Chapter 422: Chapter 422 Moving In
The Red Army wife’s face showed a look of envy, and Yang PeiMin didn’t quite know what to say.
She asked, “Have your two younger sisters returned home, or are they still helping your mother-in-law take care of the children?”
The other two military wives also looked curious. Yang PeiMin shook her head inwardly, realizing she was always at the center of gossip, “Not yet, they’ve found jobs here.”
“Oh wow, they found jobs? They’re really capable. Did they find them on their own or did someone help them?”
“Of course, on their own. We don’t have any special connections; it’s all thanks to their own abilities.”
Then they asked what kind of jobs, and Yang PeiMin summarized briefly.
One of the shrewd military wives asked Yang PeiMin, “Is it easy to find work in the city?”
Yang PeiMin shook her head, “It’s not easy to find. Like my sister-in-law, she started off as a temporary worker, and at the beginning, she was barely making any salary. You’ve seen my younger sister, with her shy nature, she only does errand jobs.”
“Whatever it is, it’s a sign of success.”
The Red Army wife wasn’t that interested and pulled Yang PeiMin aside to ask about her son’s situation.
“When did your mother-in-law arrive? How’s your milk supply? Is your son still breastfeeding? What will you do about school?”
After Yang PeiMin responded, the Red Army wife began advising on childcare, “It’s your first time taking care of a child, and there’s so much you don’t know. You can’t be careless. And with the baby’s stomach still being weak, there are some things you shouldn’t eat. You should also cut down on vegetables…” And the lecture-loving Red Army wife returned.
Yang PeiMin nodded and hummed in agreement, observing that it was getting late, she excused herself, “It’s about time for the kids to get hungry at home, I need to go and take care of him.”
The Red Army wife showed reluctance, “Come over more often when you have time…”
Luo Dahua listened and just wanted to shake her head. What kind of suggestion was that? The hospital wasn’t some kind of hangout spot, after all.
When Yang PeiMin and Luo Dahua left the school gates, PeiMin couldn’t help but say, “Mrs. Hong is even more talkative than before, to the point where I just couldn’t cope with it.”
Luo Dahua felt a twinge just thinking about it. Mrs. Hong seemed to be getting more confused with age, “She’s a bit older than us and came with the military earlier. She’s also very kind-hearted, probably thinking that we new military wives don’t understand, and always likes to come over and give her two cents. It’s all good, but now I’m not sure if it’s because of Mr. Zhao’s injury. She seems to have become somewhat hard of hearing.”
Yang PeiMin nodded; she could certainly stand on her own.
“We have to be strong ourselves, how can we, outsiders, possibly help enough? She doesn’t even think about the younger child. Now, the baby has no milk, and it’s no wonder the child got sick. Weaning needs a process, and her child is still so young. If the weaning is sudden and everyday nutrition isn’t great, the child is bound to fall ill,” Luo Dahua shook her head and said.
Yang PeiMin agreed, having seen that Mr. Zhao looked a bit better, it had been almost a month, and with a little more persistence, he should be able to be discharged from the hospital.
She wouldn’t need to come over anymore. With the Red Army wife being so negative, even if PeiMin had no troubles of her own, seeing her like that left her feeling surrounded by negative energy, and she didn’t want any further contact. She shared her thoughts about not wanting to visit again with Dahua,
Luo Dahua nodded as well. Unless the situation was serious, she wasn’t planning to come either.
Yang Pei Min wanted to invite Luo Dahua to come home for dinner, but she insisted on going back to cook for her children, so Yang Pei Min gave up.
She went back to the rental place alone.
As she stepped into her own doorway, she happened to encounter the neighbor moving.
It was someone from the adjacent leather factory; it looked like new staff were moving in.
She only glanced curiously a couple of times but spotted Lu Hailing, who was directing in the courtyard. She was really taken aback—how did Lu Hailing end up moving to the leather factory?
Oh, right, Yang Pei Min remembered the gossip she had heard in the hospital just earlier—hadn’t Lu Hailing gotten into the factory with Wen Qing’s help? And now living right next door to her? What kind of fate was this?
Seeing Sister-in-law Liu coming out, she asked her, “Sister-in-law, have you got new colleagues moving into the courtyard?”
Sister-in-law Liu shook her head in response, “Yes, the factory was recruiting not too long ago. This one is new recruit at our factory, something about coming to measure leather. Our family isn’t on the same production line as hers, so I don’t know much. But, you know, it’s funny that the new girl even got assigned a dormitory. It really makes you wonder. I heard she’s from out of town and just like that, she got into our factory. You’re not aware, but newbies in our factory, especially the single ones, wouldn’t get a dormitory in the courtyard like this? They’re usually in shared dorms.”
Yang Pei Min caught her meaning—it was a direct allusion to unfairness in the factory, wasn’t it? But she didn’t point it out and instead nodded thoughtfully. “That person does look kind of familiar.”
“Aiyo, now that you mention it, I even figured it out—that’s the girl who went to your place last time, right? How come? Is she your relative?” Sister-in-law Liu examined Yang Pei Min with an inquisitive, flashlight-like gaze.
Yang Pei Min forced a smile, “She’s my spouse’s comrade’s sister. I had no idea she went to your factory. It seems quite interesting.”
Catching her expression, Sister-in-law Liu’s gossiping instinct kicked in, and Yang Pei Min wanted to chat more. “The hiring conditions at your factory are so relaxed, huh? I heard not long ago that you had to have a local household registration to get in.”
“That’s right. It doesn’t seem like this young lady has a high level of education either, and she just works with us in manual labor. She went straight to the production line, not a temporary worker or anything. I’d say your comrade’s sister has some serious clout.” Sister-in-law Liu eyed Yang Pei Min and drawled, using the phrase ‘has some serious clout’ to imply having connections up top.
Yang Pei Min just shook her head and smiled, neither denying nor confirming.
She was right, after all—Lu Hailing got into the factory through Wen Qing’s strings, regardless of how. Lu Hailing did have some ability.
Without lingering to chat further with Sister-in-law Liu, Yang Pei Min went into her own room.
Her family was waiting for her to have dinner.
Seeing her come in, Yang Peijun quickly brought out the dishes.
It was almost one o’clock now. She wasn’t very hungry since she had eaten two buns before visiting the hospital. Yang Peijun and the rest, because they had to run the afternoon snack stall, had only just come back. Knowing she hadn’t returned yet, they had waited to eat with her.
And Chen Guizhi was surprisingly waiting to eat together as well.
But Yang Pei Min felt that sitting down together wasn’t entirely about enjoying the meal more—it was also about creating a better atmosphere for gossip.
Chen Guizhi began talking about Lu Hailing moving in next door.