Chapter 23

“What are you two talking about here?”

Liu Meilan came over with a dry smile, took a look at the food on the carriage, and looked at Qiao Changhai in a serious manner.

“Qiao San’er, the new house has been arranged. It’s getting late, I should take the guests back.”

Qiao Changhai looked surprised: “What time is it? We haven’t even started cooking yet, why are you going back?”

Liu Meilan pretended to be polite: “Why are we still eating? The groom is not here, how can we, the bride’s family, have a good meal?”

“Aunt Meilan, the groom hasn’t come back yet, so I, the bride, can’t make the decision. I’ll go discuss with Second Aunt and see how many dishes to prepare.”

Qiao Baozhu had climbed up from the bottom of society, so how could she be criticized for her social skills? She talked to Zhang Guifen, who immediately smiled and praised Qiao Baozhu for her sensible attitude.

“Third brother, your Baozhu is so virtuous. She wants to take out the pork from her dowry and treat everyone to a wedding banquet.”

Qiao Changhai raised his honest and simple old face and smiled blushingly.

“Yes, my daughter discussed it with me. My son-in-law is out there working to protect our country, and we as family members can’t hold him back. Since everyone is here today, let’s celebrate properly and warm up the new home for the young couple.”

After saying that, Qiao Changhai called his apprentice: “Huang Xing, tell everyone to start cooking now.”

Those who came to see the bride off had never thought that they could stay for dinner, but when they heard Qiao Changhai’s words, the atmosphere suddenly became lively.

The women were divided into two groups. Fang Shan and several other female educated youth took rags and cleaned the new house inside and out, while Zhang Guifen and Liu Meilan and other older people washed the pots and dishes in preparation for cooking.

Among Qiao Changhai’s dowry was a large new iron pot. Zhang Guifen cut a piece of pig skin from the pork, added a handful of firewood to the stove, and rubbed the new pot carefully with the pig skin.

The men were also divided into two groups. Zhang Guifen’s eldest son went to chop firewood, while the younger son found stones and built an earthen stove in the yard, and put the old pot on it.

Two large pots were cooking inside and outside the house at the same time, so it wouldn’t take long for the feast to begin.

“Both pots are occupied, what are we going to use to cook?”

Zhang Guifen was standing in the yard feeling worried when she saw an old lady in the next yard peeking out to watch what was going on.

She walked over with a smile and greeted the old lady: “Old sister, what’s your name?”

When Mrs. Qian saw Zhang Guifen taking the initiative to talk to her, she walked to the fence with a smile and said, “You are Captain Shen’s second aunt, right? I saw you the day when Captain Shen was cleaning the yard. My son is Qian Ming, and he is the instructor of the second company.”

“Today is Captain Shen’s big day. I heard he’s on a mission?”

Zhang Guifen smiled and nodded: “Oh, this is just a temporary assignment from the organization. Sister, we are all military dependents, how can we not have this awareness? I will take the initiative to bring my nephew’s new wife back.”

“I’m going to heat up the pan and prepare to entertain the guests.”

Mrs. Qian is a mother-in-law herself, and when she saw that the bride, Qiao Baozhu, was so virtuous, her favorability towards her instantly reached the maximum.

“Oh, you know what, Captain Shen’s family is indeed virtuous and sensible. Sister, I see your family is preparing to cook, do you have enough bowls and chopsticks? If not, I have several sets at home.”

Zhang Guifen smiled and clapped her hands: “That’s great. A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. I won’t be polite to you, elder sister. Elder sister, I still need a pot to cook. Can I use your pot?”

Mrs. Qian waved her hand generously: “It’s nothing. We’ve already eaten. You can use it as you like!”

The young couple will inevitably have to interact with their neighbors in the future. Especially in the military family compound, interpersonal communication is more complicated.

Zhang Guifang intended to help Qiao Baozhu win over the neighbors, thinking that she would have a helper if anything happened in the future.

Zhang Guifen was not the only one who had this idea, Qiao Baozhu also thought so.

After meeting Bai Hongmei and her two children at the supply and marketing cooperative yesterday, she had prepared herself for a long-term entanglement with this kind of person. After all, he held the greater cause, so it was reasonable for him to cling to Shen Xiao for decades.

