The Stunningly Beautiful and Delicate Darling in the 1980s Military Compound - Chapter 20

Wang Bing and the others busied themselves bringing the belongings inside. Seeing that it was getting late, they prepared to leave. “Commander, you’ve had a long journey. The Colonel said you and Sister-in-law should rest well tonight and report to the department tomorrow.”

Before leaving, the four of them snapped to attention and gave a crisp military salute. Then, they turned to Song Mingyue with grins. “Sister-in-law, we’re heading out. We’ll come visit you again soon!”

Mingyue waved goodbye with a smile, then turned to Chen Che. “Your colleagues are quite interesting.”

Chen Che, who had worked with them for so long, had never noticed anything particularly “interesting” about them. He figured Mingyue just had such a good personality that she saw the best in everyone.

After two full days on the train, Mingyue was exhausted. Now that everyone was gone, she finally let her guard down.

The house had clearly been prepared; even the kitchen was scrubbed clean. Mingyue walked in and saw a coal stove—it seemed coal was the primary fuel for cooking here. Next to it was an old-fashioned two-tier cupboard containing bowls, chopsticks, a bundle of noodles, and a few eggs. There was also a rice crock with fine rice and a few heads of cabbage stored on a wooden divider at the top.

“Did those ‘little brothers’ prepare all of this too?” Mingyue asked in surprise.

Chen Che’s tone turned slightly jealous and cold. “They are younger than you. You don’t need to call them ‘brothers’.”

In her mind, “Little Brother” was just a cute term of endearment, not a literal title. But Mingyue knew which side her bread was buttered on. She scurried over to him playfully. “I won’t call them little brothers then. Can I call you ‘Little Brother’ instead?”

Chen Che’s eyes darted around, unsure of where to look. He deliberately shifted his gaze toward the kitchen to change the subject. “Shall we just have noodles tonight?”

“Sounds good! I want to add a poached egg to mine!”

“What is a poached egg?” Chen Che asked. “I’ve never cooked one.”

This stumped Mingyue because she didn’t actually know how to make those perfectly seared, golden-brown poached eggs either. Before coming here, she hadn’t even set foot in a kitchen. Back at the Song house, Wang Yufen had been so worried about her catching a cold after jumping into the river that she never let her do chores, let alone cook.

However, she figured it couldn’t be that hard. Just put in oil, drop the egg, fry it a bit, and take it out.

“It’s fine,” Mingyue volunteered. “I’ll handle it. I’ll fry two—one for each of us.”

The weather in Mocheng was more humid and sweltering than in Pingcheng. The kitchen was small, and once the coal was lit, Mingyue was soon drenched in sweat. In her attempt to make the fire burn hotter, she kept adding coal. Somewhere in the process, she managed to smudge black soot all over her cheeks, looking like a little calico cat.

Unaware of her appearance, she focused on the eggs. The result? She used too much oil, the eggs broke apart, and after a few flips, they turned into a charred mess.

Staring at the burnt eggs, she realized her culinary talent was non-existent. What am I going to do in the future? she wondered. To survive away from the Song family, she had to learn to be self-sufficient.

After tidying up the outer room, Chen Che came in. “Mingyue, how is it going?”

When he looked up and saw her disheveled hair and the black streaks on her face, he almost laughed. Yet, her eyes remained clear and beautiful. She thought for a moment, plated the two ruined eggs, and said against her conscience, “I think they’re okay. We’ll just have to make do. You handle the noodles!”

Just as she spoke, a woman’s voice came from the doorway, her eyes peering inside. “Is Commander Chen home? I brought some dumplings for you.”

The dumplings were just an excuse; her real goal was to see the new wife.

Mingyue nodded to the woman. She didn’t realize how terrible she looked—four days without proper washing, soot on her face, and a generally “dark and grimy” appearance. The woman set the dumplings down, took a few blatant glances at Mingyue, and left.

A moment later, another knock. A young woman brought a bowl of noodles. Like the first, she chatted while carefully sizing up Mingyue.

