Following along this ti were a couple with their two children. They were exactly the Qin Hongbing and his wife Liu Erhong that Han Yi often ntioned.
Earlier this year, near the New Year, Qin Hongbing brought his wife and children from their hotown. As planned, the army followed suit.
The apartnt Qin Hongbing applied for was a two-bedroom, one-living-room suite. Luckily, both children were boys and could share a room.
The older one was eight, in second grade. The younger one was six, just started first grade.
Sister-in-law Zhang and the others introduced themselves, and quickly called her sister-in-law.
Liu Erhong was two years older than Sister-in-law Zhang, but here, Sister-in-law Zhang also had to call her Sister-in-law Liu.
"We just arrived, and can’t change our hotown dialect imdiately. Sorry if any of you find it amusing,"
Sister-in-law Liu was quite cheerful; although she spoke with a hotown dialect, her deanor and actions were very well-mannered.
Being able to get along with Sister-in-law Zhang, she should be quite decent.
The two children, possibly due to just arriving here, seed timid when facing so many strangers, but they were very polite.
Perhaps because they had been playing well with Pidan lately, and with Wang Zeyang, the little one following behind, the four played quite comfortably.
After greeting the adults, Pidan led the other three to amuse the two children.
With the children occupied, the adults felt a bit more relaxed.
Wang Yuan saw that the al was ready, quickly leading the n to take their seats.
Lin Yuan knew there would be many people today, so she specially borrowed the table from the opposite door.
The n and won were divided into two tables. The children didn’t eat much, so Lin Wan prepared a big bowl of stew for them, along with stead buns in soup.
The kids enjoyed eating the soup-soaked dish rather than the food itself.
The four children ate while teasing each other.
Sun Yu worried the group of children would be careless and injure her Little Stone. During the al, everyone chatted, but Sun Yu kept an eye on the children.
This made Sister-in-law Zhang a bit unhappy.
Though her Pidan was mischievous, he always acted with limits.
Zhang Cuiping hadn’t had a chance to speak before Sun Yu ran to the children and picked up her son in her arms.
Sitting down, holding the child, picking the food to eat.
"Sister Sun, why don’t you put the child in the stroller, and let my two children watch him for a while? Though they’re young, they’re good at watching children; they often helped their aunt back ho. Then you can eat well," Liu Erhong suggested to Sun Yu with a smile.
"It’s alright, I’m used to it; at ho, I always eat while taking care of the child. I’m proficient at it. Without the child, I wouldn’t be comfortable," Sun Yu stubbornly replied, while it was obvious to Lin Wan that she was having trouble handling the food.
Liu Erhong, seeing she wasn’t appreciated, said no more.
A few minutes later, Little Star suddenly started crying on their side.
"Why’s she crying, Pidan, did you accidentally hurt the baby?" Sister-in-law Zhang’s first thought was that a child had accidentally bumped into the baby.
Sun Yu heard this, grinned, inwardly praising herself for being alert and having brought the child back.
Who would have thought Pidan’s next words would freeze Sun Yu’s smile?
"Mom, it’s not , it’s little sister, she pooped, and she slls stinky,"
Lin Wan felt embarrassed and apologized to everyone.
Quickly got up to take care of the child,
Upon hearing, Han Yi also quickly ca over, "You go eat, I’ll handle it,"
Lin Wan looked at the n’s table, who were drinking rrily, "Go ahead, don’t drink too much, I’ll help with the child,"
"Oh, Sister-in-law Lin and Captain Han are such a loving couple. Even changing diapers, so actively," Shi Lan laughed from the side.
Lin Yuan quickly got up to prepare hot water for Lin Wan.
Unlike others, Sun Yu comnted, "Sister-in-law, hurry and handle the child, knowing there’s a gathering tonight, why didn’t you prepare in advance?"
Lin Wan paused, laughed, "So things you can’t control," but she knew the child’s poop indeed affected everyone’s appetite.
Lin Wan took the child to Lin Yuan’s room to handle the situation, whereas Han Yi carried water in.
Liu Erhong, having lived in rural areas with many children, didn’t mind, "We’re all parents here, we’ve been through this. Not much fuss."
