Back to the 60s: The Struggle Career of a Charmed Wife
Chapter 1410: Enemies on a Narrow Road 2

Chapter 1410: Chapter 1410: Enemies on a Narrow Road 2

While Li Shuitian was queueing to make a purchase, Lu Jiang kept his eyes and ears open, focusing most of his attention on his children and the remainder on the crowd in the grocery store.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar face.

It was so familiar that he recognized it instantly, rubbing his eyes and looking again, only to find the owner of the face had already left their original spot, probably having left the grocery store.

"Shuitian," called Lu Jiang, "did I just see Lu Zhaodi?"

Li Shuitian collected his change from the butcher master and said, "You’re not mistaken, it’s her."

Lu Jiang was startled, "How could she be here?"

Could it be that Jiu Hong had left the army? Lu Jiang somewhat regretted not asking Ye Zhengjun for the latest army news.

"Hongzhu always says misery loves company!" Li Shuitian did not directly answer Lu Jiang’s question, instead, he remarked with a sigh, "Is it not a coincidence? Jiu Hong and Lu Zhaodi’s home is just a wall away from ours!"

Lu Jiang chuckled, "You’ve become neighbors?"

"If not neighbors, what is a wall apart? No, it’s the path where adversaries meet." Li Shuitian led them out of the grocery store, heading towards his home, not forgetting the grudge he held against Jiu Hong, the reason he had to leave the army—an enmity as deep as the sea, "If you hear what I’m about to say next, you’ll truly understand what it means for adversaries to inevitably cross paths."

A spark flickered in Lu Jiang’s mind, tentatively he said, "Working together too?"

Although Li Shuitian left the army due to a report, he wasn’t formally transferred; but with his capability and connections, finding a job back home was a piece of cake. He was bound to have settled in Baozhou because of work.

Jiu Hong was very clever at currying favor; if dismissed from the army because of his wrongdoings, he could still find a job to provide for his family.

Li Shuitian slapped his thigh, "It’s been more than a year, Comrade Lu Jiang, you truly have divine insight!"

His reason for leaving the army was Cao Hongzhu’s unrestrained remark of "cannibalism", which tarnished the country’s image. Even though the words were not his own, being husband and wife, they were together in this, so after leaving the army he had no choice but to return to farming.

Originally, he and his wife had money, and when they ran out of grain, they could buy expensive grain from the black market. Living a stable farming life for the rest of their days was completely feasible. He still didn’t want to part with the army, remembering what Lu Jiang had said to him before leaving. He wanted to return to the army, but life doesn’t always go as planned. They had been away from their hometown for so long that a gap had formed between them and the local elders. Also, because many people called Cao Hongzhu a "sterile hen", he was heartbroken for his wife and resolutely found a job to settle in Baozhou.

He was not from Baozhou, but his wife’s family was, even though her parents were no longer there.

"Hongzhu and I have settled in Baozhou for almost a year now," Li Shuitian said as he pushed open the door to his house, continuing to speak to Lu Jiang, "We’ve been leading a steady life, who would have expected Jiu Hong and Lu Zhaodi to turn up out of the blue!"

Lu Jiang asked, "How long has Jiu Hong been here?"

He hadn’t even been transferred to Baozhou for a year and believed that Jiu Hong must have arrived even later, at the very least while he was leaving the army, Jiu Hong still seemed in high spirits.

Li Shuitian answered, "About two months, I guess. They arrived two months ago. By the way, Comrade Lu Jiang, why did Jiu Hong leave the army? And how come you’re here?"

After leaving the army, he had lost contact with his comrades and was completely unaware of what had happened since his departure.