In Qiao Baozhu’s opinion, Shen Xiao is a good strategic partner. He is well-educated, discerning, and able to recognize the current situation. He is much better than Zhao Haiyang, who puts his hopes and sustenance on others.

She regarded this marriage as an investment and a transaction. If she wanted to make a profit, she had to be willing to invest in the early stage. She could accept a small profit, but if the rate of return was too low or she suffered a loss, Qiao Baozhu would withdraw her investment and leave immediately.

“What are you thinking about?”

Qiao Changhai directed Huang Xing to carry the grain into the small warehouse. He turned around and saw his daughter standing under the eaves in a daze.

“Do you think Shen Xiao’s house is too small? I think it’s small too, with only two rooms. The warehouse is still built with stones and wooden boards, but the yard is quite neatly laid out.”

When Zhang Guifen heard Qiao Changhai complaining about the small house, she hurried over and explained with a smile.

“This house is indeed small. According to Shen Xiao’s current level, he should at least be given a three-bedroom apartment.”

“But it’s a long story. When the first batch of family housing was built, the rule was to build three rooms in each courtyard. The middle room was used as a kitchen, and the east and west rooms each housed a family. There were two large kangs in the north and south of the house, so even if a family had ten or eight children, they could still accommodate them.”

“Because it was the first batch of family housing, we didn’t calculate the mud bricks well. When we got to the last yard, there were only enough mud bricks left to build two houses. It was too late to transport mud from the camp, so we could only build two rooms, and there was only one kang.”

“Later, more and more family housing was built, and the housing was allocated according to rank. Deputy battalion commanders and above could enjoy a three-room house, and company commanders and below could live in two families in one courtyard. When Shen Xiao applied for a house, he was assigned a large three-room house. The day before yesterday, a comrade’s family came with their family, a total of 9 people, including the old and the young. At that time, only this courtyard was left vacant. This small house could not accommodate them at all, so Shen Xiao showed his style and gave it up.”

“But this is also good. You two can live in peace and quiet in your own yard.”

It’s more than just quiet. In order to make up for the small size of the house, a lot of thought was put into renovating the yard.

It’s just that people of this era are practical and believe that no matter how beautiful the living environment is, it is not as practical as having more kangs.

The original owner had too many children in the family and the kang bed could no longer accommodate them. He had to move out of his own small courtyard which had both a firewood room and a storage room and a water well to live with others.

As everyone was talking, a crisp voice came from far away.

“Oh, Captain Shen’s family has moved in. Welcome the bride. I’d like to congratulate you.”

Qiao Baozhu looked up and saw a woman with a headscarf on her head, a shoulder pole on her shoulder, a navy blue coarse cloth jacket on her upper body, and Liberation shoes on her feet, walking into the yard in a hurry.

She put the carrying pole on the ground and smiled at everyone carelessly.

“I’m the sister-in-law of the front row yard No. 21. My name is Wu Meili. You can just call me Sister Wu.”

“Captain Shen usually takes good care of us. Today he is on a mission and not at home. As his sister-in-law, I have to come over to help!”

“Here is a bucket of wild duck eggs I picked up, and two wild rabbits. I’ll add some more for you. I wish you and Captain Shen a long and happy life together.”

Qiao Baozhu blushed and quickly waved her hand to decline: “Sister-in-law, I welcome you to come, but you don’t need the things.”

Shen Xiao was not at home. As a new bride who didn’t know anyone, how could she accept things from her neighbors?

As soon as Qiao Baozhu finished speaking, another burst of laughter came from outside the courtyard gate.

“Wu Meili got ahead again! Sister Wu, why are you always more active than us in everything you do?”

Several women dressed simply, some carrying shoulder poles, some carrying earthen baskets, were walking in groups of three or four. When they saw Wu Meili come in first, they greeted Qiao Baozhu with a smile.

“Hello, bride. I live in the house of Captain Song at No. 47 in the back row.”

“I’m from Room 59. My name is Zheng Xinxin, which means prosperous.”

“I am from Instructor Duan’s family. My name is Zhang Cuilian.”