Chapter 88: The Pretty Military Wife of the Seventies 11

This little courtyard was truly tiny, but it was actually enough for two people to live in.

There were two rooms, an inner and an outer. Zhan Hongjun had added a partition in the inner room, dividing it into two smaller spaces.

“We’ll have children later, so there’s no need to change it again. We’ll be living here for at least ten years. The family residential buildings were only built three years ago, and they won’t be building new ones anytime soon.” Either they would live here permanently, or they would have to wait for someone else to transfer out of the service and vacate a unit before they could move into the residential buildings.

However, those residential units were only forty square meters, with a two-bedroom, one-living room, one-kitchen, and one-bathroom layout. It was noisy with neighbors above and below; sometimes, it really wasn’t as comfortable as living in a small courtyard.

But people these days preferred small apartment buildings over single-story houses, feeling that living in a building was cleaner.

The outer room served a triple purpose as a living room, dining room, and kitchen.

By the window sat an iron stove, connected to a sheet-metal heat wall behind it. It looked like a small oven and could actually bake things; it even had two layers of baking trays inside.

The chimney pipe went straight out through the roof.

Next to the stove was a wall cabinet with a built-in cupboard and cutting board, all in one piece.

Opposite the cupboard and stove was a large square table. On the table sat a pair of thermoses, a white porcelain bust of Chairman Mao, and a tea tray holding four white porcelain cups with lids.

There were four wooden stools tucked under the table, and two red leather folding chairs placed on either side. The washbasin stand and similar items were all in the outer room. The furniture in the house was custom-made, and the floor was concrete.

The rice, flour, oil, and seasonings in the cupboard had all been purchased by Zhan Hongjun.

The house even had running water.

“The running water only works in the summer. It gets incredibly cold here in the winter, and the pipes freeze up. When that happens, don’t worry about the water; I’ll handle it. I’ve also bought some ceramic vats. We can use them for pickling sauerkraut or salted vegetables later, and they can also serve as water crocks,” Zhan Hongjun explained, then leaned against Su Huandan, laughing so hard he couldn’t straighten up.

“I’m telling you, when they said there were no apartments available earlier, I was quite unhappy. Although the residential buildings are small, they are cleaner than single-story houses. But later I heard that during the winter over there, the flush toilets might freeze up.” Think about it—really think about it—if that thing freezes, how are you supposed to use the bathroom at home?

When repairing the drainage pipes, they had to use fire to thaw the frozen sections so the waste could flow out.

And then the smell that wafted into every household…

Su Huandan pushed Zhan Hongjun away, looking thoroughly disgusted. “Are you trying to be gross? It’s enough that you know about it; why tell me? You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

She had been dizzy throughout the journey. She had just arrived home, finally feeling grounded and secure, and her stomach was getting hungry, only for Zhan Hongjun to come out with such a story.

Zhan Hongjun wasn’t bothered by being pushed away. He took Su Huandan’s hand. “Come on, let me show you where the nearby toilets are.”

The small courtyards were arranged along a small alleyway with doors facing each other. Each row had six courtyards, and each row shared a dry latrine located near the perimeter wall.

With over twenty rows of courtyards, there were over twenty dry latrines, all marked with numbers.

Half were for men and half for women, with the women’s toilets positioned further forward and the men’s further back.

“It’s not too far. There are people assigned to clean them, and the pits are cleared once a month. There’s definitely a smell, but they are indeed very clean.” The conditions here were better than the small Siheyuan where Su Huandan had lived before.

In that small Siheyuan, an entire hutong¹ shared one public toilet. Regardless of the season, the sanitary conditions there were truly…

“Past the family residential area is No. 3 Canteen.” After all, this was a base garrisoned by over ten thousand troops; one canteen definitely wouldn’t be enough.

“If you manage to get a job, you’ll be eating at No. 3 Canteen in the future. I’m at No. 5 Canteen because I move with the 3rd Battalion. We won’t be eating together in the future.” If they wanted to eat together, they would have to cook at home when they both had time off.

Or they could have a late-night snack when they got home!

To the left of the Administrative Office Building, there were several small commissaries.

“These commissaries are run by the family members of several leaders. They have a pretty good selection of goods.” It was convenient to buy urgent items here, while for non-urgent things, it was cheaper to go out and buy them during time off.

Su Huandan indicated that she understood perfectly.

She would still need to visit the commissaries; since they lived here, they had to show respect to the leaders.

Yes, that was exactly what it meant.

What Zhan Hongjun liked most about Su Huandan was that she was both smart and sufficiently socially adept.

Zhan Hongjun had taken the day off. After taking Su Huandan to scout out all the necessary locations, the couple headed home.

Passing by the commissary, they bought some fresh vegetables, a fish, a chicken, a pound of pork belly, and two pounds of eggs.

As soon as the young couple left, the other military wives shopping in the commissary began to chatter.

“Is that a new couple? That man looks familiar, but I can’t remember who he is. That woman is certainly beautiful.”

“I say, you’re really something. Why do you care who they are? The man is bound to be a comrade of someone’s husband, and the woman is a military wife.”

“Haha, don’t argue. I just think this young couple doesn’t know how to manage a budget. Are they expecting guests? My family couldn’t afford to eat so many good things in a month.”

That was because you have many children and don’t dare to spend money like that.

For those with better circumstances, who wouldn’t want to eat something good?

Zhan Hongjun was truly craving it. The army’s mess hall food wasn’t necessarily bad, but he just missed home-cooked meals.

The two made dinner together. It was all edible, and they finished it in one sitting.

The scent of meat wafted through the entire alley.

Next door, Sister-in-law Niu said to her husband, “Battalion Commander Zhan’s young wife is quite good at cooking. When Battalion Commander Zhan cooked before, it never smelled this good.”

Across the way, Liu Zhanyuan was grumbling as he caught the scent of the food. So what if he brought his wife here?

What was there to show off?

Just wait until tomorrow; my wife should be arriving too.

At noon the next day, Su Huandan went to the commissary to buy vegetables. Zhan Hongjun had left early that morning before the wake-up call, so Su Huandan was cooking for herself.

While buying vegetables, she saw Liu Zhanyuan leading Zhan Hongjun’s ex-wife, grinning so widely his mouth could hardly close.

Just yesterday, Zhan Hongjun had mentioned that Liu Zhanyuan was married as well. He said Liu Zhanyuan’s wife had joined the military housing at the same time she did, though he didn’t know if the woman Liu Zhanyuan married was actually his ex-wife.

Su Huandan considered making a couple of dishes tonight to share a drink with Zhan Hongjun.

Since those two eyesores had ended up together, they wouldn’t be around to ruin the lives of decent people anymore. Wasn’t that worth a celebratory drink?

“If you put it that way, it really is true. Regarding the couple across from us, they’re the only ones suited for each other. Marrying anyone else would just be a disservice to the other person.” Zhan Hongjun took a small, satisfied sip of wine. He didn’t dare drink much, just enough to get a taste.

“The assessment is tomorrow, and you’ll be doing it alongside Xu Chunxia. Originally, that wasn’t necessary, but I was the one who suggested it. It’s best to have the assessment together on the spot. Who has talent and who doesn’t will be obvious at a glance, which saves us from that couple spreading rumors behind our backs.” Zhan Hongjun knew exactly what kind of person Xu Chunxia was.

She was truly the type to act one way to your face and another behind your back, a real two-faced person.

Translator’s Notes