Feng Chunhua didn’t know what was going on in her younger sister’s head, but she had her pride. “Whether your marriage works out or not has nothing to do with you. If you start having thoughts you shouldn’t, I’ll send you back home.”

Go back? Feng Shunhua wouldn’t dare. They were still living off communal meals and relying on work points to get by.

Working day and night, only to earn just enough points to barely cover a year’s worth of food.

Life in the military compound was much better than that.

Feng Chunhua noticed her sister remained silent. In the end, she couldn’t bear to be harsh. This sister of hers had been beautiful since she was a child. No matter how long she spent under the sun, her skin never darkened. She was always fair and delicate like a city girl.

The neighbors often said Shunhua would definitely marry a city man and live a good life someday.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “You’re eighteen now. There are plenty of outstanding unmarried men in your brother-in-law’s regiment. Want me to introduce you to a few?”

Feng Shunhua had come back from the dead for Huo Qingshan. How could she be interested in anyone else? She shook her head. “Sister, I’m not ready to get married. Maybe in a few years.”

She refused to believe she couldn’t outlast Xu Suining.

‘’…’’

After breakfast, Xu Suining started tidying up the small courtyard.

The original host’s body had been weak to begin with, and now with the pregnancy, even something as simple as clearing the weeds, picking up bricks and stones, and sweeping the yard left her feeling utterly exhausted.

She quickly dragged out a small stool and sat down to rest, grabbing a couple of the old bread rolls Huo Qingshan had brought back.

She needed to eat more and build up her strength. Only then could she avoid malnutrition and delivery complications in the later stages of pregnancy.

The whole situation still felt surreal. She had planned to stay single and child-free, save up five million, then retire to the countryside with a little courtyard. Now, the heavens had skipped the saving part and dropped her straight into the countryside—with a kid on top.

Xu Suining couldn’t help but smile, her eyes curving with amusement. Thankfully, she had always been a good student and loved learning as an adult. Even in the 1970s, she was confident she could live well.

Biting into the bread, she surveyed the few square meters of courtyard, already planning: plant flowers along the outer fence, build a shed, install a stove, add a dining table, and make a water basin for easy washing.

In her mind, the image of a tidy, charming countryside kitchen was already taking shape.

But putting it together wouldn’t be easy. Building a shed needed wood, and she didn’t know how to construct a stove.

She’d need Huo Qingshan’s help for that.

With that in mind, her eyes lit up. She would cook something nice for lunch and win him over.

Finishing the last bite of bread, she stood up and went back into the house. She grabbed some money and ration coupons, then picked up a small sickle from the corner and tucked it into her basket before heading out.

Military families could shop at the service center near the division headquarters. It had everything from rice and oil to basic daily goods, even thread and needles.

As Xu Suining stepped out of the compound with her basket, she ran into Feng Shunhua chatting with a military wife named Li Qin. Both of them were carrying baskets and seemed to be waiting for someone.

Li Qin saw Xu Suining but acted like she hadn’t, turning away.

Feng Shunhua, on the other hand, greeted her warmly. “Sister-in-law, you’re going grocery shopping too? Isn’t Brother Huo bringing you meals?”

Xu Suining was thoroughly sick of Feng Shunhua’s fake sweetness. That soul of hers had been steeped in scheming for fifty years, yet she was still pretending to be some innocent little girl?

She paused and smiled. “Didn’t you say Huo Qingshan was injured? I’m going to buy some meat to help him recover.”

As soon as she spoke, Feng Shunhua looked flustered. She had misspoken yesterday and had been on edge since. When Huo Qingshan came over for dinner, she’d been worried sick he might say something to her brother-in-law.

If he did, she wouldn’t even know how to explain. If she couldn’t clear it up, she might even be accused of espionage.

It was a serious matter.

Her brother-in-law hadn’t questioned her last night, so she had assumed it had blown over. She hadn’t expected Xu Suining to bring it up now—and right in front of Li Qin, the compound’s resident loudspeaker.

If Li Qin spread the word, wouldn’t the entire compound know?

Xu Suining tilted her head and looked at her with wide, innocent eyes. “You were the one who said my Qingshan was injured. Don’t you remember?”

Feng Shunhua had no choice but to grit her teeth and nod. “Yes, sister-in-law. You’d better hurry then.”

Something felt off. She was always the one making the first move, yet every time she saw Xu Suining, the situation would slip out of her control.

After Xu Suining walked away, Li Qin leaned in. “Shunhua, you said Commander Huo got hurt? What happened? Is it serious?”

Feng Shunhua stammered, “I’m not sure… Sister-in-law, wait here a moment. I’ll go see where my sister is.”

Vegetables at the service center usually arrived midmorning after being brought in fresh from the city. That meant the place was especially crowded around lunchtime.

Thanks to the original host’s poor social reputation, Xu Suining didn’t have to make small talk or greet anyone. She just quietly waited her turn in line.

By the time she got to the front, only half a pig and two pork trotters were left.

Noticing that everyone was scrambling to buy fatty meat, probably to render lard at home, Xu Suining followed suit and bought two jin of fatty pork belly and a pig trotter.

She planned to braise the trotter for Huo Qingshan to help nourish his body and render the fat for cooking. On the way over, she noticed plenty of edible wild greens growing along the fields and wooded areas. She could dig some up and make dumplings with lard and pork cracklings.

Much healthier than the weeds people would later dig up from city greenbelts.

The thought alone lifted her mood. She grabbed some seasonings and a bottle of soy sauce before heading back.

On the way, she ran into Feng Shunhua, Feng Chunhua, and Li Qin.

She had no intention of greeting them and simply walked past. But just as she passed, she heard Feng Shunhua deliberately ask Li Qin, “Sister-in-law, is it true the performance troupe is coming to perform? I heard Brother Huo is picking them up himself. Wasn’t there a rumor that he used to date one of the performers? Could it be true?”

Xu Suining tuned out the rest.

What she couldn’t wrap her head around was how a supposed female lead could behave so poorly.

Whether or not Huo Qingshan had a girlfriend before didn’t concern her in the slightest.

From what she had seen so far, he was a man with a strong sense of responsibility and definitely not the type to fool around while married.

Even if she couldn’t fight fate and ended up divorced like in the book, by then the national policies would be more relaxed, and she could still live a good life.

Humming to herself, Xu Suining happily walked back home. As she passed a field, she spotted a patch of wild greens still tender from growing in the shade and squatted down to dig them out.

Li Zhiguo was driving Huo Qingshan back from division headquarters when he spotted a woman crouching by the field. Her outfit was eye-catching, and he couldn’t help glancing twice. “Commander, I think that’s your wife.”

Huo Qingshan saw her too. She was still wearing that light green sweater from the morning.

She was actually out foraging for wild vegetables?

Her behavior kept surprising him.

Li Zhiguo noticed his commander was also looking and, thinking he was being clever, gently stepped on the brake to slow the car down.

Just as Huo Qingshan was about to scold him, a black-and-yellow dog suddenly appeared in the field and charged straight at Xu Suining.