I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 22: Battalion Commander Jiang is in luck

"Is Sister Yuan Xiu here?"

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Yuan Xiu responded, "Is that Sister Chunmei?"

"it's me."

Sister Chunmei, carrying a washbasin, pushed open the door and saw Jiang Zhou there. She greeted him with a smile, "How's the tidying up going? Do you need any help?"

"It's almost all packed up, no need to bother," Yuan Xiu said.

Sister Chunmei walked in, her eyes drawn to the paper-cuts displayed everywhere. "Oh my, who cut these? They're so well done!"

Upon learning that Yuan Xiu had cut it, she showered her with praise, "Your hands are so skillful! The magpie is so lifelike, it's truly beautiful!"

After praising her, Sister Chunmei asked Yuan Xiu, "The bathhouse is open today. I've come to ask if you want to go take a bath."

"A public bathhouse?"

"Yes, there's a public bathhouse in our residential area that's open once a week. You've only just arrived, so you probably haven't been yet. I was worried you might feel shy, so I came here specifically to invite you to come along. Do you want to go?"

Yuan Xiu nodded quickly, "I'll go."

She's been staying at a guesthouse for the past few days, and every night she can only get hot water from the water room to wash up in her room. After sitting on the train for so many days, she would have wanted to take a shower long ago if it weren't so inconvenient.

"Let's go now. By the way, do you have any soap at home? Mine is new. If not, I'll cut it in half for you."

"Yes." Yuan Xiu went into the house, took out a newly bought washbasin, put in a new towel and soap, told Jiang Zhou, and then followed Sister Chunmei out the door. She still had to go back to the guesthouse to get a change of clothes.

"You haven't brought your luggage yet?" Chunmei's sister-in-law asked.

"Not yet, I'll be staying at the guesthouse tonight." Yuan Xiu carried the washbasin on her hip and chatted with Sister Chunmei as they walked.

Many people were walking along the road with their families towards the bathhouse.

"Then I'll go to the guesthouse to get your things for you first thing tomorrow morning."

Yuan Xiu thanked her with a smile.

After returning to the guesthouse to get a change of clothes, Yuan Xiu ran into Sister-in-law Guiying and her family again at the entrance of the bathhouse.

Jiang Zhou was also there, holding a cigarette and talking to Li Shan and Instructor Liu while puffing out smoke.

Guiying's husband, Instructor Liu, glanced at Yuan Xiu, who was chatting with his wife, and said, "Is this your girlfriend? You're quite lucky, aren't you? You managed to get such a beautiful girl as an arranged marriage. She's also very hardworking. My wife said that she's been going to your new house every day to clean it up. In just a few days, she's already planted vegetables in the yard."

Instructor Liu lived next door. Jiang Zhou wasn't there, and as a man, he felt awkward going next door to greet a female comrade. So, for the past few days, he had only heard her voice but hadn't seen her in person. Today, he finally saw what Yuan Xiu looked like.

Li Shan laughed and said, "This kid has a bit of luck. Last year at the border, the enemy was firing so heavily, but the bullets seemed to have eyes. Not a single one could get close to him, making everyone think he had radar installed on him."

Jiang Zhou rolled his eyes at him. "That's because I'm fast and can dodge in time. When you beat me on the training field one day, you can install radar too."

"Forget it, I don't like being tortured."

The men were smoking and chatting, not in a hurry to go into the bathhouse.

On the women's side, Yuan Xiu had already gone inside with Sister Chunmei and the others.

This was the first time Yuan Xiu had ever been to a bathhouse in her two lifetimes. While Chunmei and the others had already taken off their clothes, she was still standing under the tap, completely at a loss.

"Don't be shy." Sister-in-law Guilan laughed uncontrollably at her. "You southern girls are just shy. What's wrong with that? Everyone has it, and you have it too. Take it off with confidence, no one's watching."

Yuan Xiu smiled shyly, reluctantly took off her clothes, and stood under the tap, letting the warm water wash over her body.

Just as she was relaxing, someone suddenly touched her.

That almost made her jump up from the ground!

Sister Xiulan smiled and withdrew her hand. "I really didn't realize that our Xiao Yuan is so fair-skinned. Are all girls from the South this fair-skinned? And that tiny waist, you could pinch it with your hand."

Chunmei's sister-in-law patted her on the shoulder, saying, "Don't scare Xiao Yuan. She's still a young girl."

Yuan Xiu was extremely embarrassed. Didn't everyone have one? Why was he touching her?

"I'm just envious," Sister Xiulan said, amused by Yuan Xiu's reaction. "Battalion Commander Jiang is so lucky."

Yuan Xiu's face flushed red instantly. "Sister-in-law!"

"Alright, alright, I'm just teasing you. Given enough time, you'll be just like us."

Yuan Xiu: "..."

……

After a hot bath, Yuan Xiu looked like a ripe peach, her slightly yellowish complexion appearing much fairer and more delicate.

Her skin was rosy and fair, and her large almond-shaped eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of mist, clear and bright.

She didn't realize it herself, but as soon as she stepped out of the bathhouse, she attracted the attention of many people.

Almost all the men who came to the bathhouse in the family quarters were married. They would glance at each other and then look away, not wanting to stare at the women.

Women, on the other hand, stare intently, scrutinizing her. If they haven't seen her before, they're bound to ask, "Whose relative or daughter is this? I've never seen her before."

"She's Battalion Commander Jiang's girlfriend, who just came from the countryside, and they've already got their marriage certificate."

"It's her! The girl who almost had her identity stolen?"

"Yes, it's her. The person who replaced her is her cousin. The two look quite alike. That woman is dating Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou, and they've even bought a house right next to mine."

"Tsk! Pretty impressive. I remember that Deputy Battalion Commander Zhou is already thirty, and the girl looks only eighteen. Her cousin is probably about the same age. It's like an old cow eating young grass."

"That's right. Anyway, I don't think much of those kinds of people. I'd better avoid them in the future. Who knows what they're up to behind the scenes?"

"That's right..."

As soon as Yuan Juan emerged from the dimly lit bathhouse, she heard these words. She glared at Yuan Xiu resentfully, stomped her foot, covered her face with the washbasin, and walked away with her head down.

Zhou's mother was slow and didn't even see Yuan Juan when she came out, which made her impression of this daughter-in-law even worse.

"All he does is say nice things to my son, and he says he'll take care of me. Is this how he takes care of me? Leaving an old woman like me in the bathhouse, isn't he worried I might accidentally fall?"

She muttered to herself, determined to give her husband, Shi Tou, a good scolding when she saw him.