AYLS – Chapter 68

When Lin Qiao returned home, the military families living nearby had already come over to congratulate her. Luckily, this time they had brought wedding candies back from the capital, and Gu Huayuan had already distributed them.

When everyone saw Lin Qiao, they all gathered around to look at her.

Especially Sister-in-law Wang—after a quick glance at Lin Qiao, she commented on how well Gu Huayuan took care of her; her face had become rounder and healthier.

Lin Qiao immediately pinched her own cheeks in surprise. “Really?” she asked.

“Yes! You’ve gained some weight, looking healthy and blessed,” Sister-in-law Wang said.

Lin Qiao: “…” She really had eaten too much. In her eagerness to indulge, she hadn’t restrained herself at all.

Knowing that the couple had just returned and would likely need to tidy up the house, everyone didn’t stay long. They said a few words and left.

Sister-in-law Wang did mention that if they didn’t have time to cook, they were welcome to eat at her place.

Gu Huayuan replied that it was no problem; with the stove in their house fired up, cooking would be convenient.

Lin Qiao nodded repeatedly. “Yes, we still need to tidy up the house. It’s a mess, and later I need to check on the chicken coop too.”

Sister-in-law Wang said, “I’ve been keeping an eye on the chicken coop for you, going there every day. Li Ermei has been working diligently and keeping things quite organized.”

“I knew Ermei was reliable,” Lin Qiao said, overjoyed.

Sister-in-law Wang reminded her, “Once you’re done tidying, go take over. Leaving work unattended for too long isn’t good.”

Lin Qiao nodded, “Mm, I’ll go over there shortly.”

After Sister-in-law Wang left, the couple got busy.

Gu Huayuan fired up the stove and heated the kang (a traditional heated bed platform), while Lin Qiao used hot water to clean every corner of the house.

Gu Huayuan said, “This afternoon, I’ll move the things from the dorm over here.”

Lin Qiao said, “Then don’t we need a large wardrobe?”

Previously, Lin Qiao had lived alone, so a small wardrobe had sufficed. But returning from the capital, she had brought many new clothes, and with Gu Huayuan moving his things over, there wouldn’t be enough space.

“I ordered a wardrobe before the new year. I’ll call them in a few days to see when it will be delivered.”

Hearing that a wardrobe had been ordered, Lin Qiao immediately asked, “Does it have a full-length mirror? I want to see my entire outfit.”

Gu Huayuan nodded, “Yes, yes. It has a dressing mirror on the door.”

“Ah, Gu Huayuan, you’re the best!” Lin Qiao ran over and kissed him on the cheek.

This was the first time Lin Qiao had approached Gu Huayuan not to show off affection, but just to express her genuine gratitude, leaving him a bit stunned.

Gu Huayuan touched his cheek, the corners of his mouth curling slightly.

With the wardrobe in place, Lin Qiao began thinking of other things—she wanted to separate the bedroom from the living room so that cooking and sleeping areas wouldn’t be immediately visible. If not a screen, at least a cloth curtain.

She also wanted to plant some flowers and greenery at the entrance.

Her little mind was constantly imagining the future home.

Gu Huayuan could clearly feel her sense of belonging to this home.

Can marriage really change a person this much?

Previously, Gu Huayuan hadn’t noticed any difference, but seeing Lin Qiao plan the house now, he realized that Little Qiao hadn’t seemed to feel at home here before. She had treated it as a temporary residence rather than a real home. Her current behavior showed that she now truly considered this place home, investing thought and care into arranging it.

In any case, this change was a good one.

After tidying up, Gu Huayuan started making noodles. Lin Qiao sat on the kang, resting her chin on her hands on the table. “I wonder how Weizhen’s family is doing.”

Gu Huayuan said, “There shouldn’t be any problems.”

Lin Qiao nodded. “Right, if something happened, Weizhen would come to me. By the way, Gu Huayuan, if Weizhen really gets treated unfairly, I’ll let her stay at our place for a few days. You can stay at the dorm, it’s fine. Her parents live far away, so we’re the only ones she can rely on. Sigh…”

Gu Huayuan: “…” Why did the Xu family’s matters have to be unfair to her?

Lin Qiao wasn’t asking for his opinion anyway. Before marriage, he also stayed at the dorm; a few days wouldn’t matter.

