1688th Regiment Headquarters, Family Housing Compound:
Today was Gu Panpan’s fourth day since coming to join the army as a military wife.
For three whole days, she had been living like a little piglet, eating whenever she woke up and sleeping whenever she finished eating.
As for Qin Zhan, honestly, he treated her incredibly well. He took care of all three meals every day and practically waited on her hand and foot. He was only one step away from personally feeding her.
Still, compared to her best friend Fox, he fell just a tiny bit short. After all, Fox had actually fed her by hand before. Hehe…
The ridiculous part was that he was supposed to be the patient. He was on medical leave, yet he was the one looking after her. It made her feel a little guilty, as though she were exploiting an injured man.
So she had decided.
Starting today, she was going to work hard to adapt to her new life here.
Right now, her identity was that of a rural girl who had not even finished elementary school. Finding a job would not be easy. She wondered whether the regiment assigned work to military wives who came to join their husbands.
No matter how good that dog man acted, it was all fake. He would not even hand over his salary. She still had to find a way to make money herself and achieve her dream of living a good life with her best friend Fox as soon as possible.
Gu Panpan changed into a simple light-colored short-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark blue trousers. She braided her hair into two thick plaits, making her look fresh, innocent, and adorable.
Then she headed out to socialize.
And make money.
According to the universal truth that wherever there were the most women, there would also be the most gossip, Gu Panpan wandered around the family compound until she finally found a group of military wives chatting animatedly.
After living in the compound for only three days, Gu Panpan had already become something of a celebrity.
No sooner had the gossip about the young married couple’s colorful private life faded than a brand-new round of rumors had begun.
The entire family compound knew that Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s wife from the countryside was a lazy woman.
“Have you heard? Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s wife from the countryside has been here for three days already and hasn’t cooked a single meal for her husband.”
“With Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s temper, how can he possibly tolerate that? He’s terrifying when he’s training those soldiers. Wouldn’t he scold her to death?”
“Not at all. He’s dragging that injured body of his to the dining hall three times a day to get food.”
“Tsk tsk. He’s supposed to be on medical leave. Anyone who didn’t know better would think he was on a honeymoon.”
“I have to get up before dawn every day to cook for my whole family. Meanwhile, she does absolutely nothing. I really don’t know what Deputy Battalion Commander Qin sees in her.”
“I can’t figure it out either. Is that country girl really that special?”
“Well, to be fair, even though she’s from the countryside, she’s awfully fair and pretty.”
“I bet she’s got some tricks none of us know about. Otherwise, why would Deputy Battalion Commander Qin ignore a military doctor and treat a rural bride brought in for good luck this well?”
“Hah! Men are all the same. They’re just interested in whatever’s new. Give it a few more days. That military doctor isn’t someone to be trifled with either. Just wait and see. That country’s wife will have hard times ahead of her.”
Several military wives sat around a stone table in the small garden of the family compound, gossiping away. Beneath their words lurked both curiosity and jealousy, and the subjects were undoubtedly Gu Panpan and Qin Zhan.
“All right, enough with the nonsense. Can’t any of you stop for a moment? You’ve only been military wives for a few years, yet you’ve already forgotten that most of you came from the countryside yourselves. We military wives should be understanding toward one another.”
A round-faced, short-haired military wife in her thirties or forties finally could not listen any longer.
What was with all this talk about someone being from the countryside?
Had these women forgotten that they themselves had once been country folk too?
After hearing her speak, the others fell silent. Even if some of them disagreed, none dared to argue.
The speaker was the wife of Political Commissar Liu Dawei.
That was Political Commissar Liu, who was so close to Qin Zhan that people joked they could wear the same pair of trousers.
“Oh, maybe the new wife is having some difficulties. Perhaps she just hasn’t adjusted to life here yet.”
“When I first arrived, I couldn’t adapt to the environment either. I spent days vomiting and suffering from diarrhea. Maybe she’s going through something similar. We shouldn’t spread rumors. It wouldn’t look good if she heard us.”
Another military wife, nearly thirty years old with a long, thin face and a yellowish complexion, quickly chimed in.
Although she had spent quite a while criticizing Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s wife earlier, her husband was only an instructor, far below Political Commissar Liu in rank. Naturally, she needed to stay on the good side of Sun Runzhi.
So the round-faced woman was named Sun Runzhi.
Since her husband held a much higher position than the husbands of the other women present, the military wives all treated her with a certain degree of caution.
“Liu Guilan, that’s not what you were saying earlier. You were the one who started this whole discussion.”
A plump military wife with a low ponytail rolled her eyes.
Liu Guilan had been the loudest gossip of them all at the beginning.
She had never liked the woman. Liu Guilan was always trying to take advantage of others, and now she had apparently added shameless flattery to her list of talents.
“What everyone has said isn’t entirely unreasonable. Understanding her is the right thing to do. But as military wives, we also need to think about our husbands. They’re risking their lives outside. At home, we should take care of everything properly so that when they return, there’s always a hot meal waiting for them. Only then can they defend the country without worries.”
A tall, fair-skinned woman finally spoke.
Her Mandarin was flawless, and her voice was calm and measured.
She appeared to be in her early twenties and wore a red plaid dress paired with leather shoes. One look was enough to tell she was an educated city woman.
Liu Guilan and several of the other military wives nodded in agreement.
After all, Lu Cuilian was a high school graduate. Everything she said sounded reasonable and pleasant to listen to.
No wonder she was considered the most educated military wife in the compound.
Even Wang Meizi, the plump military wife who had been criticizing Liu Guilan moments ago, fell silent.
Lu Cuilian was not only outstanding herself, but she also taught at a county high school.
Her husband, Xu Hongbing, had already become the commanding officer of the Third Battalion before reaching thirty years old.
Among all the military wives present, only Lu Cuilian dared to openly challenge Sun Runzhi, the political commissar’s wife.
Compared to them, Wang Meizi’s husband was nearly forty and only a company commander. Naturally, she did not dare continue arguing.
Meanwhile, Gu Panpan stood nearby, thoroughly enjoying the gossip.
Her outing had not been wasted at all.
She had actually managed to hear people discussing her.
At the very least, she now understood how the military wives in the compound viewed her, and she had also discovered that they were nowhere near as harmonious as they appeared on the surface.
Still, what they were saying was not entirely wrong.
She almost felt too embarrassed to argue with them.
Mainly because there were too many of them and she would definitely lose.
If she herself had not been the topic of discussion, she would have happily sat down with them to chat and trade gossip.
Uh-oh! It seemed they had noticed her.
Should she leave? Or should she walk over and properly introduce herself before leaving?
Why did she always get caught every time she eavesdropped on gossip?
…
“Hello, sisters-in-law. My name is Gu Panpan. I’m Qin Zhan’s wife. Oh, I mean Deputy Battalion Commander Qin’s country wife.”
Gu Panpan trotted over to the group and introduced herself cheerfully.
These military wives looked strangely familiar.
Especially the plump one.
She was the same woman who had once been gossiping about Gu Panpan and Qin Zhan outside their courtyard, then calmly walked away with an awkward synchronized-arm-and-leg stride after discovering they had been eavesdropping from around the corner.