"We haven't visited your father for a long time. We must go and show our filial piety." Ruan Qiqi said.

"That's right."

Lu Ye agreed very much.

Ruan Qiqi brought a jar of Qumi fish. The Qumi fish made by Wang Shuhua was particularly delicious. After finishing the ones she sent last time, she took a few big grass carps and asked Wang Shuhua to help cook them. She only ordered half of the finished product.

He also asked Lu Ye to go to the cafeteria to get a pot of braised pork, and the two of them set off after dinner.

She met a young girl in the corridor on the second floor and recognized her at first sight. She was Ji Xianglian's sister, and her name seemed to be Ji Xiangmei.

She looked dirty and dusty a few days ago, but now she’s cleaned up and looks prettier than her sister.

Ji Xiangmei also recognized her and took the initiative to greet her with a smile: "Are you going out?"

"Um."

Ruan Qiqi was a little surprised. Ji Xianglian didn't allow her mother and sister to have any contact with her. It seemed that this sister didn't listen to her elder sister.

Ji Xiangmei moved aside and let them go first.

Lu Ye nodded at her, took three steps at a time, quickly went downstairs, and pushed both cars out.

"Qiqi, here's the mask for you!"

Lu Ye took out a mask from his pocket and put it on her.

The road to the farm is dusty, so wear a mask to protect yourself from the dust.

"You put it on too."

Ruan Qiqi put it on herself, and when she saw that Lu Ye was not wearing it, she glared at him. Lu Ye put it on obediently.

Ji Xiangmei stood on the second floor and watched with envy. She also wanted to marry a young, promising and handsome man like Lu Ye. Unfortunately, she was not as pretty as Ruan Qiqi and did not have a good family background.

"I told you to ignore them, why didn't you listen?"

Ji Xianglian walked over silently with a gloomy face.

"We all live in the same building, so why make things awkward? Harmony is the only way to last long."

Ji Xiangmei advised.

She just learned that Lu Ye's biological father was the commander, his stepfather was the political commissar, and she was the deputy regiment commander. No matter which one of them was powerful, she didn't know where her elder sister got the confidence to confront Lu Ye. She must have been the battalion commander's wife for too long and had forgotten her own weight.

"You don't understand anything. Anyway, you won't go wrong if you listen to me. Stay away from them!"

Ji Xianglian's face became even uglier and her tone became heavier. She was angry that her sister was not as obedient as she was when she was a child.

"Big sister, I'm grown up now and have my own opinions. I will listen to you if you are right, but I won't listen to you if you are wrong. I won't be someone's stepmother, so please stop talking!"

Ji Xiangmei's voice was not loud, but her tone was firm.

The eldest sister privately advised her to marry the 32-year-old deputy battalion commander, saying a lot of nice things, saying that the deputy battalion commander had a high salary, a bright future, and could be arranged to work with the army. In the future, she would be able to eat commercial grain, and she would definitely be the best girl to marry in the village.

But she is no longer the silly girl who knew nothing when she was a child. The deputy battalion commander is eleven years older than her and has two children, the older one is twelve and the younger one is eight, both of whom are old enough to understand things.

If she gets married, she will be a maid, which is a thankless job and she will be very depressed.

The purpose of marriage is to live a good life, why should she make things difficult for herself?

Her mother was right. Although the 22-year-old squad leader had the lowest rank, he came from a well-off family and was the youngest son. He was not too old and had a lot of room for promotion. She would definitely be happy and live a good life if she married him.

If she's lucky, she might even be promoted to deputy battalion commander, and then she can still follow the army. Isn't that better than marrying an old man?

"Xiangmei, I am your biological sister. I will not harm you. You are still young and don't understand. It is better to marry a squad leader than a deputy battalion commander. Mom is old and has no experience. She doesn't understand."

Ji Xianglian suppressed her anger and tried to persuade him patiently. If it wasn't for the purpose of finding a helper for her husband, she wouldn't have bothered to do this.

She is so ungrateful. Others want to marry the deputy battalion commander but can't!

Ji Xiangmei suddenly showed a mocking smile. She looked around and saw no one, so she asked, "Sister, do you remember Sister Xuemei?"

Ji Xianglian's face changed drastically. She looked around warily and warned, "Why did you mention her?"

"My brother-in-law originally wanted to see Sister Xuemei, but she was taken away two days later because she accidentally dropped the Quotations into the footbath. I was the only one there at the time, and I only told you, sister."

Ji Xiangmei's face turned cold. Ji Xuemei was her cousin, who lived next door to her. She was the same age as her eldest sister and their relationship was better than that of real sisters.

Ji Xuemei was a beauty in the village. She was good at needlework and had just turned seventeen. Many people came to her house to propose marriage. In comparison, the older sister with average looks was not so popular.

The young men who came to the village to look for a date would always go to see Ji Xuemei first and then her elder sister.

My brother-in-law's family is from the next village. His parents have heard of Ji Xuemei's reputation, so they want to wait for their son to come home for a visit and meet Ji Xuemei. If they like each other, they can get married.

Ji Xuemei and her elder sister were close friends, so Ji Xuemei told her about this. As a result, within two days, a group of people broke into Ji Xuemei's house and took her away. She was tortured so badly that Ji Xuemei couldn't bear it and jumped into the river to commit suicide.

After that, the eldest sister gave gifts to the matchmaker in private and successfully got married to her brother-in-law.

When Ji Xuemei got into trouble, Ji Xiangmei was still young. She didn't understand it at the time, but she only figured it out in the past two years. She just felt a chill on her back, and she secretly went to burn paper for Ji Xuemei, hoping to get forgiveness.

Since then, she and her elder sister have become estranged. They are very defensive and don't talk about many things.

"I don't know what you are talking about. What does Ji Xuemei's accident have to do with me? You are so inexplicable!"

Ji Xianglian looked very unhappy. Although he spoke toughly, it was obvious that he was weak inside.

"Don't force me to be a stepmother anymore. I will pretend I don't know anything about this!"

Ji Xiangmei said this in a cold voice and turned away.

Ji Xianglian had a gloomy face and stared at his sister's back. His eyes were sinister and particularly scary.

********

When Ruan Qiqi and his friends arrived at the farm, it was already past seven o'clock and it was completely dark.

Most of the people on the farm had already had dinner. In the open space in front of the family quarters, there were many children playing and adults sitting and chatting. The atmosphere was quite harmonious.

"Yuan Huilan, are you sick? The leader didn't say anything, so why are you ordering me to do my job?"

A sharp female voice broke the harmony. It was Lin Manyun.

"You came to the farm for reform, not to enjoy yourself. You have to complete the assigned tasks. Lin Manyun, look at all the petty bourgeois problems you have. You can't even pull the weeds properly, how dare you eat? Go pull the weeds for me. If you don't pull them properly, you won't be allowed to eat!"

Yuan Huilan's voice was neither hurried nor slow, and her emotions were much more stable than Lin Manyun's anger.

Ruan Qiqi and Lu Ye's eyes lit up. There was going to be a big show right away. This trip was worth it!

"Lu Desheng, are you dead? Yuan Huilan bullied me, did you care?"

Lin Manyun couldn't beat Yuan Huilan either with words or with hands. She felt angry and aggrieved, and subconsciously called out to Lu Desheng.

Whenever she was bullied in the past, she would ask Lu Desheng to stand up for her. It has become a habit.

Lu Desheng was holding a large bowl of noodles, eating with big mouthfuls, and watching the two women fighting while eating. When he heard his name, he didn't even raise his head and said unhappily, "I'm divorced from both of you, it's none of my business!"