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Chapter 20: He Loves Her
Unlike Mingming and Ruirui who only recently started sleeping in their own room, Xiao Shitou had his own room from a very early age. But it wasn’t by choice — it was because his father said he was already a big boy and shouldn’t sleep with his mother anymore, and then forcibly set up a room for him.
Xiao Shitou was very unhappy about this. He felt it was unfair — his dad was a grown-up and still got to sleep with Mom, so what was wrong with him, a mere three-year-old, wanting to do the same?
So, to this day, he still insisted on sleeping in the master bedroom every night.
But his dad was very sneaky. Every time he was home, he would wait until Xiao Shitou had fallen asleep, and then quietly carry him into the second bedroom. That’s why, every morning, the boy would wake up in an unfamiliar room.
Well — not unfamiliar anymore, actually. Thanks to his dad doing this so often, the second bedroom was now pretty familiar to him.
That night was no different. After Xiao Shitou fell asleep, Zhou Jianhai carried him into the second bedroom as usual. Because the weather was hot, he didn’t tuck him in tightly — just covered his chest with the corner of a thin blanket.
Then he turned off the light, shut the door, and went back to the master bedroom.
In the main room, Deng Xiangyun was leaning against the headboard, sewing the sole of a shoe under the soft light of a bedside lamp.
Because the room was large and the lightbulb wattage was too low, the lighting was always a bit dim. It wasn’t a problem for dressing or sleeping, but made it hard to do detailed work. So when Deng Xiangyun did sewing at night, she’d turn on both the ceiling light and the bedside lamp to make it brighter.
Zhou Jianhai stood at the doorway for a while, then walked over and gently took the stitching from her hands. “It’s so late. Stop working — it’s bad for your eyes.”
“I’m almost done. I just wanted to finish it while I still have a bit of free time these few days,” she said, but still followed her husband’s advice and put the work away.
Zhou Jianhai was a sharp man. Hearing her say that, he asked, “Did something come up these days?”
“Why do you ask?” Deng Xiangyun looked surprised.
“Why else would you be in such a hurry to finish?”
She remembered that she had been so focused on her sewing that she forgot to tell him about work. She let out a soft “Mm” and said, “Actually, yes, something did come up.”
Zhou Jianhai frowned. “What is it?”
“Don’t worry, it’s not a bad thing,” she said with a smile, seeing his nervous expression. “Officer Wu from the Military Family Placement Office came by today. She said Comrade Hu from the hospital pharmacy is transferring back home with her husband, and there’s a vacancy.”
Zhou Jianhai was puzzled. “What does that have to do with us?”
“She recommended me to Director Luo to take over the position, and Director Luo didn’t object.”
Zhou Jianhai raised his eyebrows. “Director Luo didn’t object? Are you sure?”
Deng Xiangyun said, “I don’t have much contact with Officer Wu, but there’s no reason for her to make something like this up.”
Zhou Jianhai thought it over and agreed. Still, he was suspicious. “Why would they suddenly give you such a good position?”
It wasn’t that he thought his wife didn’t deserve it — but ever since he reported Luo Shuzhi to the army, she had it in for them. No one tried to sabotage him openly because their political commissar was a fair person who didn’t mix personal grudges with public duties. But Luo Shuzhi wasn’t so magnanimous. Since the day he filed that complaint, the Placement Office hadn’t arranged a single job for his wife.
Now, out of nowhere, they were offering a great hospital pharmacy position? No wonder he was suspicious.
Deng Xiangyun didn’t hide anything. She repeated everything Officer Wu had told her, word for word.
Having worked at the Placement Office for years, Officer Wu clearly knew how to make things sound logical. Her reasoning, if not airtight, at least made sense.
Zhou Jianhai thought for a moment and asked, “When do you start work?”
“Next Monday.”
“That soon?”
She nodded. “Officer Wu said I should get familiar with the pharmacy before Comrade Hu leaves.”
Although all the medicine in the pharmacy had labels from stocking to sorting, it wouldn’t help if the person on duty didn’t recognize any of it. At the very least, one had to have a rough idea. That’s why the hospital was so eager to fill the spot.
“Makes sense,” Zhou Jianhai said thoughtfully. Then he added, “But if you go to work, what about Xiao Shitou?”
Deng Xiangyun sighed. “That’s what I’ve been worrying about. Officer Wu said we can ask a military wife who doesn’t work to help out, but I don’t even know who to ask.”
Because of her political background, Deng Xiangyun didn’t have much interaction with the other military wives in the housing area. She wasn’t close to any of them, so she didn’t dare ask just anyone to take care of her son. Xiao Shitou was only three years old — if the person she asked mistreated him behind her back, she might not even find out in time.
