Chapter 96: The Pretty Military Wife of the Seventies 19

Zhan Hongjun only returned when the child was two months old, arriving with all the soldiers who had been out on the long-distance training exercise.

It had started snowing. Su Huandan had returned to work after her first month of postpartum recovery, and it had never been more difficult. During the day, she left the child at Sister-in-law Niu’s house for her to look after, returning midway through the day to breastfeed.

When Zhan Hongjun arrived, Su Huandan was still busy clicking away at her abacus beads¹.

The couple didn’t see each other immediately.

Once Zhan Hongjun had finished settling everything on his end, he headed straight to Sister-in-law Niu’s house to see his son.

“You must have been worried sick, right? Your wife and child are both doing great. Five babies were born in this family compound during the same period, but your son is the best-looking, the fairest, and the sturdiest of them all. Your Little Su also recovered the best. She didn’t have a hard time during labor, she recovered well during her month of rest², and she has plenty of milk. Otherwise, your son wouldn’t have grown this plump. In all my years, I’ve never seen a baby as chubby as yours.” Covered in rolls of baby fat, even her own children adored him.

Zhan Hongjun held his son, grinning so wide his teeth showed and his eyes crinkled into slits. The little rascal was so fat his eyes were barely visible, and it was hard to tell who he looked like yet, but his skin definitely took after his mother’s. He looked like a little snowball, incredibly precious.

“Sister-in-law, I’ve troubled you during this time.” Once Zhan Hongjun had finished doting on the child, he quickly put him down to sleep. People said you shouldn’t hold babies all the time because it might affect their bone growth or something like that. He didn’t quite understand the details, but if it was good for the child, he would follow the advice.

“What trouble? You arranged the job for my eldest son; you’ve done a huge favor for me. If I had to rely on your Brother Niu, that boy would probably have had to go back to the countryside to farm. But you know how things are back home. My in-laws don’t like my children, and Brother Niu’s brothers are even worse.” Sister-in-law Niu gritted her teeth as she spoke. In the end, they had only raised a pack of ungrateful wolves.

Zhan Hongjun smiled thinly but didn’t comment. What seemed like an insurmountable problem for Sister-in-law Niu’s family was just a matter of a phone call for his.

The director of the auto repair shop was a soldier who had served under his father, and they had a very good relationship. Moreover, Sister-in-law Niu’s eldest son met the recruitment standards. He was currently working as a temporary employee at the factory near the military base. If the boy proved himself, he could become a permanent employee upon reaching adulthood, perhaps without Zhan Hongjun needing to pull any more strings.

He had simply provided an opportunity, yet Sister-in-law Niu was so grateful that Zhan Hongjun felt somewhat embarrassed.

“Your Little Su should be back soon to feed the baby. Since you’re on leave, it’s not convenient for you to go to the office building to find her, but you’ll see her in a bit.” After saying this, Sister-in-law Niu went to the outer room to heat up some chicken soup.

To ensure she could nurse the baby, Su Huandan had never lacked chicken or meat soup.

It wasn’t practical to keep cooking chicken soup at Su Huandan’s house, so Sister-in-law Niu did it. She never took a single bite for herself, and neither did her children. Even if they were drooling from the aroma, they wouldn’t touch it. If Su Huandan tried to thrust a bowl into a child’s hands, the child would drop the bowl and run away.

Sister-in-law Niu’s discipline of her children was truly strict.

Soon, Su Huandan began walking toward Sister-in-law Niu’s house.

On the way, she ran into Liu Zhanyuan, which was quite bad luck.

Seeing no one around, Liu Zhanyuan approached her. “Is Zhan Hongjun treating you well? If not, just say the word and I’ll teach him a lesson for you.”

Su Huandan looked at Liu Zhanyuan as if he were a lunatic. Liu Zhanyuan immediately became annoyed. “Why are you looking at me like that? I’m only being kind for the sake of our past as a married couple. No one in the Zhan Family is any good. You’d better keep your wits about you.”

After saying that, he gave a cold snort and ran off quickly. He looked very much like he was fleeing in panic.

Su Huandan spat on the ground. This man wasn’t just a rogue; he was a complete nutcase.