By the time the fifth person arrived, Mingyue finally realized: they were here to inspect her. And she had lost! Their expressions practically screamed: So this is it? Nothing special.

She grabbed a mirror from the bedroom and was instantly incensed. How could she lose in a beauty contest? She immediately shifted the blame to Chen Che. “You saw my face was dirty! Why didn’t you say anything?”

Comrade Chen Che, oblivious to the social stakes, said earnestly, “It doesn’t matter. After dinner, I’ll fetch some water. It’ll be clean once you wash it.”

It’s not about being clean! It’s about not meeting people looking like this!

Despite his cold nature, Chen Che was very popular in the compound due to his handsome face and his high rank at such a young age. Many wives of high-ranking officials had tried to set him up, but he had ignored them all to focus on his work. Naturally, everyone was dying of curiosity to see what kind of woman could finally capture him.

Now, those who had seen her were disappointed.

“She’s not pretty at all. She has black spots on her face. I don’t know what Commander Chen was thinking—she can’t even compare to the Colonel’s niece.”

“I agree. Her figure is okay, but her hair was a mess. She looked like a madwoman.”

“I heard it was an arranged marriage by the parents. I bet the Commander had no choice; he couldn’t go against his parents’ wishes.”

By the next morning, the rumor that “Commander Chen married an ugly woman” had spread through the compound. When people saw Shen Yulan, the Colonel’s wife, they couldn’t wait to tell her. “The neighbors saw her last night. They say she’s ugly and has spots. She’s nothing compared to your Qianqian.”

Shen Yulan felt a surge of petty satisfaction. Serves him right, she thought. Her niece, Zhao Qianqian, was so beautiful and sweet, yet Chen Che had coldly rejected her. She had expected him to marry someone extraordinary; she never imagined his wife would be such a letdown.

Mingyue was oblivious to the rumors. Early the next morning, she was awakened by the sound of singing. At 6:00 AM sharp, “Red Songs” blared through the compound’s loudspeakers. The songs changed, but the volume was always deafening. She forced her eyes open, waited for the music to end, and then drifted back into a deep sleep.

When she finally woke up, it was 10:30 AM. It was the best sleep she’d had since arriving in this world. The exhaustion from the train ride had vanished.

Her bed was against the south wall. She sat up and opened the window. Fresh air rushed in. The compound was nestled between mountains and water; the sky was a clear, brilliant blue. Rows of single-story houses stretched out, and in the distance, curls of smoke rose into the air.

For the first time, it felt real. She had truly left Pingcheng for Mocheng—a completely foreign land. But Mingyue wasn’t afraid of challenges. A new place meant a new beginning.

She found the house empty. Chen Che had left for work, leaving a note saying breakfast was in the kitchen. After eating some porridge and a boiled egg, Mingyue began organizing her clothes.

The house had two rooms: a large bedroom and a small study. Chen Che had given her the master bedroom, which had a large wardrobe. Mingyue only used half, leaving the other half for him.

“Is anyone home?”

Someone knocked, and before Mingyue could answer, the person walked in. Mingyue stepped out of the bedroom to see a woman in a blue blouse with a short “Liberation-style” haircut and a red armband.

As the woman looked at Mingyue, her eyes filled with shock. The rumors said the Commander had married a hag. Was this the same person?

Mingyue was wearing a red dress with an elastic waist and a beautiful patterned hem. Wang Yufen had commissioned it from a tailor before she left, using a style Mingyue had designed herself. In her previous life, Mingyue had a high-fashion eye; her clothes were always copied by others.

In the village, she hadn’t dared to dress too boldly, fearing she couldn’t explain it. But here in a city where no one knew her? She could wear whatever she wanted.

Mingyue thought this woman was just another “inspector” like the ones from last night. Last night she had been caught off guard, but today her fighting spirit was high. She smiled softly. “Who are you looking for?”

Even her voice was lovely. Yin Xiumei, the woman with the armband, was nearly drowned in that gentle tone. She snapped out of it and introduced herself: “I am Yin Xiumei, the head of the Women’s Federation in the family compound. Colonel Ma entrusted me to oversee the wedding preparations for you and Comrade Chen Che.”

