Chapter 48

She quickly moved aside a couple of steps, afraid to look into Lu Yu’s eyes, worried he might think she did it on purpose. “I’ll go back inside to drink some water,” she said, then turned and hurried away.

Lu Yu watched Jiang Nian’s fleeing figure, raising his hand to touch the place where she had kissed him moments ago. Gradually, a smile appeared in his eyes.

Seeing the vegetables on the cutting board, he took the initiative to prepare lunch. After setting the meal on the table, he went to Jiang Nian’s room. “Sister-in-law, it’s time to eat.”

There was no response for a while. Finally, she said, “You go ahead and eat. I’ll take a nap.”

Knowing she was shy, Lu Yu didn’t push her further. “Okay.”

Jiang Nian stayed hidden inside, feeling her cheeks still burning. She patted her face and listened carefully to the sounds outside. When Lu Yu finished most of his meal and went to the army, Jiang Nian finally dared to come out. She felt like a thief sneaking around.

She quickly finished her meal, washed the dishes, and returned to her room to continue embroidering. The small embroidery work progressed swiftly; she could finish it in about half a month. In the afternoon, Feng Mei came by, and they sat in the yard while sewing the shoe soles. Feng Mei said, “Captain Liu left today. Did you know?”

Jiang Nian nodded. “I knew.”

When he came to see her before leaving, she was too lazy to pay attention to him.

Feng Mei shifted forward on her stool and whispered to Jiang Nian, “Let me tell you something. Don’t tell anyone else, keep it to yourself.”

It was the first time Feng Mei had been so serious. Curious, Jiang Nian asked, “What is it?”

Feng Mei whispered, “I heard from Old Song that Captain Liu was transferred for military training outside because someone anonymously applied for the transfer order. Normally, such requests wouldn’t be accepted, but Captain Liu’s family issues during the New Year caused a significant impact, so the application was immediately processed. Old Song thinks it was someone from our regiment who did it, but no one knows who. Everyone is speculating if it was Captain Lu holding a grudge against Captain Liu and deliberately undermining him from behind. After all, Captain Lu had been training outside for years, and it was only last year that he submitted a request report to return.”

Seeing Jiang Nian silent, Feng Mei reminded her, “You mustn’t talk about this outside. It might push Captain Lu into a difficult situation.”

Jiang Nian nodded firmly. She wouldn’t speak, but she worried Feng Mei might blurt it out someday.

Feng Mei left around dusk, and Jiang Nian put down her embroidery to prepare dinner in the kitchen.

When Lu Yu returned in the evening, he glanced at Jiang Nian, who was sitting with her head lowered at the stove, burning fire. He first fetched water to water the vegetables in the garden by the west wall, then entered the kitchen after watering. Jiang Nian kept her head down, tossing two sticks of firewood into the stove. The orange flames reflected on her face, which was still flushed, either from the heat of the fire or from what happened at noon—she hadn’t quite recovered yet.

Lu Yu broke the silence first. “Our regiment will be going on a week-long field training next month, and we won’t be back during that week. Before I leave, I’ll plow the land in the private plot again, and you can plant vegetables when I return.”

Jiang Nian nodded. “Okay.”

She stood up and went to wash her hands at the window, avoiding looking at Lu Yu. “You go outside and wait. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Seeing Jiang Nian burying her head almost to her neck, Lu Yu smiled quietly. “Alright.”

After Lu Yu left, Jiang Nian felt more at ease. She made belt noodles^[1]Biang Biang noodles, also known as “belt noodle”, are wide noodles. The name is derived from the sound of the noodle smacking the surface “biang” hence the name “biang … Continue reading for dinner that night, twisting the dough at both ends before tossing it into the pot. When the meal was ready, she carried it to the yard. Song Bai seemed to have followed his nose and looked at the noodles and vegetables in Lu Yu’s bowl, exclaiming, “Wow!”

“Sister-in-law, I’m here for dinner again.”

Lu Yu raised an eyebrow.

Lu Yu frowned slightly. “Your sister-in-law doesn’t have food at home?”

