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After Xiao Zheng left for work, An Huan began unpacking the luggage she had brought with her. She sorted everything into its proper place, jotting down anything she suddenly realized was missing so she could buy it all at once later.
While she was busy with this, a loud female voice called out from outside, “Is the Deputy Division Commander Xiao’s wife home?”
An Huan quickly went out to greet them.
Standing in the Courtyard was a woman wearing a jacket made of coarse indigo homespun fabric, leading a group of other women.
The woman in the homespun jacket introduced herself, “My husband is the Chief of Staff here, Shi Weiguang. We live right across from your home.”
An Huan asked, “Then how should I address you, Sister-in-law?”
Only then did the woman remember to give her name. “Oh, I’m Zhou Meihua.”
An Huan smiled and said, “Nice to meet you, Sister-in-law Zhou.”
“Yes, yes, nice to meet you too.” Zhou Meihua hurriedly urged the women behind her to introduce themselves as well.
At that time, the gap between rural and urban areas was stark—one could tell the difference just by how people dressed. The women who followed Sister-in-law Zhou were all wearing traditional jackets with toggle buttons made of coarse cloth, their hair tied up in buns at the back of their heads—clearly from the countryside.
The women looked rather shy, nudging and pushing each other for a while before finally giggling and announcing their names one by one. After that, they all smiled warmly as they studied An Huan.
An Huan invited them in. “Sisters-in-law, come inside and have a cup of tea.”
Zhou Meihua quickly waved her hand. “No, no, we’re just here to take a look. Do you need help with anything?”
An Huan replied, “Thank you for your concern, Sisters-in-law, but I can manage everything for now.”
Zhou Meihua’s eyes lit up as she stared at An Huan’s hair. “Heavens, how did you do your hair like that?”
An Huan had styled her hair into a princess half-updo, tying up only part of it at the back while leaving the majority flowing freely. It cascaded down like black waves, smooth and soft with a natural sheen.
She was wearing a yellow dress with a delicate floral print. The entire look was both fresh and alluring.
Zhou Meihua clicked her tongue in admiration. “So pretty, really so pretty.”
Another Sister-in-law chimed in, “And so fashionable too! The Deputy Division Commander Xiao is such a rough man—how did he manage to marry such a refined young lady from the city? That’s real skill!”
Although the Sisters-in-law meant no harm, “fashionable” wasn’t exactly a compliment in this era. The novel had mentioned that the original character was especially proud of her curly hair and devoted great effort to maintaining it. Unfortunately, during a political upheaval, someone had grabbed her by the hair and shaved it all off, leaving her with a half-shaved, lopsided head.
An Huan shivered at the thought and immediately decided to go get her hair cut short.
She smiled warmly and said, “Let me explain, Sisters-in-law. I’m no refined young lady from the city. Before coming to live with the military unit, I had a job. I earned my own wages and supported myself, so I count as… a working woman too!”
One of the women was skeptical. “You look so delicate and soft—how could you be a working woman?”
An Huan replied earnestly, “Using your hands and feet is labor, and using your brain is also labor. As long as you’re doing something, that’s labor. And all labor is equal—there’s no such thing as noble or lowly work.”
The women were left feeling dizzy, their minds overwhelmed with the word “labor.” In the end, all they could remember was one impression—Deputy Division Commander Xiao’s wife was a working woman!
An Huan continued, “But, you see, I’m better with mental labor than physical labor. I’ve noticed that many families have vegetable gardens in their yards, so I’m thinking of asking you Sisters-in-law for some advice on gardening.”
Gardening vegetables? That was considered knowledge now? The women were amused by An Huan’s words. Their husbands often said they knew nothing, but they should let those men hear it—Deputy Division Commander Xiao’s wife, a university graduate, wanted to ask them for advice! Clearly, they were far from ignorant! Hmph!
The women eagerly patted their chests and spoke up:
“If you don’t understand anything, just come and ask us!”
“We grow lots of cucumbers every year, so you can come pick them anytime!”
“We have tomatoes and lettuce in my garden; I’ll bring you some!”
“My family has plenty of green onions, so don’t buy any in the future. Just come over and grab some whenever you need, since our two families live right across from each other—so convenient!”
An Huan was touched by everyone’s warmth and once again invited them inside.
Zhou Meihua waved her hand, “No need to sit down, no need to sit down. I know you must have a lot to clean up since you just moved in. We’ll be leaving now. Xiao An, you go ahead and take care of things.”
With that, Zhou Meihua signaled to the group to leave.
They had come to visit An Huan simply because they had heard that Deputy Division Commander Xiao’s wife was unusual and interesting.
After seeing her, they found not only was she beautiful, but her personality was also admirable.
“She’s really nice. Much friendlier than the wife of Commander Chen, and not as intimidating as Director Ge.”
“It’s a pity she married Deputy Division Commander Xiao… Hey, do you think Deputy Division Commander Xiao hits his wife? With her small frame, can she even take a punch?”
“That’s a tough question! We should keep an eye on her family from now on. If anything strange happens, we’ll go over right away. I don’t believe Deputy Division Commander Xiao would dare hit anyone in front of the neighbors!” Zhou Meihua said.
“Meihua, you’ve got a sharp mind!”
On the other side of the wall, An Huan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
As for the issues Zhou Meihua and the others were discussing, she wasn’t worried at all. Xiao was only a bit burly, but from her instincts, he didn’t seem like the type to be involved in domestic violence.
But no matter what, her positive image had been somewhat established.
In fact, due to An Binhua selling the factory and the company early on, the An family’s household registration indicates their status as intellectuals.
However, one could not be too careless. An Huan silently reminded herself that it didn’t matter how pretentious or extravagant she acted at home, but she must never show such behavior to the outside world!
After seeing off Zhou Meihua and the others, An Huan was about to head back inside when she noticed a head poking out from the side of the courtyard wall.
It gave her a fright!
It was the face of a young girl, who hurriedly pulled back when she realized she had been noticed.
It seemed like she had been spying.
On the other side of the wall was Yu Baoshan and Ge Hongying’s home. Their children appeared to be quite young, so the young girl was probably Ge Hongying’s sister, the one who had come earlier in the morning to bring porridge to Deputy Division Commander Xiao.
An Huan frowned. It was strange that people like Zhou Meihua and the others came openly to visit, but someone would lurk behind the wall like this, peeping. It really made her feel uncomfortable.