Ma Xiaolan nodded, "Yes, I work in the sewing workshop of Ningzhou Garment Factory."
"Wow, Sister Nalan, your sewing skills must be amazing. Why are you still refusing? Take it now. You can make your own clothes without paying for the work."
Jiang Xuan stuffed the cloth into Ma Xiaolan's hand.
Ma Xiaolan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.
She was too embarrassed to tell her that her mother-in-law had taken her sewing machine to sell.
Lu Xiaomei said, "Sister Lan, it's just a piece of cloth. You and Sister Xuanxuan are neighbors, and you'll be spending a lot of time together in the future, so don't be so polite."
"That's right, Sister Lan, I'll need your help a lot in the future."
Ma Xiaolan then took the fabric and said with a smile, "Alright then, I'll take it. It just so happens that Xiuxiu's birthday is next week, I'll make her a dress."
"Yes, I'll make one for you too. It'll look great if you and your daughter wear the same thing."
Ma Xiaolan laughed and said, "How old am I? I'm still wearing a skirt."
"Oh, Sister Lan, look at what you're saying. Xiuxiu is only 8 years old. How old can you be? Besides, wearing a skirt has nothing to do with age. Women should dress themselves up beautifully."
Ma Xiaolan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I'll listen to you."
"Let's go eat first."
Just then, Lu Shengye returned.
He was carrying a brand new aluminum lunchbox in his left hand, its surface gleaming with a silvery sheen.
This lunchbox was the most common style at that time, with a three-layer design, each layer tightly fastened with metal buckles.
He was carrying a pre-assembled fan in his right hand.
"elder brother."
Jiang Xuan: "Shengye, why are you back? You even bought a fan."
"You haven't had lunch yet, have you? I got you some food at the cafeteria."
Jiang Xuan introduced Ma Xiaolan and Lu Shengye to each other.
Lu Shengye nodded and went inside.
Ma Xiaolan said with a smile, "Platoon Leader Lu is so good to you."
Jiang Xuan felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
Although he's not good at sweet talk, he's still quite considerate.
See? Knowing she was hot, he immediately bought her a fan.
Wait, something's not right.
Could it be that he bought the fan because he was afraid she would scare him by taking off her pajamas like last night?
Thinking about it this way, why does it feel a little uncomfortable?
"Since Platoon Leader Lu brought you food, let's not go out today."
Jiang Xuan came to her senses and said, "Sister Lan, how about this? This lunchbox is quite big, and there should be a lot of food inside. Let's make some more and then sit down and eat together later."
Lu Xiaomei said, "Xuanxuan, why don't you make us scallion oil noodles? I think you make them very well."
"Sure, I'll go make the dough rise first."
Ma Xiaolan quickly said, "Please sit down, I'll do it."
Just as she reached the kitchen door, Ma Xiaolan muttered to herself, "I'll go change my clothes first."
Lu Xiaomei was playing with Xiuxiu in the yard when Jiang Xuan returned home and saw Lu Shengye packing his things.
"You can rest for a while and then go back to the military region. You don't need to worry about these things; I'll come and pack them up this afternoon."
"It's okay, I'm not tired. You go and eat."
Jiang Xuan then explained how they had initially planned to eat out, but now decided to eat at home instead.
Upon hearing that the meat Lan Jie bought had been taken to the eldest son's house by her mother-in-law, and that Xiu Xiu was not growing due to malnutrition, Lu Shengye said, "If I had known this would happen, I would have bought two more portions of rice."
"I only found out today. Sister Lan and her daughter are so pitiful. Can you believe how awful that old woman is?"
Lu Shengye didn't say anything, but put a few folded clothes into the wardrobe.
"Oh, by the way, Shengye, has the marriage application been approved yet?"
Lu Shengye thought for a moment and said, "It should be approved in the next couple of days."
"Then you can go and ask your boss again this afternoon to see if they can approve it today. Tomorrow is an auspicious day, so I'm thinking we should go and get the certificate."
Lu Shengye's heart skipped a beat.
This morning, Zheng Guoliang gave him the application report, and it has been fully approved.
He certainly wanted to get his marriage certificate as soon as possible, but the mission he was going to undertake the day after tomorrow was very important, more important than any of his previous missions, and of course, very dangerous.
What if, what if something happens to him? What will she do then?
If she doesn't get a marriage certificate, she has other options.
He hung up his clothes and said casually, "Okay, I'll ask again this afternoon."
Jiang Xuan took the clothes from Lu Shengye's hands, pressed him to the edge of the bed, and said, "Don't tidy up anymore, just lie down and rest for a while. I'll take care of things at home."
As she spoke, Jiang Xuan plugged the fan into the power strip and turned it on, "Let's test how cool this fan is."
"Sister Xuanxuan, the noodles are ready," Lu Xiaomei called from outside.
"It's here," Jiang Xuan asked. "I'm about to make scallion oil noodles again, do you want some?"
"I'm not eating anymore, I already ate. You go and eat."
"Okay, then you should rest first."
*
In the kitchen.
Ma Xiaolan is cutting the surface, each cut is exceptionally even.
"I've already washed the scallions, do you think that's enough?"
That's enough.
Jiang Xuan was chopping scallions on the other side of the cutting board.
"By the way, Sister Lan, why is the toilet in our yard locked?"
“My mother-in-law locked it and wouldn’t let me, Xiuxiu, or Xiuxiu’s aunt go up there. Of course, she herself wouldn’t go up there either, saying the smell was too strong.”
Jiang Xuan felt like she didn't understand. "So you mean someone else is going to go?"
"Yes, only men can go."
Jiang Xuan was so angry that she almost smashed the kitchen knife.
What kind of bizarre ideas does this old woman have?
Ma Xiaolan continued, "The public toilet in the compound is on the east side of No. 1 compound, not far from us."
"Sister Lan, this isn't about whether it's public or not. I can understand that outhouses smell bad, but why can men use them but women can't? Is there a difference between men's and women's excrement and urine?"
Ma Xiaolan sighed and loosened the noodles. "My mother-in-law has that kind of thinking, she's extremely sexist, otherwise Xiuxiu wouldn't be unable to even get a bite of meat."
"That's because you've been too tolerant, Sister Lan. To be blunt, don't be angry, but your mother-in-law's behavior clearly shows that you're too weak."
“I’m not angry. I know everything in my heart. When a woman gets married, how her in-laws treat her depends on the man. You are loved by your man, but you haven’t felt it.”
“My husband, he’d bring me food? Even if I starved to death at home, he wouldn’t bring me a single bite to eat. He works at the machine factory, which is very close by.”
Jiang Xuan said angrily, "They treat you like this, so why do you still do their laundry and cook for them? You even do laundry right after your night shift. If you don't take care of your own body, who will?"
"Don't you earn a salary too? Can't you secretly take Xiuxiu out for a nice meal?"
Ma Xiaolan gave a bitter smile. "I can't collect my salary at all; my husband collects it. Our team leader takes pity on me and occasionally assigns me temporary tasks, then gives me a small stipend. It's not much, just enough to buy some school supplies for Xiuxiu."
"You!" Jiang Xuan sighed as she poured oil into the pan. "Sister Lan, can't you stand up for yourself? Why should he get your salary?"
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