Chapter 111

"You guys?" Xu Wen's eyes widened. "Sister-in-law, do you mean to build a house yourself?"

Wang Lingling nodded: "Yes! We can remove weeds and level the land. I have never built a tree house, but my father-in-law and I built two side rooms in our house. I am really good at it!"

Another sister-in-law also rushed to answer: "I can do it too! My mother's family is carpenters. I have been using a plane and saw since I was a child, so cutting wood is no problem for me."

"I can't build a house, but I am strong. I can help carry wood and do manual labor!"

"My father is a bricklayer. In the past, people in our village would ask him to build houses. I have been helping him since I was a child. I can do it too!"

"I don't have any special skills, but I can help clear the weeds and carry bricks and tiles."

“…”

Xu Wen was dumbfounded and somewhat unbelieving. "Sisters-in-law, I'm not doubting you! I just think that building a school is no joke. It really requires a lot of effort and some technical skills. We women are inherently weaker than men in terms of physical strength. If we can't finish building halfway, or if we build it wrong, it will be even more troublesome to rebuild it again."

An army of women building a school?

Even Xu Wen was so bold that he couldn't even imagine it.

My sister-in-law, who said she was strong, was probably impatient. She straightened up and said, "I really am strong! Sister-in-law, I am not saying this to take credit."

To show that she had strength, she stood up, bent down, and lifted Xu Wen's teacup off the ground with both hands.

Xu asked: "..."

She wanted to stop, but unfortunately her sister-in-law didn't give her the chance.

The tea table that was so hard for them to carry back from the long journey was actually picked up by this sister-in-law.

Xu Wen was so shocked that he didn't know what to say for a moment.

The other sisters-in-law also stressed that they were not exaggerating and that they were worse than men at doing farm work or anything else at home.

The sister-in-law who was carrying the tea table put it down and said, "Isn't it just a school? If we leave our husbands, we can't build a house? Soldiers like them can only make a living in the village. How can we count on them to plant crops in spring and harvest in autumn? We can only see them for a few days of vacation every year. Don't we have to do everything ourselves, such as eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, farming, building houses and having children?"

Xu Wen thought about it and it made sense. He gritted his teeth and decided, "Okay! Let's build a house ourselves! But, just the few of us will definitely not be enough. I'll do the work of the other sisters-in-law and see if we can do it together?!"

There must have been no problem before, she was confident that she could convince the sisters-in-law on the island. But now that the guards had just been changed, not only half of the familiar warriors were replaced, but also some of the sisters-in-law followed the warriors who changed guards and left Rainbow Island.

She didn’t know any of her new sisters-in-law on the island.

When the sisters-in-law saw that Xu Wen agreed, they were very happy. After thanking him repeatedly, they stood up and said goodbye to Xu Wen.

Xu Wen didn't know whether to laugh or cry. She had clearly taken the initiative to help do a good deed, but they still had to thank her in a big way.

These sisters-in-law are so simple.

My sister-in-law, who had left the ground earlier, was the last one to come. She looked hesitant, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the words to say.

Seeing this, Xu Wen hurriedly asked, "Sister-in-law, what's wrong? Just tell me if you have anything to say."

"Can I take this with me?" She pointed at the milk tea on the table. "Don't worry, I will clean the cup and return it to you."

Xu Wen was stunned as he didn't expect it to be such a small request. Looking at her embarrassed expression, he thought she wanted to borrow money.

Another sister-in-law who was close to her nudged her with her elbow and whispered, "Why are you asking for a cup of milk tea? Isn't this making people laugh?"

"It's delicious! I want to take it back for Nini to try."

Nini is her daughter, almost three years old.

Xu Wen shook his head and refused: "No!"

The sister-in-law blushed and became more reserved, "I'm sorry, I...I shouldn't have made such a request."

"You've already drunk this cup, so just finish it yourself. After you finish, I'll pour another cup for the child and you can take it away." Seeing that his sister-in-law was so embarrassed, Xu Wen felt too embarrassed to joke with her again.

"Ah?" The sister-in-law's eyes lit up, "Really?"

Xu Wen didn't say anything, but pointed at the cup in front of her.

She quickly picked up the teacup and drank it in small sips like the other sisters-in-law, cherishing it very much.

