I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 63: Rural People, They Really Don't Care About Hygiene

Chunmei and her friends came backstage to watch the excitement for a bit and then left. When they returned to the front, they found Yuan Juan's mother-in-law, Aunt Zhou, sitting right next to them.

She held her granddaughter and smiled at everyone.

"You're here too? Why are you carrying lunchboxes? Haven't you had lunch yet?"

"I've eaten," said Sister Chunmei. "We just went to the back, and this is what Yuan Xiu gave me. She said that the canteen gave each person a pound of dumplings at noon, and she didn't finish them, so she asked me to help carry them so she can give them to her husband later."

Sister-in-law Xiulan laughed and said, "If it were me, I could eat a pound by myself! Little Yuan didn't not finish it, he just couldn't bear to finish it and saved it especially for Battalion Commander Jiang."

Grandma Zhou, holding her granddaughter, smiled and said, "That's how it should be. The young couple, you think of me and I think of you, that's how you can live a loving and harmonious life together."

Sister Xiulan started teasing the little flower that Aunt Zhou was holding, "Little flower, who am I? Say my name and I'll hear you."

Little Flower shyly buried her face in her grandmother's arms.

Grandma Zhou gently patted her granddaughter's bottom. "This is your Aunt Xiulan. How did she teach you to greet people at home?"

Little Flower hugged her grandma without saying a word, her little head bobbing back and forth.

Aunt Zhou: "This child is shy."

Sister Xiulan laughed and said, "All little girls are like this. Xiaohua is a good child. She is so young, but she already knows how to help her grandma with chores. Last time you were airing out the quilts, she was carrying a pillow that was bigger than herself and following behind you. She fell down, but she just dusted herself off and got up without crying. If it were my son, the roof would have collapsed."

Sister Chunmei nodded: "Daughters are the best, they're so thoughtful. My son is too resilient."

When people praised her granddaughter, Aunt Zhou was naturally happy and started chatting about the child.

"...Having many children and grandchildren is a blessing. My sons back in my hometown all have several children, but my son Shitou passed away early, which delayed his life for so many years. Now that he's old, he only has one daughter, Xiaohua."

Chunmei's sister-in-law: "Then why don't you let your current wife have a few more children?"

"Yes, you must have children, at least three..."

"Achoo!"

Yuan Juan sneezed so loudly that snot came out of her nose.

She quickly blew her nose towards the corner of the wall and wiped the dirt off her fingers on the wall.

Upon seeing this, many people showed expressions of disgust.

"Country folks, they have no hygiene whatsoever!"

The speaker was a young woman from the performing arts troupe, the older dancer Yuan Xiu had met before.

Yuan Xiu went to the cultural troupe several times and saw her every time; it seemed her surname was Han.

Many military dependents in the vicinity frowned at this statement.

Because Yuan Xiu was next to her, she deliberately moved her position, as if afraid of getting something dirty on her.

Yuan Xiu: "Comrade Han, whether or not you are hygienic is a personal habit and has nothing to do with whether or not you are from the countryside. In our unit and our military dependents' compound, there are many people from the countryside. If you talk like that, you will offend people."

Comrade Han turned her head and saw that many military dependents were rolling their eyes at her. Only then did she realize that what she had said had offended many people.

She quickly said, "That's not what I meant. I was talking about her."

She pointed at Yuan Juan, "She's so unhygienic! How could she wipe her snot on the wall?"

Yuan Juan's face flushed red instantly!

She was too far away to hear Comrade Han's first sentence at all.

When she heard Yuan Xiu say that, she felt strange and wondered if Yuan Xiu was sick in the head, why was she criticizing the art troupe?

When Comrade Han pointed at her and said those words, she understood everything.

Amidst the disapproving gazes of the crowd, Yuan Juan's face flushed red and then turned pale, then red again.

Yuan Xiu glanced at Yuan Juan and then looked away, unaware of the resentful look Yuan Juan was giving her.

The program has begun.

Yuan Xiu and the other performers sat in the seats specially prepared for the actors, listening to the leaders on stage speak.

The top three programs were already lining up backstage to go on stage, with the Parents' Committee's dance performance being the third.

Yuan Xiu doesn't need to rush; she can sit here and watch several more programs.

While listening to the leader's speech, she began searching for Jiang Zhou among the sea of ​​people below the stage.

She started looking from the front row in the middle and soon spotted Jiang Zhou.

He was wearing a military uniform and a military cap. Political Commissar Wang was sitting in front of him, and Li Shan and Instructor Liu were sitting next to him. He was looking intently ahead, nodding occasionally.

Suddenly, he turned his head and looked directly at Yuan Xiu.

The way to cover up embarrassment is to smile and then wave.

Sit up straight and listen attentively to the leader's speech.

It was the first time Yuan Xiu had ever watched a performance by professional actors from a performing arts troupe live, and it felt like watching the Spring Festival Gala.

She could only watch the Spring Festival Gala on TV, but this time she was there in person.

In terms of sheer spectacle, a New Year's Day performance in a military compound certainly can't compare to the Spring Festival Gala.

The programs performed by the cultural troupe were mostly model operas, and the new programs they staged were also within certain rules and regulations.

Unlike the "hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend" era of the millennium, the development of various industries was something Yuan Xiu could never have imagined during this period.

Even though she had seen more exciting and better shows, Yuan Xiu still felt that today's program was the best she had ever seen.

In her past life, she drifted away from the excitement, just getting by. In this life, she has taken control of her own destiny.

The parents' committee's dance performance began and ended smoothly.

The applause from the family members drowned out that from everyone else.

Wu Yufen quickly ran over to Yuan Xiu, "Don't just sit there, you should go and get ready."

Yuan Xiu: "...Aren't there several more ahead of us?"

"Several of them have already passed, you'd better sing them a couple more times at the end, so you don't get so nervous that you forget the lyrics."

Yuan Xiu: "No way..."

She wasn't actually that nervous. To her own surprise, it seemed that after she made up her mind about her future path, she became much calmer.

It was no use for Yuan Xiu to say she didn't know; Wu Yufen pulled her backstage.

"Here, use this as a microphone and sing it properly twice."

She shoved a rolled-up program into Yuan Xiu's hand and told Yuan Xiu to take off her outer clothes, "Just pretend you're on stage."

Yuan Xiu pulled at her clothes, "No, I'm cold. What if I suddenly sneeze while I'm singing later if you make me take them off now?"

She probably made the military dependents who were dancing take off their clothes early on.

After hearing what she said, Wu Yufen didn't insist anymore. "Alright, you practice hard, I'll watch over you from here."

Yuan Xiu practiced twice backstage, then stopped, saying, "What if I get hoarse from singing too much?"

Wu Yufen: "Then let's not sing for now. You'd better do your best later! You have to bring honor to our Parents' Committee! You can't let us down."

"Don't worry, I want to sing well even more than you do."