“Pfft!” Song Zhaodi couldn’t hold back her laughter and said, “Commander Zhong, if you’re free, go wash Erwa and Sanwa’s faces and hands so they can eat properly later.”
Zhong Jianguo was stunned. He looked at Dawa, who had just gone out with a small basket, then at Song Zhaodi, who was smiling brightly. “Since when did you two get along so well?”
“You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. Your suspicious nature is beyond saving,” Song Zhaodi said as she placed the eggplants and fried chrysanthemums on the dining table. Zhong Jianguo reached out again, but she quickly reminded him, “There are exactly eleven chrysanthemums on that plate. Your eldest son counted them one by one, using both his fingers and toes. If you take one before he gets back, be careful—he might accuse you of being a stepfather again.”
Zhong Jianguo’s hand froze. Instead, he picked up his second son. “Erwa, what did you eat for lunch?”
“Green noodles and eggs.” Zhong Erwa, noticing that his older brother now listened to their stepmother, no longer worried that siding with her would get him into trouble. So, he answered honestly, “The eggs were tasty and the noodles were tasty too. Dad, I like the noodles stepmom makes.”
Zhong Jianguo was shocked. “Song Zhaodi, did Erwa drink your bewitching soup too?”
“Erwa, does bewitching soup taste good?” Song Zhaodi ignored Zhong Jianguo and asked the child directly.
Zhong Erwa looked utterly confused. “What’s bewitching soup? Dad, is it tasty?”
Zhong Jianguo choked for a moment. “No, it’s not tasty. Drinking bewitching soup makes people dumb.”
“I don’t want to drink bewitching soup!” Erwa declared. “Dad, I—I’m hungry. I want to eat noodles. Green noodles.”
Song Zhaodi raised an eyebrow at Zhong Jianguo. “Believe me now?”
“Can I at least know where you bought the green noodles?” Zhong Jianguo still couldn’t believe it, but his son was making it hard to stay sceptical.
Song Zhaodi briefly explained how she made the noodles and the fried chrysanthemums. Then she added, “The duck is on the stove, go ahead and serve it. Dawa should be back soon.” As soon as she finished speaking, Dawa appeared at the doorway. Seeing him struggling with the basket, Song Zhaodi quickly walked over and helped him step over the threshold. “Your Aunt Duan didn’t take it?”
“She gave me two salted duck eggs and two muskmelons,” Zhong Dawa said, his little face flushed with joy. “And she also said—also said thank you.”
Song Zhaodi smiled. “Hmm, I received the thank-you. Your dad and I will eat the salted duck eggs and you and Erwa can have the muskmelons. But the melons are for tomorrow. Tonight, you’ll eat duck legs.”
“I want to eat flowers,” Zhong Dawa said.
The yellow chrysanthemums in the Zhong family’s yard were small, slightly bigger than quail eggs. After thinking for a moment, Song Zhaodi said, “You two eat half a steamed bun and some eggplant first and I’ll allow you to have five flowers each. I’ll have one.”
“What about Dad?” Zhong Dawa asked immediately.
“Your dad doesn’t like them. He prefers eggplant and salted duck eggs.”
“I—” Zhong Jianguo wanted to say that even if he didn’t like them, he still had to try. But seeing his eldest son struggling to keep a serious face in front of Song Zhaodi yet already grinning, he sighed. “Right, I don’t like flowers.”
Zhong Dawa, still young and eager to eat the flowers, didn’t notice his father’s helpless expression. He cheered and ran off to grab a steamed bun.
“Go wash your hands first,” Song Zhaodi stopped him immediately.
“Okay!” Zhong Dawa turned and ran outside without a single complaint.
Zhong Jianguo looked at Song Zhaodi, his expression complicated. “You’re really something.”
“Dad, stop talking. I need to wash my hands,” Zhong Erwa patted his father’s shoulder. “I want to eat flowers.”
Zhong Jianguo sighed helplessly. “Fine, Dad will take you to wash your hands.”
Once outside, he saw his eldest son standing on tiptoe, struggling to pump water. He asked, “So, you’ve accepted this stepmother now?”
“Of course,” Zhong Dawa replied without hesitation.
Zhong Jianguo asked again, “Why so quickly? Yesterday, you were still saying she was a bad woman.”
