Chapter 172 Battalion Commander Zhao, Completely Infatuated

Jiang Wanqiu felt weak all over and instinctively tried to take a step forward to escape the deadly temperature.

"Just like that, we're going out?" Zhao Wenchang's deep voice sounded behind her ear, husky with a hint of mockery.

She was about to nod when she felt the man's gaze fall on the paper package she had casually placed on the small stool beside her.

"There's still something I'm not wearing."

Jiang Wanqiu followed his gaze, and her cheeks flushed even more intensely. It was that bag of black stockings.

She pinched the hem of her cheongsam and whispered, "Um... I guess I won't need to. My legs are thick, and it definitely won't look good on me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenchang chuckled softly.

“Nonsense,” he took another half step forward, his arm sweeping across her side and bracing against the mirror, trapping her between himself and the mirror, leaving her no way out. “I think she’s perfect. Besides, my wife is beautiful; even if she wore a burlap sack, she’d still be the most beautiful woman in the world.”

She was held tightly in his arms, with nowhere to hide.

Jiang Wanqiu's heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was going to jump out of her throat. She bit her lower lip, but finally gave in and whispered her compromise: "...Okay then."

Having received permission, Zhao Wenchang moved his arm away with satisfaction, but he didn't step back. He just stood there, his unfathomable eyes staring straight at her, his gaze like that of a wolf eyeing the meat it had finally managed to bring back to its den.

Jiang Wanqiu felt a chill run down her spine from his gaze, so she turned her back and bent down to pick up the paper package.

She slowly tore open the packaging and took out the two sheer stockings. The material was smooth and slippery, gleaming with an ambiguous sheen under the dim light.

She awkwardly sat down on the small stool, rolled up one side of the sock, carefully slipped it onto her toes, and then pulled it up little by little.

The black nylon climbed up her calf inch by inch, following the curve of her leg.

The thin layer of black veil did not cover anything; instead, it seemed to veil the beautiful jade with a mysterious mist, making her already fair and shapely legs appear even more slender, straight, and with taut, alluring lines.

Zhao Wenchang's breathing became noticeably heavier.

He watched the black figure rise upwards and disappear into the slit of the bright red cheongsam, feeling a surge of evil fire that made his head spin.

He subconsciously took a step forward, squatted down, and his large hand uncontrollably covered the calf covered by stockings.

"Hiss..." Jiang Wanqiu gasped.

The man's palms were rough and hot, and the sensation was amplified countless times through the thin stockings.

Slippery! So slippery!

Like the finest silk, yet retaining the softness and elasticity of her skin. Zhao Wenchang's hand traced up her calf, finding the texture so wonderful that he couldn't bear to let go.

He even maliciously lifted her leg and placed it on his knee so that he could see it more clearly and touch it more easily.

"Zhao Wenchang!" Jiang Wanqiu was both embarrassed and anxious, and scolded in a low voice, "What are you doing! We're outside, don't go too far!"

"How did I go too far?" The man looked innocent, but his fingers were still gently caressing her leg as he retorted confidently, "I'm putting socks on my wife, can't I even touch her?"

"What's so great about touching them!" Jiang Wanqiu struggled to pull her legs back, but he held them firmly. She was so angry that her face turned red, and she retorted without thinking, "If you like touching them so much, you can buy a pair later and wear them yourself. You can touch them however you want when you get home!"

Zhao Wenchang was taken aback, then burst out laughing.

"You, Jiang Wanqiu, you're getting bolder and bolder, even daring to tease your man now."

He chuckled and cursed, and without waiting for Jiang Wanqiu's reaction, he squatted down and suddenly pulled her off the stool into his arms. With his other hand, he held the back of her head and pressed his burning lips hard against hers.

"Hmm!"

Suddenly, footsteps sounded outside, accompanied by a salesperson's enthusiastic greeting: "Hey, comrade, look over here! These are the latest arrivals!"

The sound was extremely close, as if it were right outside the curtain!

Jiang Wanqiu froze, her hair standing on end with tension. She began to struggle violently, trying to push Zhao Wenchang away. But the man seemed determined to defy her; instead of letting go, he held her even tighter and kissed her more deeply, with a hint of punishment in his voice.

The footsteps grew closer, seemingly heading straight for their fitting room.

Jiang Wanqiu closed her eyes in despair, able to clearly hear her own heartbeat, pounding like a drum, about to explode.

Just as the curtain was about to be pulled open, the saleswoman's clear voice rang out from outside: "Hey, comrade, this room is taken. Please go to the one over there; that one is bigger!"

