Chapter 39: Invitation

He Xiaoyun and Xu Lanxiang went to the market the next day to buy veggies.

Wei Yuanhang and Wang Derong sat side by side on their laps separately since they left late and the seats were all occupied in the bus.

The bus traveled all the way from the city to the outskirts, gradually replacing the clean roadways with low sheds and fields. Along the way, Xu Lanxiang informed He Xiaoyun about the recent developments in the area.

"How many years has sister Xu been with Brother Wang in the army?" He Xiaoyun curiously inquired after noticing that Lanxiang seemed familiar with the area. 

"What brother Wang? Just call him Lao Wang," Xu Lanxiang remarked with a smile.

"When he's promoted to be a deputy battalion commander, I'm already here for four to five years, and Rongrong was still in my stomach. I can be considered as one of the first batches to enter the army."

"It's been a long time." He Xiaoyun stated.

"What about you? In fact, many people have been asking me and Lao Wang before to introduce Old Wei to them. You see, he's young, decent, and has a bright future. Everyone knows that. We didn't even know when he got married, If he hadn't reported it to the troops, everyone would be kept in the dark. At that time, I was thinking every day, who was it? How can Old Wei be so fascinated? Does she have the appearance of a Goddess? As a result, I waited until now. Why didn't you come here before?"

If I had come here before, wouldn't I be fighting that man's pursuers? He Xiaoyun thought.

Of course, the sentence up above can't be said, so He Xiaoyun had to vaguely say: "My child is still young and the elders in the family thought that I'm still too green to go, they aren't in ease to see me leave." 

Xu Lanxiang nodded in recognition, "Yes, I kind of understand. I think you're not too old, you still have the look of a beautiful little girl. By the way, how old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"That's really young, you're seven or eight years younger than me. How did you meet Old Wei?"

He Xiaoyun continued to bite the bullet and said nonsense: "We're in the same brigade, and we knew each other since we were young."

"So, you two are childhood sweethearts? No wonder that the other little girls can't catch Old Wei's sight." Xu Lanxiang spoke with a smile.

He Xiaoyun smiled and quickly changed the subject, "What about Sister Xu and Lao Wang? How did the two of you meet?"

"I used to work in a quilt factory. The workshop director and Lao Wang's old boss were classmates. Later, our factory formed a pact with the army."

"Then, sister Xu fell in love with him at first sight?" He Xiaoyun guessed.

Xu Lanxiang chuckled, "How can I? I didn't look at him at that time. Don't look at me like that, I was also the flower(beauty) in our factory back then. Although old Wang looks pretty good, he's a rural man. My thinking at that time is, if you get married, it would be too tiring. So, I didn’t think about him in the beginning. But he was stubborn, whenever the troops rested, he would come to guard our factory. This guard comes and goes. I don't know what happened next, I just agreed to be with him in a daze."

He Xiaoyun joked: "How could a clever person like sister Xu agree in a silly way? You must really be willing."

"I'm smart, but also stupid."

The two chatted all the way, and it didn't take long before they arrived at the market.

Xu Lanxiang is skillful in picking vegetables and bargaining with vegetable farmers. He Xiaoyun basically only needs to follow her in buying.

"By the way, what are you going to cook?" Xu Lanxiang asked He Xiaoyun.

"Braised pork elbow, sweet and sour pork ribs, pan-fried fish, and three more vegetable dishes. Does sister Xu think this will work?"

"Of course. I have a stove you can borrow."

"Okay, then I will thank sister Xu first."

The two bought a lot of fresh vegetables, bought maltose for each of the two children, and went back home.

<>

He Xiaoyun told Wei Jianwei to invite his guests when he went out in the morning. Seeing his reluctance, she wanted to laugh a little. He obviously had a good relationship with those comrades-in-arms, but why was he reluctant to invite them?

---

Because Lin Yuefei's office was the closest, Wei Jianwei informed him first. After Lin Yuefei heard the invitation, he exaggeratedly pulled out his ears, "What? Old Wei, what did you say? You'll let me go to your house for dinner tomorrow?"

Wei Jianwei's face darkened.

Lin Yuefei thought about it and soon figured it out. He said with a smile, "It was my sister-in-law, didn't she? She asked you to come and invite us to eat at your home."

Now, Wei Jianwei didn't even want to talk to him.

But Lin Yuefei poked into it more and deliberately said next to him: "Why do I remember that two days ago, someone said that they didn't cook for my meal? Old Wei, what do you think about this? "

Wei Jianwei turned and walked out. Lin Yuefei caught up with him and humbly said, "Old Wei, you're not doing it right. At least you have to give me an invitation. Where is my invitation?"

