In the evening, Zhong Jianguo returned home and didn’t see Song Zhaodi. Instead, he spotted a letter on the table. He opened it and immediately recognised his eldest brother’s handwriting, which made him quite happy.
However, after reading it carefully, he felt a pounding headache.
Clang!
Hearing the noise, Zhong Jianguo turned toward the sound and saw Song Zhaodi in the tomato field.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Picking tomatoes,” Song Zhaodi replied. “Sanwa is holding a bowl, trying to eat them. Come over and take him away.”
Zhong Jianguo quickly walked over, scooped up his youngest son, and couldn’t help but say, “Tell me, are my father and stepmother crazy or what?”
Song Zhaodi glanced at him, noticed the letter in his hand, and chuckled. “Not just crazy—completely out of their minds. They actually went around telling the neighbours how great the East China Sea Fleet is and suggested they send their sons over, claiming you could look after them. No one but your stepmother, my aunt, could come up with such a nasty trick.”
“Eldest Brother said in his letter that dasao tried explaining that being a soldier isn’t some easy life, but she’s worried they won’t believe her. What do you think we should do?” Zhong Jianguo asked.
Song Zhaodi handed him a ripe red tomato. “If it’s so great, why did Zhong Shengli go back with your father? Anyone with half a brain won’t believe her. Besides, you’ve barely returned home these past few years—your neighbours might not even recognise you.”
“But what if some fool actually comes?” Zhong Jianguo was still concerned.
Song Zhaodi shrugged. “There’s a guesthouse on the island. Let them stay there.”
Zhong Jianguo stared at her, somewhat doubtful. “You can actually say that with a straight face?”
“I say what I mean and mean what I say.”
Song Zhaodi had only planted two rows of tomatoes, but since she watered them every morning with diluted urine from her three kids, the plants thrived. Just yesterday, she had picked a few to make tomato and egg stir-fry. Today, she harvested over ten more.
Her eldest and second sons loved the sweet and sour tomato stir-fry, but eating it daily would make them sick of it.
After thinking for a moment, she set aside half of the tomatoes and took them next door. When she returned, she carried six long eggplants.
With rice steaming on the stove, she asked Dawa to tend the fire and began preparing braised eggplant.
The moment the eggplant hit the oil, a sizzling sound filled the kitchen. Zhong Dawa sat up straight and swallowed his saliva. “Smells so good!”
“Anything fried smells good,” Song Zhaodi remarked. “One of these days, we’ll kill that rooster, and I’ll make fried chicken wings and drumsticks for you.”
Zhong Dawa let out a deep sigh. “Mom, stop teasing me.” He threw two more twigs into the fire and mumbled, “I can tell now—you just can’t bear to kill that rooster.”
“You, stop trying to goad me,” Song Zhaodi playfully pinched his cheek. “Once our little chicks, ducklings, and geese grow bigger, I’ll butcher the big rooster. After that, we’ll take care of the two drakes. You’ll get your fill then.”
Zhong Dawa grinned. “You’ll eat with us too, right?”
“Of course!” Song Zhaodi nodded. “Braised eggplant is best with noodles, but your father always complains that noodles aren’t filling enough and prefers rice. Otherwise, I would’ve made noodles today.”
“I like cold noodles,” Zhong Dawa said, licking his lips.
“If your dad doesn’t come home for lunch tomorrow, we’ll have cold noodles,” Song Zhaodi promised. “I’ll make some tomato sauce too.”
Zhong Dawa gulped. “Mom, stop talking about food—I want to eat now!”
Before long, the braised eggplant was done. As she chatted with the kids, Song Zhaodi finished cooking without even realising it.
Dawa carried the dish out, while Erwa fetched bowls and chopsticks. Song Zhaodi brought the rice, and the family sat down to eat.
Meanwhile, next door at the Lin household, a commotion broke out.
The reason? The aroma of Song Zhaodi’s braised eggplant was too enticing.
Regiment Commander Lin made a casual remark: “Whatever the Zhong family is eating smells amazing—we should make the same thing.”
His wife, Chen dasao, retorted, “If you like their cooking so much, why don’t you go eat at their place?”
