Chapter 16: The Person in Front of the Lu Family

The speaker was Comrade Niu Ailing, the wife of Political Commissar Wang.

Today, Zhang’s wife wasn’t in the mood for gossip and wasn’t very interested in her chatter.

After a while, though, she felt unsatisfied with the conversation and decided to visit a few other houses.

On the way, she ran into several other women, and with just one look, they all gathered together.

Zhao Xiaofeng, the wife of Regiment Leader Wang, was also a gossip lover. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Niu Ailing. “Sister-in-law, tell us what’s going on, why is there trouble again?”

The others also looked at Niu Ailing with eager expressions.

Surrounded by people and gazing up at her with expectant eyes, Niu Ailing finally felt a sense of satisfaction. At that moment, she was the brightest star in the crowd.

Unconsciously, she straightened her back, cleared her throat, and began speaking vividly.

“Our house is right next to the Lu family, you know. Around 5 PM this afternoon, I was out working in the yard when I heard shouting from the Lu family. I vaguely heard Lu Zhao yelling.”

At that point, she guessed it must be the Lu family’s eldest son causing trouble again.

“Then, guess what happened next?” Niu Ailing asked.

Zhao Xiaofeng excitedly waved her hands. “Did they start fighting?”

Although the Lu family often caused a commotion in the courtyard, it was always loud but never serious. There had never been a real fight.

The Lu family wasn’t in a rush, but they, the onlookers, were eager to see some action.

After all, the eldest son of the Lu family had always won these arguments without fail, and it had become repetitive. They were getting bored of it.

It would be more fun if they actually fought.

Niu Ailing grinned maliciously. “Well, they didn’t fight, but Lu Zhao ended up at the hospital again.”

“Again?” someone asked in surprise.

Niu Ailing nodded.

“Was it because of his son?” someone else asked.

Niu Ailing shook her head and then nodded. This time, she didn’t need anyone to prompt her; she continued on her own.

“When I was leaving the house, I ran into Wang Xiaoyun and her family of four. They’re all neighbors, so I went up to greet them. I saw Lu Zhao half-dead, being helped by his youngest son and stepdaughter.”

“I asked about it, and Wang Xiaoyun said Lu Zhao wasn’t feeling well and needed to go to the hospital.”

At that moment, Niu Ailing noticed that the eldest son was missing. So, she asked Wang Xiaoyun about him.

“You know what Wang Xiaoyun said?” she asked.

Zhao Xiaofeng, curious, leaned in. “What did she say? Did she say it was because of the eldest son?”

At the same time, Wei Ping’an, who was hiding behind a nearby tree, also listened curiously. He nudged Lu Si Nian’s arm. “Hey, what do you think the old woman will say?”

In contrast to Wei Ping’an’s eager expression, Lu Si Nian remained calm. He leaned against the tree, one hand in his pocket, the other playing with the button on his shirt, a nonchalant smile on his face. He glanced at Wei Ping’an, raising an eyebrow. “Want to know?”

Wei Ping’an nodded eagerly. “Yes, Lu Bro, tell me.”

Lu Si Nian leaned closer to Wei Ping’an, who instinctively moved his ear closer, waiting for the answer.

Lu Si Nian’s smile curled up, and a mischievous glint flashed in his fox-like eyes. He raised an eyebrow, enjoying the moment.

Wei Ping’an was hopeless. He never learned from his previous experiences of being tricked.

“Of course… I have no idea,” Lu Si Nian said, deliberately dragging out the words.

Before Wei Ping’an could react, Lu Si Nian quickly stepped back to his original position.

Wei Ping’an blinked in confusion. “Damn, I’ve been tricked again!”

Just as he was about to retaliate, Niu Ailing’s voice cut through the air, and Wei Ping’an immediately perked up, deciding to listen for the answer first and deal with Lu Si Nian later.

Niu Ailing sneered. “Wang Xiaoyun won’t directly say that Lu Zhao was angered by the eldest son. She’s cleverer than that.”

