Li Huifang went to work with a bellyful of doubts.
After Yang Liu and Niannian woke up from their afternoon nap, Sister Wang said she would accompany the mother and daughter for a walk around the compound.
Yang Liu said: “Let’s just play in the yard for now! She still isn’t quite used to it.”
Sister Wang said: “Our yard is small, and it’s no fun for a child to play here alone. The main compound has a large playground and all kinds of activity areas. There are lots of children there too, so Niannian can get acquainted with them.”
Sister Wang added: “This is also what Beichen wants.”
Yang Liu said: “Another day! A child who grew up running wild in the mountains won’t adapt to the compound environment that quickly.”
Seeing that Yang Liu was not going along with Zhao Beichen’s wishes, Sister Wang had no choice but to give up.
Yang Liu taught Niannian how to recognize the chess pieces and arrange them in the yard.
Sister Wang picked up a basket and headed out, saying that she was going to buy groceries. She asked Yang Liu whether she wanted to bring Niannian and go with her.
Yang Liu thought for a moment and said: “No, we won’t go. Go early and come back early.”
Yang Liu’s current goal was to let Niannian become familiar with and accustomed to life here, get rid of the bad habits she had picked up back in Yang Family Village, and get her off her hands as soon as possible.
Not long after Sister Wang left, two middle-aged women arrived. Judging from their clothes and demeanor, they did not look like people who worked at the work unit. They were a little better than the women from Yang Family Village, but their underlying background was still apparent.
The two women openly leaned against the fence and peered into the yard.
Yang Liu asked: “Who are you looking for?”
A woman with a bob haircut and a blue plaid top opened her mouth, revealing a mouthful of large yellow teeth, and exclaimed: “Good heavens! You’re the wife of the youngest Zhao Family son? You’re really good-looking!”
The other woman, who had a green headscarf wrapped around her head, nudged her with an elbow and said: “What nonsense are you spouting? The wife of the youngest Zhao is the daughter of the old Song Family. Don’t you know that?”
The woman covered her mouth. “Oh my! Look at this rotten mouth of mine. Why can’t I ever keep it shut?”
Yang Liu put down the chess piece, walked over to the fence, and looked at the two women. The corners of her lips lifted into a smile, revealing two beautiful dimples that nearly dazzled the two aunties. Her voice was gentle and her Mandarin standard as she asked: “What are you doing here? If you don’t leave, I’ll call the police. After all, spying on someone else’s privacy is illegal.”
The two women looked at each other and loudly protested: “Good heavens, how come we’re not even allowed to look? You’re going to call the police just because we took one look?”
Niannian ran over to Yang Liu’s side and took her hand. Looking at the two women outside, she asked in her childish voice: “Are you Granny Wolf?”
Yang Liu burst out laughing. The story she had told Niannian most often over the past few days was the story of Granny Wolf. This little one really was clever. Niannian could not really be blamed either, because the auntie with the green headscarf truly did look somewhat like the outward appearance of the wolf in the story.
“Why is this damned child insulting people?” the woman in the green headscarf angrily demanded as she pointed at Niannian.
The woman with the bob haircut said: “You’re already so old, why are you arguing with some wild child?”
Yang Liu could no longer tolerate it. She angrily snapped: “Who are you calling a wild child and a damned child? I think your entire family is wild and damned.”
The two aunties had not expected Yang Liu to curse at them. Both women planted their hands on their hips and started cursing back, immediately attracting a large crowd of onlookers.
Yang Liu was dumbfounded. It seemed she had fallen into these two women’s trap.
Yang Liu had indeed fallen for it. Not far from the Zhao Family home, many people were sitting outside the entrance to a corridor-style multi-family residential courtyard, discussing the latest gossip about the Zhao Family. Someone happened to see Sister Wang leave carrying a grocery basket, so they had egged those two brainless aunties into going to the Zhao Family gate to snoop.
From Yang Liu’s observations, most of these women had come from the countryside. Some were probably nannies, while others were family members of military personnel who had rural backgrounds. There were also some more respectable-looking women standing at the edge of the crowd watching, their faces filled with excitement.
The women spoke over one another, accusing Yang Liu of having no upbringing and of teaching a child who opened her mouth only to curse at people.
“How could Commander Zhao’s family accept this sort of person as their daughter-in-law?”
“Haven’t you heard? Back then, she drugged Fourth Brother Zhao and climbed into his bed, forcing Fourth Brother Zhao to marry her.”
