Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 154: Noisy

He returned to the military region after five in the afternoon.

Before he even ascended the stairs, he could already perceive the commotion above.

The cries of children mingled with the voices of arguing adults echoed faintly.

Yang Peimin exchanged a glance with Shen Yiguang.

"It seems it’s happening right outside our apartment," he observed, indicating it was their neighbors who were quarreling.

She couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed. Fighting at night and also during the day, if she lived here long enough, she would surely become neurotic.

Shen Yiguang, however, remained composed and even appeared somewhat accustomed to it, signaling Yang Peimin to follow him.

At this time, all the men were on the training field, and the Military Family Building was filled with only women and children. Upon seeing Shen Yiguang’s arrival, the noisy chatter in the corridor abruptly ceased—a testament to the authority of a soldier.

"What’s going on here?"

Then, as if someone had flipped a switch, everyone began talking at once.

Yang Peimin caught sight of all the military wives from their floor, and there was an additional face, an elderly woman.

She saw the elderly woman, agitated, telling Shen Yiguang while slapping her thigh, "Sir, you must mediate for me. My grandson was fine, and then these two families’ little brats pushed him, and his front tooth fell out. How is my grandson supposed to find a wife now!" By the end, she was sitting on the ground, hugging her grandson and crying out loud.

A military wife nearby clarified for Yang Peimin, "That’s Cui Aijun’s mother."

It turned out she was Gao Hong’s mother-in-law.

The children mentioned by Gao Hong’s mother-in-law, who had knocked out her grandson’s tooth, were the sons of the Red Army wife and Luo Dahua, both eight years old.

Luo Dahua, also quick-tempered, retorted, hands on her hips, "Aunt Cui, stop your wailing. I want to ask you, my boy was playing just fine on the horizontal bars when your grandson pushed him and he fell and swelled his head. How do you account for that? A head injury is no small matter. Even if there is a problem, it might not be apparent right away. This could affect him for the rest of his life. Camp Commander Shen, you tell me, I still don’t know how to explain this to my husband Lu, as it concerns his only son."

She spoke with both outrage and concern, more moving than Mrs. Cui’s hysterical tantrums.

It turned out that at noon, Mrs. Cui had arrived overnight by train with her two grandsons, one seven and the other five years old. Being young children, they couldn’t sit still for long, and after dropping off their luggage and eating, they were eager to play outside. However, Mrs. Cui, being elderly and exhausted from the two to three days of tiring train travel, had no inclination to supervise them.

Gao Hong originally intended to accompany them, but Mrs. Cui was demanding from the moment she entered, ceaselessly nitpicking and ordering Gao Hong around. Besides, given the secure and enclosed environment of the military region, there was little to worry about, so she let them play in the small playground behind the building. This area, equipped with horizontal bars, wooden horses, and other children’s play facilities, was popular among preschoolers who enjoyed playing there.

Luo Dahua’s son and the Red Army wife’s eldest son were in the same first-grade class and the two families interacted frequently; the two boys often played together. Usually, after school at noon, they would stop by this small playground to play for a while, and today was no exception. What was exceptional, however, was that Luo Dahua’s son had brought a new toy today—a toy gun made of bamboo. Due to their fathers being military personnel, they were quite interested in such mechanical military weapons. Sometimes, even the parents couldn’t resist their children’s pleas and made these kinds of small crafts.

Among his friends, this was a matter of great pride, especially so for Lu Ziming. He could often bring out these small gadgets, as his father was skilled in crafts. The little wooden horse and seesaws at the playground were also made by his father. The new gun in his hand was made of bamboo slats, not only resembling the real form but also functional with a trigger that could discharge "bullets" by inserting small sticks, though it only had a range of about two meters. Lu Ziming was so attached to it that he even slept holding it, not allowing his friends even to touch it, except his good friend Zhao Dawu.

At that moment, Mrs. Cui’s eldest grandson, Dabao, spotted the toy and approached to play with it. Being doted on by Mrs. Cui at home, he was usually the household tyrant, accustomed to forcibly seizing things from his sisters. Now, unafraid of strangers, he reached for the gun.

Lu Ziming quickly protected his toy gun, and being slightly older, he shoved Dabao away while cursing, "Get lost, you damn rascal! How dare you try to take my stuff! I swear I’ll beat you till your head bursts."

His fierce demeanor somewhat intimidated Dabao. Seeing him cower, Lu Ziming ignored him and called over the other children to continue playing, telling them to ignore the new kids. They then resumed their play on the horizontal bars, chasing and frolicking. Dabao, feeling excluded and eager to join in, tried once more to get involved, but since he was new and had attempted to steal Ziming’s toy, everyone started to ostracize him and his brother, monopolizing the equipment and refusing to let them play.

Lu Ziming, still seated on the horizontal bar and taunting from above, provoked Dabao to a point where, fueled by anger, he pushed Ziming off the bar.

The ground was unforgivingly hard, as it hadn’t rained in over a month, and strewn with stones and dirt. The fall severely injured Ziming, who clutched his head and cried out in pain. Others stopped what they were doing—some rushed to help him while others turned to confront Dabao. Among them, Zhao Dawu was particularly incensed and forcefully shoved Dabao, sending him crashing into the horizontal bar. Dabao’s front teeth were knocked out, blood filling his mouth, which shocked everyone and dissuaded further aggression.

Afterward, Mrs. Cui caused a huge commotion at the households of Zhao and Lu.

As a Military Wife with higher consciousness, Luo Dahua felt both families were at fault due to the casualties, but children often fought during play—it should be seen as resolved and let go, no need for further complaints.

But Mrs. Cui disagreed; she demanded an apology from both families and compensation for her grandson’s medical expenses.

Naturally, that was impossible—each family was barely getting by. Children fought while playing—was it ever possible for them not to? Besides, her grandson was at the age to lose baby teeth, which could easily fall out if they were already loose.

Shen Yiguang looked to Sister-in-law Chen, the eldest among them at over forty, who was efficient and well-respected among Military Wives, often involved in mediating minor disputes within the community—her husband being a commissary member of the logistics department, she was influenced by him. Hearing the commotion, she had hurried over from the next Military Family Building.

Shen Yiguang said to her, "Sister-in-law, could you talk to them? This is a military compound, not a market place. If there are issues or difficulties, they should be brought up with the logistics department. Please consider your husbands before causing a scene. I’ll first take the two children to the infirmary to get checked; we can’t neglect the kids’ welfare amidst this."