Seeing that Wei Jianwei continued to ignore him, Lin Yuefei smiled, "There's no invitation? You should at least say a word of invitation. For example, 'Lao Lin, please come to my house for dinner tomorrow.' That's how you do it. "

Wei Jianwei finally had enough of him and reacted. He turned around and stared at Lin Yuefei, and said: "I see, so you're not free tomorrow. I will go back and inform my wife to cook one fewer meal. " 

He left after speaking.

Lin Yuefei was stunned on the spot. It took him a long time to recall what Wei Jianwei meant, and he hurriedly rushed to catch up, "Who said I'm not free tomorrow? I'm free! I'm very free. Old Wei? Old Wei! I won't let this go. I was wrong, Old Wei, don’t be so stingy! "

<>

In the afternoon, Wei Jianwei ran into Wang Liqiang, the commander of the first battalion, on the training ground. Before he could speak, Wang Liqiang spoke, "I heard that your wife wants to invite us to dinner tomorrow."

Wei Jianwei responded indifferently.

Wang Liqiang patted him on the shoulder and smiled, "Why are you so unhappy? I have heard that after your wife arrived, you stick to her every day. How can this be done, old Wei? "

Wei Jianwei nodded in agreement, and then changed the subject. "I suddenly remembered something. That lady in the cultural troupe back then... Do you think Sister Xu would like to meet her? "

Wang Liqiang's smile became stagnant, but he quickly fought back with a grin, "As soon as you say it, I also remembered that there is a lady from the arts and crafts troupe that likes you. Should I let Sister He and her get to know each other?"

The two played blackmail riddles. Actually, this was no secret. It was a few years ago when the cultural and art-crafts troupe had a friendship with the army troops. At that time, Wang Liqiang was interested in a lady, but the other party and another lady fell in love with Wei Jianwei.

At that time, the troop leader deliberately grouped the four of them into two pairs, but unfortunately, the lady had no intention of going out with Wang Liqiang, and Wei Jianwei had no interest in going on a date either.

Wang Liqiang told the people around him that they were all dead if someone told Xu Lanxiang about this matter.

Others were suppressed by Wang Liqiang's prestige. Before today, Wei Jianwei believed he (Liqiang) had no control over him. But now, when Wang Liqiang mentioned the lady from the arts and crafts troupe who liked him at first, Jianwei subconsciously felt that this matter could not be revealed to He Xiaoyun, even though he had a clear conscience.

At this moment, the two men grabbed at each other's blackmail materials, and no one wanted to back out.

"You are ruthless," they both said quietly to each other. Then, at the same time, they turned around and left in disgust.

<>

The next morning, He Xiaoyun got up early and hurried to the market. This time, Wei Jianwei went with her.

Last time, because she couldn't carry it, He Xiaoyun only bought rice and noodles for a few days. Now that she has free labor, she can buy more with peace of mind.

In addition to the two pork knuckles, small half-scalloped ribs, and two fish, Xiaoyun bought some fruits and candies to entertain the children. For the time being, vegetables and eggs are available at home, so she doesn’t need to buy them.

The two went back to the family building. Wei Yuanhang heard the movement and ran over from the next door: "Mom and dad, you're back."

Fearing that there were too many people in the market, Xiaoyun could not take the child. In the morning, He Xiaoyun left Wei Yuanhang at Xu Lanxiang’s place. She said a lot of good things to coax him and promised to come back with delicious food so that the child obediently agreed. But the child still felt wrong. 

He Xiaoyun took out a few candied haws and said, "You and Rongrong each have one. You have to give each of Rongrong's brothers and sisters one, too."

The child ran away happily while holding the candied haws.

Not long after, Xu Lanxiang came over, "You can just buy it for Xiaoyuan. The gluttonous monkeys in my family can't fill their stomachs with how much they eat."

"It won't cost much." He Xiaoyun smiled.

Xu Lanxiang shook her head and rolled up her sleeves to help, "Are you going to wash the vegetables?"

He Xiaoyun hurriedly said, "I can do it by myself, and I'm not being polite with Sister Xu. When I need to open the fire in the stove, I will call you to help me. "

Xu Lanxiang waved her hand, "I'm idle at home. Rather than watching my monkeys (children) make a fuss, it's better to hide quietly in your place. "

Seeing that Xu Lanqiang had already started to work with the vegetables, He Xiaoyun had no choice but to let her do it. "Sister Xu needs to eat more, otherwise you won't be able to get back your hard work."

