Chapter 32

When Shi Tingyu saw the room suddenly go dark, she instinctively let out a shout.

Realizing what happened, she clamped her mouth shut.

It wasn’t that she was particularly scared, just caught off guard.

This was the first time she had experienced a power outage since coming here.

It was only then that she remembered that the electricity supply often couldn’t keep up, and power outages were frequent.

While she was lost in her thoughts, Lu Weiguo’s voice came from afar, getting closer.

“Wife? Are you okay?”

Lu Weiguo had rushed over as soon as he heard Shi Tingyu’s shout.

It was already dark, and his eyes had adjusted to the darkness on the way, allowing him to see the outline of the bathtub in the room.

Shi Tingyu stayed in the bathtub without moving. In this pitch-black situation, coming out and accidentally bumping into something would be really awkward.

Standing at the doorway and unable to see her face, Lu Weiguo was about to come in when Shi Tingyu quickly said, “I’m fine, just got startled by the power outage. It’s okay now.”

The room was a bit hot, and Lu Weiguo took a deep breath, “Are you afraid of the dark? I’ll go get a candle for you.”

“Go ahead, I’m not afraid.”

Shi Tingyu truly wasn’t afraid now because Lu Weiguo was there. Even though they weren’t in the same room, she felt very secure.

If she were alone, she might have been a bit uneasy.

After hesitating for a moment, Lu Weiguo went to find a candle.

He first retrieved a kerosene lighter from a drawer, lit it, and then quickly found a candle.

The white candle was long and thin. He lit the candle, and the dark room instantly warmed up with a yellow glow.

Entering the room where Shi Tingyu was bathing, Lu Weiguo lowered his gaze, avoiding looking inside. He crouched down, dripped some candle wax onto the ground, and before it solidified, fixed the candle onto it.

With the candle standing firm, Lu Weiguo’s voice was a bit husky, “The candle is lit, you can come out when you’re done.”

“Okay.” Shi Tingyu shrank back into the bathtub, with only her head visible.

When Shi Tingyu finished dressing and came out, the electricity still hadn’t returned.

The transformer serving their area was shared and located at the far western end of this row of family courtyards.

Normally, Lu Weiguo would have gone to check the transformer.

But seeing Shi Tingyu, he dismissed the idea. Although she said she wasn’t afraid, her earlier shout was genuine.

Even if she wasn’t very scared, she was likely a bit uneasy.

If he didn’t go, someone else would surely check the transformer.

Sure enough, not long after, the electricity came back on.

The room was bright again.

Shi Tingyu felt like it suddenly turned into daytime.

With the candle burning, there was always a dim and ghostly feeling, but with the electricity back, the light dispelled all the darkness, restoring her sense of security.

Seeing Shi Tingyu relax, Lu Weiguo went out to wash up.

He usually took a quick shower at the camp’s public bathhouse after training, and now he just needed a simple wash.

When they both lay down in bed, Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu started chatting.

As the weather was getting hotter, Shi Tingyu planned to buy an electric fan.

This was considered a big purchase at the time, so she had to inform Lu Weiguo.

Lu Weiguo said, “Alright, I’ll go with you.”

Electric fans were quite heavy at the time, so he could help carry it back.

Shi Tingyu glanced at him, “You never seem to object to anything I want to buy.”

Lu Weiguo looked at her, a hint of indulgence in his eyes, “Everything you buy is necessary. Besides, I can afford it.”

Shi Tingyu said, “In a few days, I’ll start working and will have my own salary.”

“My wife is amazing.” Lu Weiguo praised her sincerely.

Satisfied with his attitude, Shi Tingyu turned over and went to sleep.

In this era, she felt somewhat insecure.

With the special circumstances, her parents being sent down, and a husband she had only known for a few days.

She admitted to having feelings for Lu Weiguo because she sensed sincerity from him.

But the deep-seated sense of insecurity would take time and trust to build a healthy marriage relationship.

Meanwhile, at the Lu family’s home.

Lu Wenbin came home to find his mother sulking in silence.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, completely bewildered.

Aunt Lu turned away, letting out a snort through her nose.

Lu Wenbin sensed something was wrong. He put down his military cap and went inside to check on his son.

He and his wife had been married for five years before having this child, whom they cherished dearly.

At the moment, Su Qiaoyue was lying on the bed watching their child sleep.

“Honey, what’s wrong with Mom?”

Su Qiaoyue opened her eyes with a look of disdain. “What’s wrong? She got her pride hurt.”

After questioning her closely, he found out that his mother had gone to ask the battalion commander’s new wife to help with the banquet.

If it were a normal invitation, it would have been fine, but she had offered a measly two-yuan red envelope. Wasn’t that an insult?

At their level, monthly salaries were in three digits; who cared about two yuan?

Hiring a master to handle the banquet would cost much more, even double the red envelope amount.

Su Qiaoyue said, “You need to talk to your mom. You’re an instructor. If your own family doesn’t have high ideological awareness, how can you conduct ideological work in the future?”

Lu Wenbin usually took his wife’s words to heart.

His wife was beautiful and a high school graduate, meeting all his expectations. However, since his mother had come to take care of her during confinement, family conflicts had escalated.

He was somewhat at his wits’ end.

“Have you eaten yet?” Lu Wenbin changed the subject, noticing there was no smell of food when he came back.

This brought Su Qiaoyue’s anger back.

“No, I haven’t eaten yet.”

“If your mom is upset, that’s one thing. But at least she should have cooked. Instead, she’s just sitting there, doing nothing. And I’m still in my confinement period.”

Knowing that she shouldn’t get angry during confinement, Lu Wenbin said, “Wait a moment, I’ll ask my sister to help with the cooking. Let’s eat first, and then we can discuss it.”

Su Qiaoyue took a few deep breaths, fearing that loud noises would wake the baby.

“Ha, your good sister went to the cafeteria to eat.”

Originally, Lu Wenchan had thought of helping out at her brother’s place, especially since she hoped he could introduce her to an officer.

When she saw their mother hadn’t cooked, she thought of doing it herself.

But Aunt Lu wasn’t happy about it.

All she could think of was what Lu Weiguo had said earlier.

“—Let your daughter handle the banquet; it’ll save you two yuan.”

Her anger flared up, and she refused to let her daughter cook. She even gave her two yuan to eat at the cafeteria instead.

Now, the food in the military cafeteria was strictly accounted for.

Soldiers had a daily food allowance of fifty-five cents, and they couldn’t use the soldiers’ rations to feed non-soldiers.

Lu Wenbin knew he had to have a good talk with his mother, but first, he needed to go to the cafeteria to get some food. They had to eat dinner before anything else.

As her son came out and left again, Aunt Lu glanced toward the room.

Their earlier conversation had been quiet, and she hadn’t heard what her daughter-in-law and son had discussed.

Aunt Lu pushed open her son’s door and asked Su Qiaoyue, “Jinbao’s mother, it’s so late, what did you send Binzi out to do?”

Su Qiaoyue: …

Didn’t you know what he went out for?

And that nickname is so outdated!