Chapter 15: Following the Army, I’ll Throw You Out of the Car, Let You Run After It…

**Chapter 15: If You Follow the Army Again, I’ll Throw You Out of the Car and Make You Run After It…**

Xu Huijuan went to the co-op and found out that a bottle of Malted Milk cost over two yuan, while canned food was just over one yuan. Clothes were expensive—some costing seven or eight yuan, others more than ten. In the end, she bought only two cans of food.

When she brought the cans home, her husband forbade her from trading with poor relatives in the countryside for eggs, fearing they’d expect favors in return.

A few days ago, when her son came home, she gave him one of the cans and asked him to trade it for eggs at work. Whether he’d managed it wouldn’t be known until the next afternoon, when he returned.

Just now, she heard that two people had come to Su Xiaoxiao’s house and traded many things with Auntie Zhao. Worried her son hadn’t succeeded, Xu Huijuan decided to check in person.

When she entered the courtyard and saw the basket of eggs, she thought to herself, *This time, I’m in luck.* She opened her bag and put on a humble smile. “One can.”

Tuan Tuan turned to his father, his eyes screaming *Canned food!*

Zhang Huaimin pretended not to notice and asked pointedly, “Auntie Xu, are you visiting relatives?”

Xu Huijuan’s smile froze.

The blunt neighbor tried not to laugh and followed Zhang Huaimin’s lead. “Since Auntie Xu has business to attend to, you go ahead.” She picked up the basket. “I’ll head home first.”

Stunned, Xu Huijuan stammered, “These—are these your eggs?”

“No, duck eggs,” the neighbor said, taking advantage of her confusion. “Just bought them. Saw how lively Xiaoxiao’s place was and came to take a look. Want some? Let me think about the price per jin.”

After a moment’s thought, she added ten cents to the real price.

Xu Huijuan, who shopped and cooked daily, knew the market rate for duck eggs well. Hearing the inflated price, she snapped, “What kind of duck eggs are these?”

“Not sure. Just said *they’re* good duck eggs. There’s only this much left. Probably bought from the countryside by co-op staff.”

That day at the market, Su Xiaoxiao hadn’t noticed, but now she recalled seeing this same neighbor in line when buying eggs. No wonder she could make up such a story about the co-op.

Hearing this, Xu Huijuan couldn’t help but say, “So they were bought at the co-op. Everything there is expensive. The market is cheaper.”

“Well, go to the market then,” the neighbor replied, picking up the eggs and leaving.

Xu Huijuan hesitated for a moment, but the neighbor was already gone. Speechless, she turned to Su Xiaoxiao. “Are these two your relatives?”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded. “My aunt and uncle. They heard Huaimin was home and came to visit.”

Xu Huijuan immediately understood—they had come under the pretense of visiting Zhang Huaimin to trade. “Auntie Liu, hello. Did you bring any eggs?”

Auntie Liu opened the basket for her to see.

Disappointed, Xu Huijuan’s eyes suddenly lit up when she caught sight of the red dates in the basin—a type of jujube used in Chinese cooking. Just as she was about to speak, the neighbor returned. “Auntie Xu, still here?”

Xu Huijuan smiled. “I have something to discuss with Xiaoxiao.”

The neighbor played dumb and asked what it was.

Too embarrassed to shoo her away, Xu Huijuan admitted she wanted to trade the can for red dates.

Tuan Tuan happily wrapped his arms around his father’s neck, blinking excitedly. *Canned food! Mine!*

Su Xiaoxiao, noticing her son’s excitement, was about to speak when the neighbor interjected, “Is this for your daughter-in-law’s health? What a good mother-in-law you are. By the way, Sister Zhao, what was the price for red dates per jin again?”

Auntie Zhao, having inquired just days ago, immediately quoted the co-op’s price without hesitation.

Neither the co-op nor the market allowed customers to pick through the red dates, but Auntie Liu let her choose each one. Auntie Zhao felt she had underquoted, while Xu Huijuan balked at the price, her expression shifting slightly. Seeing this, the neighbor deliberately said, “I know how much this can costs. Auntie Zhao, do you have a scale? Could you weigh out a couple pounds based on the can’s value?”

"This, I—" Xu Huijuan didn’t want it. "I’ll ask my husband. I don’t call the shots. You all carry on." With that, she left.

Auntie Zhao suddenly got it: "She’s always saying she’s not the one in charge—this is what she means?"

Neighbor: "You just figured that out? I guarantee she won’t be back!"

Aunt Liu picked up the basin from the ground: "Xiaoxiao, quick, stash these."

Uncle Liu carried the walnuts and chestnuts to the kitchen.