After speaking about Su Weizhen, she brought up Li Ermei again. “I need to finish eating quickly and then check on Ermei. I also need to thank her for helping for so long. We still have some candies at home, right? I’ll bring some over.”

Gu Huayuan gave a brief response but felt inwardly frustrated.

Of course, he wasn’t really upset at Lin Qiao—more at himself for being so petty. He couldn’t control his own feelings.

He even felt a little ashamed of his own jealousy.

Meanwhile, Li Ermei, the one Lin Qiao had been thinking about, was peeking into her own yard to watch the commotion.

Her neighbor, Su Weizhen—who had barely become a “plastic sister” of hers—seemed to be having a disagreement with her visiting mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law.

The house was noisy, and Li Ermei could even hear the older woman’s scolding from her own yard.

How come she hadn’t returned home for two years? How could she keep so many good things at home, wear such nice clothes, and only send ten yuan home every month…

Even Li Ermei herself couldn’t help feeling envious.

Listen—Su Weizhen earns her own wages, and the couple has a high monthly income, yet they only send ten yuan home. Meanwhile, she and Old Chen had such low incomes, yet always sent money home.

Now, with Madame Xu making a fuss, she felt a sense of balance.

She also felt regret—if it weren’t for Little Qiao, she wouldn’t have had any connection with Su Weizhen. Otherwise, she would have immediately told the elderly neighbor, “Your daughter-in-law doesn’t just have nice things at home—she eats well, often has meat, rice, and white flour. The aroma alone reaches your house!”

She really wanted to see the look on the old lady’s face when she found out what kind of life Su Weizhen had been living. It would definitely cause an uproar at home, chaos everywhere—a real dramatic scene! The more Li Ermei thought about it, the more excited she got, even picking at the yellow mud on her own courtyard walls.

Her husband, Instructor Chen, came back and asked, “What are you looking at? Aren’t you going to cook?”

“Cook what? I’ve already enjoyed the show just by watching.” Li Ermei waved her hand without even turning her head.

Instructor Chen felt that Li Ermei was becoming more and more unbearable. During the past half month, she had gone to replace Old Gu’s wife to take care of the chickens. After returning, her attitude had changed—always complaining about being tired from work, refusing to cook or wash clothes, and even bossing him around to do chores.

He said seriously, “Ermei, your mindset isn’t right. You need to change. And I have some news for you—Lin Lin Qiao has returned. Your position won’t last long, so you should prepare your mind. Don’t cause trouble later.”

The moment Li Ermei heard that Lin Lin Qiao was back, she immediately exclaimed, “She’s really back?”

“That’s right. I just heard about it when I returned. She got home this morning.”

Li Ermei: “……”

It wasn’t that she worried about losing the chicken-tending job—after all, that work had always been Lin Qiao’s. She never planned to push Lin Qiao out, and she couldn’t even if she tried.

What she could think about was just one thing: now that Lin Qiao was back, what would her attitude be toward Su Weizhen’s household situation?

As Lin Qiao’s friend, should she show some stance?

Well, the fun of watching chaos was ruined.

Adding fuel to the fire was out of the question.

Sighing, Li Ermei went inside. “Came too late… really too late.”

Instructor Chen asked, “What came too late?”

“Su Weizhen’s mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law. If we’d come earlier, the compound would’ve been so lively. Ah, there’s no place for a hero like me to act.”

Instructor Chen: “……”

She was still thinking about causing trouble at the Xu household.

After dinner, Li Ermei deliberately sat in the courtyard, ready to watch the commotion.

Next door, Old Lady Xu came out to rest in the courtyard. Seeing Li Ermei there, she greeted warmly, “Ah, you’re here with the army too, right?”

Li Ermei smiled, “Yes, I’ve been here for several years.”

“What’s your husband’s position?”

“He’s a company instructor.”

“Oh, is he a company commander? Or even higher?”

Li Ermei replied, “About the same,” then boasted, “My husband graduated from military school—he’s a college graduate.”

Hearing this, Old Lady Xu finally paid proper attention to her neighbor. She grabbed a small stool and rushed into Li Ermei’s courtyard, followed by Xu Xiaomei.

Old Lady Xu asked, “You’ve been here a few years. You must know our Yuanzheng family well. How have they been the past two years? I’m not afraid to tell you—since my son got married, he hardly comes home. He used to send tens of yuan every month; after marriage, only ten. How about your family?”

