Chapter 40 Getting to Know the New Environment
All three of them were startled by the sudden sound.
Jiang Si looked up and saw two bare-chested and barefoot children.
The two children were struggling to carry a giant wild grouper, swaying as they entered the yard.
"mom--"
"Come out and see! We've caught a super big fish!"
The two brothers excitedly called out to their mother, completely forgetting how they had promised Hu Meili when they left home that morning.
We agreed that, firstly, we couldn't go to the beach to play in the water without permission, and secondly, we couldn't get our clothes dirty.
Now, the two of them are covered in mud from head to toe, and all they're wearing are a pair of shorts!
Hu Meili felt dizzy and almost fainted from anger.
She immediately grabbed a wooden stick and started playing "eagle catches chicks" with the children!
Seeing that they were about to get beaten up, the two brothers quickly turned tail and ran.
"You brat, stop right there!"
"I'll break your legs today, or I'll make sure you run off to play in the water. I'll teach you a lesson for disobeying me!"
"You're only happy when you drive me crazy, aren't you?"
"Mom, I was wrong, I'll never do it again!"
After the eldest brother, Xiao Weidong, finished shouting, the second brother, Xiao Weimin, also yelled.
"Mom, can you please not spank me? My brother and I are in second grade!"
If Xiaohong, Xiaolan, Xiaohua, and Xiaomei in the class saw this, they would laugh at them to death.
Even from a distance, Jiang Si could still hear Hu Meili's screams.
"Now you realize how shameful you are? Where were you before? You all stop right there—"
Xu Mingjuan had seen this scene countless times.
Seeing that Jiang Si was staring outside, he explained it to her.
"Actually, it's not surprising that Sister Hu is angry. There was an accident in our residential compound last month."
“Several children went swimming at the beach in the middle of the day and were swept into the sea. Five of them died at once.”
"There are three children from the same family. The sister-in-law was traumatized and is in a daze every day, and she doesn't go out."
"I heard she secretly hanged herself at home a couple of days ago. Luckily, she was caught in time, otherwise..."
At this point, Xu Mingjuan couldn't help but sigh.
"Sister-in-law Hu was scared too."
Jiang Si nodded knowingly. This was also why she had sat quietly in the living room earlier and hadn't gone out to try to persuade them.
Children of this age lack the ability to recognize danger, and the situation at the beach is complex and unpredictable.
Going to the beach so rashly was indeed a very dangerous thing.
So the two brothers were bound to get a beating.
As the two were talking, Hu Meili came back, pulling the two children by the ears.
"Stand against the wall and don't move until you've stood there for a full hour!"
"In addition, everyone should write a 2,000-word self-criticism tonight and hand it in to me first thing tomorrow morning."
"ah?"
The two brothers wailed in unison. They were only in second grade. Did they even know two thousand characters?
"What 'ah'? If you don't know how to write a word, use pinyin for it. You can go to sleep when you're done writing. If you don't finish, you don't have to go to school tomorrow!"
Upon hearing that they were not allowed to go to school, the two brothers immediately fell silent.
The two obediently stood down in the corridor and began to reflect on their actions.
If you don't go to school, you won't be educated, and if you're uneducated, the army won't accept you when you grow up.
How can they fly planes like their fathers then?
"These two brats, they never give me a moment's peace."
Hu Meili wiped the sweat from her forehead, feeling quite embarrassed.
They were having a great time chatting when these two brats interrupted them, and they were furious.
Seeing her angry expression, Xu Mingjuan changed the subject.
"It's not so sunny now, how about we take Si-mei for a walk around the family compound?"
Hu Meili nodded immediately, then turned to Jiang Si and asked her a question, as if she had thought of something.
"Si Meizi, have you bought everything for the house?"
She only glanced at it briefly and noticed that the car seemed to be filled with furniture.
"Not yet, sister-in-law."
"Tingzhou said that the military service center has pots, pans, and other utensils."
"After he finishes moving the furniture, I'll go with him to take a look."
"Waiting for him would take forever. Come on, I'll take you there right now."
"Once I've bought everything, I'll have someone from the store bring it over to you in a small cart."
Jiang Si thought it was a good idea. Since she had nothing to do at the moment, she might as well buy the things in advance and save Huo Tingzhou from having to make another trip.
Once the decision was made, the three of them came out.
The two little ones were listening intently the whole time they were talking.
Unfortunately, they were standing too far from the window to see anything.
When Jiang Si came out, the two little ones' eyes lit up.
