Chapter 26.2

Because she had received a manuscript fee, Su Ting was feeling quite generous when shopping for groceries that day. After leaving the Seafood Supply Station, she headed straight to the Meat Shop.

She had arrived late—pork belly and fatty cuts had already sold out. These days, fatty meat was more popular than lean meat, and surprisingly, fewer people were buying ribs. After all, a pound of ribs barely had two ounces of actual meat. It cost both money and ration tickets but wasn’t as satisfying to eat.

Normally, Su Ting wouldn’t have bought them either—not because of the price, but because ration tickets were scarce, and she couldn’t afford to use them so extravagantly.

But today, she was in a good mood. Seeing the ribs immediately reminded her of sweet and sour pork ribs, and her mouth watered at the thought. Without hesitation, she bought the last two remaining ribs.

In addition to the ribs, she also purchased a few blue crabs, a pound of lobster, and a more than one-pound threadfin fish. Just imagining tonight’s dinner made her practically drool.

Of course, now wasn’t the time to salivate—ocean fish began to spoil the moment they left the water, so they had to be prepared quickly to prevent the meat from going bad. The crabs and lobsters also needed to be soaked in clean water to expel the sand from their systems.

As soon as she stepped through the main gate of the Family Residential Compound, Su Ting was called over by Chen Shaomei and Qiao Yan, who were sitting by the stone table chatting.

Seeing the large bags in Su Ting’s hands, filled with seafood and pork ribs, Chen Shaomei clicked her tongue and asked: “What’s going on? Did you strike it rich?”

Su Ting thought to herself—wasn’t that exactly what had happened? One hundred and fifty yuan!

It was almost pitiful to think about. Just over a month ago, she had been earning over ten thousand yuan a month and still wanted to quit her job. Now, making just a hundred and fifty yuan was enough to bring her to tears of joy.

Of course, back in the ’80s and ’90s, having assets over ten thousand made one a “ten-thousand-yuan household.” but fifty years later, earning over ten thousand a month was just standard for a regular worker. Inflation had changed everything; it couldn’t be compared the same way.

That said, keeping wealth low-key was a wise principle. Su Ting wasn’t foolish enough to flaunt her earnings in public. She simply smiled faintly and said: “A letter came from my hometown with good news. I was in a great mood, so I bought a little extra meat.”

Qiao Yan thought to herself—if she was this happy, it must be something really big. However, she didn’t pry further. Instead, she lowered her voice and said: “Have you heard?”

Su Ting was well-versed in gossip and immediately asked: “Heard what?”

“The Han Family was in complete chaos last night. You didn’t know?” Chen Shaomei asked.

Su Ting truly hadn’t known. Because of previous unpleasant experiences, the two families, despite living close by, rarely interacted. She had heard some noise last night but hadn’t thought much of it. Worrying about the Han Family’s affairs seemed far less important than worrying about her own dinner.

Chen Shaomei hadn’t really been trying to test whether Su Ting knew about it. Without waiting for an answer, she continued: “Last night, Han Bowen ran away from home. You know Han Bowen, right? Colonel Han’s eldest son.”

“Ran away from home? Did they find him?”

“Of course they found him. If they hadn’t, wouldn’t they have mobilized all of us to search?” Chen Shaomei said.

Su Ting thought that made sense. Even though she didn’t get along with Duan Xiaoying, if it were a matter of a child’s safety, even if Han Bin and his wife didn’t ask for help, others would have gathered people to search for him.

And last night, though there had been some commotion, it hadn’t seemed that big of a deal. If she had known Han Bowen had run away, she would have gone out to help look.

They all lived in the same Family Residential Compound. Private disagreements were one thing, but when it came to a child’s safety, such petty grievances couldn’t be taken too seriously.

That was a matter of principles.

Su Ting said: “As long as he’s been found, that’s good.”

“Yeah.” Qiao Yan nodded in agreement, then immediately asked: “Aren’t you curious why Han Bowen ran away from home?”

“Why?”

“Because Duan Xiaoying didn’t subscribe to milk.”

Su Ting was stunned. “Just for something that small?”

Qiao Yan strongly disagreed with Su Ting’s words. “How can you call this a small matter? Haven’t you heard Officer Jiang say that drinking milk not only helps children grow taller but also strengthens their bodies? It’s good stuff. I’ve already subscribed for my child.”

Chen Shaomei coughed and said: “I’m planning to subscribe, too.”

She had initially wanted to wait and see, but after last night’s incident, she figured milk must really be something special. Otherwise, why would the Han Family have made such a fuss? Besides, she had heard that quite a few military wives in the Family Residential Compound—at least thirty or forty of them—had already subscribed.

Since so many children would be drinking milk, her child couldn’t be left out. Otherwise, when everyone else grew taller and hers didn’t, how awful would that be for the child?

