Chapter 91 Neighbors
When Yu Xiuhong came in and saw them chatting and laughing, she casually asked, "What are you talking about?"
"Let's talk about the dishes we ordered." Lin Qingqing read out the dishes she had ordered and asked Yu Xiuhong if there was anything she didn't like.
Yu Xiuhong had endured hardship and had eaten all sorts of humble food in her early years. She waved her hand and said, "I love to eat everything, and so does Jianbang. This child isn't picky about food." She then asked Chen Jianbang to greet everyone.
"Hello, Uncle and Auntie," Chen Jianbang said.
Everyone laughed and agreed. Lin Qingqing moved some peanuts that had just been served in front of Chen Jianbang and asked, "Do you want some peanuts?"
"Eat!" Chen Jianbang reached for the peanuts, but Yu Xiuhong slapped his hand away, saying, "Don't you know how to use chopsticks?"
Chen Jianbang was used to being beaten at home, and since Yu Xiuhong's slap wasn't hard, he only pulled his hand back and picked up his chopsticks as if nothing had happened. Then he picked up the plate of peanuts and used his chopsticks to scoop most of them into his own bowl.
Yu Xiuhong's face immediately darkened: "Why are you putting so much food in so many bowls? Are you saying no one else is going to eat it? Why don't you just put it all in your own bowl!" As she spoke, she reached out to take the bowl in front of Chen Jianbang.
Chen Jianbang quickly grabbed his bowl and shouted, "Mine!"
Lin Qingqing quickly smoothed things over, saying, "It's alright, just have someone bring another plate of peanuts if you want some."
Jiang Feng chuckled and said, "If the child likes it, let him eat it."
Yu Xiuhong sighed and said, "I wonder who this child takes after in terms of temperament." She didn't ask Chen Jianbang to pour the peanuts out of his bowl, but instead patted him and pointed at Shen Yufen, asking, "Do you know who this is?"
Chen Jianbang chewed on peanuts, looked up at Shen Yufen, and quickly lowered his head to say, "Teacher."
"Knowing it's a teacher, why didn't you say hello?" Yu Xiuhong said, frowning.
"Hello, teacher!" Chen Jianbang said obediently, head bowed.
"Hello, Chen." After Shen Yufen finished speaking, she received a signal from Yu Xiuhong and asked, "Chen, have you done your winter break homework?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jianbang quickly put down his chopsticks, clasped his hands together, lowered his head, and remained silent.
Yu Xiuhong was very unhappy to see him like this, so she pushed him and said, "Say something! Aren't you ashamed to tell the teacher that you didn't touch a single word?"
"Really not a single word has been changed?" Shen Yufen asked.
Chen Jianbang remained silent with his head down. Yu Xiuhong frowned deeply, patted his back, and said, "Straighten your back! Look at how your uncles sit, and look at you. Do you even sit properly? Also, the teacher is asking you a question, why aren't you saying anything?"
Chen Jianbang had no choice but to straighten his back, glanced at Shen Yufen, lowered his eyes and pursed his lips, and said, "It hasn't been done yet."
Yu Xiuhong raised her eyebrows: "How dare you say that!"
"Braised pork belly with preserved mustard greens," the waiter said as he put the plate down.
"Please bring the rice up," Lin Qingqing said as she stood up. When she sat down, she said to Xiuhong, "Let's eat first, and then we can talk about these things."
Upon seeing the large bowl of braised pork on the table, Yu Xiuhong paused, then nodded and said, "I can't control you, Teacher Shen, please talk to him for me."
Shen Yumei looked a little embarrassed and said, "I know you were excited about the holiday and didn't have time to do your homework, but you are a student after all, and your biggest task right now is to study. You can't forget that no matter what. You still have to do your homework when you get back, otherwise your teacher will scold you when school starts again."
"Did you hear me?" Yu Xiuhong asked with a stern face.
"I heard you."
"Are you going to do your homework when you get back?" Yu Xiuhong asked again.
Chen Jianbang lowered his head and said, "Do it."
"I hope you really want to do your homework and aren't just trying to fool me," Yu Xiuhong muttered, placing a piece of braised pork on Chen Jianbang's plate. "Eat up."
Smelling the aroma of meat, Chen Jianbang, who had been drooping his head, perked up and picked up his chopsticks to eat the meat heartily.
...
There were five adults and two children. Lin Qingqing ordered a total of five dishes: two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of mushroom soup. The portions were quite large, and there was still some left over for seven people. In the end, there was still some leftover spicy and sour cabbage. Yu Xiuhong couldn't bear to waste the food, so she told them to wait there while she ran home to get a plate and packed up the remaining cabbage to take home.
On the way, Yu Xiuhong asked, "You really don't want this dish?"
"No need," Lin Qingqing said, shaking her head.
“You look like you’ve never experienced hardship. When I was a kid, I ate everything, from leftovers to grass roots,” Yu Xiuhong said.
Lin Qingqing simply smiled faintly and didn't say anything more.
The detached houses and terraced houses went in two different directions and entered the residential area. Lin Qingqing and Xie Wei then separated from Jiang Feng's family and Yu Xiuhong and her son, and headed towards their new home.