Xu Wen did not pour milk tea, but poured a cup of boiled milk and added some rock sugar into it, and handed it to his sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, it may not be good for such a young child to drink milk tea. This is milk, which only lacks tea compared to milk tea. Take it back and let the child taste it."

My sister-in-law thanked me repeatedly.

Xu Wen sent them to the door, but still couldn't help but say to his sister-in-law, "Sister-in-law, I have a suggestion for myself. When we mothers come across delicious food and drinks, our first reaction is to save them for our children. There is nothing wrong with this, because mothers are the greatest! They are devoted to their children and would like to give them the best in the world.

But next time when it happens, I suggest you drink it first. Because everyone's life is different. You obviously like to drink it but you want to save it for your child first, but the child is still young, and the things you are reluctant to give away may be what she is tired of eating and drinking in the future. Even now, milk tea is not suitable for her, right?

Also, even if you really want to bring it to her, you can always finish it yourself and ask for another cup.

I don’t mean anything else, I just want to say that we women should be good to ourselves before being good to others. This includes children!”

Some sacrifices are unnecessary and can only move oneself.

Like this sister-in-law, her daughter has grown up and will not remember that her mother left a cup of milk tea for her even though she clearly wanted to drink it, but the sister-in-law herself will always miss that cup of milk tea for many years to come.

She only took one sip and thought it was delicious, but she resisted the urge to drink it because she would always think about it.

It doesn't affect my life normally, but when I think back on it at some point, I'll feel a slight regret that doesn't hurt or itch.

It would be fine if the children are successful and filial, but if they are unfilial, this regret may turn into a grievance.

You can’t say that my sister-in-law is wrong, but Xu Wen would not do that.

The sister-in-law was stunned for a moment, probably because she had never thought that there would be someone who would be a mother like this.

Wang Lingling, who was a little more familiar with Xu Wen, spoke up: "Sister-in-law, being with you always allows me to learn things we didn't know before. If it were someone else, they would probably think why we mothers drink such expensive drinks? It's better to save it for the children. They might even say that Sister-in-law Xu is shallow and has no ambition, asking for a glass of milk."

Xu Wen taught them to enjoy themselves first and then care about others.

It’s hard to say who is right or wrong, but in their hearts they tend to agree more with Xu Wen’s opinion.

Who doesn't want to be loved more?

Xu Wen's focus was on another part of Wang Lingling's words, and he asked in surprise, "Are you a mother?"

Didn’t she come to the island to have a child?

Wang Lingling nodded, a little embarrassed, "Yes! I have a six-year-old daughter at home, but I didn't bring her here. This time, I came here because I wanted to have a second child. We have been trying for several years but nothing has happened. My mother-in-law felt that I had not been with Squad Leader Wang for too short a time, so she asked me to come to the island."

Xu asked: "..."

She tried not to look surprised. "But you look about my age, right?"

Wang Lingling looks old, so Xu Wen deliberately guessed her age lower.

But, she really felt that Wang Lingling should not be too old. Xu Wen had seen squad leader Wang, and Lu Yuanzheng said that he was less than 30 years old.

Xu Wen thought he got married late, but she didn't expect that he was planning to have a second child.

Speaking of marriage and having children, Wang Lingling is still a little embarrassed, "We got married early. I'm 25 this year."

Xu asked: "..."

This is not an ordinary early morning!

When Lu Yuanzheng came back in the evening, Xu Wen mentioned to him that his sisters-in-law wanted to build a house.

Lu Yuanzheng said without thinking: "Stop it!"

Although Xu Wen was completely unsure, she was unhappy when Lu Yuanzheng said this. She pouted and retorted: "What do you mean? Do you look down on women?"

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

He pinched his brows and said, "Wife, can you be reasonable? You have lived two lives, too. Tell me, from now to the future, whether in the countryside or in the city, which courtyard or building was built from beginning to end by a woman?"

Xu Wen opened his mouth but said nothing.

She couldn't tell.

Many modern buildings may be designed by women, but the migrant workers mentioned on construction sites are mostly men.

Even in the world-famous China Speed ​​​​Train, where one floor is built every day, there is only one team of iron girls in the building.

In rural areas, regardless of the work done in the fields, men and women are often equal, and women can do the same work as men can.

But when someone wants to build a house, it is the grandfathers in the family who go to help.

Anyway, just ask those you have come into contact with, and you will find that there is indeed no house built by only women.