Zhong Dawa looked up at his father, puzzled by the question. After thinking for a moment, he answered, “Dad told me to accept my stepmom, so I listened to Dad.”
Zhong Jianguo choked. You never listened this well before…
“Since you like her so much, stop calling her ‘her’ all the time. Call her ‘Mom’ from now on. Okay?”
“Okay.” The child thought for three seconds, rubbed his hands together and said, “Dad, I’m going to eat now.” Without waiting for Zhong Jianguo’s response, he ran inside.
Zhong Erwa wriggled out of his father’s arms. As soon as his little hands touched the water, he gave them a quick shake. “Dad, I’m done washing! I’m going to eat now.”
“Wait, you haven’t washed off the dirt properly.” Zhong Jianguo grabbed him just in time. He sighed, “Dad suspects that if Dad goes away for ten days, the three of you will turn into Song Zhaodi’s sons.”
Erwa immediately asked, “Dad, are you going away?”
“You’re leaving?” The well was close to the house, so Zhong Jianguo hadn’t lowered his voice. Song Zhaodi, about to tease him for being petty, was distracted by Erwa’s question.
Zhong Jianguo wiped Erwa’s hands, carried him inside and said, “The commander took into account that you’re still new here and unfamiliar with everything, so they sent another unit out instead.”
“Is there really going to be a war?”
Song Zhaodi was born in the 2000s in her previous life. By the time she grew up, the country had become so strong that no one dared to provoke it, making war seem like a distant concept for its citizens. When she previously heard Zhong Jianguo mention the hostile intentions of the other side, she hadn’t thought much of it. But after spending a day on the island and frequently seeing military jeeps pass by the door, all looking very busy, she realised that Zhong Jianguo wasn’t exaggerating. “When are you deploying?”
Zhong Jianguo: “There’s no war. The navy is sending warships out to patrol, just in case. We don’t really know how advanced American weapons are and we don’t know how powerful the weapons Old Jiang bought from the Americans are, so we have to stay on guard every day.”
Song Zhaodi pondered, “American weapons are indeed powerful. I think they have amphibious landing ships.”
Zhong Jianguo’s grip suddenly tightened.
“Dad, that hurts.” Zhong Erwa pried at his fingers.
Zhong Jianguo snapped out of it. “Sorry, Dad didn’t mean to. Dawa, what did your mom just say? Eat the steamed bun and eggplant first, then you can have your flowers.”
“I already ate.” Zhong Dawa pointed to the steamed bun with a bite taken out of it.
Song Zhaodi’s steamed buns were quite large, so Zhong Jianguo didn’t make it difficult for his son. He broke the bun in half and gave each of his two sons a portion. “Finish this. Otherwise, we will never make flower dishes again in this house.”
Zhong Dawa instinctively looked at Song Zhaodi.
Zhong Jianguo followed his son’s gaze, intending to give Song Zhaodi a signal. But before he could, he heard her say, “I listen to your father.”
“You’re not a kid.” Zhong Dawa pouted.
Song Zhaodi chuckled. “But your dad is eight years older than me. He’s taller, stronger—I don’t dare not listen to him.”
Zhong Dawa grabbed the steamed bun and took a big bite, accepting Song Zhaodi’s explanation.
Zhong Jianguo was utterly shocked.
Eight years ago, when Zhong Jianguo first enlisted, many people tried to introduce him to women—nurses, officers, members of the performing arts troupe—he had no shortage of options. Because his stepmother had been a difficult woman, Zhong Jianguo was particularly cautious when it came to marriage.
After much consideration and extensive inquiries, he married Bai Hua, a gentle and virtuous elementary school teacher, six months later.
The year Zhong Jianguo and Bai Hua got married happened to be 1960, during the nationwide famine.
On the second day after their wedding, Zhong Jianguo and Bai Hua brought gifts to visit Bai Hua’s family. Bai Hua’s mother exchanged a few words with her daughter before promptly sending them away.
Zhong Jianguo was dumbfounded. Bai Hua felt embarrassed and explained that her family probably had nothing to eat. Zhong Jianguo thought, Even if there’s no food, when a new son-in-law visits, they should at least borrow some from the neighbors. Besides, he had brought pork as a gift.
That was when Zhong Jianguo realised that his mother-in-law was not easy to deal with.
