Chapter 39: The Simple Su Zhaozhao

Chapter 39: The Simple Su Zhaozhao

Returning from the tailor's shop, Su Zhaozhao tried on the clothes—a white shirt and dark blue trousers. She tucked the hem into her pants, but it hung loosely around her waist, lacking any shape.

There was a belt in the wardrobe belonging to Gu Heng. She took it out and fastened it around her waist, then looked at herself in the mirror.

What a simple woman!

Su Zhaozhao covered her face; in other era novels, when the female protagonist dressed like this, she appeared pure and beautiful. But when she wore it, it just screamed "simple"!

So, whether one had nice clothes or not wasn't important; what mattered most was still one's face.

Su Zhaozhao put the belt back where it belonged and pulled the shirt hem out, making her look even simpler.

She resembled the workers in old movies, except her hair didn’t quite fit the image. Su Zhaozhao touched the bun at the back of her head; the original body’s hair quality was poor, long and dry. Since she arrived, she had been tying it up in a low bun every day.

Speaking of beauty, there was none to be found. In this era, most housewives had similar hairstyles.

Hairstyles like twin pigtails were generally worn by young brides and unmarried girls.

Su Zhaozhao changed out of her new clothes and went outside.

"Wang Dajie, are you home?"

Wang Chunhua was pouring cold water into a jar and called out, "I'm here, the door isn't locked, come in!"

Su Zhaozhao pushed open the gate and walked in a few steps, "I have a question, is there a barbershop around here?"

"A barbershop? Are you planning to get a haircut?"

"Yes, my hair is too long, I want to cut it so it's easier to wash."

Wang Chunhua put down the pot, "Just getting a haircut, why bother with a barbershop! If you don’t mind, after I finish my chores, I can cut it for you! I know how to cut hair!"

It’s just a few snips.

It wasn’t surprising that Wang Chunhua was confident; she had cut the hair of her three children and her own. If it weren’t for the barber at the military base who cut the officers' hair, she would have to cut Comrade Zhou’s hair as well.

Su Zhaozhao took a step back, afraid.

Zhou Xiaojun’s hair looked like it had been chewed by a dog. With such skills, could she really trust her hair to Wang Chunhua?

"No need to trouble you. If there’s no barbershop, I’ll ask Captain Gu for help."

"There isn’t, there isn’t." Wang Chunhua laughed, "Your Captain Gu should cut your hair, it will help build your relationship!"

"Hehe..." Su Zhaozhao laughed a couple of times and waved goodbye.

Wang Chunhua thought she was shy, "You’ve already had two children, what’s the big deal?"

Hearing the words behind her, Su Zhaozhao thought that if she told people she and Gu Heng hadn’t even held hands, no one would believe her.

Around six o'clock, Gu Xiang and Gu Nian came back from school, each carrying two large bundles of reeds, followed by three boys of about the same age, also holding reeds.

"When did you go to gather reeds?" Su Zhaozhao hurriedly reached out to take them.

"We didn’t sleep during lunch break." Gu Xiang directed his friends to stack the reeds under the eaves.

One of the three boys was Zhou Xiaojun, the other two were their classmates, all children of military families, led by Zhou Xiaojun to play with them.

"Hello, Aunt Su!"

Each of them was very polite, calling out as they put down their loads.

Su Zhaozhao smiled warmly, "Hello, thank you, are you tired? Sit down, I’ll treat you to some candy."

The boys’ eyes lit up!

Just as Zhou Xiaojun said, Gu Xiang and Gu Nian’s mother was very generous!

Su Zhaozhao went inside and grabbed a handful of candies, giving each child a small portion.

The boys were amazed; it was the first time they had seen someone give them a handful of candy.

"Thank you, Aunt Su!"

After thanking her, they turned to Gu Xiang, "We’ll help you gather reeds again tomorrow, right after lunch, we promised!"

Gu Xiang nodded with a smile.

Zhou Xiaojun called them to leave, and even outside, they could hear him talking, "I told you I wouldn’t let you down... When I called you, you didn’t want to go..."

Su Zhaozhao looked down at the pouting faces of the siblings, reaching out to pinch both of their cheeks, "What’s wrong? It looks like someone owes you money."

Gu Xiang: "Mom, one piece is enough."

Gu Nian twisted his hands together in front of his chest, "Yes, candy is expensive."

Su Zhaozhao pinched their cheeks again before letting go, "They helped us gather reeds, and the other two classmates are visiting our home for the first time. We should treat them well and not be stingy. Otherwise, they might not help us again."

Gu Xiang still felt it wasn’t worth it, but he listened to his mother, "Alright, will you give them the same amount next time they come?"

If it continued like this, he wouldn’t let them help anymore.

Gu Nian also looked at her expectantly.

"Next time, I won’t give them as much." Who could bear it if they came every day?

The siblings relaxed, feeling that they had eaten so much candy from their home, just gathering reeds seemed too little in return.

"How was your first day at the new school?" Su Zhaozhao felt it was necessary to ask, as it was the children's first day.

"We got exercise books in the first class, ten of them!" The siblings had never owned so many notebooks before; they were amazed when they received them.

"And there were two more for practicing calligraphy with brushes. The grids inside look like fields. Teacher Zheng said we will have calligraphy classes and need to buy brushes and ink."

"Alright, I'll remember that." Su Zhaozhao asked another question, "Do you start learning calligraphy in third grade?"

Gu Nian shook his head, "No, it’s a new course the school has started. Students from third grade and above will learn it."

"Good, I’ll go to the Supply and Marketing Cooperatives tomorrow."

The two children started their homework while Su Zhaozhao began preparing dinner.

Just as she opened the air vent under the stove, Gu Heng returned home. He took off his uniform, asked the children a couple of questions, and then came into the kitchen.

"What’s for dinner?"

"Noodles. I bought some fatty meat this morning to render for oil, and there’s still some lean meat and cracklings left."

There wasn’t much crackling, and with the weather, meat didn’t keep well. Su Zhaozhao planned to stir-fry the leftover lean meat with pickled green peppers and mix it with the cracklings for the noodles.

Gu Heng nodded, "Sounds good. Do you need any help?"

"No, thanks."

Since he wasn’t needed in the kitchen, Gu Heng went outside.

When Su Zhaozhao looked out again, she saw him squatting under the eaves, weaving a straw mat from the reeds stacked in the corner. In just a short time, he had already woven a long section.

When Su Zhaozhao called for dinner, he stopped his work, stood up, and went to the kitchen to get his bowl.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Gu Heng sneezed several times.

"Achoo! Achoo!"

Su Zhaozhao, holding a half-bowl of stir-fried green pepper and meat, looked at him, "Is it too spicy?" She had bought the spiciest peppers from the stall to put in the pickle jar and used quite a bit in the stir-fry for flavor.

Gu Heng waved his hand, "It’s fine, I like spicy food. It’s just that we rarely made very spicy dishes in the army, so I haven’t had it in a while."

"That’s good. Gu Xiang and Gu Nian also love spicy food." Consistent eating habits make family life more harmonious.