Seeing Xu Wen looked a little disappointed, Lu Yuanzheng rubbed her head as if to coax Dongsheng, and said softly: "Don't worry, I will definitely take the house-building matter to heart! After I'm done with this period of work, I'll bring people to work overtime at night to build the school. I'm really not doing well recently!"

All the companies were disorganized and reorganized, and it will take some time to get used to each other.

In addition, once the seaport is completed, warships may come here, and more maritime training will be conducted at that time.

And after the seaport is built and the transportation conditions are in place, they will gradually withdraw from infrastructure construction.

All this has to be kept confidential, he can't tell Xu Wen.

Regardless, he would help build the school, which would be a real benefit to the soldiers.

Xu Wen shook his head. "You are already busy enough. I don't want to make things more complicated and add extra burden to you. Everything has a first time. Even though no woman has ever built a complete house before, wouldn't we be the first if we built it?"

Since ancient times, men have always been emperors! Didn't Wu Zetian become an empress? "

Lu Yuanzheng: "..."

Being a queen is like building a house?

Well, in a way, building a house is much easier than being an emperor.

Lu Yuanzheng embraced Xu Wen, turned over and pressed on top of her, his tone was a little resentful: "Wife, I finally came back a little early today. Can you lower your concern for the country and the people? Put your eyes on your man? How long has it been since we..."

Lu Yuanzheng held Xu Wen's hand and pulled it down, kissing her lips at the same time.

Xu asked: "..."

It seems like I haven't done it for a while.

She actually thought about it a little bit.

She closed her eyes, put her remaining hand around his neck, and kissed him back.

Let him use one of his hands to familiarize himself with his body.

Not only is the journey long and arduous, but it also seems impossible for military wives to build their own houses.

Wang Lingling and her husband also think that they are not good enough.

In fact, Xu Wen also thought so at first, but she was sometimes very rebellious and didn't think highly of them. Xu Wen really got angry and had to show them.

Building a school cannot be done with passion alone, nor can it be done with just a few of them.

Xu Wen still has to convince the rest of his sisters-in-law first.

After the change of guard, there were about sixty sisters-in-law, young and old, on the island.

Xu Wen borrowed the battalion headquarters auditorium to hold a pajama party for the sisters-in-law.

Unfortunately, the sisters-in-law don’t know what a party is, and most of them don’t know what pajamas are.

Xu asked: "..."

She changed the term to "bedtime tea party".

Wearing clothes that can be directly slept in, everyone gathered together and chatted.

Now everyone will understand what I mean.

I don’t know whether it’s because Xu Wen has good relationships with people or if he just took advantage of Lu Yuanzheng’s success.

Anyway, except for the sisters-in-law who need to take care of their children to sleep during breastfeeding, all of them were very polite and came to participate in this bedtime tea party.

Xu Wen, Song Baoying and a few others had decorated the auditorium in advance.

The auditorium is actually just a very large and empty room with nothing in it except the stage.

There were originally some tables and chairs, but Lu Yuanzheng ordered people to move them away and clean the room, so that the room looked bigger and more empty.

Xu Wen made several large ice buckets early in the morning and put them in the room. He also got some sheets to use as curtains to cover the windows.

We borrowed a lot of training mats from the camp and laid them on the ground.

Mrs. Li took all the spare mattresses from the canteen warehouse and gave them to the sisters-in-law to use. She also provided a lot of melon seeds and peanuts for free.

Xu Wen bought a big bag of candles and made a lot of desserts and juices.

There was pizza, mango crepe cake, some unsuccessful toast, and some desserts and drinks.

For example, ice porridge, a big bucket of milk tea and various fruit juices.

Last time, Xu Wen noticed that several sisters-in-law who went to her house liked it very much and didn’t drink enough milk tea, so this time she specially prepared more.

I also made some jelly with white powder and brought it over.

It was almost ten o'clock when the sisters-in-law arrived one after another. Some of them brought their children with them because there was no one to take care of the children at home.

Dongsheng also came over and sat at the table, being attentive to Doudou and telling her that this and that were delicious.

Xu Wen shook his head, a little speechless.

Dongsheng has grown up to be a warm-hearted man.

Seeing that everyone was present, Xu Wen asked Dongsheng to turn off the lights.

Xu Wen, Song Baoying, and Doudou's mother, Mrs. Li, lit the candles one by one.

