Chapter 46.1

Jiang Nian paused, looking down at the chocolates she had just taken out, suddenly feeling the weight of the items in her hand.

She had thought they were bought by Feng Mei, and while she considered it unlikely given Feng Mei’s nature, she never expected them to be from Song Bai.

Feng Mei chuckled and said, “Song Bai bought them for you. Just enjoy them slowly.”

She continued to watch Jiang Nian and couldn’t stop smiling.

Jiang Nian: …

Lu Yu handed the car keys to Zhu Jun, “Return the car.”

“Okay.”

Zhu Jun quickly drove off.

Lu Yu glanced at the chocolates in Jiang Nian’s hand, his thin lips tightening slightly. He turned and said, “Sister-in-law, it’s time to go home.”

Amidst Feng Mei’s laughter, Jiang Nian dashed into the courtyard.

Feng Mei’s laughter grew louder.

Having been away from the family quarters for two months, Jiang Nian still felt somewhat unfamiliar when she stepped inside. She placed the small cloth bag on the table and swept the bed with a bed brush. It was now April in the lunar calendar, and although there was no need for a brazier inside anymore, it still felt slightly cool as she entered.

Lu Yu walked in with a brazier containing embers. Jiang Nian glanced at it and asked in confusion, “Are you still using the brazier?”

Lu Yu replied, “Yes, just to ward off the chill. It won’t be too cold if you bathe at night.”

Jiang Nian nodded gently, “Okay.”

She put down the small brush, “I’ll go cook dinner.”

“Sister-in-law.”

As Jiang Nian was about to leave, Lu Yu called out to her.

She turned to look at him, “What is it?”

There was a brief silence in the room. After a while, Lu Yu spoke in a hoarse voice, “Can I have some of the chocolates?”

“I feel like having some.”

With that, Lu Yu added two more sticks of firewood to the brazier.

Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment before realizing what Lu Yu was asking. It was the first time he had expressed a desire for a snack in front of her. Without hesitation, she picked up the small bag of chocolates from the table and stuffed it into his arms, “If you like them, feel free to have more.”

With that said, she went to the kitchen to cook.

Lu Yu looked at the small bag of chocolates in his hands. The flames in the brazier flickered in his deep black eyes. After a moment, Lu Yu opened one of the chocolates and put it in his mouth, his brow furrowing slightly.

——Tastes bad.

For two months, Jiang Nian had been craving something flavorful. She checked the kitchen and found a chicken and a pound of meat in the cabinet. It was obvious that Lu Yu had bought them the day before. Luckily, the weather wasn’t too hot yet, so the meat was still okay to use.

She grabbed some chili peppers, potatoes, and a few other vegetables from the vegetable cellar, and saw Lu Yu outside fetching water.

Lu Yu started chopping the chicken as Jiang Nian began heating water in the pot. They worked together smoothly.

As dusk fell, dinner was ready.

Lu Yu carried the plates to the table in the yard and saw Jiang Nian in her apron, making tomato and egg soup in the kitchen. The courtyard, which had been quiet for two months, finally had some life. After finishing cooking, they sat down at the table, but just as they did, Song Bai arrived.

The moment he arrived, he could smell the food. “This meal must be made by my sister-in-law. I could smell it from far away.”

After saying that, he went to wash his hands by the well without waiting for an invitation, then grabbed a stool and sat next to Lu Yu, playfully nudging him, “Mind if I join you for dinner?”

Lu Yu gave him a side-eye. “You’re already sitting, do you still need my permission?”

Song Bai chuckled and turned to Jiang Nian. “Sister-in-law, I’m here to join you for dinner. My sister-in-law has been praising your cooking since early morning, and today I finally got to taste it.”

Thinking of the small bag of chocolates he had sent her earlier, Jiang Nian smiled and said, “Let me get chopsticks for you.”

Lu Yu interjected, “Let him get them himself.”

Song Bai got up. “Yes, sister-in-law, you sit down and eat, I will get it myself.”

With that, he went to the kitchen and came back with a bowl and a pair of chopsticks. Sitting next to Lu Yu, he began to eat, praising Jiang Nian between bites, “Sister-in-law, your cooking is amazing.”

Lu Yu gave him another look. “Why do you talk so much? Can’t even eat without running your mouth?”

Song Bai raised an eyebrow. “Hey, did you take a bitter pill today?”

Lu Yu paused with a mouthful of food, then buried himself in eating and said, “Hurry up and eat. Afterward, we’ll take a walk around the camp.”

“Yeah, there’s something going on at the camp tonight.”

Song Bai remembered as well. They ate like they were in a competition, praising and boasting with each mouthful. After finishing their meal and putting down their bowls, Lu Yu said, “I’ll go to the camp first. I’ll be back later.”

Song Bai also said, “Thank you for the meal, sister-in-law. It was delicious.”

Jiang Nian hadn’t even finished her bowl of rice when they had already eaten three bowls each. She swallowed her food and looked at Song Bai, “I also want to thank you for those chocolates you sent me.”

A calm smile spread across Song Bai’s face. “It was nothing.”

With that, he and Lu Yu left.

