Chapter 47
Just like last time, after Zhang Xu and the other children returned home, they were beaten again by their fathers, and then they brought things to the Li and He families to apologize.
“Qingzhi, I’m so sorry. I didn’t expect the children to say such things. I’ve already educated my child. He will never dare to talk nonsense again,” Zhao Lan said, standing opposite Ye Qingzhi, sincerely speaking all sorts of soft words.
Sun Cailian was the same, praising the children for being so sensible one moment, and then praising Ye Qingzhi and Li Yang for teaching their children well the next. In short, she spoke good words as if they were free.
These military wives were fierce when they cursed, and also fierce when they praised. They would say whatever was most cloying, which gave Ye Qingzhi goosebumps.
Ye Qingzhi waved her hand, interrupting them, her expression solemn. “Just this once. If I hear these words again, I will not let it go.”
The kind are bullied. This was a lesson she had learned in her past life. If you forgive people too easily, not only will they not be grateful, but they will also think you are weak and easy to bully.
Beside her, He Qiming also had a not-so-good expression, but he was not looking at the military dependents, but at the fathers of the few children.
“Old Zhang, Old Liu, we are comrades in the same military region. Besides work, the children’s education is also very important. I solemnly declare today that Anmin and Anjie are my, He Qiming’s, sons. If I hear anyone say anything about them being burdens again, I won’t hit women and children, but I will definitely not be soft on the man of the house.”
The few fathers had all fought with He Qiming before and knew his strength. Hearing his words, their bodies already started to ache faintly.
“Regiment Commander, we promise there will be no next time,” Deputy Battalion Commander Zhang and the others said, standing up straight and giving He Qiming and Ye Qingzhi a military salute.
This gesture was more useful than a thousand or ten thousand words. You could tell from the expressions of Zhao Lan and the children.
Ye Qingzhi looked at He Qiming, who was standing in front of her, her lips curving into a slight smile. A man who could take charge was really so handsome.
After this incident, although there were still some frictions between the children on both sides, there were no fights. After all, Zhang Xu was a year older than both He Jingyan and Li Jun, yet he had been pinned down and beaten by them.
And the few little boys who followed Zhang Xu had not been going out much recently. Even if they did, they would take a detour when they saw Xiaoxiao and Minmin. They were older than the girls, yet they had been pinned down and beaten by them. They were really too ashamed to show their faces.
Of course, the two children, Xiaoxiao and Minmin, had become famous after one battle and had also become the big sisters among the girls, especially Li Wenhua and Yangyang, who had now completely become their little followers.
Looking at her tomboyish daughter, Gu Yao felt a headache. In their original unit, Li Xiao and Qi Min were already very mischievous. She had thought it would be better here, but they had revealed their true colors in such a short time.
“It’s good for a girl to be a little domineering, so she won’t be bullied,” Ye Qingzhi said. She felt that it was not good to teach a girl to be too gentle. She would be bullied by her in-laws after she got married.
In any case, if she had a daughter, she would raise her like a son, so that she would not be bullied when she grew up.
Obviously, only Ye Qingzhi and Li Yang had this idea. Gu Yao and Li Jinfeng both believed that girls should be sensible, obedient, hardworking, and capable.
It could only be said that the generation gap between Ye Qingzhi and them was too big. As for Li Yang, she herself was born into a revolutionary family, and her child’s father had sacrificed himself early on, so her requirements for her child were different.
But Ye Qingzhi could say these things, but Li Yang could not. She was now living with her brother and sister-in-law’s family with her child. It could be said that she was living under someone else’s roof. How could she interfere with her sister-in-law’s education?
“Alright, alright. The child is still young. It’s normal to be a little mischievous. When she grows up, she will naturally become sensible,” Ye Qingzhi said, ending this topic. She turned to ask Yang Xiaorou, “I heard Bai Xue introduced another match to Regiment Commander Xu’s cousin. Who is it?”
