Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 149 - One Hundred and Forty-Nine: Idle Chatter

The Red Army wife next to her introduced her, "Her name is Kong Ya, her man is Vice Company Commander Wang. She’s an old military wife who’s really good at talking. Normally, we don’t have much to do, so we love to visit each other, chat a bit like this, pick up and drop off kids and stuff. We’re all straightforward people. Sometimes we old women speak a bit crudely, so don’t laugh at us."

The Red Army wife was indeed enthusiastic, and once she opened her mouth, it felt like she couldn’t stop. The other military wives around her helped with the introductions.

Yang Peimin silently took note and greeted everyone.

Then the Red Army wife asked her about her future plans concerning accompanying the military.

Yang Peimin smiled and said, "That hasn’t been decided yet. I’ll be staying here for a few days, but then I have to go back; there are things to take care of at home."

The Red Army wife laughed and asked, "What could there be to do? Haven’t your elders divided the family property? Isn’t the farm work done according to work points? Even if you don’t go back, the salary from Shen Ying’s position will more than cover things. Besides, you don’t have kids yet. Take advantage of accompanying the military and try to have a child soon. As someone who’s been through it, I can see these are good things. You shouldn’t miss out. A young couple should stay together if they can. You see, Shen Ying doesn’t even have anyone to wash clothes or cook meals; it’s really pitiful, right?"

The Red Army wife, perhaps because she saw that Yang Peimin was young, kept trying to feed her this ’chicken soup’.

Yang Peimin hadn’t expected this and listened to her go on, feeling somewhat dazed. She blinked and nodded with a smile, "Thank you, sister. I understand."

While they were talking, Kong Ya was also listening intently. Hearing this, she chimed in, "Sister, look at you, you’re more reliable than their own mothers and sisters. Young sister, you’re young, so you really should listen more. It’s all for your benefit. Shen Ying is so young and holds such a position; you can’t hold him back."

Did she really have a face of innocence and ignorance?

Or was it because her smile was so friendly, everyone treated her like family, surrounding her to offer heartfelt advice?

Seeing the full bucket of water, Yang Peimin reached over to turn off the tap and lifted the soaked clothes to rub soap on them, mimicking the multitasking military wives: hands never stopping, and she also asked, "Do sisters have scheduled political education classes? You all seem to have high consciousness."

"There are indeed classes. The military has many rules. We military wives come from all over, and a lot of us have different habits and customs. The organization is worried we might lack discipline and get into trouble. That’s why they have the Political Commissar arrange for someone to come and give us classes. It happens about once every month or two, all about the regulations within the military region and how not to affect our husbands’ work and so on. There’s a lot. This month’s session has already been done. Next time you’re free, we can tell you all about it." The Red Army wife clarified for Yang Peimin.

Yang Peimin had asked just casually, partly aiming to shift the topic. She hadn’t expected there to be actual classes.

"You wouldn’t believe it. Before, there was this woman who made a big deal out of nothing and would run to her husband for every tiny thing. No salt at home, a broken lamp, a crying child—she’d look for him. If she couldn’t find him on the playground, she’d go to the administration building, asking the Political Commissar, even crying—making such a scene as if her parents had died. Seeing her like that, the Political Commissar got worried she was in real trouble and hurriedly sent someone to check. When they arrived, there was nothing wrong; there was just a spider on her bed at home that had scared her from sleeping. What kind of person is that? I think she’d be happy only if she could keep her man in her pocket. The person who went with her was furious. In the end, her husband had to write a self-criticism because of her. That’s why the higher-ups organized these classes for the military wives."

So there was a reason for these things.

Yang Peimin was rather willing to listen to these gossips.

Just that the motion of her hand washing the clothes slowed down.

"Eh, sister-in-law, why didn’t you bring a washboard? It’s hard to get clothes clean without one."

"I forgot."

"Let me grab one for you. Every time, their clothes need several basins of water to get clean, you really need a washboard to scrub hard."

Yang PeiMin quickly stopped the Red Army wife who was going to help her fetch the washboard, "I’ll go get it. It’s only a few steps away, I couldn’t possibly trouble you." Everyone lived on the second floor, she wasn’t tied down, how could she have the heart to ask someone else for help.

She set the clothes aside and quickly went up to get it.

As they watched her leave, a few military wives who had finished washing dishes prepared to head back as well, since the sun was still pretty harsh at this hour.

There was someone who still wanted to gossip some more, "Hey, do you think this sister-in-law is from the countryside or the city? I know Shen Ying is from the countryside, but I forgot to ask her just now."

"She seems like a city girl to me. Did you see the clothes she wears? That’s how city folks dress. She’s got fair skin, and her hands are so white and tender; it’s obvious she’s never done hard work. Didn’t you see just now, she didn’t even know to bring a washboard to wash clothes."

"Yeah, but why would a city girl fancy a soldier?"

Kong Ya stretched her hand through her hair, covering up a sneer as she smiled and said, "What’s so strange about that? However you look at it, Shen Ying is an officer. Even if he’s a junior one, he’s still an officer, and besides, he’s good-looking and speaks properly. If a city girl likes him, what’s so odd about that? Maybe she’s relying on these connections to live so well."

The latter part of her statement was somewhat ambiguous, but the astute ones could guess the implication. It was about Shen Yiguang. They had vaguely heard that Kong Ya’s man had been in the army for nearly twenty years, and although he was over forty, he was still a Vice Company Commander. With his age, advancing further was difficult, and his wife had always been quite unhappy about it.

They accepted that those younger soldiers with stronger connections sat above him since they couldn’t do anything about it, but for someone with no family background and insufficient age or experience to rank above him? That was intolerable. Hence, Kong Ya felt some injustice on her man’s behalf.

Her last words implied Shen Yiguang might have climbed the ranks by pulling strings.

The sharp-eyed kept silent. This business didn’t concern their own men, and they didn’t want to get involved, so they quickly found an excuse to leave.

One or two who were less discerning nodding along, "That makes sense."

Yang PeiMin fetched the washboard quickly. Despite her curiosity to gossip, she didn’t want to stand under the sun and chat, so the group gradually dispersed to go back.

"Sister-in-law, I need to go up and check on the little one, don’t know what trouble he’s getting into. Those two, like little monkeys, you can’t take your eyes off them for a second," said the Red Army wife.

Yang PeiMin nodded quickly, "Go ahead, living upstairs you really have to watch them. If they start playing in the corridor, it’s very dangerous. Sister, you better rush back."