Chapter 35.1

Zhu Jun said, “I’ll go right away.”

The sound of water splashing came from the yard. Jiang Nian picked up the spatula from the cutting board and stirred the dumplings. She said to Lu Yu, “Move the table in the yard to… your room. We will have the New Year’s Eve dinner in your room.”

She initially thought of the kitchen, but it was too small. Adding another table would make it cramped for three people to sit.

Lu Yu responded, “Okay.”

However, he didn’t move immediately. Instead, he adjusted the firewood in front of the stove. Jiang Nian glanced at him in confusion, wanting to urge him but refrained. When Zhu Jun came in with the water, Lu Yu said, “Move the table from the yard to my room.”

Zhu Jun replied, “Got it.”

Jiang Nian: ???

After the dumplings were ready, Lu Yu and Zhu Jun carried the New Year’s Eve dinner into the room. Jiang Nian followed with the dumplings and chopsticks. This was the first time Lu Yu and Zhu Jun had such a lavish New Year’s Eve dinner. Zhu Jun, seeing the delicious and fragrant meal, couldn’t help but get teary-eyed.

He thought he’d be having a simple meal with a few comrades in the dormitory, as the cafeteria was closed that night. He hadn’t expected his sister-in-law to invite him to have New Year’s Eve dinner at her home.

His sister-in-law was a good woman, yet she had been slandered by Kang Xiu and Zheng Hong.

Zhu Jun often felt angry on her behalf when he thought about it.

Jiang Nian felt she had made quite a lot for this dinner. Unexpectedly, Zhu Jun and Lu Yu both had big appetites. Despite the large quantity of food she had prepared, the two men ate almost everything. After finishing his meal, Zhu Jun said with a smile, “Sister-in-law, your cooking is really delicious.”

His compliment made Jiang Nian want to laugh.

Zhu Jun helped carry the bowls and plates to the kitchen. After tidying up, he was about to leave but was stopped by Lu Yu. Lu Yu handed him two aluminum lunch boxes that had been prepared in advance. “Take these dumplings back for the people in the dormitory.”

Zhu Jun immediately stood at attention and saluted Lu Yu. “Thank you, Deputy Commander!”

He took the lunch boxes and left the kitchen, waving to Jiang Nian. “Sister-in-law, I’m leaving now.”

Jiang Nian had made a lot of dumplings. After cooking a pot of dumplings for dinner and sending some with Zhu Jun for his comrades, there was still one steamer basket left.

On New Year’s Eve, staying up late is a tradition to guard one’s wealth for the family.

Lu Yu and Jiang Nian stayed in the kitchen. Lu Yu was washing the pots and dishes, while Jiang Nian sat by the stove, warming herself by the fire. Through the door and wall, Jiang Nian could hear the laughter of children from Xu Yan’s and Feng Mei’s homes. Song Xianghong’s loud voice echoed: “Dad, I want New Year’s money too.”

“You all get some. Two cents each, is that enough?”

Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong replied, “That’s enough!”

“Sister-in-law.”

“Hmm?”

Jiang Nian looked up at Lu Yu, who was standing under the light bulb. He was bending over, scrubbing the pots and dishes with a cloth. Seeing that he didn’t speak, she asked again, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Yu said, “We’ll leave on the third day of the New Year. We have train tickets for that night and will arrive on the morning of the fourth day.”

Jiang Nian replied, “Okay.”

Silence filled the kitchen again. Lu Yu poured the water into the slop bucket and rinsed the dishes with clean water. “Sister-in-law, when you go home this time, will you return to the Jiang family?”

Jiang Nian hadn’t expected Lu Yu to bring this up. She bit her lip and looked at the sharp lines of his jaw. Tentatively, she asked, “If I go back, will you go with me?”

She had thought about this a lot recently.If she goes back, she will definitely not be able to deal with the group of scoundrels in the Jiang family. Even if she wanted to ask the local team leader and the Jiang family’s team leader for help, she felt at a loss. But with Lu Yu, it would be different. If the Jiang family caused trouble, Lu Yu could handle it.

Jiang Nian glanced at her thin arms and legs. She couldn’t even beat Zheng Hong, let alone deal with Jiang Guo and his wife.

Lu Yu looked at the stray hairs on Jiang Nian’s forehead and her conflicted expression, then answered, “I’ll go with you.”

He had pretty much guessed her intentions.

