Chapter 61: Coax Him and Plant Vegetables

Su Yue slowly walked to the dining table, sat down close beside Han Aiguo, and called out in a coy, drawn-out voice, “Husband~” The sound nearly gave her goosebumps, but she knew Han Aiguo liked it.

Unfortunately, his self-control was solid this time. He kept his head down, eating steadily as if he hadn’t heard her at all.

Su Yue thought to herself, He’s really angry.

Unable to resist, she reached out and poked him lightly with her finger, smiling flatteringly. “Hubby, don’t be mad. I’ll never do it again.”

But Han Aiguo simply finished his meal in large gulps, stood, and walked away from the table. Unlike his usual habit, he didn’t wait for her to finish.

Su Yue sighed, disappointed. I knew it. People who rarely get angry are the hardest to coax once they do. He’s never gotten angry with me before, but now he won’t even look at me. This isn’t going to be easy.

Dinner felt tasteless without him there. After a few bites, she gave up entirely and set her bowl down.

Before she could even clean up, Han Aiguo had already washed and gone into the bedroom.

Su Yue quickly freshened up, then peeked quietly into the room. He was half-leaning against the bed, reading a military book, his expression calm, as though he hadn’t noticed her.

She pursed her lips. He’s definitely pretending not to see me. But what else can I do? I’m the one who made him angry. All I can do is coax him.

She tiptoed inside, climbed onto the bed, and inched her way toward him. With a quick move, she plucked the book from his hands and set it on the nightstand. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Husband, reading at night isn’t good for your eyes. Read tomorrow. You worked hard training today. Let me massage your shoulders and back. I’m really good at it, you’ll feel comfortable.”

Han Aiguo glanced at her, his face unreadable, neither agreeing nor refusing.

“Husband, turn over,” she coaxed, “Come and experience your wife’s unique skills.”

He didn’t resist. At her urging, he turned over and lay flat.

Su Yue cheered silently and got to work, kneading his shoulders with both hands. They were so rock-hard she could barely press them, so she had to put more strength into it, working her way down to his waist and back up again. She kneaded and beat at the muscles until they finally loosened.

She wasn’t just fumbling blindly but she knew a about massage. In the past, her back often hurt from cooking, and she’d go for massages whenever she could. Over time, she picked up some knowledge of pressure points and techniques to relieve fatigue.

After about ten minutes, she realized sitting at his side didn’t give her enough leverage, so she simply straddled his waist to press more firmly. He remained silent, letting her continue.

Since she couldn’t see his face, she had no idea if he was pleased or dissatisfied, so she asked softly, “Husband, does it feel good?”

Han Aiguo gave a dull “Hmm.”

Su Yue pouted. What does ‘hmm’ even mean? I’ve been working so hard my hands are sore, and he still won’t forgive me? Stingy man.

She finally gave up, collapsed on his back, and pressed her face close to his ear, whispering pitifully, “Honey, your back is so hard, my hands are sore. Why don’t you rub them for me~”

Even she was shocked at how coquettish she sounded. So I had this ability all along? Well, we’re husband and wife so what’s wrong with being playful in private if it makes us happy?

Han Aiguo paused, and then put his hand behind him to steady her so she wouldn’t fall. Slowly, he sat up, moved her aside, and held her hand, kneading it gently without saying a word.

Seeing him finally react, Su Yue brightened. She immediately wriggled into his arms, wrapping him in a tight hug. Resting her head against his chest, she nibbled lightly at the stubbled line of his chin like a mischievous puppy. Her voice softened, “Husband, I really know I was wrong. Don’t be mad. I feel so sad when you ignore me.”

The damp tickle of her little bites made his chin tingle. His stern façade cracked. He had planned to stay cold tonight, but faced with her clinginess, he couldn’t hold it anymore. With a helpless sigh, he pinched her chin and said, “You make me angry.”

Su Yue’s heart leapt with relief. She knew he was softening. Beaming, she moved upward from his chin to his cheeks, kissing and nibbling as she confessed, “I was really wrong. I won’t ever do such a stupid thing again.”

With a small lift, Han Aiguo scooped her onto his lap, though his face still carried some sternness. “How could you test medicine on yourself? What if it was harmful? What if your wound wouldn’t stop bleeding? What if something happened to you?”

Su Yue wanted to say the medicine was surely fine, that a tiny cut wouldn’t cause much blood. But even she realized she had been careless. Just because she trusted the system didn’t mean she should’ve risked herself. No wonder he was furious as it wasn’t anger for his own sake, it was worry for her.

If their roles had been reversed, and he had tested medicine on himself, she would’ve been even angrier and harder to coax.

Guilt surged, and she quickly admitted, “I’m sorry. I was too reckless. I should’ve tested it on a chicken instead of myself.”