Tuan Tuan blinked his big eyes, looking from his mom to his dad—where’s my canned food?

Zhang Huaimin pinched his cheek: "Grandma has some. We’ll go to Grandma’s later for canned food!"

Auntie Zhao: "Tuan Tuan wants some? No wonder his little head was swiveling like a bobblehead earlier, looking around so anxiously."

Embarrassed, Tuan Tuan buried his face in his dad’s neck.

Aunt Liu rearranged the basket and found two more packages of foraged goods. She opened them to check they weren’t crushed and was about to give them to Su Xiaoxiao when the neighbor asked, "Are these wild wood ear mushrooms?"

Aunt Liu nodded: "Gathered them up in the hills. They’re clean, already sorted."

The neighbor bent down to sniff—definitely not farm-grown. She whispered, "What’s the swap?"

These were meant for Su Xiaoxiao, so Aunt Liu hadn’t considered trading them: "That’s up to Xiaoxiao."

Su Xiaoxiao told the neighbor to name her price.

The neighbor hadn’t known Su Xiaoxiao’s family was doing trades today, so she hadn’t asked about the prices of these local products.

Auntie Zhao knew—not because she’d deliberately inquired. Her own daughter had sent her mountain goods. A few days ago at the market, she’d seen similar items but thought they weren’t as good as her daughter’s, so she’d casually asked the price. Auntie Zhao told the neighbor, who weighed the goods—not even a full pound, but she paid for one anyway.

Aunt Liu brushed it off, refusing the cash.

The neighbor tucked the money into her apron pocket: "No one’s the wiser if we keep quiet!"

Aunt Liu was stunned, her mouth slightly open—so that’s what Xiaoxiao meant by “pocketing” the money!

Su Xiaoxiao smiled at the scene and asked her aunt and uncle when they planned to leave.

This was their first trip out here, and they were uneasy, with their family also worried. They said they wanted to head back early. Su Xiaoxiao, worried the old folks might get jumped on the way, asked Zhang Huaimin to accompany them on the bus.

Hearing they were taking a ride, Tuan Tuan wrapped around his dad like a koala, so Zhang Huaimin had to bring him along.

Funny enough, right after Zhang Huaimin left with the elderly couple, Xu Huijuan came back. Seeing only Su Xiaoxiao and Auntie Zhao in the yard, she stopped dead in her tracks before asking incredulously, "Your aunt already left?"

Su Xiaoxiao gave a quick nod: "Just made it to the buyers in time."

"When will she come back?"

Su Xiaoxiao: "Hard to say. Maybe in ten days or half a month, maybe not till year-end. Farm life’s hectic—even if we set a date, they might not make it."

Auntie Zhao had a daughter in the countryside who often wrote about her life, so despite never having farmed herself, Auntie Zhao could comment, "In the countryside, planting crops isn’t the end of it. There’s weeding, pest control, tending the commune’s livestock, digging ditches, repairing roads—no rest till the snow piles up."

Xu Huijuan didn’t understand and couldn’t argue, mumbling, "That rough, huh?"

Su Xiaoxiao kindly offered, "I’ll give you a heads-up next time?"

Auntie Zhao turned her head and glared at Su Xiaoxiao. “Watch your mouth!”

Xu Huijuan was absent-minded and didn’t notice. She managed a faint smile: “It can’t be helped.”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded. “Safe travels. I won’t see you off.”

As Xu Huijuan slowly walked away, Auntie Zhao couldn’t help but say, “How could you tell them to notify her?”

Su Xiaoxiao replied, “I’ll be leaving in a few days.”

Auntie Zhao paused for a moment. “Leaving? Where to?” Suddenly remembering something, she asked, “Are you becoming a military wife?”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded. “Huaimin came back this time to take us both to the base.”

“What about your job?”

“They said my job can be relocated. If he gets reassigned in a few years and goes back to his hometown, I can transfer back too.”

Auntie Zhao nodded in relief. “As long as you can transfer back. Wait—if you leave, what if your aunt and uncle come again—”

“I’ve thought it through carefully.” Actually, she hadn’t. Su Xiaoxiao had just realized it because her uncle and aunt were very considerate—not only giving her homemade preserves, but also dried eggplants and beans they’d prepared. “I’ll lock up the main room and my bedroom, but leave the kitchen and the opposite side room unlocked. If they come and it suddenly rains heavily, they can wait inside until it clears up.”

Auntie Zhao couldn’t help but suggest, “If neighbors ask why your aunt and uncle are here while you’re gone, I’ll say the roof’s leaking and they’ve come to fix it.”

