Chapter 61 : Cultural Person Lu Fangfang

“Pah!”  

“Li Dajun, when you get back, I’ll show you how I deal with you!”  

Gao Dajiang felt frustrated. He gripped the receiver tightly before slamming it down in anger.  

“Xiao Zhang, tell the motor pool to send two vehicles to the county train station to pick up… pick up Li Dajun.”  

“Yes, sir!”  

The guard quickly strode out.  

Gao Dajiang paced back and forth in the room, still fuming. “That bastard! He took half of our regiment’s vehicles at once. Just how much stuff did they buy?”  

“No, I have to check this out myself later.”  

By noon, Gao Dajiang put down his pen, stood up, and walked out.  

Seeing the guard following closely behind, he turned and said, “I’m heading to the family compound. No need to follow me.”  

With that, he strode off.  

—  

“Eh? Captain? What brings you here?”  

“Captain, any updates on my job situation?”  

As soon as Gao Dajiang stepped into the family compound, a group of military wives standing in front of the first-row houses spotted him.  

Immediately, they rushed over and surrounded him.  

Many of the wives in the compound had nothing to do. Aside from those taking care of children, most were unemployed due to a lack of job opportunities.  

The regiment’s base was too remote, and the only available workplaces were the regiment itself or a nearby state-owned farm.  

Even the county had few jobs, and some weren’t suitable for military wives.  

With nowhere else to go, these women spent their days chatting and sunbathing in the staff quarters.  

“It’s coming soon. I’ll inform you as soon as I hear anything.”  

At that moment, Gao Dajiang regretted coming here.  

Looking around, he wondered when that troublemaker Li Dajun would arrive.  

“Captain, isn’t Sister Shuhua in the Art Troupe? Do you think I could work there?”  

“You want to join the Art Troupe?”  

“Yes!”  

The long-faced woman nodded eagerly.  

Seeing the captain looking at her, she immediately stood at attention and flashed a big smile.  

Gao Dajiang: “…”  

Honestly, with her pigtails and a pretty pink long shirt, she didn’t look like she was in her thirties at all.  

She might even be considered good-looking in the Art Troupe.  

But looks weren’t the main criteria there.  

“Comrade Xiuhong, the Art Troupe only accepts young girls. Besides, you don’t meet the educational requirements. Maybe in a few years, your daughter can apply instead.”  

Realizing he might have been too blunt, Gao Dajiang quickly added, “Don’t worry, if there’s an opening at the neighboring farm, I’ll be sure to let you know first.”  

“Pfft!”  

The other wives burst into laughter.  

Sister Xiuhong flushed in embarrassment. “Captain, I… I’ve been studying on my own! My education level is at least high school. Please let Sister Shuhua consider it!”  

“High school?”  

Gao Dajiang glanced at Jiang Xiuhong. She wasn’t even holding a book. He doubted she had truly studied up to high school level.  

“Alright then, recite—”  

“Recite Zhuge Liang’s ‘The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital’ for me.”  

Jiang Xiuhong: “…”  

All the women around her stared in anticipation.  

—  

“Pfft! Xiuhong, come on, if you can’t recite it, just admit it!”  

The group of wives laughed.  

Jiang Xiuhong’s face turned bright red. “I… I haven’t learned that one yet…”

Gao Dajiang shook his head and ignored her.  

Looking up toward the entrance of the family compound, he suddenly spotted Lu Fangfang walking in with a basin of laundry. He quickly waved her over.  

“Comrade Lu? Come here for a moment.”  

“Me?”  

Lu Fangfang pointed at herself, a bit confused.  

She had slept in that morning and didn’t get up until almost noon. With nothing urgent to do, she had gone to the river to wash her clothes and scrub her shoes.  

“Why is this guy hanging out with a bunch of military wives?”  

She muttered to herself but still walked over.  

Gao Dajiang smiled and asked, “Comrade Lu, you once said you taught yourself everything from junior high to high school. Is that true?”  

Noticing that the military wives were all staring at her, Lu Fangfang nodded.  

In her previous life, she hadn’t attended a prestigious university, but she was still a college graduate and had no trouble understanding junior high and high school material.  

“Well then, have you learned Zhuge Liang’s ‘The Memorial to the Emperor on Leaving the Capital’?”  

At this, even Jiang Xiuhong turned to look at Lu Fangfang.  

“The late emperor passed before his great ambitions could be fulfilled. Now, the world is divided into three, and Yizhou is weakened and exhausted…”  

Without hesitation, Lu Fangfang began to recite.  

When she had first studied the piece, she had memorized it completely. Now, it was engraved in her mind, and the words flowed effortlessly.  

Jiang Xiuhong’s face turned an even deeper shade of red.  

The surrounding military wives were stunned.  

They had heard that Comrade Lu didn’t even finish elementary school. ‘But does this seem like someone who didn’t graduate from elementary school?’  

“Alright, alright! It looks like Comrade Lu truly taught herself.”  

Gao Dajiang’s eyes lit up as he waved his hand, signaling her to stop.  

It seemed he would have to discuss this with Shuhua again, Comrade Lu was really something.  

Jiang Xiuhong, embarrassed, couldn’t help but interject, “No, this doesn’t count! Maybe she only memorized this one passage!”  

Gao Dajiang glanced at her, then shook his head.  

“Comrade Lu, have you learned anything else? Recite a few more passages to convince Comrade Xiuhong.”  

Lu Fangfang looked at the long-faced woman, then at Gao Dajiang.  

After a moment of thought, she selected a few passages she remembered well and began reciting:  

“The downfall of the six kingdoms was not due to military weaknesses or lack of skill in battle, but rather their willingness to bribe the state of Qin…”  

“In the fourth year of Qingli, Teng Zijing was demoted and sent to Baling County. The following year, order was restored, the people thrived, and everything flourished…”  

“In the ninth year of Yonghe, the year of Guichou, in the late spring…”  

“Amazing… so amazing.”  

The military wives murmured in awe.  

Some of them had graduated high school but now felt a bit embarrassed. Most had forgotten the texts Lu Fangfang had just recited and wouldn’t have been able to continue even if they tried.  

Beside her, Jiang Xiuhong’s chest rose and fell sharply.  

At this moment, every sentence Lu Fangfang spoke felt like a slap to her face.  

Finally, Jiang Xiuhong could no longer bear it. She loudly started reciting:  

“We have come from all corners of the country, united by a common goal…”  

“Our cadres must care about every soldier and their families…”  

At the word “families,” Jiang Xiuhong deliberately glanced at Gao Dajiang.  

Gao Dajiang opened his mouth but didn’t dare to interrupt her.  

Lu Fangfang, having finished her recitation, simply stood quietly and listened.  

The other military wives also turned to Jiang Xiuhong, giving her their full attention.  

“…care for one another, love one another, and help one another.”  

Jiang Xiuhong felt pleased with herself, though she was slightly reluctant to finish.  

“Volume 3, page 103, second paragraph.”  

“What?”  

Jiang Xiuhong was stunned, looking at Lu Fangfang in confusion.