“That would be wonderful!” the round-faced military wife exclaimed, slapping her thigh.
“Please ask around for us. If they’re really hiring, what are the requirements? Age? Do they need people who are quick with their hands? Do applicants have to be literate? There are plenty of capable wives in our compound with nothing to do!”
“Exactly!” Aunt Zhang chimed in, leaning closer. “The most important thing is that they have to be reliable.”
“Lili, when you ask, make sure you do it seriously. If it’s a good opportunity, we can all recommend trustworthy people. That’s much better than hiring outsiders, don’t you think?”
Everyone chimed in one after another, asking Bai Lili to help gather information. She smiled and agreed on the surface, but inside she felt as though a lump of cotton was lodged in her chest.
At last, the conversation about the job died down.
Before long, however, the women had already moved on to another juicy topic.
“Hey, have you all heard what happened to Old Sun’s family?” the long-faced aunt asked mysteriously, blinking.
“What happened? I only heard they were arguing. Why?”
“What else could it be? Didn’t her husband retire after getting injured?
“Now that his benefits have been cut and his wife still hasn’t found a job, they’ve been fighting every single day. Yesterday they almost came to blows…”
Listening to this endless stream of neighborhood gossip—irrelevant to her, yet as sharp as knives—Bai Lili’s smile became more and more strained until it was nearly impossible to keep up.
But she still hadn’t forgotten why she’d come.
She waited until the chatter finally paused before quickly seizing the opportunity.
“Have you heard? My sister-in-law went shopping yesterday and came home carrying bags and bags of things. I heard she spent money at the department store like water.
“She bought two polyester dresses in one go, a pair of red leather shoes, a tin wind-up frog, canned food, malted milk…
“Tsk, tsk. Anyone who didn’t know better would think her family had a mountain of gold.”
The courtyard instantly fell silent.
Oblivious to everyone’s reaction, Bai Lili continued talking.
“Well… I suppose it’s understandable. Brother Yanchuan’s survivor’s compensation must’ve been quite a lot.
“…Sigh. I just feel sorry for Yanchuan. My Haichuan even said we should help support them in the future, but look at her—spending money so extravagantly…
“There’ll only be more expenses down the road.”
Everyone fell into awkward silence.
Right now, if there was anyone in the compound whose gossip absolutely couldn’t be discussed, Su Jiuyue ranked first—or at least second.
Political Commissar Zhang’s warning had been so severe.
Who would dare talk about her?
Someone immediately changed the subject.
“I heard Old Fang’s second son came back!”
“Oh? Didn’t he marry into his wife’s family? Why’s he back now…?”
“…”
Bai Lili’s face turned green once again.
These people weren’t listening to her at all.
None of them were willing to continue the topic she’d started.
Fuming, she spun on her heel and stormed away.
The crowd quietly watched her leave before exchanging looks.
They curled their lips in disdain.
Did she really think they were fools who’d believe whatever she said?
Bah!
At that moment, Jiaojiao arrived at the training grounds with Yunsheng, following behind the Luo brothers.
Jiaojiao was beautiful, cheerful, and easy to like. She had always been the most popular child among the youngsters.
The moment she appeared, the children swarmed around her.
“Jiaojiao! My mom wouldn’t let me come play with you these past few days because she was afraid you’d be too sad…”
“Yeah! My grandma even knitted you a pair of gloves. She said she’d bring them over in a couple of days, after… after some ‘seven’ thing.”
“And I saved seven candies for you! I’ll bring them tomorrow!”
Everyone spoke at once, each eager to show how much they cared for her.
Standing beside her, Yunsheng had never experienced anything like this before.
Seeing how loved his new little sister was, he unconsciously tightened his grip on her hand, feeling a little nervous.
Jiaojiao noticed immediately.
She pulled him in front of everyone.
“Fatty Liu! Let me introduce someone. This is my big brother, Yunsheng! He’s going to live with us from now on, so everyone can play together!”
The boy nicknamed “Fatty Liu” was the one who had mentioned the gloves. His grandparents lived at the retired military cadres’ residence, so he didn’t stay here very often.
Only then did Fatty Liu really notice Yunsheng.
After looking him over carefully, his face lit up.
“Jiaojiao, your big brother is handsome too! I like him!”
He proudly patted his chest.
“Hello, Brother Yunsheng! My name is Liu Shengli. My grandparents live at the retirement compound. You can call me Fatty Liu, just like Jiaojiao does!”
Yunsheng hadn’t expected everyone to welcome him so warmly.
He froze for a moment before softly replying,
“Hello, everyone. My name is Yunsheng.”
The other children hurriedly introduced themselves as well.
“Hello, Brother Yunsheng! I’m Qin Sansheng!”
“Hello, Brother Yunsheng! I’m Luo Weimin!”
“My name is…”
Before long, the seven or eight children were laughing and playing together like old friends.
The Luo brothers were older than the rest, so instead of joining the younger kids, they wandered over to watch the soldiers training.
Meanwhile, the children had already decided what game to play.
“Let’s play Cops and Robbers! We’ll take turns being the robber. I’ll be the robber first!”
The reason Jiaojiao was the leader of the children wasn’t just because she’d known everyone longer.
More importantly, she was loyal.
Nobody liked playing the “robber,” so Jiaojiao always volunteered to go first.
“Okay!” everyone shouted in unison.
Jiaojiao quickly explained the rules to Yunsheng. The game was simple, and he understood immediately.
The game soon began.
Not long afterward, Jiaojiao, playing the “robber,” caught one of the “cops,” who then became the next robber.
The children chased one another across the field, laughing nonstop.
Before long, Yunsheng had completely immersed himself in the joy of the game.
But happy moments always passed too quickly.
Just as they were having the most fun, Li Tao swaggered over with two followers.
Without warning, he shoved Jiaojiao hard.
“I want to play too!
“I’ll be the cop!
“I want to be the division commander!”
Caught completely off guard, Jiaojiao fell hard onto the ground.
Before she could even react—
Yunsheng shot forward like a cannonball.
He slammed straight into Li Tao, knocking him flat before climbing on top of him and throwing punches with both fists.
Fatty Liu and the other children had suffered plenty of bullying from Li Tao in the past.
Seeing someone finally fight back, they all excitedly waved their little fists and shouted,
“Hit him!”
“Beat him!”
Jiaojiao froze for a heartbeat before snapping back to her senses.
She rushed forward, swinging her fists, and joined the fight.
At first, Fatty Liu and the others only cheered from the sidelines.
But the moment they saw Jiaojiao charging in as well, they were stunned.
Then, as if receiving an order from their commander, they all rushed forward together.
They didn’t dare actually hit Li Tao.
Instead, they formed a tight circle around him and his two lackeys, blocking every possible escape route while shouting over one another.
“Jiaojiao, beat him! Last time he stole my slingshot!”
“That’s right! His mom’s a bad woman!”
Jiaojiao had been holding back her anger for days.
She never expected Li Tao to come looking for trouble again.
Now she was like a little leopard whose patience had run out.
She climbed onto Li Tao from the other side and rained punches down with both fists.
With every blow, she vented all the hurt and anger she’d been bottling up inside.
“That’s for pushing me!”
“That’s for bullying me!”
“That’s for letting your mom bully my mom! Bad woman!”
“That’s for your shameless family!”
“That’s for stealing my daddy!”
“Take that! Take that!”