CHAPTER 10

Lunch was a feast.

Her sister-in-law had made dried string beans stir-fried with smoked pork.

The dried beans had a completely different texture from fresh ones—chewier and richer in flavor.

That afternoon, her sister-in-law packed up a bunch of things for Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an, including more dried beans.

“These beans don’t have to be stir-fried with pork to taste good,” she said. “They’re great with eggs, potatoes, or pork belly too.”

Their luggage just got a lot heavier.

Dried beans, dried radish, dried cabbage…

All things that could keep for a long time.

Outside, Zhou Cheng’an was talking with Lu Xiangde. Inside, her sister-in-law whispered, “So… the wedding night, was it alright?”

Lu Zhi, who had spent the night under the quilt with Zhou Cheng’an doing nothing but sleeping, lowered her eyes, her cheeks flushed. “It was good.”

“That’s good.”

Li Lan had quietly asked her to check in on this.

Her sister-in-law brought out more clothes. “The fabric your mother-in-law sent over—I finished sewing them for you these past few days. There’s a summer dress, an autumn jacket, and even a padded winter coat. Take them all with you.”

She held up each item to size against Lu Zhi. She knew Lu Zhi’s measurements well and had even made some items slightly looser. If Lu Zhi gained weight, they could be adjusted.

Knowing Lu Zhi didn’t know how, she explained how to take the seams apart and re-stitch them.

After a few instructions, she simply said, “If you can’t do it, just ask your second sister.”

Outside the window, little An’an rested her chin on the sill. “Auntie, you look so pretty!”

Lu Zhi turned, wearing a sailor-style dress. Zhou Jun had also climbed up to the windowsill.

Alright then. So the two little ones were spying on her?

Lu Zhi walked over to look. Sure enough, they were each standing on a little stool.

Zhou Jun chimed in, “Sister-in-law is beautiful! The prettiest!”

Next door, Chu Tong pursed her lips in displeasure. Holding her Snow Cream jar, she wasn’t feeling too happy.

She set it down and went to lean on Li Yu. Only then did she feel a little better.

After all, he was the man Lu Zhi had once wanted but couldn’t have.

Back in high school, Lu Zhi had been the prettiest girl in class. When the school year had just started, Chu Tong used to hang out with her and sit nearby.

The boys in class would always ask her to pass on love letters and notes to Lu Zhi, or sweet-talk her into helping. And that really annoyed Chu Tong.

Before high school, back in this courtyard, she had been the pretty girl.

….

Zhou Cheng’an stood in front of the bicycle, placing a cushion on the rear seat.

The bicycle belonged to Brother Lu. Since he didn’t need it at the moment, Zhou Cheng’an was going to borrow it.

Seeing Zhou Cheng’an’s actions, Brother Lu nodded in satisfaction.

Yes, back when he used to take Lu Zhi to school, he always put a cushion on the back seat. Otherwise, it was too uncomfortable.

Lu Zhi came out, followed by two little ones—Zhou Jun and Lu An’an.

Brother Lu said, “Alright, you two go on.” Then he turned to the kids, “Come on, I’ll take you home to play.”

Lu Zhi sat on the back seat of the bicycle. Zhou Cheng’an was strong. Saying the bike didn’t even move a bit when she sat on it would be a stretch, but it really was very stable.

They were heading to the state-owned restaurant to buy dumplings.

Lu Zhi had actually forgotten about this.

Apparently, she had mentioned it to Zhou Cheng’an on their wedding day, and to her surprise, he had remembered.

At the moment, she was craving dumplings too.

They were just that good.

Zhou Cheng’an asked, “Shall we go?”

Lu Zhi nodded. “Okay.”

Zhou Cheng’an pedaled the bicycle out of the alley, gradually picking up speed.

Holding on to the corner of Zhou Cheng’an’s jacket, Lu Zhi’s hair fluttered in the breeze, and a faint smile graced her fair face.

By the time they reached the restaurant, the dumplings weren’t being served yet, but a line had already formed.

Zhou Cheng’an found a table for Lu Zhi to sit at, then went to queue.

He ordered pork and cabbage dumplings, packed some in a lunchbox to take back for the Lu family, and placed a portion in front of Lu Zhi.

“Eat while it’s hot.”

They tasted just like last time—fresh and flavorful.

Lu Zhi took a bite, and to her surprise, soup burst out from the dumpling. Instinctively, she reached for a napkin but couldn’t find one.

“Zhou Cheng’an,” she called.

With his long fingers, Zhou Cheng’an gently wiped her lips with a handkerchief. His expression was serious, but his touch was light.

After swallowing the dumpling, Lu Zhi softly said, “You should eat too.”

“Mm,” Zhou Cheng’an replied.

The two of them sat across from each other, eating dumplings. Each had a steaming bowl of dumpling soup beside them.

Lu Zhi said, “Let’s come back here for dumplings when we return next time.”

Zhou Cheng’an looked up at her. “Okay.”

On the way back, Lu Zhi again sat on the back of Zhou Cheng’an’s bike.

But instead of going straight home, they stopped by the post office.

Lu Zhi needed to call her second sister, Lu Yue.

She and Zhou Cheng’an waited in line for a while, then waited again for Lu Yue to call back.

When the phone connected, Lu Zhi said, “Second Sister, we’re heading to the island tomorrow.”

Lu Yue replied, “Alright, alright. Your brother-in-law and I will meet you at the dock.”

….