“The Company Commander Zhou you mentioned, he was not introduced by Bai Xue. It was Sister Shuhua who was the matchmaker. He’s twenty-nine this year. His looks and temperament are the type Su Mengwan likes. I heard the two of them are getting along well. Maybe it will work out this time,” Yang Xiaorou said. She was not at all happy that Su Mengwan’s blind date was successful.
Once her blind date was successful, she would join the army. They would become neighbors, seeing each other all the time. But Yang Xiaorou did not want to see her at all.
Li Jinfeng was cracking melon seeds and asked curiously, “Is it Zhou Yunqi from the 1st Battalion?”
The few of them all looked at her, their eyes full of great curiosity. What, did he have some gossip?
Li Jinfeng stopped cracking melon seeds and said in a low voice, “I also heard that Company Commander Zhou and Tao Lingyi from the art troupe are dating. But since Company Commander Zhou is going on a blind date with Su Mengyao, that means the matter with him and Tao Lingyi is fake.”
Yang Xiaorou thought back carefully. “Don’t say that. I’ve seen the two of them walking together. They looked quite intimate.”
“Did they break up?” Li Jinfeng asked curiously.
Yang Xiaorou shook her head. She might know the reason.
Tao Lingyi’s family background was not bad. Both her parents were workers. Her older sister was already married, and she had a younger brother who was in school. She herself could sing and dance, was beautiful, and had joined the art troupe to become a female art soldier.
If she was with Company Commander Zhou, they would be a good match.
Unfortunately, something had happened to Tao Lingyi’s family. It seemed to be because of overseas connections. She heard that her parents had both been suspended from their jobs for investigation, and it was not even certain if she herself could stay in the army.
After learning the reason, everyone fell silent. This matter was too sensitive. If you got involved, you were done for.
This way, they knew why Company Commander Zhou had broken up.
You couldn’t say that Company Commander Zhou was realistic or irresponsible. This matter was too big. If he was implicated, not only would his future be ruined, but it was very likely that he would not even be able to keep his current identity. Besides, he was not alone. He had parents and brothers. He couldn’t implicate his whole family because of him.
“I saw Company Commander Zhou this morning. There was a girl with him. It should be Su Mengwan, right?” Li Yang changed the subject.
“It was her. I saw her too. By the way, the ethnic minorities here are having a festival at the end of the month. It’s very lively. Do you want to take the children to the town to play?” Yang Xiaorou also changed the subject.
At the end of the month was the Tibetan New Year. They would slaughter chickens and cattle, and also sing and dance. In short, it was very lively.
“I’ve already promised the children I’d take them to play,” she said. Ye Qingzhi was not afraid of running into Wei Jiancheng.
In this weather, with a hat and a scarf on, only her eyes were exposed. The main thing was that her figure was now curvy, and her temperament was completely different from before. Even if she stood in front of Wei Jiancheng, he would not recognize her.
Never mind the children, the few of them who had just come here had never seen an ethnic minority festival. They were also curious.
The next day, Li Jinfeng got the latest news. Su Mengwan and Company Commander Zhou might be getting together.
“How do you know?” Ye Qingzhi asked curiously.
“Someone saw Su Mengwan and Company Commander Zhou holding hands. And when she was talking to Company Commander Zhou, she was smiling like a flower. Wouldn’t it be like this if they were getting together?” Li Jinfeng said as a matter of course.
That was not the same. Su Mengwan was very capable, keeping both on the hook.
It had been more than a week. Why hadn’t Wei Jiancheng come yet?
Or had he come, and she just didn’t know?
She couldn’t ask others to inquire about this, and she certainly couldn’t ask He Qiming. After thinking it over and over, Ye Qingzhi still had to go to the town.
“Are you going to the town? Do you need to buy anything? The herbs I asked someone to buy have arrived at the post and telecommunications office. I was just about to go and get them. If you need to buy anything, let me know, and I’ll buy it for you,” He Qiming said, taking some money from the house. “It’s cold outside, and you’re not very good with cars. You should stay home.”
