But good times didn't last long. With the end of the great movement, their house and property were confiscated and nationalized.
Later, due to her father-in-law's corruption and misconduct, the whole family was taken away for investigation.
This investigation lasted for more than a year, and the final result was that her father-in-law and mother-in-law were executed, and her husband was sentenced to twenty years.
Since she was not involved in these matters at all, she was released after three years of reform through labor at a farm.
However, she had no job, no savings, and no house, so she had to shamelessly take her three children back to her parents' home.
Her parents didn't say much, but her sister-in-law was not a good person, constantly ridiculing her and her children.
Clearly, this was her home too; her brother could live there, so why couldn't she?
Su Wanwan couldn't bear it any longer and fought with her sister-in-law.
As a result, she accidentally scratched her sister-in-law's face.
Because of this, her younger brother became estranged from her, and she could no longer stay at her parents' home.
With no other choice, Su Wanwan had to remarry, to a man more than ten years older than her, whose wife had died the previous year.
She thought she had found a safe harbor, but unexpectedly, she jumped from one fire pit into another.
Within six months of marriage, that man had hit her five times.
The most serious incident left her with three broken ribs.
She wanted to divorce, but couldn't, because she was pregnant again.
Su Wanwan lived such a life, worse than death, for more than ten years.
She had already started to accept her fate, but unexpectedly, she had a chance encounter with that man again!
By now, he was over fifty, but time seemed not to have left any marks on his face; he still looked as handsome and elegant as ever.
When she heard from her elder sister that he was now an Air Force commander and had remained unmarried all his life, Su Wanwan regretted it deeply.
She often wondered, if she had been braver back then, would the outcome be different now?
Perhaps the heavens heard her remorse, for Su Wanwan woke up one day to find herself reborn.
At this moment, she hadn't married yet, and everything was still possible!
Having lived two lifetimes, Su Wanwan certainly knew that destroying someone else's marriage was very unethical.
But she had suffered enough in her past life, and in this new life, she wouldn't miss this opportunity for anything.
Moreover, this marriage was something Jiang Si herself didn't want.
So she couldn't be blamed.
Although she had already made up her mind, Su Wanwan knew well how difficult it was to open that man's heart, so she didn't plan to act now.
What she needed to do was wait—wait for Jiang Si to break off the engagement, wait for her to die in the countryside.
Once Jiang Si was dead, she had ways to win over Huo Tingzhou!
As for the girl she saw earlier, Su Wanwan thought carefully and decided it must have been a case of mistaken identity.
After all, at this point in time, Jiang Si was already in the northern province.
Besides, when had the eldest daughter of the Jiang family ever worn such outdated clothes?
And as for taking the bus, that was even more impossible, because she simply couldn't endure such hardships!
In this regard, Su Wanwan was absolutely right; Jiang Si indeed couldn't endure any hardship.
Before boarding the ship that afternoon, she specifically sought out a first-class passenger and paid extra to swap tickets with them.
Of course, she genuinely didn't want to endure discomfort, but the main reason was that she had unexpectedly gotten her period at noon.
There were no private bathrooms in second class, so if she wanted to change anything, she would have to use the ship's public restroom.
Jiang Si had already developed a psychological aversion to train toilets, so she was more than willing to spend a little money to solve the problem.
Moreover, the first-class environment was serene, and opening the window offered a view of the boundless blue sea, making the expense completely worthwhile.
The only issue was that Jiang Si got seasick; the sea view was fine for a while, but too much of it made her dizzy.
At exactly three in the afternoon, with a long blast of the horn, the Red Guard Wheel No. 3 ship slowly departed from the Taikoo Dock in Yang City.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the sea.
Accompanied by the roar of engines, six TU-4 strategic bombers smoothly taxied to the end of the airport runway.
Before long, the cabin door opened inward, and several pilots dressed in Type 59 flight jackets strode out of the cockpit.
The leader, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, stood tall and straight. His eyebrows were sharp, and his features were cold and distinct, exuding an aura that warned others to keep their distance.
"Old Huo, wait for me."
Xiao Zhengjun, the commander of the Second Flight Regiment, quickly caught up, speaking directly as they were old friends.
"Hey, there's something I need your help with."
"What’s so urgent?"
"Well, my wife's birthday is coming up, and she's been wanting a red wool coat."
"I've been to the provincial capital several times, but I couldn't find the kind she described."
"I was thinking, since your wife is in Hu City, could she help out?"
"See if there's a thinner red wool coat at the Hu City department store."
Though the two hadn't officially married yet, there was a common understanding in those days: dating without the intention of marriage was just fooling around!
Besides, they had already been engaged for years.
So privately, they referred to Jiang Si as 'sister-in-law.'
Xiao Zhengjun laughed, "Your wife has good taste; the clothes she picks will definitely be better than what a rough guy like me would choose. But I'm not sure if it's convenient for her?"
Upon hearing this, Huo Tingzhou paused, but ultimately, the thought of calling her won out.
"I'll ask her first. If there's nothing suitable in Hu City, I'll have someone check the Capital City department store for you."
"Alright, thanks. Once I'm done with these few days, I'll treat you to dinner."
While thanking him, Xiao Zhengjun casually asked another question.
"By the way, can you and your wife get married this year? We've been waiting to drink at your wedding for years."
They had asked this question before, but Huo Tingzhou always said to wait a little longer.
This led everyone to mistakenly believe that he was the one reluctant to marry.
They were usually busy, and it was only during this joint mission that they had time to chat more.
In an older brotherly tone, Xiao Zhengjun said, "You can't keep saying to wait. How many years of youth does a girl have? She can't afford to be delayed by you."
"Let me tell you, you need to hurry up with this marriage business."
"Mm, got it."
There was no way to explain this, so Huo Tingzhou could only nod in agreement.
As the two were talking, the orderly, He Ping, suddenly ran over with a face full of urgency.
"Report, Commander!"
After saluting both commanders, He Ping immediately began reporting to his own commander.
"Commander, this urgent telegram was received more than ten days ago. The sending address is Hu City."
"Additionally, during the time you were away on your mission, there were two phone calls, both from Capital City. These are the messages they left for you."
After finishing his report, He Ping handed the telegram and the recorded messages to Huo Tingzhou.
When he heard the mention of Hu City, Huo Tingzhou didn’t hesitate for a second and immediately opened the telegram.
There were only two short words written on it.
When he first saw it, Huo Tingzhou thought he was imagining things.
He quickly checked the sender's address on the telegram and, after confirming it was from the Jiang family’s old residence, looked at it again.
Then he looked at it again. And again. And again!
Seeing him furrow his brows and repeatedly scrutinize the telegram, Xiao Zhengjun’s curiosity was instantly piqued.
"What’s wrong? What’s written on it?"
Huo Tingzhou handed him the telegram. When Xiao Zhengjun saw the words "Get Married" written on it, he let out a surprised sound and then gave Huo Tingzhou a look full of complicated emotions. The meaning was clear.
[Look at the mess you’ve made. Isn’t marriage the kind of thing a man should take the initiative on?]
[Also, what’s with the constant frowning?]
Thinking this, Xiao Zhengjun didn’t hold back and asked directly.
"What’s the matter? You’re not happy?"
It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy—it was that he was worried.
Huo Tingzhou knew very well that she wouldn’t send this kind of message for no reason. Unless... unless something had happened to the Jiang family!
Without taking the time to explain, Huo Tingzhou quickly scanned the two phone call messages and then said in a deep voice, "I’ve got something to take care of. I’ll talk to you later."
"He Ping, prepare the car for me—"
