Chapter 22.1

Su Ting was also talking to someone about the matter of holding the financial power in the family.

To be more precise, Comrade Yu Xiaofang was teaching Su Ting how to manage the family finances.

Yu Xiaofang said: “The soldiers have it easy. They smoke, they eat, and every month they spend a few dozen. It’s impossible not to keep track. Old Hu always complains, saying I’m too strict with him, that he has to scrape together money just to buy a pack of cigarettes. But doesn’t he think? His salary isn’t low, but he has to support the elderly at home, right? He has three children to feed and clothe, right? Then there are his brothers, who send letters asking to borrow money every now and then. They borrow it, sure, but we haven’t seen a cent come back after all these years. These are all places where money is needed!”

“Have you talked to him about these things?” Su Ting asked.

“I have! Of course, I’ve talked to him!” Yu Xiaofang sighed: “But what’s the use? He doesn’t understand, he doesn’t know how expensive things are when you’re the one managing it all. He hears me today, but forgets it tomorrow.”

Su Ting suggested: “Why don’t you let him manage the household finances for two months? Let him experience firsthand how hard it is to make ends meet?”

“No, no! With his big-spending ways, if he were in charge of the money, who knows what kind of mess he’d make? I can’t risk him making a huge hole in the budget.” Yu Xiaofang quickly waved her hand, changing the topic. “By the way, who handles the money in your family?”

“We handle it separately.”

“Separately? How do you separate it?”

“I handle mine, and he handles his. As for the living expenses, he gives me a set amount every month.”

When Yu Xiaofang heard this, she immediately exclaimed: “Oh no, that won’t work, it’ll just create distance between you two! Are you his housekeeper or his wife?”

How much savings does He Dongchuan have? How much money does Su Ting have on hand? One has a job, and the other doesn’t! The way they’re handling it, doesn’t that mean the financial power is entirely in the man’s hands?

Yu Xiaofang said: “I think you need to have a good talk with your husband about this matter. In every family, it’s the woman who manages the household, who handles the money. Since he married you and wants to live a good life with you, he can’t hold all the money in his hands. This is a matter of attitude. And think about it—if you don’t have money, you’ll always have to ask him for it. How can you stand tall in the future?”

Su Ting hadn’t considered these issues, and the reason was simple: she had been married for a short time. Before, she had seen He Dongchuan as a cohabitant and a partner, so she didn’t think there was anything wrong with him giving her living expenses on time.

Initially, she had thought that if her article was accepted and she had a stable income, she would split the living expenses with He Dongchuan on a per capita basis, so she wouldn’t always feel like she was taking advantage of him. But since her article hadn’t been accepted, she decided to be more realistic and not get carried away.

However, now that their relationship had changed, she definitely had to start considering these things.

After thinking it through, she realized that Yu Xiaofang had a point.

She wasn’t really worried about asking He Dongchuan for money and feeling ashamed about it. There were other people in the house who also needed to eat, drink, and take care of themselves, and the living expenses were something he should have been giving her on time. If he didn’t give it on time, then the problem was with him. She wouldn’t feel embarrassed when asking for the money.

However, she wasn’t someone who liked to ask others for help. If it ever came to that, she felt she would find the relationship dull and might even consider divorce and leaving.

Su Ting didn’t feel that she was greedy for He Dongchuan’s money. If they did divorce, she would make sure the property was divided fairly. But he couldn’t show no effort at all; that would be a matter of attitude and trust.

But there was no need to rush things. They had just entered a new phase of their relationship, and with He Dongchuan also having He Yan to consider, it was natural to think things through carefully and observe for a while longer.

Su Ting understood this, so she decided to observe for a while, as it was all about mutual respect.

Because of these thoughts, Su Ting didn’t bring up the topic of her salary during dinner. She didn’t ask, and He Dongchuan didn’t say anything. The only one talking at the dinner table was He Yan, who was chattering away about the May Day holiday.

May Day had long been established as a statutory holiday, but there weren’t many days off—just one day off on Labor Day.

In fact, it wasn’t just May Day. At this time, there weren’t many holidays throughout the year, typically just one day off. Only during the New Year could they take a few more days off, ranging from three to eight days.

