Married but Untouched! Her Soldier Husband Came Home Dumbfounded! - Chapter 4

Once they reached the edge of the village, Liu Wenjing brought up the matter of splitting the household again.
“Zhanping, did you talk to your parents about what we discussed the other day?”

Shen Zhanping nodded. “I mentioned it to Dad yesterday. He didn’t say anything, but judging from his reaction, he probably doesn’t want to split.”

He glanced at Liu Wenjing and lowered his voice. “After all, Grandpa and Grandma are still around, and Dad is the eldest son. Even if he does want to split, he can’t be the one to bring it up first. People will say he’s breaking family unity.”

In her heart, Liu Wenjing sneered at her father-in-law’s hypocrisy. He just doesn’t want to split because Second Uncle’s family has a son in the army. He’s hoping to benefit from it, that’s all.

Of course, she could never say this aloud. She could only keep coaxing Shen Zhanping patiently.

“Zhanping, the country is opening now. I want to go into the county and try a little business of my own—just to improve our family’s life. But we haven’t split households yet. If I earn money, who does it belong to? Are we still supposed to hand everything over like now?”

She shot him a glance, then lowered her eyes, pretending to look discouraged.
“And what about when we have children. Are they supposed to live like this too? Not even allowed to eat an egg without Grandpa and Grandma’s approval?”

Shen Zhanping wasn’t foolish. After hearing so many nights of pillow-side persuasion, he already had the intention to separate. And after Ye Fangfei caused that scene earlier, he was even more determined.

But business… that still made him uncertain. The country may have opened up, but they had just gone through those ten chaotic years. Who knew if things would change again?

He voiced his worries. “Jingjing, I can talk to my parents about splitting up the household first. But as for doing business… maybe we should wait a bit?”

Liu Wenjing’s frustration nearly made her explode.

It was 1981—soon more and more people would jump into business. If she didn’t seize the opportunity now, how would she earn her first pot of gold? With capital in hand, that was when she’d really make a name for herself.

She patiently explained her plan, then talked about renting a place to open a small restaurant.

“Last time we went to the county, I saw vendors setting up stalls. Some shops by the street were already selling food and doing small business. I watched for a while—their business was really good. I’m great at cooking. If I open a restaurant, we’ll definitely earn money.”

Seeing Zhanping becoming persuaded, she added fuel to the fire.

“And honestly, the reason I’m so eager to make money is because I can’t stand Ye Fangfei acting so smug. What she said earlier was too much. All that fuss over ten yuan—she embarrassed your parents and even said you and Dad were useless. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. Once we earn our own money, we can still give your parents ten yuan every month. They can use it however they like and won’t have to endure anyone’s attitude again.”

Shen Zhanping’s expression darkened. He had also felt humiliated by Ye Fangfei’s words earlier. Making a scene over ten yuan—so shameless, so petty. Compared to his own wife, she was worlds apart.

Looking at the delicate and gentle Liu Wenjing, admiration rose in his eyes.
“Jingjing, I know you just don’t want my family to be mistreated. Once we get home, I’ll find a chance to talk to my parents. We’ll split the household as soon as possible.”

Liu Wenjing hooked her finger into his palm and cast him a soft, affectionate look.
“Zhanping, I’m not doing this for your whole family. I’m doing it for you. I like you, so I want to treat the people you care about well.”

Those sweet, earthy words were enough to make Shen Zhanping grin like a fool.

Liu Wenjing shot a sidelong glance at the silly man beside her, a smirk tugging at her lips.

In her previous life, her marriage had been far from perfect. After graduating high school and working a few years, she married a train driver—steady but boring. He’d be away half the month, and their life revolved around their two children. Calm, monotonous, and utterly unremarkable.

She finally raised both children into adulthood… only to fall terminally ill. Even on her deathbed, she felt unwilling and unfulfilled.

She never expected to live again.
And in a time like this—hard, yes, but overflowing with opportunity.

This time, she would live for herself.

The couple walked to the riverbank. It was the season when the grass grew thick and lush. Avoiding the women washing laundry by the shore, they moved farther up, chatting as they cut pig grass.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead, Liu Wenjing asked, “Zhanping, your cousin has been in the army for years. What rank is he of now? His salary should be pretty high, right? Then why does he only send ten-yuan home each month?”

Shen Zhanping shook his head. “I don’t know. He’s only come back three times in all these years, and each visit was short. He rarely talks about army matters. Nobody at home knows his actual salary. When he came back to get married, he barely finished the wedding before being summoned again—said he was sent to fight at the border.”

Liu Wenjing mentally counted the time. That must be the self-defense war in ’79.

She hadn’t had any military relatives in her previous life, so she didn’t know much about army salaries or treatment. But Shen Zhanxun had been serving for nine years. His pay couldn’t be low. In this era, dozens of yuan a month was already considerable. For him to only send ten… he clearly wasn’t being honest.

Liu Wenjing didn’t actually care about his money—but since they hadn’t split households yet, hiding private savings in the second branch left a bitter taste.

She quietly grumbled a bit, hoping to push Zhanping toward demanding separation sooner. She was desperate to start making money—she didn’t want to wait even one more day.

Shen Zhanping nodded silently, thoughts stirring. He had long suspected that Shen Zhanxun wasn’t sending back his full salary.

When he came home for the wedding, even Grandpa and Grandma had subtly asked about it.

Zhanxun only said he kept a little money aside for marriage expenses. And that was true—he hadn’t taken a cent from the family to prepare for the wedding.

The ten yuan he now sent home each month was a recent increase.

In his first year in the army, he didn’t send anything.
In the second year, he began sending three yuan, then gradually increased to five.
Only after he got married did it rise to ten. The ration tickets he mailed home also increased slightly.

Zhanping figured he must have been promoted—after all, he had received commendations more than once. With higher rank came higher pay.

But he wasn’t sending back much more. Anyone could tell he was saving money privately.

Meanwhile, the couple continued planning their restaurant and even considered checking out potential locations in town after lunch.

At that moment, Ye Fangfei wasn’t idle either. She was sitting on the bed counting her stash.

When she married, Shen Zhanxun had given the original host 200 yuan as betrothal money, along with a bicycle and a wristwatch. Her parents hadn’t taken a single coin, letting her bring everything to her new home. They even prepared a dowry of bedding and daily necessities.

Before leaving, Shen Zhanxun had given Ye Fangfei another 50 yuan for pocket money. Later, he sent fifteen yuan to her parental home every month—five for filial piety, ten for her allowance. He had told her not to mention this to the Shen family to avoid unnecessary trouble.

But Ye Fangfei’s parents refused to take their son-in-law’s money. They were healthy, had their own sons, and didn’t need their daughter’s husband supporting them. Everything Zhanxun sent ended up in her hands.

From his arrangements alone, one could tell he was meticulous and thoughtful. If he considered her parents this carefully, he must have made plans for his own family as well.

Counting the money made Ye Fangfei grin. She had no idea how many people he sent money to each month—clearly, all the brains in the Shen family were concentrated in him alone.

She never expected the original host to have saved so much. When she finished counting, even she was shocked.

Over seven hundred yuan.
Betrothal money combined with monthly remittances—barely touched.

The original host’s daily snacks and clothing money all came from Shen Zhanxun’s parents, who secretly slipped her two or three yuan each month.

It wasn’t much, but things were cheap. Eggs cost only a few cents, and clothes weren’t needed monthly. Those few yuan were enough for her snacks.