Chapter 82: The Pretty Military Wife of the Seventies 5

Su Huandan thought to herself, how many days had it even been since her divorce?

Was she already being pressured to remarry?

Back at the factory, the older sisters in the office loved introducing her to potential matches. They were all either divorced or widowers. Not only were their financial situations worse than hers, but they also came with children. It was as if they expected her to marry into a life of endless, thankless labor.

And every single one of them claimed to be doing it out of concern for her.

Once Su Huandan rejected all these “kind gestures,” the older sisters in the office weren’t as warm toward her as before.

It wasn’t just a lack of warmth; they even whispered behind her back that she was stuck-up, saying things like she looked down on everyone because she wasn’t from a family living in the military compound¹.

See, humans are such complex creatures.

No matter how well you get along with someone, the moment you dissatisfy them, they immediately start gossiping about you.

Previously, these people all thought Su Huandan was a poor, pitiful soul with a hard life. And now?

She hadn’t expected that after refusing the factory’s matchmakers, it would be the turn of the people in the compound.

Su Huandan was just pondering how to refuse.

As it happened, Chubby Grandma came over to return the half bowl of soy sauce she had borrowed last time. She overheard the conversation and was so enthusiastic that she quickly called Grandma Wang over. Good grief, it turned into a full-blown tea party.

Su Huandan: …

She really wanted to move out, if only there were a good place to go.

“Little Zhang, quickly tell us, what’s the situation? Where is he from? What are his conditions? Most importantly, how is the man’s family? None of this can be vague,” Grandma Wang said, incredibly anxious.

Su Huandan could understand Grandma Wang’s urgency. The original owner of this body had essentially been raised by the elderly woman, who viewed her as her own granddaughter. Her first marriage had been so miserable, and in this era, divorced women faced significant discrimination. Ever since Su Huandan’s divorce, both grandmothers had been dropping hints left and right about the necessity of remarriage.

“This man is named Zhan Hongjun. He’s ten years older than Little Su, thirty this year. He’s also a soldier, currently at the Battalion Commander² level, though he’s stationed up in the Harbin area. He was married five years ago but divorced after only six months. The reason given was that the woman didn’t like following the army³ and insisted on returning to the city, so they divorced. But which of us military wives doesn’t know the truth? His ex-wife had an affair; the child she was carrying wasn’t even his. His family consists of his parents and an older brother, all of whom are soldiers serving in the military. I’ve met Zhan Hongjun’s mother; she’s a very amiable lady. I figured since Zhan Hongjun has no children, Little Su wouldn’t have to be a stepmother if she married him. Being a military wife is hard work, but it’s surely better than being someone’s stepmother, right?” Sister-in-law⁴ Zhang’s words were met with strong approval from Chubby Grandma and Grandma Wang.

Avoiding being a stepmother was for the best.

In the 1970s, it was very difficult for a divorced woman like Su Huandan to find a single young man for a first marriage, unless the man’s own conditions were extremely poor.

Remarriages usually involved men with children, and being a stepmother was no easy task.

On the surface, the personal conditions of the man Sister-in-law Zhang described were quite good.

“Little Su, Battalion Commander Zhan’s family is also from Beijing. He’s on home leave⁵ these few days and might stop by to see my Niuniu on behalf of my late husband. So, what I mean is, I’m not forcing the two of you to be together. I just want you to meet. If it’s a good fit, you can see each other; if not, just pretend I never said anything today.” Sister-in-law Zhang was actually very well-acquainted with Zhan Hongjun. Her late husband and Zhan Hongjun had been partners, a commander and a deputy.

If Zhan Hongjun weren’t good enough, she wouldn’t have introduced him to Su Huandan. Having spent time together recently, Sister-in-law Zhang truly liked Su Huandan’s character and personality.

But if Su Huandan weren’t a good person, she wouldn’t have introduced her to Zhan Hongjun either.