After finishing her meal, Jiang Nian put away the dishes in the kitchen. Just as she was washing them, Feng Mei arrived with Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong. When Song Xiangdong saw Jiang Nian, he ran over happily, “Aunt Jiang.”

Song Xianghong echoed, “Aunt Jiang.”

Jiang Nian smiled in response, dried her hands, and went inside to get two chocolates for the children. They held the chocolates tightly, sweetly saying, “Thank you, Aunt Jiang.”

Feng Mei sat at the stove, poking the fire with an iron hook, and said to Song Xiangdong, “Take your little brother to play in the yard. I need to talk to Aunt Jiang.”

Jiang Nian thought she was going to bring up matchmaking with Song Bai again, which gave her a headache. Before Feng Mei could speak, she interrupted, “Sister Feng, please stop trying to match me up with Song Bai.”

Feng Mei paused, then laughed, “I won’t meddle anymore. Whether you and Song Bai end up together is up to you. If it happens, it’s great. If not, it won’t affect our relationship.”

She had taken Jiang Nian’s words to heart the last time they talked.

If she were in Jiang Nian’s shoes, with people constantly trying to set her up right after her husband passed away, she would be angry too. Jiang Nian had a good temper, it was a wonder they hadn’t fallen out completely.

So, in situations like this, one had to put oneself in the other person’s shoes.

Seeing Feng Mei stop pushing, Jiang Nian finally relaxed, put the dishes in the pot, and washed them. “What were you going to say just now?”

Feng Mei frowned. “Look, you’ve completely distracted me. I’ve forgotten.”

Jiang Nian: …

She smiled and said, “Then tell me when you remember it.”

She took the pot outside and emptied the water into the drain, and as soon as she walked into the kitchen, she heard Feng Mei say, “I remembered. A while ago, something big happened at Captain Lu’s house, and the whole people in the family quarters knows about it.”

Jiang Nian was interested in eating melons. “What happened?”

Feng Mei stood up and glanced at Xu Yan’s house from the kitchen door, then sat down by the stove and whispered, “Last month, when Xu Yan was coming back from the market, she twisted her foot near the army gate. It hurt so much she couldn’t walk. Just then, Captain Lu happened to be returning from outside and gave her a helping hand, escorting her to the military guard office at the gate. He went to find Captain Liu to help carry Xu Yan back home. This scene happened to be witnessed by Zheng Hong, who had come to the base looking for Captain Lu.”

Jiang Nian: …

A sensation of melodrama overwhelmed her.

Feng Mei continued, “Zheng Hong started causing a scene, accusing Captain Lu of sending her back to her mother’s house just to be with Xu Yan, calling them shameless. She accused Captain Lu of violating military discipline and having a bad attitude. When Captain Liu arrived, he looked quite stern. The matter even reached the political commissar’s attention. If it weren’t for the two military guards at the gate testifying for Captain Lu, he might have faced dismissal and investigation. Zheng Hong’s heart is really dark, stirring up trouble like this against her own man.”

Jiang Nian asked, “So what happened afterward? Did Zheng Hong apologize to Xu Yan?”

Feng Mei sneered, “Apologize? She did nothing of the sort. In front of the political commissar, she slapped Xu Yan, who couldn’t defend herself due to her injured foot. If Captain Liu and Captain Lu hadn’t pulled them apart, Xu Yan would have been beaten up by Zheng Hong.”

Jiang Nian: …

Zheng Hong was beyond redemption.

“Guess what happened in the end?”

Seeing Feng Mei’s triumphant expression, Jiang Nian raised an eyebrow, “Was Zheng Hong reprimanded?”

Feng Mei slapped her thigh, “Not that simple. Although Captain Lu is her husband, he’s also a soldier in the army. Zheng Hong spreading rumors like that, how could the political commissar let her off with just a few words? I heard from Old Song that originally, they wanted Zheng Hong to go to the Discipline Inspection Committee for ideological education, but Zheng Hong refused. Captain Lu had had enough and proposed divorce. Anyway, this whole affair dragged on for another month. Just a few days ago, Captain Lu and Zheng Hong finally completed the divorce procedures.”

Feng Mei shook her head. “The Zheng family, none of them are easy to deal with.”

Jiang Nian was surprised to hear that Captain Lu and Zheng Hong had actually divorced.

After sitting for a while, Feng Mei got up to leave. Before leaving, she asked Jiang Nian, “There’s a market in the neighboring village tomorrow. Do you want to go and buy some vegetable seedlings? The weather’s warm now, perfect for planting.”

Jiang Nian nodded. “Okay.”

Around eight or nine o’clock, Lu Yu returned. As soon as he came back, he brought hot water for Jiang Nian to bathe and then waited in the room. After she finished bathing, he helped her pour out the water. Jiang Nian glanced at Lu Yu coming out from the second room to the east. “Lu Yu.”

He paused in his steps and turned to look at Jiang Nian by the window.

She had just finished bathing, wearing a cotton jacket, but her hair near her temples was still slightly damp, her eyes bright as if holding a gleam of starlight. Lu Yu asked, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Nian smiled. “I’m planning to plant some vegetables in a few days. Can you find time these days to plow the soil in our private plot and at home?”

A smile spread across Lu Yu’s face. “Sure.”