That night, Zhou Cheng’an and Lu Zhi shared a room.

For the first few nights of their marriage, they had slept on the kang (a heated brick bed) at Grandpa and Grandma Zhou’s place. It was a big kang. Lu Zhi’s room, however, had only a 1.5-meter-wide bed.

With two people, it felt a bit cramped.

That was what Lu Zhi thought, anyway.

At this moment, she was starting to appreciate the kang more—it could be made soft enough with a few extra layers of bedding.

Zhou Jun was staying with Lu Xiangde and Li Lan tonight. He came over to say goodnight.

“Big Brother, Sister-in-law, I’m going to bed now!”

After playing all afternoon with Lu An’an, Zhou Jun was so sleepy his eyes were slightly red.

Li Lan added, “We’re going back to sleep too.”

Now only Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an were left in the room. Lu Zhi lay on the bed in her pajamas.

When Zhou Cheng’an lay down as well, Lu Zhi felt like they were a lot closer than before.

In reality, nothing had changed—it was just in her head.

She had already fallen asleep in Zhou Cheng’an’s arms before.

As Zhou Cheng’an gently fanned her with a palm-leaf fan, Lu Zhi felt extremely comfortable.

All the thoughts in her mind seemed to float away.

Just as she was about to drift off, she heard a buzzing sound—there was a mosquito in the room.

“Zhou Cheng’an, there’s a mosquito.”

“Close your eyes first. I’ll turn on the light.”

The light was a bit harsh when it came on. Lu Zhi slowly opened her eyes, gradually adjusting.

Listening to the buzzing, Zhou Cheng’an got ready to swat the mosquito, and Lu Zhi stayed quiet beside him.

She pointed at the mosquito as it flew, and Zhou Cheng’an nodded before taking a swing.

Lu Zhi scooted forward on the bed. “Did you get it?”

Zhou Cheng’an held out his palm—there was indeed a mosquito.

They could finally sleep in peace.

“I’m going to wash my hands,” he said.

Lu Zhi nodded. “Okay.”

When they lay back down again, Lu Zhi suddenly didn’t feel sleepy anymore.

She didn’t want to bring up Zhou Cheng’an’s work, and he wasn’t the type to bring it up either.

So she asked more about the island instead.

“I’m moving with you. Has the housing been approved already?”

“Yeah,” Zhou Cheng’an replied. “It’s been approved, but it’s not fully set up yet.”

“No worries. We’ll tidy it up once we get there.”

Of course, that “we” likely meant most of the work would fall to Zhou Cheng’an.

Lu Zhi realized that when he talked about himself during the matchmaking, he had been quite modest.

As they chatted, Zhou Cheng’an kept fanning her, and Lu Zhi soon drifted off.

….

It would take two hours to get to the dock. They had to take a bus to the city, then another bus to the dock, and finally board a boat.

Coincidentally, Zhou Cheng’an had a friend heading back the same way, so they could hitch a ride in a jeep.

With the jeep, they wouldn’t need the full two hours.

Li Lan wanted to pack more things for Lu Zhi, but she stopped her.

“It’s fine. We’ve got enough,” Lu Zhi said.

Li Lan replied, “Your dad’s planning to test for Level 7 lathe operator. That pays way better than Level 6. You don’t need to worry about us. Besides, everyone in the family has a job.”

Lu Xiangde, now a level-six lathe operator, could support the whole family on his own. But if it were only up to him, their life definitely wouldn’t be as comfortable as it was now.

Lu Zhi’s sister-in-law said, “That’s right. And here, these are some sweets. You and Zhou Cheng’an just got married—when you meet his friends, hand out a few pieces of wedding candy. His soldiers should get some too.”

These candies had been bought directly from the sugar factory, and some were even from factory rations.

Lu Zhi’s luggage got stuffed with even more candy by her sister-in-law.

Li Lan said, “Wait, I’m boiling some eggs for you to take.”

Watching them bustle around, Lu Zhi smiled and said to her sister-in-law, “Once we’re settled in, we’ll come back to visit.”

Unlike her second sister, Lu Zhi and Zhou Cheng’an weren’t planning to have children anytime soon, so it would be easier for them to return when they wanted.

Her sister-in-law said, “Your big brother already said—we’ll come visit you too when we get the chance.”

Some of the neighbors from the courtyard, who had watched Lu Zhi grow up, came over to talk to her for a bit as well.

Auntie Zhou laughed, “Lu Zhi’s always been delicate. Once she’s on the island, you’ll have to take good care of her.”

Zhou Cheng’an stood beside Lu Zhi. “I will take good care of her.”

The two of them standing together looked like they were made for each other.

Chu Tong walked up and said, “Zhi Zhi, I’m really happy you found your happiness. Li Yu is too.”

Li Yu nodded, wearing a benevolent expression. “I’m also very glad you found someone good to marry.”

Lu Zhi: “…”

Everyone around them looked… subtly awkward.

They all knew Lu Zhi had once chased after Li Yu, liked him. Even after Li Yu got married, Lu Zhi kept stirring up trouble at blind dates—until she met Zhou Cheng’an and finally agreed to marry.

Lu Zhi had nearly forgotten that herself.

Lu Zhi said, “Li Yu, I used to like you.”

The crowd exchanged glances.

Lu Zhi turned to look at Zhou Cheng’an, who was already looking at her sideways.

“But it was all a misunderstanding,” she said. “It wasn’t until after I married Cheng’an and went to Hongxing Commune that I figured it out.”