She rarely went out, and Zhou Jianhai knew even fewer of the military wives — he was a man, after all. At most, he would nod in greeting if they crossed paths, with no real conversation.
But he did know their husbands well.
And in Zhou Jianhai’s view, if they had to ask someone to help take care of their child, it was better to either:
But both approaches had their drawbacks.
As for the first option, the wives in the housing area weren’t really strangers. Even if they didn’t meet every day, they’d run into each other every few days. Truly finding a stranger would mean going to nearby villages. But then, those people didn’t live in the compound — handing over their child to a complete outsider living outside the housing area? What if something happened? They’d have nowhere to cry.
If they invited someone to live in their home instead, that changed everything. It wasn’t asking for help anymore — it was hiring a nanny. In those days, hiring a nanny was seen as showing off. And given Deng Xiangyun’s political status, it could easily get her labeled.
As for the second option — military wives who qualified to follow their husbands on assignments generally had decent wages. Unless they had major expenses, most lived comfortably. They might not be interested in the trouble of watching another person’s child.
Besides, even if he trusted his comrades’ wives not to mistreat his son, ideally he’d prefer someone with a gentle temper and a bit of patience.
So here was the problem: among all his close comrades, whose wife fit that description — gentle, patient, currently not working, and willing to help care for a child?
Not easy to find!
Zhou Jianhai suddenly thought of something. “By the way, after dinner, who did our son go looking for?”
“He went next door to find Mingming and Ruirui — Deputy Battalion Commander Zong’s twins,” Deng Xiangyun replied, puzzled. “Why do you ask?”
Zhou Jianhai rubbed his chin. “Well, our boy finally made some friends. Seems like he gets along really well with Zong Shao’s kids?”
Deng Xiangyun smiled lightly. She was also happy their son had made friends. “Yes, they get along great. Lin Wei is nice too — she even let Xiao Shitou have some fruit at their place.”
“Lin Wei is Zong Shao’s wife?”
“Mm.”
Zhou Jianhai suddenly asked, “What do you think about asking her to help watch Xiao Shitou?”
“Lin Wei?” Deng Xiangyun looked surprised. “Wouldn’t that be a bit inappropriate?”
“What’s inappropriate about it? I’ve thought it through. If we’re going to entrust our child to someone, it should be someone we’re close with. I’ve known Zong Shao for years — I know his character. I’d feel safe leaving our son with them. Besides, didn’t you just say his wife is nice, and their kids play well with ours?”
Deng Xiangyun considered it. The more she thought about it, the more sense it made. But she still hesitated. “But Lin Wei already has two kids of her own. Would she be willing to take on one more? Also, I heard she had a job before she followed her husband — she might go back to work soon too…”
“Whether she’s willing or not, we can just ask. As for her job, we can figure it out later. Worst case, we pool money with another family to hire someone together.”
They had one family asking for help with babysitting, which might easily be misinterpreted, but if two or even three families did it together, the problem wouldn’t be so big. They might even be able to apply for a daycare with the authorities.
Of course, that’s a matter for the future. What’s important now is how to settle his son.
Zhou Jianhai said, “How about this? Tomorrow I’ll make time to talk to Zong Shao about this and test his opinion. If he’s unwilling, we won’t consider other options.”
Deng Xiangyun thought for a moment and agreed, nodding, “Alright.”
…
Next door, Zong Shao was also asking what happened with Lin Wei.
At that time, Lin Wei was about to go to bed when she heard this question. She paused and sat sideways on the bed, tilting her head to ask, “Why do you suddenly ask?”
“When we were watching the sea, it seemed like something was wrong with your mood.” Zong Shao looked cold, but in reality, he was very sensitive to emotions. He’d felt that Lin Wei was troubled, but the atmosphere at the time wasn’t right for asking, so he delayed it until now.
Lin Wei leaned back against the headboard, recalling her mood when watching the sea, and said, “I don’t think I was thinking about anything.”
“Really nothing?”
Zong Shao asked again, clearly unconvinced.
Lin Wei paused, then said, “Well, there is one thing. The job at the hospital pharmacy fell through.”
Zong Shao frowned, “Wasn’t everything settled yesterday? How did it suddenly fall through?”
“Director Chen said someone went to the military dependents’ resettlement office to complain, saying it was unfair to assign me a job before my household registration was processed.” Lin Wei thought for a moment but decided not to mention Luo Shuzhi.
Zong Shao’s frown deepened. “Is there such a rule in the military dependents’ resettlement office?”
“It might not be an explicit rule, but they should have a fixed process for handling things.” In short, whether this matter was compliant or not, the interpretation was entirely in the hands of the military dependents’ resettlement office.
