Chapter 71.1

Near the foot of the mountain, there was a river flowing down from the peak.

The water was shallow but crystal clear. Its location was convenient; whenever the family had large items to clean, the sisters-in-law would usually take them to this spot. Besides the small square, it was the second most important gathering place in the area.

On this day, the sisters-in-law were washing clothes for the change of seasons, and when they were chatting, they inevitably talked about the hottest things recently.

“Comrade Ruan’s brother is really amazing. He can even do business with the army.”

“I heard,” said one sister-in-law with sharp, slanted eyes that made her seem formidable, “that Comrade Ruan is from a capitalist family. Her parents were sent down for re-education, and they just got rehabilitated recently.”

“Huh… how come I didn’t hear about that?”

The other sisters-in-law looked over at her curiously.

“Is that true, or are you pulling my leg?”

“I believe it’s true,” another sister-in-law paused in her work, “Just look at her, the way she carries herself… even the daughters of landlords can’t compare.”

“Oh my, how did she end up with Commander Xie then…”

Aunt Huang was scrubbing the clothes without looking up.

“So what? They were rehabilitated anyway.” She glanced at those people. “They have money and technology. They can build a factory anywhere else. They chose this place just to help us.”

As soon as she said this, the sisters-in-law who were thinking of reporting them turned red with embarrassment.

They didn’t dare say anything more and began to speak positively.

“That’s true. We should be grateful to them.”

“Yes, we have to tighten our belts every year. With four or five kids at home, living off Old Liu’s allowance is tough.”

“With this factory, we can live a good life in the future.”

“To be honest, if I can be selected as a worker, I will send all my children to school.”

…

As they chatted, the sisters-in-law started laughing again, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

“I heard the sausage factory isn’t that big, so they will definitely not let all the people from our family compound go there. I don’t know how these places are allocated.”

The sisters-in-law fell silent.

Who wouldn’t want to be a factory worker? Not only would it bring in extra money, but it would also be a respectable position.

The sister-in-law with slanted eyes gestured to the two women beside her and then called out loudly to Li Xianglan, who was not far away. “Xianglan, you’re close to Comrade Ruan. Have you heard any news?”

Li Xianglan, who was called, looked up blankly, “Huh?”

“What? I’m asking you if you know the rules for recruiting workers.”

The other military wives quietly perked up their ears.

“I… I don’t know…”

Faced with their questioning, Li Xianglan felt a bit flustered.

“You follow Comrade Ruan around every day; how could you not know?” the sister-in-law with slanted eyes said, narrowing her gaze. “You’re not trying to hide something from us, are you?”

Hearing this, the other sisters-in-law furrowed their brows.

“I…how should I know…”

Li Xianglan was at a loss when faced with her questioning.

“You follow Comrade Ruan every day, how could you not know?” The military wife looked at her with a slanted look, “Could it be that you don’t want to tell us?”

After hearing this, the sisters-in-law frowned.

“I really don’t know…”

Li Xianglan’s mother-in-law had been keeping her busy lately. She hadn’t been out for a long time and had no idea about this matter.

But the sister-in-law with slanted eyes didn’t think so.

She was sure Li Xianglan was withholding the truth, and her attitude was becoming increasingly aggressive.

“You guys have the best relationship with Comrade Ruan. I don’t believe she didn’t tip you off.”

“Exactly…”

“Will Comrade Ruan report all the people who are close to her?”

The sister-in-law with slanted eyes had a fiery temper and exploded at that remark.

She dares!”

“This is typical capitalist behavior. If she dares to do that, I’ll report her!”

The factory was only hiring a few people. If more went to Ruan Mingfu’s side, it would mean fewer for the other sisters-in-law. Who could accept that?

Upon hearing this, the other silent sisters-in-law also looked displeased.

Then, a weak voice piped up, “But that factory is built with money from her brother. Just hiring a few people is nothing. Chief Commander Gu will agree to it.”

“What brother? He’s not even a blood relative,” the sister-in-law with slanted eyes said, though her confidence was wavering. “This factory belongs to us, working people. Who says that spending money makes it theirs?”

Seeing the situation turning sour, Li Xianglan stopped washing clothes and began to gather her things to leave.

“Stop right there!”

The sister-in-law with slanted eyes blocked her path.

“If you don’t say anything today, you’re not leaving!”

Li Xianglan was on the verge of tears. “I really don’t know!”

“Who believes that? You follow her around like a lapdog. There’s no way she hasn’t told you anything!”

The sister-in-law reached for Li Xianglan, and in her panic, Li Xianglan dropped the basin, causing the clean clothes to get muddy again.

“I really don’t know! Let me go… You all let go…”

“What are you doing?!”

He Cuixiang, who had come over with clothes to wash, quickly noticed Li Xianglan surrounded by several women and stepped in to push them aside.

Li Xianglan nearly burst into tears, feeling as if she’d seen a savior upon seeing He Cuixiang.

“Cuixiang!”

“Are you bullying Xianglan?”

He Cuixiang looked at the group of sisters-in-law with a wary expression.

There are many people in the family compound, and the relationships are complicated, so it is inevitable that they will form cliques. Xie Yanzhao is the head of the regiment, and the wives of the battalion commanders and company commanders under him are naturally related to Ruan Mingfu.

“What do you mean by bullying?” The sister-in-law with slanted eyes, feeling a bit uneasy with He Cuixiang’s presence, spoke defensively. “We’re just asking her a question. How is that bullying?”

Aunt Huang shot her a glance.

“How is it not bullying? Blocking someone from leaving is still bullying!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?” The sister-in-law with slanted eyes had long been put off by Aunt Huang. “You didn’t curry favor with her before, and now it’s too late to suck up!”

Aunt Huang snorted coldly. “That’s still better than offending her to death.”

