??Chapter 55: Chapter 53: Actually, I’m Quite Nice
Chapter 55: Chapter 53: Actually, I’m Quite Nice
Early the next morning, Shen Yunfang woke up early as always. Opening her eyes, she noticed the man who was supposed to share the bed with her last night was gone, and she herself had crossed her self-imposed divide, ending up at the other side of the bed.
Shen Yunfang’s face was filled with chagrin. Usually, she had decent sleeping habits. Why did she lose control just because there was a guy? She buried her head in the blankets for a while, incessantly berating herself inside.
She consoled herself with difficulty, reminding herself that the entire bed was hers to sleep on as she pleased. After getting up, she noticed that the stove had been stoked, warming the room, and there was even a basin of water sitting on it.
After a simple wash with the warm water, she pushed the door open and went outside, not to look for soone, but to fetch so water from the backyard well to make breakfast.
Before she reached the backyard, cacophonous sounds from behind caught her attention. That guy sure got up early.
“Need water, huh? I already boiled a kettle this morning. The thermos is full, and there’s another kettle as well. This water is cold, use that instead,” Li Hongjun was battling with a pile of wood when he saw his future bride approaching the well to draw water. The well water was icy cold, biting to the core, and he hurriedly called out to her.
After sharing the bed last night, this morning he started thinking of “that woman” in his heart as his future bride.
Shen Yunfang’s hands paused in their task, then she quickly let go and stood up, giving Li Hongjun a glare, “Just mind your own business, what don’t you involve yourself in?” With that, she twisted around, her cheeks slightly flushed as she walked back to the house.
Li Hongjun watched her retreating back and cracked a smile. It was like the toad lusting after a swan – that bean sprout of a girl, and he still managed to see a flirtatious air about her.
The day passed, both busy with their own tasks. Over the course of the day, Li Hongjun used the materials sorted out yesterday to make twenty-two wooden boxes of the sa size. He even rushed to complete the wooden rack Shen Yunfang had asked him to make on short notice.
Shen Yunfang continued organizing books. At dinner, Li Hongjun volunteered that he would be leaving on the eight o’clock bus the next morning, which made Shen Yunfang a bit restless.
No matter what, he was her fiancé in na, staying over during the Spring Festival to help her out instead of going ho, and even brought her such a big surprise. He could be said to be neither greedy for money nor lecherous, a good soldier of the people. As a citizen who supports and loves the military, she felt she had to do sothing in return.
After psyching herself up, Shen Yunfang got busy. He was leaving tomorrow, how could she not prepare sothing for him to eat on the way?
What could she prepare that was portable? Shen Yunfang pondered for a mont. They were out of flour, having used it all to make pancakes the day before. Only rice was left in the cupboard, which could be taken out. Smacking her thigh, she decided to steam rice and make onigiri, marinating so pork heart and liver, and that would be decent enough.
When she had a plan, she set to work. Li Hongjun was busy in the backyard, and she began her hustle in the house. By the ti they went to bed that night, she had almost finished everything. An entire pork heart, pork liver, and a section of fat intestine were soaking in the marinade, which would be even more flavorful after being picked out the next morning.
Li Hongjun entered the room and, slling the aroma, took a glimpse at the pot’s contents, swallowing his saliva. He murmured softly, “If only I had a few ounces of liquor, it’d be unbeatable.”
Shen Yunfang raised an eyebrow. So, he had a bit of a drinking habit too.
“Where did they co from?” Li Hongjun pointed toward the pot.
“On the 28th, the team handed them out when they slaughtered the pig.” Shen Yunfang clarified the source.
“That’s all you got?” Li Hongjun’s gaze beca sowhat stern. These pieces were usually the unwanted leftovers – didn’t everyone scramble for the fatty cuts? His future wife must not be getting bullied, he thought.
“Yeah, I just like these parts that no one else does. I don’t care for fatty at.” While everyone else was still concerned with getting enough to eat, she was already racing towards eating well.
Li Hongjun looked at her closely, trying to see if she was sincere.
“Where did you put it; why didn’t I see it?” Li Hongjun sighed, figuring it didn’t matter. From now on he would be there to protect her, and he’d see who would dare bully her then.
“It’s buried under the snow by the door.” Shen Yunfang lied without batting an eye. “Hey, why do you, a grown man, bother with such things? Let’s sleep.”
Li Hongjun, rather than getting angry at her words, felt a sweet satisfaction. Weren’t he, this old man, and his little wife just a match made in heaven?
The two lay back to back on the sa bed.
Listening to her breathing, Li Hongjun knew she wasn’t asleep yet. With him leaving tomorrow, he felt he had to resolve so issues, “Why did you stop replying to my letters?”
“What?” Shen Yunfang, lost in her thoughts as well, was caught off guard by his question.