“That’s true! One look at her and you can tell she has the face of a vixen…”
“Fourth Brother Zhao has been back in the city serving in the military for so many years, and we never heard that he had a country wife and child. How did they suddenly appear out of nowhere?”
“She must have heard that Fourth Brother Zhao is going to marry Song Zhenzhen and deliberately came here to cause trouble!”
“Peh! Shameless…”
Niannian also spat toward the fence: “Peh!” Then she said in her childish voice: “Granny Wolf, you’re not allowed to bully my mommy!”
Granny Wolf was so furious that she wished she could strangle Niannian to death. “Hey! You little bastard, you dare curse at me? Just watch me tear your mouth apart!”
Niannian said: “I’m not a bastard. My name is Zhao Yinian. My daddy’s name is Zhao Beichen.” Yang Liu had taught her that.
Several men in military uniforms came running over. Yang Liu picked up Niannian, pinched herself inside her sleeve, and her eyes immediately reddened as she began to cry. When Niannian saw her mother crying, she started crying too.
“What are you doing?” one of the newcomers rebuked them.
At that moment, Sister Wang also returned from buying groceries. The moment she saw the scene outside the house, she was dumbfounded. “What happened here?”
Yang Liu looked utterly frightened, her body trembling.
The two men in military uniforms who had arrived were from the compound’s Security Section. There were plenty of trivial disputes and family squabbles in the compound on ordinary days, and the Security Section certainly did not want to deal with their petty nonsense every day. But this involved Commander Zhao’s family, so they had to intervene.
They had seen Yang Liu and Niannian at the main gate that day.
The Section Chief said: “It’s you people again. I think you’ve really got the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard, daring to come to a Commander’s doorstep to cause trouble. Have your husbands gone so many days without whipping you with their belts that your hides are itching?”
The woman with the bob haircut said: “Section Chief, you’ve misunderstood. We just heard that the youngest Zhao’s wife and child had come back from the countryside, so we came over to take a look. We didn’t expect her and the child to curse at us.”
“That’s enough.” The Section Chief looked toward Yang Liu and nodded. “Comrade Xiao Wang, how do you want these foul-mouthed women dealt with?”
Several respectable-looking people who had been watching the commotion from the back of the crowd had already quietly slipped away.
Yang Liu said: “Leave it to Zhao Beichen to deal with.”
The Section Chief said: “Fine.” He glared at the two women and said: “Once I report this to the Commander and Company Commander Zhao, you’ll have plenty of trouble coming your way. Hmph.”
Before long, the Zhao Family members returned one after another. Yang Liu did not want to stay here for even one more day. Every member of this large family appeared amiable, but each of them wore a mask on their face. Just looking at them was exhausting.
In fact, both the eldest and second Zhao Family sons were qualified to receive housing from their work units, but neither household wanted the work-unit housing. They dressed it up nicely by saying they wanted to leave those opportunities to comrades whose families were experiencing difficulties.
In reality, they all wanted to live off the older generation.
Although they only had the right to reside in this villa, the housing allocated by their work units likewise only came with residential rights. Living here, they did not have to spend their own money on food, drink, or any of their daily necessities. None of them wanted to let the others gain an advantage. They were simply waiting to see who could outlast whom.
What had happened that afternoon was soon twisted into a story that Fourth Brother Zhao’s country wife and child had gotten into an argument with people in the compound on their very first day living there and had even cursed everyone in the entire compound.
As expected of a wild vixen and wild child from the countryside.
Zhao Beichen had returned to his company early that morning. He had only been transferred back from the border two months ago, and after returning to Beicheng, he was still serving at the grassroots level, leading and training soldiers.
Zhao Beichen’s older brothers and sisters-in-law had all seen his attitude toward Yang Liu, so Yang Liu’s position in the Zhao Family was extremely awkward.
Li Huifang was the stepmother, and she understood the thoughts of the eldest and second sons’ households perfectly well. Before dinner, she said: “Next week, we’ll set up several tables in the canteen and invite relatives and friends so they can meet Yang Liu and Niannian.”
Commander Zhao said: “The youngest shoulders heavy responsibilities and can’t stay home every day. The rest of you need to put in more effort and make sure this is handled properly.”
The eldest daughter-in-law, Guo Hongxia, deliberately put on a troubled expression and said: “Dad, Mother, even our own family still hasn’t figured this matter out clearly. How are we supposed to explain it to outsiders?”
Commander Zhao’s sharp gaze fell on Guo Hongxia. Without showing anger, he nevertheless projected an imposing authority as he said: “What exactly is unclear to you?”