It took them about five or six minutes to get home.
As we entered the courtyard, the window of the house in front was open, and a little girl of about ten years old peered out the window and asked in a soft voice, "Did you just move in?"
Lin Qingqing took a step and walked to the grape trellis, looking at the little girl and asking, "Yes, who are you?"
"My name is Wang Man. Man is the character with the grass radical. Do you know how to write it?" After asking, the little girl began writing in the air before Lin Qingqing could answer.
Lin Qingqing asked with a smile, "Is the character '蔓' in '野有蔓草，零露薄兮' correct?"
The little girl looked puzzled: "What's that?"
"It's from an ancient poem, and the character '蔓草' (màn cǎo) in it is the one with the grass radical," Lin Qingqing explained.
"That's my name!" the little girl exclaimed, then asked, "What's your name?"
"My name is Lin Qingqing, Lin as in forest, Qingqing as in green grass and trees," Lin Qingqing introduced herself. "Are you home alone?"
"Yes, Mommy went to work," the little girl nodded.
Did you have lunch?
"I ate at the cafeteria, but my mom wouldn't let me go anywhere else."
Lin Qingqing thought, no wonder the girl in front of her was so bored that she was leaning against the back window chatting with her. Seeing that the little girl was well-behaved and pitiful, she sat down on the stone bench and started chatting with her: "What did you have for lunch?"
"After the meal, there are still vegetables."
What dish?
"Cabbage."
While they were chatting, Xie Wei came out of the house, saw the little girl, and asked, "Who is this?"
"My name is Wang Man, Man with the grass radical," Wang Man introduced herself. "Uncle, who are you?"
“I am your father’s comrade-in-arms, my name is Xie Wei.” Xie Wei pointed to Lin Qingqing and said, “I am also her husband.”
Wang Man listened, confused, and then asked, "What's a husband?"
Xie Wei: "..."
Lin Qingqing explained, "Husband is a term of address; your father is your mother's husband."
"Oh... then Uncle, do you know where Dad went? He hasn't come back for several days, and I miss him so much," Wang Man said pitifully.
"Your father is in the army; he'll be back in a couple of days," Xie Wei replied, then asked, "Are you home alone?"
Lin Qingqing explained, "Her mother went to work and wouldn't let her go out, so she stayed at home the whole time, only going to the cafeteria for lunch."
Xie Wei frowned slightly and asked, "Want to go out and have some fun?"
The little girl looked conflicted, and after a long while shook her head and said, "Mom won't let me go out, but we can still talk like this."
Lin Qingqing grasped Xie Wei's hand and gently shook her head, after which Xie Wei fell silent.
Lin Qingqing sat outside all afternoon until Wang Man got tired of standing by the window and started yawning. Only after coaxing her to go back to sleep did Lin Qingqing return to her room.
Xie Wei had just brewed a pot of tea. Seeing her return, he handed her a cup of tea and asked, "Did that child go back?"
"She said she wanted to go back to her room to sleep." Lin Qingqing held her teacup, recalling her conversation with Wang Man, and said, "That child is quite endearing."
Xie Wei nodded; she was indeed quite well-behaved.
...
Two groups of people from the Xie family arrived while I was making dinner.
First to arrive was Deputy Chief of Staff Wang's wife, Chen Lirong, who is also Wang Man's mother. She had learned about what happened that afternoon from her daughter and brought pastries to thank Lin Qingqing.
However, she was stunned for a moment when she saw Lin Qingqing, and then said, "So you are Commander Xie's wife?"
Lin Qingqing felt that Chen Lirong looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't quite place where she had seen her before. However, the clothes Chen Lirong was wearing seemed familiar, so she asked, "Did you buy clothes from our supply and marketing cooperative?"
“I bought this coat from your supply and marketing cooperative. You even helped me put together the outfit,” Chen Lirong said with a smile. “I had heard before that some people in our residential compound worked at the supply and marketing cooperative, but I didn’t know it was you. I never imagined that you would move to the back of my house.”
Lin Qingqing suddenly realized and said, "It is quite a coincidence." She then greeted Wang Man.
Wang Man called out "Auntie," and then asked, "Isn't Uncle home?"
"He's in the kitchen. Would you like to come in and sit down? We're cooking rice, it'll be ready soon."
Chen Lirong quickly waved her hand and said, "I brought back some food, and I'm going back now." Then she brought up the purpose of her visit, saying, "Manman is such a talkative girl, I really troubled you all this afternoon." She handed the snacks she was holding to Lin Qingqing, "I bought these at your supply and marketing cooperative at noon, please try them."
Lin Qingqing quickly thanked her and then asked, "Are you sure you don't want to come in and sit down?"
"No, no, the food will get cold if we sit any longer," Chen Lirong said to her daughter. "Manman, say goodbye to your auntie."
"Goodbye, Auntie," the little girl said, waving goodbye.
Lin Qingqing softened and said with a gentle smile, "Goodbye, Manman."
After Chen Lirong and her daughter left, Lin Qingqing took some snacks into the kitchen. Xie Wei was cooking when he heard the noise and asked, "Do you think this is okay?"
