Bonnie parked her tricycle in front of Xu Meifeng's house, which happened to be on the first floor.
"Sister-in-law, take a rest. I'll go get you a glass of water."
Xu Meifeng took out her key, opened the door, went inside, poured a mug of warm water, and handed it to Bao Ni.
"Sister-in-law, have some water."
"Okay, I'm thirsty."
Bonnie was really thirsty and gulped down more than half a tub of water.
Meanwhile, a number of people gathered in twos and threes in front of Xu Meifeng's house, all looking around.
Some were simply there to watch the spectacle, some wanted to find out where Qiu Cai was bought, and some were jealous of Xu Meifeng's good fortune in befriending the family of Commander Gu... Everyone had their own ulterior motives.
"Meifeng, where did you buy these vegetables?"
"I exchanged it at a relative's house that I knew."
Xu Meifeng had already prepared her explanation. There might not be any truly wicked people in the family compound, but there were quite a few who couldn't stand seeing others do well.
Although there are fewer crackdowns on private sales now, there are no explicit regulations allowing private sales anymore. It's better to avoid trouble and prevent causing problems for my sister-in-law.
"Xu Meifeng, you have relatives here too. Aren't you from the Northeast?"
"Anyone can brag. Claiming to be relatives is just a way to profiteer!"
The sarcastic tone made Bonnie glance at the other person sideways. They were young and seemed to be in a daze, just like Xu Meifeng.
"There are too many people in this world who look down on others. Everyone has a few relatives."
"Lin Baoni, I wasn't talking about you, why are you taking it out on me?"
Bonnie was surprised that this person recognized her; she didn't remember ever having any interaction with her.
"We're not close, I don't remember you. You didn't mention me directly, but you implied it in your words."
"You call Xu Meifeng's vegetable trading with relatives 'speculation and profiteering,' so if I went with her, wouldn't I become an accomplice? Do you think I can just sit idly by and let you slander me like this?"
Bonnie had been watching for a while. Xu Meifeng was being ostracized here, and these people were glancing at her legs intentionally or unintentionally, the meaning of which was self-evident.
"Ouch, who pulled me?"
"Oh my god, my arm!"
"Ouch... my feet, my feet!"
The shouts roused the people gathered in a circle.
"You've come to my house again and bullied my mom?"
The girl's angry shout startled everyone. Xu Meifeng's eldest son squeezed in, followed by Liu Jiu, and helped to create an opening in the crowd.
"Mom, what are they doing here again? Let's tell Dad to go find the military leaders. This is outrageous!"
The little girl looked angry, with tears welling up in her eyes.
"I know, I know. Mom was wrong. She thought that suffering a loss was a blessing and that it would be better to bear it than to cause trouble for Dad."
Looking at her angry daughter, Xu Meifeng realized she had made a mistake; her forbearance had caused the child to feel wronged.
She had just seen Sister Lin's daughter, who was only a year or two older than her own daughter, but she stood there confidently with a determined look in her eyes.
"Sister-in-law Feng, I don't know what I did that you dislike about me. Ever since we came to the family compound, you've been constantly causing us trouble."
We live in the same doorway, and you not only encroached on my family's land, but you also colluded with the other women to ostracize me, and even mocked me for being lame more than once. Why?
Xu Meifeng's firm and resolute question startled Sister Feng for a moment.
Sister Feng's husband is a deputy regimental commander, and he and Xu Meifeng's husband are not from the same unit.
On the first day Xu Meifeng moved in, she watched the woman with the limp come and go, keeping everything clean and tidy, and she didn't think much of it. At most, she would just laugh at the limp woman in her heart.
However, Xu Meifeng was too good at showing off. Despite having a limp, she was always tidying up and cleaning. Because she was good at cooking, the kitchen was always filled with delicious aromas, which made the men and children in the family very envious.
The men in my family always praise other people's wives and belittle their own, complaining that the house isn't clean enough, the food isn't good enough, and the shoes don't fit properly...
I've been eating this for so many years, wearing this for so many years, how come it suddenly doesn't taste good anymore? Nothing about it is right!
Sister-in-law Fan is a few years older than Xu Meifeng, but they look about the same age, while Xu Meifeng looks a bit older.
Hearing her husband praise other women every day, especially women who look older than her, made Sister Fan extremely uncomfortable.
She subtly encouraged her sister-in-law who lived nearby, since everyone had been drawn to the aroma from Xu Meifeng's house.
Women, who doesn't have a bit of jealousy? With a little prompting, they can unite against one person and vent their own frustrations.
Sister-in-law Fan couldn't bring herself to say what she had done over the past two years directly.
With so many people gathered here, it naturally attracted more and more people, even the mischievous children were drawn over.
Before Sister-in-law Fan could figure out how to answer Xu Meifeng's question, someone else answered for her.
“My mom said you’re ugly, you have a limp, and you’re always walking around in front of everyone, which makes all the men in the family praise you. You’re shameless.”
Sister-in-law Fan's second son, who was seven or eight years old, squeezed into the circle of people and said proudly.
His clothes were not only filthy, but also torn in several places. His face was covered in black soot, as if he had been buried in a pile of ash.
The other two boys who followed him in were just as good as him; if Sanqi were here, he would definitely stay far away.
"You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? When did I say that? You're lying."
Sister-in-law Fan never expected that her silly son would tell everyone such things. Is it something you can just say?
"Of course I told you. I heard what you, Tiedan, and Dagang's mother said, didn't I?"
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