Chapter 65.1

Hu Wanning, who comes from a family of teachers for three generations,If it weren’t for the close friendship between the Xu and Xie family elders, she wouldn’t have stepped foot in the Xie family’s house.

“Don’t get involved in this matter. Let Old Xie handle it himself.”

Ruan Mingfu’s understanding of how shameless the nanny could be had reached a new level.

Did this dog-man’s mother dig up the nanny’s ancestral grave in her previous life?

She had been gone for more than ten years, yet she still had to deal with such nonsense.

Suddenly, Ruan Mingfu understood him.

If she were in his shoes, she would have already bashed the nanny’s and Commander Xie’s brains out. Anything less would have been a loss!

That man was still being too conservative.

Hu Wanning placed the bottle aside and pointed at the mashed potatoes beside her, asking the little chubby boy,”Do you want to eat more?”

“Eat!”

“Sister-in-law,” Ruan Mingfu looked over in surprise. “He’s willing to talk now?”

Speaking of this, Hu Wanning’s face lit up with a smile.

“It’s all thanks to the mashed potatoes you taught me to make,” she explained. “That scoundrel, Old Xu teased him with his beloved mashed potatoes. He wouldn’t give it to him unless he said ‘Dad,’ and that’s how he finally spoke.”

Hearing his chubby son call him “Dad,” Xu Zhu was so excited he couldn’t sleep the entire night.

“He should start talking more gradually from now on.”

Curious, Ruan Mingfu poked the little boy’s chubby cheeks.

He stared back at her with big, black grape-like eyes, and though he didn’t speak, Ruan Mingfu could feel his silent disdain.

“Sister-in-law, look, is he glaring at me? Hahaha~”

Hu Wanning laughed as well.

“This kid has strong boundaries.” She glanced at him. “If I touch his toys, he won’t be happy, sulking all by himself.”

“Really?” Ruan Mingfu looked at the little boy in surprise. “He’s so small, yet has such a temper.”

The little boy turned his head, ignoring both of them.

Ruan Mingfu laughed even more. “Sister-in-law, you really know how to raise a child.”

In the military compound, most children she saw were malnourished, nothing like this fair and plump little boy.

“This guy is a neat freak and doesn’t like rolling around on the ground,” Hu Wanning’s smile deepened. “Otherwise, he’d be a little mud monkey.”

“Even if he was, he’d still be a cute one,” Ruan Mingfu took the opportunity to rub the little boy’s chubby cheeks, “Right?”

The little boy immediately buried his face into Hu Wanning’s chest, turning his back to her.

Ruan Mingfu’s vibrant face blossomed into an even brighter smile.

“Sister-in-law, look, now he’s really upset.”

Hu Wanning finished tidying up, then took out a piece of fabric from the room.

“Look at this fabric. What do you think?”

It was a fine fabric.

Smooth to the touch, with a pearly sheen, almost indistinguishable from silk.

“It’s nice,” Ruan Mingfu liked it a lot. “This fabric is too good to use for pajamas. Let’s make a skirt instead. Sister-in-law, I’ll make it for you.”

She had learned a lot of sewing techniques from Hu Waning recently, and it was time to test her skills.

“Then I won’t be polite,” Hu Waning touched the fabric. “Technology is so advanced now. They can make such great fabrics. My sister said she can send you as much as you want.”

Hu Wanning’s sister was the director of Fabric Factory No. 4 in the capital.

Buying fabric was more convenient for them than for others.

“That’s wonderful.”

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes lit up.

Lately, she has become interested in making clothes. Like the saying goes, a bad student has a lot of stationery. Ruan Mingfu enjoyed collecting various fabrics.

Her house was already piling up with them.

Hu Wanning sighed, “In recent years, her factory has been struggling. They want to transition to making clothes, but they can’t produce anything that really catches people’s eye. My sister’s worried.”

The fabric factories in the capital couldn’t compare to those in Hangzhou and the surrounding areas.

Their families had built their fortunes on fabrics.

The fabric they produced now was only enough to supply the capital, and they weren’t earning any foreign exchange. Every year, they were living off their old resources. In recent years, the government’s support has also decreased. If their profits didn’t improve, their factory would soon be shut down.

Hu Wabning’s sister’s factory was no match for the top three ahead of them.

“Times are tough everywhere.”

Ruan Mingfu thought about it.

The massive layoffs that historically happened in two decades—was that wave already starting now?

“Exactly,” Hu Wanning lowered her voice. “Did you know? Li Xiaoyue has been discharged.”

“She’s back?”

Ruan Mingfu was shocked.

It hadn’t been that long, had it?

She counted on her fingers. It had only been about twenty days.

“After all that trouble, why not take a proper recovery period?”

She had suffered massive blood loss and a torn lower body. She had barely escaped death, and now she was back. What if she ended up with permanent health issues?

Hu Wanning: “…It costs money to stay in the hospital.”

Not everyone could live without worrying about money.

Ruan Mingfu scratched her head awkwardly.

Honestly, she had completely forgotten about that.

“Sister-in-law, Captain Gu’s father is really impressive,” Ruan Mingfu genuinely admired the old man. “He managed to keep things so tightly under wraps, not a single piece of information got out.”

That’s right.

Hu Wanning nodded in agreement.

If Father Gu had arrived earlier, Li Xiaoyue might not have hurt her body so much.

“Enough talk, let’s head to your place,” Hu Waning picked up the little boy, “You mentioned finding two necklaces with nice colors last time. I want to take a look too.”

“Okay.”

….

That day, Ruan Mingfu took out the peppers that Xie Yanzhao had collected from his fellow villager’s home to dry them in the sun.

After two days of heavy rain, everything felt damp. Luckily, there was a cobblestone path in the yard, though a thick patch of grass had grown in the middle over the months. The grass was considerate enough to stay lower than the stones.

From a distance, it looked like a carpet of grass.

Because of that, even after two days of pouring rain, the yard remained clean and tidy.

The sun was shining brightly today, quickly dispersing the remaining moisture in the yard.

“Auntie, do you want me to pull the weeds today?”

Tiezhu was still skinny but looked much better than before.

For some reason, even though Tiezhu’s father was back, he still came to help her with chores. Ruan Mingfu gave him some steamed buns, and he accepted them without hesitation.

She didn’t mind.

Ruan Mingfu looked at the vegetable patch, which was completely free of any weeds, and fell silent for a moment.

“Yes!”

Gu Yilin frowned at her.

“Tiezhu, do you see that row of bok choy over there?”

Tiezhu nodded.

“Help Auntie pick out the small seedlings.”

“Okay!”

Happy to have work to do, Tiezhu ran over with enthusiasm.

“The weeds in the field have been there for three generations,” Gu Yilin chimed in with a cool tone. “And you’re still pulling them.”

Ruan Mingfu defended herself.

“What I asked him to pull are the bok choy seedlings, not weeds!”

“You’re quite something,” Gu Yilin scoffed. “Your husband gives you this task, and you’re outsourcing it to someone else.”

That was because just two days ago, Ruan Mingfu had mistakenly pulled up the bok choy, thinking they were weeds…

Thinking back to that embarrassing moment made her furious.

“Shut up!”

At that time, her plastic friend had laughed the hardest, and she hadn’t had a chance to settle the score yet.

“Watch out!”

Just as Ruan Mingfu was about to say something, Gu Yilin suddenly changed her expression and reached out to pull Ruan Mingfu aside. But the other party was too quick and pushed Ruan Mingfu to the ground.

Her pretty face was flushed with anger, and she reached out to slap the smug Xie Yin, but someone behind her held her back.