Just after Yu Xiaoqiao and Xiong Dapao left.
Yuanyuan came over and timidly asked, "Mother, was that uncle angry just now?"
"Mother, were you too harsh with Uncle Xiong Dapao?" Little Wang also chimed in.
Even if Yu Xiaoqiao would later sell tainted milk powder or become a mistress to a high-ranking official, right now she was simply Xiong Dapao's fiancée, and the couple had come to visit as guests.
Moreover, Xiong Dapao was a benefactor to Unit 271, having nearly drunk himself into a gastric perforation at the investment promotion meeting.
In fact, not only was Mother fierce, but Father had also shoved Uncle Dapao into the car.
Little Wang had heard it all - Father even yelled at Uncle Xiong to get lost.
The Yan Zhao couple had always been polite to guests, and the children had never seen them have such a big conflict with anyone before, so naturally they were confused.
But as soon as the children asked, Yan Zhao bent down and pointed at Little Wang's nose, asking, "How do you think your mother usually treats people?"
"She's always very nice, always smiling, and has never lost her temper with anyone," Little Wang replied.
"Then do you know why she got angry just now?" Yan Zhao asked again.
Little Wang and Yuanyuan both shook their heads - the children were completely bewildered, not understanding why their mother had suddenly become so fierce.
As for Little Lang, he was tightly hugging his mobile phone, indifferent to everything else.
"Because your Uncle Xiong and that auntie came to pull strings for dealing in military property. Do you know what the military is? If the country is a person, the military is the gun that protects the country. And what is military property? It's like the bullets in that gun, and your grandfather is the one who controls that gun, with the authority to pull the trigger to protect the country." After pausing for a moment, seeing the children's expressions growing serious, Yan Zhao continued deliberately, "Regarding military property, we can't pull strings for anyone, even if Uncle Dapao saved your father's life, we must firmly refuse him, understand?"
To put it plainly, if Xiong Dapao and Yu Xiaoqiao hadn't come for military property,
If Yan Peiheng wasn't the Second Commander,
Chen Meilan would have welcomed them with a smile, considering Xiong Dapao had once saved Yan Zhao's life.
But Yan Peiheng's position was too special.
He was the Second Commander of the Army Military Region, with military property under his control.
Currently, the entire military region was in fierce competition over military property.
At this time, if Chen Meilan and Yan Zhao showed any leniency or gave in to personal connections, there would be an endless stream of people coming to ask for favors.
All being acquaintances, if you don't help when they come with smiling faces, they won't remember your kindness, but will remember your rejection as a grudge.
For Chen Meilan, it was about avoiding unnecessary trouble.
As for Yan Zhao's harsh treatment of Xiong Dapao, it was due to anger.
He shared the same mindset as Yan Peiheng - military property must be obtained through proper channels, through regular companies, passing multiple levels of review and bidding.
Xiong Dapao, being a veteran, brought a woman of unclear background to Chen Meilan, immediately talking about contracting military factories.
Trying to obtain military property through improper channels.
This was why Yan Zhao had also turned against him.
Patting Little Wang's bottom, Yan Zhao said, "Go inside and practice horse stance, Little Lang go hit the punching bag, Yuanyuan go play the piano, now dismiss."
Little Lang obediently went to hit the punching bag, but Little Wang, being clever and evasive, didn't want to practice the horse stance. He suddenly slapped his forehead and said, "Oh Dad, I just remembered, we haven't cleaned the bathroom today, let me go take care of that."
He would rather die from the smell cleaning the bathroom than practice boxing.
In a flash, all three little ones scattered.
Soon, the thudding sounds began - that was Little Lang methodically and energetically hitting the punching bag.
Though the boy had short legs, he maintained a very stable horse stance while standing on a stool.
The family's punching bag was initially made of nylon, later changed to leather, but Little Lang broke them all. The current one was made of five layers of fine-spun cloth, but it looked like it was about to be broken by Little Lang as well.
Chen Meilan deeply felt that this boy would definitely become a boxer when he grew up.
Entering the bedroom, Chen Meilan was about to carefully examine Yu Xiaoqiao's business card.
There was information on the back of the card. Chen Meilan saw that she had only taken over the milk powder factory this February, just over a month ago. In such a short time, there wasn't even enough time to set up the factory, let alone produce milk powder.
So Yu Xiaoqiao probably hadn't started producing tainted milk powder yet.
But with Xiong Dapao about to marry her, what could be done?
Just as Chen Meilan was pondering this matter, the phone by the bed rang, and she answered it.
The caller was Yan Wei. Since his promotion last year, Yan Wei had been allocated an apartment by his work unit and had been renovating it recently. The renovation was probably complete now, and he should be ready to proceed with marrying Qi Songlu.
