Chapter 98: A Sacred Place

As soon as they entered, there was a small flower bed in front.

The car drove in from the right side of the flower bed, and Chen Mingchuan continued to introduce.

“This area is the family quarters. On the left are the family buildings for officers above the battalion level, and on the right is the military guest house.”

“Straight ahead is the comprehensive service area.”

“There is a kindergarten, a military service center, a military hospital, a grand auditorium, etc. The camp is straight ahead from the flower bed.”

“If you go right from here and then forward, you’ll find the cardboard factory. Many of the army wives work there.”

“Family quarters are free to roam, but the camp is off-limits.”

Chen Mingchuan’s voice was not warm, consistent with his taciturn nature.

Xiao Nan drove very slowly, as if to let Li Xinyue get a better feel for the surroundings.

Li Xinyue listened carefully and took note of everything.

The army was a place of strict discipline, and one couldn’t just wander around.

If someone mistook her for a spy and caught her, that would be a big problem!

Soon, the car made a circle and turned right.

After going up a small slope, the car entered a small road, and Li Xinyue quickly saw a row of flat houses.

The houses were built with blue bricks, but they seemed to be quite old, with moss growing on the exterior walls.

They were all flat houses, symmetrical on both sides, with five rows each, and each row seemed to have eight doors.

She guessed that each door belonged to a family.

That meant eight families lived on each row.

With five rows on each side, that meant eighty families living here?

Wow, there were so many families here!

Li Xinyue didn’t know that the a Division was a first-class division, with six regiments under its command.

A division-level unit was also fully equipped and was an independent first-class strategic division.

It had five directly subordinate battalions.

These were the reconnaissance battalion, the communications battalion, the engineering battalion, the motor battalion, and the artillery battalion.

In addition to several deputy regimental departments, it also had a division hospital, a guest house, and many other support departments.

There were over two thousand officers and soldiers in the division headquarters, and there were hundreds of cadres and old volunteers, so these family quarters were far from enough.

It was evening when they arrived at the base, and the army wives who worked had all finished their shifts.

When the car stopped at the entrance, it was a small flat building nestled against the mountain.

As soon as they got out of the car, several army wives who were picking vegetables and washing clothes at the entrance looked up.

“Battalion Commander Chen, are these your family and child?”

A woman about thirty-four or five years old spoke up.

She had an ordinary appearance, a tall and thin frame, and a slightly dark complexion.

However, it was clear that she was a warm and simple person.

Chen Mingchuan nodded to the woman, “Yes, sister-in-law.”

“This is my wife, Li Xinyue. Xin from new, Ye from leaf. We are from the same commune back home.”

“This is my son, Chen Yi Heng. Yi from standing firm, Heng from eternal. He’s four and a half years old.”

“Xinyue, this is Sister-in-law Xu Hongqin, the wife of Deputy Battalion Commander Li.”

“Yi’er, call her ‘Big Mama’ quickly.”

Chen Yiheng was very well-behaved. After Li Xinyue called her “sister-in-law,” he immediately called out sweetly, “Hello, Big Mama!”

Xu Hongqin was surprised to see the big-eyed little Yi’er, “Oh my, Battalion Commander Chen, your son is so big already?”

“I didn’t even hear you got married. You kept it a secret so well!”

“What a cute little fellow!”

“You’re called Yiyi, right? Such a beautiful name, who gave you that name?”

Chen Yi Heng, upon hearing this, looked proud, “My mom gave me the name. My mom is amazing!”

Haha!

What a cute little guy.

Xu Hongqin’s gaze fell on Li Xinyue, and she looked envious, “Xiao Li, you are so beautiful.”

“If anyone says you came from the countryside, I wouldn’t believe them!”

“Xiao Li, you’re not from the countryside, are you?”

Li Xinyue quite liked this woman’s personality. She was straightforward, enthusiastic, and her eyes were pure.

People with pure eyes usually have good character.

Since the other woman was showing her kindness, she responded in kind.

She smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, you’re flattering me.”

“I’m a genuine farmer, and I work on the production team every day.”

“I’m a full-time worker, and I get eight work points every day.”

“I’m not as good as you said, but I’m happy, thank you for the compliment!”

Xu Hongqin was truly amazed: “Goodness, I’m also from the countryside, but I can’t compare to you!”

“No, no, I just have better skin, I’m not as good as you said.”

Li Xinyue wasn’t being humble.

Her current appearance was even better than her previous one, but she was too thin.

Women, when they’re too thin, they lose their femininity. It’s better to be curvy and confident.

She had only been here for twenty-odd days, and her body hadn’t recovered yet.

But she was confident!

As the two women chatted, several other army wives came over.

Chen Mingchuan introduced them one by one, and Chen Yiheng kept calling them “Big Mama, Auntie, Aunt” non-stop…

“Oh my, this child is so well-behaved!”

“He’s so handsome, he’s truly a mini version of Camp Commander Chen!”

“You’ve raised him so well, he’s both well-behaved and generous, much better than my two little ones!”

Everyone was extremely enthusiastic, after all, it was their first meeting.

The wives, speaking in Mandarin with a local accent, seemed to have an endless supply of compliments for little Yiheng.

He was a little embarrassed by all the praise.

Xu Hongqin liked Li Xinyue.

This woman looked like a pampered young lady, but she was very capable, and she didn’t seem like someone who would be picky.

So she gave a brief introduction to the residents of the row of small houses.

“Xiao Li, my house is next door to yours, just come over if you need anything.”

“Captain Wang of the Communications Battalion lives three houses down from you, see the front door? There’s a big onion plant.”

“Living on the other side of you is Technician Sun, he’s in the same battalion as your husband, his wife is called Song Mei.”

“She works in the city’s elementary school as a logistics worker, she’s not home yet.”

Li Xinyue was grateful for Xu Hongqin’s enthusiasm: “Sister-in-law, thank you so much.”

“I’m new here and don’t know anything, I’ll need your guidance in the future!”

“Not at all! Just ask me if you don’t know anything.”

Li Xinyue’s humility made Xu Hongqin very happy: “You just got back, why don’t you stay at my place tonight?”

“I was just about to cook, we’ll just have a simple meal tonight.”

Chen Mingchuan declined: “No need, no need, we brought our own food, we’ll just heat it up.”

“We’ve been on the road for half a day, we won’t chat with you, Sister-in-law, we’ll go in.”

“Alright, alright, go in, go in.”

“The lettuce I planted in your backyard is ready to eat, go pick some and stir-fry it.”

Xu Hongqin was Li Jianshan’s childhood bride.

They had been married for almost fifteen years, and had two daughters and one son.

The eldest daughter was called Li Pingping, fourteen years old.

The second daughter was called Li Fangfang, twelve years old.

The son was called Li Tengfei, nine years old, the three siblings were all currently in school.

Xu Hongqin hadn’t been to school, but she was very diligent and a hard-working woman, she worked in a cardboard factory.

Hearing her words, Chen Mingchuan gratefully said: “Thank you, Sister-in-law, you’ve been so kind!”

Xu Hongqin immediately waved her hand: “You’re welcome, you’re welcome, it’s nothing, come over and visit anytime.”

“Okay!”