Su Ting was speechless. How could she not know everything Qiao Yan was saying? She was the one who had told Jiang Aihong about it in the first place.  

Milk might be good for the body, but it wasn’t some miracle cure. If a child didn’t drink it, would it really be such a big deal?  

Seeing Su Ting’s indifferent reaction, Qiao Yan said: “Think about it—Duan Xiaoying has always acted so well. Everyone in the Family Residential Compound praises her, saying she’s a model stepmother! But if she really cared about the child, why wouldn’t she subscribe to milk? Milk is beneficial for a child’s health.”  

Chen Shaomei agreed. “That’s right. If she truly cared about the child, she wouldn’t be stingy about something like this. If she’s unwilling to spend the money, then her sincerity toward the child must be limited.”  

Su Ting reminded them: “You didn’t subscribe before either.”  

Before Chen Shaomei could respond, Qiao Yan cut in. “Shaomei is the biological mother. How can she be the same as Duan Xiaoying?”  

Truthfully, Su Ting didn’t have a good impression of Duan Xiaoying. If she wanted to be self-sacrificing and move herself to tears, that was fine, but waving it in Su Ting’s face and making judgments about her? That was asking for trouble.  

However, in this particular situation, Su Ting actually felt that Duan Xiaoying was being unfairly judged. Besides, Qiao Yan’s words carried a strong bias against stepmothers, so she couldn’t help but point out: “I’m a stepmother too.”  

“But you subscribed to milk.” Chen Shaomei said.  

Su Ting asked: “So if I hadn’t subscribed to milk, that would mean I don’t care about the child?”  

Qiao Yan immediately said: “You treat He Yan so well. How could you not care about the child?”  

To be honest, among the military wives in the Family Residential Compound, Su Ting wasn’t seen as a good stepmother—especially after they found out that the one cooking in the He Family was actually He Dongchuan. Her reputation among them had plummeted.  

Not that she had a great reputation to begin with.  

In many people’s eyes, she and Duan Xiaoying were a contrast—a bad stepmother and a good stepmother.  

It wasn’t until last time, when Su Ting stood up for He Yan and angrily confronted Yu Hongzhi with a bamboo pole, that her reputation finally improved. So, Qiao Yan’s words weren’t entirely insincere.  

Although Qiao Yan didn’t say it outright, Su Ting understood her meaning and sighed inwardly.  

It was always like this. Someone with a bad reputation could be redeemed by doing a single good deed, while someone who had always been seen as good would have all their past efforts erased the moment they made a mistake.  

She might not fit the former category, but Duan Xiaoying was definitely the latter.  

“I don’t know whether Duan Xiaoying truly cares about the child or not, but I don’t think it’s fair to judge her just based on this milk subscription…”  

Su Ting suddenly stopped mid-sentence.  

Why was she even defending Duan Xiaoying? It wasn’t like the woman would appreciate it. She waved a hand dismissively and said: “Forget it. It’s not my business anyway. I shouldn’t be worrying so much. I need to head back—if I don’t marinate this fish soon, it’s going to spoil.”  

Having eaten plenty of sea fish over the years, Chen Shaomei and Qiao Yan knew how easily it went bad. Hearing this, they quickly said: “Then hurry back.”  

After parting ways with them, Su Ting strolled leisurely toward home.  

And as fate would have it, just after discussing Duan Xiaoying, she ran into her.

Normally, the two of them ran into each other quite often, but they rarely greeted each other. Su Ting never bothered to acknowledge Duan Xiaoying. However, because of the gossip earlier, she gave Duan Xiaoying an extra glance.  

Noticing Su Ting’s gaze, a trace of embarrassment flickered across Duan Xiaoying’s eyes.  

She opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something but suddenly thought of Yu Hongzhi.  

After being scolded by Su Ting last time, Yu Hongzhi hadn’t just been confronted by the Women’s Federation, who subtly inquired about the three daughters she had sent back to her hometown and tried to educate her with slogans like: “Women hold up half the sky; favoritism toward boys is unacceptable.” Her husband had also been called in for a talk with his superiors regarding her habit of stirring up trouble between other couples.  

Rumor had it that after Yu Hongzhi’s husband had that conversation with his leadership, he dragged her to the He Family to apologize the very same day. Later, the couple had a huge argument, and in the end, their three daughters from back home were set to be brought to the Military Unit.  

In the end, Duan Xiaoying lowered her eyes to avoid Su Ting’s gaze and brushed past her without saying a word.  

—

Braised fish, stir-fried shrimp, steamed crab, and sweet-and-sour ribs—four dishes were placed on the table, and He Yan was overjoyed. His eyes widened with excitement. “Mom, did we get rich?”  

His question was exactly the same as Chen Shaomei’s earlier, but Su Ting’s answer was different. “Yes, we got rich.”  

