The next day, Qin Xue was woken by the reveille. She saw that it was still quite bright outside.
She rolled over and fell asleep again. By the time she woke up, it was already seven o'clock, and she didn't feel like having buns for breakfast that day.
She just finished making and eating a bowl of dough drop soup and washing up when the doorbell rang.
She expected it was Fang Hong, and sure enough, it was Fang Hong when she opened the door.
"Take a seat, sister-in-law. I'll be ready soon. Have you had breakfast? If not, I can heat up some buns for you."
"I've already eaten, no need to fuss over me. When you're ready, we can leave. We'll hitch a ride with the supply vehicle, and if we make it back in time, we can ride the same vehicle back. If we don't, we'll take the shuttle bus." Fang Hong thought about all the tasks they had that day and was afraid they would run out of time.
"Alright, we'll do as you say, sister-in-law. Let's go." Qin Xue picked up her keys and locked the door.
They didn't encounter many people when they left, but there were quite a few waiting at the gate for the vehicle.
Qin Xue saw Zhang Cuihua, the one who had berated her at her doorstep last time, and really didn't want to take the same supply vehicle now.
Where there is a crowd, there is likely to be trouble, which can be annoying. But before Qin Xue could turn around, she was spotted by Zhang Cuihua:
"Oh, isn't this the charming wife of Deputy Chief Chu? Are you also headed to the county town? How great some people have it. With their men not at home, they can go anywhere or do anything." Zhang Cuihua couldn't bear to see Qin Xue have a good time.
Why, despite being of similar ages, should her man be an ordinary worker while Qin Xue's is a deputy head?
And her man, who is both handsome and manly, compared to her own rough and unsympathetic husband.
Such a good man fell into Qin Xue's trap, and the thought of it made her uncomfortable.
"What's the matter, are you jealous? I'm going to the county town, so what? My husband is not at home, and yes, I'm going out. Would you like to bite me?" Qin Xue really wanted to kick this woman away.
She knew she would never be left in peace whenever she encountered this woman.
"Shameless! Your husband's not home, and you're running around everywhere. What are you up to? Surely you're not meeting other men, are you?" Zhang Cuihua was indeed envious, but there was nothing she could do except offend Qin Xue.
"Hey, watch your language. That's slander, and I can report you.
Did you see me go meet other men, or do you have evidence that I did?
If you keep talking nonsense, don't blame me for being rude." Qin Xue really wanted to smack Zhang Cuihua in her foul mouth. In this day and age, speaking such words is not plotting to ruin her?
"I didn't speak nonsense. You just went to the county town the day before yesterday and you're going again today. If you're not meeting other men, then what are you doing?" Zhang Cuihua was slightly scared when she heard that Qin Xue would report her.
But Qin Xue's trips to the county town were a bit too frequent, weren't they?
"Zhang Cuihua, watch your mouth. Qin Xue is with me.
She also went with me and Yu Xiu last time, nothing like what you're claiming about her meeting other men." Fang Hong also despised Zhang Cuihua, who always liked to sow discord.
"Sister-in-law of the head, I know you're close to her, but you can't shield her.
Deputy Chief Chu is not at home on duty, and she is running around everywhere. Does she deserve him?" Zhang Cuihua was so jealous to see Fang Hong and Qin Xue getting along so well.
She had tried to get on good terms with Fang Hong, but Fang Hong had always been lukewarm to her, and she didn't expect her to be so good to Qin Xue now.
"Ah, Zhang Cuihua, are you suggesting that when their husbands are away on duty, women are not supposed to go out?
Look at the women around here, is there any whose husband has never been away on duty and not at home?
Are they not supposed to go shopping to supply their homes? I believe there are quite a few people on duty with Chu Molin this time, right?
So according to what you're saying, all these other women going to the county town are also meeting other men? Your own man is also away on duty, isn't he?
So, you're also going to meet other men, aren't you? Oh, I get it, do you have a crush on Chu Molin?