Li Hongjun turned around to face Shen Yunfang and said, “You haven’t replied to my letters for three months. I was worried sothing had happened to you, so I begged the commander to give
leave.”
“Oh, that. I just didn’t know what to write to you; I wasn’t up to much,” Shen Yunfang said with a touch of guilt.
Ever since Shen Yunfang’s mother passed away, Li Hongjun had been sending letters ho once a month, and Shen Yunfang would send a reply each month as well.
For the past few months, Shen Yunfang hadn’t been replying to letters for a couple of reasons. First, she felt there wasn’t much to write about; the things she did weren’t worth ntioning to outsiders. Second, she was afraid of giving herself away. After all, she was a ti traveler, and if she wasn’t careful, it could be disastrous if soone discovered she had “changed her core.” So, she had to be cautious.
“Just write about what you do normally; that’s fine.” The political commissar had said, for those who were separated like them, it was essential to write regular letters for an ideological report, as this would help maintain stability and unity.
Shen Yunfang kept silent.
“I’m taking my leave this year, so I probably won’t have any holiday for next year’s Spring Festival,” Li Hongjun said evenly.
Why did that sound sowhat plaintive? “Alright, I get it, I’ll reply to your letter, okay?” she replied with a trace of irritation.
Li Hongjun laughed silently.
“I won’t have any breaks next year, but the year after, when I co back, we’ll get our business sorted out.” It was a statent of fact.
Shen Yunfang understood and quickly turned around, exclaiming, “This year I’m fifteen, well, soon to be sixteen. Next year I’ll be seventeen, and only after that will I be eighteen.”
Her tone was as if accusing him of destroying the nation’s flower.
“Eighteen’s not young anymore. So have children at eighteen,” Li Hongjun whispered, stealthily holding the hand of the agitated girl opposite him under the blanket.
“That’s other people, I don’t want to marry so early. I still want to… want to…” Shen Yunfang braked just in ti, almost revealing her plans about taking the university entrance exam.
She had it all figured out: fifteen this year and by the ti the national college entrance exam was reinstated in ’77, she’d be twenty, and going to university wouldn’t be too late. After graduating, she’d be a pillar of the country, either a professor or an expert after a couple of decades. In any case, she wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
“What else do you want?” Li Hongjun’s tone was sowhat cold. “You should know that a military marriage is protected by the state.”
“I haven’t married you yet, so how does it count as a military marriage?” Shen Yunfang rolled her eyes in the dark.
“Once we’re engaged, we’re family. Why else could I be sleeping on the sa bed as you right now? Do you understand?” Li Hongjun nearly bit his teeth from frustration. He had never imagined this girl would be averse to marriage. They had been engaged for years, and although they hadn’t had much contact, an engagent was an engagent, a matter of responsibility.
“If you don’t marry , you’d be playing around, and I could report you for the cri of hooliganism. Do you know the consequences of that cri?” Li Hongjun spoke nacingly.
“Are you threatening ?” Shen Yunfang was displeased, the conversation taking an unwelco turn.
After a long pause, he said, “No, that’s not it. I’m not threatening you. I’m reminding you that you will be a military spouse, and you need to have that ideological readiness.”
Shen Yunfang curled her lip. As if those thoughts could serve as food.
“Is marrying
so bad? I’m actually pretty good, it’s just that you haven’t had much contact with
and probably haven’t noticed. Let
tell you, I have a strong sense of responsibility. You should trust the promise of an outstanding soldier. As long as you marry , I will take good care of you in the days to co. In sumr, I’ll use my broad shoulders to shield you from the wind and rain, and in winter, I’ll warm your bed with my heated body…” Li Hongjun’s face turned red, but he forced himself to stay calm and recite the romantic lines he had sneakily learned from a junior soldier.
Shen Yunfang also blushed, “Enough, enough, don’t be so gross. Tell , where did you learn all this? Is this what soldiering teaches you?”
“There’s a junior soldier who said girls like to hear this kind of talk,” Li Hongjun tightened the hold on her hand, afraid he’d lose control and cover his face with embarrassnt, as if he were acting foolishly.
“Hmph, hmph, hmph.” Shen Yunfang snorted a few tis. She figured that this stiff man couldn’t have co up with those lines himself; he had borrowed them. “Forget what others say, what do you think?”
“In the future, I’ll be responsible for earning money and supporting the family. You can manage all the money in our ho…”
“And?”
“As long as I’m at ho, I’ll take care of all the household chores.”
“And?”
“In the future, I won’t let you suffer the slightest grievance. If anyone dares to bully you, I’ll beat the life out of them.”
“…And what else…”
…
That night, two people who were once strangers laid strangely together under one blanket, discussing how they would live their lives after getting married.
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