xiaoe, “Her parents died during the famine. She’s been living with her grandmother. Nannan has never met me or her two cousins. My sister just let her come and stay here for a while.”

Zhang Xiaoe listened but was thinking to herself.

To put it nicely, she was staying here temporarily. To put it bluntly, Auntie Hou was probably trying to find a soldier for her granddaughter, so she could settle down here. Chen Xu and Chen Zhou were her cousins, both in the army, so it wasn’t impossible to find a good match for her.

Grandma Chen saw Zhang Xiaoe wasn’t saying anything and knew what she was thinking, so she didn’t say anything more.

Wen Nan came out after washing the dishes and met Zhang Xiaoe’s gaze, who looked her up and down, her eyes like those of someone inspecting goods at a market. It made Wen Nan uncomfortable. Yesterday on the donkey cart, Zhang Xiaoe had been the one gossiping the most, revealing other people’s family secrets.

Grandma Chen introduced Wen Nan, “This is the wife of Tuan Commander Du next door. Call her Auntie Zhang.”

Wen Nan calmly called out, “Auntie Zhang.”