Xibao and the girls are playing together. Little Stone is overjoyed and runs off to join his friends.
Finally, they don’t have to look after the baby. The boys cheer in delight.
Xibao waddles towards them, takes a couple of steps, huffs at their backs, and then turns back around. This amuses the group of girls to the point that they fall over each other in laughter while showering Xibao with praises, "You’re so much fun, baby!"
Xibao squints in laughter, his two deep dimples making him irresistible.
"Aren’t girls much more likable? They’re also well-behaved. I want a daughter, otherwise, I’m not coming along with the army anymore,"
Hearing Huang Xiuzhi’s voice from behind, Feng Qingxue turns around, uses her peripheral vision to keep an eye on her son, and smiles, "Boys and girls each have their own strengths, they are equal. They are God’s gifts to parents. Lu Jiang and I have always gone with the flow when it came to the gender of our child. We’ve never prioritized one gender over the other."
"That’s true, we can’t decide the gender of our children," Huang Xiuzhi replies.
The woman beside her chimes in, "But how can boys and girls be the same? A daughter becomes someone else’s as soon as she’s born. She only stays with her family until she is able to work and earn points, then she marries into someone else’s family. After investing twenty years of care and resources, it’s a loss. A son, on the other hand, will bring a wife home and carry on the family line."
Upon hearing this, Feng Qingxue glances at her.
To her perspective, she seems to be the same age as Huang Xiuzhi and similar in build, except she is shorter by a head. She does not carry the same vitality that Huang Xiuzhi has, making her look unwell.
Her clothes also don’t fit, a simple floral shirt and black pants make her look rather ill-fitted.
She looks as though an adult is wearing a child’s clothes.
Huang Xiuzhi, noticing that Feng Qingxue doesn’t recognize her, introduces, "Xiaoxue, this is Lu Zhaodi, the revolutionary partner of Director Jiu Hong who lives next door to us. She came here earlier than I did but did not adapt well to the environment. She had to rest at home for quite a few days before she could go out."
Jiu Hong, the Deputy Director of the Political Department.
Feng Qingxue doesn’t really like him. The way he looks at people generally makes her uncomfortable. Moreover, he once tried to arrange for her to meet Bai Xue through a third party, which was flatly rejected by Commander Bai.
This incident happened before Su Junlin and Bai Xue got married.
As Commander Bai learned more about his niece’s behavior, he felt increasingly at ease seeing her follow Feng Qingxue’s discipline rules. As a result of the recent rigorous investigation and severe punishment of those violating lifestyle regulations, Bai Xue was too frightened to have any disloyal thoughts. She now obediently lives with Su Junlin. Commander Bai revealed some military matters to Feng Qingxue, advising her to guard against those with ill intentions in the regiment.
So, Jiu Hong was already married? He still dared to introduce Bai Xue, what was he planning? Did he plan to divorce his wife after pursuing Bai Xue?
Now that Bai Xue has married Su Junlin and returned to Beijing with the cultural troupe, except for Jiu Hong, nobody knows about his intentions.
Considering Jiu Hong’s character and listening to Lu Zhaodi’s words, Feng Qingxue is not very comfortable. She gives her a polite smile, saying, "So you are the wife of Director Jiu, nice to meet you, how do you do?"
"That chubby boy is your son?" Lu Zhaodi expresses much admiration after Feng Qingxue nods, "How nice, you’re so lucky to have such a plump and white-skinned son. I wish I were as lucky as you. Nevertheless, I am infertile, having given birth to three girls consecutively!"