Commander Lin thought she was being unreasonable and argued back. This escalated into an argument, until Chen dasao finally slammed the spatula down and refused to cook altogether.
Hearing the clatter from next door, Song Zhaodi instinctively asked, “Is Aunt Liu arguing with Uncle Liu again?”
“Is that so? Go check,” Zhong Jianguo said, though his mouth was still full. Before he could move, Song Zhaodi had already rushed out. “Your commander likes you more than me,” he muttered.
Song Zhaodi playfully scolded him before stepping outside. She saw that the Liu family was quietly eating in their courtyard. Then, she glanced at the Lin family’s house and, upon returning, told Zhong Jianguo, “It’s nothing, just some kids messing around outside.”
“Mom, I’m done eating,” Zhong Dawa announced, finishing his meal in just a few bites.
Song Zhaodi immediately saw through him. “If you’re done, sit inside and wait. Your dad will give you a bath later.”
“But Dad hasn’t finished eating yet,” Zhong Dawa complained. “I’ll just go play for a bit and come back when he’s done.”
Without any expression, Song Zhaodi said, “Fine, go ahead.”
Dawa hesitated and didn’t dare leave.
Seeing this, Zhong Jianguo chuckled. “Coward. Your mom doesn’t want mosquitoes biting you. You’re all sweaty, and she wants you to wash up first.”
Zhong Dawa knew that ever since the weather had warmed up, his mother had constantly reminded him not to play in dirty places or grass piles and to rinse off if he felt itchy.
After dinner, Song Zhaodi leaned against the kitchen window, listening carefully. Once the Lin house fell silent, she finally allowed Dawa to go out—though she made sure to warn him not to disturb Lin Zhong while he was doing his homework.
Zhong Dawa didn’t suspect a thing and ran off with Erwa to the Ma household instead.
Zhong Jianguo, fishing Sanwa out of the water, turned to Song Zhaodi. “You know, I’ve noticed you can lie without even blinking now.”
“When did I lie?” Song Zhaodi asked.
Zhong Jianguo shot her a look. “While we were eating, it was obviously the Lin family arguing, yet you twisted it to be about the commander’s household instead. That’s impressive.”
Song Zhaodi shrugged. “Your commander has a temper, so he was the first person I thought of. Chen dasao, on the other hand, is a tough woman. Commander Lin isn’t a match for her, so I didn’t even consider them.”
“But Chen dasao always greets people with a smile and is very warm. How did you tell she was tough?” Zhong Jianguo asked curiously.
“You didn’t notice? That’s because you haven’t seen enough women.” Before Zhong Jianguo could ask further, Song Zhaodi noticed a mosquito bite on Sanwa. “There’s a bite! Hurry and get the cooling balm.”
Zhong Jianguo quickly went to fetch it. When he returned, ready to continue their conversation, Song Zhaodi had already lost interest in the Lin family and started talking about newspapers instead.
Their household had no television, radio, or newspaper subscription. Although she could read the paper at school on weekdays, she felt completely cut off from the world on weekends.
The next day, instead of subscribing to a newspaper, Zhong Jianguo brought home a radio.
Song Zhaodi was overjoyed—happier than when he had once given her over a thousand yuan.
“Where did you buy this?” she asked excitedly.
“It’s mine,” Zhong Jianguo replied. “I like listening to the radio, but Dawa’s mother preferred reading in silence. She found it noisy, so I left it at the office.”
Song Zhaodi: “Just leave it at home from now on. Wait, how do you use this thing?”
“You don’t know how?” Zhong Jianguo was very surprised.
Song Zhaodi: “I don’t know how to use outdated stuff.” She looked up and saw the disbelief on Zhong Jianguo’s face. “I can’t ride a bicycle, but I can drive a car. Bring your car back tomorrow, and I’ll show you what it means to be a driving god.”
Zhong Jianguo had heard Song Zhaodi talk about how advanced technology was a hundred years later. While he believed her, he also thought she was exaggerating. “Alright, I’ll bring the car back tomorrow.”
The next evening, Zhong Jianguo really did drive the car back.
Duan dasao saw Song Zhaodi sitting in the driver’s seat and was very surprised. “Xiao Song, you know how to drive?”
