Chapter 77: Su Tao Just Found Herself a Good Man
As Dongyang and Taoyang gradually disappeared behind them, the scenery outside the car window became increasingly barren and desolate—nothing but yellow sand and wasteland as far as the eye could see.
Before lunchtime, they had already entered a no-man’s land, occasionally spotting ordinary zombies dragging their intestines and wandering aimlessly.
Su Tao had never traveled this far before. Her entire eighteen years of life had mostly been spent within the four corners of Dongyang. The novelty of it all made her press against the car window, staring out non-stop.
Guan Zining glanced at her while driving and said, “What’s so interesting about this?”
Su Tao replied, “Anything I haven’t seen before is interesting.”
“It’ll take almost two days to reach our first stop at Shou’an Base. The scenery will be like this the entire way—hopefully, you’ll still find it interesting.”
This reminded Su Tao of an important task.
Old Mei had asked her to find someone at Shou’an Base—an old friend of his from many years ago named Wu Jianyi.
According to Old Mei’s description, Wu Jianyi should be around 72 years old by now, but his current status was unknown.
Su Tao carefully recorded Wu Jianyi’s information on her communicator, planning to start inquiring as soon as they reached Shou’an.
Around 1 p.m., the convoy stopped on a highway. Two scouts checked a two-kilometer radius to ensure there was no danger before Shi Zijin allowed everyone to get off the vehicles to prepare lunch and take bathroom breaks.
It was the hottest time of the day. Su Tao had just stepped out of the air-conditioned car when the scorching wind hit her, making her instinctively retreat back into the car.
“It must be over 40 degrees out there!”
Guan Zining, unfazed, jumped out of the car. “I’ll go call Major Shi and the others for lunch.”
To make eating more comfortable, Su Tao turned the air conditioning up to the max, opened the car door, and had Lin Fangzhi set up the folding dining table right by the door.
She then took out pre-chilled water from the fridge and laid out the bento boxes they had brought from Taoyang.
Since there was a risk of the food spoiling, they only brought twenty bento boxes in total, intending to finish them within two days.
She also opened a can of food mixed with dry dog food for Xue Dao.
By the time Shi Zijin arrived, the aroma of food and the cool air had already made the accompanying team members green with envy.
Cen Tianjiao and a few others rushed over eagerly, taking off their shirts and basking in the cool air, faces full of bliss.
“This feels amazing! Oh my God, our car is like a steamy sauna—we’re practically cooked!”
Shi Zijin, still impeccably dressed in his uniform, frowned. “Put your clothes back on! What kind of behavior is this?”
The group was startled and quickly got dressed again, looking sheepishly at Su Tao.
They were used to treating women in the convoy like one of the guys and had completely forgotten there was a “sister-in-law” among them this time.
Su Tao didn’t mind. She handed out the bento boxes, “Go ahead and eat. There are drinks and water here—help yourselves, don’t be shy. I brought plenty.”
A few of them were practically moved to tears. They had never eaten such a delicious meal on a mission before, let alone while enjoying air conditioning.
Su Tao and her group ate heartily and drank to their fill, making the rest of the team green with envy.
The logistics team had compressed staple porridge mixed with dehydrated vegetables and a side of meat patties.
The food wasn’t exactly bad, but the taste was nothing special, and there were no cold drinks or cool air.
One teammate nudged Jiang Jinwei’s arm and gestured toward Su Tao’s side:
“See? I told you their meals would be better than ours. They even have air conditioning! I walked by just now—didn’t even get close, and I felt a cool breeze. I think you should go say hello. Maybe you could score some good stuff.”
Another teammate agreed:
“Yeah, plus, if Su Tao really is your sister, this could be a good chance to mend your relationship. Who knows—maybe she’d even let you stay in Taoyang. Didn’t you say your brothers wanted to kick you out of the house? You and your husband and daughter have nowhere to go—this might be perfect!”
The more Jiang Jinwei listened, the darker her expression became:
“I told you, she only got into Taoyang by using Major Shi’s connections. She’s not some big boss. She doesn’t get to decide who lives there. Why should I lower myself to please her? If you want to go, go yourself.”
She then threw down her half-eaten porridge, “It tastes awful.”
And with a sour face, she got back into the vehicle.
Her teammates sneered, “So high and mighty. If I were her sister, I wouldn’t want to acknowledge her either.”
Someone nearby, curious, asked, “Are they really sisters? They don’t look alike.”
The teammate shrugged, “Who knows? The Su boss didn’t seem to recognize her. Maybe she’s lying, or maybe they really don’t get along.”
“If it were me, I wouldn’t care how bad things were before. I’d still cozy up to her. I mean, come on—good food, cold drinks, and air conditioning. Why suffer just to save face?”
Inside the vehicle, Jiang Jinwei heard every word. Her eyes turned red with anger.
She couldn’t understand it. Back at the Su family, it was always Su Tao who begged her—always saying nice things, just to borrow her desk or look at her textbooks.
When she was unhappy, she could hit and scold Su Tao as she pleased. She could knock over her half-eaten meals, break her things—completely unrestrained.
So why was it now that she needed to flatter Su Tao just to live a little better?
Su Tao only found herself a good man, and suddenly, she soared to the top like a phoenix?
And look at her own life—just because she married a useless man with no proper job, who couldn’t afford a house. He even had the nerve to squeeze into her mother’s house, causing her father to resent her and her brothers to despise her.
Even when it came to joining the army, he would rather let her—a wife who needed to take care of their child—go, instead of finding the courage to go himself.
At the end of the day, it was just Jiang Jinwei’s bad luck. She picked the wrong man, which was why she couldn’t live as well as Su Tao!
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She collapsed into the vehicle and started wailing uncontrollably.
Her teammates weren’t surprised—each went about their business. Only the team leader couldn’t bear it any longer. He pulled open the car door, his face dark, “Get out here and do your job! You think you’re some princess on vacation?”
Jiang Jinwei broke down completely. She lifted her tear-streaked face and screamed at the team leader, “I’m already like this, and you’re all still bullying me! What did I ever do to deserve this?!”