Later, when Bai Hua became pregnant, Zhong Jianguo went to her family to share the good news. But instead of asking about her daughter’s health, Bai Hua’s mother immediately asked, “Since Bai Hua is pregnant and can’t work anymore, how is our family supposed to survive?”
Zhong Jianguo thought, What does my wife’s pregnancy have to do with your family’s survival? Before he could say anything, Bai Hua’s mother continued, “Bai Hua is giving birth to your child. You must give us 20 yuan a month.”
Furious, Zhong Jianguo turned around and left. When he got home, he asked Bai Hua what her mother meant.
Bai Hua explained that she used to send 20 yuan home every month. Now that she was pregnant and couldn’t work, her mother was asking Zhong Jianguo to take over the payments.
Zhong Jianguo had never questioned Bai Hua’s salary before. Although his military pay wasn’t high, the army provided food and oil subsidies, so his salary was more than enough for the couple to live comfortably.
Hearing Bai Hua’s explanation, Zhong Jianguo was stunned. She only earned 20 yuan a month and she gave all of it to her family?
He wanted to question why Bai Hua’s family, which had sons, expected a married daughter to support them.
But considering Bai Hua was newly pregnant, Zhong Jianguo suppressed his anger and told her that with a baby on the way, they would have many expenses, so she could no longer send money home.
Bai Hua hesitated. “But my mother will be angry if she doesn’t get the money.”
Zhong Jianguo thought, I don’t care if she’s angry—I need to save my money to raise my child. However, instead of saying that, he told Bai Hua, “Once the baby is born, I’ll be supporting three people on my own. We have to be careful with our spending.”
Bai Hua thought it over and agreed.
Two months later, Bai Hua’s mother came to their house. When Zhong Jianguo returned home, he overheard her crying to Bai Hua, saying that life was too hard and they couldn’t go on.
Zhong Jianguo quietly listened without saying a word. Bai Hua glanced at her husband’s expressionless face, then at her tearful mother and hesitantly asked him if they could spare 10 yuan.
Zhong Jianguo sighed and said they only had 5 yuan.
Since Bai Hua had been pregnant, Zhong Jianguo had been buying a lot of things for their home. Bai Hua didn’t suspect anything and asked her mother if 5 yuan would be enough.
Seeing her son-in-law’s cold face, Bai Hua’s mother didn’t dare push further and left with the money.
Back then, pork was only 10 cents per jin (half a kilogram). If Bai Hua’s family ate meat once a day, 5 yuan could last them 50 days.
But a month later, Bai Hua’s mother returned with the same excuse—no money. She barely got through three sentences before crying again.
This time, Zhong Jianguo wasn’t home. When he returned, he learned that Bai Hua had given her mother 10 yuan. He was so angry that he didn’t want to say a single word.
From then on, Zhong Jianguo never handed his salary to Bai Hua again. Every month, he gave her only 10 yuan. If they needed to buy anything for the house, he bought it himself.
Bai Hua realised that Zhong Jianguo was very angry, so when Mother Bai came again, Bai Hua didn’t dare to give her money. However, Mother Bai, who didn’t get the money, kept coming every few days, making Bai Hua feel unfilial. So, she took advantage of a moment when Zhong Jianguo was in a good mood and asked him if he could give her mother two yuan.
Zhong Jianguo said, “If your mother comes to take care of you when you give birth, I’ll give her five yuan. Otherwise, she won’t get a single cent.”
As the saying goes, ‘You come up with one plan, I’ll counter it with another’. Mother Bai accepted the five yuan per month from Zhong Jianguo, but when she went out to buy vegetables, she would buy an extra portion—one for Zhong Jianguo and Bai Hua and another to take home for herself.
When Zhong Jianguo heard about this from a neighbour, he found it both ridiculous and infuriating. Once Bai Hua had finished her postpartum confinement period, Zhong Jianguo sent his troublesome mother-in-law back home and told the guards not to let her in again.
Since Bai Hua had to stay home to take care of the child and couldn’t go out easily and since Mother Bai couldn’t get in, they were completely separated. Mother Bai was dumbfounded.
Three months later, Bai Hua’s sister-in-law came, saying that the family wanted to see the baby. Bai Hua hadn’t seen her family in a long time and since her sister-in-law spoke sincerely, she agreed to go back with her.
