Chapter 45.1

The situation was extremely awkward.

They hadn’t expected Ruan Mingfu to confront them so directly, and their faces showed surprise.

The entire space seemed to fall silent. After a while, the military wives quickly began to react.

“Uh… my child is about to finish school. I need to go pick them up…”

“My… my child goes to the same school as hers, so… I’m leaving too…”

“Oh dear, I still have meat cooking on the stove!”

“Yes, yes, yes, I have to go back to cook…”

Each of the women had their own reasons, and they quickly scattered. At first, they walked briskly, but as they got further away, they practically ran, as if a ghost was chasing them.

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

Is she really that frightening?

Ruan Mingfu couldn’t help but touch her face.

It was still as smooth as ever, like a piece of tender tofu.

Only Li Xiaoyue’s mother-in-law remained, looking at Ruan Mingfu with a hint of embarrassment in her eyes as she tugged at her clothing.

“Xiaoyue is pregnant. I…I’m leaving too.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she hurried off. Soon, she was out of sight.

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

What do they mean by this?

“Sister-in-law, did you see their expressions just now? It was hilarious.” Hu Wanning said, laughing and holding her waist.

These people must have never been caught talking behind someone’s back before.

Ruan Mingfu moved her lips but ultimately said nothing.

“Sister-in-law, don’t bother with them.” Hu Wanning went over and said, “They only dare talk behind people’s backs. Just pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

“They’re just a bit gossipy, don’t let it bother you.”

When Hu Wanning first moved in, she had also been the subject of gossip.

These military wives are just idle.

With no work to do and not having to go to work like in the village, with their men away and the children in school, they’re left with nothing but idle chatter.

Ruan Mingfu’s refrigerator had been quite a sensation in the family compound, so it was no wonder people were paying attention to her.

After two or three months, everything will be fine.

“Sister-in-law, let’s go.”

Ruan Mingfu shook her head.

She just wanted to live her own life and didn’t care about what these people thought.

When she got there, Ruan Mingfu chose a piece of land for herself. Coincidentally, it was next to Hu Wanning’s house.

“This piece of land is quite good, many people are eyeing it.” Hu Wanning said in a low voice after they came out. “The previous owner took good care of it, so it will save you a lot of trouble.”

“Shall we go take a look?”

Ruan Mingfu: “Sure.”

As they were about to leave, Ruan Mingfu was called over.

“Sister-in-law, there’s a call for you.”

Ruan Mingfu was puzzled. Who could be calling her at this time?

Gu Yilin?

“Go ahead and check.” Hu Wanning thought for a moment, “I don’t mind waiting here. It won’t take too long, and I can rest a bit.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

At the same place as before, Ruan Mingfu walked over with familiarity and picked up the receiver, immediately hearing a cheerful voice.

“Comrade Ruan, do you remember who I am?”

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

She really had forgotten. After frowning and thinking for a while, she finally recalled.

“How could I forget you, Professor Hu.”

Professor Hu’s voice on the other end of the line became even more cheerful.

“Comrade Ruan has a great memory.” Professor Hu suddenly sighed, “How have you been over there these days?”

Ruan Mingfu thought for a moment and replied, “Pretty well.”

Of course, things were going well. With Xie Yanzhao around, he practically fed Ruan Mingfu himself, and she didn’t have to lift a finger. The most she worried about was when the flowers and plants in the yard would thrive.

It was going very well!

Professor Hu suddenly became serious. “Comrade Ruan, I won’t beat around the bush. The purpose of this call is to ask for your help. Don’t worry, the compensation will be very good, and I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”

Before Ruan Mingfu could respond, Professor Hu continued.

“I know you might feel awkward, but I’m really in a tight spot.”

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

She wasn’t feeling awkward at all.

Professor Hu had previously asked Ruan Mingfu to help, and the conditions were quite tempting. She was almost persuaded, but then other matters came up, so she had to decline.

“Professor Hu, just tell me what you need help with. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Professor Hu was most pleased with Ruan Mingfu’s willingness to help.

Splendid!

“It’s just that we have a translator who fell ill, and we can’t find a suitable replacement quickly. Could you come and help with the translation?”

Ruan Mingfu was a bit disappointed. “How far is it?”

Thinking about her last train experience, her interest waned.

But Professor Hu’s eyes lit up. “Not far, not far, just in the city. I’ll pick you up in the morning and bring you back in the evening.”

“That sounds perfect.”

Ruan Mingfu’s frown relaxed, and she agreed immediately. After all, the car would pick her up and drop her off, and it wouldn’t be too much trouble, plus there was good compensation.

Great.

Professor Hu also breathed a sigh of relief. “Then it’s settled. I’ll send a car for you tomorrow morning.”

After discussing the details, they hung up.

Phone calls are quite expensive these days, so it’s better to be frugal.

…

“Sister-in-law, were you waiting long?”

From a distance, Ruan Mingfu saw Hu Wanning still sitting on the bench and hurried over.

“Oh, it’s only been a few minutes.” Hu Wanning waved her hand, “Less than ten minutes.”

“That little troublemaker was finally handed over to his dad, so I need to stay out a bit longer.”

Ruan Mingfu smiled upon hearing this.

Although the little chubby boy didn’t like to talk.

But children generally have one common trait: they can be a handful. Especially mischievous children, a spanking might just make them more pitiful, and the little chubby boy, from a young age, was clever enough to play the innocent victim.

Seeing him like this, Hu Wanning couldn’t bring herself to punish him.