Recently, Su Ting and He Dongchuan had been taking He Yan to the city to play. He was quite energetic, and he wanted to go out again during the May Day holiday, already deciding on the location—the city zoo.

Su Ting had nothing else to do, so she didn’t object and left the decision to He Dongchuan.

He Dongchuan said: “I’m not taking a break tomorrow. I have to go to the base.”

He Yan’s face showed disappointment. “Then Dad, when will you have a day off?”

“Day after tomorrow.”

“Can we go to the zoo the day after tomorrow?”

“Don’t you have class the day after tomorrow?” Su Ting asked.

He Yan blinked and thought of something good: “Can I take a day off?”

Su Ting countered: “Why don’t you ask if you can fly to the sky?”

She had realized that children really shouldn’t be spoiled; once they were indulged, they’d start asking for more.

Take He Yan, for example. When he first went to the city, he was thrilled just by strolling around, but now, after only a few trips, he was already picking locations and asking to take time off to play.

Tsk, tsk.

Clearly, He Yan didn’t think he was asking for too much and didn’t catch the implication in Su Ting’s words. He muttered: “I don’t have wings, how could I fly to the sky?”

Su Ting: “…”

Because their schedules didn’t match, the plan to go to the zoo tomorrow fell through. As for whether they would go in the future, or when it would happen, that would be decided later.

Both Su Ting and He Dongchuan felt they shouldn’t indulge him too much.

After dinner, Su Ting washed the dishes while He Dongchuan helped He Yan with his homework. By the time they finished, it was almost eight o’clock, and the three of them took turns showering.

Su Ting was the first to shower. Afterward, she went back to the bedroom. It was still early, and she couldn’t sleep, so she grabbed a picture magazine and flipped through it. The magazine had just been released that month. She had bought a few copies when they went to the bookstore in the city last time to slowly read at home.

She took her time reading the magazine. Besides the stories, she also looked at the artwork, paying attention to the details. It took her more than half an hour to finish a single story.

The lightbulb in the room wasn’t very bright, and staring at something for too long could make her eyes blurry. To protect her eyes, Su Ting closed the magazine after finishing the story, closed her eyes, and rubbed them with her hands.

After rubbing her eyes, she was about to turn off the light and go to sleep when a knock came at the door. Su Ting froze for a moment. “Who is it?”

“It’s me.” He Dongchuan’s deep voice responded.

Su Ting retracted her hand, propped herself up, and as she searched through the wardrobe for her undergarments, she said: “Wait a minute.”

Once she had put on her undergarments, pulled on a loose T-shirt, and fixed her hair, Su Ting finally went over to open the door and asked: “What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to talk to you about something. Can I come in?” He Dongchuan lowered his head slightly, looking at her as he spoke.

Su Ting thought for a moment, then stepped aside and said: “Come in.”

He Dongchuan walked into the master bedroom, glancing around as he did.

Although he was the man of the house, he had never slept in the master bedroom at night. In fact, it was his first time entering the room at all.

The bedroom wasn’t large—about ten square meters. The door wall had a three-door wardrobe against it, with a bed in the middle, and beyond that, a dressing table. However, the room was clean and tidy, the floor was neat, and there was nothing messy on the dressing table.

He Dongchuan sat down at the edge of the bed and asked: “Are you about to sleep?”

Su Ting nodded: “I was just about to. What’s up?”

“Today’s payday.” He Dongchuan said, raising the box in his hand.

Since Su Ting kept her money in a tin box, seeing the box in his hand immediately gave her a feeling of foreboding. But then she thought it was too much of a coincidence.

She had just talked to Yu Xiaofang about financial power in the afternoon, and now, in the evening, he was bringing her a money box? It almost felt like he had overheard their conversation, but that was impossible since he had still been at the base when they were talking about it.

Su Ting calmly asked: “How much?”

“One hundred sixty-seven.”

He Dongchuan opened the lid to reveal a stack of bills bound together with rubber bands. Without needing to count, Su Ting could tell by the thickness that it wasn’t just one hundred fifty.

“These are the savings I’ve accumulated over the years, plus the salary for this month. Altogether, it’s two thousand seven hundred eighty-six.” He Dongchuan said, handing the box to Su Ting. “I haven’t counted the smaller bills. You can count them yourself.”

