Chapter 011

Following Shi Huaiming’s instructions, Zhenzhen focused and, after finishing dinner, went back to her homework.

Shi Huaiming didn’t stay to watch her; instead, he went next door to pick up the things from Li Shuang.

Li Shuang handed him the bag, then passed him an envelope. “Everything you bought for your Xiaomianhua is in this bag. The envelope contains the list and the remaining change. I’ve written down everything you bought and how much each item cost. You can check it later.”

Shi Huaiming took the bag and the envelope, saying, “Thanks, I’ll take Zhenzhen and treat your family to dinner sometime.”

Li Shuang waved it off. “It’s no trouble. You don’t need to worry about that.”

…

Back at the desk, under the desk lamp, Zhenzhen sat up straight, writing diligently.

While writing, Zhenzhen softly recited the alphabet under her breath.

When Shi Huaiming returned, she had just copied the letter “i.”

Hearing the sound of the door, Zhenzhen looked up to greet him, but Shi Huaiming spoke first: “Don’t get distracted. Just ignore me—keep going.”

Zhenzhen swallowed her greeting and obediently lowered her head, gripping her pencil tightly as she continued writing with focus.

Shi Huaiming didn’t say anything more. He sat down in the chair next to her and pulled a book from the stack in front of him.

He opened it and began reading attentively. Apart from the sound of turning pages, the room was quiet.

Zhenzhen felt pressured sitting beside him.

She tensed up, concentrating even harder on her writing, afraid he might criticize her if she made a mistake.

Once she carefully finished all six letters, she handed her notebook to Shi Huaiming.

He set his book down and took her notebook, flipping through the pages.

After reviewing her work, he asked, “Not bad. Do you have them memorized?”

Zhenzhen hesitated. “I think so?”

Shi Huaiming closed the textbook on the table and handed her notebook back. “Let’s test it—try writing them from memory.”

Zhenzhen looked exactly like a nervous elementary school student.

She moved the notebook in front of her, her expression tightening. Under his gaze, she slowly began writing on a new page, one careful stroke at a time, until all six letters were down.

When she finished, she lifted her hand and cautiously asked, “Is this okay?”

Shi Huaiming had been watching her write and nodded. “That’s good. It’s getting late—let’s stop here for today.”

Hearing that, Zhenzhen let out a silent sigh of relief.

With her study session done, she wouldn’t need to stay in his room any longer.

She closed her notebook, put down her pencil, and stood up. “Then I’ll go get ready for bed.”

Before she could walk out the door, Shi Huaiming called out, “Wait a moment.”

Zhenzhen stopped and turned around. “Is there… something else?”

Shi Huaiming didn’t answer right away. He got up from the desk and headed toward the kitchen, so Zhenzhen followed him.

In the kitchen, he said, “I bought all the rice, flour, and other supplies you asked for—oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, everything I could get. As for fresh vegetables, fruits, pork, and lamb, you can buy those when needed from the supply shop near the school. Just bring money and ration tickets. It’s quite convenient.”

Zhenzhen perked up at the mention of cooking and nodded. “Got it.”

She looked around and asked, “But… how do I cook here?”

That was exactly why Shi Huaiming had brought her to the kitchen.

He led her over to the stove and said, “In the city, we use coal stoves now—no more traditional clay stoves. I’ve already put some old newspaper and small kindling at the base of the stove. Use those to get the fire started.”

He struck a match and lit the paper inside the stove.

Once the flames grew stronger, he used tongs to place a coal briquette into the stove. “Use the small fire underneath to ignite the coal. Once that briquette is burning well, you can add more on top.”

Zhenzhen watched closely and listened carefully.

When the coal caught fire, Shi Huaiming added a few more briquettes and put down the tongs. Then he fetched some water and placed a large aluminum pot, half full, on the stove.

The fire was officially going.

He adjusted the stove door. “When you’re not using it, keep the door mostly closed like this. Let it burn on a low flame. By morning, the water will be hot enough for washing, and you won’t need to heat more separately.”

Zhenzhen had always been good at cooking and working with fire.

She nodded, feeling confident. “I understand.”

Shi Huaiming opened the window a bit and added, “If the stove is burning at night, make sure to keep the window cracked. Without ventilation, you could get poisoned.”

Zhenzhen was surprised. “This could cause poisoning?”

Shi Huaiming nodded. “It’s best to be cautious.”

Zhenzhen memorized everything. Life in the city, she thought, really wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

After explaining everything, Shi Huaiming added, “If you feel like cooking, go ahead. If not, you can get food from the canteen or eat there directly. Right now, your main focus should still be on studying—don’t let yourself get too distracted.”

Zhenzhen gave a serious nod. “I understand. It won’t interfere with my studies.”

With nothing more to say, Shi Huaiming told her, “Go wash up and get some rest.”

Zhenzhen didn’t delay. She quickly went to wash.

But when she returned to her room, she didn’t go to bed right away.

Everything she and Li Shuang had bought at the department store had been brought back by Shi Huaiming and placed neatly on her desk.

Zhenzhen sat down to examine the items.

Everything felt new and unfamiliar, so she picked each item up to study it.

She pulled out a sanitary belt from a small yellow paper packet. Remembering what Li Shuang had said, Zhenzhen blushed and quickly tucked it back in.

After inspecting the rest, she stored them neatly in her drawer. On the desk, only a jar of Snow Cream remained.

Zhenzhen picked it up and carefully unscrewed the lid. She held it up to her nose and sniffed.

