◎ Third update ◎ 

Liang Baozhen only left Crescent Alley when her eldest sister and second brother came to visit. At other times, her grandmother, Zhou Yun, supervised her to stay at home and take care of herself during her confinement. Zhou Yun had her own principles: no matter how significant the situation was, nothing was more important than her confinement period, even though she had already compromised a lot for her grandson’s wife. 

Liang Baozhen felt like she was going to wither as she lay on the kang. She could only tell herself that this was a good time to read and study. 

Fortunately, she could still get out of bed and walk around the courtyard, but she couldn’t go any farther because her grandmother was worried about her being exposed to the wind. 

Her grandmother was especially concerned when she expressed her intention of washing her hair or took a bath, saying she might catch a cold. 

“Why not just endure it a bit longer?” Zhou Yun thought that her granddaughter-in-law stayed at home every day, so her hair wouldn’t be that dirty. But if she didn’t take good care of herself during the confinement period, she would suffer the consequences for the rest of her life.  

These days, Liang Baozhen had only been wiping her body in the room, but not washing her hair was what really made her uncomfortable. 

“Grandma, it’s really fine. I will definitely be careful.” Liang Baozhen couldn’t help it anymore; she felt uncomfortable all over her body. What she really wanted was to wash her hair and take a bath. 

Xu Shengjie stepped in. He didn’t understand the rules that women should follow during the confinement period, but his grandma insisted that it was for her own good and was worried that she would suffer in the future. Xu Shengjie felt conflicted, but later, seeing that his wife was really suffering, he decided to stand by her side. 

“Grandma, the sun is the strongest today, so we will wash her hair and dry it quickly so she won’t catch a cold,” Xu Shengjie suggested as he went to get water from the iron pot to prepare for washing his wife’s hair and taking a bath. 

“Alright, you young people really can’t stand it,” Zhou Yun said as she went into the house to find a dry towel, to help dry Baozhen’s hair afterward so it would dry faster. 

Liang Baozhen planned to take a bath in the side room. She blocked the room with wooden boards and hung an old curtain. It would be pitch dark inside, with only a bit of light streaming through the cracks in the wood. As for washing her hair, she would do it outside in the yard, where the sun would make it warmer. 

Xu Shengjie boiled two large pots of hot water in advance and then temporarily wove a basket out of bamboo. He nailed it to the wall with an iron nail and then placed a kerosene lamp inside so that light would seep out from the gaps in the bamboo basket without getting damp from the steam. 

“If you need anything, just call me; I’ll be standing by the door.” 

“Okay.” 

Liang Baozhen finally washed her hair and felt a great sense of relief. When she came out, she felt completely refreshed. She let her hair down and sat on the wooden stool next to the water tank, where a porcelain basin sat beside it. As soon as her long black hair was immersed in the water, it became soft and shiny. 

The shampoo she bought was from a known brand, which had a strawberry scent. When she applied it to her hands and mixed it with water, a lot of bubbles appeared, with a sweet strawberry scent. Liang Baozhen lowered her head and washed her hair twice. When she was rinsing her hair to end this “battle,” she suddenly heard someone talking in the yard. 

“Baozhen hasn’t finished her confinement yet; why is she washing her hair?” Aunt Li came back with a basket of tomatoes. She wanted to inform everyone that there were fresh vegetables at the market, but her focus was quickly drawn to Liang Baozhen, who was washing her hair in the yard. “This is not good; she might catch a cold.” 

“Aunt Li, it’s okay. I’ll feel uncomfortable if I don’t wash it.” 

“You young people…” Before Aunt Li finished her words, she heard Grandma Zhou continue the conversation as if she had met someone who understood her. 

“Right, Zhengxia, you also think they can’t handle it. I’ve tried advising them, but it’s no use.” 

“Forget it. Young people think differently from us.” Li Zhengxia thought of herself when she was young. She wanted to take more rest during the confinement period. She was wrapped up tightly like a dumpling and rarely got out of bed. 

“What are you carrying?” Zhou Yun noticed Aunt Li’s basket of tomatoes, which looked fresh and red. 

“The vegetable market has fresh tomatoes, three cents a pound. Hurry up if you want to go. They’re fresh tomatoes, and if you wait too long, you’ll only get the bruised ones.” She happened to pass by the vegetable market today and saw the fresh tomatoes being displayed. She immediately bought 40 pounds of them. If she didn’t have so many things in her hands today, she would definitely buy more; now she had to go back again. 

Liang Baozhen had just finished wrapping her hair in a towel when she heard this and immediately felt excited. She tapped Xu Shengjie on the arm. “Let’s go buy some! The tomato sauce we made last year was so delicious, and both Xiao Wei and Xiao Ya loved it. We should make more this year.” 

“You want to go?” Xu Shengjie saw his wife’s intention at a glance. She wanted to take the opportunity of going to the vegetable market to go out for a stroll. 

“Shh.” Liang Baozhen gave him a look, worried about being discovered by Grandma. 

Zhou Yun was a good person, but she loved to nag about this matter, and Liang Baozhen didn’t want to embarrass the old lady. 

Xu Shengjie brought over the cart, and asked the other families in the courtyard if they want to buy tomatoes as well. 

“Xiao Xu, we need forty pounds; please bring them back for us.” 