"Yes, Little Star is very clean, doesn’t even stink when pooping, Sister-in-law Sun, would you like to see?" Shi Lan intentionally teased Sun Yu, disliking her deanor.
"How can you say that, so inconsiderate," Sun Yu replied coldly, not fearing Shi Lan at all.
"What’s wrong with what I said? Isn’t it true?" Shi Lan raised her eyebrow, eting her gaze.
Sister-in-law Zhang, seeing things weren’t great, quickly intervened, "Alright, alright, let’s eat. The weather is cold, the dishes will soon get cold, today’s al made by Xiao Yuan is actually quite good."
Lin Yuan quickly followed up, "Sister-in-law guessed wrong, today, I just made one dish; all others were made by Xiao Wan and Xiao Lan, their cooking skills are indeed good."
"These dishes compare to the chefs at our town’s state-run restaurant. Truly good. I only know country dishes, can’t make flavors like this. Any chance I could learn from you two?" Liu Erhong asked.
"Sister-in-law Liu, you’re asking the wrong people. They’re never ho, can’t teach even if they want. I learned so dishes at the governnt canteen, co over to my place on weekends, and we’ll figure it out together," Sister-in-law Zhang offered.
"Alright."
Initially unpleasant matters were brushed aside by a few people.
Talking round in circles, they couldn’t avoid Lin Wan, making Sun Yu irritated. Despite enjoying the food, she didn’t eat upon realizing it was made by Lin Wan.
Having changed Little Star’s diaper, Han Yi promptly washed the dirty diaper in Lin Yuan’s bathroom.
The n saw, chuckled teasingly at Han Yi.
"You’re a good prospective daddy," Qin Hongbing laughed, patting Han Yi, who had sat down.
"I’m not like you; my son’s diaper? I never touched it," Yang Wei laughed at himself, shaking his head in admiration for Han Yi.
"Your son compared to my precious daughter? Our girl needs pampering," Han Yi said to Yang Wei with a glance.
The remark made them all laugh heartily, resuming their drinks.
anwhile, Sun Yu felt so frustrated on the other table, thinking: What kind of people? A little girl, when grown-up, she’ll belong to soone else.
Lin Wan finished sorting out Little Star, let the kids continue taking care, and quickly ate lest the child cried later and she couldn’t enjoy the al.
However, Sun Yu, holding the child, didn’t eat well.
Lin Wan sat opposite Sun Yu, occasionally looking at her son, who seed lean and slightly yellowish.
Obvious signs of malnutrition. Lin Wan thought about speaking to Sun Yu about parenting, but seeing her arrogant deanor decided against it.
Before arriving, Liu Erhong was briefed by her husband about several people. According to Old Qin, Sun Yu was quite troubleso, advising her to limit contact.
Today, she understood why. Ever since she entered, Sun Yu barely looked at them directly, her attention favoring Lin Yuan.
Among the military spouses, Lin Yuan was the only city person with good family conditions, reputedly strong governntal ties with Wang Yuan, deeply rooted in Central Plains.
Sun Yu’s eagerness to cozy up was understandable, but her disdain for rural folks wasn’t well-received.
Tracing back generations, few truly were city people.
"I heard your uncle visited recently?" Lin Wan ignored Sun Yu’s almost rolling eyes, ate, and curiously questioned Lin Yuan.
"Yes, he arrived before the New Year, visiting various departnts for learning. Conveniently celebrating this New Year here with us. You missed him, had you been around, you might have seen, guaranteed his appearance would surprise you,"
Shi Lan viewed Lin Yuan’s enthusiasm skeptically, "Your uncle must be in his forties, fifties, what’s so surprising about a middle-aged man?"
Lin Wan laughed, nodding in agreent with Shi Lan.
Her inquiry was re curiosity about soone who had been in a coma suddenly waking.
"Didn’t I ntion? My uncle looks a lot like Xiao Wan’s brother, standing next to each other, like... Yeah, like duplicates,"
Lin Wan, surprised, chuckled, "What nonsense, can’t be identical in this world, at most a little resemblance,"
Lin Yuan didn’t think so, "You haven’t seen him, wait for a chance, guaranteed you’ll be amazed."
"Alright, alright," Lin Wan dismissed the notion.
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