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Chapter 613: Chapter 603 Paying Homage to the Mountain Peak
As the head of the household had spoken, Shen Yunfang, the temporary housewife, should have immediately acted upon his words, but having just moved here, everything wasn’t quite to her liking. Therefore, the next day, Shen Yunfang didn’t go anywhere, but instead stayed home with her two little ones, laughing and romping around while she busied herself with washing and wiping, making every effort to tidy up the house to her satisfaction under the existing conditions.
Once Shen Yunfang and her children had the house tidied up, she finally had the chance to go out and explore the provincial city, looking for furniture factories where she could find large pieces of furniture. Just then, their home welcomed a group of military spouses stopping by for a visit.
"Who might you be?" Shen Yunfang had just finished getting ready to take her children out when she heard someone knocking. She opened the door and saw several women she did not recognize standing at the doorstep.
"You must be Commander Li’s wife. Hello, hello, our husbands are all battalion commanders under the Second Regiment. We’ve come over today to introduce ourselves, since from now on, we’ll be comrades in the same trench, so to speak. It wouldn’t do for us to meet and not recognize each other, would it?" An older woman said with a broad, friendly smile.
Shen Yunfang immediately understood: these were the wives of the battalion commanders under Li Hongjun. They had come to pay their respects.
"Oh, please come in, please come in. I’m so sorry, I’ve just recently moved in, and the house is still a bit of a mess. I haven’t had the chance to go out and socialize, so it’s really kind of you to come see me." Shen Yunfang warmly opened the door wide to let everyone in.
"You’re too kind. We all know you’ve just moved in and must be busy setting up your home. That’s why we waited a few days before coming to see you. Just don’t mind us for dropping by uninvited." Another thin woman spoke up in a high, sharp voice. "Oh, you’ve got a big TV too?"
"How could I mind? I’m really glad you’ve come. It’s just that the house is still quite bare. I’ve been so busy cleaning these past few days that I haven’t had a chance to add anything else. There’s nowhere for everyone to sit; I’m so embarrassed." Shen Yunfang pretended not to hear her latter comment. She feigned going to the balcony but in reality, pulled out a few small stools from another room, placing them in the living room for everyone to sit down.
Indeed, there weren’t many places for all these people to sit in her current home. The small living room only had a coffee table and two old-fashioned wooden chairs, so with so many guests, they would have to make do with sitting on small stools.
The furniture she brought from the Capital was limited; the color television was probably the most valuable item. Originally, she hadn’t wanted to bring it along, thinking it would be better to buy a new one if they felt like watching TV after moving. However, Li Hongjun felt that would be wasteful. They’d be returning to the Capital only for a few days during winter and summer holidays, and leaving the TV there would just gather dust – too wasteful. So, they moved the color TV with them.
She had made a cover for her color TV at home, so from the outside, one could only see its size, it wasn’t clear whether it was black-and-white or color.
"Are those your two kids? Sister, you sure know how to raise children," a young woman gushed, admiring the siblings who were carefully bringing glasses of boiled water for the guests.
"Ha ha, it’s not as good as you say. You haven’t seen them when they are naughty," Shen Yunfang modestly replied, "Pangpang, Manman, say hello."
"Hello, Auntie," Both children were not at all shy; when their mother told them to greet someone, they stood up and did so confidently.
"Oh, how adorable, I almost wish I could take them home with me," the same young woman exclaimed a bit exaggeratedly.
Shen Yunfang didn’t respond, mainly because she wasn’t sure of the purpose behind the woman’s praises. It wasn’t that Shen Yunfang was being overly suspicious; usually, during a visit, it’s normal to compliment each other’s children, but it’s also common to stop at a certain point. There was something about this woman, who started praising the children as soon as she sat down and didn’t seem to stop, that made Shen Yunfang doubt there weren’t any ulterior motives behind her words.
"Pangpang, Manman, Mommy is going to talk with the aunties, why don’t you take Taxue inside and play?" Shen Yunfang said, pointing to Taxue who was spinning in circles, trying to get closer.
The two children obediently called Taxue and then, hand in hand, they went inside to play. 𝑛𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝘤𝑜𝘮
"Your kids are really well-behaved," the young woman complimented again.
"Not at all, it’s just that their dad is strict," Shen Yunfang mentioned casually.
"Feifeng, you’re just pregnant, so you think everyone else’s kids are nice. Wait till you have your own and you’ll know," another woman laughed and teased. "Then you’ll wish you could stuff them back into your belly."
Only then did Shen Yunfang realize that the young woman was newly pregnant. That explained why she had said those things—it was just an overflow of motherly emotions. She chided herself for overthinking.
Afterwards, the older woman who had started the conversation made basic introductions for everyone. There were five military spouses who had come over this year. The one who had been talking was the wife of the battalion commander of the second regiment, third battalion—her name was Gan Xiuying. She was from the countryside and had been a women’s director back in her hometown, so she was quite good with words and liked to be involved in things. She was the one who initiated today’s visit to see the regiment commander’s spouse.
The lean woman with the shrill voice was the wife of the deputy battalion commander of the second regiment, second battalion; her name was Zhou Hua and she also came from the countryside. She had immediately noticed their color TV upon entering.
The young woman was the wife of the company commander from the third battalion, third company of the second regiment. She had just gotten married not long ago and her name was Wang Feifeng. She came from the countryside too, but her father was the village head, which made her a second-generation official. She had studied up to high school and failed the college entrance exams twice before getting married.
Another woman, slightly shorter, was the wife of the battalion commander from the first battalion of the second regiment. Her name was Wang Cuihua and she was also from the countryside.
Lastly, there was a skinny and petite woman who didn’t say much upon entering and just sat there with her head down, barely noticeable. Gan Xiuying’s introduction was the only way to know she was the wife of the company commander from the first company of the second battalion. Her name was Qiao Danfeng.
Shen Yunfang smiled and greeted everyone, while secretly musing to herself that all of these visitors were from the countryside— which meant the rest must be city folks.
Her guess was confirmed in the subsequent conversation, and Shen Yunfang also detected a hint of discord among the military spouses of the military region. The spouses from different battalions tended to stick to their own groups, and even within their own battalions, there was a division between those from the countryside and those from the city. While there were conflicts, they were always kept private, never brought to the surface, which could be considered the mark of refined individuals.
Since everyone knew in advance that Shen Yunfang, the new wife of the second regiment’s commander, came from a rural background, the visitors today were these few rural ladies.
Of course, it wasn’t that the ones who didn’t come were all city folks. There were several other rural women but if they weren’t away on business outside the military region, they were busy with work and didn’t have time. So in the end, it was just these few who were free and came to visit her.