Since the recent research failure, the institute had been gloomy. The leadership wanted to use Chen Che’s wedding as a big celebration to boost morale.

Mingyue remembered. Before she left, Wang Yufen had begged her to send a photo of the wedding day. Her mother’s regret was not seeing the wedding in person, so a photo was her only way to share the joy.

Yin Xiumei asked for her thoughts. Since it was mostly a formality, Mingyue didn’t have many demands. “Auntie Xiumei, as long as there’s no hazing of the bride or bridesmaids, I’m fine with anything.”

“Don’t worry, the Women’s Federation will make sure everything is handled with dignity.”

As they talked, Yin Xiumei explained the compound’s layout. Laundry was done at the nearby river; water had to be fetched from the well at the gate, preferably in the morning when the quality was better.

Before leaving, Yin Xiumei finally asked, “By the way, Comrade Mingyue, where did you buy that dress? Is there a smaller size? I’d like to buy one for my daughter.” Her daughter was vain and loved dresses, but she had nothing this beautiful.

Mingyue shared generously, “I designed it and had a tailor make it. If your daughter likes it, I can tell you how to describe the design to a tailor. But Auntie Xiumei, I thought you were around my age! I didn’t realize you already had children.”

Everyone loves a compliment. In the compound, the women were relatively well-off and focused on “New Era” fashion trends. Yin Xiumei’s smile widened. “I have two in school already! When you’re free, come over for dinner and meet them.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

The more they talked, the more Yin Xiumei liked Mingyue. She was beautiful, well-dressed, and had a great personality. Now she understood why a man like Chen Che had chosen her. Yin Xiumei also recommended that Mingyue join the cultural activities for staff families to make friends.

“Auntie, I wanted to ask—is there a night school nearby?” Mingyue asked. Night schools were popular then for workers wanting to gain knowledge. Mingyue wanted to meet people in a simpler environment and get to know the city.

“There isn’t one in the compound, but there’s one not far away,” Yin Xiumei replied. “I’ll look into the details for you.”

As Yin Xiumei walked home, she ran into several neighbors doing laundry. They asked curiously, “Auntie Xiumei, how ugly is the new bride? Does she really have spots?”

Ugly? Her face was as fair and clean as could be. Yin Xiumei didn’t bother to correct them; she just gave a mysterious look, making them even more curious.

Mingyue spent the rest of the day cleaning. She had a bit of a cleanliness fixation and organized everything from Pingcheng until the house finally felt like a home.

Chen Che didn’t return until after 11:00 PM. Having slept during the day, Mingyue woke up immediately when she heard him enter.

He was still in his green uniform, his posture as upright as ever, but when Mingyue turned on the light, she saw he looked different. He looked exhausted, his usual pride and coldness replaced by a flicker of lostness in his eyes.

“It’s so late, why are you still up?” he asked, trying to sound normal.

It was the first time she had seen him so dejected. “What happened?” she asked.

“It’s nothing. Just work. Go back to sleep.”

Mingyue brought out the dinner she had prepared. “Want to eat something first?”

He wanted to say he wasn’t hungry, but having not eaten all day, his stomach was cramping. He sat down and thanked her. Mingyue rested her chin on her hand, watching him. She thought about how hard it must be to be a pioneer—the countless failures that precede a single success.

She knew he was discouraged. She preferred the spirited, confident Chen Che. “Work is like that,” she encouraged him. “One or two failures don’t matter. You are doing something great. If it were easy, they wouldn’t need men like you. Don’t lose heart. In a few decades, all this confusion and failure will have a result.”

“Will it?” he asked, his confidence wavering.

“Of course! In the future, this country will be stronger than you can imagine. Not just missiles—we’ll be among the top in the world, even landing on the moon. So, Chen Che, keep going! It’s a long road with heavy responsibilities. Rest tonight and keep fighting tomorrow, okay… Little Brother?”