Yang Peimin heard the knocking at the door and quickly stuffed her little notebook into a cabinet in the room.
Then, she went over to open the door.
"I didn’t expect you to come back today. Isn’t it you alone at home since Shen Ying went for training? I was thinking of coming over to ask if you need to buy groceries. If not, why don’t you come over to eat at my house later?" Luo Dahua said with a smile.
Yang Peimin politely declined with a smile; she wasn’t quite comfortable eating at someone else’s home. "No thanks, we still have eggs and potatoes at home. If worse comes to worst, I can just go downstairs and buy something. I don’t want to impose on you. Anything happening today? If not, why don’t you come in and sit for a while?"
"What could possibly happen? You know me. At this time of day, if I’m not tidying up at home, I’m checking on the vegetable patch. Oh, speaking of your vegetable patch, alas, I saw it and it’s become overgrown with weeds. The seeds you sowed earlier have sprouted but weren’t thinned out; they’re all crammed together. I did do some weeding. I went back to my family home for a bit, didn’t I? Now it’s just all grass."
Only then did Yang Peimin remember that she had indeed started cultivating a plot of land and sowed some vegetables. Ever since she started school, she had completely forgotten about it, so she simply said to Luo Dahua, "I really don’t have the time to tend to it now. Sister, you take it over and plant whatever you want."
Luo Dahua agreed cheerfully, "Sure, we’ll share what comes out of it."
Yang Peimin nodded somewhat absent-mindedly.
"What’s the matter with you? Something on your mind?"
Yang Peimin shook her head; some things were hard to discuss even with a close friend as it felt awkward.
Luo Dahua gave her a couple of glances and then said, "Oh, there’s another thing. The Zhangs’ younger sister-in-law gave birth to a big, chubby boy. Today is the third day after the birth, and a few of the wives went there this morning. I meant to go too, but I got busy and forgot about it. You’ve met her before, back when we used to live in the old quarters, we’d often do laundry together. Her husband is a company commander, just under Shen Ying."
Yang Peimin understood. Since she was back, she really should visit. After all, the husband was serving under her own husband, so some care and attention were in order.
"Okay, you think I should go now, or when? And what should I bring? Honestly, I don’t really know about these things."
"You don’t have to bring much. Didn’t I just mention eggs? Just bring about ten or so. We’re just ordinary neighbors; there’s no need for expensive gifts."
The two agreed it was better to go earlier than later. They packed the eggs into a basket and went to the Zhangs’ together.
Someone came out and saw them, immediately smiling, "There you are. Come in, the little guy is adorable."
Mr. Zhang’s home wasn’t large, similar in layout to Luo Dahua’s, and inside it was lively with many people, mostly military wives from the neighborhood.
Yang Peimin saw Gao Hong and her mother-in-law there too, Gao Hong even smiled at her, and she smiled back.
This was Mrs. Zhang’s first child, and she had been married for four or five years before finally following the army last year. She got pregnant soon after following her husband, and everyone seemed understanding – after all, before following the army, a soldier might only return home once a year, or even less often. When would they have a chance to be intimate with their wives?
Then some began to compare her with Gao Hong, as their situations were quite similar.
However, Gao Hong wasn’t as lucky as Mrs. Zhang.
As newcomers, Yang Peimin and Luo Dahua were let to the front to see the baby. Mrs. Zhang was propped up in bed, with the baby placed there as well. The little guy didn’t look as white and chubby as people had said – those were likely just polite compliments, so she also offered the new mother some flattering words.
Mrs. Zhang smiled blissfully, "You’re both too kind."
With many people came much idle chatter.
And there’s always someone who’s a nuisance wherever you go. Sure enough, someone turned to Yang Peimin and said, "Mrs. Shen has been with the army for a year now, and we thought we’d see you around more often. But I hear you’ve been accepted to university? Oh dear, isn’t it like before when you hadn’t joined the army? Only returning home once in a blue moon. Look at the Zhangs’ sister-in-law, she’s already given birth to a son. You need to hurry up."
Yang Peimin gave her a look, her tone slightly mocking, "Sister Qian sure does like to meddle. Whether or not someone in their house is pregnant is hardly your concern, is it?"
Sister Qian’s face changed upon hearing this, "Why are you getting upset, little sister? I was just kindly reminding you. If you don’t want to hear it, never mind then."
Yang Peimin smiled, "That’s why I say, you should save your advice for your future daughter-in-law."
Sister Qian’s face changed again, and she opened her mouth to retort, only to be pulled back by someone.
Standoffishness emanated from Gao Hong who glanced over with a hint of envy.
Yang Peimin stayed a little while longer, then left.
Luo Dahua followed, whispering softly, "Don’t be upset. You know how these people are. Their mouths are like they’ve eaten filth, never clean."
Yang Peimin shook her head, "I’m not upset. It’s just a bit embarrassing. It’s their happy occasion, and the mood got all weird." She generally didn’t interact much with the other military wives and really hadn’t spent many days here. Usual encounters were limited to greetings, which she would return with a friendly smile.
She couldn’t help but wonder if she had been too approachable and friendly in the past, making some people want to come and gawk at her. Today, she was in a bad mood and for the first time, she had turned cold in the presence of so many people.
Luo Dahua took another glance at her, silently calculating.
"Have you been eating those fermented rice wines I asked you to try before?"
Luo Dahua shook her head, "You, oh you."
Yang Peimin smiled, "Don’t worry, sister."
The day quickly passed, and Yang Peimin packed her things to return to school.
With exams approaching, her coursework had become more intensive.
Yang Peimin had no time for other thoughts, devoting herself entirely to her studies. There were many talented students in her class, and being average was her own lot. Sometimes it was fine, but if it came down to grading, being at the back of the pack wasn’t very nice to look at.
The usual squabbles and grudges in her dormitory were forgotten; most of the time everyone was simply engrossed in their textbooks and notes, studying hard.
Sister Liu from the sewing side sought her out frequently, though.
Because the latest batch of goods had been partially completed, many personal orders were postponed for the sake. Since the products were ready, the idea was to push them out quickly to test the waters. She came to discuss some details with Yang Peimin.
Nowadays people were not very keen on buying ready-made clothes; they preferred to take their measurements to a tailor and have clothes made to order. Whenever there was a nice design available, they’d ask the tailor to copy it. But these made-to-order items took time and weren’t cheap, and often ended up common in the streets.