Just as Li Shuang said—it smelled lovely.

The pleasant fragrance even lifted her mood.

She gazed at the smooth white cream inside, hesitant to use it.

After a long moment, she took a deep breath and scooped out a tiny dab with her fingertip.

Facing the mirror, she gently rubbed it into her face, spreading it slowly.

When she finished, her hands still smelled sweet. She rubbed her palms over the backs of her hands, spreading the scent.

Back in the countryside, she mostly sold goods at the market and didn’t work the fields much, so her hands weren’t very rough.

Now, with the fragrance, they were soft and fragrant too.

After applying the Snow Cream, Zhenzhen felt great.

She screwed the lid back on and carefully stored it in the drawer.

Then she lay down in bed and turned off the light. As she lay there blinking slowly, she recalled everything that had happened during the day. The memories felt like a dream—so surreal it was hard to believe it all really happened.

Wrapped in that sense of unreality, Zhenzhen drifted off to sleep.

Even in her dreams, there was nothing but the things she had bought at the department store earlier that day.

When she woke up in the morning, the images still lingered faintly in her mind.

After fully waking, she got up, got dressed, and opened the door—just in time to bump into Shi Huaiming heading out.

Shi Huaiming said to her, “I’m going to training now. I’ll come back for breakfast after it’s over.”

Zhenzhen replied, “Third Brother, what would you like to eat? I’ll cook it for you.”

Shi Huaiming kept walking as he spoke, “There’s only rice and flour at home. Probably not much you can make. Better go get food from the canteen. Do you still remember how to get there?”

Zhenzhen nodded, “I do. I’ve memorized the way.”

Shi Huaiming reached out to open the door. “Alright then. I’m off to training. The ration coupons are in the back drawer of my writing desk, and the key is under the desk mat.”

Zhenzhen acknowledged him and watched him close the door behind him as he left.

She turned and went into the kitchen, poured the hot water from the aluminum pot into the thermos, and carried it to wash up.

After washing up, she went into Shi Huaiming’s room.

She found the key under the desk mat and opened the drawer he had mentioned. Inside were neatly locked stacks of money and ration coupons.

Zhenzhen recognized the grain coupons and took some out. She then locked the drawer again and returned the key to its original spot.

With the coupons tucked safely in her pocket, she opened the door to head out—just as Li Shuang was coming out at the same time.

Li Shuang greeted her cheerfully, “Xiaomianhua, off to get food from the canteen?”

Zhenzhen smiled. “Yes, Sister-in-law. You too?”

Li Shuang grinned, “Yep, let’s go together.”

The two of them walked side by side toward the canteen.

Suddenly, Li Shuang leaned over and sniffed near Zhenzhen.

After taking a whiff, she said, “Put on the Snow Cream, didn’t you?”

Zhenzhen felt a little embarrassed being sniffed like that. “Mm, yes, I used it.”

Li Shuang suddenly laughed again, eyeing her with a knowing smile. “Did Shi Huaiming like it?”

That…

Zhenzhen was momentarily tongue-tied and didn’t answer.

Seeing the red creeping up her ears, Li Shuang laughed even more. “Oh my, you’re blushing! Come on, it’s just what happens between husband and wife. We’ve all been there. What’s there to be shy about? We’re just chatting privately—no one’s listening.”

Zhenzhen could usually keep up with Li Shuang’s banter.

But when it came to topics between husband and wife—this sort of thing—she really didn’t know what to say.

Seeing Zhenzhen’s cheeks flush red, Li Shuang laughed again. “Look at you, like a little girl. Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

Zhenzhen let out a quiet sigh of relief.

As long as they weren’t talking about that.

Back in the countryside, she never joined in when other women chatted about such topics.

If the conversation turned crude, she would always find an excuse to leave.

She couldn’t even bring herself to imagine those things.

They were just too embarrassing.

Shi Huaiming had said that once they developed feelings for each other, they would take that step.

Thinking of his words, his face flashed through her mind again, and Zhenzhen’s face turned redder—almost like a ripe apple.

No, she had to stop thinking about it.

Zhenzhen quickly pushed the thoughts away and turned the conversation to something serious: “Sister-in-law, where’s the nearest grocery store?”

“You planning to buy something?” Li Shuang turned to look at her.

“I want to buy some vegetables and cook meals at home,” Zhenzhen nodded.

Li Shuang exclaimed, “The canteen has ready-made meals—you can eat whatever you want there. Why bother cooking? It’s a hassle—buying, washing, and cooking the vegetables. Did Shi Huaiming ask you to do this?”

Zhenzhen shook her head, “No, I just want to do it. I don’t have much to do around here anyway, so I thought I’d cook.”

Li Shuang looked at her thoughtfully.

It was true—Zhenzhen didn’t have a job, and there were no kids to look after. She really didn’t have much going on.

But Li Shuang chuckled again. “Having nothing to do is a good thing, though. Enjoy it while you can.”

Zhenzhen replied, “I’m not used to just sitting around.” Enjoying such ease made her feel uneasy.

Li Shuang thought a bit more and suggested, “Why don’t you have Shi Huaiming find you a job in the city?”

Zhenzhen, aware of her own limitations, said, “But I can’t read or write.”

That did make things difficult.

Even if she wanted to work, it would have to be manual labor, and she wasn’t cut out for that.

As they stepped into the canteen, Li Shuang dropped the subject and said, “Alright then. I just happen to work at the grocery store. When I head over later, I’ll call for you, and you can come with me.”

Zhenzhen: “Sounds good.”