People are like this, coming and going; today you leave, tomorrow she arrives—everyone is just a passerby.
A new family has moved in, also at the level of a platoon leader. Their surna is Song. Platoon Leader Song’s full na is Song Cheng, and he ca here during the annual troop rotation. He’s thirty-five or six, a man of few words who exudes masculinity. Usually, he doesn’t say much, just nods slightly when eting others. He certainly looks like a typical soldier, serious and authoritative.
As for his wife, Sister-in-law Song, she has dark skin, a loud voice, and a fiery temper. She’s the epito of a rural woman, and oddly enough, she doesn’t care much for tidiness. Her hair is always in a ss. Perhaps it’s due to years of hard work, she looks a few years older than Song Cheng—barely in her thirties but looking like she’s forty-one.
They have one child, but it’s a pair of twin sons, only five years old. However, because Sister-in-law Song doesn’t like tidying up, both kids are always dirty, with snot all over their faces.
Hualing and her husband used to live in an apartnt with just one bedroom and a living room, and it was just barely enough space for them. Even so, Hualing still complained the place was small. Now that the Song family has moved in, a family of four with a lot of belongings and growing children, the space seems even more cramped.
After two days, Cheng Su happened to pass by and found the place very ssy and cramped. She couldn’t imagine how the family lived there.
"I took the chance to help out and took a look inside. They have two beds in the room, leaving no space for a cabinet. They have a lot of people and a lot of stuff, with things piled up in the living room—it’s quite a ss," Chunhua told Cheng Su one night while visiting to watch TV in her ho.
Cheng Su had visited their apartnt before. Although it has one bedroom and one living room, the space is quite small. How could they fit two beds in the room? With the kids so grown, it’s unimaginable for the whole family to squeeze into one room.
"How can they have two beds in there? If I were them, I would set up a separate space for the two boys in the living room. It’s not just that; the kids are so big now. If the couple happens to be doing sothing, and the kids see it, how do you explain that?" Chunhua clicked her tongue.
Cheng Su was sipping birds nest sugar water and almost spat it out at Chunhua’s words.
Seeing her choke, Chunhua grinned sheepishly, "I wasn’t wrong, was I?"
Cheng Su wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and said, "Maybe they didn’t think of it. They just moved in, and everything is still chaotic."
"That’s true."
"Setting up a space in the living room for a bed would be good. Their apartnt has fewer rooms, but the living room is quite big," Cheng Su added.
"That’s how I feel too, but since they’re new and we’re not that familiar, I’m hesitant to bring it up. We don’t know them well. If they claim I’m ddling in their affairs, I’d be wasting my goodwill," Chunhua replied.
"That’s true. Let’s observe for a while," Cheng Su agreed.
A person’s character often reveals itself in small matters, and it’s usually evident. But Cheng Su didn’t want to be petty, getting to know soone takes ti.
As for neighbors, it’s better to be friendly with good ones, but if they’re not, just maintaining appearances is enough; if it really falls apart, just don’t interact.
And about soone’s personality—maybe they can act for a while, but can they keep it up?
So, only over ti and through interactions can you judge whether this family will be close friends or just acquaintances.
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