Sister Zhao led Su Rui to the old educated youth dormitory, and the two talked a lot along the way.

Su Rui didn’t hide anything from Sister Zhao and told her about the date introduced by Su Chang’e.

Sister Zhao sighed, “This is her own choice. It’s not like you didn’t give her a chance. Even without this, I can see that your family would have split up sooner or later. Let’s see how things go for her in the future.”

Su Rui breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “I was afraid you’d scold me.”

Sister Zhao replied, “This is your family’s private matter. I won’t interfere. But from my personal perspective, I also support you moving out.”

As the sky darkened, they arrived at the old dormitory.

“This used to be the old educated youth dormitory. Later, when the new houses were built, the newly arrived educated youth moved into the front-row houses, leaving this wooden house vacant. I originally planned to tear it down, but since you don’t have a place to stay, you can use it for now. You can move once the new houses are built.”

The old dormitory wasn’t far from the educated youth’s quarters—just a front and back courtyard apart. From here, they could still hear the sounds of people playing and chatting from the front yard.

Su Rui walked around the wooden house, rolled up her sleeves, and said, “I think it’s great. It’s summer now, so I don’t need heating. This wooden house is just right for me.”

Sister Zhao said, “You can sleep at my place tonight. I’ll grant you a day off tomorrow so you can clean up. Oh, I also have insect repellent. I’ll spray some tonight.”

Su Rui nodded. “Alright, I’ll move my things first.”

Back at the Su house, she stood at the courtyard gate and politely called out, “Aunt Su, Second Sister Su, I’m here to move my things!”

Su Chang’e leaned against the doorframe, spitting out watermelon seed shells. “You changed how you call us pretty fast. Hurry up, we’ve been waiting for you.”

Su Hongpei walked out of the west room, carrying a bundle and placing it under the jujube tree. “I packed some things for you. Take a look.”

Su Rui happily walked over and saw that Aunt Song and a few others were also there.

Aunt Song scoffed, “You’re just leaving like this? They’re getting off easy. Think about all the work you did for them over the years!”

Su Rui whispered, “Let’s just go. Soon enough, you’ll be praising me.”

Aunt Song carried a wooden chest, Aunt Sun held two stools, and Sister Zhao and the others worked together to lift a table.

Seeing them moving things, Su Yuqin came out to stop them. “Are you trying to empty my house?”

Su Hongpei stated, “These were all made by the carpenter for her. The agreement was that her belongings go wherever she goes.”

Su Yuqin picked up a broom to hit Su Hongpei, but Su Chang’e stopped her and mocked, “Big sister, you can only act tough in your own home. Who would want a washed-up old maid like you?”

Su Hongpei’s eyes turned red, but she said nothing. She silently returned to the west room, rolled up the bedding that Su Rui had recently made, and carried it on her shoulder.

Su Rui didn’t witness this scene. She was gathering Su Li’s and her clothes, which weren’t many. At the gate, she glanced at Su Yuqin and Su Chang’e before walking away without looking back.

Everyone helped carry her belongings to the old dormitory. Although Su Rui had planned to clean up the next day, Aunt Song and the others immediately got to work. They rolled up their sleeves and started sweeping, mopping, and scrubbing the place.

Su Hongpei even cleaned the outdoor stove and said, “I’ll steal a pot from the house for you later.”

Aunt Song chuckled, “Aren’t you afraid your mother will beat you?”

Su Hongpei said indifferently, “It’s not like she’ll lose a piece of flesh.”

Su Rui held Su Hongpei’s hand and said, “Big sister, why don’t you move in with me? We can face anything together.”

Su Hongpei shook her head and looked down. “I won’t leave.”

Su Rui asked, “Why not?”

Su Hongpei replied, “I plan to find someone to marry soon. After that, it’ll be like I’ve separated from the family. Even if I wanted to live with you, I can’t. Su Yuqin is my mother, and Su Chang’e is my sister. No matter how far I go, I can’t escape them.”

Su Rui sighed and held her hand. “If anything happens, you must tell me. Now that I’m gone, they’ll definitely target you.”

Su Hongpei reassured her, “I know. Don’t worry.”

