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Chapter 296: Chapter 286 Truly Not a Bad Person (New Year’s Extra)
At 10:30 in the morning, Li Hongjun had already gathered everyone. Besides Wu Chaoyang and Wu Guoqiang, all the company commanders, deputy commanders, and political commissars from the third regiment were present.
Except for Wu Chaoyang and Wu Guoqiang, who brought their families, the rest came alone, making a total of twelve men suddenly cramming into the house.
Shen Yunfang had met a few of them before, like Xun Hui, Song Guoqing, Wu Hao, and Xiao Yunfeng, who had all eaten at Wu Guoqiang’s home before. After Li Hongjun was injured, they had also visited him in the hospital.
After greeting Shen Yunfang, they were led by Li Hongjun to the west room to chat.
The east room was for the children and women, while the men were arranged in the west room to drink and boast.
Er, Liu Shuli from Wu Chaoyang’s family, accompanied by her daughter Wu Ruotong, had managed to overcome all difficulties and come home for the weekend during the busy start of the school term, naturally also to attend the event at Li Hongjun’s home.
Shen Yunfang, of course, welcomed them warmly, but considering the people’s teacher had been tired out from a week of work, she didn’t have the heart to ask for help with cooking, so she quickly invited her to the east room to watch the children on the kang.
Wu’s sister-in-law sat on the small stool in front of the stove and whispered to Shen Yunfang, "Don’t take it to heart, the wife of Battalion Commander Wu is from the city, and she speaks and does things a bit differently from us. Once you interact more with her, you’ll understand—she’s not a bad person." 𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑝𝘶𝘣.𝑐𝘰𝘮
Shen Yunfang didn’t say anything but just smiled. She thought to herself that Liu Shuli definitely wasn’t a bad person; how many people in this world could truly be called bad? It was just that Liu Shuli and she didn’t match, more of a mutual repulsion, nothing serious. She firmly believed that they would definitely be able to coexist peacefully in the future since both were rational individuals.
"Don’t laugh. What I’m saying is true. I’ve been her neighbor for several years, and though she may seem a bit cold, she is really quite nice," Wu’s sister-in-law thought Shen Yunfang was truly upset and hastily tried to reassure her.
"Sister-in-law, I know, don’t worry," Shen Yunfang quickly spoke up, not wanting Wu’s sister-in-law to be anxious. Besides, the person they were discussing was still in the house; there was just a curtain that couldn’t block sound separating the two rooms. A slightly louder conversation on this side could be heard inside.
Realizing she might have been a bit too excited, Wu’s sister-in-law quickly sat down on the stool again, lowered her voice, and whispered to Shen Yunfang, "Yunfang, you’re a military spouse. I’ve observed these past few days that you are knowledgeable and reasonable, so let me share some heartfelt advice with you.
It may seem nice for us military spouses to follow the military, coming from all over the country to this remote place. Everyone says it’s fate, and we should cherish it. They say ’the camp is cast in iron while the soldiers flow like water,’ not knowing when these people will have to part again. Thus, the time we spend together is fate and should be cherished.
However, that said, the reality isn’t exactly so. On the surface, we military spouses seem to get along well, but inside, it’s not that united. To put it broadly, we have several regiments here, each regiment sticks to its own, and within each regiment, there are several companies. Just like us, with three companies in total, each company has its own little schemes, so it’s not very likely to get everyone together. It can only be us, the people from our own company, getting along with each other. You can count on your fingers; there are just three of us military spouses in our company. If there’s trouble among us, just think how others will gloat and ridicule us.
The most important thing is that their men are as good as gold, so we military spouses can’t drag them down. If we women don’t get along behind their backs, it also makes things difficult for the men. That’s the same principle isn’t it? So even just for the sake of our husbands’ smooth workflow, we military spouses need to unite."
Shen Yunfang nodded in agreement, true to the wife of a political commissar, adept at ideological work herself.
Seeing Shen Yunfang nod, Wu’s sister-in-law felt relieved.
"You don’t know, when Hongjun filed the report for the army, it took quite some effort to get your family’s house placed between our two families. That way, the few families from our third company could all live together and look out for each other." Wu’s sister-in-law glanced at Shen Yunfang’s expression and thought for a moment before continuing, "Your sister-in-law Liu Shuli isn’t a bad person, really. Once you get to know her over time, you’ll see. It’s just that she might have been raised in a different environment, so she seems a bit cold. We should be generous and just be more tolerant, don’t you think so, Yunfang?"
Shen Yunfang nodded again, but she didn’t quite agree with Wu’s sister-in-law’s assessment that Liu Shuli was just a bit cold. She felt that Liu Shuli wasn’t just cold; she was also arrogant. Maybe at this time, being a teacher was something to be proud of. But that didn’t seem right either. Hadn’t she heard that teachers at this time were being criticized as ’stinking Old Nines’ and their treatment wasn’t very good? It would take until the reform and opening-up for their status and treatment to gradually improve. So what exactly was Liu Shuli so proud of?
Wu’s sister-in-law saw Shen Yunfang was somewhat distracted and didn’t know what she was thinking about, so she tugged at her sleeve and asked, "Yunfang? Yunfang, what’s on your mind, tell your sister-in-law."
"It’s nothing. I just think you’re right, sister-in-law. As women, don’t we all rely on our men to do well before we can? If the man’s work goes smoothly, that’s better than anything. So rest assured, sister-in-law, I definitely won’t drag Hongjun down. I’ll just follow his lead, wherever he points, I’ll go. Isn’t that good enough?" Shen Yunfang snapped back to reality and hastily expressed her determination.
"Pfft..." Wu’s sister-in-law was amused by Shen Yunfang, "You, child, always know how to make me laugh."
"It’s true, I was just about to say..." Shen Yunfang hadn’t finished her heartfelt words when they were interrupted by a voice calling from outside the yard.
"Yunfang, are you home? We’ve come over."
The visitors didn’t give Shen Yunfang and Wu’s sister-in-law a chance to respond. As soon as their words ended, the house door was pulled open. The temperature difference between inside and outside was significant, coupled with the cooking in the main room, which produced even more heat. So when the door opened, smoke swirled around, making it impossible for people inside and outside to see each other clearly.
"Wow, your home smells so good. I haven’t come too late, have I?" Qiu Fengmei didn’t care about that, holding her younger daughter’s hand and telling her older daughter to follow, then she entered the house.
After the door closed again and the smoke no longer billowed at the entrance, Shen Yunfang and Wu’s sister-in-law could finally see the situation at the doorway. They had recognized Qiu Fengmei’s voice, but now they saw that it wasn’t just her; her whole family had come.
Qiu Fengmei stood in the front with her two daughters, while her husband stood slightly uncomfortably at the doorway.
Shen Yunfang was slightly startled and quickly called into the house, "Hongjun, come out quickly, your colleague is here, come entertain them."
If it was just Qiu Fengmei and the kids, Shen Yunfang would be able to host them, but now that her husband had come too, it wasn’t appropriate for her to entertain them alone. Better to let Li Hongjun handle it. Moreover, she didn’t understand why their house, which had only invited people from the third company, was now also receiving visitors from the first company. She didn’t know if there was some hidden intention. Shen Yunfang didn’t know and didn’t dare to make a judgment, so she decided it would be best to find someone who understood the situation.