The two of them washed the vegetables, and Wei Jianwei carried a bucket to fetch water.

When Xu Lanxiang saw this, she joked: "Your old Wei is considerate. No, it should be said that you taught him well. My old Wang, I need to shout before he's willing to move. I said he was like a stubborn cow in the field, only taking a step when being whipped. "

He Xiaoyun was amused, "Maybe Lao Wang just likes to hear Sister Xu call for him."

"Bah, he likes being called out by me?" Xu Lanxiang smiled and took a sip of water.

They washed vegetables for a while, and two more women appeared at the door. They looked into the room with some hesitation. When they saw Xu Lanxiang, they sighed with peace of mind, "I was right. This is the home of Lao Wei and his family. "

Xu Lanxiang looked up to see them both and smiled, "You two aren't late."

The two laughed and walked in, "That's good. That's good. "

Xu Lanxiang introduced them to He Xiaoyun. The two women who came were the lovers of Lao Zhao and Lao Zhang; one was surnamed Huang, named Huang Lizhen, and the other was named Li Xijin.

Looking at He Xiaoyun, the two couldn't help but praise her.

Huang Lizhen said, "Our old Zhang went home and told me that Lao Lin saw Lao Wei's wife and said that she was more beautiful than the ladies of the cultural troupe. I didn't believe it at that time. Now that I saw her with my own eyes, I feel that Lao Lin didn't exaggerate. "

Li Xijin also said: "The key is not only that she's beautiful, but also that she's in good shape. This old Wei, he doesn't know what kind of blessing it is to marry a beautiful wife like this. "

He Xiaoyun blushed with their praise. She hurriedly asked them all to sit down, and then went to serve some water.

Xu Lanxiang grabbed her, "It's just a few of us. You don't need to be polite. The two of them came early, they definitely came to work instead of drinking water. "

Xu Lanxiang is the oldest woman here, and since she said so, the two naturally agreed.

The four women who chatted while working in the kitchen were not bored at all. It was Wei Jianwei who stood still in the house for a few minutes after bringing the water back. They were all women, which made Jianwei quite uncomfortable, so he hid outside.

After he left, Huang Lizhen smiled, "Have you seen? Just now, the look in Old Wei's eyes turned towards Xiaoyun. "

Xu Lanxiang also quipped, "I found out two days ago that Jianwei almost wanted to tie Xiaoyun on his trouser belt when he went to work. "

"Tsk tsk, I can't tell at all."

"Xiaoyun is really good. Give us some tips, how can you make Old Wei stick to you so much? "

In the past, when Xu Lanxiang joked, He Xiaoyun couldn't stand it. This time, three women were teasing her, and she couldn't bear it. Xioayun couldn't help but blush. She pretended to be angry: "If you do this again, I will be angry."

"Oh, don't be angry. What would we do if Old Wei fought for his wife? We can't beat him. "

The three women spoke more happily.

He Xiaoyun had no choice but to escape under the pretext of heating some hot water.

Wei Jianwei and Wang Liqiang were talking on the other side of the corridor, and when Wei Jianwei saw her head downstairs, he followed.

He Xiaoyun drew water in the heating room, turned around, and almost bumped into Wei Jianwei. Xiaoyun patted her chest and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you call for me?" Wei Jianwei picked up the kettle in her hand.

How could He Xiaoyun call him? If she really did, those teasing three women would laugh harder.

He Xiaoyun became annoyed while looking at the man and said, "I blame you for this."

Why did you blame me again? Wei Jianwei helplessly thought.

He Xiaoyun continued to murmur, "You can talk to Lao Wang and the others. Don't go back with me to the house, or else my sisters will laugh at me again. "

Wei Jianwei guessed what happened. Seeing her embarrassed appearance, he thought for a while, "I will make an appointment with Lao Zhao and Lao Zhang to learn from each other."

After a few seconds, He Xiaoyun understood what he meant. He was going to vent her anger.

Although it seemed cruel to count Huang Lizhen and the others teasing her with their men, Xiaoyun couldn't help but wonder, "Have you ever practiced with them?"

Wei Jianwei touched her head, "Don't worry."

"Then practice a little bit, don't go too far." He Xiaoyun carefully suggested.

"I have a sense of measure."

After she heard him, He Xiaoyun felt a little sweet, she then quietly gloated in her heart: You three women are laughing at me. Now, your men will be taught a lesson by my man!

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T/N: Jianwei is lowkey getting revenge for his wife~ And by the way, If you like this translation, you can go donate to my Kofi or patreon~ 

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