“That works.” Su Xiaoxiao suddenly thought of something else. “If they visit regularly, my parents won’t dare move in while I’m gone.”

Auntie Zhao looked puzzled. “Don’t your parents have their own place?”

“Two rooms in a communal apartment are nowhere near as comfortable as here,” Su Xiaoxiao said.

Auntie Zhao’s second son had been assigned a dormitory in a communal apartment, close to where his wife worked at the matchstick factory. His wife stayed there on overtime shifts, but usually crowded onto the bus to go home.

A while back, Auntie Zhao had suggested that her son and daughter-in-law live in the dormitory while she took care of the grandchildren, but they preferred squeezing in with the whole family rather than staying there. Showers required waiting in line, and cooking in the hallway often led to vanishing scallions or garlic.

Su Xiaoxiao’s mother, accustomed to a life of ease, would never adapt to such tight quarters. With Su Xiaoxiao leaving for the military base with her child, unable to come and go freely, her mother might seize the chance to move back.

But Su Xiaoxiao’s aunt and uncle couldn’t drop by now and then either. Auntie Zhao asked, “What about asking your in-laws to check in occasionally?”

Su Xiaoxiao replied, “Huaimin’s younger brother and sister-in-law are busy with work, and their child is too young to leave unattended. His father has to watch the child, and his mother has to run errands and cook on a strict schedule every day.”

Auntie Zhao thought about how even visiting her own family had to wait for Sundays since having grandchildren. “Give me your in-laws’ address. As a neighbor, I can’t step in myself, but if I see your father coming around, I’ll let your in-laws know.”

Su Xiaoxiao thanked her and immediately went to write down her father-in-law’s address.

It was working hours, so the streets were free of darting bicycles, and the bus moved quickly. Zhang Huaimin returned within an hour.

Su Xiaoxiao sorted out half of the preserved foods from her uncle and aunt, packed them into two cloth bags, and went with Zhang Huaimin and Tuan Tuan to her in-laws’ house.

As soon as Luo Cuihong saw Su Xiaoxiao carrying bags, her face darkened. But when they approached, she smiled and asked Tuan Tuan if he was cold.

Tuan Tuan shook his head and wanted to get down.

Su Xiaoxiao handed the bags to her mother-in-law. Luo Cuihong took them and couldn’t help but scold, “Don’t bring things every time you come. How can you afford to keep buying things?”

Su Xiaoxiao sensed her mother-in-law wasn’t just being polite—she genuinely disliked her bringing gifts. “I didn’t buy these.”

“You didn’t?” Luo Cuihong opened the bags and saw red dates, chestnuts, and walnuts in one, and dried vegetables in the other. “You—” Suddenly remembering her daughter-in-law had rural relatives, she asked, “From your relatives, the Lius?”

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and explained her plan—giving the Lius the keys to the courtyard gate, side room, and kitchen, while giving her mother-in-law a set so she could air out the main room and bedroom every few months to keep things from getting musty.

After hearing her out, Luo Cuihong asked, "You’ve decided?"

Su Xiaoxiao nodded.

Luo Cuihong didn’t try to talk her out of it—not even a word. She simply said, “If you’re sure, then.” Then she let her son and daughter-in-law in.

Tuan Tuan, bored indoors, bolted outside. Zhang Huaimin sighed and went after his son.

After lunch at the Zhangs’, the three of them went home. With nothing else going on, Su Xiaoxiao pulled out her and her son’s clothes, setting aside 30% for later and packing the rest to take along.

The next day, Su Xiaoxiao went to work as usual, continuing until the end of October.

In early November, she went to her boss to handle the paperwork.

Naturally, the boss wouldn’t hassle a military spouse, and there was no reason to—he hadn’t been the one to offer her the job.

Once everything was settled, Su Xiaoxiao said goodbye to her coworkers.

Wang Ying was reluctant to see her go, holding her hand and saying, “You’re leaving already?” Without waiting for an explanation, she added, “Well, it makes sense. Husband and wife shouldn’t be separated forever.” Then she asked, “Will you come back?”

Su Xiaoxiao wasn’t sure. She had heard her in-laws mention something about it: “They say the higher you climb in the army, the fewer positions there are. Anyone who makes Battalion Commander or higher is sharp—how’s he supposed to outdo well-connected guys just as good as him? Maybe we’ll be back in a few years.”

“Is Tuan Tuan’s dad coming back too? What would he do if he did?”

“He’s mid-level—not too high, not too low. He could probably land somewhere like the public security bureau or another decent post.”

“That sounds okay.” Wang Ying let go of her. “Go on then. Go pack now so you’re not scrambling later.”