Song Bai carried two pounds of meat and glanced at Lu Yu. “There is, but it’s not as delicious as what your sister-in-law makes.”

He deliberately spoke softly, afraid of being overheard by Feng Mei, knowing her tendency to eavesdrop and lecture him.

Song Bai placed the meat on the cutting board and glanced at the bowl with still more than half a portion of noodles. Without further ado, he began to scoop noodles. Lu Yu entered from outside and tapped Song Bai’s chopsticks with the other end of his own. “That’s enough, don’t starve my sister-in-law.”

Song Bai: …

He glanced up and down at Lu Yu, clicking his tongue. “Always ‘my sister-in-law’ this and that. After all, she is still half my sister-in-law. I’m not that oblivious. Just because I’ve eaten too much of my sister-in-law’s cooking and have lost my taste for anything else, I’ve come here to have a bite and satisfy my craving.”

He twitched his chin and said, “I don’t eat for free, I bought the meat specially.”

He added, “Don’t let my sister-in-law see it, to avoid another nagging from her.”

Lu Yu: …

Jiang Nian sat quietly in the yard eating her meal, unaware of what Lu Yu and Song Bai were talking about in the kitchen. After finishing almost a bowl of noodles, she sighed and got up, carrying the bowl into the kitchen, where she saw Song Bai sitting at the stove eating noodles eagerly, and Lu Yu standing by the window.

“Sister-in-law, the noodles you made are really delicious.”

Song Bai praised with his head raised, then lowered it to continue eating.

Jiang Nian smiled faintly, just as she put down her bowl, Lu Yu walked over. His arm was around her shoulder, standing almost shoulder to shoulder with her. His deep voice carried a hint of warmth as he spoke near her ear, “Eat more.”

Jiang Nian’s face blushed inexplicably. She quickly shook her head, “I’m full.”

Seeing that Jiang Nian really couldn’t eat anymore, Lu Yu didn’t say anything more. Song Bai, however, looked surprised as he raised his head, “Sister-in-law, why do you eat so little? My sister-in-law can eat two bowls of this.”

He himself could eat a lot too. Almost everyone in the team had a big appetite. Without it, they would faint from hunger with all the intense training every day.

Jiang Nian: …

She ate more than the chicken anyway, so she turned and walked out of the kitchen, saying, “I’ll go back to the room first. You two keep eating.”

Song Bai glanced at the small bowl on the cutting board and then at his own large bowl.

Wow, even a chicken has a bigger stomach.

Lu Yu and the others were going on a training expedition next month, with only ten days left until the end of the month.

Lu Yu spent these days plowing the land in their private plot, and Jiang Nian would bring lunch over at noon. As the weather got warmer, she wore thin clothes inside and a light jacket outside. Holding an aluminum lunchbox, she walked into the empty field, where Lu Yu was the only person.

The man wore a white work vest and swung his hoe lightly. Jiang Nian’s gaze fell on Lu Yu’s evenly proportioned muscles, and she thought of the abs she had seen inadvertently that day. In a flash, she remembered the awkwardness and discomfort she had felt during her time with Lu Yu.

She called out, “Time to eat.”

Lu Yu turned to look at Jiang Nian standing under a tree. It was the same place, but the person in front of him was completely different from last year’s self. He put down the hoe. “Coming.”

Jiang Nian opened the thermos lid and poured water for Lu Yu to wash his hands and face. After washing his face, Lu Yu habitually lifted the sides of his vest to wipe off the water on his face, exposing his firm and toned abs in front of Jiang Nian.

Caught off guard, Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment. She didn’t even hear what Lu Yu said.

“Sister-in-law?”

“Jiang Nian.”

Jiang Nian suddenly came back to her senses, “Ah?”

Lu Yu lowered his eyes, laughter filling them, “What did you make for lunch?”

Jiang Nian finally reacted. Her face turned red from her forehead to her neck. She lowered her head in embarrassment, wishing she could dig a hole and hide in it. She quickly squatted down to open the aluminum lunchbox, but struggled to unscrew it for a long time, becoming increasingly sweaty. Lu Yu held her wrist and effortlessly twisted it open. His fingertips brushed lightly over the small bones of her wrist, leaving no trace, “Let me do it.”

