NOVPUB
Chapter 333: Chapter 323: The Debt Collector Has Arrived
Shen Yunfang returned to the family quarters the next day, and someone came to collect a debt.
Wang Guifen with her hourglass figure walked into Shen Yunfang’s gate, "Is somebody from Captain Li Hongjun’s family at home?" she called out while peering into the yard.
When Yunfang was at home, she had bolted the gate. Even though it was just a wooden fence, no one would have such poor manners as to push the gate open and enter on their own.
Yunfang was in the backyard inspecting her last cage of quails and cursing at Taxue, who was following her closely around her feet.
"You, what use are you, just watched as someone came and took our quails. Where was your prowess then? Hmph, you’re just a bully in our own nest," Yunfang said, her anger rising as she looked at her quails. Now that Hongjun wasn’t around to take it out on, she could only vent her frustration by scolding Taxue.
Taxue whimpered pitifully in response. It had been locked up at that time, okay? If it had been free, it would have preferred to kill the quails rather than let someone steal its family’s stuff.
Yunfang had no idea about Taxue’s inner thoughts, or she would have been profoundly shocked. She would never have thought that her silly dog could be so fierce and protective. After all, even Pangpang could snatch bones right from Taxue’s mouth while it was eating.
Wang Guifen was shouting in the front yard, and Yunfang could hear it from the back, but she wasn’t familiar with the voice. She had a hunch this stranger wasn’t there for anything good.
So she didn’t respond, just slowly counted her remaining quails. There used to be one hundred quails in a cage, five cages in total. After being away for two months, she came home to find four-fifths gone. Now in this last cage, there weren’t a hundred left; after count after count, there were only seventy-two. Should she be thankful that Qiu Shuping hadn’t wiped them out completely?
Wang Guifen had called out several times without seeing anyone come out, and she began to wonder if they had gone out. But that didn’t seem right. She heard that ever since Yunfang had returned, she barely left the house. Having just come back from outside, how could she have gone out again so soon? Besides, she hadn’t seen anyone head towards the unit this morning.
After pondering, Guifen was still not convinced, so she decided to walk around the fence to check the back. As she got to the rear, she saw a shadow in the plastic shed.
"Eh? Someone from Li Hongjun’s family? Hey?" Wang Guifen called out, poking her head forward.
Seeing that Yunfang didn’t respond, she raised her voice and yelled, "Hey? I’m talking to you, someone from Li Hongjun’s family."
Taxue darted out from beside its owner, baring its teeth fiercely at this bad person who once came to their house to catch their quails.
"Oh my, that scared the life out of me." Wang Guifen was startled by the large dog suddenly bursting out.
Only then did Yunfang slowly turn her head around. Since Taxue had jumped out, she couldn’t keep pretending, so she opened the door of the plastic shed and peered out. She stopped Taxue first and then asked with a puzzled face, "Who are you?"
Seeing that Yunfang had come out, Guifen didn’t bother with the dog and let go of the fence. She stepped back, straightened her clothes, put a smile on her face, and said, "Oh, you must be from Li Hongjun’s family. My husband is the commander of the second battalion in a regiment. I’m a few years older than you, so just call me Sister Guifen."
Shen Yunfang feigned a sudden realization, "Oh, it’s Sister Guifen, good morning! Are you looking for me this early for something?"
"Hehe, I actually do have a little matter. How about I come to your place to talk?" Wang Guifen glanced at the fence standing between them, feeling somewhat displeased.
"Oh dear, look at my memory. Sister Guifen, please hurry inside, come inside." Shen Yunfang acted as if she had just remembered, quickly closed the door of the plastic shed, then went around to the front to open the courtyard door for Wang Guifen.
"Make sure to watch your dog." Wang Guifen, seeing Taxue still showing his teeth at her, felt timid, worried that if things went poorly she might get bitten, and that would not be worth it.
Shen Yunfang patted her own dog Taxue, explaining, "Don’t be afraid, Sister Guifen. Although my Taxue is a dog and can’t talk, he’s very smart. He can instantly tell who is good and who is bad. He never bites good people." As if to prove his owner’s words, Taxue lowered his head in a pre-attack position, then bared his two canine teeth, looking ready to pounce.
"Ah, do keep an eye on it, keep an eye on it." Thus, Wang Guifen made some room to squeeze by, sidling into the house.
Shen Yunfang patted Taxue’s large head from behind, as a reward.
After the two women went inside, Shen Yunfang didn’t let her sit on the kang bed, using the excuse that her own Pangpang was sleeping on it, and she didn’t want to wake him as it would make it difficult for the adults to speak—instead, she let Wang Guifen sit at the table.
Wang Guifen didn’t mind where she sat. She was still shaken at the moment, "Your dog is really fierce. It’s lucky that last time I came, he wasn’t home; otherwise, I would never set foot in your house."
Shen Yunfang thought to herself, it would be better if you didn’t come at all. You’re probably gleefully anticipating my family’s misfortune, based on your smug look. She was only holding back because of her concern for Li Hongjun’s career. Otherwise, she would have shut the door and let the dog loose long ago.
Muttering to herself inwardly, Shen Yunfang maintained a friendly demeanor on the surface, even pouring Wang Guifen a glass of water.
"Ahem, to tell the truth, sister, I should have come to see you sooner, but our homes are far apart. I’m so busy every day taking care of kids and the household that I can’t find the time. We’ve been living in the same complex for half a year now and this is only the first time we’ve actually talked." Wang Guifen began with small talk.
"Indeed, I’ve been here for over half a year too. It’s not easy to socialize with a child to take care of. I didn’t know Sister Guifen before, and I hadn’t really settled in when my mother-in-law and father-in-law got ahead of me. I’ve heard that during my absence, Sister Guifen, you looked after my parents-in-law quite a bit, visiting them several times to keep them company. I truly appreciate it." While speaking, the smile on Shen Yunfang’s face was very gentle, giving no indication of the annoyance inside her.
Wang Guifen gave an awkward smile, caught out for claiming she had no time to visit only to be exposed for finding time to keep the elderly couple company. Luckily for her, she had thick skin and quickly composed herself, mentally discarding the previous topic and moving on to a new one.
"Ah, Yunfang, speaking of which, let me be a bit bold and say a few words to you. Now that you’re married to Li Hongjun, you should treat his parents as your own and show them the same respect. We’re both military wives. Aside from representing our husbands’ honor, we represent the image of the military. We can’t tarnish that image by being disrespectful daughters-in-law," Wang Guifen preached, believing herself to be on the side of righteousness, thus her tone carried a hint of scolding.
This time, Shen Yunfang wasn’t angry and continued smiling, simply listening to her, curious about what else she might say.
"You have no idea, when your in-laws came here, they looked so pitiable. Such an old age and still bowing and scraping to borrow money from others—I, as an outsider, couldn’t bear to watch," Wang Guifen lamented, clicking her tongue continuously as if the situation was real.