There wasn’t much farm work at Bai’s house and Mother Bai didn’t trust Bai Hua to cook, so Zhong Jianguo figured that his wife wouldn’t be overworked and didn’t stop her from going.
Five days later, Zhong Jianguo went to pick Bai Hua up. Just as he expected, the seven yuan Bai Hua had on her had been coaxed away by Mother Bai. This time, Zhong Jianguo told the guards that if anyone from Bai’s family was let in, he would hold them accountable.
The guards also disliked Bai’s family, so after getting Zhong Jianguo’s orders, they would sometimes not even inform Bai Hua when her family came looking for her.
At that time, there were no phones and no one told Bai Hua anything, so she really thought her family hadn’t come.
After not seeing Bai Hua for three to four months, Mother Bai realised that her son-in-law was truly angry and that the consequences were serious. Once, she ambushed Bai Hua at the entrance of the military family compound, but this time, she didn’t dare ask for money.
With Zhao Yin’s manipulative ways as a precedent, Zhong Jianguo didn’t trust Mother Bai. After Zhong Erwa was born, Zhong Jianguo still only gave Bai Hua ten yuan a month.
Since all the major household items were bought by Zhong Jianguo, the ten yuan was more like pocket money for Bai Hua and she didn’t think it was too little.
Mother Bai kept urging Bai Hua to ask Zhong Jianguo for money. Bai Hua was easily influenced, but she also felt sorry for her husband, who was still recovering from past injuries while enduring new ones. She knew Zhong Jianguo deeply resented her family, so she didn’t want to upset him or add to his troubles.
So Mother Bai scolded Bai Hua for being useless.
Bai Hua had been scolded frequently as a child and was used to it, so it didn’t affect her. However, Zhong Dawa, who was becoming more perceptive, was very angry and went home to mimic the scolding for Zhong Jianguo.
Zhong Jianguo had tried to persuade Bai Hua many times, but Mother Bai’s few sweet words and tears could always make Bai Hua switch sides instantly. Tired of badmouthing Bai’s family, he simply told Zhong Dawa not to be upset—soon they would move to Wengzhou Island, far away from his grandmother and she wouldn’t be able to scold his mother anymore.
Zhong Dawa was thrilled. Seeing his son’s excitement, Bai Hua was also quite happy. However, after they moved to Wengzhou Island, Bai Hua unexpectedly got pregnant.
Zhong Jianguo was busy settling his soldiers and had patrol duties at sea, so he couldn’t take care of Bai Hua. Bai Hua suggested bringing her mother over and Zhong Jianguo didn’t object.
Zhong Dawa didn’t understand why, if his grandmother was so bad, his mother still wanted to bring her over. Because of this, he ignored Bai Hua for two days.
With three children in the house, Zhong Jianguo started giving Bai Hua thirty yuan a month, but he made sure to remind her that she could only give her mother one yuan at a time.
Zhong Jianguo spoke seriously, so Bai Hua didn’t dare disobey. When Mother Bai couldn’t get enough money, she started hiding things.
Zhong Dawa caught his grandmother stealing and reported it to Bai Hua, angrily calling her a bad person. Bai Hua slapped Zhong Dawa and scolded him for being rude.
Zhong Dawa was very aggrieved. Afraid of being hit again, he didn’t argue with Bai Hua, but when she asked him to do things, he pretended not to hear. He also frequently complained that the food Mother Bai cooked was awful and demanded to eat meat.
Zhong Jianguo felt sorry for his eldest son. Seeing Zhong Dawa throwing tantrums, he didn’t scold him, afraid that the child would think both his parents were siding with his grandmother.
Zhong Dawa didn’t have a good relationship with Bai Hua. After Bai Hua passed away, Zhong Jianguo told him that he would find a stepmother who would be very kind to them. Neither Zhong Dawa nor Zhong Erwa objected.
However, after Zhong dasao took him to her house and his cousin told him that stepmothers were all heartless and worse than both his grandmothers, he suddenly started throwing a fit, saying he didn’t want a stepmother.
But Song Zhaodi treated the children very well. Seeing his son’s softened attitude, Zhong Jianguo dared to instruct Zhong Dawa to call Song Zhaodi “Mom.”
