Chapter 19: Gossip

Besides, introduction letters didn’t last as long as ID cards.

Most of them were valid only for a few days to a few months, which greatly limited population mobility.

For someone like her who was visiting relatives, the time allowed was the longest.

Once the time expired, the letter was just a worthless piece of paper.

You had to get a new one.

Otherwise, you’d be sent back to your registered residence.

Wen Nian originally thought she could buy a house and legally transfer her household registration.

But after He Xiuli explained things to her, she realized that housing supply in this era was extremely tight.

There weren’t enough houses even for people to live in, let alone extra ones to sell.

Not to mention she hadn’t saved enough money yet — even if she had, there was no guarantee she could find a suitable house.

The road to buying a house was long and full of difficulties.

“Oh, by the way, have you heard?”

He Xiuli leaned in mysteriously, whispering into her ear.

“Do you know about Zhou Yunmei? Recently she’s been pestering Commander Lu a lot. Word’s spreading around the troupe that she publicly confessed her feelings but was flatly rejected by Commander Lu.”

Wen Nian was startled. Was that true?

“She’s got some nerve — she’s just a lead dancer, what’s so special about her? Does she really think every man likes her? Shameless.”

He Xiuli frowned angrily and started spilling all the details like a pouring bamboo tube without needing any prompting from Wen Nian.

Zhou Yunmei was the star of the General Political Department’s cultural troupe. Not only was she pretty, but she also came from a good family.

She received countless favors in the barracks, especially from the new recruits, who were completely infatuated with her.

The organization had introduced several men to her, but she rejected them all — unexpectedly, she had her eye on Lu Hanzheng.

Normally, military training was intense and the cultural troupe performed everywhere.

Finally, when she had the chance to see Lu Hanzheng, Zhou Yunmei grabbed the opportunity and boldly confessed.

But Lu Hanzheng didn’t spare her any face and rejected her in front of so many people.

Her admirers saw their chance again and rushed over eagerly to court her.

He Xiuli cursed without any dirty words for half an hour before her frustration eased a bit.

At first, Wen Nian thought she admired Lu Hanzheng too, but the more she listened, the more something felt off.

It turned out He Xiuli liked one of Zhou Yunmei’s suitors instead.

“With her looks? She’s not even as pretty as you. Commander Lu doesn’t even look at you, so how could he look at her?”

Wen Nian felt like she had taken a huge blow to her confidence.

That girl really had no filter.

If Wen Nian didn’t know He Xiuli’s carefree and easygoing personality, she might have thought it was a sarcastic remark.

When it came to flirting with Lu Hanzheng, Wen Nian had definitely met her first real defeat.

Back in the day, she was a star at the Shanghai Theatre Academy.

In a place full of beauties, she easily topped the charts by a wide margin.

That showed just how stunning her looks were.

Whenever she seriously tried to flirt with a man, he usually didn’t get away from her grasp.

But with Lu Hanzheng, it felt like flirting with a blind man — utterly powerless.

Wen Nian had personally experienced this kind of frustration.

But she wouldn’t give up easily; instead, she became even more determined.

Wen Nian forced a polite but awkward smile and agreed with He Xiuli, taking the chance to get more gossip.

Having been here for two months, especially after meeting He Xiuli, it became much easier to gather information.

He Xiuli was straightforward and well-liked in the compound.

She also couldn’t keep a secret.

It was rare to meet someone like Wen Nian who was a good listener and curious.

He Xiuli gave it her all and vented all the gossip she knew.

Not just about the military district compound, but also about other family compounds.

Wen Nian felt like a raccoon trapped in a melon field, with wave after wave of juicy gossip she couldn’t get enough of.

After verifying the truth of the information, she extracted the useful bits.

Even if she rarely went out, she could still keep up with the latest news.

For example, the Zheng family from the steel factory.

She heard Zheng Jia had been going on a lot of blind dates recently. It seemed the relationship with Wen Xue really hadn’t worked out.

Because she was afraid of running into people from the Wen family and the Zheng family, Wen Nian rarely went out.

She only went out when she had to pick up or drop off Jiang Wenwen.

There really wasn’t much to do for the Lu family—just preparing breakfast and dinner, taking the child to and from places, and tidying up the bathroom. That was all.

Only the first few days after arriving were hard; she was exhausted.

Now her work routine was well-organized.

She was gradually adapting to the workload.

She also realized that Lin Siyun didn’t really want to hire a nanny.

Every time Lu Binghuai urged her, she always found excuses to delay or refuse—and reasons that were hard to argue against.

But Lin Siyun was generous enough to buy her several outfits.

The clothes and shoes were good quality and reasonably stylish.

Wen Nian didn’t bother to complain.

Rice, flour, cooking oil, vegetables, melons, and fruits were all delivered punctually every morning by the quartermaster.

Most of the goods from the supply and marketing cooperative didn’t appeal to her.

Especially the clothing counter — those outdated styles were painfully ugly to her eyes.

She preferred buying fabric and taking it to a tailor, having several outfits made according to her own designs.

After dropping off the child every day, she tidied the room a little.

Then she started studying her many bottles and jars of skincare products. Even with limits on usage, the face cream was still in high demand.

When tired from research, she would take a nice, refreshing nap.

In the afternoon, she’d stroll around the compound, eat a few melons, and always come back with plenty of new gossip.

Thanks to her face cream, she had become popular in the compound—many military family members had benefited from it.

Her reputation was solid.

Her days were quite leisurely and comfortable.

Wen Nian opened the refrigerator and noticed that the quartermaster had delivered a bit too much fish and meat.

She planned to make a whole-fish feast while everything was fresh.

Since the last family banquet, Lin Siyun had been hooked on the handmade fish ball soup Wen Nian had made.

Lu Hanzheng also liked that dish.

As long as the military district supplied fish and meat, Wen Nian would have it delivered.

Carefully avoiding the fish bones, she first sliced off the fish skin to eat cold as a salad.

The fish meat was sliced thinly—half boiled in water, half steamed.

The leftover meat was made into fish balls for soup.

The fish head was cooked with chopped chili sauce, the tail steamed plain, and the fish bones fried with salt and pepper.

For the little girl, Wen Nian made caramelized sweet potatoes and stir-fried two vegetable dishes—more than enough.

Lin Siyun was the first to return home and was amazed to see the whole-fish feast on the table—full of color, aroma, and flavor.

This girl always surprised her unexpectedly.

Since Wen Nian came to the house, Lu Binghuai and his son had been coming home to eat more often.

Before, the father and son usually just grabbed a quick meal at the military canteen, often coming home late.

Now, when mealtime approached, they would practically arrive home together, back to back.

Just for that, Lin Siyun decided to buy her two more pieces of beautiful fabric.

She finally understood how much this girl loved looking good.

She changed her clothes and shoes more frequently than Lin Siyun herself.

It wasn’t that Lin Siyun didn’t want a nanny—it was just too hard to find a good one.

The excellent nannies were all tightly held by their employers and rarely appeared on the market.

Previously, she had spotted one who seemed decent in many ways.

But when it came to cooking, compared to Wen Nian, the difference was obvious.

After observing her these days, this girl’s behavior seemed quite honest.

She hadn’t done anything improper.

Lin Siyun temporarily put her worries aside.

Plus, there was the face cream she made.

Touching her recently much fairer and smoother skin, Lin Siyun was even more satisfied.

These days, Lu Binghuai and Lin Siyun had been more affectionate with each other than before.