My little country wife whom I haven't seen for eight years has come to join the army

Lu Xiaohua's flattering and exaggerated smile froze on her face immediately. Do children of high-ranking officials always speak so directly?

Noticing Lu Xiaohua's strange behavior, Su Hongmei immediately relaxed her expression: "I was just teasing you, but you took it seriously."

Lu Xiaohua looked listless, her face slightly red. "My fourth brother should have married you, Sister Hongmei. It was my parents, foolish and ignorant, who insisted on this marriage."

Su Hongmei smiled and took her hand: "Xiaohua, I am satisfied that you have this heart. Now that things have come to this, I can only sincerely wish him well."

Lu Xiaohua pursed her lips tightly and nodded slightly. Not wanting to continue this topic, she asked, "Today is not the weekend, why didn't Sister Hongmei go to work?"

"Whenever I'm feeling down, I want to buy new clothes. I haven't been to the supply and marketing cooperative for a while, so I wanted to see if they had any new dresses."

Even if Lu Xiaohua used her knees to think, she could guess why she was in a bad mood. She felt even more guilty, but she could only flatter her: "There are too few styles of skirts in our supply and marketing cooperative. I think the skirts in Luancheng Department Store are more suitable for Sister Hongmei's temperament."

Su Hongmei smiled faintly, her eyes scanning the clothing section. "You're right, these styles are all over the place now. That nurse Xiaolin from the surgery department is wearing them too. I used to think they were nothing special, but after seeing her wearing them, I suddenly feel they're too tacky."

"Don't even mention Xiaolin. You know the wives of the soldiers in the military compound? There's one in her thirties who even wears one."

Lu Xiaohua curled her lips. Of course she had to follow Su Hongmei's wishes.

But she thought about it for a while, and finally did not say that the dress she saw her second sister-in-law wearing was exactly the same style as the one Su Hongmei was wearing now.

Su Hongmei's long eyebrows twitched: "I know those military wives, they all wear blue cloth shirts regardless of winter or summer, why are they wearing skirts?"

After saying this, she deliberately turned her gaze away from the clothing area as if she had seen something dirty.

Of course, flattery must be done in the right place. Lu Xiaohua knew what this young lady was concerned about, and said with a pout:

"It's all Zhou Ruoyu. Ever since she came to the military compound, she's corrupted the atmosphere. Women here don't have the will to live anymore. No matter what their background is, they dare to try on dresses. Humph."

Lu Xiaohua's bet was right. Su Hongmei was indeed very interested. "I remember she was wearing a blue shirt when she arrived at the army. How come she seems like a completely different person after getting married? It's really strange."

Seeing Su Hongmei half-closed her eyes, Lu Xiaohua also agreed: "Sister Hongmei also noticed that she was strange, let alone you. I have lived in the same room with her for more than ten years, and I am even more surprised by her changes.

It wasn't like this before, at least...at least she listened to what I said, now she's completely different."

Lu Xiaohua didn't dare to tell her about tricking her into going to the pond. Not only did it fail, but it also accelerated her parents' journey of thousands of miles to bring her to the army. That was really a slap in the face.

"That's quite a big change..."

Su Hongmei seemed to be talking to Lu Xiaohua, or perhaps to herself, but her eyes were fixed on a point in front of her, as if she had found a way to turn the situation around.

"Xiaohua, I'll treat you to lunch at noon. It's a good opportunity for you to talk to me." Su Hongmei said sincerely while holding Lu Xiaohua's hand.

Lu Xiaohua felt embarrassed for a moment. She hadn't even thanked Su Hongmei for helping her find a job, but she didn't expect Su Hongmei to be so kind as to invite her to dinner.

"No, I can't." Lu Xiaohua hesitated and refused. "I just started working not long ago. Even if there are not many customers, I dare not leave my post. The director will criticize me if he sees me."

"That's no big deal. Just a word from me. I can ask for leave for you right now. You can take as many days off as you want." The word "arrogance" was clearly printed on Su Hongmei's face.

Seeing the director bowing and nodding as he escorted Su Hongmei out, Lu Xiaohua's strong vanity made her heart blossom with joy: See, this is the power of power. Usually the director would not even nod when he saw her, but today he actually smiled at her.

As it was approaching noon, more and more people came to the state-owned restaurant.

They chose a relatively secluded corner so that they could talk more.

The waiter also knew Su Hongmei and greeted her warmly: "Comrade Su, why did you bring friends here today? You're in for a treat! We've just launched a new dish today: roast duck!"

"Then try one and see how the taste differs from the ones in Beijing." Su Hongmei said lightly without even asking the price.

Lu Xiaohua was horrified: "Sister Hongmei, the two of us girls can't finish a duck, we can't waste it..."

"I'll pack that half for you to take back and feed it to Lao Lai." Su Hongmei interrupted her.

Lu Xiaohua blushed: "Sister Hongmei..."

Su Hongmei seemed to realize that she had said something wrong and smiled awkwardly: "Oh, I forgot... But the way Lao Lai was protecting you, I knew you two were dating."

Pursing her lips and blushing, Lu Xiaohua finally nodded, looking shy.

The dishes were served very quickly. Su Hongmei was really generous. There was not only one roast duck, but also a pot of braised pork ribs and stir-fried bamboo shoots with bacon.

Lu Xiaohua is eighteen years old, and it feels like a dream at this moment.

Even during the Chinese New Year in her hometown, she had never eaten such a hard dish, and she had never seen roast duck before. The crispy skin was still oozing with oil, and the unique aroma of meat rushed into her nostrils. It was so fragrant.

"Roll this pancake and eat it," Su Hongmei patiently taught her how to roll the pancake, and urged her:

"The chef of this restaurant is indeed well-deserved of his reputation. His skills are no different from those of the Beijing Roast Duck Restaurant. Come and try it."

"Sister Hongmei, you are such a nice person."

Lu Xiaohua held the meat patty that Su Hongmei had rolled for her. She was so excited that she didn't know what to say, and her eyes were slightly wet.

Su Hongmei continued to help her put the ribs into the bowl without stopping: "Even if I am not destined to be with your fourth brother, I have made you my friend. At least you can come to me if you have any problems in the military region."

"But, I want you to be my fourth sister-in-law even more!"

Finally, the bet was right. Su Hongmei secretly gave herself a thumbs-up in her heart, but looked at her coldly: "Xiaohua, you can't say this in front of your fourth brother and fourth... fourth sister-in-law. You are just trying to create trouble."

I took a bite of the pancake wrapped with roast duck meat, and the taste of roast duck spread in my mouth, as if a warm current was flowing through my heart. The delicate meat and rich fat were perfectly combined, which was so satisfying.

After tasting four or five wraps, Lu Xiaohua finally looked up at Su Hongmei: "Sister Hongmei, tell me the truth, are you unwilling to accept this?"

Su Hongmei took a deep breath and said firmly, "Yes."

"That's easy," Lu Xiaohua took another bite of the ribs, reluctantly put down his chopsticks, and leaned closer to her, saying, "Then I have a way to break them up."