The footsteps outside gradually faded into the distance.

In the fitting room, Jiang Wanqiu was so frightened that tears were about to stream down her face. She leaned weakly against Zhao Wenchang's chest, panting heavily. She raised her misty eyes to look at the culprit, only to meet Zhao Wenchang's smiling, triumphant gaze.

A surge of anger rushed to my head.

She was so angry that she punched him hard on the shoulder.

Zhao Wenchang chuckled softly, reluctantly releasing her. He wiped her swollen, red lips with his fingertip, his voice hoarse: "Alright, let's switch back now."

As the two of them emerged from the fitting room one after the other, the saleswoman immediately greeted them with a beaming smile.

"How is it? Comrade PLA soldier, doesn't your wife look like a fairy in it?"

Jiang Wanqiu blushed, lowered her head, and whispered, "It's...it's alright."

Zhao Wenchang shook his head seriously and said solemnly, "The room was too small and the light was dim, so I didn't see it clearly."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqiu secretly pinched him and glared at him fiercely. This guy dares to say that! If the room were any bigger and the light any brighter, who knows what he might do!

The saleswoman was a shrewd woman; she could easily hear the hidden meaning in the words. She immediately exclaimed "Oh my!" and burst into laughter.

"My good comrade, how can I let you see the bride's new clothes so clearly now? We have to keep it a secret until we enter the bridal chamber, close the door, and then you can light the lamp and take a closer look!"

Upon hearing the words "bridal chamber," Zhao Wenchang's gaze deepened. He glanced at Jiang Wanqiu beside him, whose cheeks were practically bleeding, and deliberately let out a long sigh, looking mournful: "I'm just afraid that my wife will be too shy and won't give me the chance to look closely."

"Of course not!" the saleswoman assured with a smile. "There's no such thing as a new bride who won't let her husband see her!"

As she spoke, she deftly and carefully packed the cheongsam, woolen coat, and the bundle of troublesome stockings with brown paper and rope, and handed them to Zhao Wenchang, her words as sweet as honey: "Comrade PLA, is there anything else you need?"

Jiang Wanqiu, feeling a bit uncomfortable from the teasing, tugged at Zhao Wenchang's sleeve and urged in a low voice, "Everything's bought, let's go quickly."

"Where are you going?" Zhao Wenchang grabbed her mischievous little hand and held it in his palm, but said to the saleswoman, "Sister-in-law, give my wife two more bottles of face cream."

The saleswoman's eyes lit up, and she immediately perked up, deftly taking out several flat, round tin boxes from the glass display case: "Comrade, you have excellent taste! Our face cream and clam oil are top-notch! Friendship brand, sourced from a big city. They'll make your face smell wonderful and moisturize you, guaranteed to make your wife's face as white and tender as a peeled egg!"

As she spoke, she unscrewed a box, smeared some on the back of her hand, and brought it close to Jiang Wanqiu: "Girl, smell it, it smells so good!"

A sweet, powdery fragrance wafted over, a scent unique to this era.

Zhao Wenchang didn't speak, but instead extended his rough fingertips and gently touched Jiang Wanqiu's burning cheek. The touch was so delicate that it made his heart tremble.

“I’ll take this,” he said, pointing to the box of face cream and then to the clam oil next to it. “Two of each.”

"Okay, sure!" The sales clerk beamed.

Seeing that they needed to buy more paper packets, Jiang Wanqiu became anxious: "Why buy so many? I can't use them all."

"Who said it's all for you?" Zhao Wenchang glanced at her, speaking with self-righteousness. "I need to use it too. My face is all chapped from being out in the wind and sun every day. If my rough skin rubs against you and hurts you, won't you complain about me?"

Jiang Wanqiu was left speechless, both amused and exasperated by his words.

After paying, Zhao Wenchang picked up his things, but stopped abruptly. His eyes swept around the shop and landed on the fabric counter.

“Come on, let’s go get a few more new quilt covers and sheets, all bright red. You don’t do needlework, so a sewing machine is useless to you. I’ll buy you a radio instead, so you can listen to it when you get home to relieve your boredom.”

This surprised not only Jiang Wanqiu, but also the sales clerk.

This PLA comrade is really willing to spend money on his wife! Not only did he buy her the best things, but he also made sure she had all three essential items for the wedding.

By the time the two of them came out of the department store, the sky was already beginning to slant westward.

