Chapter 9 : Family Courtyard

“Sister, this is the family compound. My house is the one on the easternmost side of the second row. Look at this house. It’s much better than the mud house in my country.”

Wang Shufen held Daya’s hand and excitedly introduced the situation of the family compound.

Next to her, Lu Fangfang looked at her curiously.

After she returned to the guesthouse and put down her old clothes, she went to the staff quarters east of the regiment headquarters with Wang Shufen.

My elder sister was right. The row of small bungalows with small courtyards in the staff quarters are indeed more beautiful than the mud houses in the countryside.

—  

“Who are these people? Did they just move in? Why have I never seen them before?”

“It seems to be the lover of Political Commissar . She just arrived today.”

“Look, one big and one small, they have two daughters. Political Commissar  doesn’t have a son yet, right? My husband is a lower-ranking official than hers, but we have two sons…”

Not far away, in front of the first row of houses, there were several women holding children, looking at Wang Shufen and her friends curiously.

Following the breeze, Lu Fangfang vaguely heard the discussions of several people.

She turned her head and saw three women in the distance, all holding children in their arms.

The one at the edge, wearing a blue floral cotton jacket, was holding one in her arms, holding another by the hand, and there was another one sitting on the ground not far from her.

“…”

Lu Fangfang rubbed her eyes subconsciously.

But when she thought about this era, three children were not too many.

Seeing the curious looks from several people, she didn’t care.

Wang Shufen, who was standing next to her, was not happy. She immediately shouted, “Bah, what nonsense are you talking about? I have a son. Besides, this is my sister, not my daughter.”

Forehead…

The two sisters-in-law opposite were very embarrassed.

They held their children and immediately moved away from the woman in the blue floral cotton jacket.

After thinking about it, they still felt it was not good, so several sisters-in-law took their children and left one after another.

The woman in the blue floral cotton jacket seemed to be unaware of what was happening. She took a few steps forward with the child in her arms and asked curiously

“Well, your sister can also follow you in the army? This is not in line with the policy, right? Comrade Aiguo is the political commissar, will he agree?”

Wang Shufen: “…”

“Fuck girl!”

Wang Shufen replied unhappily and didn’t want to bother with this woman anymore. She pulled Daya and sped up.

Behind, Lu Fangfang hurriedly followed.

“Hey? Sister-in-law, why are you in such a hurry? Let’s chat for a while. My name is Yang Yufeng, what’s your name? I happen to be free, how about I go to your house to get to know you?”

Yang Yufeng held the child in her arms and took a few steps forward.

When she realized her daughter hadn’t caught up with her, she turned around and called out twice.

The little girl sat on the ground and played by herself, ignoring Yang Yufeng completely. She then stopped with regret.

“Sister-in-law, it’s getting late today. I’ll go tomorrow.”

—

“Who is this? I have never seen such a shameless person.”

Wang Shufen muttered a few words, feeling a little depressed. It was the first time she had met such a person.

When she reached the second row of bungalows, she turned right and walked straight.

She walked all the way to the house on the eastern end and then stopped.

“Sister, this is my home.”

Lu Fangfang looked around curiously.

There are a total of six bungalows in this row, and there is a small vegetable plot in front of each yard. It is cold now, so nothing has been planted in the fields.

Seeing the vegetable field, Lu Fangfang was very envious.

Just having a small vegetable garden is better than living in the countryside.

“Come on, sister, come in quickly. Tiedan was taken to take a bath by his father and he should not be back yet.”

Wang Shufen pushed open the gate.

Lu Fangfang followed in curiously.

The courtyard is not big, it looks to be about 20 to 30 square meters. The courtyard is empty and there is nothing in it.

“This house was previously occupied by the child’s father alone, and it was not tidied up. I plan to build a chicken coop and raise a few hens in the future.”

“Let’s build a sheep shed in the south and raise a few sheep. There’s grass outside our family compound, so there’s no shortage of food for the sheep…”

“By the way, I heard that the regiment encourages land reclamation. You can give some of what you grow to the regiment, and the rest is yours. There is no such good policy in the countryside. I plan to settle down and reclaim some land to grow crops.”

“I came from the countryside and I can’t do anything else except farming.”

Wang Shufen chattered on and on excitedly.

Next to them, Lu Fangfang was listening quietly.

She didn’t feel annoyed, but rather a little envious.

Listening to Wang Shufen talking about her plans for the future, she suddenly remembered a poem by Haizi, “From tomorrow on, be a happy person.”

“Feed the horses, chop wood, and travel the world.”

“I have a house facing the sea, with flowers blooming in spring.”

