Chapter 28

Jiang Nian first measured Lu Yu’s shoulder width. The two were very close, their breaths subtly intertwining in the silent air.

Lu Yu’s calm breathing gradually became tense. His dark eyes fell on Jiang Nian’s beautiful face. Her skin was very fair, with fine white hairs visible in the light. Her eyebrows were curved, her lips were rosy, and especially her eyes, which sparkled like they hid a galaxy of stars when she smiled.

She was very pretty.

“Straighten your arms,” Jiang Nian said softly.

Lu Yu swallowed a few times. “Okay.”

He sat on the bench, straightened his arms, and looked straight ahead. Even through the thin layer of clothing, he could clearly feel a hand measuring his arm up and down, the light touch like a feather brushing over a lake, stirring up ripples that were hard to suppress.

Lu Yu tensed his body, trying hard to ignore the strange sensation.

Jiang Nian finished measuring his arms and moved on to measure the width of his back and shoulders. Finally, she brought out a fabric tape measure and asked Lu Yu to stand up. Focused entirely on the measurements, she reached around Lu Yu’s slim waist, passing the tape measure from her left hand to her right.

Lu Yu glanced down at the slender arms encircling him, then tightened his thin lips and looked towards the kitchen, his breathing becoming lighter. When Jiang Nian finished measuring his legs and said she was done, he felt a huge sense of relief and quickly ran out of the yard before she could step back.

Jiang Nian: ???

She blinked and looked at the tape measure that had been pulled to the ground, frowning in confusion.

What was wrong with him?

Outside the yard, Commander Song encountered Lu Yu, called out to him, and caught up when Lu Yu stopped. He started talking about the orders from the higher-ups over the past few days. Mid-sentence, he looked up and asked, “Hey, why are your ears so red?”

Lu Yu coughed lightly. “Just got bitten by mosquitoes.”

Commander Song: “Oh.”

Over the next few days, Jiang Nian stayed home making clothes, preparing meals just before Lu Yu was about to come back, and timing her work to see when the boss of the state-run embroidery shop would return.

Meanwhile, there were no more incidents at Xu Yan’s or Zheng Hong’s homes, but Lu Yu’s behavior was somewhat off.

Jiang Nian noticed that Lu Yu seemed to avoid her whenever he could. When they sat at the same table for meals, he would quickly run back to the kitchen after eating, as if she had some contagious illness.

As dusk fell, Jiang Nian finally finished making a piece of clothing for herself.

She went to the kitchen to make dinner but waited for a long time without seeing Lu Yu. Instead, she heard Liu Qiang yelling again in the courtyard next door.

Could it be that Xu Yan has started it?

Jiang Nian ran to the corner, stood on a tree stump, and peeked over the wall. Xu Yan was sitting on a bench, covering her mouth and crying softly. She had dressed up beautifully today and was sitting more elegantly than usual. Even her crying seemed more emotional.

It was particularly pretentious.

“I don’t know where the money went. I’m heartbroken too, Qiangzi. What are we going to do next?” Xu Yan looked up, grabbed Liu Qiang’s sleeve, and gently tugged, blinking her teary eyes at him. Then she stood up, held Liu Qiang’s hands, and shook them slightly, biting her lower lip and saying pitifully, “I’m sorry, I was wrong. Please don’t be angry, okay? It would break my heart to see you upset.”

After saying this, she even scratched his palm with her finger.

Jiang Nian: …

She shivered, thinking Xu Yan had become a natural at this act. Even she was starting to believe it.

Liu Qiang had initially helped Zheng Hong so much because he liked women who were pretentious and manipulative, exactly like Zheng Hong. Liu Qiang, being a chauvinist, liked women who were naturally dependent on him and acted as if they couldn’t live without him. Xu Yan, with her straightforward temperament, often argued with him, which made Liu Qiang lose interest. Zheng Hong took advantage of this, entangling Liu Qiang and tormenting Xu Yan for two years.

Back then, Liu Qiang had initially liked Zheng Hong, but when the Zheng family called off the engagement, he turned to Xu Yan and married her.

Now, Xu Yan was using the same tactics to appease Liu Qiang. Seeing Xu Yan’s pitiful and aggrieved look, her pretty face covered in tears, her eyelashes fluttering, Liu Qiang’s anger and desire to scold her dissipated.

Liu Qiang sighed, holding Xu Yan’s hand, “It’s lost, let it be. Just make sure to keep a closer eye on the money next time. Our household depends on it.”

If the money had been lost in the barracks, it might have been found, but Xu Yan said she lost it on the way to the supply and marketing cooperative, so it was gone for good.

Xu Yan took a couple of steps forward, leaned into Liu Qiang’s arms, and nodded gently, her voice soft, “I know you treat me the best.”