Jiang Nian was very sensitive now. She almost instantly pulled her hand away from Lu Yu’s palm. She coughed lightly, “You eat first. I’ll come back later to get the lunchbox.”

After saying that, she ran away without looking back.

She looked as if she was being chased by a dog.

Jiang Nian ran all the way home and met Feng Mei, who was chatting outside, just as she reached the door. Feng Mei looked at Jiang Nian’s face, “Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?”

Jiang Nian shook her head, “Just got too hot from running.”

She rushed into the house without looking back, washed her face with well water until her cheeks were numb from the cold.

After Jiang Nian finished her meal, she waited for Commander Song to go to the base. She thought Lu Yu was also gone, so she ran to her private plot to take the lunch box back, washed it, and then returned to the house to continue embroidering.

When Lu Yu returned in the evening and washed his hands by the well, he looked at Jiang Nian sitting on the stool with the meal set out in front of her and said, “The land is almost turned over. A couple more days and we can start planting.”

Jiang Nian almost buried her head in her bowl, wishing she could disappear. She nodded repeatedly, “Okay.”

After dinner, she almost ran back to her room with her head down.

The end of the month was approaching, and the neighboring village was having its market tomorrow.

Having learned her lesson from last time, Jiang Nian got up before dawn to wash her face at the well. She glanced at Lu Yu’s room, still dark inside, indicating he hadn’t woken up yet. She prepared breakfast in the kitchen, ate a little herself, and as she walked out of the kitchen door, the bugle call sounded.

She glanced at the at the next room, where she heard two faint coughs.

Jiang Nian knew Lu Yu was up now and quickly said, “Breakfast is in the pot. I’m going to the market. I might not be back for lunch, so have lunch at the cafeteria.”

“Okay.”

The voice inside the house sounded like it had been up for a while, without a trace of sleepiness.

When Jiang Nian ran next door to call Feng Mei to go to the market, Lu Yu finally opened the door and stepped out. He was dressed neatly in a military green uniform, clearly ready early. In fact, Lu Yu had woken up the moment Jiang Nian opened the door.

Knowing Jiang Nian’s thin-skinned nature, he waited for her to relax a bit before speaking.

“Deputy Commander Lu.”

Captain Lu walked to the courtyard gate and glanced inside, Lu Yu had just finished washing his face, “What’s wrong?”

Captain Lu asked, “Regarding our regiment’s training, I wanted to ask about Captain Liu’s team. He’s currently deployed for field training, and we haven’t received the new captain transfer order has not yet come down. I just went to find Commander Song, but he and the political commissar are out, so I thought I’d ask you.”

Lu Yu replied, “Let the deputy captain of their team take charge for now. We’ll plan the rest after we receive further orders from above.”

Captain Lu nodded, “Alright.”

“How is Zhijun’s leg?” Lu Yu inquired.

Captain Lu smiled, “Much better now. He can jump around, but he still needs to be careful with that leg and continue to take good care of it.”

Ever since Zheng Hong left, his mother has been helping to take care of Zhijun in the family quarters. Not only has she corrected some of Zhijun’s bad habits, but she has also taught the child not to talk back to others. His personality is now completely different from the one that Zheng Hong had originally brought up.

Although the changes weren’t particularly big, the small details in life can still be clearly seen.

Thinking about his ex-wife Zheng Hong, Lu Guosheng felt a lot of bitterness and weariness in his heart.

They are divorced now, and what path Zheng Hong takes in the future has nothing to do with him.

He turned and walked out, seeing Xu Yan just stepping out from next door. Xu Yan paused briefly but ignored him.

Lu Guosheng nodded at Xu Yan and left.

Jiang Nian and Feng Mei arrived at the market, where there weren’t too many people yet. They had come early, so there were plenty of seedlings available. They picked and chose several varieties, loading them into the baskets on their backs.

Feng Mei glanced at a group of chicks nearby and asked Jiang Nian, “Do you want to raise chickens?”

Jiang Nian shook her head, “No, I’m not.”