Wang Shufen was stunned. She scratched her ears and asked in confusion, “Sister, what are you talking about?”

Lu Fangfang said in a daze “I have a house facing the sea, with flowers blooming in spring!”

“Facing the sea, spring is in full bloom…”

Wang Shufen repeated it subconsciously, “That’s really nice to hear, but, sister, we are a million miles away from the sea.”

Lu Fangfang smiled and said, “Then let’s face the grassland, where the spring flowers are blooming.”

Beside her, Wang Shufen stared at her blankly.

The girl’s smile made Wang Shufen stunned.

After a while, she murmured, “It looks good. It looks really good. Sister, you are so pretty when you smile.”

“Sister Shufen~”

Wang Shufen came back to her senses and said quickly, “I’m not talking nonsense, sister, you have to smile more in the future.”

As she said that, she pulled Lu Fangfang into the house.

The houses in the family compound are all the same, with two rooms in each family, divided into an inner and outer room, separated by a wall in the middle.

The outhouse of Wang Shufen’s house is quite simple.

There is a square table, four chairs, and a cupboard against the north wall. In the center of the north wall, there is a portrait of the leader.

There is also an iron stove in the middle of the room.

It is early spring in the Northwest and it is full of chill. At this moment, a fire is burning in the stove.

As soon as she entered the house, Lu Fangfang immediately felt the warmth.

“Girl, sit anywhere.”

“Daya, go to the inner room and take out the scissors. Oh, and take out the mirror as well.”

Wang Shufen turned around and poured Lu Fangfang a glass of water.

When her daughter took out the scissors, she stroked Lu Fangfang’s long braids and asked regretfully, “Sister, do you really want to cut it? Don’t you regret it?”

“No regrets, sister, let’s go outside and get a haircut.”

Lu Fangfang was afraid of making the house dirty, so she took a chair, walked to the yard, and sat down.

Behind, Wang Shufen was holding a pair of scissors and cutting carefully.

“Sister, please shorten it a little bit, just below the neck.”

Lu Fangfang held a mirror in her hand and asked Wang Shufen to cut her hair short to the neck.

After finishing, she smoothed her hair a few times and felt pretty good.

Without her long braids, Lu Fangfang felt a lot more cheerful.

“What a shame, sister, you act like a tomboy.”

Next to her, Wang Shufen looked at the long braid in her hand, then looked at the girl’s new hair, and her heart was speechless.

“Mother~”

“Mother~”

Wang Shufen turned her head and saw her youngest son and the head of the family coming back. She was delighted.

“Smelly boy, run slower and don’t fall.”

Tiedan stood in the yard, mouth wide open, staring blankly at Lu Fangfang.

Aiguo noticed something was wrong with his son. He looked up and also stood there in a daze.

After a while, he looked at his lover in confusion, “Shufen, what is this?”

“You are confused, this is my sister.”

“Your sister? Which sister? A new sister? Is she also from our family compound?”

Aiguo rubbed his eyes but still couldn’t see it.

In fact, it’s not his fault. It’s mainly because Lu Fangfang has changed so much.

After taking a shower, cutting her braids, and changing into clean clothes, Lu Fangfang seemed like a different person.

At the beginning in the reception room, Aiguo didn’t pay much attention to Lu Fangfang, so it would be strange if he recognized her.

“Political Commissar , I am Lu Fangfang.” Lu Fangfang said with a smile.

“Lu…Lu Fangfang?”

Aiguo stared at her face, and gradually an impression came to his mind. “Yes, yes, you are Comrade Lu who just came today. Look at my brain.”

“But how did you become so white?”

Aiguo looked at her and still felt incredible.

Comrade Lu in the reception room in the morning was dirty and disheveled, looking like a migrant worker fleeing famine.

Comrade Lu is very different now, just like a city dweller.

“Boss, what are you talking about? My sister has always been fair.”

Wang Shufen glared at him.

Aiguo reacted and felt very embarrassed.

It’s not nice for a grown man like him to say this to an unmarried woman.

He picked up his son and walked into the house, saying, “You two can chat, you two can chat.”

“Sister, don’t worry.”

Lu Fangfang shook her head and didn’t care.

Seeing that it was getting late, she didn’t want to disturb the family reunion, so she said, “Sister Shufen, I’m sorry to bother you today. I’ll go back first.”

After saying that, she turned and was about to leave.

“Girl, braids, your braids.”

Wang Shufen took a few quick steps and handed the braid in her hand over.

She just found a thin string and tied up her cut braids, and now they are very neat.

Such a long braid can be sold for some money if taken to the commune’s purchasing point, so it cannot be wasted.