Chapter 16: Complaining

Because of the apology, the atmosphere at the Zhao family hasn’t been great these past two days.

Gao Xiulian didn’t stop working, but she was unhappy and couldn’t help but show Zhao Feng a sour face.

Zhao Feng noticed it and felt even more frustrated. He thought, I work so hard outside to support this family, and you can’t even help, but just add to my problems!

So, after dinner that day, he went outside, sat on a stone at the courtyard entrance, and smoked while staring at the pitch-black sea.

By the time he had smoked half a cigarette, he saw Zong Shao leading the two children out. Zhao Feng asked where they were going, and Zong Shao replied that he was taking the kids for a walk. Zhao Feng couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the sky.

In this darkness, a walk? What a load of nonsense!

He continued to smoke.

By the time he had smoked the second cigarette, Zong Shao and the children were back. This time, there was someone else with them—a woman in a floral dress. The sea breeze blew, making her skirt flutter.

Seeing this, Zhao Feng couldn’t even hold his cigarette anymore. He muttered to himself, So that’s where Zong Shao was taking the kids—to find his wife.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard Zong Shao’s voice: “Still smoking?”

Zhao Feng chuckled and replied, “Just a couple of cigarettes. What are you all doing over there?”

“Weiwei had some business to take care of, so I brought the kids to pick her up,” Zong Shao explained.

Hearing Zong Shao call her Weiwei made Zhao Feng feel a bit disgusted.

He flicked the cigarette butt onto the ground and stomped it out, saying, “Lian Lian just called me. I’m going inside now.”

Since Weiwei was a single character, close people usually referred to Lin Wei with just the name Wei, or repeated it as Weiwei, so Zong Shao calling her that didn’t feel strange to Lin Wei.

But Gao Xiulian’s name had two characters, and hearing Zhao Feng call her Lian Lian made Lin Wei feel a bit shocked.

But then she thought to herself, They are married, so although it sounds a bit cheesy, it’s a sign of a good relationship. I’m probably overreacting.

So, when they got home, Lin Wei said, “I didn’t expect Zhao Xiong and Gao Tongzhi to be so affectionate.”

“…Where did you get that idea from?” Zong Shao replied.

Lin Wei walked to the table, picked up a cup, and said, “Didn’t you hear how Zhao Xiong called Gao Tongzhi earlier?”

Zong Shao said, “I call you like that too.”

Lin Wei was taken aback for a moment and then coughed, awkwardly.

After the conversation, Zhao Feng, who was secretly feeling embarrassed, went back inside and decided to talk things over with Gao Xiulian. After all, they were a married couple, and it wasn’t good to remain cold toward each other.

However, Gao Xiulian was preoccupied with tomorrow’s visit to the military families’ resettlement office and wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. She just gave him vague responses.

Zhao Feng, a rural soldier who had made it to deputy regiment commander, wasn’t a fool. He could tell that his wife was brushing him off. He gave up trying to continue the conversation, turned over, and pulled the blanket up, ready to sleep.

But after just a few minutes, he got too hot and silently pulled the blanket off.

He couldn’t sleep well the whole night, feeling frustrated. The next morning, when he woke up, there were dark circles under his eyes.

Gao Xiulian looked about the same—her energy was low, and her face showed clear signs of fatigue. Zhao Feng looked at her, feeling soft-hearted. He called out, “Xiulian, we…”

“What?” Gao Xiulian glanced at him and frowned. “Why aren’t you out the door yet?”

Zhao Feng’s words of reconciliation were cut off before he could speak, and he awkwardly replied, “I’m leaving right now.”

Gao Xiulian gave a faint “oh” and turned to call the children to wake up.

After Gao Xiulian sent the children off and cleaned up the table, washed the dishes, and wiped down the kitchen, she checked the clock and saw it was 7:56. She hurriedly took off her apron, tidied up, and got ready to leave.