He Qiming was worried that it would be hard to buy the herbs in the future, so he had prepared a few years’ worth at once.
“I need to buy some odds and ends this time. I’d better go myself,” Ye Qingzhi said, looking at the snow that was starting to fall again. “It’s snowing again. I have to go early and come back early. Is Wang Heng free?”
“No need. I’ll drive myself,” He Qiming said, handing Ye Qingzhi a hat and a scarf. He then told He Jingyan and left with Ye Qingzhi.
“You can drive?” Ye Qingzhi looked at him in surprise.
They had been together for so long, and Ye Qingzhi had never known that he could drive.
“Isn’t it something you can do just by looking?” Seeing Ye Qingzhi’s wide eyes, He Qiming couldn’t help but pinch her cheek. “If there’s anything big you need to buy, you should buy it all this time.”
That was good. With He Qiming going with her, she could directly expose Wei Jiancheng’s faked death in front of him.
He Qiming drove very steadily. When they arrived at the town, Ye Qingzhi did not feel uncomfortable at all.
“Are you not feeling uncomfortable today?” He Qiming asked with a smile, seeing that Ye Qingzhi was still full of energy.
“I’m fine. Let’s go, let’s go to the post and telecommunications office to get the things first,” she said. Ye Qingzhi kept an eye on the window, wanting to see if Wei Jiancheng was there.
“I heard it’s very lively at the end of the month,” Ye Qingzhi said casually.
“Yes. I’ll take you and the children to the town to play then,” He Qiming said. Seeing that Ye Qingzhi was absent-minded, he followed her gaze and looked. There was nothing special!
“Stop! Qiming, stop!” Ye Qingzhi suddenly shouted.
He Qiming stopped the car steadily and asked in a deep voice, “What’s wrong?”
Ye Qingzhi held He Qiming’s hand tightly and pointed to two people in the distance. “Over there. Can you drive a little closer? But not too close. I want to see what they look like.”
He Qiming had already recognized the woman as Xu Kaisheng’s cousin, Su Mengyao. As for the man, he had no impression. From his temperament, you could tell that he was not from the army, and not even a local.
“I heard from Xiaorou that Su Mengyao has a partner in Wushi. The Su family looks down on him, so they sent Su Mengyao here, hoping that Bai Xue would help her find a better one,” Ye Qingzhi explained.
He Qiming frowned. From their intimate appearance, you could tell that they had not broken up. Yet she was going on blind dates as if nothing had happened. It was truly terrifying.
“This must be told to Company Commander Zhou,” He Qiming said, a little angry.
“Qiming,” Ye Qingzhi’s voice trembled slightly.
“What’s wrong?” He Qiming stopped the car, held Ye Qingzhi’s hand tightly, and turned to look at her shocked, dazed, confused, and disbelieving expression. He frowned and followed her gaze to the man next to Su Mengyao. Who was this? Did Qingzhi know him?
“Qi… Qiming,” Ye Qingzhi seemed to have finally found her voice. “That’s Wei Jiancheng. Really, I would recognize him even if he were turned to ashes.”
He Qiming’s expression changed. “Are you sure it’s Wei Jiancheng, and not someone who looks like him?”
Ye Qingzhi stared at Wei Jiancheng and nodded heavily. “I’m sure. He has a mole on the bridge of his nose. It’s impossible for someone to look exactly the same, even the mole, right? But I don’t know why he’s here.”
Suddenly, Ye Qingzhi seemed to have thought of something, and her face turned pale. “Qiming, do you think it’s possible that he’s been lying to me from the beginning?”
He Qiming held Ye Qingzhi’s hand. “Take a deep breath. Calm down first.”
Ye Qingzhi took a deep breath. She was not sad, but excited and thrilled to have caught the adulterer. Unfortunately, she couldn’t show herself now.