Daily Life in the 70s-Chapter 159: Cousin

The girls from the Cultural Troupe had eaten breakfast and needed to hurry back for rehearsal.

Qiao Ying told them to go ahead as she washed the lunch boxes and prepared to return to the dorm.

Wen Qing followed beside her and asked, "Sister Ying, is it inconvenient at Pei Min’s place?"

Qiao Ying glanced at her, shook her head, then chuckled, "Wen Qing, you’re famously popular in our troupe and always so polite. How could you forget that we’re empty-handed right now?"

Realizing her oversight, Wen Qing’s face turned slightly embarrassed, "Look at me. Of course, Sister Ying, you think of everything. We shouldn’t mention being polite anymore."

They had enlisted in the same year, when they were only sixteen or seventeen. They had once shared a dormitory, with bunk beds. Those were their youthful years, sharing the same homesickness. Once, Wen Qing felt homesick and hid under her blanket to cry quietly in the middle of the night, only to be discovered by Qiao Ying, who was getting up to use the restroom. Embodying empathy, she had gone over to gently soothe Wen Qing’s back, silently comforting her.

After that incident, they naturally started talking and became friends. Even though they were assigned to different units later and distanced, they occasionally met since they were still in the same troupe, maintaining their friendship. Although not as close as initially, everyone generally knew each other’s recent situations, including which performances and roles others had taken, and their different circumstances.

Wen Qing was well-liked, a fact known to Qiao Ying through other teammates, and one that she agreed with herself. Every festival, she would receive greeting cards from Wen Qing.

Qiao Ying patted her shoulder, "You just didn’t think of it this time, don’t worry. I’ve seen Pei Min’s skills before; she can even do makeup for elderly characters. Since she has agreed, she will definitely be able to do it."

During the last Q city joint performance, Wen Qing wasn’t selected, so she hadn’t been there and had only heard about it from Qiao Ying, maintaining her usual attitude.

Wen Qing pursed her lips and smiled. Thinking about giving gifts, she felt more enthusiastic, "I have a bag of cookies, brought by my cousin. It’ll be perfect for giving."

Qiao Ying nodded, "Alright, I’ll add a can of canned food, and that should be enough."

Seeing Qiao Ying’s easy agreement, Wen Qing’s lips twitched slightly, though she ultimately said nothing. She reached up to adjust the little flowers by her ears, a smile appearing on her face.

The two headed back to the dorm together. Due to the cramped dormitory buildings, their troupe of over twenty people squeezed into one room. One advantage was that they all had metal bunk beds. Though each bed was adjacent to another, sharing beds two at a time, it was much better than sleeping on the floor, as some did.

As they walked, Wen Qing started asking about Yang PeiMin, "Where is she from? I couldn’t place her accent."

Speaking of this, Qiao Ying was somewhat surprised too. She had traveled quite a bit, and even locals, when they spoke Mandarin, tended to have a regional accent; she noticed it even in herself. But Yang PeiMin’s was undetectably standard.

"Guess?"

Wen Qing glanced at her annoyedly, "Met in Q city, must be from there."

Qiao Ying just smiled and said nothing.

Wen Qing didn’t know if her guess was right and became even more curious about this makeup artist.

"Sister."

Wen Qing heard the voice and smiled, turning to Qiao Ying beside her, "That’s the cousin I was just telling you about."

Qiao Ying looked up and indeed, there was a woman she didn’t recognize waiting by their dormitory door.

"My sister went to your rehearsal room looking for you, they said you weren’t there, so I came to wait at your dorm," she said with a hint of petulance.

Wen Qing gently called her over, "Come in, I was just about to fetch something."

"This is my comrade Qiao Ying, Sister Ying, this is my cousin Du Juanjuan. Her husband is also a captain here—we sisters are quite the coincidence, meeting again."

Du Juanjuan glanced at the military insignia on Qiao Ying’s shoulder and politely greeted her.

Qiao Ying smiled, "Isn’t that something! I remember you stayed here for quite a few months before. You really have a special connection with this place."

After a couple of lines of conversation, Du Juanjuan asked what her older sister had come upstairs to fetch, watching with curiosity as Wen Qing rummaged under the bed.

Meanwhile, Qiao Ying quickly took a can from her hanging bag, placed it in a paper bag, and waited for Wen Qing.

Du Juanjuan soon realized what her cousin had picked up—wasn’t it the bag of cookies she had brought over the day before? Her brother had recently traveled to Shanglu on a business trip, and she had specifically asked him to bring them. She loved these treats, but they weren’t easy to come by; just those six small bags had cost her half a month’s salary. Not only were they expensive, they often ran out of stock, and she usually hesitated to give them away as gifts.

Close with her cousin, who had traveled so far and was even starring in the performance, it was as though she herself was honored, so she gifted a bag as a congratulatory gesture.

Believing now that it was meant for her, Du Juanjuan playfully reproached Wen Qing with a smile, "Don’t be formal with family; keep the cookies for yourself, I still have some at home."

As Wen Qing reached out to give the cookies to Qiao Ying, she hesitated when Qiao Ying looked her way. Seeing this, her face tinged with embarrassment, she looked up to explain to Du Juanjuan, "Juanjuan, such rare things I too can hardly bear to eat, I thought to use it as a gift. Is that okay?"

"A gift?" Du Juanjuan seemed displeased—she herself was reluctant to give them away, "Gift for whom?" she asked, her gaze skimming across Qiao Ying.

Qiao Ying was about to step outside to avoid awkwardness when Du Juanjuan unexpectedly met her eyes directly, also making Qiao Ying feel uncomfortable. She nodded toward her, then told Wen Qing, "I’ll wait for you outside."

After she left, Du Juanjuan immediately asked, "Is it for her?"

Wen Qing, realizing her cousin was upset, shook her head and began to explain in detail, "You know how competitive it is for this role I got, many are jealous. Those people from below are always thinking of pulling me down. Right now, any support I can get, I hold onto. Considering they allowed us to bring only our clothes and bedding, isn’t it great? I wasn’t allowed to bring anything else. This comrade is a friend of Qiao Ying’s, and it wouldn’t be right to snub her. So your timely gift was a lifesaver."

After hearing this, Du Juanjuan frowned, quickly searching her memory, yet somehow, she couldn’t think of who else in the military spouse area could be a talented makeup artist.

"Who are you talking about exactly?"

"A military wife visiting her family, named Yang Peimin."

"That’s her!" Du Juanjuan’s expression darkened immediately, she grabbed Wen Qing’s hand, both urgent and angry, "Cousin, that woman—even if you fed it to dogs, you shouldn’t give it to her!"