Su Ting was a little stunned. “All of this for me?”

“Yeah, all of it. My salary is one hundred thirty, with a twenty allowance. That’s fixed every month, unless there’s a promotion or a special task, but generally, it doesn’t change. The industrial tickets from before are all for you, and this is for this month. As for the remaining miscellaneous tickets, you can use them as you see fit. I don’t smoke, so I usually give my cigarette tickets to others. Just gave two to Old Wu today, the rest are in there.”

“Wait, wait, slow down.”

He Dongchuan had dropped a large pile of money and tickets on her, and with him continuing to talk, Su Ting was now in a bit of a daze. She wasn’t sure whether she should count the money first or the tickets.

He Dongchuan smiled and said: “I’ve said everything I needed to say. Take your time with the money. There’s no rush.”

“You can’t say there’s no rush, the money has to be counted in front of me.” Su Ting poured everything out of the tin box, picked up a stack of bills, and began counting. “Once I’ve counted it, I’ll record it in the ledger. I’ll keep track of how much I’ve spent and make sure to record everything… Oh, right.”

Speaking of the ledger, Su Ting suddenly remembered, put down the small amount of money she had just counted, slipped her slippers on, walked to the other side of the bed, opened the drawer of the dressing table, and took out the ledger she had used to keep track of expenses. She handed it to He Dongchuan, saying: “Take a look at this month’s expenses. I didn’t start recording at the beginning, so later on, when I couldn’t keep track, I started recording from the middle. The accounts should still make sense.”

He Dongchuan took the ledger, flipped to the most recent page, but instead of looking at the account details, he stared at the handwriting and said: “Your handwriting… doesn’t look the same as the one in the letters you sent back.”

Su Ting paused the motion of counting the money, lowered her head, blinked, and asked in a calm tone: “Is the difference really that big?”

He Dongchuan pondered for a moment and said: “At first glance, it doesn’t look too different. But upon closer inspection, the writing habits are similar. However, the characters in the account book look neater, and it’s obvious that there was an intentional effort to practice.”

Su Ting let out a sigh of relief upon hearing this. She had indeed been practicing intentionally, but not the style of writing from before. Instead, she had been combining her own writing habits with those of the original owner. Otherwise, the two writing styles would have been completely mismatched, easily raising suspicion.

However, the characters in the letter she had sent back resembled those of the original owner more, while the characters in the account book leaned more toward her own writing habits. That’s why, at first glance, they seemed a bit different.

Su Ting smiled and said: “I’ve been practicing calligraphy. At first, it felt a bit awkward, but do you see? My writing has improved, hasn’t it?”

He Dongchuan lowered his head to look at the account book. Indeed, the characters she had written at the beginning were similar to those in the letter, but there were subtle changes almost every day. Looking only at the account book, it was clear that she had made noticeable progress in less than a month.

He Dongchuan nodded and casually asked: “Why did the letter you sent back have the old style of writing?”

“I was afraid the change would be too drastic, and my brother wouldn’t recognize it. He might think I had someone else write it for me, and misunderstand that I was struggling here.”

“Your life on the island isn’t bad, so what’s the connection with having someone else write the letter?” He Dongchuan didn’t quite understand the logic.

Su Ting confidently responded: “Think about it. I’m not incapable of writing. Why would I need someone else to write a letter for me? Isn’t it possible they might think the letter wasn’t really from me, but that you had someone else write it? Maybe because you were afraid I would complain to them, so you intentionally cut off my contact with my family…”

“Wait a minute.”

He Dongchuan interrupted Su Ting, rubbing his head and saying: “Isn’t your thinking a bit too scattered?”

Su Ting thought to herself that she had spent so many days trying to come up with a reasonable explanation for the change in writing. If she didn’t come up with something a little out of the box, would it be worthy of her current position?

On the surface, she still wore an innocent expression. “Isn’t my reasoning right?”

It wasn’t that it was wrong, it was just… absurd.

But thinking about it, it was partly his fault. He hadn’t been good to her at the beginning, so it was normal for her to overthink. After some contemplation, He Dongchuan shook his head and said: “No, it’s fine. It’s good.”

Su Ting’s eyes curved into a smile. “Right? I think it’s pretty good too. Well, you continue looking at the account book, and I’ll keep counting the money.”

