The courtyards in the military dependents' area are all brick houses built uniformly by the military. From the outside, they all look pretty much the same with their blue tiles and white walls.
Lin Yao assumed that Zhou Qiqi's family was probably just like Qiu Chunfang's, a typical rural family, and couldn't help but curl her lips into a smug smile.
But unexpectedly, this peeking over—
This place seemed to be from a completely different world from Qiu Chunfang's home.
In the center of the courtyard stands a tall ginkgo tree, its leaves gleaming golden in the sun. When the wind blows, it's as if a handful of gold dust has been scattered, bathing the entire courtyard in a warm hue. The golden fallen leaves are swept to both sides of the bluestone path.
Under the shade of the trees, the brick houses still look the same as before, but a new flower bed has been built around the base of the houses. Although the seedlings have just been planted and haven't grown out yet, the tender green buds look very energetic and will surely bloom in a few days.
The yard was tidied up so neatly that there was a pile of honeycomb briquettes stacked on the west side, all neatly arranged like tofu blocks, with sharp edges and corners.
Lin Yao craned her neck to look again and again, and the little bit of pride in her heart deflated like a balloon that had been pricked by a needle.
This doesn't look like a country courtyard at all! It's even prettier than her family's small courtyard in the city!
"This...this is Zhou Qiqi's house? There must be some mistake."
Or did she not eat anything in the morning and her eyes were blurry from hunger?
Qiu Chunfang went to boil water, and no one in the house would be asking about it for a while.
Lin Yao crouched down and peeked into the neighboring yard a few times. Seeing that it was quiet and there was no one around, she simply slid down the ladder and quietly slipped into the yard.
You wouldn't notice it from over the wall, but as soon as you enter the courtyard, a faint floral fragrance wafts to your nose.
Looking closer, the glass windows of the brick house were sparkling clean, unlike Qiu Chunfang's house which was covered in a layer of dust. A brightly colored floral curtain hung on the windowsill, which, together with the flowerbed in the yard, made it look incredibly stylish.
Lin Yao stood at the door, her teeth almost grinding to powder, but she still stubbornly held on.
"So what if it looks good? It's just all this fancy but useless stuff."
It's not like there's a toilet or a shower, and it's nowhere near as nice as her two-story villa in the city...
Just as I was thinking, a young man of about seventeen or eighteen years old suddenly darted out from the backyard.
Lin Yao was startled, thinking it was Shen Huaichuan and Zhou Qiqi.
Upon closer inspection, he saw a young man covered in dirt, his skin dark except for his white teeth. He frowned and took two steps back.
"What are you doing? You're so clumsy, you scared me! Don't you have any manners?!"
She put her hands on her hips and started scolding.
The young man was startled by her imposing manner and quickly scratched his head apologetically, "I'm sorry, I scared you."
He scratched his head and quickly tried to salvage the situation.
"Sister-in-law, are you looking for the master? Commander Shen and Brother Shi are in the cellar in the back. Sister Zhou just went out. Do you want me to call them for you?"
When Lin Yao heard him call her "sister-in-law" and Zhou Qiqi "sister," her face immediately fell.
"Who's your sister-in-law? What kind of address is that? Am I that old? Country folks just don't know any better!"
These words stung like needles, and the young man's face turned bright red. He didn't dare to utter a sound for a long time, afraid of saying something wrong and angering her.
Lin Yao covered her nose, stared at the stench of his sweat, and asked with a pout.
"Are you a migrant worker? What are you doing here? Why do you smell so bad? Are you building toilets?"
Her intention was to ridicule him, but she didn't expect the young man to point somewhat nervously to the two newly built rooms behind the house.
"The toilet and shower room at home were finished last time, about a month ago. They're right there. They definitely didn't come to build the toilet."
"What?"
Lin Yao's eyes widened in surprise. The young man got excited whenever the topic came up, grinning from ear to ear.
"My master and I built it, and it's huge and wonderful! It's even convenient because it's connected to the house!"
Seeing that Lin Yao was not speaking and was just staring at him, he thought she was interested and quickly introduced her again.
"And the toilet structure is really good. With the pipes connected, there's no smell at all when you flush! The showerheads and other fixtures in the bathroom are the latest models from the capital. Most people can't buy them, so my master helped me get them! That's why Commander Shen asked us to dig a cellar, build a gazebo, and a grape trellis again this time!"
A gazebo, a grape trellis?
Lin Yao was even more dumbfounded, because she didn't have either of these things at home!
How come Zhou Qiqi got to enjoy all of it?
She's doing so well??
Her fists were clenched tightly, and stomach acid was rising in waves; she looked extremely uncomfortable.
The young man, however, couldn't tell the difference and kept praising him.
"Sister-in-law... oh no, sister, if you have any jobs, you can call us. My mentor gives the lowest prices to military wives like you! Here's my mentor's address, take this..."
As he spoke, he pulled a crumpled piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over.
This action undoubtedly added fuel to the fire. At this moment, Lin Yao vented all her anger on the innocent young man.
She rolled her eyes, raised her wrist, and shoved the young man away.
"Get out of here! Who told you to work? Look at all the dust on you! You've dirtied my new clothes, can you afford to pay for it? You have no sense of propriety at all!"
The young man was already bent over, trying to pass a note, when she suddenly pushed him. He cried out and fell on his bottom, his helmet rolling to Lin Yao's feet and brushing against her new leather shoes.
When Lin Yao saw that her shoes were covered in dirt, she raised her foot to kick the helmet. The young man hurriedly shouted "Stop!" but it was too late.
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