Smiling, Yan Wei said, "Meilan, in the next few days, could you talk to Qi Songlu and see what requirements she might have for me? I'll agree to whatever I can. We should get our marriage certificate soon, what do you think?"
For middle-aged couples, once the house was renovated, they should get their marriage certificate and then move in together.
However, Chen Meilan felt Yan Wei was being too casual about it. After all, it was a new era, and young people didn't care much about matchmaking anymore - they cared about proposals.
So she said, "Second Brother, I can help arrange the marriage, but shouldn't you order some flowers, buy a ring, and properly propose to Qi Songlu somewhere nice?"
"Is that necessary? I proposed eight times to Mi Lan back then, and just thinking about it gives me a headache. At my age now, I really don't have the energy for that kind of thing. Just help me arrange it casually - she'll agree anyway," Yan Wei said carelessly over the phone.
"Why could you propose eight times to Mi Lan but won't even buy one bouquet for Qi Songlu? Is it because Mi Lan had a bad temper, was demanding, and made you do housework every day, while Qi Songlu has a good personality, is kind, and easy to take advantage of?" Chen Meilan paused for a moment before continuing, "Second Brother, you must get flowers and propose properly, otherwise, even if Qi Songlu agrees, I won't approve."
This was the problem with women being too virtuous - they spoiled men.
When a woman was a bit difficult and fussy, men actually treated her better, pampered her more, and were more willing to put effort into the relationship.
Yan Wei had clearly been able to propose to Mi Lan eight times, trying again and again, sparing no effort.
But with Qi Songlu, he couldn't even be bothered to buy a bouquet.
If he didn't propose properly, Chen Meilan wouldn't help arrange the marriage.
"Alright, alright, I'll propose, happy now? At my age, I just find it embarrassing," Yan Wei remained good-natured, still smiling even after being lectured by his sister-in-law.
The next day, Yan Wei followed Chen Meilan's advice and went to propose.
But to save trouble, he just casually picked some roses from the flower bed below his office building and wrapped them in newspaper.
Qi Songlu now had a stable job with a good salary. She was the type of woman who was both capable and knew how to enjoy life. That very evening, she had bought herself a bouquet of red roses to enjoy over the weekend.
One can imagine how shabby Yan Wei's newspaper-wrapped flowers looked compared to the professionally arranged bouquet from the flower shop.
Having seen much of life's ups and downs, how could Qi Songlu not see through Yan Wei's perfunctory gesture?
So this proposal attempt failed.
That night, the Jindong Branch had an operation to crack down on motorcycle gangs, so Yan Zhao went for the night shift.
Earlier that day, Yan Peiheng had called and was very angry, having an argument with Yan Zhao before hanging up.
Of course, Chen Meilan had to return the call that evening.
She specifically gathered the children in her bedroom and patiently explained some things to them.
For instance, how their grandfather missed them very much but just wasn't good at communicating with them because he had a harsh way of speaking.
And how their grandfather was a soldier, someone who had been in the military his whole life.
Because soldiers have to protect the country, that's why his tone might sound fierce, and other such explanations.
Then, she picked up the phone, preparing to call Yan Peiheng.
Chen Meilan needed to ask Yan Peiheng whether Yu Xiaoqiao had already submitted the "Contract Agreement" to the Military Region Headquarters.
In this era, there was a type of person who didn't need to give gifts - they could get many projects just by fraud, boasting about being friends with certain leaders or having connections in certain units.
Although Chen Meilan had firmly refused Xiong Dapao and Yu Xiaoqiao.
Chen Meilan was worried that Yu Xiaoqiao would use her name to approach Yan Peiheng.
Yan Peiheng was already angry because she had accepted Gu Xiao's car and mobile phone.
If this matter wasn't cleared up soon, Chen Meilan feared that Yan Peiheng might truly disown her as his daughter-in-law in another fit of anger.
She had finally convinced the children to understand the situation, and now they were all gathered around the phone, patiently waiting to hear from their grandfather.
However, the home phone line wouldn't connect.
So Chen Meilan dialed Yan Peiheng's office instead.
This time someone answered - it was Yan Peiheng's chief secretary Mao Xun.
"The Commander is still in a meeting. How about this - I'll have him call you back once the meeting ends?" Mao Xun said cheerfully.
"That would be fine, Secretary Mao, thank you." After a pause, Chen Meilan added, "Please pass on a message to my father - tell him that all the children miss him very much."
