Chapter 61

“Never mind if you don’t know,” Hu Wanning said, looking at her, “but we really need to get that house back quickly.”

She had seen many cases like this.

People would occupy the house for so long that they’d start treating it as their own. The authorities were often reluctant to deal with such matters, trying to avoid responsibility. Those people, taking advantage of their numbers, might even beat up the owner.

Many never got their houses back.

Of course, Ruan Mingfu understood this.

“I’ll discuss it with them in a few days.”

“A few days?”

“Are your parents coming?”

Hu Wanning was surprised, but after thinking about it, she found it normal. After all, Ruan Mingfu was their beloved daughter, raised since childhood, and they hadn’t seen her for a long time. Of course, they would be worried.

“They’ve been cleared of charges, so of course, they want to come see me.”

Ruan Mingfu was clearly pleased as she spoke of this. Although Mrs. Ruan could be a bit scary, she was a caring mother in other aspects.

She was really looking forward to their visit.

“That’s great.”

Hu Wanning felt a little envious.

“By the way, you should bring Xu Zhu over for dinner when they arrive,” Ruan Mingfu suggested after thinking for a moment. “I’ll have my mom show off her cooking skills. The soup I made last time was her recipe.”

“That’s impressive…”

Ruan Mingfu smiled proudly. “Of course, my mom’s soup-making skills are top-notch. I should ask Old Xie to buy a few more clay pots, just in case we don’t have enough.”

Since arriving in this era, she hadn’t yet had the chance to eat Mrs. Ruan’s cooking.

Honestly, she was a bit craving it…

“Speaking of clay pots, something interesting happened yesterday.”

Ruan Mingfu perked up her ears.

“You know Aunt Liu, right?”

She nodded. Aunt Liu was notorious in the military district for stirring up trouble. Who didn’t know her name?

Ruan Mingfu hadn’t had much interaction with her.

“Yesterday, Tiezhu’s father came back and smashed the pot at Aunt Liu’s house.”

Ruan Mingfu was shocked.

Oh my!

Tiezhu’s dad was brave enough to provoke such a troublemaker.

“Sister-in-law, what happened next?”

“Aunt Liu wanted to make a scene, but Tiezhu’s father grabbed her and took her to the headquarters to demand an explanation,” Hu Wanning shook her head in disdain. “Her son came out to apologize, and only then did Tiezhu’s father back off.”

They were all from the same military district and comrades-in-arms, so Tiezhu’s father didn’t want to push things too far.

But Aunt Liu had gone too far.

“What did Aunt Liu do this time?”

In the military family compound, if someone caused trouble, the women would settle it among themselves, while the men dealt with the men.

She had never heard of a man directly causing trouble with a woman.

“She’s heartless,” Hu Wanning frowned. “She bullied Tiezhu, making the poor kid work under the scorching sun all day long. From morning until night, and she didn’t even give him a bun.”

Ruan Mingfu suddenly remembered.

This must have been around the time when she encountered Tiezhu.

“When Tiezhu stopped helping her, she slapped him the other day.”

Tiezhu’s father had just returned home yesterday.

When he saw the handprint on his son’s face, he couldn’t hold back and went over to smash things.

Ruan Mingfu remarked, “That was too lenient.”

“Huh?”

“I mean Aunt Liu,” Ruan Mingfu explained, “Why just smash a pot? They should tear down her house too. Bullying such a young child—she’s horrible.”

She wasn’t human. She was worse than a wicked landlord.

“People like that should be reported to the army!”

Hu Wanning shook her head.

“Her son, like Captain Gu, is a filial son,” she continued. “But he’s reasonable. He knew what his mother did was wrong, and he sincerely apologized to everyone. Otherwise, Aunt Cai wouldn’t have tolerated living next door to her for so long.”

It was all because of her son.

Out of respect for him, everyone had put up with it.

Ruan Mingfu sighed in exasperation.

