"It's strange. When the director of the art troupe took office before, there was never such a mandatory requirement. It was the people in the art troupe who were responsible for the art performances. But now, after a new director was parachuted in, he started to ask for this and that."
The sisters-in-law talked while washing their hands and picking up peaches and other fruits.
At this time Shen Li was walking towards this side.
"Sister Li, have you heard about the cultural performance?" Sister Narcissus said while working.
"No, I just heard a few words from the guys when I came here." Shen Li smiled.
"I'm wondering if the new director of the art troupe you mentioned is targeting you?" Narcissus said as she worked, "Look, in the list of requirements this time, whether you draw the lot or not, you are on it. Could it be that she is targeting you on purpose but is afraid it will be too obvious, so she did this?"
"Really?" Shen Li looked at the order form from the canning factory. Her eyebrows were calm, and there wasn't much emotion on her delicate and beautiful face.
"Let me remind you, when your man participated in the military competition a while ago, the way Zhang Yuanyuan looked at your man was as if she wanted to eat him alive. Her eyes were so hot... I am embarrassed as a woman. I know from that look that she is definitely thinking about your man. I have to remind you to be careful of her. Otherwise, she will snatch your man away."
"If she wants to snatch it, then go ahead and snatch it. If she doesn't, we'll have to see her ability." Shen Li said with a faint smile.
She doesn't like female competition, and doesn't like to compete with other women for men. If Zhang Yuanyuan wants to snatch a man, then go ahead. If Zhang Yuanyuan really snatches Lu Jingchuan away, it means that Lu Jingchuan's feelings for her are not firm and he is not her right person.
But to put it another way, she had been in contact with Lu Jingchuan for such a long time, and she knew very well what kind of man Lu Jingchuan was.
She also believed in Lu Jingchuan's feelings and loyalty to her, and believed that Lu Jingchuan would not be snatched away by other women so easily.
She was totally relaxed about this.
"You are too relaxed with your man." Narcissus's wife was a little puzzled. After all, other women would definitely be more cautious and keep a closer eye on their husbands when they heard that their husbands were being targeted by other vixens. Li Mei's attitude was a little too calm.
"Li Mei, as someone who has been through this, I still have to remind you. Although you are so beautiful, have such a good figure, and are so outstanding, when you stand next to that Zhang Yuanyuan, she can't even compare to your hair. But this Zhang Yuanyuan is not an ordinary person. She is the daughter of the mayor of Jing City. The whole family dotes on her. The entire Zhang family is powerful. This Zhang Yuanyuan is not easy to deal with. You'd better be a little more cautious."
"Oh, thank you, Sister Narcissus, I know." Shen Li smiled.
At this time, the organizer came up and said that they would gather all the wives of soldiers at the regimental, battalion, and company levels together to organize a cultural performance and a lottery.
The sisters-in-law who met the conditions had to put down their work and walked outside reluctantly.
"I don't know what the director of the art troupe is thinking. He does whatever he wants. It's really annoying."
"That's right. I don't have any talent. I hope I won't be picked. I don't want to embarrass myself on stage."
"Me too. So many people are watching from the bottom of the stage. I get so nervous just thinking about that scene. Grandpa, please don't let me get picked."
The sisters-in-law grumbled in low voices.
Soon everyone gathered and began to take turns drawing lots in a box.
The sisters-in-law said it was a good idea, there were only two group-level people on the entire island, so Shen Li would be chosen whether she drew lots or not.
Shen Li was not surprised at this. He simply did not draw lots, but just watched from the side as the other sisters-in-law nervously reached their hands into the cardboard boxes to grab the dumplings.
"Don't choose me, don't choose me." The sisters-in-law muttered to one of them. She was uneasy, opened the small note, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that there was no word inside, "That's great, luckily it's not me. It has nothing to do with me."
Some were happy while others were sad. My sister-in-law, who drew the lottery, immediately burst into tears and said, "I am so unlucky. Why did they choose me when others failed to choose? I really don't know how to do anything. What should I do?"
Narcissus's wife also opened the note, and her face turned pale when she saw the result inside. "I am so unlucky. I have never sung or danced in my life. I can only take care of my husband and children, clean the house, and do farm work. How can I perform a show?"
Narcissus was extremely helpless. "Everyone, who wants to exchange notes with me? I am willing to take out 10 kilograms of kelp in exchange."
"We are all from the island, who needs this little kelp? It's not just you who don't have any talent, most of us don't have any talent, and we won't change it for you." One of the sisters-in-law said with a bit of saccharineness.
Sister Narcissus looked like she was about to cry.
Soon everyone finished choosing, and including Shen Li, a total of 6 sisters-in-law were selected to participate in the cultural performance. There were Sister Narcissus, Sister Zhang Ye, Sister Jinhua, Sister Gui, and a younger girl named Xuanxuan, who was about the same age as Shen Li, thin and small, with a pockmarked face.
Everyone looked worried.
Among these sisters-in-law with sad faces, Shen Li seemed particularly calm.
"Don't worry, there will definitely be a way." Shen Li said, "Don't you all have any talent?"
"Yeah. I'm from the countryside. How can I know how to sing or dance?"
"Me too," the younger girl Xuanxuan lowered her head, "I get nervous when I'm in a public place. I definitely can't do it. What should I do?"
She looked like she was about to cry.
The sisters-in-law who were chosen for English were not feeling very happy either, and they were all very anxious.
"Since those people from the art troupe said they would teach you, then everyone should go and learn. There are still seven days left, and it will be fine if you study hard." Shen Li said.
"It's just like this." Narcissus's wife sighed.
Shen Li had to deal with the canning factory's work next, so she didn't go with the others. She continued to work in the factory, preparing to develop some canned fruits with different flavors.
At noon, the selected sisters-in-law all came back with tears on their faces, among them Xuanxuan had red eyes, as if she had been crying.
"What's wrong? Is your study not going well?" Shen Li asked.
“Those people in the art troupe didn’t teach us seriously at all. They thought we were clumsy and slow to learn, and laughed at our stiff body postures. As for the few moves they taught us, we had no idea how to do them and couldn’t understand them no matter how hard we tried. They just watched us and laughed like they were clowns, especially Zhang Yuanyuan, who laughed the loudest.” Xuanxuan cried, wiping her tears.