Normally, no one would dare to approach the regimental commander; that would be asking for trouble. But today, everyone's changed; they're coming to Chen Ji to ask about every little thing.
Even with his cold expression, no one was afraid of him at all.
As if overnight, Chen Ji's mask suddenly fell off, and he became kind and approachable.
Later, Xu Hanli came over and chased away the little brats who were watching the commotion, warning them that if they came again, they would have to carry the load for ten kilometers.
Xu Hanli dismissed the young lads, took a long stride, and sat down opposite Chen Ji, carefully examining him with his hands on the table.
"You have something to say too?" Chen Ji frowned impatiently.
Xu Hanli chuckled, his tone full of teasing: "Old Chen, do you really not know what they're looking at, or are you just pretending?"
Chen Ji glanced at Xu Hanli with a cool look but didn't reply.
Xu Hanli laughed even harder, "So you didn't look in the mirror today?"
As he spoke, he walked to the opposite table, took the small mirror that the political commissar had always used on his wife, and placed it in front of Chen Ji, saying, "Take a look for yourself."
It was too hot, so everyone at the regimental headquarters wore military green short-sleeved shirts, which didn't provide as much coverage as regular uniforms.
A faint red mark appeared above Chen Ji's collarbone.
"Don't even mention saying it was a mosquito bite; I'd believe those bastards even if I did." Xu Hanli had an expression that suggested he was enjoying the drama.
Chen Ji's gaze fell on the red mark, his emotions deep and unreadable. He reached out and rubbed it twice with his fingertips.
He then stood up and turned to Xu Hanli, saying, "Let's go eat in the cafeteria."
......
Xu Ruantang got up grumbling; getting up early after staying up all night was just too difficult.
Once Huan Yuanliang's shop makes money, she will definitely get her share of the profits as soon as possible, buy two houses, and then start to slack off.
Of course, apart from the unpleasantness of staying up late, everything else was great.
Xu Ruantang hurriedly finished packing, grabbed two steamed buns from the lunchbox on the table, stuffed the rest into the refrigerator, drank the already warm soy milk in one go, and ran to the gate of the compound to meet Wang Xiuxiu.
Chen Ji prepares breakfast for her every day, afraid that she might faint due to low blood sugar.
"Don't rush, look how sweaty you are from running." Wang Xiuxiu, dressed smartly, smiled happily at her.
Xu Ruantang handed over a steamed bun, "Good morning, Sister Xiuxiu, have some steamed buns to tide you over."
Since learning yesterday that Xu Ruantang was from the same world as her, Wang Xiuxiu's affection for Xu Ruantang has grown even stronger.
When the two arrived at the store together, they discovered that Huan Yuanliang was also there today.
The three of them met up and chatted before the business opened in the morning.
“The business at the store is on track now, so you two don’t need to be there every day.” Huan Yuanliang pushed up his glasses. “Since you’re management and technical personnel, you should let go of those minor details. You two can discuss it and coordinate your own time, instead of spending all your energy at the store.”
"When the opportunity arises in a while, Xiao Xu will go to Suzhou or Shenzhen for a period of training at a government-funded expense. I'll arrange the coordination with them, and I'll let you know when it's all set up. You can go then."
Xu Ruantang and Wang Xiuxiu exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement: "Okay, I'll discuss it with Sister Xiuxiu and try to reschedule the times."
Huan Yuanliang had mentioned the possibility of further education before signing the contract, and Xu Ruantang was not opposed to it.
Business trips and training paid for by the company are, frankly speaking, more like traveling and further education, which is definitely better than spending all your time in the store.
They discussed it and decided that from now on, one person would stay at the store for one week, and the other wouldn't need to come.
Huan Yuanliang brought his whole family today. Tang Weiwei was playing with her youngest daughter, Shanshan, in the store, while Huan Molin remained silent as always, standing in the corner without saying a word.
Only after Wang Xiuxiu and Xu Ruantang came out did he run over and hug Xu Ruantang's leg, smiling ingratiatingly.
He blinked his big blue eyes, looking pitiful, and Xu Ruantang couldn't bring herself to refuse.
So wherever she went, Huan Molin followed.
Later, when Huan Yuanliang wanted to take him home, he still looked reluctant to part with him.
Xu Ruantang didn't know what was wrong with this child. Instead of sticking to his parents, he came to stick to her, a stranger.
When I got off work in the afternoon and returned to the compound, the gate to my house was open.
Xu Ruantang thought it was Chen Ji, but when she went in, she found it was her godmother and Aunt Liu. She smiled and asked, "Godmother, Aunt, why are you back so early today?"
Xu Ruantang assumed that the two of them were tired, so they closed the shop early and came back to rest.
Then I realized it wasn't the weekend, and looking at the expressions on their faces, I realized things weren't so simple.
"Ruan Tang, we're temporarily closing the shop. Your family has come to visit." Her godmother stood up, her expression revealing a complicated feeling.
Xu Ruantang frowned. "Your family? What's going on?"
Seeing this, Aunt Liu pulled Xu Ruantang down to sit and told her the whole story.
It turned out that early this morning, as soon as the godmother and Aunt Liu opened their shop, several uninvited guests came in. They claimed to be Xu Ruantang's family members.
As soon as one of the middle-aged men entered, he pulled up a chair and sat down as if they were old friends, looking at his godmother and Aunt Liu with disdain.
His tone was condescending: "I am Xu Ruantang's father. Tell her quickly that her brother's family has come to Beijing, and tell her to come and entertain them! Oh, and bring money; her brother and his child are still hungry!"
The more Xu Ruantang listened, the darker her expression became.
The godmother tugged at Aunt Liu's arm, stopping her from continuing to study, and explained to Xu Ruantang, "Perhaps they came looking for you, but the compound wouldn't let them in, which is why they were a little angry."
Xu Ruantang snorted coldly in her heart.
It's obvious that Aunt Liu had already been very tactful; Mr. Xu wasn't one to speak politely.
"Godmother, Auntie, did they say how they found the courtyard?"
Xu Ruantang always felt that something was wrong; she had no contact with that family since she left the Xu family.
In those days, communication was not well-developed. How did they know that they had come to Beijing?
Even if they find Dahe Village according to the address, the people in Dahe Village will only know that they have come to Beijing. They can find the military compound, and they can even find the tailor shop.
Godmother and Aunt Liu shook their heads in unison, "They didn't say, they only said they've been in Beijing for a long time, and even waited for you at the gate of our compound for a while, but you never showed up. The sentries at the gate weren't accommodating either, and they wouldn't let them in no matter what they said, so they suffered quite a bit!"
Xu Ruantang was amused to hear that they had suffered hardship. "How many people came?"
"A large family, two middle-aged people, two young people, and a child who can't walk yet."
This is an all-out effort, not due to a disaster or famine. Why is the Xu family doing this?
Xu Ruantang smiled at the two elderly people and said, "Godmother, Aunt, I will not be doing business for the next few days. You two should not go over there for the time being. I will let you know when I have sorted things out."
The two didn't ask any further questions and both nodded to indicate that they understood.
After Aunt Liu returned home, her godmother looked hesitant, and Xu Ruantang pulled her arm and led her into the house, saying, "Godmother, if there's anything you want to ask, just say it."
Xu Ruantang was really afraid that this would make her feel stifled.
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