Chapter 9

“Sister-in-law, I’m back.”

A deep voice suddenly came from behind, startling Jiang Nian.

She turned around and saw Lu Yu placing a slaughtered chicken on the cutting board. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and Jiang Nian noticed his heavy breathing and the sweat all over his head. She asked, “Did you go to the food station?”

It takes over an hour to get to and from the food station from here.

No wonder he didn’t come back after such a long wait.

Lu Yu nodded. “Yes, that’s why I’m a bit late.”

He went to the well to fetch water to wash his face. Jiang Nian took the cooked dishes out and glanced at Lu Yu bending over to wash his face. His back was arched, and he was just about to take off his shirt when he realized she was still there, so he pulled it back on.

Although the light from the bulb in the yard wasn’t very bright, Jiang Nian could still see the man’s lean waist and abdomen.

Broad shoulders, narrow waist, tight abs.

Jiang Nian quickly looked away, silently reminding herself, “Don’t look at anything inappropriate.”

For dinner, she cooked porridge, a plate of fried eggplant with minced meat, scrambled eggs with cucumbers, two corn pancakes, and three steamed buns. She knew Lu Yu had a big appetite, so she made generous portions.

Lu Yu sat on the bench, eating the food Jiang Nian had prepared, and suddenly felt a sense of belonging in his heart.

It was a long-lost feeling of home.

Before Jiang Nian came to the army, he ate all his meals in the cafeteria and returned to the dormitory to sleep, repeating the same routine every day. When he received his salary, he sent it back home.

After Jiang Nian came, he suddenly felt an additional responsibility on his shoulders. He no longer had to eat in the cafeteria. Like Commander Song, he also had a hot meal waiting for him at home.

And her cooking was delicious.

Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Nian across from him. She sat on the bench with her legs together, eating quietly with her head down, as usual.

After dinner, Lu Yu collected the dishes and utensils and took them to the kitchen. He told Jiang Nian, “I’ll wash the chicken and cool the meat in the well water. I’ll take it out when I leave tomorrow morning.”

Jiang Nian, standing by the stove washing dishes, nodded lightly. “Okay.”

In this era, refrigerators weren’t widespread. In the hot summer, people used traditional methods to preserve meat.

When Lu Yu carried the slaughtered chicken outside, he saw Jiang Nian on tiptoe to clean the inside of the stove. She was petite, and it was a bit of a struggle for her to reach that corner, which was wedged between two walls.

He carried the chicken outside. Fetched water from the well, cleaned it, and cooled it along with the pork.

Jiang Nian swept the kitchen floor clean and heard a “dong dong” sound from outside. She put the broom away and went out, seeing Lu Yu standing by her window, hammering something with four long, thin sticks on the ground.

“What are you doing?” 

Jiang Nian stood at the door, nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes.

Lu Yu hammered the last nail in place. “There are many mosquitoes in the summer. It’s better to install screens on the window.”

He pointed to the thin sticks on the ground. “Once the screen is installed, I’ll put up a mosquito net over your bed.”

Jiang Nian couldn’t help but admire his thoughtfulness.

Though her face remained mostly expressionless, she lowered her head and softly said, “Okay.”

After finishing installing the screen to the window, Lu Yu took the thin sticks into the house.

Jiang Nian followed him inside, wanting to help. Lu Yu was about to suggest she go outside to rest and enjoy the cool breeze, but then he reconsidered, fearing she might think she was a burden. So he said, “Sister-in-law, hand me the pliers on the table.”

Jiang Nian obediently picked up the pliers and handed them to him, then gave him the wire as he asked.

Lu Yu was tall enough that he didn’t need a stool to hang the mosquito net. He had it done in no time.

Jiang Nian took two milk candies from a tin and held them in her palm. As Lu Yu turned around to leave the room, she held out her hand with her head down and whispered, “You should have some too. It’s sweet.”

Lu Yu was taken aback, looking at the two milk candies in her palm.

His lips pressed into a thin line as he took them and rasped, “Thank you.”

Jiang Nian boiled a pot of water. After bathing and dressing, she waited for Lu Yu to help her pour out the bathwater. She then removed her outer clothes and lay leisurely on the bed.

The head of the bed was against the wall, and the foot of the bed was near the window. She lay with her hands behind her head, legs crossed, looking at the bright moon outside the window and listening to the cicadas until she fell asleep.

Without mosquito bites, Jiang Nian had a rare good night’s sleep.