There were foolish mothers everywhere, but the military family compound had an especially high number. Aunt Liu, the old lady next door—they were all troublemakers.

“By the way,” Hu Wanning motioned toward the Gu family’s house with her lips, “Has there been any news from over there?”

Ruan Mingfu shook her head. “It’s been very quiet.”

If it weren’t for the clothes drying in the yard every day, she would have thought no one was living there anymore.

She had to admit, Father Gu was really good at handling things.

Almost without a word, he had managed to resolve the situation.

Suddenly, she remembered, “What about Li Xiaoyue? How is she doing in the hospital?”

They didn’t have much of a relationship.

Ruan Mingfu had been busy lately, and if it hadn’t just come up, she would have completely forgotten about her.

“I’m not sure,” Hu Wanning replied, feeling similarly indifferent. “I heard she hired an old lady from her ward to look after her. She’s able to get out of bed now.”

“That’s good.”

Just as they were about to continue talking, a voice suddenly came from outside the yard.

“Is Sister-in-law Ruan here?”

Ruan Mingfu looked over and saw a tall, thin man standing at the gate of the courtyard. Even though the door was open, he didn’t step inside.

“That’s Tiezhu’s dad,” Hu Wanning whispered into her ear, sensing Ruan Mingfu might not know who he was.

Her heart tightened.

Could Tiezhu’s father be here to cause trouble because she’d made Tiezhu help with work?

But she couldn’t just leave him outside.

“The door’s open, come on in.”

As they walked in, Ruan Mingfu noticed Tiezhu standing beside his father.

“Please, sit down. Are you here to see Old Xie?”

“No, no need.”

Tiezhu’s father looked older, and his clothes were heavily patched, clearly showing how hard life was for him.

“I’m here to thank you,” he said, patting Tiezhu’s small head. “I’ve been away these past few days. Thank you for looking after him. Here’s some money for the clothes, please take it.”

He opened his thick, calloused hand, revealing a handful of crumpled notes.

The smallest was a cent, and the largest was fifty cents.

Who knows how long it took him to save this money.

“There’s no need, it wasn’t anything valuable,” Ruan Mingfu sighed in relief but refused the money. “It was just a few pieces of fabric stitched together. It only took a little time. I can’t accept money for that.”

Tiezhu’s father was persistent.

“Tie Zhu already told me how well you’ve taken care of him these past few days.”

“No need to be so polite. Tiezhu even helped me with work.”

Ruan Mingfu wasn’t fond of fieldwork, but despite Tiezhu’s small size, he worked quickly and efficiently, saving her a lot of trouble.

In fact, she felt she had given him too little in return.

“What’s fair is fair.”

Tiezhu’s father glanced at his son.

Tiezhu quickly chimed in, “Thank you, Auntie.”

His face, previously covered in dirt, was now clean, and he was wearing fresh clothes. You could tell his real father had returned—Tiezhu looked like a completely different child. Apart from being a little thin, he seemed like a normal kid.

“No need to thank me, Auntie should be thanking you.”

“Sister-in-law Ruan, you really should take this money,” Tiezhu’s father insisted.

Ruan Mingfu shook her head. “I can’t. It’s just an old piece of clothing. I can’t accept your money. Please, take it back.”

“Exactly,” Hu Wanning added, “Tiezhu’s father, you should take the money back.”

Tiezhu’s father stared at the money in his hand, his dark eyes deep in thought.

After a moment, he finally withdrew his hand.

Just as Ruan Mingfu breathed a sigh of relief, Tiezhu’s father quickly placed the money on a stool, scooped up Tiezhu, and bolted out the door.

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

In the blink of an eye, Tiezhu’s father had run outside.

“Forget it, just take the money,” Hu Wanning sighed. “Life has been hard for Tiezhu’s father. Tiezhu’s mother got sick and they spent a lot of money. Most of it was borrowed, and they’ve been repaying debts for years.”

Ruan Mingfu understood now.