“Really?”  

Su Ting asked: “Why would I lie to you?”  

He Yan thought about it and decided that made sense. As he gnawed on a rib, he asked: “Mom, since we’re rich now, can I get a new toy?”  

“What toy do you want?”  

Thinking Su Ting had agreed, He Yan immediately sat up straight and said: “I want a slingshot!”  

“A slingshot? What do you need that for?”  

“To shoot birds! A lot of the other kids have slingshots. Zhang Xiaokai has one too, but I don’t. They never take me along when they go bird hunting.” He Yan pouted.  

In truth, he already had plenty of toys—several toy cars alone. The smaller ones were brought from the capital, and the largest one was bought during a trip to the city with Su Ting and He Dongchuan.  

Su Ting also regularly gave him pocket money—sometimes a dime or two, sometimes just a few cents.  

Since he always had a little money on hand, he tended to spend it the same day he got it, mostly on snacks. Occasionally, he would save up two or three dimes, only to spend it all at once on marbles. But he always lost at marble games, so they were practically a consumable item for him.  

The slingshots sold at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative were made of metal and were expensive—two yuan each. With the way He Yan spent his money, he could never save up enough, so he could only hope that his mother would buy one for him.

Su Ting certainly couldn’t buy it for him. Slingshots were too dangerous. They said it was for shooting birds, but once they started playing, who knew where these kids would aim?  

Breaking someone else’s roof tiles would already be considered mild. If they hit someone, it would be a big problem.  

Su Ting said: “Birds are so cute. Why do you want to shoot them?”  

This response was beyond He Yan’s expectations. He was momentarily stunned before stammering: “We… we’re just playing.”  

Su Ting, playing her role dramatically, said: “You’re just playing, but the one getting hurt is a living creature! Think about it—what if the bird you shoot is a dad or mom to other little birds? If you kill it, how sad do you think its children would be?”  

He Yan was still young. Su Ting’s words twisted his thoughts, and he hesitantly asked: “Birds… can be sad?”  

“Humans feel sadness, so of course birds do too. As long as something is alive, it has feelings. It’s just that our species are different, so we can’t communicate.”  

“…Alright, then I won’t shoot birds anymore.”  

“Do you still want the slingshot?”  

He Yan hesitated, then shook his head. “No, I don’t.”  

Su Ting smiled. “Even though you don’t want the slingshot anymore, since you’re being so good, Mom can give you a present. You can think about what you want for a while, but guns and slingshots are out of the question.”  

Because he was still thinking, He Yan didn’t seem too excited. He only let out a soft “Oh.”  

Su Ting let out a deep breath, turning her head only to see He Dongchuan watching her with amusement in his eyes. She rolled her eyes at him. She had spent so much effort coaxing the child, and he didn’t even bother to help.  

To this, He Dongchuan’s response was—if he had helped, how would he have gotten to watch Su Ting put on such a great performance?  

While the couple exchanged glances, the previously dazed He Yan gradually came back to his senses. Chewing on a rib, he suddenly asked: “But… aren’t fish, crabs, and lobsters also living creatures? When we eat them, wouldn’t their families be sad too?”  

Su Ting, who was in the middle of savoring a fragrant, spicy shrimp, paused for half a second. Then, without changing her expression, she finished chewing and swallowed before asking: “If I told you not to eat anything on this table, would you be willing?”  

He Yan swallowed and honestly replied: “No.”  

“And if I told you not to eat birds?”

He Yan had never eaten a bird before, nor did he know if it tasted good, so he answered without hesitation: “I’m willing.”  

Su Ting spread her hands. “Then that settles it.”  

She wasn’t a vegetarian. That whole speech about the value of life was just to convince He Yan. There was no way she would compromise her own enjoyment of food.  

Although He Yan didn’t fully understand what Su Ting meant, he wisely chose not to ask further questions—because all four dishes on the table were just *so* delicious!  

…  

Su Ting’s offer to buy He Yan a toy wasn’t just to comfort him. More than that, it was about reciprocating kindness.  

They—father and son—treated her well, so she was willing to treat them well in return.  

Before, she hadn’t been making money. The only savings she had were the fifty yuan from her original family, while the rest came from the bride price He Dongchuan had given. Saying she’d buy them things felt empty when she had no financial confidence.  

But now that she had received payment for her writing, she finally felt more secure. Since she planned to go to the city on Sunday to withdraw the money, she figured she might as well buy them both a gift.  

She had been worrying about what to buy, but during dinner, He Yan had made a request himself. Even though Su Ting wasn’t willing to buy what he wanted, she cleverly shifted the decision onto him.  

This gave Su Ting an idea—if He Yan could choose his own gift, then why not let He Dongchuan do the same? That way, he’d receive something he truly liked, and she wouldn’t have to rack her brain over it.  

