Mrs. Lin had a way with her words. Even though her words carried similar meanings with that of Mrs. Zhu’s, she presented it in a way that was more polite and considerate.
Hearing that, Lu Xingzhi’s expression lightened. He nodded. “Well, if she is fine with it, I do not mind her being a stay-at-home wife.”
However, Lu Xingzhi knew Jiang Yao all too well. She would not be able to deal with the boredom that came with it.
“Haha! Such a loving husband!” Mrs. Lin laughed. “You guys continue on with your drinking. We ladies will have our own little discussion here.”
Beckoning Lu Xingzhi to continue the conversation with the men, Mrs. Lin started an exchange herself, shifting the limelight away from Jiang Yao.
The crowd drank until it was almost eight o’clock. Jiang Yao did not know how much Lu Xingzhi had drunk. She caught the strong whiff of alcohol as he walked past her. However, he did not seem to be drunk, as he strolled along in a steady pace.
Mrs. Zhu and Mrs. Yang did not leave with Jiang Yao and Mrs. Lin, as they both lived in the Old Quarters which was situated at the far end of the compound.
Walking out, Jiang Yao could feel the chills in the wind even though she had a coat on herself. When she arrived two hours ago, it was much warmer, needing only a single coat to keep herself warm.
“Are you going to Jindo City tomorrow? I think you need more layers on you, Jiang Yao. Go and buy a couple of thick jackets when you are there. It does not seem that way during daytime, but it gets especially cold at night over here. Compared to your city in the south, winter here arrives much earlier,” Mrs. Lin mentioned, after seeing Jiang Yao shiver.
Lu Xingzhi was walking in the front with Colonel Lin. Hearing Mrs. Lin’s remark, he turned and looked at Jiang Yao.
“Look at that, Sergeant Lu is worried.” Mrs. Lin teased.
“I’m fine, it will get warmer once I start walking.” Jiang Yao smiled back at Lu Xingzhi.
Knowing that Jiang Yao was still not used to the weather here, the gang picked up their pace and walked faster. Along the way, Mrs. Lin started talking to Jiang Yao concerning Mrs. Zhu and Mrs. Yang.
“Both Mrs. Zhu and Mrs. Yang have good intentions, but they also have their own flaws. Who does not have flaws, am I right? Our men are very close to each other, so try to be more understanding in the future, yeah? Mrs. Zhu and Mrs. Yang are usually very friendly. Whenever anybody needs help, they are always the first ones to arrive.”
“I understand, nobody is perfect. Look at me, I have plenty of flaws too.” Jiang Yao nodded, knowing that Mrs. Lin was referring to what Mrs. Zhu said before.
Mrs. Lin met Jiang Yao for the first time tonight and she was already discussing such profound matters with her. It seemed that both Colonel Lin and Lu Xingzhi had an extremely strong rapport.
Arriving at the Family building, the two couples parted. Colonel Lin lived on the third floor of a building behind theirs, so they had to walk further in. Even when Jiang Yao and Lu Xingzhi had arrived at their place, they could see both Colonel Lin and Mrs. Lin from their windows.
The first thing Lu Xingzhi did after closing the door was to take his jacket off and put it on Jiang Yao. He turned and looked at the clothes hanging on the balcony, feeling all warm and fuzzy knowing that they were all washed by her. Nonetheless, he said, “Do not wash my clothes in the future. The clothes are quite filthy since I wear them for training, let me do it myself.”
He went off to heat up some water for Jiang Yao’s bath.
Back then, instead of having an electric heater, water was heated using a heating rod. Not as efficient, but it still got the job done.