Han Aiguo could no longer hold back. He kissed her forehead and murmured, “Alright. But you must never do this again. If you do, I’ll truly be angry.”

“Then you’re not mad anymore, right?” Su Yue smiled, leaned in, and planted a kiss on his lips. “Here, I’ll kiss you to thank you for forgiving me.”

Why is this girl so good at acting spoiled? Han Aiguo thought helplessly. He wanted to keep a cold face, but the moment he looked at her, all his resolve melted. With a groan of surrender, he lowered his head and kissed her hard, pressing her down beneath him as he stripped away her clothes piece by piece.

That night, Su Yue had angered her husband and wanted to please him, so she was extra obedient. Whatever he wanted, she gave. He kept her locked in a fierce battle through three exhausting rounds, until she could no longer move and finally raised her hands in defeat. Only then did she fall asleep, thoroughly worn out.

—-

“Sister Su Yue, are you home?”

The sound of knocking woke her. Half-asleep, she thought she heard someone calling her name.

She rubbed her eyes, glanced at the clock, and jolted. It was already ten o’clock!

The knocking grew louder. “Sister Su Yue? Are you home?”

Su Yue recognized the voice; it was her upstairs neighbor, Ma Cuiyun. Panic rising, she shoved her feet into slippers and rushed to the door. “Coming, coming~”

She winced at the soreness in her body but forced herself to hurry. Sure enough, Ma Cuiyun stood there. Seeing Su Yue still in nightclothes, hair messy and unwashed, Ma Cuiyun’s eyes widened. “Sister, don’t tell me you slept until now?”

Embarrassed, Su Yue scratched her head and quickly tied her hair back with a rubber band. “Haha, I overslept.”

But as she lifted her arms, her slender, pale neck was revealed, along with the red and purple hickeys scattered across it.

Ma Cuiyun’s gaze landed squarely on them. Her smile turned sly. “Hehe, sister, looks like you had a tiring night? Company Commander Han is young and vigorous after all.”

Su Yue froze. Oh no. Covering her neck, she dashed back inside and checked the mirror.

Sure enough, dark hickeys dotted her skin like blooming plum blossoms. She groaned and cursed Han Aiguo in her heart.

This man was always wild in bed, nibbling her from head to toe, leaving not a patch unclaimed. He adored marking her, leaving traces of his kisses all over her body. She had warned him repeatedly to avoid her neck or any visible areas, and though he usually restrained himself, last night he must have lost control. Now she bore the evidence all across her neck, plain for the world to see.

Ma Cuiyun leaned against the doorframe, watching Su Yue wail as she covered her neck. She laughed so hard she had to cover her mouth.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… I’d say your Han Aiguo is too rough. Just look at the state he left you in. No wonder you slept until now, I can only imagine what time you went to bed last night.”

She burst into laughter again.

Even though Su Yue was usually thick-skinned, her face burned red. “Sister Ma, if you don’t stop talking, I’ll get angry!”

Instead of stopping, Ma Cuiyun only laughed harder. “What’s there to be embarrassed about? It’s not like I haven’t been young before. Who hasn’t gone through that stage? I understand everything.”

Su Yue felt that these older women were truly terrifying. She had thought people of this era were reserved, but now she realized she had overestimated them. Once they got used to something, any sense of reserve disappeared.

In order to change the subject, she quickly asked, “Sister Ma, what did you come here for today?”

“Oh, right!” Ma Cuiyun slapped her forehead. “Look at my pig brain, I forgot all about the real reason I came. I wanted to ask if you want to grow some vegetables to eat regularly. If you do, I’ll give you some seeds.”

“Growing vegetables?” Su Yue blinked, surprised. “What kind?”

“There’s a piece of land behind the family compound,” Ma Cuiyun explained. “The army assigned each family a plot to grow vegetables. It’s not spring yet, but some things can already be planted. I saved a lot of seeds from last year. I thought I’d plant mine today and came to see if you wanted some too. What, you really didn’t know?”

Su Yue honestly hadn’t. Until now, she had been buying vegetables; sometimes from the commune, sometimes from villagers in Xiaowang Village. On her balcony, she had only planted some onions and garlic for daily use.

She had often worried about how impractical it was to buy vegetables all the time, but she hadn’t expected there to be a communal vegetable patch so close by. Clearly, she really had been a homebody so how had she missed this?

“That’s wonderful, Sister Ma,” Su Yue said happily. “If we can grow our own vegetables, we won’t need to buy them anymore.”

Ma Cuiyun handed her a bundle of seeds. “These are from last year. I can’t use them all, so I’ll give you half. This afternoon, we can go together to prepare the plots and then you can plant them.”

Su Yue accepted the seeds with gratitude. “Thank you, Sister Ma. I’ll come find you after lunch.”

“Good. Then I’ll head back first, it’s almost noon, time to cook.”

