Reborn as a Tough Army Wife

Fang Pingying shifted on the sofa without noticing Luo Honglan's expression, just smiling as she asked, "Is everything okay at the shop? Are you and Yu'er managing alright?"

"We're managing, it's just a little bit of work." After a pause, Luo Honglan blushed and suddenly whispered, "Sister-in-law…"

Only then did Fang Pingying notice that Luo Honglan's expression was a bit off, her face slightly flushed with a hint of bashfulness. She quickly asked, "What's wrong?"

Luo Honglan moved her lips, then lowered her head and said with some embarrassment, "I have something to tell you."

"Tell me…" Fang Pingying raised her eyebrows, judging from the girl's demeanor, it probably wasn't bad news.

"Should I leave, then? I'll cover my ears so I won't hear." Li Aihua, noticing Luo Honglan's embarrassment, said while intentionally covering her ears and laughing, "Go on, I won't eavesdrop."

Luo Honglan, anxious not to be misunderstood by Li Aihua, quickly waved her hands, "No, it's nothing, Auntie can listen."

"Then go ahead, let me hear," Li Aihua put down what she was holding, sat next to Luo Honglan, and looked on with a gossip-hungry expression.

Fang Pingying chuckled as she watched her. Sharing time with Li Aihua made her always feel like she was the mother and Li Aihua, her daughter, due to Li Aihua's sometimes teenager-like cheerful nature.

Especially in front of Zhao Longsheng, she always showed a bit of girlish shyness, making Zhao Longsheng both indulgent and helpless.

For people their age, to still have such a good relationship, Fang Pingying felt a bit envious, but she also envied Li Aihua for maintaining such a positive disposition at her age, showing that Zhao Longsheng really cherished her.

Luo Honglan nervously glanced at Fang Pingying and Li Aihua, and then biting her lip, she whispered, "It's just, I recently met someone. I want sister-in-law to give me some advice."

Upon hearing this, Li Aihua blinked at Luo Honglan teasingly, "Little girl has a crush now, starting to look for a match?"

"Auntie…" Luo Honglan, feeling shy, softly called out to Li Aihua.

"Tell me, who is it, what does he do? Sister-in-law will help you evaluate," Fang Pingying, smiling upon hearing this matter, clapped Luo Honglan's hand to comfort her, "There's nothing to be embarrassed about, you're seventeen already, it's about time to look for a partner."

Because Fang Pingying was sure that Luo Honglan wasn't talking about Li Shunsheng, she was at least able to relax a bit.

Luo Honglan pursed her lips, leaned closer to Fang Pingying, and quietly said, "It's someone from big brother's troop, who's visited our shop before."

Fang Pingying frowned for a moment, quickly recalling the person, "Chen Jie, Xiao Chen, right?"

"Yes, it's him." Luo Honglan blushed and nodded.

Fang Pingying grew excited as she initially thought about playing matchmaker for them, but since Luo Zhiyong wasn't very proactive, she had put the idea aside. Unexpectedly, things were happening on their own.

Remembering what Luo Zhiyong had told her about Chen Jie, she smiled and asked, "The young man looks decent, handsome, and about your age, right?"

Luo Honglan nodded, saying, "Yeah, he's two years older than me."

Fang Pingying winked at her, grinning and asked, "Are you two together yet?"

Luo Honglan quickly shook her head after hearing, "Not yet, but he has mentioned it to me, asking if I'm willing. I don't even know, so I came to ask my sister-in-law."

Fang Pingying smiled and was about to speak, when Li Aihua patted the spot next to her on the couch and pulled Luo Honglan over, chuckling, "Come, tell Auntie, how far have you and that young man gone? Have you held hands or kissed?"

Fang Pingying rolled her eyes helplessly and called out to Li Aihua, "Mom, Honglan is still young, don't push those foreign notions on her."

"She's not that young, she's already seventeen. It's not too early to be in a relationship," Li Aihua said nonchalantly. "Didn't you marry Zhiyong when you were twenty? A few years of dating would be apt for her too, right?"

After saying that, she again spoke to Luo Honglan with a smile, "Come on, tell your Auntie."

"Auntie, none of that has happened," Luo Honglan's face turned completely red from Li Aihua's teasing, and she hurriedly waved her hands to explain, "I still don't know whether I want to be with him or not; I just came to ask my sister-in-law."

Li Aihua found Luo Honglan's innocent demeanor amusing and couldn't help laughing loudly.

Fang Pingying knew Luo Honglan was timid and, after being laughed at by Li Aihua, surely wouldn't dare to talk more.

She glared at Li Aihua and called Luo Honglan to sit down next to her, asking softly, "What do you think yourself? How do you find Xiao Chen? Have you two spent any private time together?"

"He took me to see a movie twice, and he wanted to buy me something, but I didn't accept," Luo Honglan replied honestly, "Most of the time, it's just on weekends. He waits for me outside the shop until I'm free in the afternoon to talk with him for a bit."

After saying that, worried that Fang Pingying might misunderstand, she quickly added, "But sister-in-law, don't worry, I didn't let him come inside the shop, just went out to talk to him."

Fang Pingying nodded, indicating she understood.

After a while, she again asked Luo Honglan, "What do you think of him yourself?"

"He's quite a good person, and he has a good temper too, but..." Luo Honglan hesitated and didn't continue.

"But what..."

Luo Honglan said with a bit of an inferior tone, "Just that he is from the city, and his family has several sisters, and he is the only son. His family runs a business, and conditions are not bad, I'm worried his family might look down on me."

Li Aihua heard this and started laughing, "Why worry what his family does? In our era, marital freedom is respected; his family can't control your feelings."

"I actually know something about Xiao Chen's matter; I had a look at him before and even asked your eldest brother to inquire about him," Fang Pingying shared her thoughts with Luo Honglan, "From what your brother found out, I feel Xiao Chen is a decent boy, ambitious, and honest. I think he's quite suitable for you."

"However, your worries are not unreasonable. After all, the concept of 'matching doors and parallels' has always been valued in our rural areas, I think it's also important to see what his parents' attitudes are."

Fang Pingying acknowledged that marital freedom is right, but no matter the era, the attitude of parents-in-law must be considered.

And having married Luo Zhiyong, she suffered from her mother-in-law's dissatisfaction, so she hoped Luo Honglan would measure things clearly before starting anything.

Luo Honglan, having witnessed her own mother's troubles with Fang Pingying due to tricky in-law issues, harbored some fears about this 'mother-in-law creature,' fearing she might also face a difficult-to-talk-to mother-in-law someday.

She had even decided that if the mother-in-law was difficult, no matter how good the man might be, she would not want to marry. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it, and your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)