On New Year’s Eve, snowflakes began to fall again. Jiang Nian looked out the window and felt a rare sense of contentment. After Lu Yu finished his work, he sat in the kitchen. They sat in silence for a while. Jiang Nian, who used to talk a lot in the modern era, now chose to remain silent to avoid saying too much and giving herself away. As it got past eleven, she couldn’t hold back a yawn.

Lu Yu said, “Go to sleep.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Nian got up, tightened her clothes, and as soon as she stepped out of the kitchen, the cold air made her sneeze. The snow wasn’t heavy and melted as soon as it touched the ground. She opened the door and heard Lu Yu say, “Sister-in-law, wait a minute.”

She turned around and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Without a word, Lu Yu went into his room and quickly returned, handing her an old-style envelope that looked thick. Seeing her puzzled expression, he explained, “This is the subsidy I was owed for the past two months, which I received at the end of the year. I kept a hundred for myself for the journey home.”

However, there were no bonuses or regular subsidies this year because of Liu Qiang’s incident. The subsidies and bonuses for the entire regiment were canceled due to the severity of the issue, which had even prompted an investigation by a senior official. It was likely that Liu Qiang’s future promotions would be difficult.

Jiang Nian looked at the envelope, feeling its weight. She blinked a few times, and under Lu Yu’s insistence, she finally accepted it. “I’ll keep it for you, and when you need it, I’ll give it to you.”

Lu Yu said, “Keep it for yourself. Buy whatever you want. No need to save it for me.”

He added, “Go to sleep.”

Jiang Nian clutched the envelope and watched Lu Yu disappear into his room before she entered hers. She shut the door and counted the money inside, totaling 600 yuan. Adding the 700 from last time, she now had 1300 yuan.

In the modern era, 1300 yuan didn’t seem like much to Jiang Nian, but in the seventies, it was a significant amount.

She sewed the money into her patched pants and folded them neatly in the cabinet. When she returned to her hometown, she planned to see if she could deposit the money at the post office. She would then give the savings to Lu Yu. If he refused, she would keep it for him until he needed it, perhaps when he got married.

Jiang Nian washed up with warm water mixed with cold water and went to bed. This was her first New Year in this place.

She had gone to bed too late the previous night and ended up sleeping in on the first day of the New Year.

Lu Yu had a break from the first to the seventh day of the New Year. He got up early, boiled dumplings, and cooked two dishes. Just as he finished, he heard the sound of slippers from Jiang Nian’s room. He placed the hot water bottle outside her door. “There’s hot water outside the door.”

Jiang Nian was about to open the door when she heard Lu Yu’s voice. Still half-asleep, she mumbled, “Okay.”

She opened the door, took the hot water bottle, and washed up. Then she took out a new set of clothes from the cabinet—a cotton jacket and pants she had made earlier. She felt that cotton jackets were warmer than overcoats. The jacket was a light orange color, chosen to highlight her fair skin, and the pants were light brown. She wore the shoes that Lu Yu had bought for her in the city. 

Though they were considered fashionable in the city, they seemed outdated to her. Still, they were a token of Lu Yu’s care.

Jiang Nian braided her hair into two pigtails and smiled at herself in the mirror.

A new year brings new beginnings. On the first day of the New Year, it’s good to smile more.

Breakfast was in the kitchen. When Jiang Nian walked in, Lu Yu was just placing the dumplings on the table. He looked down and first saw a pair of black strap shoes—the ones he had bought for her. Then he saw the light brown pants.

“I woke up late.”

Hearing her voice, Lu Yu looked up to see Jiang Nian’s fair and beautiful face. She looked different today, with a bright smile and sparkling eyes. “Your cooking smells great,” she said sweetly.

Lu Yu was momentarily taken aback before regaining his composure, still adjusting to Jiang Nian’s sudden cheerfulness.

Jiang Nian realized she might be too excited and bit her lip, smiling softly. “It’s the first day of the New Year. I’m just really happy.”

Lu Yu smiled back. “You look beautiful when you smile, Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Nian: …

She didn’t know how to respond to such an unexpected compliment. 

Jiang Nian smiled again and then pursed her lips, suddenly feeling like a bit of a fool for being so cheerful early in the morning.

Lu Yu handed Jiang Nian a pair of chopsticks, his gaze lingering on her light orange cotton jacket for a few seconds before he said with sincere praise, “Your new clothes look really nice.”

Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment before replying, “Thank you.”

This was an awkward and confusing conversation.

Jiang Nian felt a bit embarrassed and lowered her head to eat quietly. She heard Lu Yu say, “The children will come over later.”

Jiang Nian looked up, “Hmm?”

