Chapter 117 The unassuming style of江湖儿女 (jianghu children).

Since Zhou Lu moved away, Qin Xiangxiang's corner unit on this floor has been empty for a long time. Last year, when the couple returned home to visit relatives during the Spring Festival, Bai Yun's family moved in.

Bai Yun had an appendectomy last year, where her appendix was removed. While appendectomy is a relatively simple procedure in the future, it was considered a major surgery in those days.

The doctor instructed Bai Yun to "rest quietly," and Bai Yun followed the doctor's advice. She didn't dare to speak much on weekdays and had to keep quiet at all times.

The last time Qin Xiangxiang saw Bai Yun go out on her own initiative was when Zhao Yangyang and Chen Ruifeng were arguing over lending out their watches.

Aside from the yellow honeycomb briquettes thrown out in front of Bai Yun's house every morning, there's absolutely no sign of anyone living there. Her children are also taught not to talk.

When Qin Xiangxiang almost lost her job, she envied Bai Yun, who stayed at home and rested quietly.

However, Bai Yun, who had been resting at home for half a year, could no longer hold back. Zhong Li and Qin Xiangxiang were chatting outside, and she was peeking through the door like a spider. After listening for a long time, she could only hear "Oh my god" and couldn't hear anything else.

Oh my god!

What exactly are they talking about?

Bai Yun felt preoccupied. Since moving into the residential compound, she had hardly interacted with her neighbors. She only knew that Zhong Li, who lived in the middle unit, was outspoken and loved to scold her husband; and Qin Xiangxiang, who lived on the far side, was the factory manager of a textile factory. They were all incredibly capable people, which made her feel anxious and afraid.

In Bai Yun's eyes, their West Building was full of hidden talents, and she was the most ordinary one. The Gou family on the first floor was like the rare geniuses in the martial arts novels of the Republic of China that she read when she was a child. The whole family had "martial arts talent". In particular, Old Mrs. Gou was very secretive. Even though she was in a wheelchair, she seemed to be in good health and moved with great speed.

Whenever Bai Yun thought of Old Mrs. Gou, she could almost see the image of the Double-Gun Granny from martial arts novels, who would pick up her cane and beat people whenever her family was in danger.

Grandma Gou's grandson, Gou Qiang, is said to have been so skilled and daring that he flew into the pigsty and outwitted a porcupine in front of everyone, even falling into pig manure, before finally capturing the pig in public.

His wife, Gao Rong, was probably also a member of the martial arts community, uninhibited and carefree. When she was dating, her boyfriend was thrown into a pigsty in front of her, but she remained calm and didn't care afterward...

The Gou family has the style of people from all walks of life.

The Zhong family on the second floor is reminiscent of a shrew, while the Qin family on the second floor is even more reminiscent of Empress Wu Zetian!

The couple Zhao Yangyang and his wife on the third floor are like... Zhang Fei! Chen Ruifeng has a lot of Zhang Fei's spirit, simple-minded and silly, flaunting his wealth, and being generous, but he values ​​brotherhood.

No, Chen Ruifeng should be Guan Yu, and Zhao Yangyang should be Zhang Fei.

...

The people in the West Building are all formidable individuals, while she is like a pure white cloud, cowering at home in fear.

Bai Yun was eager to know what Zhong Li and Qin Xiangxiang had talked about outside, but she was too embarrassed to ask Wu Zetian and Hedong Shili.

However, since that day, Bai Yun hasn't slept well for three days and two nights. She racked her brains trying to figure out what they had talked about and why there were so many "Oh my God"s.

"What do you think they talked about?"

The husband said, "If you want to know, just go and ask them."

"How could I possibly ask other people? What if they were talking about me behind my back? That would be so embarrassing. What if they thought I was weird..."

The husband said, "You do have a strange temperament."

Bai Yun: "..."

"Well, what they said is also correct."

The next day, Bai Yun finally mustered up her courage and knocked on Qin Xiangxiang's door. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she asked, "What did you and Zhong Li talk about that day? You said 'Oh my god' so many times."

Qin Xiangxiang said, "Zhong Li's family has a distant relative who is a man, but he seems to like men. Also, there is only one son in their generation, and they once drowned several female infants while giving birth."

Bai Yun's mind went blank: "Huh?"

The process was actually much more complicated, but Qin Xiangxiang omitted it, saying, "This is their private matter, so it's best not to spread it around."

Bai Yun nodded. "Wu Ze—Director Qin, the reason I didn't go out before was because I had surgery and needed to rest. I'm fine."

Qin thought for a moment: "That's really something to feel..."

She swallowed back the word "envy" and changed it to "regret".

—I'm so envious, I also want to rest and recuperate.

After knocking on Qin Xiangxiang's door, Bai Yun then knocked on Zhong Li's door to explain that she was by no means a strange person.

She went to Zhao Yangyang again and said that she was definitely not the kind of person who liked to take advantage of others.

Then he went downstairs and knocked on the Gou family's door, finding Gao Rong: "Do you often get invited to meals?"

Gao Rong was shocked. She wondered if Bai Yun had also discovered her contact with spies? Had Bai Yun discovered something? Or had she misunderstood?

Lin Xiuqin, suspected of being a spy, has not yet revealed her true identity, and they have not revealed any secrets to her.

Bai Yun said, "I really envy you."

As expected of a member of the underworld, he had many friends in the criminal world and was often invited to meals.

Gao Rong: "???"

As the weather gets warmer day by day, the people on the island are wearing short sleeves. The textile factory's cultural propaganda team has recruited a group of people and is now rehearsing a play called "Me and My Master".

It is said that the blueprint was Qin Xiangxiang and Master Li.

"Don't always use the same tone when delivering your lines; it sounds too stiff."

