Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Out of Place, Chang Jia’s Predicament

The days passed one by one. Lin Jianqiu’s arrival was like a small pebble tossed into the not-so-tranquil pond of the family compound.

Her inability to fit in was obvious.

She didn’t know how to use the communal kitchen’s large stove. Her attempts to light a fire filled the room with smoke, making everyone cough and choke.

She was accustomed to her own refined ways, washing dishes slowly and methodically. Her pace was completely out of sync with the bustling, energetic wives of the compound.

Furthermore, she always spoke softly, using slightly archaic, bookish words.

When others talked about “eating,” she would say “partaking in a meal.” When they mentioned “doing chores,” she would say “attending to tasks.” It sounded awkward to people, who thought she was putting on airs and being pretentious.

But the worst of it was her feet.

Whenever she walked through the courtyard, went to the communal water pump, or even just stood in her doorway, her short, unsteady, and very conspicuous steps always drew unabashed stares and hushed whispers.

“Look at those feet… TSK TSK, what a shame.”

“A landlord’s wife is just different, isn’t she? Even walks like she’s in an opera.”

“Vice Battalion Commander Chang Jia is such a sharp guy. How did he end up marrying someone like… that?”

These words, like tiny knives, scraped at Lin Jianqiu’s ears, and at the heart of Su Tang, who happened to overhear them from a short distance away.

Su Tang saw Lin Jianqiu’s face instantly turn deathly pale as she lowered her head even further.

Her steps grew frantic as she tried to hurry away, but she lost her balance and nearly fell.

Su Tang subconsciously moved to help her, but she was too far away.

“What are you all talking about? Don’t you have any work to do?”

But just then, the boisterous Zhang Cui happened by. She put her hands on her hips and shouted at them, and the crowd scattered like bees.

Having left Wang Jianfeng, Zhang Cui now had her own job and no longer had to put up with being mistreated.

It was as if she had been reborn from the ashes.

Zhang Cui smiled and came over to take Su Tang’s hand, saying she wanted to treat her to something good to eat.

The two of them left arm in arm, not noticing Lin Jianqiu hiding in the shadows in the distance.

A look of envy appeared in her eyes as she glanced down at her own feet.

’Before, I wore long skirts that covered them, so it wasn’t noticeable.’

’But now…’

A flicker of loneliness crossed Lin Jianqiu’s eyes before she turned and left.

「That afternoon, as the sun began to set.」

Lin Jianqiu was carrying a small wooden basin filled with a few freshly washed undergarments, carefully trying to cross the open space in the middle of the compound to get back to her small house.

Several half-grown children were chasing each other and roughhousing nearby. One mischievous boy was running too fast and barreled straight toward Lin Jianqiu.

“Ah!”

Lin Jianqiu cried out in alarm as her body lurched violently.

To steady herself, she instinctively put her weight on the ball of her injured foot, causing her posture to become extremely awkward and unsightly. The wooden basin nearly slipped from her hands, and water splashed onto her pant legs.

“Pfft…”

Among the group of wives sitting and chatting nearby, someone couldn’t hold back a distinct snort of laughter.

This was followed by a few more suppressed giggles and comments.

“Goodness me, even just walking looks like she’s on her way to the execution ground…”

“I know, right? The way her foot twists…”

Lin Jianqiu froze on the spot, her face flushing crimson all the way to the roots of her neck.

An enormous wave of shame washed over her.

’I wish I could just disappear into a crack in the ground.’

She bit her lower lip so hard that her eyes quickly reddened. Her knuckles turned white from gripping the basin, and her whole body trembled slightly.

“She’s crying. Stop it, you guys.”

At that moment of extreme embarrassment, a figure strode over, moving like a gust of wind, and directly blocked the line of sight between Lin Jianqiu and the onlookers.

It was Su Tang, just getting off work.

She didn’t even glance at the gossiping wives, acting as if they didn’t exist. She walked straight up to Lin Jianqiu and, in one fluid motion, reached out and took the heavy wooden basin from her.

“Sister-in-law, are you done with the washing?”

Su Tang’s voice wasn’t loud, but it sounded exceptionally clear in the suddenly quiet courtyard. “There’s an open spot over there where you can hang the clothes.”

Her tone was so natural, as if she were merely commenting on the pleasant weather.

There was no consolation, no blame—yet it sent a wave of warmth through Lin Jianqiu’s heart.

Lin Jianqiu was completely stunned, staring blankly at Su Tang.

“Ah? Oh… okay, okay…”

Lin Jianqiu finally snapped out of it, her voice hoarse from suppressed sobs, and she hurriedly followed Su Tang.

She watched Su Tang’s back as she carried the basin steadily. Her upright, efficient posture was like a wall, temporarily shielding her from the suffocating stares and words.

Su Tang walked slowly, as if accommodating her pace.

The two walked in silence for a short distance.

“Th… thank you.”

Lin Jianqiu’s voice was barely a whisper. Her head was still bowed, but her fingers, which had been twisting the hem of her clothes, relaxed slightly.

“For what?”

Su Tang didn’t turn her head, her tone light. “It was nothing. The wives in this compound… they’re used to being blunt. Don’t take some of the things they say to heart. In time, they’ll get to know the kind of person you are.”

She didn’t say the other wives were wrong, nor did she deliberately belittle Lin Jianqiu’s “differences.”

She simply downplayed it as a matter of “habit,” something that just required time to get used to.

As Lin Jianqiu listened, her nose tingled, and she felt the urge to cry again.

She had never expected that in this place where she hit a wall at every turn and felt completely lost…

…the first person to extend a hand and come to her rescue would be Su Tang, this “capitalist miss” whom she had always regarded with a strange sense of wariness and secretly compared herself to.

“Here we are, Sister-in-law. You can hang them up. We can head back together in a bit.”

Su Tang gestured for Lin Jianqiu to hang the laundry while she went to the nearby well, drew some water, and filled the cup she carried with her.

Watching Su Tang, whose habits seemed so perfectly integrated with life in the family compound, Lin Jianqiu was dumbstruck.

’Don’t people say that city folk are the most particular about etiquette?’

Su Tang couldn’t be bothered with all that; she was dying of thirst.

’This well water tastes wonderfully sweet, though.’

Once Lin Jianqiu finished hanging the clothes, the two of them headed home together.

They hadn’t gone far when they saw Chang Jia and Lu Xiao returning together.

“Lu Xiao!”

Su Tang called out to him. Lu Xiao looked up and walked toward them with a smile.

“How come you’re off work early today?”

“I have a surgery tomorrow afternoon, so Vice Director Jiang told me to come home and get some rest.”

The two of them spoke as if no one else was around, their easy intimacy creating a bubble that no one else could enter.

Lin Jianqiu felt a pang of envy, but she only moved timidly to stand beside Chang Jia.

To her, a husband was her sky; when a man was present, she had to stand obediently by his side.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll leave in a couple of days and finish the mission as soon as possible.”

Lu Xiao said this as he took the bag from Su Tang’s hands and held her hand.

Chang Jia nodded, and the four of them parted, heading in different directions.

On the way back, Chang Jia thought about how Lu Xiao and Su Tang interacted, so he reached out to take Lin Jianqiu’s hand as well.

But when Lin Jianqiu saw Chang Jia’s outstretched hand, she took a step back.

“We’re outside.”

Lin Jianqiu lowered her head, her expression gentle and submissive. But in that instant, Chang Jia felt a fire of frustration ignite in his heart…

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