It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 13

In the “Advisor Battalion Camp,” the battalion commander ranked last, but there were still levels such as platoons, companies, and classes below. Jiang Shuangling felt that Qi Heng, being able to become a battalion commander at such a young age, was quite an outstanding young man.

Because, based on her experience of watching TV dramas, she felt that positions like the commander were quite impressive, while the battalion commander was only one level lower than the commander.

But how many people were there in a battalion?

How many people were there in the company?

…

Just thinking about it was quite complicated, leaving one feeling confused. Jiang Shuangling herself was not sensitive to numbers; she managed to score a hundred in math on the college entrance exam, all thanks to several months of intensive training at a coaching institution. However, after taking the exam, she returned all of it to the teacher within a few years.

She had forgotten most of the mathematical formulas, only remembering basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

Forget it, these weren’t things she should be concerned about.

Qi Heng arranged for her, the child, and their luggage to be placed in a car, and had someone drive them to the family compound. He himself said he had some matters to attend to.

“When you arrive at the family compound, the duty soldiers will come to pick you up.”

Jiang Shuangling nodded and got into the car with her two children. All three of them were exhausted, including Jiang Shuangling. They had been awake for several hours in the morning, and now they were starting to feel drowsy again.

Regardless of where the soldier driving the car was headed, Jiang Shuangling fell asleep in the back seat. She was awakened after about an hour or so.

“Sister-in-law, we’ve arrived.”

A particularly bright soldier in green uniform stood outside the car window with a radiant smile, introducing himself as Xiao Zhang, Captain Qi’s duty soldier.

“Hello, Comrade Zhang.”

Jiang Shuangling asked the two soldiers for help in carrying the still-sleeping children out of the car. She then stood by the car and observed the situation in the family compound.

The place seemed quite spacious, with rows of small bungalows. Each house had a vegetable garden in front, surrounded by bamboo fences to form small courtyards. The vegetables in the garden grew exceptionally well, lush and green at a glance.

Xiao Zhang led her to the gate of a house and gently pushed it open, saying that this was the house allocated to Captain Qi.

“This used to be the house of the Political Commissar of the Second Battalion. After he was transferred, it was left vacant for a while.”

“It’s been cleaned up already, everything that needed cleaning has been taken care of.”

Jiang Shuangling immediately noticed the small vegetable garden with a few crooked seedlings and the brand-new Phoenix-brand bicycle parked under the eaves.

There were also a few trees planted along the bamboo fence. This small courtyard was estimated to be around fifty to sixty square meters.

She turned her head to glance at the neighboring yard and noticed that although the vegetable garden there didn’t look impressive, the yard was adorned with quite a few blooming flowers.

Following her gaze, Xiao Zhang smiled and introduced, “The one living next door is Captain He.”

Jiang Shuangling nodded, wondering, Captain? Could he be Qi Heng’s superior? Why would he live so close?

However, if this used to be the house of the battalion’s political commissar, it made sense.

This house happened to be the outermost one in this row of bungalows. About ten meters diagonally across from the courtyard, there was a well, with a pathway next to it leading to the yard of a two-story building.

“That’s where Teacher Zhou lives, and Teacher Yao might not be home today.”

“Teacher Yao?”

“That’s Teacher Zhou’s wife.”

Jiang Shuangling nodded quickly, then refrained from looking around too much, afraid that another battalion commander might appear if she glanced across again.

On the left was the house of the battalion’s commander, and on the right was the house of the captain. This house really had good Feng Shui.

Why wasn’t it arranged in the area where the battalion commander’s residence was clustered?

Could it be that Qi Heng applied late, leaving only this position?

Upon entering the house, Jiang Shuangling found herself in a small hall. To the side was the kitchen, and on the right were two more rooms. When she went into the largest room, she discovered that it was connected to another room.

The two soldiers on duty in the family compound helped put the children to bed and then left.

“Thank you both.”

The bathroom was at the back of the house.

The house felt empty, but it had some basic furniture. There was even a sewing machine and a radio in the corner of the living room, both of which seemed to be newly bought. Jiang Shuangling curiously touched them.

Both items were quite bulky. The sewing machine gleamed with a metallic hue, but it was only the machine without any visible thread.

Could these be purchases made by Qi Heng in preparation for his marriage?

It seemed that in this era, it was trendy for couples to buy the “Three Turns and One Ring, Four Major Items” for their marriage. The “Three Turns” referred to a watch, a bicycle, and a sewing machine, while the “One Ring” was a radio.

Jiang Shuangling glanced at the watch on her wrist. With the “Three Turns and One Ring” complete, it indicated that Qi Heng indeed had a substantial background.

In an ordinary household, possessing any one of the four major items was admirable, let alone having all of them.

The watch appeared the most extravagant and delicate; the sewing machine was the most practical, especially since many families nowadays mend and stitch clothes rather than buying new ones; the radio provided the best entertainment when bored; and as for the bicycle, it was a fashionable item for young people to flaunt, and having one could earn countless points during matchmaking.

Looking at these items before her…

Any other girl would probably feel overjoyed.

But Jiang Shuangling felt a subtle tingling sensation on her scalp.

