Several sisters-in-law nodded continuously. Although they didn't say it straight out of consideration for Shen Hongxing's face, everyone understood which side was right.
A sister-in-law suddenly remembered the incident when Shen Hongxing badmouthed Zhi Xia, and her tongue slipped, asking outright, "Hongxing, could it be because Hongmei likes Deputy Commander Pei that you deliberately targeted Zhi Xia?"
Zhi Xia suddenly looked at that person, "Who is Hongmei?"
The person next to her nudged the sister-in-law, who also reacted sharply, busy saying, "No one, no one. I misspoke. Don't get the wrong idea, Zhi Xia."
Although it was hard for urban and rural families to get along in the family compound, after all, everyone had different lifestyles and mindsets. Zhi Xia was quite popular.
She was originally young, and looked gentle and soft. When she spoke, her voice was tender, clever and well-behaved. Some older military sisters-in-law had children almost her age and saw her like a junior.
Although she didn't say much more, Zhi Xia kept this sentence in mind.
As soon as Shen Hongxing heard her sister being mentioned, she also refused to let the matter drop and argued with the sister-in-law. From their words, Zhi Xia guessed some things.
Shen Hongxing's younger sister Shen Hongmei was in the army's cultural troupe. She had liked Deputy Commander Pei before, which was widely known, but Pei Jing had always rejected her very clearly.
And this time, she had followed Pei Jing to the army quite suddenly. Shen Hongmei went to perform elsewhere, so Shen Hongxing was always resentful on behalf of her sister, which was why she repeatedly targeted Zhi Xia.
Zhi Xia was sure that Pei Jing must not have a relationship with anyone else. After all, in the previous two lifetimes, he had remained single until death.
Coming home was really tiring. Her arm that carried the basket ached. Zhi Xia made some food and rested in her room for a while before notifying An Zhiqing to come over tonight.
An Zhiqing was not in the dormitory yet, so she could only ask someone else to pass on the message.
After returning, she calculated the time and started preparing in the kitchen.
With just the two of them, she didn't plan to make too much either. She cooked braised pork, pork rib soup, hot and sour napa cabbage, and steamed buns made from three parts flour for the staple food. It wasn't excessive at all.
This was where Zhi Xia was most restrained. She cherished the chance to be reborn and didn't plan to reveal herself either.
Having witnessed too many couples and loved ones turn against each other, she was even more reluctant to use herself to test human nature.
Even for her most doting grandparents and Fourth Brother whom she loved the most, it was impossible for them to only love her forever. After all, there would still be other people.
The safest way in this world was to keep the secret rotting in your heart forever.
On suitable occasions, she could also be very generous, but this did not include gambling her own safety on human nature.
The aroma from the kitchen was very rich. Along with the close distance, it was impossible to cook something delicious without catching others' attention.
It was fine at Lin Fengxia's place. The couple were knowledgeable and tactful people who had taught their children to be very polite. Although they were tempted by the smell, no one made a fuss wanting to eat it.
It didn't work at Shen Hongxing's place. From when Zhi Xia started cooking, Shen Hongxing had been yelling nonstop, scolding the disobedient children and complaining about her useless husband. She just didn't stop.
Zhi Xia also heard the cries of children next door. She thought that it was good she usually cooked in her space. This was the only time she cooked in the kitchen. Otherwise, it would probably incur public wrath if this continued.
As Zhi Xia thought this, she didn't know that next door, Shen Hongxing had just made the children cry. Her eyes suddenly lit up as she came up with an idea.
"Stop crying. Do you still want to eat meat?"
As soon as the child heard this, he quickly stopped crying. The others stopped crying too and instantly fell silent.
Shen Hongxing called her youngest child over. "Little one, Mom will get you a bowl. Go over later and call Auntie. Ask her if she'll give you meat or not."
Yang Jun had originally been silent. Seeing this, he hurriedly came over and snatched away the bowl, smashing it on the ground. "Shen Hongxing, it's bad enough that you're shameless yourself. You even teach children this way. Do you want to raise them all to be like you?"
Afraid of being laughed at, he didn't dare speak loudly either.
He had face, but Shen Hongxing didn't. She threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground and refusing to get up even when pulled.
Yang Jun's face was black. He had completely run out of patience. He simply took the children into the room and ignored her.
The neighbors also knew Shen Hongxing's personality. Not even one went over to mediate because the last person who did got scratched twice on the face and was verbally abused badly. No one wanted to help ungratefully anymore.
You can't perform a one-man show. With Yang Jun ignoring her, Shen Hongxing also had to get up from the ground. But her mouth was still cursing.
A fashionably dressed woman came in from outside. Seeing Shen Hongxing's appearance, she hurried over in concern. "Sister, what's wrong with you now?"
"Hongmei, you're finally back. You don't know, your sister has been bullied miserably. Your brother-in-law doesn't act human. Back when I married into their family, his parents were alive and he had younger siblings. I raised the children alone in the countryside for so many years before coming over. It hasn't even been a few years, and he's already disgusted by me, this ugly shrew..."
Shen Hongmei was also a little disgusted, but she understood in her heart that she still needed a reliance here. Her sister was troublesome, and the only one she could rely on was her brother-in-law.
"Sister, you can't say such things carelessly anymore. Brother-in-law is not having an easy time either. Besides, you have to be more understanding of each other when living together. You should also try to understand brother-in-law more. He's already very busy and tired in the army during the day. When he comes home, he just wants to relax..." As Shen Hongmei spoke, she signaled to Shen Hongxing with her eyes for her to take the opportunity to get off the stage while she could. Things would only get worse if this continued.
While Shen Hongxing didn't say anything to her sister, she listened obediently to this younger sister. It was originally Shen Hongmei, a country girl, who could join the army's cultural troupe. It was when she came to visit relatives Shen Hongxing that Yang Jun had helped a lot.
Thinking of Yang Jun's expression just now, Shen Hongxing also felt somewhat guilty. Persuaded by her sister, she really took the opportunity to step down and didn't dare make trouble anymore after wiping away her tears.
After persuading her sister, Shen Hongmei went to persuade her brother-in-law too, finally coaxing the couple to let go of their anger. Their fondness for her grew even more.
As soon as Shen Hongmei returned with the troupe, she heard about Pei Jing bringing his wife to the army. She rushed over, naturally not to mediate but to find out about Zhi Xia.
Shen Hongxing was naturally close with her sister. Besides, she already disliked Zhi Xia in the first place and hid nothing, telling her all she knew about Zhi Xia. It included no lack of derogatory implications and slander, using the cooking incident to say that she was wasteful and useless in household affairs, and that Pei Jing made a mistake marrying her.
However, Zhi Xia didn't know about the situation on this side. She timed the cooking and after finishing, An Zhiqing came over.
"Little sister, what's the occasion today?" An Zhiqing saw the food wasn't on the table yet when he entered the kitchen and was stunned.
The army food was already very good, but it obviously wasn't as delicate as this.
Zhi Xia smiled. "A good day. Big brother came at just the right time. Help me bring out the dishes."
