Chapter 44

The man’s tone was full of entitlement. When they saw who it was, Tang Wan and Zhang Hongyan exchanged glances, both with a sense of helplessness.

It was Qiu Dazao from the train.

What a coincidence.

Xiao Du awkwardly opened the window and stuck his head out to look at Qiu Dazao.

“Auntie, it’s not that I don’t want to give you a ride, but look at the car. It’s full!”

Even if he was unhappy, he couldn’t just pick up people without permission.

“Oh, so it’s okay to pick them up, but not me?”

Qiu Dazao’s voice was loud. She proudly said, “My son is called Xu Dasu, and he’s also in your army.”

“Commander Xu?”

Xiao Du was shocked again. His eyes widened. This woman was actually Commander Xu’s mother?

Why didn’t they look alike at all!

Xiao Du looked at Lu Huaijing with difficulty, “Deputy Commander Lu, this…”

Commander Xu was the Deputy Commander’s direct superior. It would be awkward to leave his mother behind.

“You know my son?”

Seeing Xiao Du’s expression, Qiu Dazao was proud. It seemed that her son was quite famous in the army.

“Yes.”

Xiao Du kept a straight face. He looked troubled. Tang Wan and Zhang Hongyan exchanged glances. Zhang Hongyan spoke first,

“Then we’ll squeeze in.”

She held Wang Shengli in her arms, leaving some space in the back. It wasn’t very spacious.

Qiu Dazao opened the car door and, without caring about anything else, sat down with a thud. She even squeezed Zhang Hongyan slightly.

Tang Wan and Zhang Hongyan: “…”

This woman was really taking advantage of the situation.

“Let’s go.”

Xiao Du secretly breathed a sigh of relief. As he started the car, he discreetly glanced at Lu Huaijing in the co-pilot’s seat.

Lu Huaijing looked straight ahead. He didn’t seem to be bothered, but his expression was slightly serious.

“This car is much more comfortable than the tractor in our village.”

Qiu Dazao touched everything, grinning, not caring about anyone else’s feelings.

“Little comrade, are you guys under my son Dasu?”

Thinking about how Lu Huaijing had rejected her on the train, Qiu Dazao pondered. If they were under her son’s command, she would have her son discipline him when they got to the army.

“Yes.”

Xiao Du saw that Lu Huaijing didn’t respond, so he awkwardly explained, “Auntie, Deputy Commander Lu was just transferred here.”

“Deputy commander?”

Qiu Dazao’s eyes lit up. So his position was lower than her son’s?

Seeing the smugness in her eyes, Tang Wan was afraid that Lu Huaijing would be unhappy. She was sitting behind him, so she gently poked his back.

“Wife, if you feel carsick, close your eyes and rest for a while.”

Lu Huaijing turned around and looked at Tang Wan with concern. Tang Wan instantly understood.

“Okay, I do feel a bit uncomfortable. I’ll close my eyes for a while. Wake me up when we arrive.”

“Okay.” Lu Huaijing also instructed Tang Zhou, who was sitting next to her, to take care of Tang Wan.

“Zhou Zhou, keep an eye on your sister.”

“Don’t worry, brother-in-law.”

Tang Zhou quickly assured him. The two of them, big and small, were taking care of Tang Wan. Qiu Dazao couldn’t stand it anymore and muttered,

“Spoiled brat!”

If she had a daughter-in-law like that, she would definitely have her son divorce her!

Unfortunately, no one paid any attention to her. Even Zhang Hongyan hugged Wang Shengli and pretended to be asleep.

After leaving the city, the car swayed and rattled as it drove towards the mountains.

At first, Tang Wan was pretending to be carsick, but then she actually fell asleep as the car bounced along.

“This is the army? Why is it so remote!”

Tang Wan was woken up by Qiu Dazao’s complaints. When she opened her eyes, she realized they had passed through many valleys.

The sentry post was in front of them. Perhaps seeing their license plate, the guard at the gate let them through.

Xiao Du and Lu Huaijing returned a military salute, and the car drove into the military base.

Xiao Du, sitting in the front, explained, “Auntie, sister-in-laws, this isn’t the actual training barracks. It’s the family compound. Everyone comes back here to rest after training.”

Even the main barracks for the soldiers weren’t here. This was just where their families lived.

“No wonder I didn’t see any soldiers.”

Qiu Dazao muttered. Tang Wan’s gaze fell on the apartment buildings in front of them.

Clothes were drying on the balconies. She thought, this must be the family housing.

However, the car didn’t stop. It continued driving inside. There were six apartment buildings like the ones they had seen before.

After passing these buildings, there were rows of small courtyards. Xiao Du parked the car in front of one of the houses.

“Auntie, this is Commander Xu’s house. I’ll knock on the door for you!”

He jumped out of the car in a flash and knocked on the courtyard door before Qiu Dazao could react.

“What’s the rush? I can do it myself.”

Qiu Dazao’s eyes darted around. She grabbed her luggage and quickly followed.

Zhang Hongyan was startled, “She’s so nervous. Could it be that Xu Dasu isn’t her son?”

“She’s not lying to us.”

Lu Huaijing, sitting in the front, suddenly spoke, “Her grandson looks a bit like her. Commander Xu just got married three months ago. His new wife is ten years younger than him. She might not be familiar with him.”

Tang Wan: !!!

Lu Huaijing saw her widen her eyes through the rearview mirror. She looked adorable. He smiled and explained,

“Commander Xu’s ex-wife was a military doctor. She died in battle last year. She left behind three children. These three children don’t get along very well with his current wife.”

This was probably why Qiu Dazao came to the army. To help take care of the children.

“Oh.”

Tang Wan and the others looked at the opposite side. Sure enough, after Xiao Du knocked on the door, several children came out.

The children saw Qiu Dazao and happily rushed into her arms. They didn’t see the commander’s new wife.

“Commander Xu’s wife is a nurse.”

Lu Huaijing saw Tang Wan’s confusion and explained. She was probably at work.

“Looking at her, that hot-tempered woman, Commander Xu’s wife is going to suffer.”

Zhang Hongyan had seen too many mothers-in-law bullying their daughters-in-law in the village. She couldn’t help but sigh.

But Lu Huaijing’s lips curled into a smile. He replied, “Maybe not.”

It seemed that the new wife wasn’t a simple person.

Just then, Xiao Du returned. He was afraid that Lu Huaijing would be angry, so he quickly explained,

“Deputy Commander, you just got promoted to the regiment level. We can’t offend Commander Xu’s mother.”

Only then did Tang Wan realize that Lu Huaijing had just been promoted to deputy commander. He hadn’t settled into this position yet, so Xiao Du’s actions were understandable.

“Let’s go.”

Lu Huaijing didn’t blame Xiao Du for taking the initiative. The car drove towards the back rows.

Tang Wan looked at the detached courtyards outside. They were made of yellow bricks and black tiles, dusty and gray. Each courtyard had a small plot of land in front of the gate.

As they came in, she had noticed that the houses with people living in them all had some vegetables planted in front.

Finally, the car stopped. Xiao Du quickly said, “Deputy Commander, two sister-in-laws, we’re here.”

He pointed to the two courtyards in front of them, “The one on the left is the political commissar’s house, and the one on the right is the deputy commander’s house.”

Both families had just been assigned family housing, so they were assigned next to each other.

“Thank you, Xiao Du.”

Zhang Hongyan, holding Wang Shengli, who was asleep, got out of the car. She was obviously in a good mood.

Tang Wan was a nice person. They would be neighbors. It was better than having someone like Qiu Dazao as a neighbor.