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Liu, the carpenter, studied the sketch Momo had drawn. She had based it on the small utility carts she remembered from her previous life, only without wheels, and made wider and longer. The best part of custom work was that you could decide the exact size yourself.
“I’ve never built one like this,” Liu admitted, “but it’s not difficult. Seven of them will be no problem. With my son helping, we can finish in about three days.”
“Great, thank you. We also need two wardrobes, the biggest ones you can make, and two chests.”
“I’ve got some ready-made pieces here. See if any of them suit you.”
He led them into a larger room filled with all kinds of furniture, large and small, lining the walls.
“Is this a dressing table?” Momo asked in surprise. She hadn’t even thought of one before coming, but seeing it now, she couldn’t take her eyes off it.
“Yes. It was meant for a wedding set, but the marriage was called off. By then, it was already half done, so I had to finish it. It’s been sitting here ever since. The wood is top quality. If you’ll take it, I’ll give you a good price. Better you use it than let it gather dust here.”
In the countryside, dressing tables were rare. No one bought them, no matter how fine the craftsmanship, so this one had sat unsold for ages. Now that Momo liked it, Liu saw it as fate.
“Then I’ll take this wardrobe, the dressing table, plus two chests and a washstand. And please make me one more wardrobe like this. Could you tally up the total?”
Liu was delighted. It wasn’t every day someone bought so much at once. In the end, including the custom shelves, the bill came to thirty-five yuan. He even threw in two small stools as a bonus.
Xingchen kept silent the entire time, letting his wife take charge of all the decisions.
Liu had his two sons deliver the larger pieces by cart, while the shelves would be sent over once finished. They knew their way around the military compound; every family moving in came to them for furniture.
After leaving the address, Xingchen pedaled Momo home.
“I’m exhausted. It feels like we didn’t do much, but I’m wiped out.”
It was a different kind of tiredness than her medical training had been. Back then, medicine was her passion, so no matter how grueling the hours, she bore it willingly, even reviewing the day’s lessons at night. But now, lying on the hard kang bed, her body refused to move, drained of every bit of strength.
“I’ve boiled water. You can take a bath.”
“Hm? There’s a tub? I’d forgotten.”
“Yes. I had it ordered from the carpenter. My brother said you’ve always been particular about cleanliness. There wasn’t enough time to build a bathroom before the wedding, but I’ll bring in bricks and start construction the day after tomorrow. Of course, I’ll need to treat the workers to a meal, so it’ll be some trouble for you, wife.”
Everything had been rushed. From the marriage proposal to today has been just over a week. Normally, their marriage registration would have taken at least half a month, but the report had been expedited.
After all, the army was full of single men, and Xingchen was their youngest elite soldier. The higher-ups had worried for years about his marriage prospects. Once they heard he’d chosen the sister of another officer, they couldn’t approve fast enough, terrified the match might slip away.
“It’s fine. The timing is perfect, actually. Tomorrow I’ll go with Sister Xu to trade for vegetables and eggs. The day after, I’ll buy some meat from the supply store. We still have plenty of cured pork from home, and I’ll make sure it’s a proper meal.”
The Su family had sent over more than ten jin of cured meat.
“Good. Thank you, wife. I’ll fetch the hot water.”
They set the tub in the guest room. Once the water was ready, Momo bathed, her mind wandering all the while.
She’d studied medicine, seen countless bodies of men and women alike, but she had been single her whole life. Not once, in all her twenty-some years in her past life, had she touched a man. Now she was nervous. More than that, she didn’t want children so soon—not before she was twenty.
Half an hour later, she emerged.
“The bedding’s ready,” Xingchen told her gently. “Lie down and rest. I’ll wash up and fetch more water.”
“All right.”
Seeing her in a thin nightdress, pale arms and legs exposed, made his blood rush. He excused himself quickly, afraid his nose might actually bleed, and went to wash up.
In bed, Momo resolved to talk with him first. They might be married on paper, but they hadn’t really spoken heart-to-heart yet. Communication mattered most.
Xingchen returned after a quick soldier’s shower, cleaned up the floor, then slipped into bed wearing only shorts and a vest. He reached for her small hand.
“Let’s talk. The past few days have been too rushed.”
His voice in the dark carried a warmth that soothed her.
“All right. I’m eighteen this year. I don’t want to have children so soon. I plan to wait until I’m twenty.”
“I agree. I don’t want children interfering with our life together yet. And early pregnancy isn’t good for a woman’s health.”
“How do you know that?” Momo couldn’t help but ask. In this era, most people didn’t care. Many girls in the countryside married at sixteen or seventeen.
“I overheard the army doctor once. She was talking with a nurse. The hospital keeps family planning supplies. I’ll bring some back next week on my day off. We don’t need to rush into parenthood. When we’re both ready, then.”
In his eyes, his wife was still like a child herself. How could he bear to let her suffer so soon?
“Do you ever regret marrying me? I might hold you back in your career.”
No one, she thought, could truly ignore ambition—especially a man as outstanding as him.
**“Momo, of course, I want to earn merit and rise in rank. Every soldier does. But look at the situation right now—you know it as well as I do. My current position is ideal. Any higher, and I’d become a target. I decided long ago: for now, the best path is to hold steady, accumulate achievements, and wait. Don’t worry about affecting me. My record speaks for itself. As long as I don’t make mistakes, no one can touch me.
What matters most is us being together. The only thing I can’t give you is the comfortable life you had before.”**
He was glad she’d asked him outright. It meant she trusted him. Their time together had been short, but he already knew there would never be another woman in his heart. If she were willing, he’d bare all his thoughts to her.