The sounds of their cleaning and moving furniture caught the attention of the educated youth living in the front houses. Some of the well-informed educated youth knew that Su Rui had been kicked out by her family. Feeling indignant, they enthusiastically joined in to help.

The next day, Su Rui didn’t go to work. Instead, she stayed home and carefully wiped down all her furniture, pots, and dishes.

The old dormitory had a large kang bed, big enough for her to roll around freely. She was quite satisfied with it.

The outer room had a stove and a cupboard. Opening the door led directly to the front yard, which connected to the main educated youth quarters.

After a busy day, everything was finally coming together.

That evening, a few female educated youth finished their classes and, before the evening study session, came to her door, calling out, “Comrade Su Rui, are you home? We brought you some things!”

Su Rui had a good impression of them. There were seven or eight of them, with the oldest being only twenty-one and the youngest just seventeen.

They had all traveled a long way to Xiaoba Village, carrying dreams in their hearts. Lately, they had been helping the village by teaching the children, using the blackboard Su Rui had bought.

Su Rui was grateful for their efforts in educating the children. She pushed open the door and invited them inside.

“If you didn’t come, I was planning to visit you instead,” Su Rui said, bringing out sticky bean buns for them. “I made these myself this morning. They’re filled with red bean paste. Eat them while they’re still warm.”

The girls handed Su Rui the oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and five pounds of sorghum rice they had brought. The oldest among them, Xiao Li, said, “We came to bring you some warmth. We figured it must be hard for you to buy things like oil and seasonings on your own, so we pooled together and got some from the canteen for you. We paid for everything, so don’t worry about it.”

Su Rui handed each of them a sticky bean bun and said gratefully, “I was just worried about how to buy these things. Thank you.”

The young women sat together, chatting and munching on their buns. The liveliest ones were Zhou Qingqing and Chen Yun. While the others ate quickly, the two of them were too busy complaining about the Su family to finish their food.

Worried that Su Rui might feel uncomfortable, Xiao Li changed the subject and asked She Manman about her partner. “Next time he comes over, have him bring an extra portion of potato pancakes. I’ll pay for it. Let Su Rui try some of your hometown’s specialties.”

Su Rui had taken care of them before. They usually ate communal meals, which lacked oil and flavor. During the New Year, Su Rui had even saved some lard to cook for them.

Hearing that She Manman had a partner, Su Rui became interested and asked, “Where is he from?”

She Manman blushed and said, “He’s from Yancheng, not far from Beijing.”

Su Rui chatted with her casually, occasionally passing more sticky bean buns to the others.

The living conditions were truly harsh, even worse than those in the communal houses for the educated youth.

Xiao Li and the others had mentioned many times that if her house leaked during the rain, she should come and sleep on the kang with them.

Su Rui felt that distant relatives weren’t as good as close neighbors, so she agreed.

They continued chatting until footsteps approached from the front.

Before Su Rui could get up, someone carrying large bags strode into the doorway.

Su Rui suddenly stood up, her face full of surprise. “Why are you here?”

Dressed in casual clothes, Fang Chiye nodded at the educated youth with a smile before turning to Su Rui. “I heard you moved. I happened to have some soldiers skilled in masonry and carpentry. They offered to come and help, so I brought them along.” As he spoke, he placed the bags on the table by the stove.

The educated youth looked over curiously and were stunned.

Polished rice, white flour, pork ribs, cured fish, and cured meat—all of the best quality. There were also white noodles, red sugar, milk powder, calcium biscuits, several packs of Ma Dajie peach crisps, and Butterfly brand shrimp crisps.

Fang Chiye led Su Rui outside, introduced her to the mason and carpenter, then climbed onto the roof himself to inspect for leaks.

The educated youth exchanged glances. They were eager to know Su Rui’s relationship with him. Something about this seemed unusual.

Xiao Li stepped closer and said, “He looks familiar.”

She Manman whispered from behind, “Doesn’t he look like Captain Fang, the one who gave that speech the other day? But he’s such a high-ranking officer… I must be mistaken.”

Su Rui chuckled and said, “He is Captain Fang. Your eyesight is pretty good.”