She had wondered why, despite the stipend he received, Tiezhu’s father was living in such poor conditions.

It turned out Tiezhu’s father was a responsible man after all.

Ruan Mingfu put the money away.

Looking at the crumpled bills, she felt a little uncomfortable. With a sigh, she thought to herself that she ought to say something good about the military in front of Qi Yangyan.

Hu Wanning whispered, “His second wife is unhappy and takes it out on Tiezhu…”

Ruan Mingfu didn’t know how to respond to that.

She was shocked.

No wonder the people in the family compound helped Tiezhu when they could but never caused trouble for his stepmother.

So there was more to this messy situation.

“There are a lot of strange things going on in the family compound,” Hu Wanning said with a smile, noticing Ruan Mingfu’s reaction. “You’ll find out more the longer you stay here. It’s not that bad, at least no one’s breaking the law.”

Ruan Mingfu nodded.

She understood. It was just like when she was an educated youth living in the countryside.

There were always disputes between neighbors—one day you’d argue with this family, the next day with another. Today, you’d be fighting like cats and dogs, but by tomorrow, you’d be back to being good friends.

“Oh, right—”

Hu Wanning was about to say something when Gu Yilin, who had just returned from a phone call, interrupted her.

“Look who I brought with me,” she said excitedly, grabbing Ruan Mingfu’s hand. “Your mother-in-law and sister-in-law are here! You should be thanking me.”

Hu Wanning’s smile instantly faded when she saw who had arrived.

Ruan Mingfu frowned too.

She saw Xie Yin, whom she had met at the trade fair, walking over with an older woman. When Xie Yin’s eyes fell on the vegetable garden in the courtyard, there was a hint of disdain.

Xie Yin looked at her and spoke rudely.

“What’s going on with you? Didn’t my brother give you money? Look at this shabby courtyard and you’re even growing vegetables. As if the Xie family needs you to save a few bucks on groceries…”

“Shut up!”

Xie Yin rolled her eyes.

The smug look on Gu Yilin’s face also disappeared.

She turned to look at Ruan Mingfu and Hu Wanning. When she saw the expressions on their faces, her heart sank.

Oh no!

Did she accidentally bring back two troublemakers?

Meanwhile, the nanny silently observed Ruan Mingfu, feeling a little more at ease. She was dressed neatly, and after living a life of privilege for over a decade, the nanny exuded an air of quiet dignity.

She was clearly a wealthy lady now—nothing like the timid young woman who had entered the Xie family twenty years ago.

With a gentle smile on her elegant face, she said, “You must be Yanzhao’s wife.”

Before Ruan Mingfu could respond, Hu Wanning calmly greeted her.

“Hello, Madam Xie.”

“So it’s you, Wanning,” the nanny’s eyes flickered slightly. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Hu Wanning didn’t spare the nanny a glance and sat down directly.

Xu Zhu’s parents had long-standing ties with the Xie family, and when Hu Wanning got married, they had even invited Commander Xie. Their families’ elders still kept in touch, so she was well aware of the sordid details surrounding the Xie family. She knew exactly how the nanny had climbed her way up in the household.

If it weren’t for the relations between the two families, Hu Wanning wouldn’t have even bothered to greet her.

She found the sight of her revolting!

The nanny clenched her teeth in frustration.

A junior daring to give her attitude? Did Hu Wanning think that her decade-long presence in the Xie family had amounted to nothing?

Before she could even plot her next move, Xie Yin, who could never tolerate the slightest disrespect, stood up abruptly.

“What do you mean by this?”

As soon as she spoke, Ruan Mingfu sat down too. She slightly tilted her head towards Xie Yin, as if to say, What can you do about it?

Gu Yilin, caught in the middle, looked left and right, then decided to sit down as well.

Now, the only ones left standing in the courtyard were the nanny and her daughter.

“You… you…” Xie Yin was furious. “My mother is an elder! How dare you all sit before she does? Do you have no manners at all?!”