Wei Kangzhan was shocked, and Li Shengli was also stunned. How long had it been since they had heard such words?
These veterans were completely different from the demobilized soldiers of later generations. Almost all of them had been on the battlefield and were wounded before being discharged.
In other words, even among those who have retired from the military, very few are in good health or fully recovered.
What you can see are those missing arms and legs, and those with damaged eyes and ears.
In less obvious places, there are many people with missing fingers, injured tendons and ligaments in their arms and legs that prevent them from exerting force, shrapnel in their bodies, old injuries, or infertility. So, when they go back, they will definitely be much less physically capable. They have heard a lot of rumors, some of which include their own family members.
That's what chills them to the bone.
Now that they hear such high praise from Jian Dan, regardless of whether it's sincere or not, just the respect shown makes them feel different.
"Of course not. We can work, we can do our jobs, we can earn work points honestly through our own efforts, and that's enough to feed ourselves, our wives, and our children. What more could you want?"
Lee Shengli sighed.
"Yes, when we went back then, who would have thought we would be living such a life?"
These past few years have been so tough for me. Several times, I've stood on the edge of that mountain and thought, rather than enduring this suffering, I might as well just jump off and end it all.
But when I think of my silly wife, who took care of my parents at home and then saw them off peacefully, I realize that if I were to die like this, I would rather it be over. Wouldn't it be even harder for them, a widow and her children, to live such a difficult life?
And so, I just endured it day by day, haha!
When I visited them later, I thought I was dreaming. But my family was really poor. At that time, the children were so hungry that they were vomiting acid. I thought, since we are related to the army, how hard can it be compared to home?
Even if it's difficult, surely we can at least feed the children?
In that situation, if I hesitated even for a moment, it would mean I didn't care about my wife and children.
But I never imagined that this wouldn't be considered hardship at all! This kind of life was something I could never have dreamed of!
Liu Erhong nodded in agreement; those who were able to come were almost all in bad shape.
Everyone's suffering is different, yet they all share some commonalities.
"So, we've finally gotten over the hardships, haven't we?"
Wei Kangzhan took a deep breath.
"Of course, after hardship comes happiness. The tough days are over, and the days ahead will definitely get better and better."
Jian Dan didn't know what they were thinking. After everyone left, she pulled Wang's wife inside to cool off, and Wang's wife kept praising her.
"Girl, you were really something today. Didn't you see the looks on some people's faces? They didn't even dare to look up. Humph!"
These past few days they've been spreading rumors like crazy. They're all acting like best friends. Let me tell you, if you confront them, they might just implicate everyone else in a couple of sentences.
Jian Dan watched the little one rolling around on the kang (heated brick bed) and smiled.
"That's because I didn't discover their intentions to harm others. I'm just giving them a warning: if they really want to cause trouble, then I won't be polite."
We've put in so much effort to get this place to where it is now. This is where we'll be living in the future. If it gets turned into a mess, tell me, if all the neighbors are like this, and your child is in this kind of environment every day, wouldn't you feel at ease?"
Sister-in-law Wang hadn't yet realized the role of the environment, and simply gave another example.
“Sister-in-law, you know, there are two families. In one family, the adults are gossipy and like to talk nonsense. They make up stories for no reason. They are jealous when they see others getting good things. The family is noisy and the children are unruly. They fight and steal other people’s things.”
The other family has civilized adults and polite children. Which family would you prefer your child to be near?
"That goes without saying, it's the latter, of course."
Sister-in-law Wang blurted it out almost immediately.
"The first one was like that. Anyone who gets stuck with a neighbor like that is incredibly unlucky."
Why?
"Why else? You become like the people you grow up in. I'm afraid that living with those kinds of people will corrupt my child."
After saying that, Sister Wang realized what she had said and slapped her forehead.
"Emma, I was stupid."
"Girl, I understand what you mean. Our residential compound isn't that big, but it's not small either. We see each other all the time. If there are too many people like this, the kids really won't learn anything good."
Simplicity brings laughter.
"Right?"
Your child is older and more sensible now, able to distinguish right from wrong, so you don't need to worry.
"So what does my little brat know now? He just wants to eat and drink whatever people are eating or drinking! He doesn't understand anything!"
Coincidentally, the little guy finished playing and came running over, repeating the same sentence.
"I don't understand! Mom, eat!"
Speechless
"Look, it can learn to talk now, it imitates whatever it hears?"
"Eat, Mom, eat!"
The little one's speech is becoming increasingly clear, and he's not so easy to fool anymore.
"Mom, eat!"
"Okay, okay, let's eat."
Jian Dan, used to her style, put on her smock, grabbed a ripe persimmon from the cabinet, and shoved it into her hand.
"Eat up, eat up!"
My little one is a very focused child. For example, when she's eating, she concentrates on eating and doesn't misbehave. She just sits quietly and eats, which gives her a little peace and quiet.
"Look, you don't understand anything."
Sister-in-law, just tell me, how many kids are there in our residential compound? If we're not careful, over time, they'll all start swearing, fighting, and spreading rumors. How would we, as parents, feel?
Why did we build this school specifically and go to such lengths to hire these teachers? Just so our children could learn these bad habits in this kind of environment?
Once you become a parent, your children are definitely your top priority. Wang's heart is like a scale; on one side are the relatives who were gossiped about and spread rumors today, and on the other side are her own children, and their disdainful attitude. The scale is balanced...
Sister-in-law Wang was quite frightened by this sight, and repeatedly waved her hands and shook her head.
"No, no, no! Our child absolutely cannot learn this habit. What will become of such a good child?"
"Right?"
She simply took a handkerchief and wiped the bright red juice from the child's face and chin.
"With more people and different habits, there will definitely be conflicts and frictions. These are normal phenomena, and I can understand them. But if someone wants to bring their self-satisfied landlord-like behavior from home and disrupt the atmosphere in the residential compound, then I will definitely not tolerate it."
Sister-in-law Wang was stunned for a moment, then her mind started working.
"Girl, did you take over this job because you couldn't stand how chaotic the family compound was getting?"
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