The old jeep was packed full of people in the back, with the trunk piled high like a small mountain. Ping An sat obediently in the passenger seat, but his feet and lap were surrounded by large and small bags wrapped in brown paper. Only his big, dark eyes were visible as he looked around curiously.

Zhao Wenchang opened the car door, then hesitated.

“There’s no room left,” he turned around, looking at Jiang Wanqiu standing behind him, who also looked bewildered. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and he glanced at the driver’s seat. His voice was deep. “Get in and sit on my lap.”

"Huh?" Jiang Wanqiu's eyes widened suddenly, and the blush that had just faded from her cheeks returned.

"What are you 'ah' about?" Seeing that she didn't move, Zhao Wenchang simply stretched out his long arm, put his arm around her waist, and with a little force, lifted her up and placed her steadily on his lap. Then he slammed the car door shut. "Sit tight and hold on tight."

The change happened so fast that Jiang Wanqiu didn't have time to react before she was sitting on a hot, solid "cushion".

The young soldier driving the car saw the two of them being affectionate and thought with envy, "The battalion commander and his wife have such a good relationship. I wish I could have a wife like that someday."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenchang laughed loudly and said, "Then you'll have plenty to look for!"

...

In the evening, after dinner, Zhao Wenchang moved all the things he had bought that day into the house.

He and Ping An were busy unpacking and sorting, one doing the unpacking and the other the sorting. The moment the brand-new, bright red peony-print bed sheets and blankets were laid out, the whole room instantly brightened and became festive.

"Knock knock knock—"

There was a knock on the door, and Li Yanhong, the sister-in-law from across the hall, poked her head in with a winnowing basket in her hand. When she saw the room full of red, she immediately smiled.

"Oh my, Brother Wenchang, did you bring the entire supply and marketing cooperative back? Look at this material, this color, so bright!" She walked in, reached out and touched the brand-new quilt cover, it was smooth and felt great. "Tsk tsk, Zhao Wenchang is really capable, look at all these rare things, he's got everything he could want."

Li Yanhong was a kind-hearted person. She put down the dustpan and came over to help tidy up. As she folded the new bed sheets, she thought back to her own wedding.

“Back when I married your older brother,” she sighed, as if lost in memories, “we didn’t have all these nice things. Your older brother just borrowed a donkey from the village chief, hitched it to a cart, and tore a piece of red cloth on the cart. That’s how he brought me here. We were dirt poor. All my family gave me as dowry was two old quilts.”

She smiled, a smile tinged with bitterness. "I don't know what possessed me back then, but I just thought your older brother was a good person, that he didn't want anything, and I was determined to marry into their family. No matter how much my parents scolded or beat me, it didn't work. On my wedding day, we drank wild vegetable soup, and there was only one main dish on the table: a small bowl of cured meat slices."

As Li Yanhong spoke, she shook her head with a smile: "Later I found out that he had to go to his uncle's house and plead with him for a long time to borrow that small piece of cured meat."

Jiang Wanqiu listened from the side, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.

She imagined the scene: a young girl, riding in a donkey cart covered with red cloth, getting married into a poor family. It must have taken so much courage and such deep affection.

She couldn't help but ask softly, "Sister-in-law, life was so hard back then. If you could choose again, would you... would you still marry my brother?"

The room fell silent immediately.

Li Yanhong stopped folding the bed sheets. She remained silent for a moment, her expression indistinct in the dim light.

Just as Jiang Wanqiu thought she had asked the wrong question and was beginning to regret it, Li Yanhong suddenly raised her head, grinned, and smiled—a smile that was both simple and firm.

"marry."

She uttered only one word, then lowered her head and continued to slowly align the corners of the sheet:

"Why not get married? What does it matter if life is a little hard and tiring? In the end, what you want is someone who cares about you, someone who can warm your feet at night, and someone you can confide in. Having that is better than anything else."

The news of Zhao Wenchang's upcoming marriage naturally reached his group of young men.

They were even more excited than if they were getting married themselves, and they were clamoring to come and help "decorate the new house" early in the morning.

They say they're helping out, but it's really just an excuse to shirk their responsibilities.

While shouting things like, "Battalion Commander, this 'double happiness' character must be pasted right in the center!" and "Battalion Commander, this ribbon should be pulled up higher, to make it look more impressive!", their hands moved slowly, their eyes darting around, hoping to scavenge some candy and melon seeds from the bridal chamber.

Zhao Wenchang was in a really good mood today, and it was rare for him not to scold people with a stern face.