Zhou Qingqing and Chen Yun made exaggerated expressions. Taking advantage of the fact that Fang Chiye was still on the roof, they each grabbed one of Su Rui’s arms and asked, “What’s going on between you two? Why is Captain Fang here to fix your house?”

Su Rui hadn’t publicly shared her relationship with Fang Chiye. She scratched her head, unsure how to explain.

After all, in previous conversations with the educated youth about their ideal partners, everyone had named someone. Some even mentioned Chen Haiyan, but no one had ever brought up Fang Chiye.

It wasn’t that Fang Chiye wasn’t outstanding. He was just too outstanding. His rank was too high, and everyone felt he was out of reach—not even worth daydreaming about.

On the roof, Fang Chiye had been listening. Realizing that Su Rui was feeling shy, he took the initiative to say, “We’re dating.” Before they could react, he added, “Dating with marriage in mind.”

It was like a thunderclap in a clear sky.

Xiao Li and the others were stunned speechless.

Chen Yun blurted out, “Well, well, Su Rui, you really kept this under wraps! Turns out you have such an amazing partner!”

Zhou Qingqing grabbed Su Rui’s arm. “No way! You have to tell us everything. How did you two get together? When did it happen? Spill it!”

Blushing, Su Rui lowered her voice. “I’ll tell you tonight. There are men here, and I feel embarrassed.”

Above them, Fang Chiye chuckled.

Su Rui pulled the girls inside. “Eat some peach crisps first. I’ll cook later. Let’s invite Aunt Song and the others. Today can be my housewarming.”

Xiao Li teased, “No, no, don’t invite anyone. Your partner rarely gets time off. Why should we intrude? We’re leaving.”

Zhou Qingqing and the others giggled. “We know when to back off. We’ll come interrogate you after he leaves.”

The house repairs took an entire day. Since it wasn’t convenient for Fang Chiye to send the two soldiers back, he stayed and had dinner at Su Rui’s place with them.

Finally meeting Su Rui in person, the two young soldiers blushed and greeted her, “Hello, Sister-in-law.”

Now it was Su Rui’s turn to blush.

Fang Chiye pretended not to notice and sat across from her, helping with the dishes after dinner.

The two young soldiers were quick-witted. They went to the front yard to sweep, giving their captain and his partner some privacy.

“Was the family split unpleasant?” Fang Chiye asked. “Sister Zhao said you cried.”

Su Rui immediately understood why he had come so quickly, even bringing masons and carpenters along.

“I was fake crying,” she admitted, not minding that Sister Zhao had told him. It was probably just a passing comment during a phone call.

“My eldest sister said she sent the wrong letter. She also said that if we were going to split, we should do it sooner rather than later. Since you’re not a convict, that means Su Chang’e’s partner must be. Do you remember her asking you about that man, Zhan Huan?”

Fang Chiye said, “I looked into it. He is indeed a convict. He was sentenced to fifteen years for intentional assault. He’s not young anymore—almost forty. For the first ten years, he behaved well and actively participated in labor reform. The labor camp director gave him a chance to be transferred here for reform-through-labor. It looks like Big Sister was right—separating the family in time was the right decision.”

Su Rui chuckled and said, “You have the nerve to call Big Sister.”

Fang Chiye shamelessly replied, “Marry a chicken, follow the chicken. Marry a dog, follow the dog.”

Su Rui’s eyes suddenly lit up as she said, “So, does that mean… I can actually go through with my plan to find a live-in son-in-law?”

Fang Chiye said, “You sure have big ambitions.”

Su Rui cautiously probed, “So, do you think my grand ambition can come true?”

Fang Chiye smiled and said, “There’s a big gap between ideals and reality.”

Su Rui’s little face fell. “You’re just being evasive. Tell me straight.”

Fang Chiye looked into her eyes and said each word clearly, “No chance. It’s over.”

Su Rui acted as if she had heard some earth-shattering bad news, her ears ringing. “It’s really over?”

Fang Chiye said coldly, “Don’t even think about it.”

The moment those words left his mouth, Su Rui, the little village cadre who had been as ambitious as a lion cub in her quest to marry a live-in-husband, lost all hope. She walked to a corner, hugged her knees, and wallowed in sorrow.

“It’s over, completely over.”