“No,” Song Zhaodi lied without hesitation. “Jianguo is teaching me. He said that once I learn, it’ll be more convenient for us to go to the post office to send things.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she stepped on the gas, and the car shot forward like a bullet.
Duan dasao was dumbfounded, covering her mouth in shock. “Oh my God, Xiao Song just made the car fly!”
“Mom is amazing!” Zhong Dawa and Erwa stood in the back, watching the houses disappear behind them in an instant. “Even better than Dad.”
At that moment, Zhong Jianguo had no doubts that his wife was really from a hundred years in the future. A military jeep in her hands was like a toy.
Because Song Zhaodi drove more recklessly than he did, from then on, even when Zhong Jianguo took a car home, he had Xiao Li drop him off and take the car back immediately. Otherwise, if he wasn’t paying attention, Song Zhaodi would drive his car until it ran out of gas.
But that’s a story for another time.
Fearing that Zhao Yin would try another scheme after failing the first time, every time Song Zhaodi went out, she instructed Duan dasao that if anyone came looking for Zhong Jianguo, she should say that no one from the Zhong family was home and not let them in.
By the time the school let out for summer vacation, no one from Binhai had come. Song Zhaodi thought the matter had passed. But on July 29, Father Zhong came again—this time without Zhong Shengli.
Zhong Jianguo got a call from Duan dasao and, since he wasn’t too busy, came straight home. Seeing his father, he didn’t bother with pleasantries and directly asked why he was here.
Seven days earlier, on July 22, Father Zhong had read in the newspaper that the government had issued a directive: universities would still operate, but students would be selected from workers and farmers with practical experience. Middle school students could also apply, but they needed a recommendation.
Somehow, Father Zhong heard that Zhong Jianguo’s eldest brother’s superior was planning to recommend him. So, Father Zhong went to ask his eldest son to give up the spot for his younger son.
Zhong dage completely ignored him. Zhao Yin then suggested that since Zhong Jianguo knew many people, getting a recommendation should be easy for him. So, Father Zhong came looking for him instead.
After hearing the reason, Zhong Jianguo was so angry he wanted to kick his father out. But no matter what, the man was still his father. Zhong Jianguo really couldn’t bring himself to beat up his old man.
Seeing how furious Zhong Jianguo was, Song Zhaodi thought for a moment and sent Zhong Dawa to find Commander Liu.
Commander Liu was well aware of the terrible things Zhong Jianguo’s father had done. He came to the Zhong house and, in front of Father Zhong, sternly criticised and educated Zhong Jianguo. He specifically emphasised that the military family compound was also part of the army and that since his father had a history of asking around about military affairs, he should not come again. Otherwise—
Before Commander Liu could finish speaking, Father Zhong quickly said he would leave first thing in the morning.
The next morning, Father Zhong didn’t even wait for Zhong Jianguo to see him off. He simply packed his bag and left on his own.
Song Zhaodi didn’t want to talk about her family’s troubles, but when Duan dasao came over to chat, she couldn’t help but vent. “I mean, look at his dad, coming over again and again—what does he want?”
“Don’t even talk about your family. Every household has its own problems,” Duan dasao sighed. “Liu Ping and Liu Wei heard about what Zhong Jianguo’s dad said, and now they both want to go to that university. But Old Liu wants to give his recommendation spot to one of his soldiers, so the siblings have been ignoring him for days.”
In her past life, Song Zhaodi hadn’t paid attention to this stuff—she had always thought universities had been shut down for ten years. “What university?”
“No idea,” Duan dasao said. “It hasn’t started yet. There aren’t even any teachers. Even if they do open, it won’t be until next year.”
Song Zhaodi thought for a moment. “Then let’s wait until it actually happens. Or you can tell Liu Ping to go to nursing school first and train as a nurse. Later on, she can get her workplace to recommend her for university.”
“That’s a great idea!” Duan dasao immediately got up. “I’ll go home and tell her right now.”
Watching Duan dasao’s retreating figure, Song Zhaodi glanced toward the Liu family and smirked. “Little girl, let’s see how far I can send you away.”
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