“You!”

The other sisters-in-law began to feel that Aunt Huang had a point. They tugged at the sister-in-law with slanted eyes, urging her to back down.

The sister-in-law with slanted eyes shrugged off their hands. “You all can tolerate it, but I can’t! With a factory built, we’re all going to have to rely on her goodwill to get by!”

Once she said this, the faces of the other sisters-in-law darkened.

“What nonsense are you talking about?” He Cuixiang frowned at her. “Sister-in-law already said that the factory was built by her brother. She won’t be involved.”

“That’s a nice thing to say.”

The sister-in-law with slanted eyes didn’t believe that Ruan Mingfu would not seek benefits for her own people.

“You follow her around every day, making her happy, so of course you have benefited from it, so of course you stand by her and speak for her!”

“You’re right; she’s indeed the child of a capitalist, just scheming…”

“Shut up!”

He Cuixiang could no longer listen. She picked up a wooden box from the basin that held soap pods and hurled it at the sister-in-law who had mentioned capitalism.

“I’ll let you talk nonsense and tear your mouth apart…”

“She actually dared to hit someone!”

“How dare you hit me, you little brat…”

Suddenly, several sisters-in-law began to fight, leaving Li Xianglan and Aunt Huang stunned. They rushed in to break it up, but in the chaos, they ended up getting slapped several times. Many were now red-eyed and fighting fiercely.

“Stop fighting, stop fighting!”

How could these people listen? Their hair was disheveled, and some of them had their clothes torn.

Seeing things getting out of hand, some sisters-in-law who weren’t participating quickly went to call for help.

Li Xianglan protected He Cuixiang but took several punches herself, and suddenly, everything went dark. She fell to the ground with a thud, as if someone had pressed the pause button, and the surroundings went silent.

He Cuixiang, who was wrestling with others, snapped back to reality and hurried over.

“Xianglan, Xianglan?”

“Stop screaming,” Aunt Huang pushed through the crowd, her own clothes bearing signs of being torn, “We need to get her to the hospital, quickly.”

The sister-in-law who was fighting was also confused by this scene.

Damn it, could someone have died?

She was unable to think about much at the moment, so she quickly stepped forward to lend a hand, and together with He Cuixiang, they carried the person to the hospital.

…

A few days later, Ruan Mingfu’s foot injury had mostly healed, at least enough that it didn’t stop her from moving around.

Today, everyone at home had gone out, including Mrs. Ruan, so she sat outside in the sun with Wangcai, just like a retired old man, with snacks and fruit made by Mrs. Ruan on the table.

It was so comfortable.

She swung her legs, about to lament her boring life, when Hu Wanning rushed in anxiously.

“Sister-in-law, something happened.”

Ruan Mingfu frowned and looked at her.

At the hospital, the military wives involved in the fight hadn’t left. They were still waiting outside.

He Cuixiang squatted at the entrance, looking lost and dazed. When she saw the two of them, her eyes lit up.

“Sister-in-law, you finally came.”

The other wives, seeing Ruan Mingfu, awkwardly averted their eyes.

Ruan Mingfu looked at He Cuixiang’s reddened eyes. “What happened?”

“It’s them,” He Cuixiang glared at the others. “They said…”

He Cuixiang quickly pieced together the events, and by the end, both Ruan Mingfu and Hu Wanning frowned.

“You fought over something like this?”

“Comrade Ruan, you can’t say that. This concerns all of us,” the woman with slanted eyes said, feeling a bit guilty. “I just wanted to clarify. Who knew it would escalate to a fight?”

Ruan Mingfu: “…”

She looked around at the other sisters-in-law, her frown deepening.

“Let me tell you this now,” Ruan Mingfu said, fixing her gaze on the women with a look that seemed to challenge them, “My brother won’t interfere in the recruitment matter, and neither will I. The army decides who gets recruited, so if you have any thoughts, go find them.”

“What?!”

The woman with slanted eyes was shocked.

Not just her. Everyone was taken aback.

Ruan Mingfu frowned beautifully, “Are you satisfied now?”

After the initial shock came disbelief.

The sister-in-laws began to ponder when to go to the army for verification. But they soon got their chance when personnel from the logistics department arrived to take everyone away.

At least one person was still lying down, so He Cuixiang wasn’t taken.

But she felt uneasy nonetheless.

“Sister-in-law, Xianglan won’t be in any trouble, right?”

As soon as she spoke, a doctor came out.

“It’s nothing serious. She’s just pregnant and exhausted. She just needs to rest at home for a few days, and she’ll be fine.”

He Cuixiang finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Doctor, is the baby okay?”

“It’s fine.”

“That’s great,” He Cuixiang’s face lit up with joy. “So Xianglan is going to be a mom!”

She couldn’t help but touch her own belly.

Both of them had gotten married around the same time. Li Xianglan was expecting, but she hadn’t made any progress yet.

For a moment, He Cuixiang felt a pang of sadness.

Ruan Mingfu was also taken aback by the news.

“Thank goodness nothing serious happened just now,” Hu Wanning said, feeling relieved. “Otherwise, it would have been a disaster.”

Thinking back to what had just happened, He Cuixiang felt a bit frightened.

Li Xianglan was in good health and hadn’t fainted for long. When she woke up and saw Ruan Mingfu, her eyes brightened.

“Sister-in-law.”

“Do you feel unwell?”

Li Xianglan shook her head.

“Xianglan, do you know you’re pregnant?”

“Pregnant?”

Li Xianglan reached for her belly, her expression oddly mixed—not joy, but rather… a bit of fear.

At that moment, Captain Wang rushed over.

“Xianglan, are you okay?”

Sweat was beading on his forehead in the cool autumn air, and he was panting heavily.