Lu Yu explained, “They’ll come to wish us a happy new year.”

“Oh.”

Jiang Nian remembered her childhood when she would visit other houses to wish people a happy new year and receive red envelopes. Her parents would then return the money to other children, essentially exchanging money back and forth.

Just as Lu Yu predicted, after breakfast, children from Feng Mei’s and Xu Yan’s families came over. Jiang Nian wasn’t sure how much to give as New Year’s money. Remembering how Commander Song had given two cents to each child last night, she took out eight cents and divided it among the four children.

The four children happily bowed and wished Jiang Nian a happy new year, calling out, “Auntie Jiang, Happy New Year.”

Jiang Nian smiled, “Happy New Year.”

Song Xianghong handed Jiang Nian two candies, “Auntie Jiang, these are for you.”

Jiang Nian said, “Thank you.”

With a mouthful of candy, Song Xianghong mumbled, “Auntie Jiang, my uncle will come this afternoon and bring us lots of good food. I’ll save some for you.”

Jiang Nian chuckled, “I’ll be waiting for your treats.”

Liu Jianye and Liu Jianwu stood holding hands. Liu Jianwu, being younger, looked at the candies in Jiang Nian’s hand, remembering the sweet candy his mother had given him last night. Liu Jianye, being older, looked a bit embarrassed. Since his grandmother left, his parents had quarreled several times, blaming his father for the lack of holiday bonuses.

Jiang Nian noticed Liu Jianye’s mood and patted his shoulder, “Jianye, are you starting school this year?”

At the mention of school, Liu Jianye’s mood improved significantly, and he grinned, “Yes, my mom said she would send me to school in the summer.”

He would be able to go to and from school with Song Xiangdong by then.

After breakfast, Lu Yu went out, saying he was picking someone up. He hadn’t returned by lunchtime.

Jiang Nian washed her hands and was about to start preparing lunch when Feng Mei’s loud voice came from the courtyard, “Jiang Nian, don’t cook lunch. Come to my place.”

Before Jiang Nian could respond, Feng Mei entered the kitchen, took the bowl of cornmeal Jiang Nian had scooped out, put it back in the bag, and pulled her along, “Let’s go. Deputy Commander Lu and the others will be back soon.”

Jiang Nian was dragged to Feng Mei’s house. Commander Song was surprised to see her but didn’t say much when Jiang Nian went to the kitchen to help. He called Feng Mei over and glared at her, “Today is New Year’s Day. Don’t try to matchmake Song Bai and Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law.”

He knew his wife’s intentions better than anyone.

Feng Mei waved her hand impatiently, “Got it.”

Lu Yu and the others arrived home at around 2:30 in the afternoon. Jiang Nian was helping Feng Mei pick vegetables when she heard Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong’s happy voices from the courtyard.

“Uncle!”

“Uncle, I missed you.”

“Oh, what a sweet mouth.”

Jiang Nian heard a stranger’s voice. The man’s tone was more flamboyant, unlike Lu Yu’s deep and cold voice.

“Uncle Lu, Uncle Zhu.”

The children greeted Lu Yu and Zhu Jun.

Seeing the people in the courtyard, Commander Song waved them over, “You’re finally back. Come in and warm up.”

“It’s Song Bai,” Feng Mei said happily to Jiang Nian, clapping the salt residue from her hands. She pulled Jiang Nian along, “Let’s go sit and chat for a bit. We’ll cook later.”

Jiang Nian: …

If she couldn’t see Feng Mei’s intentions by now, she would truly be a fool.

She pulled her hand free, “It’s getting late. Everyone is waiting for lunch.”

Feng Mei realized she might be rushing things, “Right, right, let’s cook first.”

Feng Mei did most of the cooking, while Jiang Nian helped. In the kitchen, she heard Zhu Jun’s voice, “Deputy Commander Lu, you don’t need to come in. Deputy Commander Song and I can carry the dishes.”

Lu Yu’s deep voice was emotionless, “It’s fine.”

The kitchen was small. Zhu Jun came in first and saw Jiang Nian sitting by the stove, smiling, “Sister-in-law.”

Song Bai followed suit, “Sister-in-law.”

Feng Mei answered from the window, “Yes.”

Song Bai was momentarily confused. He looked at Feng Mei on his left, then followed Zhu Jun’s gaze to Jiang Nian sitting by the stove. He was immediately captivated by her bright eyes. Though the kitchen was dimly lit, her fair skin and the light orange cotton jacket stood out.

A completely unfamiliar face.