Lin Qingqing walked over and took a look. The potatoes were a little mushy, so she quickly said, "That's enough, that's enough."
Xie Wei picked up the wok and plated the potatoes. Dinner would be simple, just one dish and a soup. After frying the potatoes, he put the wok aside and was about to place the kettle on the coal stove when he saw the brown paper wrapping of snacks in Lin Qingqing's hand and asked, "What's this?"
"It was brought by Deputy Chief of Staff Wang's wife, and Manman came over just now too," Lin Qingqing said.
Xie Wei said "oh" and brought the food to the table.
While they were serving the rice, Commander Ding's wife came over and warmly invited them to eat at her home. Before she could finish speaking, she saw the food on the table, paused, and asked, "Have you eaten?"
"Yes," Lin Qingqing nodded, then asked, "Do you cook at home? If not, you can have a meal here?"
“I bought the groceries and the rice is already steaming. I was thinking of calling you over for dinner when it was almost time, but…” Ding’s wife didn’t finish her sentence and changed the subject, saying, “How about this, in a few days, whenever you two are both here and Old Ding is here, you can come over for a meal together as a way to congratulate you on moving to your new home.”
"Shouldn't we host a housewarming party?" Lin Qingqing asked Xie Wei for his opinion.
Xie Wei pondered for a moment and said, "Let's say the 28th. Let's invite everyone over while everyone's here. Sister-in-law, you and Lao Ding should also come."
Commander Ding's wife felt something was off: "Hey, wait a minute, I was the one who invited you to my house for dinner, how did it become that we came to your house to freeload?"
Lin Qingqing smiled and said, "We just moved, so we should be the ones treating. If you want to treat us, sister-in-law, you'll probably have to wait until after the New Year."
Seeing the couple arguing back and forth, and having already set the date for their dinner party after the New Year, Ding's wife said helplessly, "Fine, fine, I can't argue with you two. Dinner on the 28th, right? I'll ask Old Ding when he gets back. That's settled then, I won't delay your dinner."
Lin Qingqing smiled and nodded, then saw Commander Ding's wife out.
After dinner, while Xie Wei was washing the dishes, another person came to the house. This time it was Sister Fu. She came in to look at the decorations and nodded as she looked around, saying, "Oh my, it's really changed a lot."
"Nothing has changed much; the furniture is still the same," Lin Qingqing said from the side.
Sister Fu disagreed with her, shaking her head and saying, "How can it not have changed? Haven't the furniture positions been moved? Isn't there a cloth on top of the low cabinet in the dining room, and a vase on top of it? And what about these things? Haven't the cushions on the coffee table and sofa changed?"
Lin Qingqing couldn't find a rebuttal, so she smiled and said, "That's true."
"That's life. You don't notice the changes in the little things until six months or a year later, and then you realize how much has changed," Sister Fu said with a sigh. "By the way, how long did you spend tidying up today?"
"I finished tidying up in the morning, and only did a little tidying up in the afternoon." Lin Qingqing then talked about the neighbors in front and behind, saying, "Deputy Chief of Staff Wang's daughter is quite likable."
"That girl is so well-behaved, my daughter can't compare to her," Sister Fu said with a smile, "She's a real wild child!"
“That’s called being energetic and spirited,” Lin Qingqing said.
Sister Fu pursed her lips and shook her head: "I just hope she can become a little more ladylike someday, instead of acting like Zhang Fei all the time."
Lin Qingqing chuckled: "Maybe once she becomes well-behaved and sensible, you'll want her to be more flamboyant."
Sister Fu thought about it and agreed, then sighed and said, "Raising a daughter is tough!"
Lin Qingqing showed Sister Fu around, and Sister Fu kept saying how nice it was. Seeing that it was getting late, she left, inviting Lin Qingqing to her home for dinner in a few days. Lin Qingqing laughed, "Oh no, I'm going to have so many dinners before the New Year!"
“You can refuse a meal if someone else invites you, but you can’t refuse a meal I invite you to,” Sister Fu said, pretending to be stern. But her expression didn’t last long before she relaxed and waved her hand, saying, “It’s getting late, you should go home and rest. My house is right next door, no need to see me off.”
Xie Wei came out of the kitchen after washing the dishes and asked Lin Qingqing, "There's hot water, do you want to take a shower?"
"Wash, wash, wash," Lin Qingqing said quickly. "I'll go find some clothes first."
Lin Qingqing went into the master bedroom, while Xie Wei took the kettle to the bathroom to run the water. When she came in, he asked, "Can you check if the temperature is right?"
Lin Qingqing bent down and touched the water in the bathtub, then nodded and said, "That's enough."
Xie Wei filled the empty thermos and said, "There's another bottle of water here, remember to add it."
"Okay." Lin Qingqing said as she took off her coat, and seeing that Xie Wei hadn't left, she smiled and said, "Thank you, honey!"
No matter how many times he had heard this title, Xie Wei still couldn't keep a straight face when he heard it. He paused in his steps, coughed lightly, and said, "I'll go out first."
Lin Qingqing was left in the bathroom laughing heartily.
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