Upon hearing Captain Bai’s remarks, Feng Qingxue glanced at Bai Xue who was practicing, smiled faintly and said, "Comrade Bai Xue is already married and being matrimonial is a matter of course, right? I believe that Brigadier Su would be especially pleased."
Upon hearing this, Captain Bai felt relieved and nodded, saying, "That is natural, that is certainly natural."
After a while, the women soldiers finished their practice. Jiang Xiaoyue bounced over to Xibao, saying, "Little Xibao, call me sister. Among the performers, I am the youngest, and we’re of the same generation, same generation indeed."
Feng Qingxue covered her mouth and chuckled, "Yes, same generation."
Once Jiang Xiaoyue married Lu Tianjun, she would be Xibao’s aunt. So, wouldn’t aunt and nephew be of the same generation?
"Sister Qingxue..." Jiang Xiaoyue stamped her feet, "You look so young, why should I call you Aunt Qingxue?"
"So, by letting Xibao call you sister, you want us mother and son to be of the same generation?" Feng Qingxue countered and continued, "Also, my own nephew is about your age and still calls me auntie. The generational hierarchy should not be messed up. So, do you choose to call me sister, or let Xibao call you sister?"
Jiang Xiaoyue wrinkled her brows, feeling torn. She didn’t want to call Feng Qingxue aunt, but she wanted Xibao to call her sister.
"Xibao, what do you call me?" Jiang Xiaoyue crouched in front of Xibao, playing with him.
Xibao blurted out right away, "Sister, sister, cake."
Seeing Jiang Xiaoyue, he would think of the egg cakes that Jiang Xiaoyue bought for him.
"See, Xibao calls you sister. Come on, call me Aunt Xue and let me hear." Feng Qingxue laughed.
Jiang Xiaoyue poked Xibao’s chubby face and asked, "Little Xibao, so you’ve demoted my rank just like that?"
"Yeah!" the little guy actually nodded his head.
Yang Fengying and Fang Ning, who were drinking water from the military canteen nearby, said in unison, "Xiaoyue, you brought this on yourself!"
Jiang Xiaoyue got up, gave them a nasty look, then snatched the water bottle from Yang Xiuying’s hand, gulping down a few big mouthfuls, she then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, "Don’t worry, if Xibao demoted my rank, it doesn’t mean that you will become my elders. It’s just a title, there’s nothing to be concerned about. I can accept it." she said, puffing out her chest.
"When are you guys free today? Come to my place for a meal." Feng Qingxue felt it wasn’t appropriate to talk with Fang Ning about private matters here, "I’ll cook you a great meal."
Jiang Xiaoyue was the first to raise her hand, "We have free time once this afternoon’s practice is over!"
Visiting Feng Qingxue felt the same as Feng Qingxue coming to watch rehearsals; mostly women, there was no need to avoid anything. Moreover, Lu Jiang wasn’t home. If Lu Jiang were there, that would be a different story. It’s important to maintain the distinction between men and women.
"Great, I’ll wait for you at home."
The hare was hung outside, but its innards had been scooped out and thoroughly cleaned. By evening, Feng Qingxue swiftly sautéed a dish of hare offal with the chili she brought along, opened a tin of luncheon meat, stir-fried a dish of hot-and-sour potato shreds, and made butter tea.
Jiang Xiaoyue and Fang Ning brought over their own meals. Yang Fengying couldn’t make it due to some other commitments. Once Jiang Xiaoyue saw the dishes, she exclaimed.
"It looks so good, I love eating shredded potatoes."
"If you like it, eat more." While Feng Qingxue spoke, she invited them to sit down. In fact, they were just sitting cross-legged on the kang (a traditional Chinese heated bed) around a small table on it. Lu Jiang had lent the table to her as he felt it was inconvenient for her to eat at home.
Upon hearing that it was mealtime, Xibao dexterously crawled over and sat at the kang table, his two little paws resting on the table’s edge.
"Dinner!" He pointed at a small bowl of potato shreds without chili.