Marriage in the 1970s: The Political Commissar's Contract Wife

Zheng Ji'an, who had been listening in, adjusted his glasses and slowly spoke, pinpointing the key point: "Oh? Strategic cooperation? Cooperation on what?"

Zheng Yunzhu chuckled a little shyly, "We help each other out, acting as shields to prevent our families from pressuring us to get married! It works so well, look, our two families haven't pressured each other much over the years!"

Looking at his daughter's carefree attitude, Zheng Ji'an deliberately sighed, "Now that Fang Chu, your 'partner,' has unilaterally terminated the cooperation, no one is helping you anymore. Shouldn't you also consider your marriage?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yunzhu wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, her eyes lit up, and she eagerly followed her father's lead: "Okay! Dad, then please keep an eye out for me! Find someone like Fang Chu! He doesn't have to be a political commissar like him, but he must be like him—exceptionally, exceptionally, exceptionally doting on his wife!"

As if she had found the best example, she began to list Fang Chu's "deeds" in great detail:

"You guys didn't see it! Fang Chu dotes on his wife so much now! At home, he cooks, does the laundry, and every night he brings her water to wash her feet and washes them himself! Serving her tea and water is just basic service for him! When we eat, he practically puts all the food in her bowl, picks out every fish bone, and sometimes he even feeds her rice! My God, if I had known he was this kind of man, I would have definitely married him!"

Her series of descriptions left Zheng Jian completely stunned.

It took him a while to come to his senses, and he muttered, "That Fang Chu... he's not marrying a wife, he's inviting a patriarch to worship!!"

Hearing her father's accurate criticism, Zheng Yunzhu immediately found common ground and nodded vigorously: "Dad, you've hit the nail on the head! Fang Chu just married a princess to worship! You don't know, to support this 'princess,' he not only shamelessly begged his uncles and aunts for money and ration coupons, he even tried to take advantage of me!"

Zheng Ji'an was genuinely surprised this time, and sat up straight: "What do you mean? He's asking you for money again?"

"He didn't directly ask for money," Zheng Yunzhu explained, finding the incident both amusing and infuriating. "I wanted to visit his wife, and he blatantly implied that I couldn't visit empty-handed; I had to bring gifts! And the more the better! He said he wouldn't let me in if I didn't bring anything! Do you think that's reasonable?"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Ji'an's surprise gradually turned into a deep amusement. He clicked his tongue softly, leaned back on the sofa, and sighed, "How much does he... like this wife?" For someone as proud and principled as Fang Chu to go to such lengths, how deep must their feelings be?

Zheng Yunzhu immediately provided "evidence": "I heard from Li Yunxiao that he fell in love with her at first sight, and then he pursued her relentlessly, determined to marry no one but her. He's incredibly shameless!"

Zhou Mudan, who was standing next to her, also remembered something and chimed in, "Now that you mention it, I remember. Xiaoqin (Fang Chu's mother) mentioned to me before that when Fang Chu called home to say he was getting married, it wasn't a discussion at all, he was just informing her. Before Xiaoqin could even react, his marriage application was already prepared! It completely baffled Xiaoqin."

These seemingly "abnormal" behaviors pieced together a Fang Chu they had never seen before, a Fang Chu driven mad by love.

Zheng Ji'an was silent for a moment, then tapped his finger on his knee and made a decision: "Are they coming back for the New Year?"

Zheng Yunzhu shook her head: "I'm not coming back. Fang Chu said it's not safe on the road, so I'll come back after the New Year and when spring arrives."

Zheng Ji'an nodded, his tone filled with unwavering curiosity and determination: "Alright. When they get back, your mother and I will go see for ourselves. I want to see just how beautiful and capable this girl is to have Fang Chu so bewitched!"

Seeing that her father had also developed a strong interest, Zheng Yunzhu immediately assured him confidently, "Dad! Don't worry, once you meet Zhixia, you'll definitely like her too! She's really... beautiful without being aggressive at all, like... like the misty rain of Jiangnan, so gentle it's almost breathtaking! I'm even smitten just looking at her. If I were a man, Fang Chu wouldn't stand a chance!"

Hearing her daughter's increasingly outrageous words, Zhou Mudan couldn't help but rub her forehead, amusedly reminding her, "My little darling, you can say these things to your father and me, but whatever you do, don't let Fang Chu know. With how protective he is of his wife right now, if he finds out you dare to 'have your eye' on her, he'll be furious!"

Instead of calming down after being told this by her mother, Zheng Yunzhu became even more "overwhelmed with sorrow." She exaggeratedly leaned back on the sofa, stared at the ceiling, and let out a long sigh:

"Sigh—! Mom! Why didn't you give birth to a boy back then! If I were a boy, I would definitely be more caring than Fang Chu! I guarantee I would take perfect care of Zhi Xia, and Fang Chu would be completely out of the picture!"

Zhou Mudan and Zheng Ji'an were speechless as they looked at their daughter's whimsical and frustrated expression. They exchanged a glance and saw the same wry smile on each other's faces.

Zheng Ji'an shook his head helplessly, picked up the newspaper again, and covered his face, which he couldn't help but laugh.

Zhou Mudan gently patted her daughter's head, laughing and scolding, "You're getting more and more outrageous! Stop it right now! If word gets out, you'll make the Zheng family lose all face!"

Zheng Yunzhu stuck out her tongue, finding the idea somewhat amusing herself. She finally stopped complaining, but her affection for Zhixia and her envy and jealousy of him for marrying such a beautiful wife deepened considerably.

Zheng Qin and Zhou Mudan are best friends who grew up together since birth, and their relationship is even closer than that of blood sisters.

When they were young, they jokingly said that if they had children in the future, they would make them marry, so that their families would be even closer.

Later, Zheng Qin gave birth to her eldest daughter, Fang Hua, and Zhou Mudan gave birth to her eldest son, Zheng Yuanhang. The two immediately tried to matchmake them. However, the two children had completely opposite personalities, couldn't stand each other, and would fight whenever they met. In the end, they each married someone else, leaving their two mothers with great regret.

Therefore, they placed all their hopes on the next generation—Zheng Qin's youngest son, Fang Chu, and Zhou Mudan's youngest daughter, Zheng Yunzhu.

Fang Chu and Zheng Yunzhu were true childhood sweethearts, growing up together in the same compound.

With the deliberate arrangement of their mothers, they went to school together, played together, and were almost inseparable. To outsiders, they were a match made in heaven, with similar family backgrounds and good looks. If they could get married, it would fulfill the long-cherished wish of both mothers.

However, matters of the heart are the most difficult to force.