"Last year, when the sisters-in-law first arrived on the island, we held a welcoming banquet for the special sister-in-law and her children. However, this year, the officers and soldiers in the battalion are too busy to take care of us. They are busy, but we are not so busy, so let us, the 'old' sisters-in-law, represent the new sisters-in-law and welcome them. Let's applaud first!"

Warm applause rang out in unison.

Five or six candles were not very bright in such a large room. Basically, you could see clearly but there was only a layer of dim warm light.

Xu Wen pointed at the candles and explained, "There are more than 60 of us, and only a few of us know each other. If it weren't for the fact that my husband happened to be serving in the army here, we might never meet each other in our lifetime! My sisters-in-law come from all over the world. Not only are our food cultures different, but I'm afraid we don't even understand some of the languages. It's not realistic for more than 60 strangers to sit together and force ourselves to speak our minds. At the very least, I would be embarrassed.

I heard that darkness can bring people closer together. I turned off the lights because I didn't want everyone to be too restrained.

But we can't make it too dark, because some sisters-in-law are timid and will be scared if it's too dark. Besides, there are so many food and drinks here, and we can't see the food if it's too dark.

With so many people, let’s not divide the food among everyone. Put all the food and drinks on the middle table. Whoever wants to eat can take it. Don’t be polite!”

As soon as Xu Wen finished his words, several children rushed over, picked out what they liked to eat, and when they were pulled back by their mothers, they did not forget to put some into their mothers' mouths.

Xu Wen raised his hand and gestured: "Sisters-in-law, don't worry about the children. There are enough snacks and drinks prepared today, enough for everyone. Now, before we become friends, let us introduce ourselves and get to know each other."

One sister-in-law asked in Mandarin with a strong local accent: "What is a self-introduction?"

Xu Wen didn't understand for a moment.

This sister-in-law probably had a fellow villager who helped her translate it.

Xu Wen said "oh", thanked him, and continued, "Self-introduction means saying your own name, and you can say the other person's name or not. Then say where you are from and how old you are. Anyway, it's up to you to say something about yourself so that everyone can get to know you better.

Let me give you an example! My name is Xu Wen, I am 21 years old. My wife is Lu Yuanzheng, and our child is Dongsheng. We are both from a small town in the north, and we live in the same commune. Our commune is called Weizhuang Commune, and it is an ancient place. Sisters-in-law are welcome to visit us when you are free.

"My name is Jiang Yiyi! I live next door to Xu Wen's wife. My date is Li Mao, but we haven't had our wedding yet. I came to the island right after I graduated from technical secondary school."

"My name is Song Baoying, I'm 36 years old. My husband is Shi Lei, and my daughter is Wenwen, who is 7 years old. I am a primary school teacher. But I plan to resign! I want to open a school on the island with my sister-in-law Xu Wen, so that all the children of school age on the island can go to school!"

"Good!" a sister-in-law shouted, and there was spontaneous applause.

"My name is Song Qin. I am from the same family as Sister Song Baoying five hundred years ago. I am twenty-four years old this year. Doudou is my daughter..."

"My name is Jiang Yue, I'm twenty-three..."

"My name is Wang Lingling, I'm twenty-four..."

"I'm Li Yanan, 42 years old. I'm probably the oldest among these sisters-in-law. My wife is Peng Chao."

“…”

There were more than sixty people, and it took a while just to introduce myself.

While each sister-in-law was introducing herself, everyone else listened quietly, eating snacks or drinking drinks.

After the introduction, there will be applause and encouragement.

As Xu Wen said, this kind of environment is most likely to bring people closer together.

After the introduction, many sisters-in-law found the small organization.

For example, who is from the same hometown as whom, whose husband is in the same company or the same squad.

Soon they had a common topic and the room was filled with chatter.

Sometimes women get acquainted very quickly. After introducing themselves, many sisters-in-law find their new friends or someone they feel close to and want to chat with.

Although Xu Wen couldn't match the names with each of his sisters-in-law, it didn't matter.

The purpose of her coming here today was not to recognize anyone.

After everyone had finished talking, Xu Wen continued, "Now you all know each other! We'll all be on the island together in the future, so there's plenty of time to get to know each other slowly.

In fact, the reason I called everyone here today is not only to welcome the new sisters-in-law who have just arrived on the island, but also to discuss something with everyone. It is what Sister-in-law Song Baoying mentioned just now, about building a school. "