If they didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, they could easily let it slide and fix the paperwork. But it was clear they wanted to investigate, so they invoked the “fixed process” flag. Since there was a procedure, what they were saying wasn’t technically an excuse, and it also made the other military wives feel more at ease.
If she decided to contest it, however, it would put her in a bad position. The rumor would tarnish her reputation, and the best choice for her was to swallow this grievance in silence.
Luo Shuzhi’s move was undoubtedly clever.
Zong Shao understood this point, but in the military, things were usually done according to regulations, without such back-and-forth. Hearing Lin Wei’s explanation, however, he thought of a series of matters behind the scenes, and his expression turned darker.
But his handsome features made him look even more striking, even when his face was serious.
Lin Wei leaned against the bedhead, looking at him, and suddenly realized that since they got married, she hadn’t really looked at the man in front of her carefully.
Although the country promoted free love after the founding of the People’s Republic, most people still entered marriage through arranged blind dates.
And after the blind date, the courting phase could last anywhere from a few months to over a year, during which they might only meet three or four times. Even after marriage, they were still somewhat strangers.
She and Zong Shao had actually spent quite some time together—over half a year—but they hadn’t met much more than a couple who’d been dating for a few months. His job was special, and it wasn’t guaranteed that he’d come home even once every two or three years.
They wrote a few letters during that time, but since they didn’t know each other well and Zong Shao wasn’t very talkative, his letters were always short and dry, leaving her speechless.
Sometimes she wondered how she had been so bold, agreeing to marry him after just one meeting and a few letters.
But when she thought about it, it didn’t seem so strange. Although she didn’t know Zong Shao well, their mothers were close, and their families were familiar with each other.
Besides, Zong Shao was tall, good-looking, and worked as a soldier, which ensured his character. His financial situation wasn’t bad either. Compared to the men in their village, he was much better off.
If she missed him, she might never find someone with better conditions.
In fact, she had made the right choice.
Although Zong Shao didn’t come back often, he always sent his salary on time. Even when she had no job after moving to the city, they never lacked money.
Her mother-in-law was kind, and since her own mother and mother-in-law were old friends, and her son was often away, she felt a sense of indebtedness. When she was alive, she often said that she treated Lin Wei like her own daughter.
Therefore, even though she and her husband lived apart after marriage, Lin Wei never felt that life was hard.
In fact, those years were quite carefree.
If her mother-in-law hadn’t passed away, and her mother hadn’t stayed behind to take care of the child, leaving her father alone in their hometown, they wouldn’t have had to live apart after spending their whole lives together. But for her sake, they were also forced to separate.
Her sisters-in-law were resentful, as her mother-in-law helped her daughter but didn’t help her sons, which led to escalating family conflicts.
Plus, Lin Wei was worried that if she and Zong Shao continued living apart, the bond between them would continue to fade. That was why she didn’t give up her job in Shicheng to follow him.
That’s why, when Lin Wei dreamed that Zong Shao would forever miss her after her death, her first reaction was surprise.
For most people in this era, love was distant and intangible. Lin Wei was no exception.
She had married Zong Shao because of his height, looks, good job, and income, as well as the fact that he seemed reliable even though he didn’t speak much. She didn’t dislike him, and in fact, had some fondness for him, though that was the least of her reasons.
Over time, due to their prolonged separation, Zong Shao had inevitably become more of a symbol for her, rather than someone she knew deeply.
So she didn’t understand why he, such a smart man, could end up being so foolish.
Zong Shao was still thinking about Lin Wei’s job issue when he turned around and saw her eyes red. He hurriedly reached out to wipe away her tears, saying, “Don’t cry. I’ll think of a way to solve this…”
Seeing him so helpless, Lin Wei cried even harder. She shook her head and asked, “Why are you so foolish?”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in his chest.
Zong Shao, though a bit confused about why she thought he was foolish, still hugged her, gently stroking her hair with his large hand, his voice low: “Why are you crying like a little girl?”
But Lin Wei suddenly asked, “Zong Shao, do you love me?”
Zong Shao’s throat moved slightly, his voice dry as he asked, “Why are you asking this all of a sudden?”
Lin Wei didn’t answer or continue to press him, because she already knew the answer. Zong Shao loved her.
She didn’t think this because of the novel where he never remarried after her death, but because he always missed her.
Life and death parting, always remembered.
It was too much.
She turned her head and kissed the corner of his lips.
Feeling the warmth on his lips, Zong Shao’s pupils dilated slightly, but Lin Wei closed her eyes, thinking:
Since he loved her so much, she was willing to love him more.
If she could survive until next summer, she would love him for a little longer.