Before she left, Su Yue quickly fetched a plate with two pieces of cake and an egg yolk pie. She pressed it into Ma Cuiyun’s hands. “Here, take these back for Taozi and Dani. I just made them.”

“Oh, no, no,” Ma Cuiyun waved her hands. “You can’t keep giving me these good things. Save them for yourself and don’t spoil my kids all the time.”

Su Yue stuffed the plate into her hands anyway. “This is for the children. Don’t refuse. Besides, you just gave me vegetable seeds. We’re just helping each other so no need to be polite.”

Hearing this, Ma Cuiyun finally accepted it, smiling. “Those two kids will be over the moon as they will have more treats again.”

Carrying the pastries, she headed back upstairs, only to bump into Fang Xiaoli, who had just returned home. Fang Xiaoli’s eyes immediately fell on the plate of cakes in Ma Cuiyun’s hands. Her expression darkened, and without even greeting her, she turned and went into her own house.

Ma Cuiyun curled her lips. What’s with her sour face? It’s not like I owe her money.

But Fang Xiaoli’s expression had soured because of those pastries. For days now, she had smelled the alluring aroma wafting from next door whenever Su Yue cooked. It was especially torturous when Su Yue had made a large batch of pastries for Xu Can. The fragrance had nearly seeped into Fang Xiaoli’s bones, making her stomach churn with longing.

Yet she couldn’t shamelessly ask for some, so she had waited, hoping Su Yue would bring her a share like that first time. But after waiting in vain, she had grown resentful. In her eyes, Su Yue had no sense at all. She lives right next to me, makes such delicious food, and doesn’t even know to send some over. Doesn’t she realize my husband is Han Aiguo’s direct superior?

Now, seeing Ma Cuiyun walk out with a plateful of pastries, Fang Xiaoli was even more furious. She gives to those countryside women but not to me? She’s deliberately disrespecting me.

From now on, she decided, she wouldn’t bother giving Su Yue face either.

——

At noon, Su Yue reheated the porridge Han Aiguo had made in the morning. After a light meal, she wrapped a scarf tightly around her neck to hide the hickeys before heading out to meet Sister Ma.

Together, they went to the vegetable plots behind the compound. The land had been divided into sections, one per family, with narrow paths in between. Some families had even built fences around their plots.

Su Yue chose her own piece of land. It was still full of weeds, so she pulled them out by hand before borrowing a hoe from Ma Cuiyun to turn over the soil. She broke up the clumps until the earth became fine and loose, ready for planting.

Originally, she hadn’t known much about farming, but after marrying into the Han family, Old Lady Han had taught her the basics. By now, she had picked up some skill.

Once the ground was ready, Su Yue fetched water from a nearby ditch to moisten the soil. She then lit the pile of weeds she had pulled out, planning to use the ash as fertilizer. Of course, plant ash alone wasn’t enough. Many people here used human waste as fertilizer. The first time she saw it, Su Yue had been so disgusted she nearly couldn’t eat. But in the end, necessity had forced her to adapt.

Still, now that she was growing vegetables herself, she couldn’t bring herself to use it. She decided she’d buy proper fertilizer from the supply and marketing cooperative instead.

By the time she and Ma Cuiyun finished preparing their plots, it was already past five o’clock. Seeing that the men would be coming home soon, they decided to plant the seeds the next day.

Su Yue returned home and thought about how she had run out of points. She needed to cook more delicious dishes to earn them. It had also been a while since she and Han Aiguo had enjoyed a proper meal together. Why not to have hot pot tonight?

It was simple, hearty, and perfect for just the two of them. Besides, the weather was still cool as once it warmed up, it wouldn’t be as suitable.

Han Aiguo had never eaten hot pot before. This would be his first time.

Excited, Su Yue took out the remaining pork belly and sliced it thin. She added some cured bacon, arranged vegetables like Chinese cabbage, lettuce, radish slices, kelp, potatoes etc. and soaked a handful of dried mushrooms before tearing them into pieces. Plate after plate soon filled the table.

Knowing Han Aiguo’s appetite, Su Yue also kneaded dough and rolled it into wide, chewy noodles; perfect for the bubbling broth.

The thought alone made her swallow in anticipation. She simmered a pot of bone soup, carefully seasoning it until it was rich and fragrant. The base of the hot pot was the soul, if the broth was good, everything else would shine.

She lit charcoal in the small stove, placed the pot of soup over it, and waited as it boiled into a milky-white broth. Soon, the aroma of simmering bones filled the room.

Her timing was perfect. Just as the soup began to bubble, Han Aiguo returned; as soon as he entered, the rich fragrance wrapped around him.

“What’s this smell?” he asked curiously, setting down his things.

Su Yue grinned and pointed at the pot on the stove. “Tonight, we’re eating something new; a hot pot.”