Leaving space for the children, Lin Xiaoguai and Wu Ermei sat to one side.
Lin Xiaoguai poured a cup of tea for Wu Ermei and took out a plate of pickled plums, placing it in front of her, "Sister-in-law Er Mei, taste these, I made them myself."
She had made quite a lot of these, as the increased space had yielded far too many products. With 001 helping her to timely store everything in the warehouse, there was no worry about waste. Although the warehouse space was unlimited and the items inside wouldn’t spoil,
looking at those piles and piles of stuff just sitting there, Lin Xiaoguai always had a nagging feeling of waste. Whenever she had some downtime, she would tinker with making things like pickled plums, jams, fruit wines, candied fruits, canned fruits, and other edibles. Although most of them just sat there, quite a few had been sent to friends and family.
Since Wu Ermei wasn’t the kind of person who would rush over at the sight of a bargain, Lin Xiaoguai didn’t mind sharing some of her labors with her.
"You can make these too?" Wu Ermei looked surprised, having thought that these pickled plums were brought from her hometown. She picked one up and tasted it, saying, "I haven’t had them before, but the sour and sweet taste is quite nice."
Saying so, Wu Ermei didn’t reach for a second one. Lin Xiaoguai saw this and didn’t say anything; everyone has their own thoughts, and she had done what she should do.
"I’m just messing around with it." Lin Xiaoguai laughed, changing the topic, "How old are Xiao Shan and Xiao Liang now? They don’t look short at all."
"Just like their dad, all big and dumb. They only know how to eat, drink, and play, so absent-minded that I’m worn out from worry." Though complaining, Wu Ermei’s face bore a smile.
Even if Lin Xiaoguai wasn’t savvy with social tact, she knew this wasn’t the moment to agree with her, so she laughed, "Aren’t all kids like that? They’ll be fine when they grow up."
"I hope so." Seemingly reminded of something funny yet exasperating, Wu Ermei said, "You have no idea how their kindergarten teacher complained to me."
Pointing at Xiao Shan, she laughed, "Last time, he wet the bed during naptime at kindergarten and insisted he was his younger brother. Xiao Liang was so wronged, he tried to argue, but how could the teacher tell them apart? In the end, they were both punished."
"And Xiao Liang, he broke the red ink bottle on the podium and claimed to be Xiao Shan. Xiao Shan wouldn’t have it, and in the end, there was no conclusion, so both of them were punished."
With an exasperated face, Wu Ermei said, "Sometimes I really worry about their brains. You’d think after such self-defeating actions once or twice, they’d have enough, but how can they still be so tireless now?"
Lin Xiaoguai laughed upon hearing this and tilted her head, pondering, "Maybe they know they can’t escape punishment and just want to face the music together?" She wondered if her son would commit similar follies in the future, prompting laughter mixed with concern.
"Don’t even think about it, they purely want to drag the other down with them." Wu Ermei offered no comfort.
Lin Xiaoguai took a sip of water and asked, "By the way, Sister-in-law Er Mei, do you know Liang Yuwei?"
"Liang Yuwei?" Wu Ermei frowned in confusion, "How did you end up meeting her?"
But she soon came to a realization, "Right, it must be because of Shen Chi." She looked at Lin Xiaoguai, "Girl, let me warn you, that woman Liang Yuwei is up to no good. You better not get involved with her."
"I know, Shen Chi mentioned it to me. I just wanted to ask if there’s any grudge between her and Yu Xiaomiao?" Lin Xiaoguai remembered that Wu Ermei had once mentioned she knew quite a few of the military wives in the Military Family Area, which is why she asked.
"You’ve met Yu Xiaomiao?" Wu Ermei’s expression lightened, "Right, you should indeed get closer to people like her. That girl is genuine, unlike Liang Yuwei who sizes people up by their worth."
After a pause, she continued, "Speaking of those two, their issue isn’t some big vendetta. Shen Chi must have told you how Liang Yuwei likes to play matchmaker for the soldiers below, right?"
Seeing Lin Xiaoguai nod, she went on, "It’s really Wang Guozhong’s bad luck. Originally, because he was quite capable, he got promoted to company commander by his old company commander who was injured and about to retire, and afterward, he caught Li Kun’s attention. He wasn’t married at that time, and Li Kun had Liang Yuwei find him a match from the supply and marketing cooperative. But Wang Guozhong and Yu Xiaomiao, though not married at that time, were betrothed and had grown up together like childhood sweethearts, and their relationship was very good, so he turned down the other woman."
"Up to this point, it should have been fine, but that woman couldn’t let it go and actually showed up at Wang Guozhong’s house. Unfortunately, Wang Guozhong’s mom was a bit clueless, and between the supposed prestige of a daughter-in-law working at the supply and marketing cooperative and just a village girl like Yu Xiaomiao, she naturally chose the woman from the cooperative in her shortsightedness."