When she returned to Sister-in-law Niu’s house and saw Zhan Hongjun, Su Huandan was truly pleasantly surprised.

“You’re back! Our office happens to face north, so we can’t see the main gate. I had no idea you were home.” If they had been in their own home, Su Huandan definitely would have thrown herself into his arms to act a bit spoiled.

The couple had a good relationship. Having not seen each other for so long, how could they not miss one another?

The way Zhan Hongjun looked at Su Huandan was tender enough to melt water.

Unfortunately, now was not the time for catching up. Su Huandan hurriedly finished nursing the baby, drank a bowl of chicken soup, and rushed back to work.

In the evening, after finishing work and heading home, Su Huandan stopped by the cafeteria to pick up some food. Since those on the training exercise had returned today, the cafeteria had prepared meat dishes.

When she got home, Zhan Hongjun wasn’t there. They were supposed to have a group dinner that night, but on the dining table were braised fish and scrambled eggs that Zhan Hongjun had prepared.

She didn’t have to wait long before Zhan Hongjun returned, carrying a lunch box.

The food they had both brought back was the same: four large steamed buns and braised pork.

Su Huandan had just finished nursing the baby, and the child was asleep.

The couple chatted while they ate. “Mom and Dad have chosen a name for the baby. His formal name is Zhan Hao³, and his nickname is Lele. They hope the child lives a happy and cheerful life.”

Zhan Hongjun muttered his son’s name under his breath.

“Zhan Hao? Sounds like ‘trench’?” Tsk, this style was definitely his old man’s style.

Didn’t his elder brother’s name, Zhan Hongbing, mean ‘Red Soldier’?

His elder brother’s daughter was named Zhan Qi, which sounded like ‘War Flag’…

In short, whether it was a son, a granddaughter, or a grandson, their names always had to be related to the military.

Su Huandan was speechless. She had never seen a son complain about his own father’s naming sense like this.

“I’ll make a phone call tomorrow and ask them to find some milk powder to send over. Are you sure your body has recovered? What did Auntie Gu say? Don’t look down on Auntie Gu just because she’s a military doctor at the health station; her medical skills are excellent, no worse than the department heads at those big hospitals.” Zhan Hongjun didn’t believe a woman who had recently given birth could be in perfect health so soon.

He naturally felt distressed for his own wife.

“Everything is fine. Recovering one’s health isn’t something that happens overnight; it takes time.” These were Auntie Gu’s exact words, so Su Huandan simply repeated them. In reality, she had long since restored her health using the Spiritual Spring Water.

She couldn’t say that, so she left it at that.

Only then did Zhan Hongjun breathe a sigh of relief. No matter how well Sister-in-law Niu spoke of her, it wasn’t as reliable as Auntie Gu’s word.

That night, Zhan Hongjun didn’t do anything. He wouldn’t dare trouble her until his wife had rested for at least half a year.

Su Huandan was left thinking: My man is finally back, and I still have to live like a nun?

After she tried to seduce him twice, Zhan Hongjun firmly refused her both times.

“Be good, your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.” Zhan Hongjun was suffering too, but he couldn’t ignore his wife’s health.

At Su Huandan’s house, the couple spent the night simply chatting under the covers.

Across the hall, that animal Liu Zhanyuan put Xu Chunxia through quite a workout. During his post-coital clarity⁴, while he was feeling completely relaxed and satisfied, Xu Chunxia took the opportunity to mention her desire to bring her son over.

Liu Zhanyuan agreed. His parents had already told him that it wasn’t appropriate for him to bring up divorce right now, and that he should just make do with the marriage for a few more years.

However, even though they weren’t divorcing, Xu Chunxia’s parents were constantly coming to the door to cry about how poor they were.

They kept saying that the financial burden of helping Xu Chunxia raise her son was too great.

Since they were using the child as an excuse, he would just bring the boy to the military base. If Xu Chunxia was so capable, she could find work herself to support her parents.

Either Xu Chunxia would put her heart into their little family and live a proper life with him, or she would take a wrong turn for the sake of her birth family. If she did the latter, then Liu Zhanyuan would finally have his chance to get a divorce!

Translator’s Notes