Chapter 7

Time flies like a fleeting horse; in the blink of an eye, less than a week remains before Lin Yilan’s school begins.

That day, Lin Yilan rode her bicycle, carrying the custom-made items she had retrieved back to the compound.

Her close friend Fang Fang, who lived in the compound, was responsible for bringing the tools borrowed from the logistics department to Lin’s grandparents’ house.

When Lin Yilan arrived at the compound, Fang Fang was sitting under the big cypress tree, wearing a hat, fanning herself, and chatting casually with the older women nearby.

“Xiao Lan!”

As Lin Yilan dismounted her bicycle, she heard Fang Fang calling her.

“Why are you here so early?” Lin Yilan pushed her bicycle over to Fang Fang. “Good morning, ladies.”

“Good morning, Xiao Lan girl,” the older women responded warmly.

“Good morning,” they echoed in unison.

Fang Fang reached into a cloth bag beside her and handed Lin Yilan a banana. “I thought I’d come over and help you out.”

Lin Yilan took the banana, then pulled an apple from her bag and offered it to Fang Fang. “Then I won’t be polite today. Thank you for your help.”

Fang Fang stood up, brushed off her pants, and linked her arm with Lin Yilan’s. “We’re best friends—no need for formalities.”

“Let’s go.” Lin Yilan rubbed the apple against her clothes and took a big bite.

Seeing this, Lin Yilan shook her head helplessly, pushed off the bicycle’s kickstand with her left foot, and slowly followed Fang Fang, who had already started walking ahead.

“Xiao Lan, you’ve been living in the compound so long, but I’ve never met your older siblings. Your school starts soon; don’t they come to see you?”

Fang Fang asked carefully, glancing at Lin Yilan several times.

After all, Lin Yilan’s parents were both remarried, which wasn’t unusual in the compound, but the family affairs of Director Lin’s household still caught the attention of those living on the west side of the compound.

Moreover, Director Lin’s youngest son and daughter-in-law had only visited three or four times in the past two months, which naturally sparked curiosity. Plus, the daughter-in-law came from a wealthy capitalist background—though that was no longer a concern, it still drew attention.

Fang Fang was naturally curious but most of all worried about her good friend, Lin Yilan.

Having lived in the compound for many years, she had seen many children from blended families, where the children born later were often neglected or favored unevenly, leading to strained relationships with their older siblings.

So she was especially concerned that Lin Yilan might be mistreated by her family.

A family of seven—six returned home by the end of last year—and yet her good friend was left alone in the countryside. Lin Yilan had worked hard to get back to the city, but her family seemed indifferent.

The more Fang Fang thought about it, the more she felt sorry for Lin Yilan.

Lin Yilan paused briefly and then noticed the angry expression on Fang Fang’s face. She immediately realized her friend had misunderstood.

“Hahaha, you’re wrong,” she said with a small smile despite the misunderstanding. “I get along very well with my family. It’s just that everyone has busy schedules; there’s no way we can meet every day.”

“And the five siblings have regular gatherings, just not in the compound. Speaking of which, our reunion day is coming up soon.”

Fang Fang looked unconvinced. “Really? But even if they’re busy, they can’t go the whole summer without visiting you?”

Lin Yilan pushed open the door to her grandparents’ house, parked her bicycle, and placed her hands gently on Fang Fang’s shoulders. “They really are very busy.”

Their family of seven included five high achievers, and the remaining two—her father and herself—were both rather lazy. Though her father was somewhat better, at least he was diligent with his work and didn’t turn a blind eye at home.

“From what I know, my mother is busy studying now. She seems to have connections with a professor specializing in education. My second older sister either spends all her time in the school library or helping teachers with tasks. My third and fourth older brothers apparently went to Shanghai for a trip. As for my eldest brother, you probably know—he got accepted into graduate school this year, so he’s been studying there early.”

Upon hearing Lin Yilan’s explanation, Fang Fang’s mouth dropped open in astonishment.

“No wonder my mom always says I should learn from you. Your family is terrifying…”

She thought for a moment. If she were in Lin Yilan’s family, she probably wouldn’t survive very well.

Fang Fang rubbed her arms. “Luckily I’m not in your family. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have a chance.”

Lin Yilan stopped her, wagged her index finger, and said, “Don’t say that. The past was all blood and tears…”

At the beginning of her journey through time, she had considered becoming a “child prodigy,” but soon realized she was overthinking it.

A pseudo-genius facing truly smart people immediately gives up.

To avoid making her life overly difficult, Lin Yilan decisively chose to be an ordinary child.

Still, thinking of how smart her siblings were and the way their stories ended made her even angrier.

With a sigh, she shook the bag in her hand, causing the rattling sound of the contents inside. “Come on, Comrade Fang Fang. You’ve walked right into this—you’re going to work for me for free today.”

