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

Chapter 53: Chapter 53: A Familiar Name

’That name...’

’Is she talking about Xie Huaizheng?’

’But that can’t be right.’

’Zhou Chengguo and Xie Huaizheng don’t know each other well. If they did, he wouldn’t have been so formally polite to him last time.’

Besides, she wasn’t particularly interested in other people’s business.

Especially a scumbag like Zhou Chengguo. Birds of a feather flock together.

’What kind of decent person would be friends with a guy like that?!’

She left the base elementary school. Remembering she would be leaving soon, Su Zhaozhao retrieved a bag of apples from her dimension and brought them to Zhou Xiaoyun’s house.

Zhou Xiaoyun really loved her apples.

She had even grumbled before that she couldn’t find anyone selling them at the market anymore, which she regretted.

This was because Zhaozhao always went to the market very early and packed up her stall early, specifically to avoid being seen by anyone she knew.

"Oh my goodness, Zhaozhao, thank you so much! You went out to buy apples this early in the morning? You’re always bringing us things; it makes me feel bad," Zhou Xiaoyun said, surprised, as she opened the door to find Su Zhaozhao.

’Xie Huaizheng was the one who asked us to look after Su Zhaozhao, but instead, we have this young lady running around buying things for us every day.’

’Even if Su Zhaozhao’s family is wealthy, a girl on her own needs to keep some money on hand for herself.’

’If she keeps bringing things to our house, won’t she run out of money soon?’

"Don’t mention it. I just know you like these apples, Aunt Yun, so I brought some for you."

"Do you still have enough money for yourself? You’ve been here a while; you need to keep some cash on hand."

"Don’t worry, Aunt Yun, I have money," Su Zhaozhao said, her eyes crinkling into a smile.

’In fact, I have more money now than when I first arrived.’

’Waking up early every day to sell things at my stall has earned me quite a bit.’

"Thank you, Zhaozhao. These apples are wonderful! I gave one to Commander Liang’s wife next door, and she was absolutely thrilled. It’s a shame I haven’t been able to find that vendor’s stall again."

They came from her dimension, after all, so they were guaranteed to be top-quality. Fragrant, sweet, fresh apples... and the only person who didn’t like them was Xie Huaizheng.

But she had no idea why Xie Huaizheng didn’t like apples.

’He didn’t seem like the type to be a picky eater.’

’Apples are the kind of fruit that, even if they aren’t someone’s favorite, they wouldn’t outright refuse to eat.’

’For some reason, Su Zhaozhao had a vague feeling that there was probably a story behind Xie Huaizheng’s aversion to apples.’

Sometimes, she had a keen sense for people’s psychological motivations.

’I hope it’s not what I’m thinking.’

After leaving Zhou Xiaoyun’s house, she saw Zhang Jufang again in the compound’s courtyard.

Zhang Jufang was holding her child, trying to get some candy from another military wife Su Zhaozhao didn’t recognize.

"Erhu, go ask your Aunt Song for some candy. Aunt Song is very generous; she’ll definitely give you some."

The woman’s expression darkened.

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but laugh.

Zhang Jufang’s ears immediately picked up the sound of her laughter.

Zhang Jufang whipped her head around, ready to curse someone out.

But the moment she saw Su Zhaozhao’s face, she swallowed her words.

Her face went deathly pale, as if she’d seen a ghost.

Su Zhaozhao thought, ’Looks like after what happened last time, Zhang Jufang has learned her lesson and doesn’t dare to cause trouble for me anymore.’

’It’s so useful having Xie Huaizheng around.’

"Good morning. Starting the new day by begging again?" Su Zhaozhao greeted her with a smile, her words laced with venom.

This time, Zhang Jufang didn’t talk back.

She snatched up her child and hurried home as if fleeing a terrifying monster.

It was as if one step too slow would mean getting caught.

Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but rub her nose. ’Am I really that scary?’

’Well, it’s good that she’s afraid.’

What she didn’t see was Zhang Jufang’s terrifyingly dark expression. The moment she got home, Zhang Jufang spat on the ground.

"That damned little bitch! Such bad luck, running into her first thing in the morning!"

Hearing Zhang Jufang, Zhang Julian asked, "Sis, did you run into that girl again?"