Since things had reached this point, Su Huandan didn’t refuse. If she refused now while living in the same compound, how would they interact in the future?

Meeting him once and then telling Zhan Hongjun the truth directly would be more appropriate than telling Sister-in-law Zhang right now.

That was Su Huandan’s plan, and she acted on it.

Three days later, Zhan Hongjun came to the compound with a comrade.

Sister-in-law Zhang specifically asked Su Huandan to come over and help with the cooking.

Grandma Wang and Chubby Grandma came as well. As soon as they entered, they fixed their eyes on a tall, sturdy man.

His skin was a bit dark, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a square face⁶. He had exactly the kind of upright appearance that elders of this era loved most.

The two grandmothers were staring at the wrong person.

Su Huandan really wanted to laugh.

The one with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a square face was Zhan Hongjun’s comrade, the good brother of Sister-in-law Zhang’s deceased husband, and Niuniu’s godfather, Liu Erzhu.

The other man, whose skin was fairer than a woman’s and who looked slender yet was just as tall, was Zhan Hongjun. Although his features were very handsome, he had the look of a bit of a rogue.

In the life Su Huandan had lived before her rebirth, ten years later, this kind of “bad boy” handsome man would have been very popular.

But in this era, well, just ask Grandma Wang and Chubby Grandma if they thought Zhan Hongjun looked good.

Once they realized who Zhan Hongjun was, Chubby Grandma managed to stay seated, but Grandma Wang’s face remained dark for quite a while before she recovered.

Sister-in-law Zhang suddenly felt embarrassed. They clearly didn’t approve of Zhan Hongjun’s looks.

But the man was truly good!

Grandma Wang thought to herself that Little Zhang wasn’t very reliable after all. What kind of person was she introducing?

With that face, he didn’t look like a good sort.

While judging by appearances was wrong, Zhan Hongjun’s face simply didn’t fit the traditional aesthetic of the time.

Perhaps because he often faced cold shoulders due to his looks, Zhan Hongjun didn’t seem to mind. He just subconsciously touched his own face.

After dinner, Sister-in-law Zhang walked them to the gate before speaking to Zhan Hongjun about Su Huandan.

“I really think the two of you are quite good and could build a life together. Isn’t a stable life better than anything else? Think it over. If you want to find someone, be proactive in pursuing Little Su. Don’t look at the fact that she was married for two years; she’s still a virgin.”

Zhan Hongjun felt quite helpless. Wasn’t he a virgin man himself?

Why did he get divorced?

He hadn’t even touched his wife after bringing her home, only for her to return with a big belly.

Just ask if that wasn’t disgusting.

However, Su Huandan’s situation was much better than others that had been introduced to him.

She was beautiful, a great cook, had a formal job, and was honest and well-behaved.

In this era, finding a partner who met all four of those criteria was truly like searching for a needle in a haystack.

As it happened, both of them were divorced and neither had children, so a second marriage wouldn’t actually be much different from a first.

“Sister-in-law, I’ll have to think this over. I won’t be able to return to the capital for nearly ten years, so you need to make my situation clear to her.” A soldier had no say in choosing where he was stationed.

Sister-in-law Zhang thought to herself that she had made that clear long ago.

After Zhan Hongjun left, Sister-in-law Zhang caught hold of Su Huandan again to ask if she was interested.

Su Huandan was speechless.

Really, they had only met once; what was there to be interested in yet?

At most, she liked his face, but could she actually say that out loud?

Grandma Wang pulled Su Huandan aside and whispered, “That man’s looks aren’t right. He has a wicked air about him. Although one shouldn’t judge by appearances, that kind of face is just very unsettling to look at.”

This was her way of saying she didn’t approve.

Chubby Grandma retorted, “Dandan’s ex-husband had a proper, square face and good looks, and how did that turn out?”

Grandma Wang had no response to that.

Did this woman have no filter? Why keep bringing that man up?

Wasn’t she afraid of the bad luck?

Translator’s Notes