Chapter 14 – Rumors in the Family Compound

“Deputy Captain Lu, don’t be so polite. From now on, we’ll be neighbors. Since your home hasn’t been organized yet, why don’t you come eat dinner at our place tonight?”

Auntie Yang’s son was Colonel Yang, Lu Fengnian’s direct superior. The two of them had a good relationship, and this house was actually secured for Lu Fengnian thanks to Colonel Yang pulling strings with logistics.

“That’s alright, we’ll just eat at the mess hall,” Lu Fengnian politely declined Auntie Yang’s invitation. The Yang family didn’t have an easy life either—Colonel Yang and his wife had five sons, and the entire family of eight lived off the colonel’s allowance.

“Alright then. If you need any help in the future, don’t hesitate to call me! I’m going to check on my vegetable patch. You carry on.”

As more and more military families had moved in, the vegetable supply was no longer sufficient. The base leadership had designated a flat area in the mountains where everyone could cultivate land for vegetables.

Each household in the family compound was assigned a small vegetable plot. As long as one worked diligently, they wouldn’t run out of greens.

Auntie Yang was the most hardworking person in the compound. Not only did she manage her own plot well, but she also planted sweet potatoes and potatoes in unused plots. She spent almost every day out in the fields.

Inside the house, Liu Shuning was sorting through everything they had bought that day. The storage room was empty, so she could only place the items directly on the floor.

She placed the quilts, cotton-padded clothes, fabric, and flour—all items easily affected by dampness—on a stool. The rest she just stacked into the corners.

“Wife, why did you buy so many quilts? Didn’t you already have some mailed over?” Lu Fengnian touched one of the thick, newly bought quilts and couldn’t help but marvel at how wealthy his wife must be. A quilt this thick wouldn’t cost less than twenty yuan.

“I’m really afraid of the cold. The ones I had before were too thin. If I don’t buy a couple of thick ones, I might freeze to death in the northeast.”

In her past life, Liu Shuning was a girl from the south—she’d never even seen snow before.

“It really does get cold here in the northeast. In a few days, I’ll figure out how to buy some charcoal. We moved a bit late this year, so there wasn’t time to go up the mountain to chop firewood.”

Lu Fengnian was a true northeasterner and knew how unbearable winter could be without firewood.

“Can I borrow one of the base’s vehicles? I want to take a trip to Harbin in a couple of days to scavenge for some secondhand furniture.”

“When exactly are you going? I’ll have Monkey go with you. I probably won’t be able to accompany you since I have a mission the day after tomorrow.” Lu Fengnian felt a bit guilty—he had just brought his wife to the base, and now he already had to leave for duty.

Liu Shuning didn’t want anyone to go with her in the first place. She wasn’t seriously looking for used furniture in Harbin anyway. Anything decent would’ve long been snatched up.

Her real plan was to drive around, and then secretly take furniture out of her storage space on the way back.

“Monkey might not be free. Why don’t you just help me borrow the car? I’ll go on my own.”

“I don’t feel comfortable letting you go alone. Monkey is one of my men. I’ll just give him a day off to accompany you.” Lu Fengnian had a good relationship with Monkey and often gave him leftover ration tickets in the past.

That’s why he didn’t hesitate to order Monkey around. If it weren’t inconvenient, he’d want Monkey to come over daily and help his wife with heavy chores.

“Alright then.”

“Check-in.”

【Check-in successful. Host has received: 10 boxes of laundry soap, 10 boxes of bath soap, 10 bottles of shampoo, and 10 bottles of body wash.】

Today’s check-in rewards were all hygiene items. Not bad at all.

“Mama, let’s go out and play!” Ruibao threw his tin frog toy onto the bed and pulled Liu Shuning outside.

“But we’re not familiar with the area. What if we get lost and can’t find our way back?” Liu Shuning didn’t really want to go out. She felt that the way people looked at her outside was a little strange.

“Mama, it’s fun outside!”

Seeing how insistent Ruibao was, Liu Shuning had no choice but to agree to take him out.

As soon as they stepped downstairs, they ran into an auntie doing some cleaning.

“Oh, heading out?” Auntie Wang greeted them warmly.

“Yes, the child couldn’t sit still indoors and insisted on going out to play.” Liu Shuning was socially anxious and had trouble adapting to Auntie Wang’s enthusiastic demeanor.

“There’s a small training ground over at the family compound. All the kids from the compound play there. You can take him there,” said Auntie Wang as she pointed toward the direction of the compound. “Just go out this way, turn left, walk to the end, and then turn right. You’ll see it.”

“Thank you so much, Auntie. I’m still unfamiliar with the area since we just got here. Oh, by the way, where do people usually go to buy vegetables?”

Liu Shuning didn’t like the food at the base canteen. She preferred to cook for herself.

Food in the northeast was always stewed in one big pot, which was hard for someone pampered like Liu Shuning to get used to.

“It’s too late today, but if you want to buy vegetables, go early tomorrow to the base’s supply shop. It’s right next to the canteen.”

“Thanks, Auntie. I honestly feel so clueless since arriving. We’ll be on our way now. Ruibao, say goodbye to Grandma.”

Liu Shuning originally wanted to chat a bit longer, but Ruibao was getting impatient to play. He tugged her hand, urging her to leave.

“Goodbye, Grandma.”

“Oh, what a sweet little child!”

After leaving the guest house, Liu Shuning took Ruibao in the direction Auntie Wang had pointed out. Along the way, Ruibao acted like a cheerful little bird, looking here and there excitedly.

After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at a playground-like area where a group of four- or five-year-old children were running around playing games.

“Mom, look! There are so many kids over there!” Ruibao shouted, pointing at the sandbox ahead.

There were many two- to three-year-old kids playing in the sand. After watching for a bit, Ruibao let go of Liu Shuning’s hand and ran over to join them.

Liu Shuning stood nearby, watching closely. Seeing that Ruibao wasn’t fighting with the other kids, she gradually relaxed.

Just then, a woman around her age came over with a smile. “You’re Deputy Captain Lu’s wife, right? My husband’s also in the Third Battalion. Just call me Hu Qiufang. Aren’t you and Captain Lu newlyweds? How come your child is so big already?”

“Huh? Oh, you mean Ruibao? He’s not my son. Captain Lu and I came across him on our way back to the northeast—he had been kidnapped by traffickers.”

So that’s why people had been giving her strange looks these past few days—they all thought Ruibao was her biological child!