Chapter 20: Lazy Woman

Inside Liu Jiangang’s home.

“Sister-in-law, you’re really quite unlucky. Of all people, how did you end up living next door to Battalion Commander Gu?” Yu Juan said to Liu Jiangang’s wife, Hou Xiulan.

Hou Xiulan’s expression darkened when she heard this and replied: “What’s wrong with me becoming neighbors with Battalion Commander Gu? Battalion Commander Gu is such a good person, I’m glad to be his neighbor! Some people wouldn’t be able to be neighbors with him even if they begged for it!”

Back then, if it hadn’t been for Battalion Commander Gu, who knew if her Old Liu’s legs would still be intact.

Seeing that Hou Xiulan was getting upset, Yu Juan hurriedly said: “Sister-in-law, look at you, why are you getting angry? I didn’t mean it like that. I’m not saying Battalion Commander Gu is a bad person—it’s just that, isn’t everyone saying his wife is hard to get along with? I’m just worried that since you live so close to her, there might be some kind of conflict down the line.”

In fact, Hou Xiulan had the same concern. She had heard some things about Lin Banxia too. She didn’t know who had started the rumors, but they sounded pretty convincing.

However, in front of Yu Juan, she still said: “If something’s not proven, it’s better not to spread it. Whether a person is good or bad, you only know after you’ve really interacted with them.”

Just then, her son Goudan came running in from outside.

As he ran, he shouted: “Ma! Ma! Just now a Fairy Sister gave me two candies!”

“Fairy Sister? Who’s that?” Hou Xiulan asked curiously.

Gangdan pointed outside and said: “It’s the Fairy Sister who was standing with Uncle Gu. She’s so pretty. I’ve never seen anyone so pretty before. Her skin is as white as paper, her eyes are as big as a donkey’s, and her mouth is as red as blood!”

Hou Xiulan was speechless. Was this silly son of hers describing a fairy or a ghost?

But if she was standing with Battalion Commander Gu, then could she be… Battalion Commander Gu’s wife?

Hou Xiulan gave Yu Juan a look, as if to say, See? Battalion Commander Gu’s wife even gave my kid candy. Doesn’t seem like a bad person at all, huh?

After thinking for a moment, Hou Xiulan picked some vegetables from her courtyard, planning to bring them over later.

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Next door, Gu Shiqing led Lin Banxia into the courtyard. Xiao Wenlei had done a pretty good job—everything was cleaned up nicely, and the bed, table, and chairs had all been set up.

This had all been arranged by Gu Shiqing. Since they would be living here right away, everything had to be ready. Otherwise, they’d have to stay at the guest house, which would be a hassle.

The wardrobe hadn’t been bought yet—he had other plans for that.

Xiao Zhang helped move the luggage into the courtyard and said: “Battalion Commander, Sister-in-law, I’ll head back first then!”

“Hey, wait a second! Take this back with you to eat.” Lin Banxia called out to Xiao Zhang and shoved a beautifully packaged tin box into his hands. It was a box of premium cookies they had brought with them from Hu City.

In such hot weather, Xiao Zhang had not only driven over to pick them up, but also helped with moving their luggage—he’d been running around all day. It hadn’t been easy.

Lin Banxia wasn’t a stingy person. She didn’t go around nitpicking or scrimping, and when she gave something, she gave the good stuff.

Xiao Zhang’s sun-darkened face turned both dark and red at once. He quickly waved his hands, refusing: “Sister-in-law, no need, really. You already gave me candy.”

Gu Shiqing, standing to the side, said: “Just take it. It’s a kind gesture from your sister-in-law.”

Xiao Zhang had no choice but to accept it. He scratched his head and thanked Lin Banxia.

Hehe, his sister-in-law wasn’t just beautiful—she was generous too. Other orderlies weren’t as lucky as him; how many of them ever got such nice things? ^[1]In the army, an orderly is a soldier, usually of junior rank, who performs tasks and errands for a more senior officer.

When he went to pick up the Battalion Commander and his wife earlier today, the orderly from Battalion Commander Cao’s unit even said he was in for a hard time.

Total nonsense!

His sister-in-law was amazing.

Unbeatable!

When he got back to the dorm, he would show the cookies to the others and tell them: “These were a gift from my sister-in-law.” Let them all be jealous!

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After Xiao Zhang left, Gu Shiqing began unpacking the luggage.

The large suitcase was filled with all sorts of items—most of them practical daily necessities.

Seeing Gu Shiqing working, Lin Banxia felt bad just standing there watching, so she went over to help.

But Gu Shiqing said: “I’ve got it. You’ve been tired for so long, go take a proper rest. Or maybe take a look around and think about how you want to plan out this courtyard. Didn’t you say you wanted to build a bathroom and a toilet? Point out where you want them and I’ll go get some bricks. We can start construction tomorrow.”

The courtyard was quite spacious, but since it had nothing in it yet, it looked pretty bare. It definitely needed some thoughtful planning. Lin Banxia said: “Build the toilet here and the bathroom over there. And here—I want to put up a little pavilion. It’d be nice to sit there and read during leisure time. Very relaxing.”

“Alright.” Gu Shiqing kept everything she said in mind, then suggested: “This area’s still empty—do you want to plant some flowers? If you do, I can have someone till the soil tomorrow.”

Most people planted vegetables, but Gu Shiqing figured Lin Banxia might not want to plant those, so he suggested flowers instead.

To his surprise, Lin Banxia shook her head and said: “I don’t want to plant flowers. I want to plant medicinal herbs.”

Flowers? She had no interest in those. She wanted to grow herbs!

At the courtyard gate, Yu Juan peeked inside and fanned the flames as she whispered to Hou Xiulan: “Sister Hou, look at that. Just a moment ago you were defending her. What kind of woman just stands there watching a man work without lifting a finger? Poor Battalion Commander Gu—how did he end up marrying such a lazy woman?”

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