Whether Xu Mei liked it or not, she had no choice but to leave.
On the day they left, all four family members looked grim, especially Wang Haiyang. He looked around, his eyes filled with reluctance, unwillingness, and regret... Wang Jun glanced at the next room, but no one came out.
The young soldiers helped carry the luggage to the dock. They didn't know when they would be able to come back, or if they would ever come back!
Wang Haiyang said goodbye to his comrades yesterday. Xu Mei didn't have many friends in the family compound, and her family made a scene because of her, so almost no one came to see her off.
The departure of Brigade Commander Wang and his family left a significant shock in the family compound. Ultimately, the reason for this lies in the issue of education.
Commander Xu failed to raise his daughter well, Xu Mei failed to raise her children well after getting married, and Wang Haiyang, as a husband and father, failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a husband and father.
Bonnie breathed a sigh of relief when Wang Haiyang's family left. With such a neighbor, she felt like she couldn't close her eyes properly at night.
In such a large family compound with so many people, the departure of Brigade Commander Wang wouldn't have caused much of a stir. However, families became stricter with their children's education, no longer letting them grow up completely unsupervised, and the men stopped being hands-off parents.
"Baoni, how is Sanqi recovering?" Aunt Chen and Aunt Qu Hong came over together.
"It's all good. I went to the hospital for a check-up yesterday, and everything is fine. I can walk around now, just be careful not to fall. It will take some time to fully recover." Bonnie took Sanqi for a follow-up check-up yesterday, and the doctor said she was recovering well. All the soup she drank during this time was worth it.
"It takes a hundred days to recover from a broken bone, that's a certain timeframe, you can't rush it." Qu Hong's cousin had a son who broke his leg when he was young. He rested for a while but didn't pay much attention to it. Later, his leg bone grew crooked. Back then, there weren't many good resources, so that was all he could do, and he became lame.
"Yes, don't worry, you've recovered," Mrs. Chen echoed.
"Sigh, after what happened with Wang Jun, the old men in the family compound have all become more vigilant," Sister Zhang said, leaning against the wall as she chatted.
"What do you mean?" Bonnie has been busy taking care of Sanqi lately and hasn't gone out much.
"Managing the kids and the wife! This time, when Brigade Commander Wang was transferred, his wife and kids deserve the most credit for giving him the opportunity. Before, my husband, Lao Xu, was very involved in the kids' affairs; as long as they didn't cause trouble, he wouldn't say a word."
Now, she asks the children about their studies, their behavior at school, and whether they've gone astray every now and then. She asks the two older children the most, afraid they'll go astray. "Sister Zhang has been much more relaxed lately, as she doesn't have to worry about the children anymore."
"Yes, ours is the same. We're afraid another Wang Jun will emerge." Zhou Haiyang, the son of Qu Hong's sister-in-law, is quite mischievous and is his father's main concern.
“It’s not just the children. Haven’t you noticed that there have been fewer conflicts between the women in the family compound lately? Many of those who used to be greedy and prone to cursing have toned it down.” Chen’s neighboring area is full of military dependents below the regimental level, most of whom come from rural areas and are largely illiterate.
"That's true, a good woman can bring prosperity to three generations!"
I've forgotten who said that, but it just suddenly came to mind.
"Are there many conflicts over there too?" Bonnie hadn't been there much, so she didn't really know.
Most of the women in their area have jobs, so they have limited opportunities to meet. Apart from some friction with Xu Mei, they haven't really had much contact with each other.
"They argue almost every day. A bunch of idle women, doing nothing all day, what else can they do besides gossip and quarrel? Nothing serious, just trivial things. Today you stole one of my scallions, tomorrow your child broke my window..."
Bonnie thought about it and agreed; they were all just bored.
"One is idle, and the other is poor and making trouble. Most of the family members in our area don't have jobs. There are several people in the family, and they all rely on the man's salary. They also have to help relatives back home from time to time. Life is not easy for them."
Especially for soldiers from rural areas, they are the hope of their entire families. With many siblings, the elderly often hope that those who are capable will help those who are not, and they wish their successful sons would send all their wages home. "Sister Chen is a local; her family lives in a nearby brigade, so she understands this all too well."
"That's right, it's the same in my hometown. Some mothers-in-law prevent their daughters-in-law from joining their husbands in the military in order to control their sons' salaries. This way, the sons have to send their entire monthly salary back home to support their wives and children, but how much of it actually ends up being used for their own wives and children?"
Sister Zhang also had many feelings. Although her mother-in-law did not stop her from going with the army, she implied that she was enjoying a good life.
Fortunately
Old Xu in his family isn't blindly filial; he's sensible. He doesn't shirk his responsibilities; there's no point in giving too much. Back then, the person who contributed the most to Old Xu's university admission was Sister Zhang; she worked tirelessly to support his education.
This was the first time Bonnie had heard of this. Back on the island, there weren't many people in the family compound, and everyone was quite united. Since they were all from the same division headquarters, the competition wasn't as fierce, and the relationships between them were pretty good.
Moreover, living conditions on the island are much harsher, and everyone is thinking about how to fill their stomachs and how to make their families live a better life. Once they share the same goal, their hearts are united, and it becomes much easier to do something.
Back then, Bonnie led the women in the family compound to clear land and plant seaweed, and things went very smoothly. However, if you were to talk about these things here, it might not work. There are too many people, the relationships are complicated, the workers aren't enthusiastic, and when it comes to claiming credit, everyone's scrambling to get ahead.
The conversation among the women shifted several times, from their children and husbands to conflicts in the family compound, until they no longer knew what they were trying to say. The topic veered further and further off track, but no one seemed to care; they were simply expressing their feelings.
Sanqi lay in a rocking chair, basking in the sun, listening to his mother and aunt chatting, which he quite enjoyed.
It was almost noon, and the women stopped talking, saying they had to go home to work.
Bonnie looked at the drowsy Sanqi and didn't wake him. Getting more sun is good for him and helps with calcium absorption.
Bonnie picked two cucumbers and two tomatoes from the garden. For lunch, they had cold noodles with tomatoes and sugar. Aunt Zhang gave them some homemade sauce, and Gu Ye fried a jar of meat sauce, making things much easier for Bonnie.
While washing the vegetables, Bonnie wondered if the things she had sent out had arrived.
She traded a lot of dried fruit, preserved fruit, some uncommon sea fish, and dried vegetables from nearby fishing villages and brigades, and sent some to Sister-in-law Gu, her family, and some friends as a token of her goodwill.
The best thing about coming here is that there's no shortage of fresh vegetables all year round, especially in winter.
If this were an island, you'd hardly see any greenery. In winter, besides salted fish and seaweed, it's basically just cabbage, radishes, and potatoes. Plus, there's fruit all year round, which is something Sanqi loves; she can even tolerate the downside of getting tanned.
And the package that Bonnie had been longing for had already arrived in their hands.
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