Instead of going home, Su Xiaoxiao stopped by the co-op store to pick up a few practical things, planning to visit Liu Family Village the next day with Zhang Huaimin and Tuan Tuan.

She’d thought it through—if her parents refused to leave, her in-laws might not be able to do anything about it. But if the Liu family stepped in, that would be different. They didn’t care about consequences.

And when Tuan Tuan grew up, if he ever ran into something he couldn’t handle himself, having the Lius’ help would matter. If she didn’t build a relationship now, who’d lift a finger for them later?

Take Xu Huijuan, for example. She kept up with the neighbors, helping whenever she could. That way, when her daughter-in-law went into labor, she wasn’t stuck calling only Auntie Zhao.

When Su Xiaoxiao got home, she told Zhang Huaimin what she was thinking. He agreed—whatever the reason, for Tuan Tuan’s sake, they shouldn’t cut ties completely. He’d need backup someday.

That evening, Zhang Huaimin suddenly asked, “We’re only taking Tuan Tuan with us?”

“You want another kid?” Su Xiaoxiao pushed him away. “Go knock someone else up!”

Zhang Huaimin pulled her into his arms. “Mad? Fine, no more kids. Another one like him’d kill me.”

Su Xiaoxiao looked surprised. “He’s that much work?”

“Get rid of that ‘that’ in your head,” Zhang Huaimin said. He hadn’t realized how tiring it could be to look after a toddler. After just half a month, he felt like his bones were falling apart.

Every day from the moment he opened his eyes, he was chasing Su Tuan Tuan nonstop—no break except for meals and sleep. He asked, “Was it always this exhausting before?”

Not really. The old Su Xiaoxiao hadn’t had time to run around with the kid. She used to plop him down on a little stool and let him play alone. Maybe because he’d been held back before, now that he wasn’t being restricted, he was making up for lost time—going everywhere, doing everything.

But she couldn’t say that out loud. Otherwise, Zhang Huaimin would make her take full responsibility. “You’ll get used to it.”

Zhang Huaimin reached over and turned off the light. “Lights out!”

Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t help but laugh. “So sleeping means I won’t have to get used to it?”

“You’re too wired to sleep, huh?”

"So sleepy!"

The night was uneventful.

Early the next morning, Su Xiaoxiao checked the food supplies at home and found only a little rice and flour left—just enough to finish before leaving. She still had a ten-catty national grain coupon and asked Zhang Huaimin what to do with it.

Zhang Huaimin thought for a moment. "My parents' rations are sufficient. Give this to your uncle, just in case. Farmers depend on good weather for their crops. If there's a poor harvest, they'll have to tighten their belts and go hungry."

"Should we head over after breakfast?"

Zhang Huaimin nodded.

Su Xiaoxiao washed up and then prepared the meal.

After eating, the family of three took their things and headed to Liujia'ao. They stayed briefly before Su Xiaoxiao handed the keys to her husband’s younger brother and said goodbye to her uncles.

The next morning, they said farewell to her in-laws and boarded the southbound train at noon.

Tuan Tuan was excited beyond words to ride a train for the first time, peering eagerly in every direction. Having recently explored everywhere with his father, he had grown bolder and boldly asked fellow passengers, "Where are you going?"

The passengers were surprised by such a forward little boy, taken aback by his questions. Zhang Huaimin, embarrassed by his son's nosiness, picked him up and placed him into Su Xiaoxiao’s arms, pointing at the boy and saying, "That's enough."

"I'm not tired," Tuan Tuan said, swinging his short legs.

"You're not tired, but your dad is," Zhang Huaimin thought to himself. "You might not be tired, but you’re disturbing others. If you keep running around, I’ll toss you off this moving train and make you run after it!"

Tuan Tuan suspected his father was bluffing, but he wasn’t about to call his bluff. He obediently curled up in his mother’s arms.

He had woken up early that morning and hadn’t stopped moving all day, so he was a little tired and soon fell asleep.

When Tuan Tuan woke up, he found the train still moving, and no one was talking or eating—it was unnaturally quiet. This time, without any threats from Zhang Huaimin, he didn’t dare run around and sat quietly, entertaining himself with his hands.

He played until he dozed off again. When he woke up once more, he found himself on a bus and blurted out, "Are we back already?"

Zhang Huaimin jumped and grabbed his son’s ear. "Why are you awake again?"

"Dad, aren't we going to the beach? Why are we on a bus?"

"Bus first, then boat!" Zhang Huaimin replied.

The child didn’t believe him and stared wide-eyed out the window.

Zhang Huaimin thought to himself, *Just wait till you get carsick—that’ll calm you down.*