Hello, Comrade. I'm Here to Marry You!

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: It’s All Su Zhaozhao’s Fault

Xie Huaizheng froze for a moment when he saw Mrs. Jiang.

Mrs. Jiang’s name was Zhang Jingshu. She was forty-five, and in her youth, she’d been the star of the arts troupe. Even now, with age, her grace and charm remained.

She was wearing a simple cotton-linen top and a black skirt, looking quite elegant.

"Auntie, what brings you here?" Xie Huaizheng asked.

Zhang Jingshu nodded at Xie Huaizheng. "I came to see Manzhi. Huai Zheng, it’s been a while."

It had been a while. The last time they saw each other was during the New Year.

Jiang Manzhi’s family had come to visit them at their home.

But they had only exchanged a few words.

Over the last several years, Zhang Jingshu had only visited Jiang Manzhi during the first two.

He hadn’t expected Zhang Jingshu to come now.

And it seemed both of them were waiting for him.

"Huai Zheng, I hear you just got back from a mission. Are you all right?"

Xie Huaizheng nodded. "I’m fine."

"How about we have dinner together tonight?" Jiang Manzhi suggested, looking at Xie Huaizheng.

But for some reason, Su Zhaozhao popped into Xie Huaizheng’s mind.

’Seriously...’

’That girl was so brazen, yet she’d somehow managed to sneak into his heart without him even noticing.’

"No, thank you. I’m a little tired. I’ll probably just go back and crash." As he spoke, Xie Huaizheng raised a hand to rub his brow.

Jiang Manzhi bit her lip, about to say something, but her mother spoke first.

"That’s all right. I’ll be staying here for a couple more days. Huai Zheng, let’s have dinner together tomorrow, then."

"Alright." Xie Huaizheng knew he couldn’t refuse.

’He wasn’t sure if Zhang Jingshu had come just to see Jiang Manzhi or to talk to him as well. But if she did want to talk, he figured it was a good chance to make things clear.’

As she watched Xie Huaizheng’s retreating figure, Jiang Manzhi’s eyes grew red, and she felt as if tears were about to fall at any second.

Zhang Jingshu looked at Jiang Manzhi and couldn’t help but shake her head. "My dear, must you be so hung up on one person?"

"I just can’t accept it! I’ve liked him for so many years. I’m so exceptional, I have so many admirers, so why doesn’t he like me? That fiancée of his came out of nowhere! They haven’t known each other nearly as long as we have!"

Jiang Manzhi had been gloomy and withdrawn lately, this one issue constantly on her mind.

’She had liked him for so many years. Even though he had a fiancée now, she still couldn’t accept it.’

’How could she possibly be okay with it?’

’Clearly, she and Xie Huaizheng were the perfect match.’

’She had liked Xie Huaizheng for years, and everyone on the entire base knew it.’

They were practically childhood sweethearts.

’So why had some girl who appeared out of thin air suddenly snatched Xie Huaizheng away?’

Seeing Jiang Manzhi in this state, Zhang Jingshu’s heart ached for her.

She had come this time because she was worried about Jiang Manzhi, afraid her daughter would be so devastated that she might do something foolish.

"I asked your Auntie Xie about this. She said that the Xie family patriarch and his old army buddy did arrange a child engagement, but it was just a casual promise they made back then. It was hardly mentioned again after that. It only came up because they were worried that Huai Zheng wasn’t dating or looking for a partner, so his grandfather brought it up out of desperation."

"No one expected the girl to actually travel all this way to find him. Even his own family didn’t know."

Even a woman as worldly as Zhang Jingshu couldn’t help but marvel at the girl’s audacity.

I heard the girl is from Jiang City. To think she’d run off to the Northwest all by herself—a place where she knows no one—just to find a fiancé she’s never met.

"She’s so brazen! She called me a homewrecker in front of everyone." Jiang Manzhi sniffled as she spoke, looking utterly pitiful.

She still felt deeply wronged.

There were already people in the troupe who were jealous of her, and after this incident, they started mocking her behind her back.

’In the future, if I want to compete for the position of troupe leader, they might try to sabotage me!’

The thought made Jiang Manzhi’s future seem bleak.

"Mama’s here. Don’t be afraid, Manzhi. No one will dare to say that about you," Zhang Jingshu said, looking at her daughter with heartache. "If it comes down to it, just transfer to Beijing. Out here in the Northwest, with the wind and the sun... just look, your skin isn’t as nice as it used to be."

Those words were like stepping on a cat’s tail. Jiang Manzhi broke down, shouting, "Mom, don’t say that! I am beautiful! I’m the most beautiful one in the entire arts troupe! I’m a thousand times prettier than that Su Zhaozhao!"

Yet an image of Su Zhaozhao surfaced in her mind.

’That girl was so beautiful, with fair, delicate skin. Even when she’d examined her up close, she couldn’t find a single flaw on her face.’

’She was so delicate and radiant, as if made of water. No wonder Xie Huaizheng was drawn to her.’

’But she shouldn’t celebrate too soon!’

’Out here in the Northwest, battered by the wind and sun, she’s bound to become a sallow, worn-out woman!’

Seeing her daughter like this, Zhang Jingshu could only wrap an arm around her shoulders, whispering soft reassurances as she led her away.

Meanwhile, Su Zhaozhao was completely unaware of the commotion.

She only knew that someone had moved into the room next door.

This was a guesthouse, after all, with people constantly coming and going.

It was usually for military families visiting relatives. Those who hadn’t been assigned family quarters would stay at this guesthouse.

Su Zhaozhao wasn’t surprised.

Since she had been busy selling her wares at the market for the past few days, she had fallen into a very regular sleep schedule.

She woke up early every day and took a proper nap at noon.

Then she would go out in the afternoon to sell a few more items.

Of course, her afternoon sales trips were random, depending entirely on whether she was bored that day.

But today, since Xie Huaizheng was back, Su Zhaozhao didn’t plan on going out.

She was lying in bed and had fallen asleep with a face mask on.

Even in the sweltering summer heat, the face mask from her dimension was ice-cold and felt wonderfully refreshing against her skin.

In the arid Northwest, it helped lock in all the moisture in her skin.

A stir came from the room next door, along with the sound of women talking.

She couldn’t make out the words, but she could tell one of them had a gentle voice.

The soundproofing in these guesthouses was never very good. Su Zhaozhao paid it no mind and quickly drifted off to sleep.

When she woke up, it was already past four.

Su Zhaozhao entered her dimension and checked on the black soil. After she finished planting the sweet potatoes, it had already switched to a new crop, though she didn’t know what it was yet.

The other daily supplies in the dimension had also multiplied, and she now had more than enough.

Idle and bored, Su Zhaozhao counted the money she’d earned over the last few days.

She had actually made 21 yuan!

This zero-cost business, which only required a little bit of her time, was an incredible deal.

She even felt like she was a born merchant.

Just then, a commotion erupted outside. A woman was crying, and others were trying to console her.

Su Zhaozhao stored the money safely in her dimension, then opened the door to see what was happening.