Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

Meng Yaya squatted in the corner, staring at the cloth shoe print.

The shoe prints were deeper at the beginning and lighter at the end, clearly left by someone standing on tiptoe. This posture suggests either thief or spying.

"Ya Ya, stop playing in the mud, come and help Mom wipe this cloth." Lin Wanrou called out from inside the house, holding an old rag whose original color was no longer recognizable, struggling with the years of accumulated dust on the window frame.

Meng Yaya patted the dirt off her hands and stood up. Her dark eyes swept over the wall of the neighboring courtyard, her lips pressed tightly together.

Just then, the newly repaired wooden door was pushed open from the outside.

"Oh my, so this is the No. 6 compound that Chief Gu was assigned to? Look at how overgrown with weeds, you'd think it was a dilapidated temple if you didn't know better."

Before seeing the person, one hears their voice. The voice is sharp and has a sour smell, as if it has been soaked in vinegar.

Three or four women wearing floral shirts and polyester pants walked in. The one in the lead had a trendy perm and was cracking sunflower seeds, spitting the shells all over the floor.

Zhao Fang wasn't inside, but Meng Yaya would swear on her life that this group of people was definitely a sightseeing tour that Zhao Fang had called in through the loudspeaker.

Hearing the noise, Lin Wanrou hurriedly put down the rag, rubbed her hands vigorously on the hem of her clothes, and forced a flattering smile: "Ladies and gentlemen...please come in quickly, the house is a mess and not yet tidied up."

"Sister-in-law?" The woman with the perm curled her lips and didn't answer. Instead, she acted like a sanitation inspector, walking around the yard with her hands behind her back before finally stopping in front of Lin Wanrou and looking her up and down.

The way he looked at it was no different from how he looked at a plucked pheasant.

"I heard from Officer Zhao that Old Gu brought a wife from the countryside. I thought she was some kind of celestial being." The curly-haired woman was named Qian Mei. She was the wife of the deputy division commander next door and was known in the compound for being well-informed and gossipy.

She held up a finger and disdainfully lifted the corner of Lin Wanrou's patched-up cotton-padded jacket: "This material, it must be the kind we don't even use for rags in our compound, right? Hey girl, do you all wear this kind of thing in the countryside? Don't you have anything to change into?"

The women behind them covered their mouths and laughed, their laughter sounding like ducks quacking.

Lin Wanrou's face flushed bright red instantly, as if she had been stripped naked in public. She instinctively shrank back, trying to hide the patch.

"The countryside is poor... these clothes are still wearable..." Lin Wanrou's voice was barely audible.

"Being poor isn't scary, what's scary is bringing that shabby air of poverty into the compound and making everyone feel uncomfortable." Qian Mei spat out some sunflower seed shells at Lin Wanrou's feet. "Old Gu is something else. He's supposed to be a leader, how come he can't even get him a decent set of clothes? If he wears this to a party, where will our compound put its face?"

Gu Changfeng went to the logistics department to borrow a flatbed cart to haul coal briquettes; he's not home. That's why these women dare to be so unrestrained.

Meng Yaya stood on the steps, looking at the pile of melon seed shells on the ground, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

In the apocalypse, such a gossipy woman who stirs up trouble for no reason usually doesn't survive past the first episode. But in the 1960s, this was considered an internal contradiction among the people.

Since it's an internal conflict, let's resolve it using internal methods.

"Aunt."

Meng Yaya walked down with her short legs, carrying an enamel basin that was bigger than her head, filled with dirty water that had just been drawn from the well.

Qian Mei looked down and saw a tiny girl who wasn't even as tall as her knees. The little girl was quite pretty and cute, but she was too thin, making her eyes look frighteningly large.

"Is this the wild...that child?" Qian Mei swallowed the word that was on the tip of her tongue, and put on a fake smile. "What's his name? How old is he? He looks like a little refugee."

"My name is Meng Yaya." Meng Yaya looked up and smiled sweetly. "Auntie, you have a piece of vegetable stuck in your tooth."

Qian Mei's smile froze instantly, and she subconsciously licked her front teeth.

Several military wives around couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"And another thing," Meng Yaya took a step forward, the basin of dirty water swaying in her arms, about to spill, "Auntie, you stepped on the ants in my field. Grandpa Sun said that killing will shorten one's lifespan, especially for someone like you who can't say anything nice."

"You brat, what are you saying!" Qian Mei angrily backed away, her high heels twisting as she nearly fell into a ditch of weeds behind her.

Qian Mei steadied herself, pointing angrily at Lin Wanrou: "Is this how you raise children? You have no manners at all! You're definitely from the countryside!"