"Li Jinling, you did a great job."

After leaving the drama troupe and coming to the textile factory, Xue Haiyang completely cast aside his gloom, and his brows brightened day by day. He taught people to dance and rehearsed plays. He felt his own important value and wished he could work non-stop every day.

"Xue Haiyang, let me have a drink of water first."

"Everyone, let's memorize the lines one more time."

Qin Xiangxiang watched their rehearsal and felt a chill run down her spine, while Li Jinling excitedly came over with a water bottle, "Sister-in-law, I'm going to play you on stage!"

Qin Xiangxiang closed her eyes and felt very peaceful.

Whatever, as long as you're happy.

After watching the rehearsal, Qin Xiangxiang followed Chief Engineer Chen to inspect a new batch of housing in the living area. In addition to the staff and family housing, there was also a newly built nursery. Previously, the staff's children were placed in a simple nursery on the second floor of the canteen, where staff could leave their children while they were at work.

The new nursery is a two-story building with a small courtyard.

Chief Engineer Chen said, "The nursery is next to the hospital. It's a three-story building and is expected to be completed by the end of the year."

Qin Xiangxiang nodded, feeling a sense of accomplishment. The factory on this barren land was being built day by day, and the facilities inside were becoming more and more complete. Perhaps one day it could become a large factory with 10,000 employees.

It rained on and off for a week, and the weather wasn't good. Just a few days after the rain stopped, strong winds started blowing again, and people said a typhoon was coming, and a very powerful one at that.

Fishing boats stopped sailing, schools closed, factories shut down, and everyone stayed home, waiting for the typhoon to pass.

"Xiao Qin, the wind is so strong it could blow a person away." Zhong Li went outside and closed all the windows in the corridor, but she could still feel a cool breeze seeping in through the cracks, which made her feel worried.

The trees below were all blown to one side by the strong wind, which swirled all sorts of random things around.

Qin Xiangxiang: "My little chubby boy can't blow it up."

"Have you stocked up on your supplies? It'll probably be difficult to go out these next few days."

Qin Xiangxiang: "Of course."

They still have frozen meat in their refrigerator, enough to last them a week. They also have enough rice and grains. They've planted some chives and scallions on the balcony of the master bedroom, and they've saved up a lot of eggs in the refrigerator. If all else fails, they can just have chive and egg stir-fry.

"Hehe, Mom, I don't have to go to school, hehe." Kids like Little Fatty were happier than anyone else when they heard that a typhoon was coming, and they stayed at home eating and drinking instead of going to school.

As a mother, Qin Xiangxiang thought the same way. If it weren't for the trouble of cleaning up the mess after the typhoon, it would be so comfortable to stay at home and rest during the typhoon.

Li Jianzhi braved the wind to rush home, saying, "A typhoon is coming. Don't go out for the next two days."

"Of course I know, there's no need to say such useless nonsense."

Before Li Jianzhi returned, there was only a strong wind outside, but now it started to rain heavily. The rain poured down all night, and the first floor was almost destroyed. Gou Qiang's family got up in the middle of the night to block the floodwaters. The floodwaters only returned to calm the next morning.

Gao Rong didn't have to go to the factory, so she slept like a log. Even with all the commotion last night, she remained asleep and didn't wake up.

When she woke up in the morning, Grandma Gou glared at her several times, suspecting that Gao Rong had pretended to be asleep during the night, and that she hadn't gotten up to help despite all the noise.

Gao Rong asked in confusion, "Did we do a thorough cleaning of our house?"

"The building almost flooded last night, oh my god, it was terrifying! I should have chosen the second or third floor."

"Flooding during heavy rains only happens once or twice a year, and you might not encounter it."

"The old lady has difficulty walking, so it's definitely better for her to live on the first floor."

After the typhoon passed, the rain stopped, the sun came out, and the ground was littered with all sorts of mess and garbage. All the family members, officers, and soldiers got busy sweeping and disinfecting.

Disinfection is necessary after the flood.

At this time, Zhao Yangyang, who works at the epidemic prevention station, also gets busy, carrying out publicity on disinfection and disease prevention, and reminding people who go to the mudflats to pick up seafood to be careful and to use gloves or tongs or other tools to pick it up if necessary to avoid injury.

Grandma Gou, an elderly woman from the first floor, pushed her wheelchair out to bask in the sun, while several female relatives chatted nearby.

"The wind was so strong last night, it scared me to death."

"My husband sleeps like a log; we can't wake him up no matter how hard we try."

"Actually, I slept very soundly. How high was the water level before?"

...

Bai Yun had been living in fear for several nights. She rarely went downstairs for fresh air and stayed at home. The first floor felt stuffy and had a muddy smell after the flood.

Her gaze fell on Granny Gou, an elderly woman in a wheelchair in the crowd, and she thought how spirited she was, a woman with a strong will despite her disability.

In martial arts novels set in the Republican era, she would definitely be the kind of old lady who keeps her true abilities hidden.

Just as Bai Yun was imagining this, the clods of soil in the flower bed began to loosen, and a long, dark thing raised its head. Its back was covered with soil, and no one had noticed its existence before.

The cobra was swept into the residential compound by the flood. Now it has woken up and is coiling its body and throbbing.

"Ah! A snake!" Some family members had already spotted the cobra and quickly backed away.

Bai Yun was so frightened that she flew away faster than anyone else. After running away, she looked back and saw the cobra swimming towards Old Mrs. Gou.

At this moment, Bai Yun's eyes couldn't help but show longing and anticipation, waiting to see the old lady catch the snake with her bare hands, or use her cane to knock the cobra unconscious.

To everyone's surprise, the old lady suddenly sprang up from her wheelchair.

Bai Yun blurted out: "Golden needles to puncture the acupoints."