Lu Xinran instinctively grabbed onto him.
“Are you alright?” A concerned voice came from above her.
“I-I’m fine. My feet just aren’t used to it after getting off the bike.” Lu Xinran felt a little embarrassed and didn’t dare look at him.
“Stamp your feet a little. They’ll be fine. I didn’t think this through. I should have borrowed a vehicle from the army and driven here.”
Li Yanfeng felt somewhat guilty.
“It’s fine. They’ll recover in a moment.”
Lu Xinran understood. Everything had been arranged rather hastily.
He had already done a very good job. Nothing had gone wrong at all.
After a while, the soles of her feet finally felt normal again, and she quickly let go of Li Yanfeng.
Colonel Li lowered his eyes and saw that she seemed a little flustered.
He didn’t expose her embarrassment.
Afterward, Li Yanfeng took her to the furniture counter.
They bought three beds, one for each bedroom.
Three pairs of bedside tables, two wardrobes, and two chests of drawers.
A wooden sofa, a coffee table, a dining table, four chairs, and five or six plastic stools.
After buying most of the large furniture, they went to the market to buy other necessities.
Toilet paper, a broom, a dustpan, a bucket, washbasins, enamel mugs, and a water flask.
She actually had all these things in her space. She could take some out later and use them.
They also needed things for the kitchen: pots, bowls, ladles, a cupboard, a water jar, and a water dipper.
They had a clear idea of what they needed, so they managed to buy almost everything within two or three hours.
They also bought several sets of sheets, quilt covers, quilts, and pillows.
That afternoon, the transport team delivered everything they had bought to the family compound.
It filled two large trucks to the brim.
After Li Yanfeng and Lu Xinran returned, they began cleaning the house.
The military wives from the family compound all came over to watch the excitement.
A military wife wearing a long-sleeved floral shirt with her hair tied in a low ponytail walked in. She looked capable and energetic.
Li Yanfeng was helping several soldiers from the logistics department carry things into the house.
“Oh my, Yanfeng, is this your wife? She’s really beautiful! They told me yesterday that your wife had come to find you, but I didn’t believe them! I didn’t expect it to be true!” the woman asked with a smile.
Lu Xinran looked at her, somewhat surprised.
Earlier, she had noticed how frightened the military wives seemed of him, and she still remembered their comments about him.
Now, seeing a woman who wasn’t afraid of him was indeed rather unusual.
Lu Xinran looked at Li Yanfeng questioningly. She had just arrived here and didn’t know anyone.
Li Yanfeng wiped his hands on his clothes before briefly introducing them.
“Xinran, this is Sister-in-Law Xu Aihua, the wife of the commander of the First Infantry Regiment.”
“She lives in the small courtyard up ahead. She’ll be our neighbor from now on.”
“Sister-in-Law, this is my wife, Lu Xinran.”
Xu Aihua always wore a smile. She looked like the cheerful, easygoing type who was easy to get along with.
“Hello, Sister-in-Law Xu.” Lu Xinran greeted her gently.
“Oh my, my little sister-in-law is so gentle. Even my loud voice makes me afraid I’ll scare her. Yanfeng, you have to treat her well.”
“I know.” Li Yanfeng agreed.
“Xinran, Yanfeng is usually very busy. If there’s anything you don’t understand, come ask me. Don’t be shy.”
“Have you bought everything you need?” Xu Aihua glanced inside.
“More or less. We might still be missing a few small things. We’ll check again after the furniture is all arranged and see what else we need.” Lu Xinran smiled.
“Alright. There’s a military supply store in the family compound. They sell all kinds of things. Basically, anything you’d normally need at home can be found there.”
“There’s also a supply and marketing cooperative about fifteen minutes away by bicycle. There’s a commune nearby, with several production brigades under it.”
“If you have time, I can take you to the supply and marketing cooperative and show you the way. They sell vegetables and meat, and they have a much wider selection.”
Sister-in-Law Xu was very talkative and warmhearted. Once she started, she could go on endlessly.
After she finished, she suddenly said somewhat sheepishly, “Xinran, you don’t think I’m being too long-winded, do you?”
“Of course not. I know you’re kind, helpful, and warmhearted, and you’re being so nice to me.” Lu Xinran smiled.
Xu Aihua felt even happier after hearing that.
“It’s good that you understand, Xinran.”
“Xu Aihua! What are you doing here making such a fuss again? I could hear that loud voice of yours from way down the road!”
Another military wife walked in.
She wore the most fashionable haircut of the era—the short Hulan style.
She spoke loudly and dramatically, like a firecracker.
“Zhou Meifang, what are you doing here? You’re so fierce. Don’t scare my little sister-in-law Xinran!”
“You’re the fierce one! Xinran isn’t even afraid of Colonel Li. Do you really think she’d be afraid of me?” Zhou Meifang glared at her, clearly unwilling to admit defeat.
Colonel Li: What did I do to deserve this?
“Xinran, let me introduce you. This fierce woman is Zhou Meifang, the wife of the director of the military district’s Political Department. She’s basically a firecracker. She speaks too bluntly and gets on people’s nerves.”
“Hello, Sister-in-Law Zhou.” Lu Xinran greeted her politely as well.
She could tell that the two women must have a good relationship. Otherwise, they wouldn’t talk to each other like this.
“I heard yesterday from Old Yang that Colonel Li had submitted a marriage application. I didn’t believe it, so I came over today to see for myself, and it’s actually true!”
“Xinran is really beautiful. I think she’s even prettier than those female soldiers from the art troupe. Colonel Li is really lucky.” Zhou Meifang was also quite the chatterbox.
People like this were much more comfortable to get along with. They didn’t seem to have any ulterior motives.
Being praised so directly made Lu Xinran a little embarrassed.
“Look at you! You’ve praised Xinran until she’s too embarrassed to look up.”
“Girls from big cities tend to be more reserved. I understand. If you ever need anything or run into a problem you can’t solve, just come tell us.” Zhou Meifang spoke in a straightforward, generous manner.
“Okay, I understand. Thank you, Sisters-in-Law.”
“You two ladies chat with Xinran. I’ll go inside and move some things.” At this moment, Li Yanfeng spoke up.
He was worried that the women would feel uncomfortable with him standing around.
“Alright, go ahead. We’ll have a chat with Xinran.”
There were still some of the things they had bought that hadn’t been carried inside yet, so he went in to put them away.
Seeing Li Yanfeng enter the house, the other wives who had been watching from the entrance finally gathered up the courage to come inside.
At this moment, a woman with high cheekbones and a sun-reddened face walked in.
She wore a fake smile that didn’t reach her eyes.
“Oh my, you must be Colonel Li’s wife, right?”
“With such soft, delicate skin, I bet you don’t know how to do any work. Can you even cook?”
Lu Xinran noticed that the moment she finished speaking, Xu Aihua and Zhou Meifang both rolled their eyes at her in unison.
They clearly didn’t like her very much.
“I can cook,” Lu Xinran said calmly.
“We all use clay stoves here. Do you know how to use one? I don’t believe it. Those educated youths who are sent down to the countryside don’t know how to do anything when they first arrive.”
“I don’t know how yet, but I can learn,” she answered seriously.
The woman scoffed.
“Xinran, if there’s anything you don’t know how to do, just ask me. I’ll teach you. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can eat at my house too,” Xu Aihua said with a smile.
“I have vegetables growing in my courtyard too. If there’s anything you want to eat, just come pick some,” Zhou Meifang added.
“Thank you, Sisters-in-Law.” Lu Xinran smiled.
At this point, the high-cheekboned woman spoke again.
“Girl, you’d better be careful after marrying Colonel Li.”