Just as Song Bai was about to ask Zhu Jun who she was, his view was blocked by Lu Yu’s tall figure. Lu Yu stood by the stove, wearing a military green coat made by Jiang Nian. He looked down at her, “Are you cold?”

Jiang Nian shook her head, “Not cold.”

She had been sitting by the stove, feeling quite warm.

Lu Yu told Song Bai and Zhu Jun, “Carry the dishes.”

Feng Mei was grabbing corn pancakes and asked loudly, “Song Bai, how long will you stay this time?”

Song Bai, carrying a large bowl of cabbage and vermicelli, replied, “I can’t leave for now. The leader wants me to stay and train the soldiers.”

Feng Mei frowned, “You just got promoted to Deputy Regiment Commander after moving there. Why are they transferring you back? Are they demoting you?”

Song Bai said, “No change in position; I’ll report to the third group first. I’ll have to wait for further instructions.”

With that, the three of them carried the dishes out. Jiang Nian only heard Song Bai’s voice; since Lu Yu was blocking her view, she didn’t see what he looked like.

Holding chopsticks, Feng Mei said, “Let’s go eat.”

The room wasn’t large, just one table with four long benches. Several dishes were placed on the table. Commander Song and Song Bai sat together, Lu Yu and Zhu Jun sat together, Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong shared a bench, leaving one for Jiang Nian and Feng Mei.

Jiang Nian followed Feng Mei into the room and immediately saw Song Bai next to Commander Song.

The man wore a winter military uniform, his hair neat and tidy, with prominent eyebrows and deep, bright eyes. Although he was Commander Song’s cousin, there was no resemblance between them. Song Bai’s appearance was strikingly handsome, quite different from Lu Yu’s calm and reserved demeanor.

The book never described Song Bai’s appearance. Jiang Nian learned about it from Feng Mei. Seeing him now, she felt Feng Mei hadn’t exaggerated.

Song Bai’s looks indeed lived up to Feng Mei’s praise.

However, this had nothing to do with her.

Whether Song Bai liked her or not didn’t matter; she wasn’t interested. She didn’t want any ties or attachments in this era.

What if…

What if one day, by some miracle, she returned to her original time? If she had attachments here, it would only make things harder for those left behind.

“We’ll sit here.”

Feng Mei pulled Jiang Nian to sit on the bench. Next to her was Feng Mei, and on the other side was Lu Yu. The man glanced at her hand, noticing it was a bit red from the heat.

“Are you cold?”

Lu Yu asked again.

Jiang Nian shook her head and whispered, “No, my hands are still warm.”

Song Bai, sitting across from Jiang Nian, occasionally looked at her and then at Lu Yu. He raised an eyebrow and teased, “Lu Yu, how long was I gone before you got married? Why didn’t you tell me about the wedding?”

Jiang Nian: …

Commander Song: …

Feng Mei: …

Zhu Jun: …

Lu Yu handed Jiang Nian a pair of chopsticks but hadn’t spoken before Commander Song interrupted, “What nonsense are you spouting? She’s Lu Yu’s sister-in-law, Xu Cheng’s wife.”

Song Bai: ???

Lu Yu’s sister-in-law?

Captain Xu’s wife?

Song Bai couldn’t imagine the beautiful young woman in front of him being Xu Cheng’s wife.

He asked, “Did Xu Cheng come too?”

He thought Lu Yu had brought her to the army secretly.

For a moment, the table fell silent.

Zhu Jun explained, “Deputy Commander Song, Captain Xu passed away six months ago.”

Song Bai’s face changed slightly, gripping his chopsticks tighter. He said to Jiang Nian, “I’m sorry.”

Then he lowered his head and took a sip of soup.

He hadn’t expected the woman across from him to be Xu Cheng’s wife. With Xu Cheng gone, it made sense for Lu Yu to take care of his sister-in-law. Song Bai glanced again at the quiet Jiang Nian and felt even more guilty.

He really shouldn’t have brought this up on New Year’s Day.

Commander Song and Lu Yu talked about army matters, mentioning that Song Bai would temporarily go to the third group. Commander Song snorted, “When you get there, give Old Tang a hard time. Seeing him show off in front of me really annoys me!”

Because of Liu Qiang’s family’s troubles, the first group’s bonuses and allowances were cut. Every time Old Tang saw him, he would mock him.

Song Bai didn’t know about this yet. Feng Mei, quick to speak, recounted the incident, finishing with an indignant snort, “If it weren’t for Liu Qiang’s relatives, we could have had a chicken on our table today!”