Li Ermei said gloomily, “We just leave a little for living expenses and send the rest back.” She was speaking honestly—definitely not adding fuel to the fire.

Old Lady Xu and Xu Xiaomei exchanged a glance, seeing anger mirrored in each other’s eyes.

So they were all with the army, yet their own wives/sisters-in-law were so selfish!

With so many mouths at home, they earned a little from work points, but no other income—only relying on the expedition earnings.

“Ermei! Ermei!”

Old Lady Xu was about to vent when Lin Qiao called from outside the courtyard.

Li Ermei: “……”

“Why her?” Old Lady Xu frowned. “Comrade, I think you’re a good comrade. Don’t learn from her—doing no chores at home and making her husband do everything. Is that a good wife?”

Li Ermei didn’t have time to respond; she quickly ran out to find Lin Qiao. She saw Lin Qiao with a serious expression.

“Oh, Lin Qiao, when did you get back? You didn’t even say a word.”

“I got back this morning. I just finished lunch and came to see you. And… what’s going on here?” Lin Qiao squinted at the courtyard.

Li Ermei laughed, “Oh, that’s Su Weizhen’s mother-in-law and younger sister-in-law. They just came by to chat with me, seeing me as a neighbor.”

Lin Qiao said, “You didn’t say anything you shouldn’t, right?”

“No, no, I promise I didn’t say anything false,” Li Ermei said immediately.

Satisfied, Lin Qiao handed her the candy she brought and said she would go to the chicken farm in the afternoon.

She invited Li Ermei to her home for a meal to thank her.

Then she secretly asked, “Anything happen at Weizhen’s house today?”

“…I didn’t hear anything.” Li Ermei opened her eyes wide and lied.

Lin Qiao felt slightly relieved and said to stay alert—if anything happened, let her know. Everyone was away from home, and Weizhen’s house was far; if she suffered injustice, she could only rely on friends like them.

“Don’t take it lightly. If it were you, I’d help you too,” Lin Qiao said.

Li Ermei: “…Got it.”

After speaking, Lin Qiao left. Li Ermei didn’t want to interact with Su Weizhen’s mother-in-law and sister-in-law, it would only make her angry.

Once Lin Qiao walked away, Li Ermei returned to her own courtyard and sat on the bench.

Old Lady Xu glanced at the candy in her pocket. “What kind of person is this? She gives candy but acts like we don’t exist.”

Li Ermei, already feeling conflicted, immediately frowned. She thought: forget Su Weizhen, now it’s even Lin Qiao—your mouth is too idle!

“Look at you, acting like that. Do you know her well? Giving food to anyone you see—these days, food isn’t worth much?”

Old Lady Xu didn’t expect someone she just chatted happily with to suddenly turn sour. She felt awkward, losing face.

Being in an unfamiliar place, she rarely met someone whose views matched hers. She held back and said, “I’m just casually saying this. I see that you’re different from others, that’s all.”

Li Ermei had been listening to the commotion all afternoon—didn’t she already know what kind of person this was?

At first, she had welcomed them just to hear jokes about Su Weizhen, but now that she no longer enjoyed it, she refused to give them any face. “What’s so good about it, huh? Sending all the money home, keeping it here would’ve been better! What nonsense! Look at you—you shouldn’t have even sent that ten yuan home for Su Weizhen. All of it’s just feeding ungrateful people!”

Xu Xiaomei immediately said, “How can you talk like that?”

Li Ermei replied, “I just speak my mind. Don’t treat me like that useless Su Weizhen. All she’s got is a scowling face, nothing else. I’m different—we don’t hold back. Sweet or bitter, I say it as it is.”

She stood up as she spoke. “Out, out! My home doesn’t welcome you. Don’t come causing trouble.”

“……”

When Mother Xu and Xu Xiaomei were driven out of the yard by Li Ermei, they were still stunned.

Mother Xu, fuming, pointed at Li Ermei’s house. “What? Military families can be like this? Even wilder than Widow Liu over at the west end of the village!”

Xu Xiaomei, angry, said, “Let’s tell our brother later—he should teach her a lesson!”

Mother Xu, red with anger, said, “Don’t even mention your brother! He can’t even control his own wife—useless!”