Is that why you're always targeting me and can't stand to see me doing well?
No wonder I never offended you before, but you always confront me whenever you see me. It turns out it's because of my husband, Chu Molin." Qin Xue was also good at confrontations.
"You're trying to tarnish my reputation? Well, I can tell everyone that your resentment towards me is because you can't win the affection of my relative, Chu Molin. Let's see who's scared then."
Qin Xue only hoped that when her darling husband came back, he would spare her.
"Zhang Cuihua, you're the one going after other men, not us.
We're just trying to get supplies because our homes ran out." Other women angrily retorted, vexed at Qin Xue for dragging them into it, and hating Zhang Cuihua for spewing nonsense.
Qin Xue wasn't scared of them, though. She didn't want to bully anyone, but that didn't mean she was a pushover.
Although she might be a bit lazy, that doesn't mean she's easy to intimidate. Weren't you all just happily watching the drama?
Now let's see who can remain calm when they're the ones involved.
Unwilling to ride the supply vehicle with these people and avoid the stress, Qin Xue pulled Fang Hong over to wait at the bus stop.
"Qin Xue, you're much fiercer than I expected! You shut them all up." Fang Hong gave Qin Xue a thumbs up.
"Pff, Hong, you're definitely not the same person once we got to know each other," Qin Xue said, finding Fang Hong surprisingly sweet.
"How am I any different? Isn't it still me?" Fang Hong was unsure what had changed.
"Well, when people don't know you, you seem gentle, generous, yet a bit stern which makes you seem unapproachable. However, when I got to know you, I found you are not only gentle and generous, but also very easy to get along with, and sometimes even childlike." After Qin Xue explained this, she walked several steps with Fang Hong before releasing her hand and heading to the bus stop.
The bus stop isn't far from them, the only difference is that riding the bus requires a fare, whereas the supply vehicle does not.
So most people wait for the supply vehicle. But Qin Xue, running into such peculiar folks, would rather pay the fare than ride with them.
While they were waiting for the bus and chatting, a jeep suddenly pulled up in front of them. Xiao Zhao's face appeared from the rolled-down window:
"Ladies, are you heading to the county town? We're heading there too, I can give you a ride, so you don't have to wait for a bus."
"Oh, it's Xiao Zhao. That's kind of you, thank you. But will it delay you?" Fang Hong was pleased with the prospect of hitching a ride.
Concerned about causing them inconvenience. Qin knew Xiao Zhao, as he had given her a ride home when she was discharged from the hospital.
"Xiao Zhao, will taking us along delay you? If it does, we can wait for the bus."
"No, not at all. Hop in." Xiao Zhao didn't have a choice. As soon as they came out, Qin Lang had asked him to offer them a ride.
After Qin Xue and Fang Hong got in the car, they noticed another man on the passenger seat, but they couldn't see his face.
Neither of them spoke after getting in the car, thinking it inappropriate to chat as they didn't know each other very well, so they just closed their eyes and rested since it was going to be a long ride.
Qin Lang was surprised to see Qin Xue confronting those women while he was waiting for Xiao Zhao at the security office. He hadn't expected the woman he saw that day to turn out to be the wife of one of his colleagues.
He felt a bit uncomfortable seeing others trying to bully her, so when he saw them waiting for the bus later, he asked Xiao Zhao to give them a ride.
But he didn't expect them to sit silently, not speaking and even closing their eyes to rest after they got into the car.
Qin Lang checked the rear-view mirror several times, and found Qin Xue strangely familiar, but he knew for a fact that he did not know this woman.
In fact, he didn't even know her name! Where does this strange familiarity come from?
Qin Xue felt an examining gaze on her, and with discomfort, she turned away, blocking that gaze.
Perceiving her discomfort, Qin Lang felt a bit rude for scrutinizing her and redirected his gaze to the road ahead.
He hoped to resolve the frustrating familial issues during this visit home. Anyway, no one would judge him for taking leave to go home.
The people in the jeep remained silent all the way to the county town.