“I want fifty pounds.” 

Liu Nianhua’s family wanted 40 pounds, Xu Hai and Qian Jingjing’s families wanted 50 pounds, plus Aunt Li wanted another 40 pounds. Xu Shengjie pulled the cart and prepared to set off. Zhou Yun told him to pay attention and take out any damaged ones, and then she went back to chatting with Li Zhengxia. 

After a few words, she turned around and saw that her grandson had left, but where was her granddaughter-in-law? There was no sign of her at all. 

Liang Baozhen was sitting on the cart, with Xu Shengjie pulling it in front as they headed to the vegetable market. It was sunny at that moment, and the sun felt hot on her skin, but she felt satisfied. It was the sunshine she had been waiting for. 

Staying in the house every day was so uncomfortable. Now, as she basks in the sun, she feels alive again, and all her discomfort is washed away by the warm golden sunshine. 

Liang Baozhen let out a long sigh of relief.  

“Are you that happy?” Xu Shengjie turned around to look at her and saw Liang Baozhen sitting on the cart, with her half-dried hair loose and fluttering in the summer breeze. Her black hair made her face look fair, and the warm sunshine just happened to shine on her eyebrows. When she smiled, it seemed as though a warm yellow halo surrounded her, which enhanced her charm even more. 

Liang Baozhen smiled at him, her eyes sparkling like water, as if all the best things in the world bloomed in her smile. 

“Of course, why don’t you try confinement after childbirth?” Liang Baozhen breathed in the fresh air outside and couldn’t help stretching her hands to stretch her muscles, only to remember they were on the street and quickly restrained herself. 

Xu Shengjie smiled. He was wearing a green military uniform with his sleeves rolled up, revealing a pair of strong arms. As he pulled the cart forward, the muscle lines on his arms were clearly visible. 

“Then are you going to take care of me?” 

“Not a chance!” Liang Baozhen joked with a playful smile.

There were a lot of fresh vegetables at the market today. The young couple bought a total of 200 pounds of tomatoes and 50 pounds of potatoes and loaded them all onto the cart. The weight of the things on the cart was not light this time, so Liang Baozhen prepared to walk back, but Xu Shengjie raised his chin and asked her to get on the cart again. 

“Can you pull it?” 

Xu Shengjie smiled, with a bit of unruliness and arrogance, “Is this really that heavy? Just sit still.” 

“Don’t talk big. If you can’t handle it later, just tell me, and I can get off,” Liang Baozhen said as she sat steadily on the cart. She adjusted the vegetables tied with ropes with her hands while teasing Xu Shengjie. 

“You really underestimate me.” Xu Shengjie pulled the handlebars in the front and started with a strong pull, “I can pull ten more of you.” 

“You’re dreaming. How many wives do you want to have? Ten more.” Liang Baozhen leaned against the bag of tomatoes, enjoying the breeze comfortably and occasionally joked with the man in front of her. 

Unfortunately, happy times always pass quickly. Before long, they were home. Liang Baozhen pretended to help unload the vegetables to avoid her grandmother. When she saw her grandmother was about to speak, she hurried into the house to see her daughter and managed to escape her. 

After dinner, she sat at the desk and read a book. There was still more than a month before the college entrance examination. She took notes while reading the book. Before she knew it, she had reached the last page of her notebook. She got up and took out a notebook that had not been used for a long time from the wooden box that contained her dowry. She scribbled some words and wrote down the key points. 

Shanshan is not asleep at the moment. After drinking milk, she is happily playing outside with the family. She isn’t crying; instead, she’s laughing and making noise in the living room. 

Shanshan is not shy and can be held by anyone in the family. However, she cries when outsiders try to pick her up.  

Liang Baozhen read for a while before going out to play with the baby to relax. For some reason, Shanshan was in a very good mood today. Anyone who clapped their hands in front of her could attract her attention, and her little hands danced around, trying to grab someone’s hand. 

“Could you grab the cup from the room? I want to drink water,” Liang Baozhen said as she sat down in the living room, not wanting to move and starting to order Xu Shengjie around. 

Both of their enamel cups were placed in the bedroom. Xu Shengjie got up and went into the room, taking the enamel cup from the table where she was reading. 

The enamel cups were brought by Liang Baozhen as part of her dowry. The one that belonged to Xu Shengjie had the words “Shining Red Star” printed on it in large red characters, while the one that belonged to Liang Baozhen had a few bright red roses printed on it. At this moment, the handle of the cup was in Xu Shengjie’s hand. 

Just as he was about to leave, a gust of wind blew in from the window, scattering the books and pages on the table all over the place, especially the thin notebook, whose pages flew up and fluttered. 

Xu Shengjie reached out to use the book to cover the notebook, but suddenly he saw a piece of paper blown out of from the notebook. The name Liang Baozhen on it immediately attracted Xu Shengjie’s attention. 

The neat handwriting flowed elegantly, “Comrade Liang Baozhen, you are like a swallow from the heavens, flying into my heart.” 

It was signed simply with the character “He.”

Xu Shengjie frowned as he picked up the paper. What is this mess! 

The author has something to say: 

Liang Baozhen: “Eh, I received a love letter?

Xu Shengjie: It’s so vulgar! Clearly not worth my time.”