“That’s not the car next door. If you damage it, can you afford to pay for it?”
Zhao Qinglan was talking to Zhang Yu and the others about fun places to visit nearby when they heard a noise outside.
"I'll go out and take a look." Zhao Qinglan stood up.
As soon as she came out, she saw several children at the door who looked a little scared when they saw her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked kindly.
"Auntie, we, we just looked around, we didn't touch anything or break anything," a child said politely.
"Auntie isn't mad at you, you can look around as you please." She smiled.
But as soon as she finished speaking, the mockers arrived.
"Ha, acting like it's your own car, what's with the show of generosity?" Tao Ailian said sarcastically.
Zhao Qinglan was not a good-tempered person, and having already learned about her neighbor's character, she had no intention of maintaining a good relationship with him in the future, so she immediately retorted.
"Whether my car is related to you or not is irrelevant. Some people are just like sour grapes. Anyway, I can ride in this car and I can make my own decisions, so you don't need to worry about it."
"You!" Tao Ailian glared.
"What do you mean, 'I'? Stop worrying about other people's business, okay?"
Zhang Yu and the others came out of the house after hearing the argument.
Upon seeing Zhang Yu and the others come out, Tao Ailian immediately began to "complain."
"Keep an eye on your car, lest some people use it to show off their wealth."
Zhang Yu overheard a couple of sentences from the argument earlier. It was clear that Zhao Qinglan didn't get along with the other person and was showing no mercy at all.
"What does this have to do with you? I'd give her this car for free if she wanted it. She's the one who makes the decision."
Fortunately, Song Yi knew that he and Zhao Qinglan were completely innocent, and she also knew that her husband was putting Tao Ailian down, otherwise she would have felt uncomfortable hearing it.
Tao Ailian looked on incredulously. "You, you people are shameless."
Song Yi snapped, "Who are you calling names? Try insulting my man again, and I'll tear your mouth apart!" After yelling, she turned to Zhao Qinglan and whispered, "Would it be alright if I really hit him?"
"It's okay, I'm also quite tempted to fight back." What did she do to deserve this? She had just moved in and hadn't had any conflicts with this crazy woman. Zhang Yu and Song Yi came to visit her happily, but this happened. She was also very angry.
Sanwa silently picked up the broom leaning against the door and handed it over.
Seeing this, Song Yi felt a little embarrassed. "That's not necessary yet."
The three children were put back.
Perhaps because she wasn't familiar with Song Yi, or perhaps because there were many people on the other side, Tao Ailian finally became a little timid.
“This is our military region’s family compound. How can you just lay a hand on people like this?”
"Ha, so you do know where this is? Anyone who didn't would think it was some shrew yelling in the street." Zhao Qinglan couldn't help but roll her eyes.
Their argument got so heated that not only did the old lady come out, but several military dependents from the surrounding area also came out.
"What happened? Why are they arguing?" the old lady asked anxiously.
"Auntie, it's nothing. We had guests at our house, and she kept saying some sarcastic and unpleasant things, so we just said a few words to her," Zhao Qinglan explained.
The old lady knew Tao Ailian's temperament and said helplessly, "Comrade Tao, wouldn't it be better if everyone just lived peacefully? Why are you making such a fuss in this hot weather?"
"Alright, you can all just side with her. Let's see what benefits you can get from currying favor. You're all such snobs." She muttered as she went inside.
The people outside looked at each other in bewilderment.
So it turns out it was our fault after all.
Seeing that even the old lady was being rebuked by Tao Ailian for speaking up for her, Zhao Qinglan said embarrassedly, "Auntie, I'm sorry to bother you. Da Wa, go inside and open the case of drinks that Uncle Zhang brought. Give two bottles to each of these aunties, and one bottle to each of the little ones too."
Hearing that drinks were being delivered, Erwa felt a little heartbroken, but she still followed her brother inside to get them.
Apart from the old lady, no one else spoke up for her. We were all quite embarrassed to actually get drinks.
However, this also improved his impression of Zhao Qinglan. After all, one is bound to be indebted to someone who accepts a bribe. Besides, compared to Tao Ailian, who wouldn't want to deal with someone like Zhao Qinglan?
Tao Ailian went inside and secretly peeked out the window. Seeing Zhao Qinglan handing out drinks, she became even angrier.
"Hmph, all they know is how to win people over with petty favors."
After returning to his room and sitting down, Zhang Yu pointed outside. "What's going on here?"
Zhao Qinglan gave a wry smile. "Just bad luck, I ran into a neighbor like this right after moving in."
"Tsk tsk, I'm not trying to be mean, but Li Huai just didn't do his job properly." He didn't hold back when teasing his friend.
Because of the commotion caused by the car, Zhao Qinglan happened to remember to ask Zhang Yu about transporting the car.
"That's easy. The food factory is still shipping goods here. Just send another truck and load your little car with it."
"Oh yeah, I didn't expect that either."
"Your car is way more impressive than mine. If we didn't have to go home, I'd like to keep it and see what kind of expression your neighbor's wife will have when it arrives," Zhang Yu said gloatingly.
"Don't even mention you, I'd love to see it myself now," Zhao Qinglan said, suppressing a laugh.
Who are you trying to bully because she doesn't have a car? She just didn't bring her car over.
She used to always try to keep a low profile, but now that she's met someone like Tao Ailian, she has to be high-profile this time.
When Li Huai returned home from get off work, he was overjoyed to see Zhang Yu and the others.
No one brought up the previous troubles, and Zhao Qinglan briefly told her husband about it when they went to bed that night.
Next door, Tao Ailian's husband was also making a scene.
"Old Xu, aren't you a higher-ranking official than that guy who just transferred over next door? Why don't you try to get rid of him?"
"What a joke! I'm just a deputy chief of staff, while he's an acting deputy political commissar. It seems like my rank is higher than his right now, but in a year, when he drops the 'acting' title and gets promoted, I'll be under his command."
He could usually fulfill his wife's little requests when she was being affectionate, but how could he possibly act recklessly on such a serious matter? The military wasn't his personal property.
"What! His rank will be higher than yours in the future?" Tao Ailian was shocked.
"Yeah, no, why are you bothering with other people's business?" Old Xu asked, puzzled.
Tao Ailian immediately felt wronged, "It's all because of that woman next door who bullied me."
"Ah, she dared to bully you! I'll go have a chat with Li Huai." With that, Old Xu was about to get up.
He injured his body in his early years and could no longer have children, so he had been unable to get married. Now that he has finally married a beautiful wife who is so much younger than him, how could he not pamper and protect her?
"No, it's so late."
"Then you should treat me to something, and I'll get an explanation for you tomorrow," Old Xu joked.
"You're so naughty." Tao Ailian punched her husband lightly, but quickly became attached to him.
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