Zhong Jianguo also knew that his eldest son had a bad temper. On the way back from the military camp, he was still thinking about how to persuade Song Zhaodi not to take his son’s attitude to heart if he misbehaved.
But it turned out his concerns were unnecessary—when Song Zhaodi asked Zhong Dawa to do something, he didn’t ignore her and was actually very obedient, almost like a different person.
After recovering from his shock, Zhong Jianguo said to Song Zhaodi, “Let’s talk.”
“Again?” Song Zhaodi was curious. “Is it your turn to confess to me this time?”
Zhong Jianguo hummed in agreement.
Song Zhaodi was even more intrigued. “What did you do behind my back?”
“We’ll talk after dinner,” Zhong Jianguo said. “What’s Sanwa eating?”
“Oh no, we forgot to make food for Sanwa.” Zhong Dawa looked at the food on the table. “He has to drink formula again? Drinking too much formula isn’t good—my mother said so.”
Zhong Jianguo glanced at his eldest son. Back when your mom was alive, you never called her ‘Mother’ so often. “Dawa, how come your mom never realised that formula was bad?”
“Grandma said so,” Dawa replied.
Song Zhaodi suddenly thought of something. “Grandma also told you that milk doesn’t taste good, didn’t she?”
“Yeah.” When Bai Hua was alive, Zhong Dawa hated his mother for siding with his grandma. But now that Bai Hua was gone, he suddenly remembered everything she had said. “How did you know my grandma said that?”
Song Zhaodi smiled. “I’m smarter than your grandma. I also know she was lying to you. By the way, Zhong Jianguo, does Dawa’s grandma know about our marriage?”
“Not only does she not know, but my stepmother doesn’t know either,” Zhong Jianguo replied. “You said you didn’t like my stepmother, so I didn’t tell my dad.”
Song Zhaodi nodded. “I know you didn’t tell him. What I mean is, they still don’t know?”
“They don’t,” Zhong Jianguo confirmed.
The smile disappeared from Song Zhaodi’s face. “Looks like we really do need to have a serious talk.”
Not wanting to argue in front of the children, Zhong Jianguo said, “Let’s eat first. The food’s getting cold.”
“Go make milk powder for Sanwa first,” Song Zhaodi instructed. “Once we’re done eating, we’ll cook porridge for him.”
Zhong Jianguo nodded and went to prepare the milk powder.
Song Zhaodi placed Sanwa in a chair. “Dawa, hold your little brother. I’ll serve you a duck leg.”
Dawa immediately stood up.
Song Zhaodi was both speechless and amused. How long had it been since this child had eaten meat? But she didn’t let him eat too much, worried that he wouldn’t digest it properly and wouldn’t be able to sleep at night.
She threw the duck skin into Zhong Jianguo’s bowl, tore a duck leg in half and gave one piece each to the two boys. “Erwa, if you can’t finish it, give the rest to your brother. There’s plenty in the pot and you’ll have more tomorrow. If you force yourself to eat too much, your stomach will hurt.”
“Okay.” Erwa took a bite of the duck meat, then noticed that Song Zhaodi only had a plain steamed bun in front of her. “Why aren’t you eating?”
Song Zhaodi raised an eyebrow and saw that Dawa had also stopped eating. Instead of explaining that she planned to drink the soup first, she simply said, “I like drinking soup.”
“You have quite the unique taste,” Zhong Jianguo remarked as he came out with the milk powder, glancing at her with disdain. Who was she trying to fool?
Song Zhaodi chuckled. “Of course, if I weren’t unique, I wouldn’t have married you.”
Zhong Jianguo’s breath hitched and he clenched his teeth. “You—”
“Dawa, is the duck meat delicious?” Song Zhaodi asked.
Zhong Jianguo took a deep breath, reminding himself not to argue in front of the children. “Give me a duck wing.”
Song Zhaodi handed Sanwa to him, took Zhong Jianguo’s bowl and carefully picked out a generous portion before placing it in front of him.
“So much!” Dawa exclaimed, then looked closely. “Duck head? What’s that thin thing?”
“That’s duck intestine,” Song Zhaodi explained. “And this is the duck gizzard.” She then picked the duck liver and a duck wing for herself.
Zhong Jianguo said with a half-smile. “You really treat me well.”
“Of course,” Song Zhaodi responded without hesitation. “After all, you’re my man.”
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