As she walked out of the front yard and turned toward the narrow path between her house and the Zong family’s house, Gao Xiulian turned her head and saw Lin Wei and her two children sitting in the courtyard, having breakfast around the table.

She didn’t know what the kids said, but Lin Wei smiled with her eyes curved. When she looked up and saw Gao Xiulian, the smile didn’t fade.

So smug!

Gao Xiulian turned her head with a heavy sigh and quickened her pace.

Lin Wei and her children walked this path, which took about seven or eight minutes to reach the military families’ resettlement office. But Gao Xiulian, feeling angry, walked faster than usual and arrived in about four or five minutes.

Once she entered the office, Gao Xiulian turned right and walked straight into the second office, asking, “What do you mean by this?”

Three people turned their heads inside the office, and the middle-aged woman standing by the desk, who had been assigning tasks, spoke first, “What’s going on here? Are you throwing a tantrum at our military families’ resettlement office?”

Gao Xiulian came in angry, but as soon as she saw who was speaking, she deflated and lowered her head, saying, “Director Luo, that’s not my intention.”

“Not your intention? Then what’s your intention?” Director Luo’s tone became impatient. “I already told you that there are only so many jobs available near the base. We were able to arrange something for you because of Zhao Feng’s long service. But you’re complaining about one job after another, and you can’t accept any of them. You come from a laboring family, yet you can’t endure a bit of hardship!”

At first, Gao Xiulian had been a little intimidated by Director Luo, but after hearing this scolding, she couldn’t take it anymore and replied, “Director Luo, you need to speak with integrity. What do you mean by saying I’m picky about work? The reason I didn’t take the jobs you offered is because they didn’t fit with my schedule! The chicken farm job starts before dawn, and the supply station is also busy in the morning. But I have three kids at home, and Zhao Feng is too busy with his regiment’s work. All the housework and taking the kids to school fall on me. If I take a job at those places, who will take care of the kids and the house?”

Of course, Gao Xiulian didn’t want to take those jobs because she thought they were beneath her. But she wasn’t stupid; she knew that if she said they were beneath her, the people at the resettlement office would criticize her. So, she pulled out the “big flag” of her family situation.

And the truth was, everyone at the resettlement office knew about her real thoughts, but no one could expose her because she really did have three children.

Even Director Luo had to tone down her impatience and said earnestly, “Comrade Gao, we understand how hard you’ve worked, but please try to understand us as well. These jobs aren’t something we can just assign with a few words. If there’s no vacancy, I can’t create a job out of thin air, can I?”

Gao Xiulian, feeling wronged, replied, “Director Luo, don’t try to fool me. Over the past year, you’ve arranged jobs for other military wives, like Teacher Huang at the elementary school, Comrade Wang at the grain station, and Comrade Sun at the market…”

“Yes, we arranged jobs for those comrades, but you should know, most of them came with their husbands earlier than you, and they registered with us earlier too. This is a new society, and everyone is equal. I can’t let you cut in line, can I? As for Teacher Huang, although she came two months later than you, her qualifications were high, and the school was short on teachers, so we made an exception for her. But her job was arranged according to the proper procedure. Do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand that Teacher Huang’s situation was special, and I understand that other military wives came earlier, but what about Lin Wei? She just arrived here two days ago, and her work has already been arranged so quickly?”

Upon hearing that Lin Wei had just arrived, Director Luo turned to the two people sitting nearby and asked, “Lin Wei? Who’s her spouse?”

“Who else could it be? It’s Zong Shao, the deputy regiment commander! Director Luo, you may not know, but Zong Shao really treasures his wife. He even took half a month off to bring her here!”

Gao Xiulian eagerly finished speaking, but when she saw Luo Shuzhi show no reaction, she deliberately raised her voice and said, “Speaking of Lin Wei, she really has good luck. She went to the island the day before yesterday, just came back yesterday to register her household, and now she’s saying her job is settled, she’s going to work at the military hospital! Tsk tsk tsk.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Shuzhi finally furrowed her brows and pointed at the short-haired woman, saying, “Come out with me.”