Since she didn’t sit, He Shuo didn’t either. He simply stood and chatted a few words with Old Zhou and Wu Dafeng.

Kids naturally gravitate toward each other. He Ziran stood alone in front of Old Zhou’s four children.

The Zhou children were all dark-skinned; He Ziran looked soft and fair, like a little dumpling.

One of the Zhou kids asked, “How old are you?”

He Ziran: “I’m five.”

Si Wa: “I’m two years older than you—I’m seven.”
Then he reached out and pinched He Ziran’s cheek. “You’re really pale.”

Li Shuang saw this and immediately called out, “Come over here!”

As He Ziran ran to her, Wu Dafeng said, “They’re all just kids—let them play!”

Li Shuang smiled and said: “Boys can get rowdy. They’re not familiar with each other yet—I’m afraid they’ll end up fighting.”

Wu Dafeng: “Oh please, your kid’s not so easy to bully.”

Li Shuang gave a polite smile and said no more.

They had only come to make a courtesy visit anyway. He Shuo didn’t linger either.

After the small talk, he took Li Shuang and He Ziran back home.

Once they were inside with the door closed, He Shuo commented, “Old Zhou’s wife—she’s really not one to fuss over manners.”

Li Shuang snorted with a laugh, not bothering to respond. She took He Ziran to wash up.

–

Next door, things were just like usual with Zhenzhen and Shi Huaiming.

After studying in the evening, Zhenzhen went to wash up and returned to her room to sleep.

The next morning, after breakfast and seeing Shi Huaiming off, she sat down again to continue studying.

But not long into her lesson, there was a sudden knock on the door.

The knock was heavy, and alongside it came Wu Dafeng’s voice:
“Zhenzhen, it’s your sister Dafeng!”

Hearing the voice, Zhenzhen quickly got up to answer.

Seeing Wu Dafeng outside, Zhenzhen asked, “Sister, is something wrong?”

Wu Dafeng didn’t stand on ceremony and stepped right in. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just bored and came over to chat a bit. There’s no one else around this courtyard—just sitting here for a while already had me feeling suffocated.”

Zhenzhen closed the door behind her.

Wu Dafeng was holding a bamboo basket full of freshly picked chives.

Zhenzhen fetched a small stool for her and said, “Everyone’s at work right now—it’s not a rest day.”

Wu Dafeng sat down and started sorting the chives. “No wonder there’s no one around. This city life, honestly, is no good. There’s nothing here. Back in the countryside, at least it was comfortable. These vegetables—I brought them myself!”

Zhenzhen also got a stool and sat beside her. “You can buy veggies at the food store nearby.”

Wu Dafeng didn’t like hearing that. “Buying vegetables? Just saying that out loud is embarrassing!”

Zhenzhen bent down and picked up a handful of chives to help sort.

Wu Dafeng: “When did you arrive here?”

Zhenzhen: “Last week. It’s been almost ten days now.”

Wu Dafeng: “Are you getting used to it?”

Zhenzhen: “I wasn’t at first, but now I’m getting better.”

Wu Dafeng: “I see you don’t have any kids. Don’t you get bored doing nothing all day?”

Zhenzhen smiled and said: “A little. It’s not like the countryside, where you know everyone.”

Wu Dafeng: “Exactly. I feel the same.”

Suddenly lowering her voice, she asked, “You seem to get along pretty well with that Li Shuang, huh?”

Zhenzhen: “Yes, she’s helped me a lot—taught me many things. She’s really nice.”

Wu Dafeng lowered her eyes as she sorted chives: “Don’t be fooled. She’ll sweet-talk you while helping someone else count their money. Just look at her—you can tell she’s not a good person. Smiles at us politely on the surface, but who knows what she says behind our backs? She totally looks down on us—can’t you see it?”

Zhenzhen: “Dafeng sis, Li Shuang isn’t that kind of person.”

Wu Dafeng chuckled, “You’re just too naive. You believe everything people say. You really ought to keep your guard up.”

Zhenzhen explained, “I’m not going by what she says—I’m going by what she does.”

Wu Dafeng just smiled and said, “You’ll find out sooner or later.”

Seeing that Zhenzhen was defending Li Shuang, Wu Dafeng dropped the subject and stopped talking about her.

Instead, she and Zhenzhen focused on trimming the chives, chatting about their respective hometowns—just the usual everyday talk. Life in the countryside was similar for both of them, so there was always something to relate to.

Once the chives were sorted, Wu Dafeng grabbed a broom and swept up the discarded leaves herself.

She then put the cleaned chives back into the basket and pulled out a generous handful for Zhenzhen. “Keep these for yourself. You can make some chive pockets. They’re especially tender right now—perfectly in season and delicious.”

Zhenzhen tried to decline politely a few times, but when it became clear she couldn’t turn it down, she accepted them.

Originally, Zhenzhen had planned to go back to her room and continue studying right after helping with the chives.

But Wu Dafeng didn’t leave. She stayed on her small stool, pulling Zhenzhen into more idle chatter.

