As soon as Li Huai arrived at the office in the morning, Xiao Chu had already cleaned it. Seeing him arrive, she immediately poured him hot water.
"Xiao Chu, sit down, I have something to ask you."
"Why."
"You know my neighbors on both sides of the street, right?"
"I know." Xiao Chu nodded immediately.
“I didn’t have time to ask you before, now tell me what’s going on between those two families.”
"Okay, sir, the house on your right is..."
Xiao Chu spoke for quite a while before fully explaining the situation of both families.
When Tao Ailian's family was mentioned, although it was embarrassing to talk about the affairs of her superiors' families, Tao Ailian was her direct superior, and she was considered one of her confidants, so Xiao Chu still told her about it.
Li Huai felt a headache coming on when he heard about Tao Ailian's family situation.
One side has great neighbors, while the other side is a bit terrible. It's like they've combined the two most extreme cases in the residential area. I don't know if they're lucky or unlucky.
When Li Huai left in the morning, he said he would be back on time at noon, so Zhao Qinglan was waiting for her husband to come home for lunch.
She had only cooked half of the meal when the old lady next door came over and delivered some more vegetables.
“It’s grown in my own yard, nothing special. I see your yard is empty and you don’t have any vegetables. You can pick some from my yard next time you need vegetables.”
"Auntie, is it okay if I call you that?" Zhao Qinglan said with a smile.
"Of course you can," the old lady said with a smile.
"Auntie, your vegetables look so fresh! I'd like to grow some vegetables in my yard too." She wasn't just being polite; she genuinely wanted to grow some vegetables.
Flowers are beautiful, but the land that Chinese people cultivate still compels her to want to grow something to eat.
I'm not trying to save any money; I just feel safe knowing that the vegetables I grow are clean, hygienic, and fresh.
"Really? I have some vegetable seeds with me. I'll get them for you in a bit."
"That's great."
In gratitude for the old lady's vegetable seeds, Zhao Qinglan reciprocated by giving her some local specialties she had brought from her hometown.
In these few brief encounters, she and the old lady quickly became acquainted.
When Li Huai returned, after lunch and while he was taking a nap, he quickly told his wife what he had learned from Xiao Chu.
Upon hearing about the situation of Tao Ailian, the military wife next door, Zhao Qinglan raised her eyebrows.
"It's really not surprising at all." No wonder the youngest son summarized it that way.
They love to compare themselves to others and strive to be the best.
Because Tao Ailian was much younger than her husband, and most of the other military wives around her were older than her, those older women had more experience and were more easygoing and less likely to argue with her.
Those younger than her are basically a generation younger, so it's even less likely they'd argue with her.
In addition, Tao Ailian's husband's position was indeed not low, a deputy military-level cadre, which made some people hesitant, which is why Tao Ailian always stood out in the military family compound.
"Knowing her nature, we should stay away from her in the future," Li Huai said.
“Your youngest son is really shrewd. He went to deliver something once and came back saying that he would stay away from her from now on.”
Li Huai felt a surge of pride when his son was praised. "Of course, Sanwa is our child."
"Come on, you're showing off again."
Li Huai left after his afternoon nap, and people arrived outside the military region.
Because Zhao Qinglan's family hadn't had a phone installed yet, one of the young soldiers on guard at the door ran over to her house.
"Sister-in-law, someone is looking for you. They're at the main gate. They say their name is Zhang Yu, and they're a friend of yours and Chief Li's."
Zhang Yu arrived, so fast! Zhao Qinglan immediately stood up. "Come on, I'll go with you."
Zhao Qinglan ran to the door and saw Zhang Yu and Song Yi. The two of them had driven themselves and hadn't brought a driver.
Zhao Qinglan explained the situation to the soldiers on guard, and Zhang Yu's car was allowed to pass after a brief inspection.
Zhang Yu drove, and Zhao Qinglan got in as well.
"Now that you've moved here, we're much closer to each other," Song Yi said happily.
“That’s right, it’s less than 200 kilometers away. If we drive fast, it only takes two hours to get there,” Zhao Qinglan said with a smile.
"Qinglan, where do you live? Stop talking."
"Hey, look at me, I'll show you the way."
There are usually quite a few vehicles in the military region, but they are all military vehicles, jeeps with military license plates.
Although Zhang Yu's car isn't as valuable as Zhao Qinglan's million-dollar Mercedes, it's still worth several hundred thousand, and it's his prized possession.
The car drove slowly along, attracting the attention of many military families.
When the car stopped in front of Zhao Qinglan's house, Da Wa and Er Wa were already standing in a row at the door.
Since they were unfamiliar with the area, they had no one to play with after they arrived, so they could only watch TV at home. The arrival of Zhang Yu and Song Yi made the children happy.
"Uncle Zhang, Aunt Song," they called out in unison.
"Hey, you guys are all so good-looking," Song Yi said with a smile.
"Come on, let's move everything inside." Zhang Yu walked to the back and opened the trunk, which was full of gifts they had brought.
"Xiaoduo, why are you getting involved? Come inside with Auntie and let them carry it." Song Yi took Xiaoduo's hand and walked away.
Hearing the car, the gossipy and curious Tao Ailian went out of the house to peek inside.
Seeing Zhao Qinglan get out of the car and carry so many things from the back, and hearing Zhang Yu and the others talking, Tao Ailian felt uncomfortable knowing they had come to see Zhao Qinglan.
My husband said this family is from the north, so how come they already have people they know visiting us in a car as soon as we arrived?
These days, owning a car represents a certain status. If you're not a high-ranking government official, you're either a wealthy individual or a private business owner. Ordinary people can't afford a car these days.
"What are you showing off for? It's not your car. If you're so capable, drive one yourself. Why are you talking so loudly? Do you want the whole residential area to come out and see?" After saying a few sarcastic remarks, Tao Ailian stomped her foot and went inside.
As soon as they entered the house, Zhao Qinglan and her daughter started pouring water and getting fruit.
"What are you doing? Why are you being so polite with us?" Zhang Yu said.
"Yes, hurry up and sit down."
As soon as he sat down, Zhang Yu looked around.
"Your house is alright."
"That's right, but I just bought all these appliances. It's really hot here, to be honest," Zhao Qinglan remarked.
"Of course, don't you even look at what season it is? It's the hottest time of the year."
"By the way, how did Xiaoduo do on her exam? I remember you took the college entrance exam this year, right?" Song Yi asked.
"Auntie, my results haven't come out yet, so I don't know."
"Oh my, you're such a good student, you'll definitely get into a good university. If your younger siblings were as easy to take care of as you, I would be so happy."
"Don't praise her too much, it's still uncertain how good her grades will be," Zhao Qinglan interjected.
It's not that she doesn't have faith in her daughter, but she's afraid of unexpected situations. Even if her daughter doesn't do well on the exam, she's not afraid, since going to university isn't the only way out. But she's worried that her daughter might be discouraged.
Outside, children on holiday in the family quarters were already curiously circling around Zhang Yu's car.
Tao Ailian went to the yard to fetch water and immediately started making a fuss when she saw it.
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