Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Zhou Lixiao Actually Wrote a Promise Letter? Zhou Lixiao was puzzled, too. The Political Commissar said the news had come from the Southern Jiangsu Military Region: two sisters with excellent qualifications were willing to marry far away to the borderlands and help build them up. But the women had one requirement: the men had to have the surname Zhou. The Political Commissar hadn’t even come back to ask Zhou Jingchuan and Zhou Lixiao what they thought before he hurriedly agreed. Their station was in the middle of a desert so desolate not even birds could be found. Not a single woman was willing to marry there, and the regiment was full of bachelors. Now, at long last, there were women willing to come—and two men could find wives at once. Naturally, the Political Commissar was delighted. When he returned and told them, Zhou Jingchuan didn’t object much. Zhou Lixiao was the only one who refused. The Political Commissar hauled him into the office again for a stern talking-to, then ended up pleading with him: the women were already on their way, so even if it was only a formality, he should at least go meet them. Only then did Zhou Lixiao reluctantly agree. The more Ma Chao thought about it, the more unfair it seemed. “No way. I’m going to find the Political Commissar too. He can hurry up and find me a wife.” … Jiang Zhenni slept curled up at the edge of the bed. In her dreams, the disgusting sight of plaster falling on her kept replaying. But she was so exhausted from the journey that, after feeling sick for a moment, she sank back into a deep sleep. When she woke again, the room was dim. Someone was talking outside, and she could faintly hear the soldiers singing military songs. Jiang Zhenni took a moment to gather herself, then slowly sat up. Now she could hear the voices outside the door clearly. It was Jiang Mingyue again! She was speaking in that affected, high-pitched voice to Zhou Lixiao. “My younger sister’s always loved sleeping in. She often misses meals because she’s asleep. And everyone in the family spoils her…” Jiang Zhenni’s lips twitched. The same old routine. Jiang Mingyue never missed a chance to smear her. That was how she’d acquired her reputation for being lazy and greedy. She couldn’t be bothered to go out and expose Jiang Mingyue. And she didn’t care what Zhou Lixiao thought of her anyway. She stood by the window with a comb and slowly brushed her hair, listening as Jiang Mingyue continued making things up. “Battalion Commander Zhou, now that you’re marrying my sister, you’ll have to indulge her a little.” “I know your family isn’t well-off and depends on your allowances to get by.” “But my sister’s never had to suffer. She likes dressing up and buying new clothes. So no matter how hard things get for your family, you can’t let her go without.” As she spoke, Jiang Mingyue watched Zhou Lixiao. Whenever she said things like that before, people would immediately take a dislike to Jiang Zhenni. But she’d been talking to Zhou Lixiao for ages, and the man hadn’t reacted at all! She couldn’t quite tell what Zhou Lixiao was thinking. She failed to notice the impatience and irritation that crossed his face as he leaned casually against the wall, head bowed while he checked his watch. Jiang Mingyue was about to say more when she heard Jiang Zhenni inside the room slam something down on the windowsill with a soft smack. Afraid Jiang Zhenni might suddenly storm out and make a scene, she hurriedly said goodbye to Zhou Lixiao and went back to her room. Inside, Jiang Zhenni had no intention of falling out with Jiang Mingyue in front of Zhou Lixiao. Her experience growing up had taught her that whenever she and Jiang Mingyue quarreled, she was the only one their parents criticized. Her own parents didn’t believe her, so she certainly didn’t expect Zhou Lixiao—who would later become infatuated with Jiang Mingyue—to believe her either. Besides, she had plenty of ways to make Jiang Mingyue pay for all the hurt she’d caused. Zhou Lixiao paid no attention to Jiang Mingyue leaving. He looked down at his watch. Ten minutes had passed since he’d heard Jiang Zhenni get up, and she still hadn’t opened the door. He raised a hand and knocked. Jiang Zhenni opened the door, her expression tense, making her small face look especially