She couldn’t use the radio, couldn’t operate the sewing machine, and certainly couldn’t ride a bicycle. She was almost a “Three Can’t” person, except that the watch could still be useful.

If she learned how to use the radio, she could still listen to some music to pass the time. If she learned how to use the sewing machine, Jiang Shuangling had seen plenty of clothing design sketches before. Though she hadn’t seen a pig run, she had eaten pork. Perhaps she could make a few clothes with the sewing machine.

As for the bicycle… her sense of balance on a bicycle was too poor. She was always afraid of falling off. She had tried to learn to ride a bicycle more than ten times, but she had never succeeded. Every time someone let go of her, she fell down.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

Jiang Shuangling rubbed her face and told herself not to be too presumptuous. Qi Heng should be able to ride a bicycle; perhaps it was bought for himself.

Xiao Zhang, who had entered with them, couldn’t help but marvel at the radio. “Is this a radio? It looks really nice.”

He squatted down in front of the radio. Radios in this era did tend to attract attention.

Jiang Shuangling couldn’t see what was beautiful about the slightly clumsy silver object, but she nodded along. “Comrade Xiao Zhang, do you know how to use it? How do you turn it on?”

Xiao Zhang examined it closely. “I’ve never seen this kind before. It seems different from what I’m used to. Sister-in-law, I don’t really understand this thing either, so I won’t touch it.”

Jiang Shuangling looked around but didn’t find any instruction manual… Did they have instruction manuals in this era?

“Teacher Yao’s house also has a radio. Why don’t you go over and ask her, Sister-in-law?”

Jiang Shuangling chuckled awkwardly. “Let’s talk about it later.”

The person referred to as Teacher Yao seemed to be the wife of the battalion commander and also lived nearby. They would definitely visit her later.

…For now, let’s leave it. There was no rush to use this thing anyway.

Shifting her focus away from the four major items, Jiang Shuangling noticed a long table in the living room with four chairs around it. There was also a cabinet in the corner. She peeked into the kitchen and found two new pots and some utensils.

Seeing the pots, she felt relieved.

“Sister-in-law, do you need any help? Just let me know.”

“Not for now, thank you, Comrade.” She had just arrived and it seemed like there was a lot to do, but she wasn’t sure where to start. Jiang Shuangling decided to wait for Qi Heng to come back and ask him before making any decisions.

Jiang Shuangling handed Xiao Zhang a handful of candies, but he kept declining. “Save it for the kids to eat.”

“It’s fine, they still have some. Take it.”

After Xiao Zhang left, Jiang Shuangling began to tidy up on her own. She didn’t spend much time before heading to boil some water to prepare for a bath.

It was bearable on the train, but once she got off, she felt like there was a strange smell clinging to her body. Jiang Shuangling couldn’t stand it any longer without taking a shower.

And the two children inside were both dirty. Jiang Shuangling laid a piece of clothing on the bed for them to sleep on before waking them up.

Jiang Che woke up obediently and sat quietly on a small stool. Jiang Shuangling used a towel to wipe his hands. On the other hand, Qi Yue, this proud little one, was a bit disoriented when he woke up. After realizing that Qi Heng wasn’t there, he started toddling around the room.

“Your dad probably won’t be back until tonight.” Jiang Shuangling wasn’t worried that this little guy would wander off. There were guards stationed outside the family compound, so she wasn’t afraid of the children getting lost. At most, they might wander into someone else’s home.

This child resembled Qi Heng to some extent, and Qi Heng’s appearance was particularly distinctive. It should be easy for the neighbors to guess whose child he was.

No need to worry about getting lost.

Of course, it would be best if they stayed put and didn’t run around.

Maybe because they were in a strange place and their father wasn’t around, Qi Yue’s little face looked tense. After inspecting the yard and each house once, he ran back to Jiang Shuangling and stood there.

Jiang Shuangling wiped his hands while she was at it.

“I’ll take you guys for a bath,” Jiang Shuangling decided to wash both of them together since they were both boys, which would be more convenient.

Jiang Che nodded obediently, waiting for his sister’s instructions.

Qi Yue shook his head, refusing to bathe.

Jiang Shuangling lifted his sleeve and brought it near his nose for him to smell, smiling as she asked, “Do you smell that stench?”

The dirty little guy had no self-awareness.

Qi Yue widened his eyes and glared at her. “You’re stinky too!”

“Let’s not talk about who’s stinky. We’re all stinky. After I wash you two little rascals, I’ll—”

As she was speaking, Jiang Shuangling hesitated. These two children—one was her own brother, and the other was her nominal stepson. Their statuses were different.

Speaking of which, her soft-hearted little brother was the nephew of the domineering and proud little guy next to him. He was the youngest in the family.

“After you two finish bathing, I’ll go take mine. The water is boiling now. If you don’t hurry, it’ll turn cold.”

Jiang Shuangling bathed the two little rascals and then took her own bath, washing her long hair as well. In the afternoon, someone from the canteen brought over food, saying it was sent by Captain Qi.

Jiang Shuangling found that Qi Heng was quite thoughtful.

If only he could make people cook less food, it would be even better.