So Feng Mei bought some vegetable seedlings and three young hens. On their way back, they ran into Chen Fang and two unfamiliar women who were also heading to the market. Jiang Nian called out to Sister Chen, and Sister Chen introduced her, “This is the wife of Deputy Commander You from our Third Regiment. You can call her Sister Hou. And this is her younger sister, three years younger than you, Hou Meng.” Turning to Hou Meng, she said, “This is the sister-in-law of Deputy Commander Lu from our Second Regiment. You can call her sister or sister-in-law.”

Hou Meng glanced at Jiang Nian and said, “Sister-in-law.”

She was wearing a floral shirt with a light brown coat over it, two braids tied with red ropes. She had a light layer of lipstick on her lips. She looked similar to her sister Hou Lian, with single eyelids and slender eyebrows. Perhaps due to working in the fields all year round, her skin was somewhat tanned, but her features were still quite attractive.

Jiang Nian thought she would look even better if she were a bit fairer.

So she smiled at Hou Meng and said, “Hmm.”

Feng Mei chatted with Chen Fang and Hou Lian for a while, and Hou Meng’s gaze intentionally or unintentionally observed Jiang Nian. Jiang Nian’s smile gradually faded, and there was a cold distance in her eyes. Sensing this, Hou Meng awkwardly withdrew her gaze and looked at the bustling crowd at the market.

Suddenly, Chen Fang looked at Jiang Nian, “Xiao Nian, I heard you’ve been earning a lot of money recently from embroidery? Is that true?”

Jiang Nian had never mentioned her embroidery to others. She suddenly remembered Feng Mei was beside her, and sure enough, Feng Mei started talking enthusiastically, “Oh yes, let me tell you all. Jiang Nian has a talent for embroidery. She’s been doing beautiful embroidery. She stayed at the state-run embroidery shop for two months recently and made quite a bit of money. With comrades like Jiang Nian in our regiment, she’s really made a name for herself and half of our women are proud of her.”

Jiang Nian: …

Hou Lian laughed, “Oh, then whoever marries Jiang Nian in the future will be really lucky.”

“Oh, Xiao Nian, what are your plans for the future?” Chen Fang continued to ask Jiang Nian. “You won’t be staying with Deputy Commander Lu forever, right? Although you two are brother and sister-in-law with no problem, living under the same roof for a long time might not be good. You always say you don’t want to remarry, but it’s not good for you or Deputy Commander Lu. If someone wants to introduce a partner to Deputy Commander Lu in the future, what if the partner doesn’t like him living with his sister-in-law? Wouldn’t that delay Deputy Commander Lu?”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and remained silent.

She couldn’t say what she was really thinking and feeling right now. During this period of time, her interaction with Lu Yu seemed to have entered a closed loop. Lu Yu no longer maintained the same distance and sense of propriety as before. However, Chen Fang’s words struck a chord in Jiang Nian’s heart, causing her to feel a strange suffocation.

Hou Lian added, “That’s right, Jiang Nian. You’re so fair and beautiful, and you have embroidery skills. Let Deputy Commander Lu find a good match for you in the army. I’m telling you, there’s no shortage of men in our army.”

After saying this, she laughed heartily.

Jiang Nian: …

Feng Mei glared at Hou Meng, “If Jiang Nian wants to remarry, she will. If she doesn’t, she won’t. Why are you pushing her?”

Feng Mei continued to talk a lot, leaving Hou Lian and Chen Fang speechless.

In fact, Feng Mei had already figured it out after Jiang Nian’s last words, so she used Jiang Nian’s last words to silence them, saying, “Jiang Nian is not without self-awareness. If Deputy Commander Lu’s prospective partner doesn’t like her, Jiang Nian won’t stick around the family quarters. With her skills and talents, the state-run embroidery shop will definitely keep her. You don’t need to worry about her.”

Chen Fang and Hou Lian waved their hands and said, “Okay, okay, you’re good with words. We can’t argue with you.”

Feng Mei smiled, “That’s all I wanted to say.”

In fact, she said this to hide a little selfishness.