Fang Fang followed Lin Yilan into her grandparents’ house. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll just make things worse?”

“Of course not. I’m grateful you’re willing to help.”

After saying this, Lin Yilan turned and dragged the borrowed tools from outside into the house.

Then she changed into a fresh set of clothes and went to the storeroom to fetch the remaining cement to the yard.

Thanks to a kind of “golden touch” in this life, she had regained memories related to construction from her previous life. Otherwise, just the right mix of cement mortar would have given her headaches for a while.

She mixed the river sand, fine gravel, and cement she had brought earlier in the right proportions, then fetched half a bucket of water from the kitchen and began mixing the mortar.

Hearing the sounds outside, Fang Fang, who was tidying up the parts inside, came out into the yard.

Wow, no wonder she heard noises typical of construction sites—it was Lin Yilan.

The last time she had seen this was when soldiers from the military logistics department came to repair houses in the family compound. She never expected she would one day witness her friend doing the same.

And her friend seemed even more skillful than those new labor soldiers from the military.

“Comrade Lin, when did you learn this skill?” Fang Fang couldn’t help but ask.

Wiping sweat from her brow while mixing with the shovel, Lin Yilan replied, “I learned it back in the countryside. But at that time, I didn’t practice much, and it wasn’t cement I mixed.”

Fang Fang gave a thumbs-up. “Looks like you really have a talent for construction. Going to architectural school wasn’t a loss after all.”

Lin Yilan twitched her mouth, deciding to swallow the urge to explain the difference between civil engineering and architectural design.

Her skill came purely from when she was an intern and had offended the architect on her project team, who sent her to the construction site to oversee the project for a month before she returned to the office.

During her time at the site, she learned a lot about civil engineering from the engineers and workers there, making up for her earlier shortcomings.

She was mixing the mortar to create a slope for drainage at the waterproof raised area and threshold of the bathroom.

There is an old saying: “As a person ages, the legs show it first.” Setting aside the stories about her grandmother and the old leader, her grandfather’s legs had long suffered from embedded bullet fragments from the battlefield, making his mobility poor.

Moreover, recalling what she had learned, elderly people tend to take shorter steps and don’t lift their feet as high as young people, making them prone to tripping over ropes or door thresholds.

Therefore, Lin Yilan wanted to make gentle slopes in these slightly elevated areas.

Scooping a layer of mortar with the shovel, Lin Yilan headed straight for the bathroom, with Fang Fang following closely behind.

Elsewhere, Zhang Da Niang, Lin Yilan’s longtime companion who often teased and sparred with her in the compound, finished her daily chat under the big cypress and prepared to head home.

On the way, she had to pass by Director Lin’s house.

However, she had heard that Director Lin and his wife had gone to visit the old leader Liu Da Jie at hospital 893. According to recent gossip, Liu Da Jie had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, and it was quite serious, so she needed to stay hospitalized for a while.

What intrigued Zhang Da Niang most was the rumor that the diagnosis was somehow prompted by Director Lin’s granddaughter.

Thinking of this, she couldn’t resist peeking into Director Lin’s courtyard.

She wondered whether the girl had eaten dinner properly.

“Oh!” Zhang Da Niang exclaimed as she saw the patch of cement spread across the courtyard.

“Is someone inside?”

“Did the logistics department come?”

She stood on tiptoe to peer into the courtyard.

“Strange, I haven’t heard about the military coming to repair anything today.”

Usually, when the military sent people to fix things in the compound, they would notify the residents in advance since it was more efficient to handle an entire area at once.

“Zhang Da Jie, what are you doing?”

Zhang Da Niang looked up when she heard someone call her, only to see the person she disliked most in the compound. She rolled her eyes and ignored her.

“Hey, Zhang Da Jie, why aren’t you speaking? The literacy teacher who came recently told us to be polite and civilized. Seems like you wasted your time learning.”

The annoying woman’s voice was like a fly buzzing near her ear—irritating to no end.

Zhang Da Niang snorted. “Qiu Xiao’e, what do you want this time? Bought groceries and not going home to cook? Why are you watching me here?”

Qiu Xiao’e stepped closer and glanced into Director Lin’s house. “What could I want? Just to say hi.”

“Has the logistics department come to repair Director Lin’s house? Why didn’t they notify us in advance? My yard needs some fixing too.”

“But I don’t see any military personnel.”

“Where did this stuff come from?”

Qiu Xiao’e stood on tiptoe to look inside again.

“Wait—could it be that Director Lin’s granddaughter hired outsiders to enter the compound?” Qiu Xiao’e looked at Zhang Da Niang with a hint of schadenfreude. She knew Zhang Da Niang often spoke up for the granddaughter outside.

“She’s probably from the countryside and doesn’t understand the rules here in the compound.”