Since it was Wu Dafeng’s first time visiting, Zhenzhen felt it would be rude to ask her to leave.

Back in the countryside, this was common—when there was nothing pressing to do, the women would gather to chat, trim vegetables, knit sweaters, or stitch shoe soles to pass the time.

They kept an eye on the sun, and once it was high in the sky, everyone would return home to make lunch.

Time passed quickly with their casual chatting.

As the sun rose higher, Wu Dafeng finally slapped her thigh and stood up. “Time to go back and cook.”

She had brought a lot of supplies from home, and cooking for herself was more economical than eating in the cafeteria.

Zhenzhen saw her off and went back to her room to check the clock.

Now that Shi Huaiming had taught her how to read the time, she could estimate when he’d be back.

There was still time to cook, but she hadn’t reviewed the material they studied the night before.

So, she skipped cooking.

She sat down at her desk and started copying and reciting the pinyin letters they’d learned the previous day.

There was no strict rule about how many times she had to copy them—she just had to memorize them.

When it was nearly time, she took some ration coupons from the drawer and went to the cafeteria to get food.

At the cafeteria, she ran into Li Shuang, who looked a little surprised. “You’re not cooking today?”

Zhenzhen smiled. “Been a bit too busy today.”

Li Shuang laughed. “Busy with studying?”

Zhenzhen nodded. “Yeah.”

Li Shuang smiled again. “That Shi Huaiming of yours is quite something. Still, it’s good that he’s teaching you to read. Some men just treat their wives like childbearing machines or housekeepers—they wouldn’t bother with stuff like this. He’s doing it for your own good. Illiteracy makes everything harder, especially in the city. You can’t even tell the men’s and women’s bathrooms apart.”

City people really did think differently.

Zhenzhen thought it over, then nodded. “You’re right, Sister-in-law.”

They chatted on the way home and then went their separate ways.

Zhenzhen placed the food on the table, then quickly returned to her desk to continue copying letters.

But she’d barely written two lines when Shi Huaiming returned from class.

Zhenzhen set her pencil down, took a steady breath, and got up to greet him. “Third Brother, you’re back.”

Shi Huaiming responded and went to wash his hands. Then they sat down to eat together.

When he saw the cafeteria food on the table, he looked slightly surprised, but didn’t say anything.

Whether she cooked or brought food from the cafeteria, he didn’t mind—he wasn’t picky about that.

He told Zhenzhen, “Old Zhou invited us over for dinner on Sunday.”

Zhenzhen replied, “Oh, okay.”

Old Zhou had mentioned it at the dinner table before.

Noticing that Zhenzhen seemed a bit distracted, Shi Huaiming gently asked, “Is something bothering you today?”

Zhenzhen tried to brush it off and shook her head. “No, I’m fine.”

Seeing she didn’t want to talk, Shi Huaiming didn’t press.

But when he sat down after dinner to check her progress, he realized something was off.

Zhenzhen was holding her pencil, unable to write. He glanced at her notebook, then back at her.

“Come on,” he said, “Write it—‘üe’.”

Zhenzhen gripped the pencil tightly, her face and lips tense.

Shi Huaiming watched her profile for a moment and asked, “Tell me. What did you do this morning?”

She couldn’t hide it anymore.

Zhenzhen lowered her head and mumbled, “Sister-in-law Dafeng came to talk… I helped her trim chives…”

She had finally found someone with similar interests, someone to pass the time with.

Shi Huaiming drew in a slow breath and then said in a colder tone, “This is your first time, so I’m letting you off with a verbal warning. But if it happens again, it won’t be this easy. There will be consequences. I only have this bit of free time while I’m still in military school. Once I graduate and get assigned to a post, I won’t have time to manage you like this.”

Zhenzhen kept her head down. “Okay.”

Even though she hadn’t fully grasped the previous night’s lesson, Shi Huaiming still taught her the next set.

It wasn’t particularly hard—just required repetition to memorize the sounds and practice writing.

After he went back to class, Zhenzhen stayed home and kept studying.

Around 3 p.m., there was another loud knock at the door, and Wu Dafeng’s voice came through the crack: “Zhenzhen, it’s me—your Sister-in-law Dafeng!”

Zhenzhen’s brow twitched.

She considered pretending not to be home.

But then she thought, if Wu Dafeng found out, wouldn’t that offend her even more?

After a brief hesitation, Zhenzhen got up and opened the door.

This time, Wu Dafeng had a sewing kit in hand and a half-stitched shoe sole. She smiled at Zhenzhen and said, “Why are you cooped up inside? Come outside and enjoy the sun!”

The sun outside was indeed quite nice.

But Zhenzhen apologetically said to Wu Dafeng, “Sorry, sister-in-law, there’s something I need to do at home, so I can’t go out and sunbathe.”

Wu Dafeng was curious. “What could you possibly have to do?”

There was no land here that needed tending, no chickens, ducks, or pigs to raise—what could be keeping her busy?