Liu Qiang smiled and patted her back, “Alright, stop crying. I’ll get paid in half a month. I’ll give you the salary then. Make sure to keep the money safe.”

Xu Yan raised her head, “But what about these two weeks? We’re out of rice and grain. Just eating vegetables from our garden won’t cut it.”

Liu Qiang said, “I’ll ask Deputy Commander Lu for a loan tomorrow.”

Xu Yan started crying again, softly and pitifully. She wiped her tears and said, “If you borrow money from Deputy Commander Lu, by the end of the month, we’ll need to send money back home and also give some to my parents. After repaying Deputy Commander Lu, we won’t have much left. Look at Jianwu and Jianye, they’re so thin. I want to buy some eggs to nourish them. Our kids are growing and can’t be deprived. And Jianye will start school next year, which will also cost money…”

She stopped crying and looked at Liu Qiang with teary eyes, “You’re the backbone of our family. What should we do?”

Liu Qiang rubbed his face and said to Xu Yan, “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out. Take the boys to bed.”

Xu Yan wasn’t ready to give up without Liu Qiang’s assurance and wanted to continue. Seeing it was enough, Jiang Nian jumped off the tree stump and called out over the wall, “Xu Yan, are you home?”

When Xu Yan heard this, she turned around and replied, “I’m here.”

She wiped her tears and looked at Liu Qiang, her eyes filled with tears and grievance, which softened Liu Qiang’s heart. Liu Jianye was leaning on the window, looking at Liu Qiang. After a while, he said softly, “Dad, I want to eat peach crisp.”

Liu Qiang turned to look at his eldest son, who was looking at him eagerly. It had been two years since his son had asked for something. Liu Qiang said, “Dad will buy it for you tomorrow.”

Xu Yan said, “I’m going next door to see what Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law wants.”

Liu Qiang nodded, “Go ahead.”

Inside the neighboring yard, Jiang Nian turned on the yard light and sat on a bench under the tree. Seeing Xu Yan running over, she whispered, “Why did you call me? Did something happen?”

Jiang Nian replied softly, “I called to stop you from saying too much. Sometimes it’s better to stop at the right moment; otherwise, it can backfire.”

Xu Yan asked, “What does ‘backfire’ mean?”

Jiang Nian: …

She explained, “For example, if Captain Liu is planning to ask Zheng Hong for money, and you keep pushing, he might get annoyed and lose the will to do so.”

Xu Yan understood, “Good thing you called me, or I would have messed it up.”

She asked in disbelief, “Do you think Liu Qiang will really ask Zheng Hong for money?”

Jiang Nian rested her chin on her hands, looking at the yard gate, “I don’t know. We’ll see in the next couple of days.”

Just as Xu Yan left, Lu Yu came back with two large bunches of grapes. Jiang Nian’s eyes widened in delight. She couldn’t help but run over, smiling, “Where did you get these grapes?”

Lu Yu said, “”I bought it from a fellow villager in the next village. I tried one and it was quite sweet.”

He handed the grapes to Jiang Nian and, seeing her smile, added, “If you like them, I’ll buy more in a couple of days.”

Jiang Nian nodded, “Okay.”

Her favorite fruits were watermelon and grapes, and durian, though she couldn’t get durian here. But watermelon and grapes were available. She went to the well to wash the grapes and told Lu Yu, “The food is in the pot. Please bring it out.”

Jiang Nian washed the grapes and put them in a small enamel basin, then sat on a small bench, eating them one by one.

Lu Yu said, “Eat some food first, then the grapes.”

Jiang Nian agreed happily, “Okay.”

She picked up chopsticks and ate a few bites of the dishes, her face full of joy. Lu Yu’s gaze lingered on her face for a few seconds. He noticed that his sister-in-law was much happier when she had her favorite food and was more cheerful than when she first arrived at the army.

Jiang Nian looked up and met Lu Yu’s dark eyes. She paused, looked down at her clothes, and touched her face, thinking she had something dirty on her, and asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Yu lowered his eyes, “Nothing.”

After dinner, Lu Yu volunteered to wash the dishes. He stood by the kitchen window, watching Jiang Nian sit on the bench, enjoying the grapes, and couldn’t help but smile.

Jiang Nian ate so many grapes that she had to go to the bathroom several times during the night. The next morning, she didn’t get up until almost noon, missing the bugle call.

When she finally got up, Lu Yu had kept her breakfast warm. She ate a few bites and was about to start working on Lu Yu’s clothes when Feng Mei came running in, grabbing her arm and pulling her, “Hurry, Zheng Hong’s family is fighting. Let’s go watch the show.”

Jiang Nian: …

She stumbled a couple of steps, “Why are they fighting?”