In the middle of the night, she was awakened by the urge to pee. She opened her eyes drowsily, sat on the bed for a while before putting on her cloth shoes and walked outside. Though it was dark, the moonlight allowed her to see the path.

After using the toilet and just about to return to the house, she suddenly heard a woman’s crying from outside the yard.

The crying was emotional, rising and falling.

In the pitch-black night, Jiang Nian heard the woman’s sorrowful cries and thought she had encountered a ghost. Her scalp tingle, and she screamed, running towards Lu Yu’s door.

She thought Lu Yu, being a man, would have strong yang energy, which would scare away ghosts.

Before she could knock, the door opened. Lu Yu, wearing a vest, ran out. Seeing Jiang Nian’s pale, terrified face, his brows furrowed tightly. Forgetting their relationship for a moment, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside, asking in a deep voice, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Nian hid behind Lu Yu, her trembling finger pointing towards the gate of the courtyard. “There’s… there’s someone crying. I heard a woman crying.”

She initially wanted to say it was a ghost, but that word was taboo in this era.

Lu Yu: …

He turned to glance at Jiang Nian. She stood with her head down, shoulders hunched, wearing only a small white vest with floral patterns and shorts. The vest was a bit short, exposing her belly. Her hair draped over her shoulders, making her skin appear even whiter.

Lu Yu’s ears suddenly turned red. He quickly looked away and walked towards the courtyard gate. “Go back inside. I’ll go check it out.”

Jiang Nian didn’t dare to stay alone in the room. She felt a chilling sensation on her back, fearing a pale hand might grab her shoulder at any moment.

Just thinking about it made her break out in a cold sweat, and she hurriedly followed Lu Yu.

As Lu Yu opened the gate, he heard footsteps behind him. He frowned but didn’t turn around. “Go back inside and put on your clothes properly.”

Jiang Nian stopped in her tracks, puzzled.

She looked down at her clothes, thinking there was nothing wrong with them.

But she didn’t dare argue with Lu Yu, so she called out to his back, “Then, don’t go yet. I’m scared to be alone.”

Lu Yu gripped the gate latch tightly and after a moment hereplied, “Okay.”

Jiang Nian quickly ran back inside, turned on the light, and put on more clothes before dashing out again, afraid of being caught by a ghost if she moved too slowly.

She caught up to Lu Yu, took a deep breath and said, “I’m ready.”

Lu Yu stepped out of the courtyard, his sharp eyes scanning the surroundings quickly but finding nothing suspicious.

“Who is it? Screaming in the middle of the night!”

“Some of us are trying to sleep! What’s going on?”

Jiang Nian’s earlier scream had woken several neighbors. A few military wives, still dressing as they walked, came out to see what was happening.

Next door, Feng Mei and Song Zhiwei also came out. Feng Mei rubbed her eyes, saw Jiang Nian standing outside the gate behind Lu Yu, and was puzzled. “Did you all hear a woman screaming just now?”

Jiang Nian: …

She quietly said, “It was me who screamed.”

Feng Mei raised her voice, “Why are you screaming in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?”

Jiang Nian: …

She clutched the hem of her shirt and lowered her head, about to explain when Lu Yu spoke first. “My sister-in-law heard a woman crying outside the gate and got scared.”

Song Zhiwei looked towards Captain Liu’s yard.

Feng Mei also glared in that direction, grumbling, “Who else but Xu Yan would be out there wailing like a ghost in the middle of the night?”

She became even angrier and shouted towards Captain Liu’s yard, “It’s the middle of the night! If you don’t sleep, others are trying to! If you need to cry, do it in your own home and stop scaring others!”

Lu Yu: …

Jiang Nian: …

They had only moved here recently and didn’t know about Xu Yan’s habit of crying outside late at night.

Had she known it was Xu Yan, Jiang Nian wouldn’t have been so frightened.

Captain Liu came out with his shirt on and saw several people gathered outside, including Commander Song and Deputy Commander Lu. He immediately felt a headache.

He had heard the conversation outside when he rushed out of his courtyard and knew it was Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law who had been scared. He apologized to Jiang Nian, “Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law, I’m sorry on Xu Yan’s behalf for scaring you.”

Seeing Commander Song’s stern face, he quickly added, “Commander Song, I will make sure to keep Xu Yan under control so she doesn’t disturb everyone again.”

He then addressed the other military wives who had come out, “It was our fault for disturbing you. Please go back to sleep.”

