Xia Xiao was officially thirty-one this year according to her household registration, but her actual age was twenty-eight. Lin Xiang, although she called Xia Xiao "sister-in-law," was actually one year older than Xia Xiao, turning twenty-nine this year. Zheng Xianghong immediately said, "Li Shengmei, give it a rest. Your Wuzi is barely nineteen this year in actual years." "Doesn’t everyone count their nominal age? Who counts their actual age?" Li Shengmei retorted unperturbed. By counting nominal ages, Lin Xiang would be ten years older than He Xuewu, which made Zheng Xianghong felt uncomfortable on his behalf, feeling indignant for He Xuewu in her heart. Just as Zheng Xianghong was about to speak out, Xia Xiao gently tugged at her, signaling her not to. Lin Xiang shook her head and said, "Aunt Li, please stop. I’m embarrassed to death. Your youngest son is several years younger than me. Yu Zhen is my cousin who married your second son. If I were to choose your youngest, the way we address each other as sisters would become a mess, wouldn’t it?" Follow current novels on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝙣𝙚𝙩 "What’s the issue with that? If you fancy him, next time I’ll have my youngest come over for you to meet," Li Shengmei insisted enthusiastically, seeing Jin Xiang as a golden egg. To her, it didn’t matter if there was an age difference of a few years, even ten years was not a problem. Plus, her own son had finished high school and, having no college to attend, had found a job in the county. But that was nothing compared to marrying a good daughter-in-law. It wasn’t a big deal that Lin Xiang was older. What mattered was her good family background. Li Shengmei now felt that the best thing for her son was to find a wife with a good pedigree. "But I like military men," Lin Xiang said with a smile before she took her leave, greeting Xia Xiao and Zheng Xianghong and then departing. Li Shengmei, holding Dong Meihua’s son, ran after Lin Xiang to talk some more, leaving Zheng Xianghong and Xia Xiao watching them go, both at a loss for words. "This Li Shengmei, I really don’t know what to say about her. She’s shameless. And thankfully Wuzi wasn’t here, or he would’ve been mortified." With that, Zheng Xianghong then asked Xia Xiao, "How old is Dr. Lin now?" Xia Xiao replied, "She’s twenty-nine, a year older than me." "Twenty-nine? That means she’s ten years older than Wuzi," Zheng Xianghong exclaimed softly. Xia Xiao remained silent. Since Li Shengmei wasn’t bringing it up anymore, she didn’t know what got into Lin Xiang today to ask her to play matchmaker. Then Xia Xiao stood up and said, "Mom, keep an eye on Feiyi for me. I’m going to talk to my cousin-in-law." Zheng Xianghong nodded, and Xia Xiao went to find Mu Xingzhi. Mu Xingzhi’s daughter, now one year old, was so adorable that Xia Xiao coveted her. Before, she was very fond of Weilin, and now Xia Xiao also liked Mu Xingzhi’s daughter, always desiring to hold her whenever she saw her. Upon seeing Xia Xiao, Mu Xingzhi asked, "Where are Feiyang and Feiyue? Why didn’t you bring them?" "Feiyang and Feiyue are playing outside, and my mother-in-law is taking care of Feiyi," Xia Xiao replied then asked, "Is Little Miaomiao asleep?" "Yes, she just fell asleep," Mu Xingzhi replied with a slight smile. Xia Xiao sat down and started discussing the issue of Lin Xiang asking her to set her up with someone, saying, "Military personnel’s relationships are managed by the organization, right?" Mu Xingzhi nodded, "Yes, the organization gets involved, but it only offers guidance. Compatibility still depends on the individuals. Lin Xiang’s issue isn’t something the organization can handle. She must have received plenty of ’work’ while in the Dragon Breeding Corps; now it’s up to her.". Xia Xiao said, "Then just let her be. There are plenty of people in the army who are pursuing her and like her. She’s not getting any younger. Dragging it out without caring seems careless, but you can’t delay the other soldiers either." Mu Xingzhi nodded, "I’ll go and talk to her." "Yes, sister-in-law, you could find Platoon Leader Yu, he’s Lin Xiang’s cousin after all. Lin Xiang isn’t dating at her age and instead came to the island, clearly looking for someone in the army. If she can’t find someone suitable here, then we should transfer her out. We can’t delay her life’s big event either; after all, she’s nearly thirty, and her personal issues can’t keep dragging on, right?" Xia Xiao’s words made Mu Xingzhi nod in agreement, "That’s indeed true. When the soldiers return from the sea, I’ll bring this up with Yuanchao." Speaking of which, Mu Xingzhi added, "The new year is nearly upon us, another year has just gone by. Next year you’re leaving, and I really don’t want to let go." Xia Xiao replied, "I don’t want to either, but we’re only leaving temporarily. Who knows, maybe after Jiaxing graduates from military school, we’ll come back." Mu Xingzhi laughed, "That’s years away. Maybe Gao Jiaxing will come back here later, or maybe he’ll be transferred somewhere else." Xia Xiao didn’t know about that. Military matters were beyond their knowledge, and Xia Xiao didn’t know if she would return here in the future either. After sitting with Mu Xingzhi for a while, Xia Xiao went back. There was a break at noon, and then work resumed in the afternoon. Since the New Year was approaching, everyone was also preparing for winter, gathering vegetables from the fields and drying them. Being close to the sea, the military wives would also go down to the shore to fish with nets or collect snails. Living off the mountain, the water, and the sea, the island was quite decent aside from the unpredictable weather and frequent typhoons, and the inconvenience of travel. There were wild fruits, game, coconuts to eat, and they fished, raised pigs, chickens, and grew their own vegetables and sweet potatoes. Their living conditions were much better than when they were in the production team. On this cold morning, because it was winter, and getting colder as the New Year approached, everyone stopped going to the beach and busied themselves in the army’s canteen instead. Today’s main task was making pickled vegetables, which almost everyone knew how to do, so it was a lively and harmonious scene. However, Wang Yuncai and Lin Xiang didn’t know how, so they just watched and learned on the side. Mu Xingzhi didn’t know either initially, but she had come early and learned along with everyone else. Li Shengmei had, after all, grown up in the countryside; she knew how to make pickled vegetables and joined in. Because Li Shengmei had zealously promoted her son, Lin Xiang was a little afraid of her and kept her distance, moving closer to Wang Yuncai. At that moment, Wang Yuncai watched Xia Xiao’s slender, fair hands deftly cutting the vegetables and melons. The actions were smooth and efficient, truly pleasing to the eye. Wang Yuncai found herself staring, feeling a surge of jealousy. How could there be such a woman? She didn’t understand why Xia Xiao was so different from everyone else. Wang Yuncai looked at Mu Xingzhi, but no one else had Xia Xiao’s beauty. At that moment, Wang Yuncai felt Xia Xiao was like a fairy transformed. "What are you looking at Sister-in-law Xia for?" Lin Xiang asked beside Wang Yuncai. Wang Yuncai glanced at Lin Xiang and unconsciously blurted out, "Don’t you think Xia Xiao is really different? Just like a bewitching fairy." Lin Xiang glanced at Xia Xiao and said, "She’s just good-looking. If I were as pretty, I could be just as impressive." "Exactly." Wang Yuncai felt sour inside. Good-looking people are pleasing to the eye no matter what they do. Otherwise, what advantages could Xia Xiao have?