He Dongchuan responded with a hum, but didn’t pay much attention to the account book. He still trusted Su Ting on this matter and didn’t think she would fake the accounts to deceive him. Holding the account book, he watched her count the money.

She was wearing an old cotton shirt to sleep, one she must have had for years. The collar was a bit loose from washing, and a large patch of her fair skin just below her collarbone was visible.

His gaze first fell there, then, feeling somewhat uncomfortable, he moved his eyes upward, past her delicate neck, her pointed chin, and settled on her focused expression as she lowered her head.

As he was looking, she finished counting a stack of money, slightly tilted her upper body to the right, picked up a pen that had been placed on the bed, and began feeling around for something.

He Dongchuan handed her the account book. Su Ting took it, flipped to the last page, wrote down a number, closed the pen, and handed it back to him, continuing to count the money.

He continued to watch her.

After counting for about ten minutes, and then another five or six, Su Ting confirmed that the larger bills were indeed as he had said. However, when it came to the small bills, she had counted about ten extra yuan.

Once she finished counting the money, Su Ting got off the bed, opened the wardrobe, took out her money box, and put the larger bills together, calculating the total to be two thousand nine hundred yuan.

After sorting the money, Su Ting cleared out her tin box, placed the bills according to their denomination, and then took out fifty yuan in small bills, setting them aside. “This is for living expenses. Do you have any usual expenses?”

“Not many big ones. I occasionally eat with comrades, drink some wine, and sometimes have to go to the city to make a phone call.”

Su Ting remembered the phone bill from when she had gone to the city before and said: “The phone bill is separate. When you go to the city next time, let me know, and I’ll give you the money directly. Is twenty yuan enough for meals and drinks?”

She felt that it should be enough, and probably even more. But when it came to pocket money, she didn’t think it should be too strict. He Dongchuan was a Colonel after all, and he must have his own social life. It wouldn’t be right for him to go out, reach into his pocket, and have no money.

He Dongchuan understood that she was offering him pocket money, and nodded, saying: “It’s enough.”

“Then I’ll give you twenty yuan each month. This will be for your personal expenses. If you need to buy clothes or shoes, just let me know, and I’ll give you more.” Su Ting paused before continuing: “You can start with this, and if it’s not enough, we’ll adjust it.”

After finishing, Su Ting unscrewed the cap of her pen again, recorded the total, then subtracted the living expenses and He Dongchuan’s money, and made a final balance. She handed it to him and said: “Take a look.”

He Dongchuan glanced over it and said: “No problem.”

“Then it’s settled. These bills…” Su Ting organized the bills by category, then picked up the cigarette tickets and asked: “Do you keep these at home?”

“Just put them away for now. If I need them, I’ll come to you for them.”

Su Ting nodded and placed the cigarette tickets, the commonly used ones, and the fifty yuan for living expenses, along with the remaining money for the month, into the small iron box He Dongchuan had given her. The box was small enough to be used as a coin box.

She closed both iron boxes, placed the larger one back in the wardrobe, and put the smaller one in the drawer of the vanity. As she turned around, she saw He Dongchuan still sitting by the bed, his expression a little hesitant.

The accounts had been settled, and the money and tickets were neatly organized. Logically, he should be heading back to sleep.

But since he hadn’t spoken up, and she had just taken over two thousand yuan from him, Su Ting felt a bit awkward. It felt like she might be burning bridges.

However, just sitting there wasn’t an option either. Su Ting took a deep breath, opened her mouth, and said: “Well…”

He Dongchuan and Su Ting spoke at the same time: “Have you thought about the matter we discussed earlier?”

Su Ting was caught off guard. “What?”

He Dongchuan repeated: “The matter about me moving back into the Master’s Bedroom. Have you thought about it?”

The atmosphere in the bedroom suddenly became tense and somewhat ambiguous. Su Ting’s cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head, saying: “How could I consider it that quickly?”

“It’s been almost half a month.” He Dongchuan reached out and took Su Ting’s hand, pulling her closer. He spoke softly: “I’ve been thinking about this every day, turning it over in my mind many, many times. What about you?”

That was crossing the line!

Su Ting screamed inwardly, not daring to look at him. With little confidence, she muttered: “I’ve been thinking about it.”