Zhenzhen thought for a moment and decided to be honest. “My third brother is teaching me how to read. I have to make good use of my time to study.”

Wu Dafeng’s face twisted with confusion. “Your husband?”

Zhenzhen nodded. “Mm-hmm.”

Well, that was certainly something unusual.

Wu Dafeng’s eyes widened slightly. “So what if you can’t read? Is he looking down on you?”

Before Zhenzhen could respond, Wu Dafeng jumped in passionately, “Can’t read, so what? Does that mean you can’t wash clothes, cook, or have and raise children? Not knowing how to read—what’s the big deal? Back in the old days, everyone was poor. Apart from landlords and wealthy families, how many rural women knew how to read? Even among men, there weren’t many who could read! My husband, Old Zhou, he didn’t know how to read before joining the army either. And now look—he’s a cadre. So what if you’re illiterate? What right does he have to judge you for it? When it comes to choosing a wife, being able to cook, clean, have children, and work—that’s more than enough. Your man, he just doesn’t know how lucky he is.”

Zhenzhen blinked silently at Wu Dafeng.

Unbothered, Wu Dafeng continued, “Don’t be afraid of him. You have to remember—you’re his lawfully wedded wife, not someone who just casually followed him home. If you keep being this obedient, he’ll walk all over you. He tells you to go east and you don’t even dare look west—is that any way to live? Just do what you want.”

Zhenzhen blinked again for a moment.

Then she said, “Sister-in-law, I’ll come play with you on Sunday instead.”

Wu Dafeng, clearly still worried, said, “Little Zhenzhen, living like this, people will take advantage of you. You have to toughen up.”

Zhenzhen explained, “Sister-in-law, Third Brother isn’t bullying me. He’s doing this for my own good.”

Wu Dafeng still seemed like she had more to say.

But this time Zhenzhen smiled and cut in first, “Sister-in-law, I’ll definitely come visit you on Sunday.”

Wu Dafeng wasn’t completely tactless.

Seeing how Zhenzhen was firm, she let it go and said, “Alright, go study then. On Sunday, Old Zhou said to invite you and your husband, and also Commander He’s family, over for a meal. Come early to hang out.”

Zhenzhen smiled and nodded. “Okay, sister-in-law!”

Wu Dafeng left with the half-finished shoe sole in her hand.

Zhenzhen closed the door and came back inside, sitting down at the table and letting out a long breath.

She couldn’t let herself be distracted or tempted anymore—she had to calm down and focus on completing her task as soon as possible.

With no one else to talk to, Wu Dafeng stayed home stitching soles.

Old Zhou was at work, the four kids were at school, and she was left all alone—it was dreadfully quiet.

With no one to chat with, she sang to herself to pass the time.

That evening, when Old Zhou and the four children returned, the house buzzed with energy again.

During dinner, Wu Dafeng said to Old Zhou, “That comrade of yours with the surname Shi—Zhenzhen’s husband—he really is an odd one. He got himself a wife but doesn’t care about having kids or raising them. Guess what—he stays home teaching her how to read! Won’t even let her do anything else. Who does that?”

As one of his comrades, Old Zhou understood Shi Huaiming quite well.

He was someone who loved reading, very educated, and it wasn’t surprising that he cared about his wife’s education level.

He said to Wu Dafeng, “Stay out of other people’s business. This isn’t the village—you need to change that habit of sticking your nose into every family’s affairs. If you cause a couple to start fighting, I won’t let it slide.”

This definitely wasn’t the countryside anymore.

Wu Dafeng didn’t argue and simply replied, “Alright, alright, got it.”

With Old Zhou’s warning in mind, Wu Dafeng didn’t visit Zhenzhen again for the next few days.

With little to do at home, she tidied up a small plot of land outside their building and planted some vegetables.

She planted all kinds—radishes, chives, baby greens, even eggplant, peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes.

This was something Zhenzhen had really wanted to do as well.

When she saw it through the window, she stood there enviously for a while.

But since Shi Huaiming didn’t allow her to waste time on such things, all she could do was envy from afar.

Finally, Sunday arrived.

Zhenzhen didn’t have to study that day, so after breakfast she ran over to Wu Dafeng’s place.

She helped tend the little garden and watered the plants.

As noon approached, Zhenzhen ran back home to make lunch.

Shi Huaiming joined her in the kitchen and asked, “Want to go out for a bit this afternoon?”

Hearing that, Zhenzhen turned to look at him. “Go where?”

Shi Huaiming replied, “Anywhere really. I don’t know Xicheng all that well either—let’s just take a walk and explore a bit.”

Zhenzhen thought it sounded nice and agreed. “Okay!”

So after lunch, she didn’t go back to Wu Dafeng’s place to hang out.

She let her know she wouldn’t be coming and then climbed onto the back seat of Shi Huaiming’s bicycle as the two headed out.

Wu Dafeng called out, “Come back early! You’re eating dinner at my place tonight!”

Zhenzhen waved back at her. “Got it!”