Chapter 5

Jiang Nian stayed inside the house and didn’t go out. The room was simply furnished with a bed, a table, and a small wooden wardrobe. Looking up, she could see the main beam of the roof, but the environment was much better than in the countryside.

She took the clothes and shoes out of the cloth bag, folded them, and put them into the wardrobe. The original owner had only three or four pieces of clothing, all patched up, and none of them could be worn out in a presentable manner.

The noise outside gradually quieted down and eventually returned to silence.

The gate of the courtyard was pushed open, and Jiang Nian heard the sound. She quietly tiptoed to the door crack and saw Lu Yu walking towards her room. Remembering how she was caught by Lu Yu while eating melon earlier, her heart started pounding with fear.

When Lu Yu was about to approach, Jiang Nian quickly ran back to sit by the bed.

“Sister-in-law, come out for a moment.”

Lu Yu’s voice came from outside the door, with no discernible emotion.

Suppressing the uneasiness rising in her heart, Jiang Nian got up and walked over to open the door. She grabbed the door latch with one hand and nervously tugged the corner of her clothes with the other, her head lowered and shoulders hunched, displaying the same self-deprecating and timid demeanor as the original owner.

Seeing her like this, Lu Yu swallowed back the scolding that was on the tip of his tongue and changed the topic. “It’s lunchtime. I’ll go to the cafeteria to get food. What would you like to eat?”

Jiang Nian looked down at her toes and spoke in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s: “Anything is fine. I’m not picky.”

“Okay,” Lu Yu replied.

As he turned to leave, Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought he was going to scold her. Just as she raised her head and took a breath, she unexpectedly met Lu Yu’s gaze as he turned back to look at her. Now she was neither able to lower her head nor raise it, her mouth stiffened into a forced smile, and she squeezed out a sentence: “Is there anything else?”

Lu Yu looked at her. “Eavesdropping at the corner is not good. If Xu Yan sees you, there will inevitably be another argument.”

Jiang Nian: …

She felt her face flush with embarrassment.

Lowering her head, she nervously tugged at the corner of her clothes. “I was just scared by the argument and wanted to see what was happening.”

After saying that, she gently raised her head, her eyes filled with tears. Seeing Lu Yu’s dark gaze, she quickly lowered her head again in panic. “I, I didn’t mean any harm.”

Lu Yu felt a pang of sourness in his heart at the sight of Jiang Nian’s tears. He knew her well. She was not the type to casually eavesdrop on others. If she likes to watch drama, she would have gone with Aunt Zhao to see the frequent small quarrels in the countryside. Everyone in the village knew that my sister-in-law stayed home all the time and didn’t come out. After being married for four years, some people had barely seen her.

Thinking of this, his voice softened. “Don’t overthink it. I didn’t mean anything else.”

He then went to the kitchen to get an aluminum lunch box and walked out.

The house was now empty, leaving only Jiang Nian.

Seeing the courtyard gate close, Jiang Nian wiped away her tears and reverted to her normal demeanor. She turned back into the room, sat on the edge of the bed, and blew on her fingers, which were sore from being pinched by her nails.

Sigh, crying is hard work too.

In the future, she would have to be even more careful in front of Lu Yu to avoid revealing any more flaws.

Thinking about the neighbors, Xu Yan and Captain Liu, Jiang Nian carefully recalled the plot of the book. Indeed, there was a drama involving Xu Yan’s family.

Captain Liu, named Liu Qiang, was previously a company commander. The matchmaker had introduced him to Zheng Hong.

Zheng Hong was from the neighboring village, and both of them were quite satisfied with each other. It was originally a happy occasion, but a few days later, the Zheng family backed out, and Zheng Hong turned around and married Captain Lu. After learning of this, Liu Qiang went to the Zheng family to ask Zheng Hong what it meant. Zheng Hong didn’t come out to see Liu Qiang. Instead, Zheng’s mother came out and told Liu Qiang that the battalion captain’s salary was higher than the company commander’s, and their Zheng family was struggling. Only if Zheng Hong married well could she help support her natal family.

Hearing this, Liu Qiang left. Later, he met Xu Yan through a matchmaker, and they got married and had two sons.

Liu Qiang performed well in the team, rising from company commander to battalion captain in seven years. In contrast, Zheng Hong’s husband, Lu Guosheng, remained a battalion captain for years without moving up. Zheng Hong became jealous of Xu Yan, believing that if it weren’t for her, she would have been Liu Qiang’s wife. If Liu Qiang were promoted to regiment commander in the future, she would be the regiment commander’s wife.