Is this Uncle Huo's wife?
So beautiful!
She's the kind of mother who wouldn't hit her child!
Influenced by Hu Meili, the two brothers are also serious fans of good looks.
Before Hu Meili could even speak, they all shouted in unison.
Hello, Auntie!
Jiang Si smiled and pulled a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from her pocket.
Here, take it.
Although the two children are a bit mischievous, they still have the proper upbringing.
It wasn't until Hu Meili spoke up, "Just accept what your aunt gave you. Too much candy can rot your teeth. You can only have one a day at most."
The two brothers happily accepted it, and before taking it, they didn't forget to say something sweet.
"Thank you, Auntie."
Hu Meili had already heard from her husband, Lao Xiao, that Huo Tingzhou was going to hold a housewarming party at his new home that evening.
So before leaving, I gave those two brats a special instruction.
After they've finished standing as punishment, remember to send that grouper to Huo Tingzhou.
It's hot now, so this fish won't keep long and we need to eat it as soon as possible.
After giving their explanations, the three headed straight for the military service center.
The service center is located on the east side of the residential compound, less than a ten-minute walk from here.
There weren't many people at the service center, and Jiang Si had a handwritten list, so the shopping was quick.
There were too many kinds of things to buy, so the sales clerk checked with Jiang Si to make sure nothing was missed.
"Comrade, let me confirm with you again. You ordered a coal stove, a pair of fire tongs, a large iron pot, a steel pot, an earthenware pot, and a teapot for boiling water."
"One kitchen knife and one pair of scissors, one cutting board, one soup bowl, one wooden basin, one pair of chopsticks, and two bamboo baskets."
"In addition, I also asked for 2 metal thermos flasks, 10 fine porcelain bowls, 10 round plates, 10 spoons, 10 Double Happiness cups, and 30 wooden clothes hangers."
"Finally, there's a packet of salt, a bottle each of soy sauce and vinegar, and a small packet of each of the other spices like Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and red chili peppers."
"Oh, I almost forgot, there's also a roll of toilet paper. Is that right?"
Jiang Si nodded. Her food rations hadn't been transferred yet, so she couldn't buy rice, flour, or oil.
Fortunately, Huo Tingzhou had already sent He Ping to the military region's aircrew canteen yesterday to get his food allowance for the past month in advance.
Otherwise, even a skilled cook can't make a meal without rice.
Knowing that the army doesn't allow drinking, Jiang Si asked the sales clerk to get her two bottles of lychee preserves and a dozen small soft drinks.
"Okay, remember to bring the bottle back when you're done drinking the soda. You can get 5 cents back for each bottle."
Jiang Si nodded and agreed, but when she went to pay the bill, she suddenly realized something was wrong.
The metal thermos flask—this expense doesn't seem to have been factored in.
She didn't even buy an enamel basin, but the salesperson gave her two!
Jiang Si didn't believe that a sales clerk would make such a basic mistake, but Hu Meili didn't give her a chance to speak.
"Xiao Li, find two people to deliver these things to Commander Huo's house later. His house is the one next to mine."
"Okay, I understand. I'll arrange for someone to deliver it to you in a bit."
After pulling Jiang Si out of the service center, Hu Meili made her point out directly.
“I heard from my husband that you’re not planning to have a wedding banquet. Mingjuan and I didn’t know what to buy for you, so we just gave you a token gift. Please don’t think it’s too little.”
Jiang Si shook her head; how could she complain about it being too little!
"As long as it's not too little, that's fine. Don't say anything more, we'll take you to get familiar with the family compound first."
When they came, the three of them came from the east, but on the way back, they deliberately took Jiang Si on a detour from the west.
Through her sisters-in-law's introduction, Jiang Si gained a general understanding of the military compound.
To be honest, it was much better than she had imagined, except for the service center.
The military compound also has its own nursery, primary school, middle school, bathhouse, hospital, stadium, swimming pool, barbershop, and small cinema.
Although it can't compare to the bustling metropolis of Shanghai, it can still guarantee a basic standard of living.
In addition, every morning at seven o'clock, the army's supply vehicles would go to the county town to purchase supplies.
If you want to hitch a ride, just wait at the main gate of the residential compound.
Every two days, there is also a commuter bus to the provincial capital, which also departs at 7:00 AM.
As the three of them were chatting and laughing as they passed by the military hospital, a group of nurses in white coats came out of it.
Unsurprisingly, Jiang Si spotted that familiar face at a glance—
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