With that thought, she took action immediately.  

After applying snowflake cream and getting into bed, Su Ting brought up her plan to He Dongchuan, telling him to think about what he wanted as a gift.  

He Dongchuan remained silent for a long time.  

Since it was a gift, wasn’t it her responsibility to pick it? Shouldn’t he just wait to be surprised?  

This… this didn’t seem right.  

Seeing his dissatisfaction, Su Ting spoke with absolute confidence. “I’m asking you to choose because I’m *considering* you. I don’t know what you like. Wouldn’t it be a shame if I picked something you didn’t want?”  

“I’ll like anything you pick.” He Dongchuan said.  

Su Ting didn’t believe that for a second. She let out a small snort and asked: “Even if I get you a bright red hat?”  

He Dongchuan was silent for a long moment before finally saying: “As long as I don’t have to wear it outside.”

Look at that—people who say they don’t care and that they’ll like anything they receive don’t necessarily mean it. That was precisely why Su Ting didn’t want to secretly buy a gift to create a surprise.  

Buying a gift in secret required skill. If done well, it was a pleasant surprise; if done poorly, it could turn into an awkward situation.  

To avoid such awkwardness, Su Ting urged: “Hurry up and decide, or I really will get you a bright red hat.”  

He Dongchuan, being a sensible man, took the matter seriously. After a brief moment of thought, he asked: “Can I ask for anything?”  

“As long as I can buy it.” Su Ting replied. If it wasn’t available at the department store, there was nothing she could do about it.  

“Don’t worry, you definitely have it.” He Dongchuan said confidently before adding his own request. “And let’s not wait until Sunday to exchange gifts. How about tonight?”  

“It’s already dark outside. What kind of gift can I give you now?”  

“The darkness makes it even better.” He Dongchuan said matter-of-factly. “Of course, if you prefer to do it in daylight, that’s fine too.”  

If not for his serious tone, Su Ting would have immediately assumed he meant something indecent. Actually… she wasn’t thinking all that innocently even now. She hesitated, both curious about what gift he had in mind and wary that his intentions were far from pure.  

When she remained silent for too long, He Dongchuan let out a low “Hmm?”  

Su Ting licked her lips. “Tell me what you want first.”  

“Does that mean you agree to give the gift ahead of time?”  

“You say it first, and I’ll think about it.”  

“Hmm.”  

Seeing him hesitate, Su Ting turned over and lay down. “Forget it, I’ll just get you a random gift later.”

He Dongchuan pressed his hand against the bed, moving forward from behind and pulling her into his arms. Lowering his head, he whispered something softly into her ear.  

A faint blush spread across Su Ting’s face little by little. She shot him a glare and scolded: “Keep dreaming!”  

Leaning against the headboard, He Dongchuan placed gentle kisses on the girl resting against his chest, openly admitting: “Mmm, the scene I imagined *is* quite beautiful.”  

Su Ting thought that when this usually serious man acted shameless, most people really wouldn’t be able to handle it.  

Like her, for example—faced with He Dongchuan’s straightforwardness, her mind short-circuited for a moment. She could only press against his chest and avoid his kisses as she said: “I think I’ll just pick a gift for you myself.”  

“Then I want a surprise.” He Dongchuan seized the opportunity and added: “It has to be a satisfying surprise. Otherwise, I’ll still want *this* gift.”  

Su Ting shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep, refusing to respond.  

But He Dongchuan’s hand slowly moved downward, and just as things were about to get out of control, Su Ting had no choice but to press down on her waistband and shift away. “That’s enough.”  

He Dongchuan took advantage of the movement, pressing her down beneath him. Propping himself up slightly with his left hand under her shoulder, his right hand, hidden beneath the covers, began unbuttoning her shirt one by one.  

“I’m not done yet.” he murmured. “Promise me, or I’ll assume you can’t do it, and the gift will be given in advance.”  

She couldn’t escape, and she couldn’t match his strength either. As she watched the last button on her shirt about to come undone, Su Ting finally surrendered. “Fine, fine! I promise, okay?”  

The moment she gave in, He Dongchuan responded with a satisfied “Good” and skillfully unfastened the final button before pressing a kiss onto her chest.  

Su Ting gasped and pushed against his shoulder. “I already agreed! Stop being so shameless…”  

In a low voice, He Dongchuan replied: “Mmm, you don’t have to do anything tonight.”  

No need to take the initiative—so it didn’t count as a gift. Which meant it didn’t count as him being shameless.  

As Su Ting tried to make sense of this logic amidst the overwhelming sensations, she couldn’t help but think—if He Dongchuan didn’t go into business after the economic reforms, it would truly be a waste of his talent. With his skills, he was *definitely* a future billionaire in the making!