"’Girl’? She’s a disgusting vixen! With a face like that, she was born to seduce men. Even Camp Commander Xie fell for her tricks."

She recalled how Xie Huaizheng had stood up for Su Zhaozhao, which had terrified her.

She didn’t dare to cause trouble anymore, so now she avoided Su Zhaozhao whenever she saw her. But that didn’t mean she didn’t hate her.

Ever since she got here, everyone had been perfectly respectful to her. It was just this little vixen, making her sick to her stomach every single day!

Su Zhaozhao knew that Zhang Jufang was probably cursing her out in her head.

But she didn’t care. As long as the woman didn’t say it to her face, it wasn’t her problem.

The only person Zhang Jufang was hurting with all that festering anger was herself.

Su Zhaozhao went to the mess hall for breakfast, ordering soy milk and fried dough sticks, then returned to the guest house.

Before she knew it, it was already past eight.

Zhang Jingshu had already finished packing her things. Jiang Manzhi was there, too.

When Jiang Manzhi saw Su Zhaozhao, her expression was frosty, and she said nothing.

Su Zhaozhao didn’t greet her either.

They had bad blood between them. Just because Su Zhaozhao got along with her mother didn’t mean she would extend that affection to the daughter.

Zhang Jingshu glanced from her daughter to Su Zhaozhao.

’If only it were possible, I’d really love for the two of them to be friends.’

’My daughter is wonderful, but Su Zhaozhao is even more so.’

’And they’re both such lovely young women.’

’What a shame. Because of Xie Huaizheng, I’m afraid they can never be friends.’

Zhang Jingshu took out a jar of face cream and handed it to Su Zhaozhao. "Zhaozhao, I don’t have much to give you, but someone brought this face cream over from Hong Kong. It’s brand new. Please, take it."

Su Zhaozhao accepted it. "Thank you, Aunt Zhang."

She looked at the cream in her hands. The packaging had English letters and traditional Chinese characters, and the design looked more sophisticated than mainland products.

It was a popular type of product from Hong Kong, highly sought-after in this era.

The things in her dimension were far more advanced than this, but it was a heartfelt gift from Zhang Jingshu, and she had no reason to refuse.

"I’m so glad I got to meet you here," Zhang Jingshu said. She resolved that when she got back, she would tell Huang Jiqin all about Su Zhaozhao.

’I’m so envious she has such a wonderful daughter-in-law.’

Su Zhaozhao’s lips curved into a soft smile. "Aunt Zhang, may I give you a hug?"

It was rare for her to meet such a gentle elder. One look at Zhang Jingshu and you could tell she came from an intellectual background; she spoke softly and deliberately, with a quiet strength of her own.

’She sometimes reminds me of my own mother.’

’Sigh... Now that I’ve transmigrated here, I wonder if my parents are worried about me?’

Zhang Jingshu and Su Zhaozhao shared a hug.

Standing to the side, Jiang Manzhi furrowed her brow.

"All right, you’re just parting ways. It’s not a big deal, so why get so dramatic?"

’If this keeps up,’ she thought, ’my own mother is going to be stolen away from me.’

She could tell her mother was very fond of Su Zhaozhao.

Hearing Jiang Manzhi’s comment, both Zhang Jingshu and Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.

"Aunt Zhang, I can smell the jealousy from here," Su Zhaozhao teased. "I’ll see you in Beijing, then."

"Yes, see you in Beijing," Zhang Jingshu replied with a smile.

Jiang Manzhi’s face flushed with anger. "What are you talking about!"

With that, Su Zhaozhao returned to her room.

Jiang Manzhi turned to Zhang Jingshu. "Mom, why are you so friendly with her?"

Even though she had decided to move on from Xie Huaizheng, she still couldn’t bring herself to accept being close to Su Zhaozhao.

And she didn’t want her mother to be friendly with Su Zhaozhao either.

"Manzhi, look at that temper of yours. You should try to learn a thing or two from Zhaozhao."

"I will not learn from her!"

’She stole my man, and I’m supposed to learn from her?’

Back in her room, Su Zhaozhao collapsed into bed and fell fast asleep. She was exhausted. Every time she woke up early to sell her goods at the market, she had to come back for a nap to catch up on sleep.

But after only a short while, a knock came from the door. "Comrade, Comrade Zhaozhao, are you in there?"