Chapter 19

“Alright!”

Su Nian took two yuan and a roll of toilet paper ration tickets from her pocket and handed them to Xu Zhaodi. “I asked around. They said this is the going rate in the nearby countryside. Neither of us is taking advantage of the other.”

They had a canteen here, so rationing food tickets wouldn’t help Xu Zhaodi much—this was more practical.

Xu Zhaodi nodded earnestly as she accepted the money and tickets.

She liked clear-cut transactions like this. Unlike some of her former classmates, who gave her the bare minimum while pretending to be generous—clearly looking down on her.

With a bruised face, Su Yue was still holding her mouth, trying to get a few words in.

“Su Nian, this capitalist behavior of yours is unacceptable. Back in the day, only landlords and capitalists acted like this. We came here to experience the fulfillment that comes from physical labor.”

Su Nian nodded in agreement.

“You’re absolutely right, Comrade Xiao Su. Then you’d better keep enjoying that fulfillment. And don’t let such a small matter affect your relationship with the great man you worked so hard to marry.

Just look at that face of yours—so colorful and eye-catching!”

Fu Mingjun, wiping the blood from his face, chimed in supportively, “Su Nian’s right. Yueyue, you should really learn from your sister. A proper woman should act like one—not run around like a country bumpkin.”

Su Yue’s biological father was surnamed Li and came from the countryside.

She hated nothing more than being called a country girl, and Fu Mingjun had hit her sore spot dead-on. She no longer cared about being disgusted by Su Nian and turned to fight with Fu Mingjun again.

Ji Lin stood nearby, rubbing his temples.

“Aren’t those two supposed to be in love? How are they already at each other’s throats on day one?”

Su Nian smiled in satisfaction—wasn’t this all thanks to her stirring the pot? Hopefully, they’d fall apart even faster. If they ended up divorcing, who knows, would Han Zheng actually marry a divorced woman?

Just then, Qiao Qiqi returned, smiling brightly, holding a basket of fruit.

“Everyone try some—these are local crabapples. A little sour, a little sweet, really tasty. Since we’ll be comrades from now on, we need to stay united and friendly.”

Seeing how smug she looked, Su Nian had a bad feeling.

They’d only just arrived at this unfamiliar military farm—who could Qiao Qiqi have met who’d give her so much local fruit? Could it be… from Tian Li?

Xu Zhaodi seemed to think the same. Neither of them reached for any, worried they’d get into trouble later.

Shen Mo and Ji Lin each politely took one, just for show. Only Su Yue, after tasting one and finding it delicious, took a handful more—completely ignoring Qiao Qiqi’s increasingly dark expression.

Qiao Qiqi was something else—she had clearly come here for Fu Tingchuan.

But after just one rejection on day one, she gave up and turned her attention to someone else who had slightly lower standards. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think she was desperate to get married.

Others might not know, but Su Nian knew the full story.

That day at the electronics store, her second aunt had shared all the gossip from the area. Hangcheng wasn’t that big—everyone knew everyone.

Qiao Qiqi had been engaged before, but the groom suddenly called it off. Rumors swirled. Some said her horoscope was bad and cursed men. Others claimed her family demanded too much bride price.

The wildest rumor—the one most people believed—was that Qiao Qiqi and her fiancé had already slept together, and he discovered she couldn’t have children. He called off the engagement and didn’t even ask for the bride price back.

Over the next two days, Su Nian didn’t see Fu Tingchuan at all—no idea what he was busy with.

It wasn’t until the day they started training that he finally appeared.

Standing on the stage of the main conference room, dressed in a crisp military uniform, Fu Tingchuan stood out from the crowd. He was noticeably paler, leaner, taller, and more handsome than anyone else there.

Su Nian could even feel how intense the gazes were that landed on him.

Weren’t people in this era supposed to be reserved about expressing affection? This was blatant.

“Our corps was only formally established last year, and many parts are still lacking. We’ll need your effort and dedication to improve it.

In the coming days, we’ll all be living together.

I hope you’ll get along and not let small issues ruin your relationships. Meeting here is fate—don’t do things you’ll regret later.

Of course, I’m a pretty easy-going commander. At least I won’t skimp on your food like they do in other corps…”

Su Nian didn’t hear a word after that. Ever since she was a kid, meetings made her drowsy. They were more effective than lullabies from her math teacher.

Otherwise, why else would she be such a good-for-nothing in school?

“What’s wrong? Is my speech boring enough to put Su Zhiqing to sleep?”

Fu Tingchuan’s voice startled her so badly she nearly slipped off her bench. She hadn’t even dozed off! How did he suddenly appear beside her?

“N-no, not at all. Our handsome Commander Fu—I wouldn’t dare look too much!”

“Oh? That’s a problem. When we’re married, will you still not dare look at me? Oh right, forgot to tell you—I submitted our marriage application when I was at the provincial meeting two days ago. Should be approved in a couple of days.”

Now that made Su Nian sit up straight. This guy… just quietly did something this huge?

He didn’t even ask her before applying for marriage?

“Fu Tingchuan, marriage is a big deal. You really need to think this through. The country promotes free love now—you can’t just go through with a verbal engagement and…”

But before she could finish, Fu Tingchuan leaned in closer, and the rest of her words died in her throat.

It wasn’t that she was lovestruck—he just happened to be exactly her type. Thinking about that face and body meeting an early death made her feel a bit reluctant.

Maybe… she should go against the author’s plot a little?

After all, she already had the cheat of a magical space—wanting to rebel a bit seemed only natural, right?

Her index finger, as if acting on instinct, pressed against his chest and pushed him back. “I get it, I get it. Stay away from me a bit—you’re too close, my heart’s about to jump out.”

Seeing her flushed face like she had a fever, Fu Tingchuan looked pleased.

What did a young guy like Shen Mo have over him? A mature man like himself was clearly more charming. His little wife had good taste after all—ditching Fu Mingjun to come find him.

Turns out, facing a love rival, a man can become naturally gifted.

“Since you zoned out just now, I’ll repeat myself. You’ve been assigned to the kitchen garden unit. You’ll be working with Sister Cai—she’s your team leader.”

Su Nian was stunned—she missed that much?

“What about the others? Are they in the same team as me?”

Fu Tingchuan turned his head away proudly.

“Of course not. Your team is the most relaxing one—not everyone gets in that easily. Qiao Qiqi, Xu Zhaodi, and Su Yue have been assigned to the engineering team as manual laborers, helping with infrastructure.

Huo Chen, Fu Mingjun, Shen Mo, and Ji Lin were assigned to the construction team. They’ll be trained to become skilled workers.”

Actually, that was a good post—once they were trained, it became a technical job. But for those people, it might just feel too tiring.

“So I’ve been given special treatment thanks to you, Commander Fu?”