Feng Mei, eager to watch, spoke rapidly, “Captain Liu went to Captain Lu’s house to ask for money. Zheng Hong denied that Captain Liu had lent her fifty yuan, accusing him of extorting her. She even claimed he bullied her when Captain Lu wasn’t home. Captain Liu is now at a loss for words. Zheng Hong is sticking to her story, and Xu Yan almost fought with Zheng Hong. Captain Lu almost fought with Captain Liu too.”

Jiang Nian: …

What a mess.

She and Feng Mei ran to Zheng Hong’s house, where many military wives and aunts had gathered. They could only see rows of heads in front of them. Feng Mei lamented, “Oh, why are there so many people?”

She glanced around and pulled Jiang Nian to run over to the crooked neck tree opposite Zheng Hong’s house. “Come on, let’s climb up and have a look.”

Jiang Nian: …

Feng Mei was always eager for excitement; she couldn’t resist watching. She grabbed the tree trunk and climbed up the crooked neck tree. Standing high, she could see everything happening in Zheng Hong’s courtyard clearly. She waved at Jiang Nian, “Come see, you can see everything clearly from here!”

Jiang Nian listened to Liu Qiang scolding Zheng Hong and grew curious herself. She grabbed onto the crooked neck tree and was pulled by Feng Mei to stand on the trunk.

Captain Lu’s face was dark and unpleasant, and his mother’s expression was equally grim. Zheng Hong stood by the well, her clothes disheveled, hair in a mess, with a visible slap mark on her face. It wasn’t clear who had hit her. Liu Qiang was red-faced and angry, pointing at Zheng Hong, recounting how she had begged him for help with water and labor excuses over the past two years, especially when Captain Lu was not at home. He had helped her out of goodwill, never expecting her to turn around and bite him, accusing him, a soldier through and through, of bullying her. He insisted that Zheng Hong’s accusations were baseless and urged the regiment to investigate.

Having served in the military for so many years, Liu Qiang knew in his heart that he had never crossed any boundaries.

If anyone now harbored the most resentment towards Zheng Hong, it was undoubtedly Liu Qiang.

Xu Yan stood by Liu Qiang’s side, her hair slightly disheveled but much better than Zheng Hong’s. At this moment, Liu Qiang was determined to protect Xu Yan from Zheng Hong’s irrational behavior. Captain Lu gritted his teeth, seeing Zheng Hong still babbling incessantly. He yelled angrily, “Shut up!”

His voice was loud, startling Zheng Hong.

“Captain Song and Deputy Commander Lu are here!”

One of the military wives shouted. Feng Mei exclaimed, “Oh no, we have to go down quickly. I need to go in and intervene. f Old Song finds out I was here watching, he’ll scold me later.”

Having said that, she jumped down without waiting for Jiang Nian and rushed into the crowd, shouting, “Make way, make way! I’m going in to mediate. It’s not good for our battalion’s reputation if they keep fighting like this.”

Jiang Nian: …

Her eyelids twitched. She held onto the tree trunk, preparing to jump down, when suddenly she heard Zhu Jun’s voice nearby, “Sister-in-law, what are you doing here?”

Jiang Nian was startled, holding onto the tree trunk and lowering her head. She saw Zhu Jun and Lu Yu looking at her. Commander Song, who was walking over, also noticed her and paused, saying, “Why did you climb up the tree like a monkey?”

Jiang Nian: …

She awkwardly clung to the tree trunk, her face reddening. She silently cursed Feng Mei and bit her lip, unable to say a word.

Zhu Jun suppressed a smile and didn’t dare to speak.

Commander Song hurried to Zheng Hong’s house. If this were just a quarrel between two women, it would be one thing, but now it involved Lu Guosheng and Liu Qiang, dragging in accusations of Liu Qiang bullying Zheng Hong. This could damage military discipline and have serious consequences. They needed to handle it carefully. If it escalated, it could reach the political commissar’s ears. If things got out of hand, their battalion’s bonuses and subsidies for the year could be at risk.

Thinking about this, Commander Song was furious and wished he could give Captain Liu and Captain Lu a good scolding. All day long, they only managed their soldiers but failed to control their own wives, causing trouble every day!

Jiang Nian felt so embarrassed she wished she could dig a hole and hide in it.

She bit her lip, trying not to look at Lu Yu, holding onto the tree trunk and preparing to jump down. Zhu Jun stepped forward, “Sister-in-law, let me help you.”

He reached out his hand to Jiang Nian. Feeling embarrassed, Jiang Nian wasn’t as agile as Feng Mei and was afraid of falling if she jumped down from the crooked neck tree. She reached out to take Zhu Jun’s hand, but before her hand reached his, Lu Yu grabbed it. “Come down, I’ll help you.”