“Are you also from the countryside?”

Wen Ci: “Yes.”

Hearing this, a few women chuckled, feeling a bit more fond of Wen Ci. In this era, most city dwellers looked down on people from the countryside.

A few city folks had also visited the military compound’s residential area.

But after interacting with them, they found they didn’t like them as much as they enjoyed chatting with people they got along with: “Girl, your skin is so tender, do you have any secrets?”

Wen Ci shook her head: “Maybe it’s just natural beauty.”

The calluses on her hands proved that Wen Ci was a hard worker.

“Which building do you live in?”

“Uh…” Wen Ci hesitated.

She really didn’t know which building she lived in. She tried hard to recall, vaguely remembering something written on the wall, but ultimately couldn’t remember: “I can’t remember which one it is.”

“It’s okay if you can’t remember, come hang out with us often!”

The women introduced themselves. The eldest sister from the Northeast was called Zhu Jing.

The woman sitting next to Zhu Jing was named Hou Li, the one with sun-tanned skin was Xiang Qin, and the quieter one was Miao Ling.

Wen Ci smiled gently: “My name is Wen Ci. Can I call you Sister Jing, Sister Li, Sister Qin, and Sister Ling from now on?”

During their introductions, they had mentioned their ages. Wen Ci was twenty-three this year, and they were a few years older than her, so she addressed them all as “sister.”

“Wen Ci, come to my place for lunch at noon!”

After a few minutes of interaction, Zhu Jing really liked Wen Ci’s personality and decided to invite her over for lunch.

Wen Ci quickly waved her hands in refusal: “No, no, that won’t do. I’ll just eat at the military canteen at noon.”

“The canteen is expensive, cooking at home is cheaper.”

Apart from the free breakfast, lunch and dinner required payment. Many people in the residential area bought a week’s worth of groceries to keep at home, just like the canteen.

Cooking at home turned out to be cheaper than eating at the canteen.

Wen Ci hesitated for a moment, then thought that Huo Jingyuan might come back at noon. Even if he didn’t, Xue Li would come to deliver her meal.

If she wasn’t home, it wouldn’t be good.

Wen Ci said: “My husband might come back at noon.”

“He won’t be back.” Zhu Jing explained with a smile: “The men are out for field training today, they won’t be back until tomorrow at the earliest.”

Zhu Jing was one of the earliest to move into the residential area. Her husband was from Li Family Village and had served in the Northeast for several years before being transferred back recently.

She knew the fixed training schedule like the back of her hand.

Seeing Wen Ci’s hesitation, Zhu Jing pretended to be upset: “Xiao Ci, do you look down on me?”

“No,” Wen Ci replied seriously.

“Xiao Ci, you should agree to Ah Jing’s offer. Her ancestors were imperial chefs from the Northeast. We’ve all tasted her cooking, her vegetables are even more delicious than meat.”

Imperial chefs!

Wen Ci’s eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but lick her lips, thinking that if Huo Jingyuan could buy vegetables and meat from the canteen, she might as well treat everyone to a meal.

Wen Ci slowly said: “How about this, Sister Jing, Sister Li, Sister Qin, Sister Ling, I’ll treat everyone to lunch today, and Sister Jing can do the cooking, okay?”

Wen Ci made the decision: “It’s settled then, otherwise I’ll think you don’t like me and don’t want to be friends with me.”

Hearing Wen Ci’s “threat,” the women exchanged helpless smiles and finally said: “You treat today, next time it’s my turn, we’ll take turns treating.”

“Deal.”

They chatted for a while longer until Zhu Jing heard her child crying upstairs and said: “The kid’s awake, I need to take him to school.”

In this era, women generally married and had children early.

Except for Sister Ling, the others all had children old enough to attend nursery school.

Wen Ci left and headed towards the residential area’s gate. She thought that since Huo Jingyuan had asked Xue Li to deliver her lunch, Xue Li might not have gone for training. She wasn’t familiar with the canteen and would need Xue Li’s help to negotiate with the canteen’s kitchen staff for meat and vegetables.

Arriving at the guard room, the same two young men she had seen the day before were on duty. They greeted her loudly: “Hello, sister-in-law.”

“Hello,” Wen Ci waved at them and asked: “Do you know Xue Li?”

“Yes.”

Wen Ci noticed a landline phone on the guard room table and suddenly remembered there was one in her living room too. She could call Huo Li directly.

The military compound had only one internal number. No matter who called, the call would first go to the main switchboard and then be transferred to the intended recipient.

“Should we call Captain Xue for you?”

“Can you?” Wen Ci’s eyes lit up.

“Of course, we’re here to serve the sisters in the residential area.”

A minute later, the call connected: “Sister-in-law, please come in to take the call.”

Wen Ci put the receiver to her ear and heard Xue Li’s voice: “Sister-in-law, do you need something from me?”

Wen Ci said: “Xue Li, I need to ask you for a favor.”

“Sister-in-law, just say the word.”

“I want to treat a few sisters from the residential area to lunch. We plan to cook ourselves, and I was wondering if you could help me buy some meat and vegetables from the canteen kitchen.”

“Sure.”

Xue Li agreed without hesitation. He often traveled to Haishi for work and frequently helped the kitchen staff bring back supplies, so he had a good relationship with them.

Buying some vegetables and meat was a small matter.

“But…” Xue Li paused, “I still have some things to handle here, it might take about an hour and a half before I can get back.”

“That’s fine, I’ll wait for you at home.”

“Sister-in-law, what I mean is, how much meat and vegetables do you need? I can deliver them to your door later.”

Hearing this, Wen Ci moved the receiver away and glanced at the young guard, asking: “Do the children from the residential area need to come home for lunch?”

She wasn’t sure if Sister Jing’s children would be back.

“No, the school provides full-day care.”

“Thank you,” Wen Ci brought the receiver back to her ear and said: “There are only four people eating, we need ingredients for Northeastern cuisine, preferably with some big dishes. I’ll pay you back later.”

“Okay, sister-in-law.”

After hanging up, Wen Ci smiled faintly, placed the receiver back, and thanked the two guards: “Thank you, what are your names?”

“Zhang Cheng, Li Wei.”

Wen Ci repeated their names and suddenly remembered there was a box of instant noodles at home that she could give them: “Do you like instant noodles?”

“Instant noodles? The ones that cost fifty cents a pack?”

Wen Ci nodded: “Yes, I’ll give you a few packs later.”

The box of instant noodles she bought was the largest available at the store, containing fifty packs. Giving away a few wouldn’t be a problem, and Zhang Cheng and Li Wei, being young, would probably enjoy them.

Zhang Cheng swallowed hard: “Really, sister-in-law?”

Li Wei elbowed him and smiled: “Sister-in-law, we have rules, we can’t accept gifts from family members.”