When Su Niannian opened her eyes, a man in military uniform was sitting across from her.
His gaze was cold, his back straight, like a rifle planted in the ground.
This was her husband, Lu Zheng, the youngest company commander in the entire regiment.
And she was a worthless burden, married off by her stepmother like a worn-out rag. Her dowry consisted of two old quilts and three yuan in her pocket.
The original owner had been a pushover, trampled on by others for eighteen years without daring to speak up.
But she was different.
Su Niannian had spent ten years building a business from scratch and fighting her way through the marketplace in her previous life. She could cook, keep accounts, read people, and plan ahead. She also knew how to do something no one in this era could.
While other military wives worried over half a jin of white flour, she had already turned her stove into a little canteen for the entire family compound.
When other women’s stepmothers showed up asking for money and food, she smiled as she welcomed them in and smiled as she sent them away. Along the way, she got her company commander husband to write a letter to their neighborhood committee. After that, no one dared come back a second time.
Everyone thought she had married a cold, unfeeling soldier, but they didn’t know that the first thing he did when he came home was check whether her stove was clean. The second was put next month’s pay in the drawer ahead of time. And the third was stand in the doorway and say softly:
“Whatever you cook is fine on the day I come home each week.”
In an era of scarce goods, ration coupons, and gossip that flew faster than bullets, Su Niannian went from being a new bride everyone underestimated to someone the entire family compound couldn’t do without.
Her cooking filled the kitchens, the goods she traded filled the supply cooperative, she had friends among the military wives, and she had a place in her company commander’s heart...