Therefore, Zheng Hong always found opportunities to approach Liu Qiang, either asking for help with this or that. Liu Qiang, due to his male pride, didn’t refuse. Gradually, Xu Yan misunderstood, and they quarreled for two or three years. To make matters worse, Zheng Hong wouldn’t stop stirring trouble, eventually causing Liu Qiang and Xu Yan to divorce.

The book didn’t mention what happened to Xu Yan afterwards, only that the female lead and other military wives encountered Xu Yan on the way to the county. They heard she had married an old bachelor twenty years older than her, living a particularly miserable life.

After recalling the plot involving Xu Yan, Jiang Nian felt deep sympathy for her and a strong disgust for Zheng Hong. This woman was a typical manipulative green tea character. If it weren’t for her, Xu Yan wouldn’t have ended up in such a miserable state.

She calculated the time and realized there was still half a year left until Xu Yan and Liu Qiang’s divorce. Their marriage was already at a boiling point.

Jiang Nian was torn.

Before being transported into the book, these people were just characters in the book. Now that she was in the book, watching living people being ruined by a manipulative woman, she couldn’t just stand by and watch. But she also feared that interfering might severely disrupt the plot and backfire against her.

“Sister-in-law, it’s time to eat.”

Lu Yu’s voice from outside brought Jiang Nian back to her senses.

She responded, “Okay.”

There was a small square table in the yard. Lu Yu brought out two small stools. Jiang Nian washed her hands and sat down. She watched as Lu Yu opened the aluminum lunch box, which had three layers. The top layer contained stir-fried eggplant, the middle layer had stir-fried loofah^[1]The loofah mentioned is a vegetable fruit or squash that may also be known as chinese okra, and the bottom layer had steamed buns.

“After lunch, you can take a nap. In the afternoon, I’ll take you to the hospital for a check-up and show you the way to the cafeteria. My leave ends tomorrow. From now on, you can get your meals from the cafeteria. Don’t worry about me.”

Jiang Nian took a bite of the steamed bun and ate the rice with no appetite. To be honest, it wasn’t as good as her cooking. Not to brag, but her family made a living in the food industry. Her parents opened a small restaurant when she was born, which grew bigger and bigger over the next twenty years. With that kind of influence, she could distinguish various seasonings even with her eyes closed.

After some thought, she said, “I’d like to cook at home.”

Lu Yu looked up at Jiang Nian, who was eating with her head down, and remembered she didn’t like going out. “Alright, I’ll go buy flour and vegetables this afternoon.”

“You should also come back to eat. There’s no need to go to the cafeteria.”

After all, she was eating and drinking his food. She would feel embarrassed if she didn’t offer to cook for him.

Lu Yu nodded. “Okay.”

After lunch, Jiang Nian took a nap. She woke up when Lu Yu called her from outside the room.

She put on her cloth shoes and walked out of the courtyard with Lu Yu. Again, she heard Xu Yan’s shouting from the neighboring yard, cursing Liu Qiang for being heartless, only having eyes for Zheng Hong, and shamelessly thinking about another man’s wife. She cried and cursed, and her voice could be heard clearly through the wall.

Back when Xu Yan married Liu Qiang, she was a gentle and cheerful young woman.

Jiang Nian followed Lu Yu with her head down as they walked to the hospital. People passing by would greet Lu Yu, and their gazes would linger on Jiang Nian for a few seconds.

The news that Deputy Commander Lu had brought his sister-in-law to the base had already spread by lunchtime.

In the latter part of July, the weather was extremely hot, but walking under the shade of the dense trees provided some relief.

Jiang Nian followed Lu Yu into the hospital, calculating that the female lead should report to the hospital in five days. After changing the bandages, the doctor examined her and diagnosed her with a mild concussion. The wound on her forehead would leave a scar above her left eyebrow, about a finger-width away from her hairline. The wound wasn’t large, but the scar was inevitable. However, over time, the scar would fade and become less noticeable.

After leaving the hospital, Lu Yu took Jiang Nian to the supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperative was not far from the hospital, just a half-hour walk away.

The supply and marketing cooperative in the 1970s couldn’t compare to the supermarkets of the new century. When Jiang Nian walked in, she saw a row of cabinets stretching from the east end to the west end, and the space inside was large, with cabinets on both sides.

Lu Yu had brought the ration tickets with him. He bought household staples like seasonings, measured out a small jug of oil, and used the tickets to buy a box of milk candies, a can of canned food, and a packet of peach crisps. The sales clerk packed everything up, glanced at the woman who had come in with him, and smiled, saying, “You treat your wife very well.”

A box of milk candies, a packet of peach crisps, and canned food were all rare and expensive items. He was really generous to buy them.

**