serious. There was a stubbornness in her eyes, too, though it was only an act. Zhou Lixiao glanced at her expression, took a sheet of paper from his pocket, and waved it in front of her. “The promise letter you wanted. See if it meets your standards.” Jiang Zhenni was surprised. “You finished it already?” She took the paper and unfolded it. The writing was strong and sharp, and filled the page, with every point laid out clearly. The final point in particular promised that if he was unfaithful to the marriage and they divorced, he would compensate Jiang Zhenni with ten thousand yuan. Jiang Zhenni eyed Zhou Lixiao suspiciously. “Ten thousand yuan? Do you really have that much money?” He chuckled. “You’re not planning to divorce me and get rich, are you? Come on. Let’s go eat.” Jiang Zhenni’s eyes curved, and she burst out laughing. Maybe she’d been worrying about the wrong thing. The exchange chased away the little irritation she’d just begun to feel, and she followed Zhou Lixiao to the dining hall in a much better mood. They had missed the meal period again, and the Kitchen Squad soldiers had all gone to weed and water the vegetable plots. Zhou Lixiao took Jiang Zhenni straight to the kitchen. She watched him wash his hands, then expertly slice a cucumber into thin strips with a cleaver. She looked surprised. “You can cook?” Then she remembered Jiang Mingyue saying that Zhou Lixiao’s family wasn’t well-off. He must have gone through plenty of hardship growing up, so it made sense that he knew how to cook. Zhou Lixiao glanced at her. “I was assigned to the Kitchen Squad when I was a recruit.” Jiang Zhenni noticed food set aside beneath a mesh cover nearby. “Isn’t there already food? Why are you cutting cucumber?” “Do you eat chili peppers?” She shook her head. “No.” Zhou Lixiao said nothing more. He put the cucumber strips on a plate, added a little salt and sesame oil, tossed them, and carried the dish outside. It was only when they sat down to eat that Jiang Zhenni realized he’d made the cucumber salad especially for her. The dining hall’s evening dish was green chilies stir-fried with red chilies; even the smell was pungent. It went well with the coarse-grain steamed buns, but she couldn’t handle food that spicy. She hadn’t expected the rugged, tough-looking Zhou Lixiao to be so observant. Zhou Lixiao still ate quickly. He put down his chopsticks and watched Jiang Zhenni cradle her coarse porcelain bowl and sip her porridge. “Tomorrow morning, we’ll go get our marriage certificate. In the afternoon, we’ll go to the Logistics Section to pick up the house key.” Jiang Zhenni nearly choked on her porridge. “So soon?” “Is it?” Zhou Lixiao asked in return. He actually thought things were moving at a pace that was… all right, he supposed. Jiang Zhenni furrowed her brow slightly and made another request. “Is the military family compound big? Could we get a house far away from Jiang Mingyue?” She wanted at least a couple of days without having to look at her face. Zhou Lixiao answered readily. “Sure.” Jiang Zhenni was surprised by how readily he agreed. She was also thinking that, if things followed the events in her dream, Zhou Lixiao wouldn’t share a bed with her even after they married. Later, he would become cold toward her because he liked Jiang Mingyue—and eventually he wouldn’t even come home. If that happened, she wouldn’t have to worry about how to sleep after they married. Zhou Lixiao watched Jiang Zhenni lower her eyes to her bowl. Her expression kept changing, and in the end, there was even a hint of delight in it. He couldn’t make sense of her. He was just about to speak when the Battalion Headquarters clerk ran over and called him to an emergency meeting. Zhou Lixiao apologized to Jiang Zhenni, picked up his military cap from the table, and strode out with the clerk. Jiang Zhenni washed the dishes and decided to look around nearby. That was better than going back to see Jiang Mingyue’s false face. … When Zhou Lixiao came out after the meeting, he happened to run into the Logistics Section chief speaking with Zhou Jingchuan. Seeing Zhou Lixiao, Zhou Jingchuan smiled in greeting. “Good timing. I just told Section Chief Li that our two families’ houses should be next to each other, so we can look out for one another.” Zhou Lixiao’s brow furrowed slightly. “Whose idea was that?”