Niu Ailing cleared her throat, straightened her clothes, and mimicked Wang Xiaoyun’s tone from earlier, saying, “Xiaonian… he… has something to do.” She even copied the facial expression, and it was surprisingly accurate, though if the voice were softer and more delicate, it would be even more so.

Wei Ping’an couldn’t hold back his laughter. He seemed to have forgotten that Lu Si Nian had just tricked him. He moved closer to Lu Si Nian and, in a teasing manner, imitated Niu Ailing’s performance, mimicking Wang Xiaoyun’s words with an exaggeratedly flirtatious expression.

“Xiaonian… he… has something to do.” After saying it, he threw Lu Si Nian a dramatically coy glance.

Lu Si Nian, completely disgusted, almost wanted to turn around and leave to get away from the idiot. But, of course, his curiosity about what Wang Xiaoyun said next kept him from walking away.

Although he knew Wang Xiaoyun wouldn’t speak kindly of him, he still wanted to hear it. After all, he could continue to annoy her afterward!

“Are you still listening? If not, we can leave now,” he said, pretending to be uninterested and as though ready to walk away.

Wei Ping’an quickly adopted a serious expression.

Of course, he was going to listen. He had already heard part of it—there was no way he could leave without hearing the whole thing. His curiosity was driving him crazy!

“Ahem, this damn curiosity of mine!” he muttered to himself.

Niu Ailing, feeling she was in the spotlight, continued her story. “It sounds fine at first, but if you think about it, isn’t this a roundabout way of telling me that Lu Zhao’s chest pains were caused by the eldest son?”

The group fell silent for a moment, then realized it made sense.

Zhao Xiaofeng clicked her tongue. “So, Wang Xiaoyun’s no fool, huh? I actually felt sorry for her before.”

Niu Ailing sneered. “If she were really that clever, would she have managed to marry into the Lu family just under two years after that ‘previous person’ passed away?”

Zhao Xiaofeng went silent.

The others were also speechless.

Turns out, they were the fools in this situation!

A newcomer to the military camp, a young military wife named You Hongmei, who had only joined recently, asked curiously, “What exactly happened to the ‘previous person’ in the Lu family?”

The group fell silent, and Niu Ailing seemed unusually quiet.

You Hongmei, who had only been married for a year and was from the family of Deputy Regiment Leader Jiang, was about twenty-two or twenty-three, much younger than her husband by nearly ten years. She was typically spoiled and had developed a bit of a spoiled temperament.

Whenever people hesitated to talk about something, that made her even more curious.

She tugged at Niu Ailing’s sleeve, coaxing, “Sister-in-law, just tell me, okay?”

Niu Ailing, unsure about revealing details about the “previous person” of the Lu family, was about to find an excuse to brush her off when a dark voice interrupted from behind.

“Why are you so curious about a dead person’s story? What, do you want to join her underground?”

Wei Ping’an had already wanted to leave as soon as Niu Ailing mentioned the “previous person” of the Lu family. But alas, he was a moment too late.

Standing next to Lu Si Nian, he mentally lit a candle for You Hongmei.

Curiosity can really kill the cat—this wasn’t just an old saying.

It had been a long time since Lu Si Nian had gone off, but thanks to the wife of Deputy Regiment Leader Jiang, he was about to witness it again.

The group froze, and their eyes widened as they heard the familiar voice. All of them simultaneously wondered, “Why does that voice sound so familiar?”

They exchanged glances and saw their collective confusion, shock, and regret. Then, after a few seconds of silence, they reluctantly turned their heads.

When they saw Lu Si Nian standing not far from them, his face dark with anger, everyone froze.

They all exchanged looks, and in an unspoken agreement, their eyes landed squarely on You Hongmei, the one who had spoken.

If Lu Si Nian was going to hold someone accountable, it would be Deputy Regiment Leader Jiang’s household, not theirs.

Not their fault!

In perfect harmony, the group took a step back, creating some distance from You Hongmei. They were all afraid they would get caught in the crossfire.