Chapter 22

In the residential compound, everyone was shocked when they learned that Li Pandi had adopted two children.

Especially Sister Xu, who watched Li Pandi holding the two children with a beaming smile.

“Pandi, did you discuss this with Chuanzhi?”

“Sister Xu, don’t worry. Chuanzhi and I both agreed to adopt these two children. We’ve already thought it through.”

Seeing that she was serious about it, Sister Xu didn’t say anything more. The people in the compound had different opinions—some said Li Pandi was kind-hearted and couldn’t bear to see the children suffer, while others speculated that she adopted them because she couldn’t have children of her own. Regardless of what people said, it didn’t affect Li Pandi.

She wholeheartedly took care of the two children, and in return, they grew to genuinely love her.

One day, a few military wives in the compound were chatting idly, and Gu Nian joined them.

Since the school incident involving the vice principal, the administration had given the students a seven-day break to reorganize things.

While they were chatting, a loud noise of boxes being moved came from a distance, leaving everyone puzzled.

“Is a new family moving in? How come we didn’t hear about it?”

Xu Hua, the head of the women’s committee in the compound, had already received reliable information in advance.

“Yes, it’s a military spouse. You all know that Vice Battalion Commander Guo has been married for three years. This year, he finally got approval for his wife to live with him on base, so she’s moving in now.”

The others nodded in understanding. Watching for a while, one of the military wives spoke up again.

“They’ve been moving for so long, and they’re still not done. This military wife sure brought a lot of stuff.”

“Yes, I saw her bringing at least three big suitcases.”

Everyone chatted about the newcomer for a while before going back home.

That evening, while having dinner, Jiang Huaijing told Gu Nian that he had to leave for a mission the next day. Originally, Vice Battalion Commander Guo was supposed to go, but since his wife had just arrived, the leadership decided to give her a few days to settle in before sending him on a mission. So instead, the task was assigned to Jiang Huaijing.

After dinner, Gu Nian packed two sets of replacement clothes for him, along with some beef jerky, biscuits, and a flask of spirit spring water for the journey.

After finishing the preparations, they went to bed together. Before dawn, Jiang Huaijing got up, making sure to move quietly so as not to wake Gu Nian.

However, as soon as he closed the door, Gu Nian woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep.

She decided to get up and steam some buns. After finishing, she packed twenty meat buns and headed out. Her first stop was Sister Xu’s house. Sister Xu was in an unusually good mood because her mother-in-law had finally been taken back by her father-in-law.

Without having to deal with her sour-faced mother-in-law, even the air seemed sweeter to Sister Xu.

“Sister Xu, I brought you some buns.”

“Oh, Gu Nian, come in and sit down.”

“No need, I still have to drop some off at Pandi’s house. I’ll just leave these here and head out.”

“Wait a moment.”

Sister Xu looked at the large buns, each about the size of a fist. Gu Nian had generously brought ten of them, showing how kind-hearted she was.

In return, Sister Xu gave Gu Nian twenty salted duck eggs from her homemade stash. Gu Nian didn’t refuse, as they had always exchanged gifts like this.

Carrying the salted duck eggs, Gu Nian made her way to Li Pandi’s house. Before even stepping inside, she heard a sharp female voice coming from the courtyard.

“Li Pandi, your sons got my new dress dirty! What are you going to do about it?”

“I’m really sorry. How about I wash it for you?”

“Do you think it can still be cleaned? This dress cost me over a hundred yuan! You have to compensate me—just give me a hundred yuan, and we’ll call it even.”

“But… I don’t have a hundred yuan.”

“I don’t care! If you don’t pay me, I’ll make your two sons kneel down and apologize!”

Hearing this, Gu Nian stepped into the courtyard and looked at the woman. This was Vice Battalion Commander Guo’s wife—Sun Qiaoqiao.

“Comrade, your dress only has two small mud stains. Once it dries, you can just brush them off.”

“Who are you? I don’t care! If I don’t get my hundred yuan today, I’m not leaving.”

Sun Qiaoqiao was quite good-looking, but unfortunately, she didn’t have much common sense. Everyone in the compound knew Vice Battalion Commander Guo, and causing a scene like this was embarrassing for him.

“We don’t have a hundred yuan. If you want to make a fuss, go ahead.”

Gu Nian pulled Li Pandi inside the house. The two children had already admitted their mistake—they had been playing with mud when Sun Qiaoqiao approached them to ask for directions, and some mud accidentally got on her dress. Knowing these kids were well-behaved, Li Pandi didn’t blame them.

Gu Nian handed out the meat buns she brought to the children and to Li Pandi’s little daughter.

“Gu Nian, are you sure we should just leave her outside like that?”

“It’s fine. Give it ten minutes—she’ll leave.”

And Gu Nian was right. In less than ten minutes, Sun Qiaoqiao stormed off.

She was a spoiled city girl, used to being pampered. She had never been treated like this before, so she went back to get reinforcements—her husband, Vice Battalion Commander Guo.

“She’s gone, Gu Nian! You’re amazing.”

“Alright, I’ve delivered the buns, so I’ll head back now.”

“Oh, by the way, since you’re here, I don’t have to make a separate trip. I want to enroll Da Hu and Xiao Hu in school. How do I register them?”

“That’s easy. I can enroll them directly. You just need to take them to school.”

“Great!”

Gu Nian admired Li Pandi for being so open-minded—not only did she adopt the children, but she was also determined to send them to school.

Three days had passed since Jiang Huaijing left for his mission. During this time, Gu Nian stayed home, experimenting with new dishes and reading books.

The national college entrance exam was about to be reinstated, and Gu Nian was planning to take the test. She also wanted to bring her parents back at that time.

Song Youyou had told her that her parents were doing well in the village, and Jiang Dashan had promised to take good care of them.

Just then, she heard a voice calling outside.

“Gu Nian, are you home?”

“What’s up, Sister Xu?”

“Sun Qiaoqiao is threatening to jump into the river! She says it’s because you and Li Pandi bullied her. Come with me to take a look.”

Gu Nian was speechless. All of this over a dress? Was it really necessary to go this far?

Still, a life was at stake, so she decided to go check it out.

At the riverbank, Sun Qiaoqiao was crying loudly, still ranting about how Li Pandi’s children had dirtied her dress.

The other military wives looked on, unimpressed. It was just a bit of dirt—it could be washed off. It wasn’t like the dress was ruined.

From the moment she arrived, everyone had already sized Sun Qiaoqiao up. With her expensive watch, delicate dress, and high heels, she clearly didn’t belong in their world.

But the truth was, this wasn’t really about the dress—it was about Vice Battalion Commander Guo’s attitude.

He had told her not to blow things out of proportion, saying that everyone in the compound was kind and reasonable.

The implication was clear—she was the one being unreasonable.

Sun Qiaoqiao had only married him because of pressure from her parents. Now that even her husband wasn’t taking her side, she was furious.

Someone had already gone to call Vice Battalion Commander Guo.

As soon as he arrived, Sun Qiaoqiao clenched her teeth—then jumped into the river.