No matter how many men there were in the army, who became the youngest deputy commander at that age? After a little thought, the youngest is Lu Yu and her younger brother-in-law, Song Bai. She was still thinking about Jiang Nian and Song Bai in the army.

When they parted, Chen Fang said to Jiang Nian, “If you are thinking of getting married, consider our Tang Ze first.”

Chen Fang had a plan in mind. Deputy Commander Lu had a promising future ahead, possibly rising to high ranks in the future. Moreover, Jiang Nian was his sister-in-law. If Tang Ze married Jiang Nian, with Deputy Commander Lu supporting one end and Jiang Nian’s embroidery skills on the other, they could earn a good deal of money. At that time, the entire Tang family would benefit.

“Go, go, go to your market.”

Feng Mei pulled Jiang Nian away, saying, “Don’t listen to Chen Fang. She just wants you and Tang Ze to get along.”

Jiang Nian thanked Feng Mei, saying, “Sister Feng, thank you just now.”

Feng Mei smiled and said, “Oh, it’s nothing. I’m just stating the facts.”

Jiang Nian had encountered two women here who had helped her a lot. Both had ‘Mei’ in their names, but their personalities and backgrounds were completely different. She knew what Feng Mei’s future would be like, so she wanted to help Feng Mei’s family avoid any future disasters.

But she didn’t know about Ge Mei. In the book, the female lead Sun Ying was a nurse and had nothing to do with embroidery, so there was never any mention of the state-run embroidery shop.

It was just noon when I got back to the family compound. Unexpectedly, I just made it in time for lunch.

Before leaving, Jiang Nian told Lu Yu to eat in the cafeteria at noon; he probably wouldn’t be back then. 

Jiang Nian planned to grab a casual meal to satisfy herself, then plant vegetables in the private plot. Later in the evening, she would have Lu Yu water them.

The sun was a little hot at noon, and Jiang Nian was sweating a little as she carried a heavy basket on his back.

Just as she approached her home, she noticed the courtyard gate was half-open. Pushing it further, she found Lu Yu chopping vegetables with his back to the kitchen door.

Why is he back?

Jiang Nian set down her basket and washed her hands at the well before rushing into the kitchen to light the fire. “Why are you back?” she asked.

Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Nian, her cheeks flushed from the sun and sweat forming on her forehead. “From the army to the market and back, it’s just in time for lunch. I figured you’d be back around this time.”

Jiang Nian remained silent.

She realized Lu Yu could predict things with startling accuracy.

She might as well stop calling him Lu Yu and just call him the fortune teller.

Lu Yu made lunch while Jiang Nian tended the fire. She added two more sticks of wood to the stove, thinking about what Chen Fang had said. Glancing up at Lu Yu who was stir-frying vegetables, she hesitated to speak her mind, unsure how to broach the subject.

Lu Yu noticed Jiang Nian’s uncertain expression. Stirring the vegetables, he asked, “Do you have something on your mind?”

Jiang Nian nodded lightly, adjusting the fire with the poker. “Lu Yu, I want to move back to the state-run embroidery shop.”

Lu Yu abruptly stopped stirring, lowering his gaze to Jiang Nian sitting by the stove. “Why do you want to move back to the shop again?”

“Did someone say something to you again?”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips, hesitating briefly before nodding softly. “Yes.”

She looked up at Lu Yu. “But I think what she said makes sense. Living under the same roof for too long might lead to gossip, and it might also affect your future. You’ve done enough for the Xu family and you have taken good care of me. Now that I have the ability to support myself, you don’t need to worry about me.”

In truth, she also wanted to calm her heart by returning to the embroidery shop.

She felt that their time together had exceeded the boundaries and propriety expected of brother and sister-in-law.

Lu Yu’s gaze was dark and inscrutable, devoid of any gleam. He looked into Jiang Nian’s eyes. “Do you want to leave, sister-in-law?”

“I…” Jiang Nian had wanted to say what she truly felt, but looking into Lu Yu’s eyes, she couldn’t bring herself to say “I want to go back.” Her hesitation and uncertainty were all apparent to Lu Yu, who averted his gaze.

“Besides you leaving,” he finally said, “there’s another way.”