"Who told you to be so nice to An Lude all the time!" Shen Qiaoyue had already heard Jiang Jinyao's voice and poured her some hot tea. She also took out the few candies and cookies left in the house. "Strawberry, cherry, want to try some?"
"These fruits are very expensive. Where did you buy them?" Jiang Jinyao's eyes never left the fruits.
Shen Qiaoyue explained, "Sister-in-law Shulan wanted to eat it, so Deputy Regiment Commander Zhang asked someone to send it from the north. He gave us some, and your brother just washed it."
"The life of a wealthy family!" Jiang Jinyao couldn't help but exclaim.
Lu Chen finished washing the last piece of clothing and hung it up to dry. He walked in after hearing Jiang Jinyao's words.
"Is Anlude treating you badly?" Lu Chen asked again.
Jiang Jinyao replied, "Not as good to Qiaoyue as you are."
Lu Chen glanced at Shen Qiaoyue and thought about it. In this family compound, there were no people who could compare to Lu Chen, only Zhang Dali and Dai Fenghe.
"I'll have a good talk with him when I see him," Lu Chen said as he came in to pour himself a glass of hot water.
Jiang Jinyao quickly explained, "Big brother, no need, An Lude is very good to me."
"I'm being nice to you by making you do my laundry in this freezing weather?"
Jiang Jinyao was speechless for a moment.
Shen Qiaoyue glanced at him, and Shen Qiaoyue, receiving his pleading look, said, "In this compound, it's all women who do the work, you know that!"
"Oh dear, hurry up and prepare the ingredients for dinner. My elder brother and sister-in-law Yao are staying here for dinner. It's so cold, let's buy some mutton to stew with radishes. Let's see if we have enough ration coupons at home." Shen Qiaoyue's family has been eating well lately, and they don't have many ration coupons left.
Lu Chen knew that Shen Qiaoyue didn't want him to say more, so after finishing his water, he turned around and went into his room to get meat coupons and money to buy groceries.
"Yaoyao, how has Anlude been treating you these days?" Shen Qiaoyue asked Jiang Jinyao with concern.
"It's fine." Jiang Jinyao didn't think it was bad. Facing Shen Qiaoyue's question, she smiled and asked, "You don't think that me doing housework means An Lude is treating me badly, do you?"
That's exactly what Shen Qiaoyue thought.
Making Jiang Jinyao do the laundry on such a cold day is just like how other men treat women.
“We’re used to this division of labor. He usually gets up in the morning to prepare breakfast for me, and I’m responsible for washing clothes and dishes. We usually share the chores. I used to complain that his clothes weren’t clean enough, so I washed most of his clothes. But when I saw how diligently he was washing clothes, I was quite moved,” Jiang Jinyao quickly explained.
Shen Qiaoyue was both amused and exasperated. She took Jiang Jinyao's hand and said, "You, don't always only say half of what you mean. Your older brother is very protective of his own. He must have remembered what you just said."
"It shouldn't be that bad!" Jiang Jinyao realized that Lu Chen had taken it to heart, which proved that he accepted her as his sister. "Could it be that he's going to settle scores with An Lude?"
"Yes," Shen Qiaoyue nodded seriously, "Very likely!"
"What should we do then?" Jiang Jinyao realized the seriousness of the situation. "What if Anlude gets angry?"
“It’s fine to let your brother give him a talking-to. He won’t do anything excessive. It’s so cold, and I’m angry just hearing about you washing clothes.” Shen Qiaoyue had no choice. She was used to being pampered by Lu Chen, and she felt that anyone who made their wife wash clothes in the cold was not treating her well enough.
“We usually share the housework. Besides, we’re living together, so we can’t just do nothing.” Jiang Jinyao didn’t think there was anything wrong with it.
Shen Qiaoyue said, "It's so cold. You can do other chores. An Lude can do the laundry. He's tough and thick-skinned. You can do other chores, like sweeping the floor."
Shen Qiaoyue also felt sorry for Jiang Jinyao.
"Don't worry, Anlude treats me very well," Jiang Jinyao explained again, then, remembering the important matter she needed to attend to, she said, "Qiaoyue, we're planning to go back to Beijing for the New Year, and we just wanted to ask if you and your brother want to go back to see your family?"
After thinking for a moment, Shen Qiaoyue did not rush to refuse, and said, "I need to discuss this matter with Lu Chen."
“Second Uncle definitely wants you to go back with your eldest brother, but I personally don’t want you to go back. If that old lady finds out that Second Uncle has a son, she will definitely interfere with your family, and your life will not be easy then.” Jiang Jinyao knew the old lady’s thoughts all too well.
They used to look down on their second son, who was skilled in martial arts, and he left home at a young age to run away from home.
She had previously introduced a potential partner to Jiang Mingjing, but after being rejected, she became enraged and said that she didn't have this son and that no one doesn't get married.
“We’re not worried about that, it’s just that it’s too far to go back and forth. An Lude and Lu Chen are in the same regiment. If he’s on leave, Lu Chen will definitely have to stay and be on duty. The two regimental commanders definitely can’t leave together.”
Jiang Jinyao thought for a moment and nodded, saying, "That makes sense."
“You’ll definitely have to go back to Beijing for your first New Year with An Lude. It would be nice if both families could celebrate together and see each other.” Shen Qiaoyue said, holding Jiang Jinyao’s hand. “The factory is relatively quiet lately, so there’s not much overtime. You can take leave early to go back. Your mother’s condition is under control, and she must be eager to see you.”
When her mother was mentioned, Jiang Jinyao sighed: "My mother said that her condition has been well controlled recently, and my father said the same thing, but I still don't quite believe it."
“So you should go back and spend more time with them sooner. Lu Chen and I will go back when we have time. Besides, the two children are too young, and the journey to Beijing is too far.” Shen Qiaoyue didn’t like going to Beijing.
Moreover, Lu Chen never mentioned it, so it seems he didn't have this idea.
“Yes, that’s what Anlude and I think too. We’ll go back a little earlier and come back earlier, so it won’t be too crowded. We’ll try to avoid going back during the Spring Festival,” Jiang Jinyao added.
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