He Dongchuan lowered his voice and continued: “So, can I sleep here tonight?”

Su Ting: “…”

Earlier, he had handed over the deposit, and just as she was about to ask him to leave, she had felt a little guilty about burning bridges. Now, Su Ting realized it wasn’t necessary, because her speed in burning bridges couldn’t match He Dongchuan’s speed in climbing up the ladder.

Seeing her silent, He Dongchuan played the pity card, saying: “Earlier, when I mentioned coming to see you, Xiao Yan asked me if that meant I wouldn’t have to squeeze with him in bed anymore.”

“Why did he ask that?”

“He’s been in a bad mood ever since he found out that other kids’ parents sleep together, but we sleep separately. He complains that I take up too much space when I sleep, and he can’t sleep at night because of it. He even says I’m useless because I still can’t get into the Master’s Bedroom. Yesterday, he bragged to me about how he stayed with you the night before.”

Su Ting: “…You didn’t hit him?”

He Dongchuan: “I didn’t dare, I was afraid he’d go around spreading it.”

Thinking about the other day when they were in line to buy grain and someone had asked about their marital life, Su Ting couldn’t help but curl her toes. She definitely had to be cautious around He Yan and his big mouth.

He Dongchuan changed the subject: “But, if I can sleep in the Master’s Bedroom tonight, if he dares to get cocky with me tomorrow, I will hit him.”

Su Ting’s mind caught up. This was probably part of his pity party routine. For a moment, she wasn’t sure whether to feel sorry for He Dongchuan for not having the authority of a father in front of his son, or for He Yan, who was getting the blame from his dad.

Su Ting smiled and said: “Stop it. I don’t want you hitting the kid.”

“Alright, I won’t hit him.” He Dongchuan said, lowering his head so that his nose was touching Su Ting’s, and then he asked: “Have you thought it through?”

In the past, Su Ting didn’t like standing too close to people when talking, especially after she started working. Women were fine, but most men were heavy smokers, and even at a normal distance, she could smell their bad breath from the cigarettes.

But He Dongchuan didn’t smoke, and he had good hygiene habits, brushing his teeth twice a day, so there was no bad breath. That’s why Su Ting didn’t retreat when he got close. However, she still hadn’t made up her mind and kept wanting to look down.

But looking down wasn’t a good option. He Dongchuan was wearing a tight-fitting military shirt, and when he sat on the bed, the muscles underneath the fabric were visible.

Looking lower…

It was a bit spectacular.

Su Ting, already not very composed, couldn’t help but let her thoughts wander.

Actually, having him move into the Master’s Bedroom didn’t seem like such a big deal. She had originally planned to wait and see, seeing when He Dongchuan would open up about his background and show her his trust.

But tonight, not only did he reveal his background, but he also handed over his savings, showing her enough trust.

The only reason she was hesitating was because it all felt too sudden, and she wasn’t mentally prepared.

But when it came to getting physical, who needed to be prepared? This wasn’t fifty years from now. They could book a couple’s suite, scatter some roses on the bed, and just go for it.

Su Ting now felt like she was being teased, and her fire was starting to burn. After graduating from university in her previous life, she hadn’t been in a relationship again, remaining single until now. This was the first time she was this close to a man.

The more she thought about it, the more she relaxed, and was about to nod in agreement. Just then, He Dongchuan said: “Don’t worry. Even if I move in, you can still think about it. I won’t make a move until you give me the green light.”

The fire that had started to ignite was immediately extinguished.

But it wasn’t completely put out.

It’s well known that “I won’t make a move until you give me the green light” is different from “I’ll just rub up against you and won’t go in.” but they mean about the same thing. Once someone starts rubbing, they’re bound to go all the way. And someone who says they won’t make a move will end up making one anyway.

In short: “I don’t trust you at all!”

The next morning, when Su Ting opened her eyes and felt refreshed, she couldn’t help but feel helpless.

She had underestimated the self-control of men in the 1970s.

But when she opened the wardrobe door and saw the neatly folded clothes inside, clearly belonging to He Dongchuan, she realized that she had also underestimated the initiative of men from the 1970s.

The speed at which he climbed up the ladder?

Impressive!

…