Su Banxia wasn’t sure how to respond. She couldn’t very well say they were getting a divorce and she was going into the city to rent a place, could she?

She knew all too well:

Getting married to Jiang Guo’an had been difficult, but getting divorced would be even harder.

Back when she’d forced him to get the marriage certificate, Jiang Guo’an had suddenly brought her to the brigade. He’d been verbally criticized for it back then.

Fortunately, her family had been farmers for three generations, so there were no major issues during the political review. Jiang Guo’an had later submitted a retroactive marriage application report, and the matter was eventually settled.

This time, let Jiang Guo’an be the one to explain the divorce himself.

“I’m going into the city to buy some daily necessities,” she said.

Political Commissar Liu acknowledged with a nod. “That’s good, as long as it’s nothing else.”

He thought for a moment, then chuckled. “When that rascal brought you back, he slapped your marriage certificate right in front of me and said you were married. I criticized him at the time—getting married without even submitting a report. Such an outstanding man, yet he threw all discipline out the window for you. But now it seems you two are doing alright. Make sure you live well together from now on.”

His words carried an implied meaning, though he phrased it very diplomatically.

Su Banxia was no fool—how could she not understand?

She grinned and said, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate your concern. This really isn’t his fault. When he returned to the village, I was the one who took a liking to him and stubbornly followed him around until he agreed to marry me. I’m sorry for causing you trouble, sir.”

Su Banxia spoke calmly and confidently, her words measured and logical. She defended Jiang Guo’an throughout, taking full responsibility for their marriage onto herself.

After all, she was stating facts.

He would be serving in the army for a long time, while she would be leaving. Whatever people said, she wouldn’t be around to hear it—it didn’t matter to her.

Her words struck a chord with Liu Zhenwei. He’d heard plenty about Su Banxia’s bad reputation, but meeting her for the first time today, he genuinely felt she seemed like a good person. She appeared steady and reasonable in her speech.

It seemed the uneducated folks in the compound had been spreading exaggerated rumors.

Along the way, Political Commissar Liu chatted casually with Su Banxia, and soon they reached the city.

As soon as they entered the city limits, Su Banxia asked Zhao Daqing to drop her off at an intersection.

As she got out, she smiled politely. “Thank you both for the ride. Otherwise, I’d still be walking for another half hour. Feel free to stop by our home sometime.”

Political Commissar Liu laughed heartily. After meeting her today, all his previous prejudices against Su Banxia had vanished. On the contrary, he found her socially adept, very polite, straightforward, and easy to get along with.

At the very least, she wasn’t timid and submissive like some other women.

“Alright, we’ll visit when we have time,” he replied.

After Su Banxia got out, she waved as she watched the car drive away.

Once Zhao Daqing had driven a sufficient distance, he secretly let out a sigh of relief, taking a deep breath as if he’d just survived a catastrophe.

Political Commissar Liu glanced at him, puzzled.

“What’s with you?”

“Commissar, you have no idea—I was so nervous I almost lost it back there. You don’t know this, but Battalion Commander Jiang’s wife has a gambling addiction. She’s borrowed money from almost every woman in the compound. Her excuses for borrowing money are pathetic too—either her dad is sick or her mom is dying. It’s utterly despicable. I was really afraid she’d ask you for money.”

Hearing this, Political Commissar Liu frowned. “Well, did she ask you for money?”

Zhao Daqing shook his head. “No, she didn’t.”

“There you go. You’re a soldier—how can you believe every rumor you hear?

“I think she isn’t as bad as you all make her out to be. On the contrary, I find her quite straightforward.”

Zhao Daqing looked chastised and shut his mouth, feeling wronged. Everything he’d said was just gossip he’d heard from others.

Political Commissar Liu added, “You have a mouth, but it should be controlled by your brain. From now on, only speak if you have facts to back it up.”

Zhao Daqing: “……”

After getting out of the car, Su Banxia looked around with the wide-eyed curiosity of someone seeing the world for the first time.

She decided to first take a stroll around the county town.

On either side of the asphalt road stood two-story brick Western-style buildings.

Along the sidewalks, people pushed carts selling food, while others laid out dirty white cloths on the ground displaying items like socks and hair clips. Whenever officials from the industry and commerce department showed up, these vendors would quickly roll up their cloths, sling them over their shoulders, and sprint away.

The county town was shaped roughly like a “T”—the horizontal part was South Street, and the vertical part was North Street.

After walking a bit further, Su Banxia realized that only South Street and North Street were paved with asphalt; the other roads in the county were still dirt paths.

The streetlights on either side were also old-fashioned—porcelain bowls with large, bulbous light bulbs hanging underneath, casting dim, yellowish light at night.

It was the early stages of reform and opening-up. Supply and marketing cooperatives still existed, and privately-owned stores had only begun to multiply this year. Just a couple of years earlier, not only would opening a shop have been impossible, but even setting up a street stall would have been out of the question.

After looking around, Su Banxia realized that if she wanted to sell clothing, she first needed to figure out the best location.

There was one farmers’ market each on North Street and South Street. The South Street market mostly catered to livestock traders, while the North Street market offered vegetables, daily necessities, hardware supplies, clothes, shoes, and more.

In the end, she decided to head to the North Street farmers’ market.

As she walked in that direction, she accidentally bumped into a woman.

The woman’s face was bruised and swollen, her hair disheveled, and tear stains marked her cheeks.

After brushing past Su Banxia, the woman turned back, grabbed her arm, and called out her name in shock.

“Su Banxia?”

If the woman hadn’t called her name, Su Banxia wouldn’t have recognized her.

“Zhang Xia? What happened to you?”

“Ugh, I lost and couldn’t pay up, so they beat me. Hey, after you took the money and left last time, you haven’t been back in ages. Are you going to gamble again?”

Just hearing the word made Su Banxia irritable.

“Gamble my foot! Stay away from vice, gambling, and drugs—don’t you know that? You should quit too. I’ve got things to do, so I’m leaving.”

As Su Banxia turned to go, Zhang Xia grabbed her wrist pitifully. “No, no, don’t go, okay? I haven’t eaten all morning. Can you lend me twenty yuan? I want to get some food, then try my luck with Wang Mazi like you did. When I win, I’ll pay you back ten times!”

Ten times?

Girl, are you trying to sell me a pipe dream?

Who would believe that?

Besides, trusting a gambler’s word was downright foolish.

“No, I’m broke too. My husband kicked me out of the house. Ask someone else—I really don’t have any money.”

People like this brought it on themselves—they didn’t deserve sympathy.

Su Banxia couldn’t be bothered with her and walked away.

Zhang Xia stared after her retreating figure and spat to the side.

Pfft… Who does she think she is?

Su Banxia hadn’t gone far when, by sheer coincidence, she ran into Wang Mazi.

Wang Mazi was followed by two street thugs, all of them slouching and acting like hooligans.

Why don’t people like this just drop dead?

Wang Mazi spotted Su Banxia too. She tried to bypass him and walk away from the other side, pretending not to see him.

But Wang Mazi seemed unwilling to let her off. He signaled to the two men behind him, and they emerged from both sides, cornering Su Banxia into a nearby alley.