Today, Xu Zhu was on leave, so Hu Wanning eagerly handed the chubby child over to him and went to find Ruan Mingfu.

Hu Wanning stood up and said, “Aren’t we supposed to check out the vegetable plot? Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

It is called land, but in fact it is wasteland near the family yard, which was reclaimed by people and turned into vegetable plots.

The land allocated to each household was not large.

Yet, the military wives made full use of it, planting even a few soybean plants in the cracks and crevices.

Except for a few pieces of land that were left uncultivated, the rest were planted with a lot of vegetables.

The smell wasn’t very pleasant.

Ruan Mingfu held her breath and moved aside a bit, feeling much better.

“Everyone wants to live in apartment house,” Hu Wanning said as she walked to the edge of the field. “But honestly, I think a courtyard house is better. Not to mention the large yard in the front and back. You can grow some greens and such. Where can you grow that in an apartment?”

People relied on these plots for their vegetables, and it was never enough to eat.

Ruan Mingfu nodded in agreement.

“You’re right, Sister-in-law.”

Hu Wanning’s gentle face wore a smile, “When Old Xu wanted to choose an apartment, I gave him quite an earful.”

Seemingly recalling something amusing, her smile grew even more pronounced.

After taking a few more steps, Hu Wanning pointed to a plot of land, “This is the one allocated to you. See, the plot on the left is mine.”

Ruan Mingfu frowned, “Sister-in-law, why is there already something planted in my plot?”

The plot Hu Wanning indicated was full of green, tender little bok choy.

“This was planted by me,” Hu Wanning explained. “It seemed a pity to leave the land barren, so I planted some vegetables. If you want to grow something, just let me know, and you can pull these out.”

This was a tacit understanding among the families in the family compound.

Since the plots were too small and not enough for one family, they initially planted vegetables in any unclaimed land.

Once the land was allocated, they would just pull out the existing plants.

“No need, they’re growing well,” Ruan Mingfu said, showing no discomfort. “Besides, I haven’t decided what to plant yet.”

Given their close relationship, Hu Wanning didn’t insist.

“Alright, let me know whenever you’ve made up your mind.”

Ruan Mingfu nodded.

Actually, she hadn’t figured out what to plant yet.

The coriander that survives through winter in the south would be buried in snow here.

Apart from radishes and cabbage, she couldn’t think of anything else.

She didn’t like either of those two vegetables.

Ruan Mingfu only realized the complexity of farming after working in the countryside for a few days.

It was a headache.

While Ruan Mingfu was lost in thought, Hu Wanning squatted down and picked a bunch of bok choy. She split it in half and gave it to Ruan Mingfu, “This bok choy is at its best now. Stir-fry it with some lard, it’s especially fragrant and tender.”

She planted a lot of bok choy because it was tasty.

“Thank you, Sister-in-law.”

Ruan Mingfu didn’t hesitate to accept.

“By the way, I noticed a lot of corn over there. Can grains be planted here too?”

Following the direction she pointed, she looked over and saw a vast field of densely packed corn stretching out as far as the eye could see.

“The military doesn’t grow food, so where do they get their food from?” Hu Wanning laughed. “Not just the military, even the plots allocated to us have many wives planting grains.”

The little allowances the men received ran out halfway through the year.

Generally, people replace fine rice and flour with coarse grains to last until the end of the year. Families with more children had a tighter budget, so they had to find ways to make do.

Ruan Mingfu frowned, “Since the families are accompanying the military, doesn’t the military arrange work for them?”

“How much work can they arrange?”

No matter how many jobs were available, it couldn’t compensate for the disparity between demand and supply.

At present, unless a family was particularly poor or had many children, and was in dire straits, no work was arranged for them.

“How do they get by?”

Ruan Mingfu couldn’t imagine.

Even though the original owner of this body had endured hardships in the countryside, they had never experienced hunger. And for Ruan Mingfu, hunger was an entirely alien concept.

Hu Wanning shook her head, “Who knows.”

As they were about to head back, they suddenly heard rustling noises from the cornfield.

In the quiet and empty surroundings, it was easy to imagine something frightening.

Ruan Mingfu’s skin crawled, and she took several steps back.

“Sister-in-law, Sister-in-law…”

Hu Wanning wasn’t afraid initially but started to panic due to Ruan Mingfu’s influence.

She swallowed hard, “Don’t be scared.”

Hu Wanning focused on the area making noise, picked up a stick about the thickness of a finger from the ground, and used it to push aside the weeds.

A thin, emaciated figure appeared in front of them.

Ruan Mingfu let out a deep breath.

She was so scared she thought she had encountered a ghost in broad daylight.

“Tiezhu, what are you doing here?”

Hu Wanning clearly recognized the child.

Hearing the voice, Tiezhu looked alarmed for a moment but turned around.

Ruan Mingfu finally saw the child’s appearance.

He looked young, around five or six years old, with a frail, skinny body. He barely had two ounces of meat on him. People in this era were generally thin, with chubby ones being rare.

Ruan Mingfu didn’t mind much.

But the child was really dirty, dressed in patched clothes that looked like they were taken from someone else, looking like a little beggar.

His face was also covered in dirt, with black smudges all over.

He was completely unrecognizable.

When Tiezhu saw the two people, he nearly burst into tears. His small body shook violently, and he huddled in on himself.

“I didn’t mean to damage the collective property… I-I was just too hungry. Can you not report me?”

The thought of being kicked out made Tiezhu’s body tremble even more.