Back at the residential compound, Lin Han drove straight to their new home.
The regimental commander's residence was a standalone courtyard, somewhat similar to their old home, complete with a vegetable garden in the yard. The house had four bedrooms and was considerably more spacious than an apartment building.
Upon entering, Nan Sheng saw that the place was tidied up very cleanly. The living room had a wooden sofa, its surface smoothly sanded and oiled—a piece Lin Han had specially commissioned because he noticed Nan Sheng liked lounging on sofas.
The military district wasn't as particular as government offices, where sofas were usually leather. Lin Han wasn't sure if his wife would be satisfied.
The first thing Nan Sheng noticed upon entering was the sofa chair. The living room was arranged simply and brightly, a style she liked, though it lacked a touch of coziness. Still, Nan Sheng was quite pleased.
The kitchen wasn't very large and was connected to the living room. The door seemed to have been installed later to keep cooking fumes out. The remaining rooms were all bedrooms, furnished with the essentials. Just moving their belongings from upstairs had already filled half the space.
After looking around, Nan Sheng nodded in satisfaction. "I must commend Regiment Commander Lin. Despite being so busy with work, he managed to keep the house in such perfect order. Truly wonderful!"
A key point was that every room in the house had an electric fan installed, which was quite a luxury, making it very comfortable to live in.
A smile shone in Lin Han's eyes. The two discussed what else they needed to buy, while Sizhe followed his little sister, letting her choose her room first.
"Big brother doesn't want to sleep with me?"
Siqi pouted unhappily.
"Don't you want your own room? You can sleep alone one night, with big brother another night, and then with mom and dad another night. Doesn't that sound more fun?"
Recently, Nan Sheng had talked with Sizhe, thinking that at Siqi's age, it was time to practice sleeping alone. After all, their son wasn't so little anymore, and it would be even harder to separate them in a couple of years.
Hearing her brother's suggestion, Siqi was quite tempted, but she hesitated. "But what if I wake up at night and get scared?"
Sizhe pinched his sister's chubby little cheek and teased, "Trust me, even if the bed collapsed, you wouldn't wake up."
Don't ask how he knew. Once you have a little sister and wake up to a soaking wet bed, you'll understand.
In short, he had been thoroughly inconvenienced, while his sister slept soundly through it all!
It was already quite late. Lying in bed, Lin Han and Nan Sheng discussed the gathering they were hosting the next day.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the military district and notify everyone individually. I estimate at least twelve or thirteen people will come. Honey, you go to the residential compound and invite a few of the close sister-in-laws over for the meal. If the house is too crowded, we'll eat in the yard."
Many people had visited when he was ill, but most were just observing formalities; their relationships weren't close enough to come for a meal.
Only his former close comrades and current colleagues would come together. Subordinates like Han Yongxiang wouldn't even make the list this time.
Lin Han had no intention of making his wife come back to do hard labor. He directly decided that they wouldn't cook at home tomorrow; they would buy food from the state-run restaurant.
Nan Sheng disagreed. "That won't do. How can you have a housewarming without cooking at home? We'll cook the rice at home and buy the dishes from the restaurant. We can't skip the old customs."
"Alright, whatever you say, boss!"
As they talked, they grew sleepy. When they woke up, they learned from their son that Siqi had actually slept alone in her own room last night.
The couple specifically went to her room to take a look. She was sleeping so soundly, her little face rosy. Nan Sheng came out and gave Sizhe a thumbs-up.
"Son, you're amazing!"
Sizhe raised his eyebrows proudly. Now he could also calmly accept his mother's praise. In fact, he hadn't expected the separate sleeping arrangement to go so smoothly either.
Yesterday, he let his sister choose her room first. After she picked, he stayed with her for a while. Siqi was probably tired, and he managed to coax her to sleep fairly quickly.
As for himself, he felt a bit unaccustomed to the sudden absence of a little heater in his bed.