Song Zhiwei pointed at Captain Liu, visibly upset. “First, manage your own household. If you can’t even control your wife, how can you manage your soldiers? Liu Qiang, if this happens again, you’ll be writing a self-criticism!”

With that, he walked away with a stern face.

Feng Mei gave Captain Liu a glare and said to Jiang Nian, “It’s fine now. Go back to sleep.”

Jiang Nian nodded lightly. “Okay.”

The other military wives grumbled a bit before heading back to their homes.

Captain Liu looked at Lu Yu, noticing his cold expression, and rubbed his face in frustration. “Deputy Commander Lu, I’m sorry.”

Lu Yu replied, “Xu Yan is still your wife and the mother of your two sons. If she does something foolish one day, you’ll regret it.”

He didn’t wait for Liu Qiang’s reaction and walked back with Jiang Nian.

Once everyone had left, Liu Qiang returned home. He entered his house and saw Xu Yan lying with her back to him. He was so angry that he clenched his teeth. He grabbed her shoulder and forced her to turn around. Xu Yan, with red swollen eyes glared at him. “Are you going to hit me again?”

Liu Qiang, with his hands clenched on the bed, restrained his urge to hit her. He stood up and said through gritted teeth, “I’ll go sleep with the kids!”

He was afraid that if he stayed with Xu Yan any longer, he’d lose control.

“Fine! Sleep separately if you dare!”

“Liu Qiang, don’t you ever come back to my bed!”

Xu Yan sat up and threw a pillow at Liu Qiang’s back. Liu Qiang ignored her, and left without turning back. She cried, hugging her knees.

Liu Qiang’s two sons watched him enter the room. Hearing their mother’s cries through the wall. They huddled together on the bed while watching their father undress and lie down. They exchanged worried looks.

The older son, Liu Jianye, couldn’t help but ask, “Dad, Mom’s crying.”

“Let her cry if she wants to. Ignore her!”

Liu Qiang turned away from his sons, his brow furrowed deeply.

The younger son, Liu Jianwu, four years old had grown up amidst his parents’ constant fighting. He snuggled into his brother’s arms, wiping away his tears. Liu Jianye wiped his brother’s tears and whispered in his ear, “Don’t cry, or Dad will get angry again.”

Liu Jianwu sniffled, biting his lip to hold back his tears.

He envied Song Xiangdong and Song Xianghong, whose parents never argued every day.

After the commotion, Jiang Nian couldn’t fall back asleep.

She tossed and turned in bed until she heard footsteps outside at dawn, knowing it was Lu Yu getting up.

Jiang Nian got dressed and put on her shoes, turned on the light to check the mirror. The wound on her head had almost healed. After braiding her hair into two small pigtails, she went outside and saw Lu Yu rinsing the chicken he had bought yesterday.

Seeing Jiang Nian awake, Lu Yu carried the basin into the kitchen. “You can sleep a bit more. I’ll make breakfast.”

Jiang Nian shook her head gently. “I’ve slept enough.”

She went to the well to wash her face and brush her teeth. Hearing the sounds of cooking from the kitchen, she quickly finished washing her hands and went into the kitchen. Lu Yu was already stir-frying the chopped vegetables.

She instinctively sat by the stove to tend to the fire.

Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Nian adding firewood. The flickering firelight illuminated her face. As usual, she kept her head down, and he noticed that the wound on her forehead had nearly healed.

Lu Yu hadn’t expected that despite Jiang Nian’s small and frail appearance, her voice could be so powerful.

When he heard her scream last night, he had woken up instantly.

For breakfast, Lu Yu stir-fried a vegetable dish, warmed up four white steamed buns, made porridge, and steamed a bowl of egg custard.

As the breakfast was placed on the table, Jiang Nian looked at the bowl of egg custard in front of her, blinking in surprise. She looked up at Lu Yu, who took a sip of porridge and swallowed it while saying to her, “Eat it.”

Jiang Nian bit her lip and lowered her head, feeling a bit emotional.

If the original owner had held on for a few more minutes until Lu Yu returned, she wouldn’t have been transported here, and the original owner could have enjoyed life with Lu Yu in the army. This way, she wouldn’t be separated from her family forever.

She wondered how her parents, grandparents, and everyone else were doing now.

Jiang Nian sniffed, unable to hold back her tears.

So, she ate in small bites while quietly sobbing.

Lu Yu’s eating paused. He looked up and saw Jiang Nian’s shoulders trembling as she cried. His brow furrowed slightly. “Why are you crying?”

**