Tao Ying was unaware of the discussions people were having about her, and even if she did, she wouldn't care.

After all, everyone talks about others behind their backs, and everyone is talked about behind their backs. Just take it easy.

Instead, their attention was entirely focused on the arrangement of the courtyard.

This small family compound is not as big as Tao Ying's home.

There are only three main rooms, no side rooms or rear buildings, and the yard is not very big, all of which are paved with cement.

To the right of the entrance, there is a grape trellis along the wall, with a rocking chair underneath.

There was a shower room set up on the left, and a clothes rack and a well next to it.

Upon entering the room, you'll find a central hall that also serves as the kitchen, with rooms on either side.

I was instantly shocked when I opened the door on the right; the room was filled with flowers of all kinds.

Jiang Huan, the mistress, wanted to give herself a surprise.

The room also has a TV and a refrigerator.

Tao Ying went to another room, which contained a washing machine and an electric fan.

The whole room was decorated very warmly.

There's also a small backyard, with the toilet in one corner and then the vegetable garden.

They planted scallions, cucumbers, green beans, and other things, not a lot, but you could tell the owner took great care of them.

I glanced at it, went back to my room, and opened the refrigerator. There were lots of fruits and canned goods on top, and various kinds of meat underneath.

I opened the wardrobe, and all the clothes I had sent before were neatly arranged inside.

Tao Ying took a shower, washed her clothes, and then continued with her work.

Not knowing whether Jiang Huan would come back, Tao Ying planned to cook some noodles for dinner.

Then I heard a knock on the door.

Tao Ying walked over and opened the door, only to see Gao Yang standing outside with a lunchbox in his hand.

"Sister-in-law, our commander probably won't be back today. This is the food I got for you," Gao Yang said somewhat embarrassedly.

The troupe leader wasn't home on my sister-in-law's first day here, which is infuriating.

"Thank you, Gao Yang. You don't need to bring me breakfast tomorrow morning. I have everything at home, I can cook something myself." Tao Ying took the lunchbox.

"Yes," Gao Yang immediately replied.

Tao Ying took the lunchbox into the house and opened it.

One lunchbox contained stewed potatoes and green beans. The potatoes weren't peeled, and the green beans were obviously old, with the beans falling out. The strings hadn't been removed, and the pointed ends hadn't been removed either.

There were several pieces of braised pork inside that had absolutely no lean meat, just skin and fat.

The other lunchbox contained stir-fried wood ear mushrooms and eggs.

The last lunchbox contained mixed rice.

Tao Ying first scooped out a small bowl of rice, then gently peeled off the potato skin. After taking a bite, she found it quite delicious.

I ate half of the two boxes of vegetables and then put them in the refrigerator.

I was tidying up my things and was just about to lock the door when I heard a knock.

Tao Ying opened the door open without any warning.

If you can't even open the door openly in a military compound, then where else can you cook?

When Tao Ying opened the door, she saw a middle-aged woman in her thirties holding a basin filled with peaches.

"Hello, sister-in-law, I'm Wang Xiumei, who lives next door. My husband is the political commissar of our regiment. I went to work today and didn't know you were here during the day. Are you scared being home alone at night? Do you need my eldest daughter to keep you company?" Wang Xiumei was shocked when she saw Tao Ying, not expecting the regiment commander's wife to be so young.

There were two rumors circulating in the compound before: one was that the regimental commander's wife was an elderly woman in her late fifties, and that she had five adult children.

The other one is the regimental commander's wife, who is in her thirties and has almost no one left in her family.

It's clearly another one now, but the people here just don't want to admit it.

"Thank you, please come in and sit down. I'm not scared," Tao Ying said with a smile, inviting the person in.

"Sister-in-law, I'm not going in. I just got off work. If you're bored during the day, you can come to my house and play with my eldest daughter." Wang Xiumei declined with a smile.

"Okay, then you should get some rest." Tao Ying didn't say anything more.

Jiang Huan wasn't home, and he didn't know anything about the factions involved.

I'm afraid it might bring bad luck to Jiang Huan.

Wang Xiumei left immediately.

Tao Ying glanced at the peach; it was a bit ugly, but it was washed exceptionally clean.

There were six peaches in total. Tao Ying put them in the refrigerator and glanced at the time; it was 5:30 in the evening.

I turned on the TV and glanced at it; there was only one channel, not many programs, and the screen was always filled with static.

I went to sleep after watching the evening news.

I got up at eight o'clock the next morning and finished the leftovers.

There wasn't much to tidy up at home, so I opened the front door.

That's when I started writing the proposal at home.

Around nine o'clock, I heard voices coming from the doorway.

"Is your sister-in-law home?" a loud voice called from the doorway.

"Yes." Tao Ying put the plan down, responded, and walked out.

There were several women at the entrance; they were the same women I saw yesterday afternoon.

"Sister-in-law, come out and chat!" The woman in her thirties greeted Tao Ying with a smile.

"You guys chat, I still have some work to finish here." Tao Ying didn't really like sitting together and chatting.

With that time, you could write many proposals.

And these women are different from Wang Xiumei from yesterday.

When Wang Xiumei arrived, she didn't peek around, while these people deliberately looked around at the layout of the courtyard.

One of them even walked in, looking around and scoffing, "Sister-in-law, your yard is such a waste. Not only is the cement expensive, but it's also ruined the yard. You'll have to plant so many fewer vegetables."

"Sister-in-law, where are you from? I heard you've been married to Commander Jiang for over a month now, why are you only coming now?"

"Now that you're here, are your kids okay? We women..."

"What are you doing? Why are you asking such questions?"

"Sister-in-law, why aren't you saying anything?" The group had said many things but Tao Ying hadn't responded, so they couldn't help but feel a little unhappy.

"I said, I still have work to finish and don't have time to chat with you," Tao Ying said, frowning and looking serious.

"Then we'll head out first. When you have time, sister-in-law, come chat with us," the woman in her thirties said with a smile.

"I've never seen anyone so disdainful of people." The two men from before said with a smirk.

Tao Ying watched the three leave and return to her room, feeling somewhat disappointed with the compound.

Moreover, these three people are clearly part of a small group, and people like that are the most dangerous.

Tao Ying was only staying for a few days and had no intention of befriending anyone.

However, several of them had already displeased Tao Ying.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Tao Ying glanced at the meat in the refrigerator, took out the ribs, and put them in a pot to stew.

Finally, potatoes, green beans, and glass noodles were added.

I glanced at the flour and couldn't help but sigh. The best thing to do is to steam some buns.

However, Tao Ying didn't have the skill, so in the end she could only steam some dry rice.

It's not easy to cook for one person, so I steamed a little extra, planning to eat the leftovers the next day.

It wasn't finished until around 5 o'clock.