Hearing her son say this, Nan Sheng thought about making large stuffed animals for the two children to hold. The shape wasn't important; what mattered was that holding something while sleeping would give the children a sense of security and comfort.
Their new place was farther from the military district. So, Lin Han drove his son to the military district gate, had him bring breakfast back after getting it, while he himself ate at the barracks.
The neighbors on both sides gradually came over after the Lin family finished their meal. Living on the left was Regiment Commander Fu Jing's family, which had quite a few members—elderly, wife, and children all living together. Early in the morning, Nan Sheng could hear the commotion from their side.
You must be Regiment Commander Lin's wife. I'm Fu Jing's wife; you can call me Sister-in-law He Qiu. We heard the noise from your place yesterday, but it was too late to come and disturb you. Today I came to introduce myself and also bring you some vegetables.
When someone makes a gesture of goodwill like this, not accepting would be impolite. Nan Sheng immediately invited Sister-in-law He Qiu inside to sit and accepted the vegetables.
"Thank you, sister-in-law. I should have visited you first, but the house was still a mess and not properly tidied, so I delayed. Please don't blame me for my lack of manners."
He Qiu had heard plenty about the Lin family's notable affairs, especially the feud between the Lin and Shen families, which had caused quite a stir at the time.
She didn't intend to become deeply involved with Nan Sheng, just to leave a good impression. Otherwise, one only needed to look at the Shen family's outcome—not only were they laughed at daily, but it also hindered Regiment Commander Shen's career prospects.
Seeing that Nan Sheng spoke quite amiably, He Qiu's attitude warmed up a few degrees. "There's no need for so much formality. We're neighbors now, just call on me anytime you need anything."
Right then, the wife of their neighbor on the right, Regiment Commander Xie, also came over. What she brought was more formal. Seeing He Qiu, Yang Xue smiled. "You're here early as always!"
Seeing what Yang Xue was carrying, He Qiu felt a bit sour inside. Were such grand gestures necessary between neighbors? It immediately made her own gift seem lesser.
She smiled faintly. "I finished cooking early today, so I came over first."
Nan Sheng immediately stood up to invite Yang Xue to sit. "Sister-in-law, you're too kind. We're just neighbors; you shouldn't bring such valuable things."
Yang Xue knew Nan Sheng didn't recognize her. She smiled and struck up a conversation.
"My husband is Regiment Commander Xie. You can call me Sister-in-law Yang Xue. Knowing you just moved in and would be hosting, I happened to have some liquor at home, so I brought two bottles over to save you the trouble of buying some."
Her husband and Lin Han belonged to the same faction. Knowing that Division Commander Yao valued the newly promoted Lin Han, her husband had told her yesterday, after hearing the activity next door, to come over and show some care.
Nowadays, everyone knew that Regiment Commander Lin's wife was the director of the county government's discipline inspection commission. She was busy with work and was surely lacking many things for the home.
“What you say is right, sister-in-law. Even if you hadn't come, I was planning to invite you and the other sister-in-laws over for dinner tonight. Then I'll shamelessly accept the liquor.”
The three women weren't familiar with each other anyway. After chatting for a while and getting a general sense of each other's personalities, they parted. Hearing that Nan Sheng was going to town, Yang Xue even brought over her own bicycle.
"I don't go to work, so I don't need it at home. There's no rush to return it."
Honestly, this Sister-in-law Yang Xue was truly thoughtful. Even if such a person had their own motives, you'd still enjoy being around them.
Nan Sheng's bicycle belonged to the town government. After she was transferred to the county, she had someone return it. Right now, she just happened to need transportation to go out.
The two children, who had finally come home for a visit, were eager to go out and play.
Nan Sheng gave them a task: they could go out anytime they wanted, and return whenever they wished, as long as they cleaned the house first.
So, the brother and sister divided the work, planning to tidy up the home as quickly as possible.
Nan Sheng herself was also very busy. She planned to first go to the family compound to invite people over for dinner, then go to the town to buy supplies, and finally head to the state-run restaurant!