Lin Wanrou was still trembling when she heard someone scolding her daughter. She suddenly raised her head and stood in front of Meng Yaya.

"Sister-in-law, Ya Ya is still young and doesn't know any better. But I've never taught her to spit sunflower seed shells at other people's houses."

Although Lin Wanrou's voice was still trembling, each word was clear.

"This courtyard may be dilapidated, but it's still my and Changfeng's home. You're welcome to come as guests. But if you're here to find fault, then... I won't keep the door open."

The air went still for a second.

The military wives exchanged bewildered glances. None of them had expected that this seemingly pushover country woman would dare to ask them to leave.

"Well, you've only just entered the compound and you're already acting all high and mighty!" Qian Mei felt humiliated and rolled up her sleeves, ready to shove him. "Let me tell you, there are rules in this compound! Don't think you can get away with just because you're close to Old Gu..."

"Bang!"

A loud bang interrupted Qian Mei's shouting.

Everyone was startled and looked in the direction of the sound.

The three-year-old girl had somehow walked to the large millstone in the middle of the yard, which was used to press pickled vegetables.

That millstone must weigh at least forty or fifty pounds.

Meng Yaya gripped the edge of the millstone with one hand, and without any apparent effort, she lifted the bluestone millstone with one hand and flipped it over with a "clang".

Dust flew everywhere.

Meng Yaya dusted off her little hands, looked at the stunned crowd, and said in her childish voice, "There was a mouse hole down there, so I blocked it. Auntie, what rules did you just mention? Were you trying to outmuscle me?"

Qian Mei looked at the millstone, then at Meng Yaya's wrist, which was as thin as a dry stick, and swallowed.

Is this the strength a three-year-old should have? Is this some kind of Nezha?

"Um... there's still water boiling on the stove at home, I'll go first." Qian Mei turned and left, her steps so fast it looked like she was being chased by wolves.

When the other military wives saw that the leader had run away, they also made excuses to slip away.

The courtyard instantly became quiet.

Lin Wanrou's legs went weak, and she almost collapsed to the ground. She stared at the overturned millstone, her eyes filled with shock: "Ya Ya, you…"

"Mom, I'm naturally strong, just like my dad." Meng Yaya said without batting an eye, shifting the blame to Gu Changfeng, who hadn't returned yet. "Hurry up and sweep the floor, that pile of sunflower seed shells is disgusting."

Lin Wanrou didn't think much of it, assuming it was just her daughter unleashing her potential to protect her. She picked up a broom and swept the floor while tears streamed down her face, this time from gratitude.

Meng Yaya didn't go to comfort her biological mother; instead, she turned around and walked back to the corner.

On the top of the wall, a clump of withered yellow ivy stirred.

someone.

That person was watching from the wall the whole time while those women were making a scene.

Meng Yaya picked up a pebble and flicked it with her finger.

"Whoosh—"

The pebble made a whooshing sound as it hit the ground precisely beneath the clump of ivy.

"Ouch!"

A short cry of pain came from the other side of the wall, followed by a dull thud as something heavy fell to the ground, and then the sound of hurried footsteps fading into the distance.

It was a child's voice.

Meng Yaya squinted. It seemed that life in this compound was more interesting than she had imagined.

Just then, the sound of wheels rolling on the ground came from the gate.

Gu Changfeng, shirtless and revealing his muscular physique, walked in pulling a flatbed cart full of coal briquettes. He was radiating heat, and beads of sweat rolled down his bronze chest.

He glanced at the still-sweeped sunflower seed shells, then at the overturned millstone, and finally his gaze settled on Meng Yaya, who was playing in the mud as if nothing had happened.

"Someone's here?" Gu Changfeng put the car down and wiped his sweat with a towel.

"Yeah, a few sparrows chirping." Meng Yaya didn't even look up. "I accidentally scared them away."

Gu Changfeng didn't say anything, but walked over and flipped the millstone back over with one hand, straightening it.

"Be gentler next time," Gu Changfeng said calmly. "This millstone belongs to the government; you'll have to pay for it if you break it."

Lin Wanrou: "..."

That's not the point, is it?

Gu Changfeng walked over to Meng Yaya, took a hot roasted sweet potato out of his pocket, and put it in her hand.

"Eat it while it's hot."

Meng Yaya held the sweet potato, smelled its sweet and caramelized aroma, and smiled.

This cheapskate father is pretty savvy.

As night fell, the No. 6 courtyard finally came alive. The dim light of the kerosene lamp shone through the window, casting the shadows of a family of three as they ate.

In the neighboring yard, a chubby little boy was clutching a large bump on his forehead, crying his heart out: "Grandma! That brat new girl hit me with a stone! I'm going to kill her! I'm going to kick her out!"