"Of course, of course. The Commander misses the children dearly too." After a moment, Mao Xun continued with a smile, "Your daughter was on TV recently in that 12-episode drama series. The Commander didn't miss a single episode of the first run. When it was rebroadcast at midnight, he even set an alarm to wake up and watch it."
Such intimate family matters were difficult to express directly between relatives, but outsiders could speak of them more freely.
Chen Meilan had the phone on speaker, and seeing Yuanyuan's eyes suddenly light up, she pointed at her nose and said, "See? Doesn't grandfather love you all so much?"
Yuanyuan smiled and nodded, then led Little Lang out and headed off to bed.
The military region must have been particularly busy lately. Chen Meilan made several more phone calls afterward, but Yan Peiheng happened to be away on business trips and never returned her calls.
Meanwhile, at Factory 271...
When they firmly rejected Xiong Dapao, Chen Meilan had anticipated that given his impetuous, stubborn, yet forthright personality, he would certainly try to teach her a lesson.
Sure enough, this happened during the spring collection launch period.
About a week later, Chen Meilan had just arrived at her office when she saw Xue Mingfang rushing toward her with an anxious expression. As soon as they met, he blurted out, "Commander, we're in trouble! Everything was going well with our 42 national distributors, but yesterday, 26 of them said this spring collection would be their last order from us. They won't be working with us for the summer collection. What should we do?"
In the fashion industry, there were four seasons - spring, summer, fall, and winter - with ordering meetings for each.
It was now late March, and the spring collection had just been shipped out, with sales of 600,000 yuan for the quarter.
But the summer collection ordering meeting was about to begin.
Having 26 distributors suddenly announce they would no longer cooperate meant losing more than half their market.
Dongpai currently planned to produce summer clothing worth 800,000 yuan, and if they couldn't sell it, it would all be dead stock.
While Xue Mingfang was sweating with anxiety, Chen Meilan calmly said, "Don't worry, let's wait and see."
"But what can we do when several distributors have already said they won't work with us anymore?" Xue Mingfang asked anxiously.
"Don't worry about that for now. Quickly go discuss with the designers about the patterns, samples, and production," Chen Meilan replied, maintaining her composure.
The distributors' show of force must have been Xiong Dapao's doing.
Chen Meilan had made him lose face in front of his fiancée, so he must have immediately called the distributors to complain, and now they were trying to pressure Chen Meilan by threatening to cancel their orders.
However, Dongpai's designs were based on Hong Kong and Taiwan patterns and were currently very much in line with market trends.
While Xiong Dapao's threats would certainly shrink the market, with some loyal distributors refusing to take Chen Meilan's goods, Dongpai's clothing had beautiful designs, looked good when worn, and was of high quality - consumers wanted to buy it, so why should distributors turn away from profit?
So while some distributors might threaten to back out because of Xiong Dapao, the market was already established, and most distributors would continue ordering for the sake of profit.
This sudden crisis also made Chen Meilan realize she needed to quickly find a capable sales manager.
Military personnel wouldn't do, so she would have to advertise and recruit from the market.
Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye.
During these two weeks, Chen Meilan interviewed over a hundred candidates, both men and women, young and old.
Some spoke eloquently and confidently, but when Chen Meilan deliberately left her tea cup empty for quite a while, they never thought to refill it for her.
Reading people's expressions and needs was a basic skill for salespeople - if they couldn't do that, how could they handle customers?
These candidates wouldn't do.
Others were quite good at reading people and did well with serving tea and flattery, but they lacked vision. Chen Meilan deliberately dropped ten yuan in the hallway, and without exception, the candidates she had high hopes for secretly picked up the money as they left.
If they couldn't resist taking ten yuan, how could they be trusted with hundreds of thousands in sales revenue?
So after all the interviews, Chen Meilan couldn't find anyone in all of Xiping City who matched the caliber of Yan Xishan and Xiong Dapao as sales managers.
But that's enough about that for now.
This Saturday was only a half-day of work, and after finishing, Chen Meilan drove to pick up the children as usual.
It was already April, and Xiping City was getting quite hot, so it was time for the children to switch to summer clothes.
After picking them up, Chen Meilan drove the children to the People's Department Store to shop for summer clothes. After shopping, led by Little Lang, they went down an alley to eat what Little Lang remembered as the world's best water-cooked mutton, which Yan Wei and Qi Songlu had once taken him to try.
Chen Meilan always carried her new mobile phone with her.
But she rarely used her pager anymore and usually kept it in her bag.
After finishing the mutton, they each bought a honey-flavored rice dumpling and got back in the car. Little Wang, who loved checking Chen Meilan's pager, opened it and suddenly exclaimed, "Mother, someone's been paging you from our village phone - there are more than twenty messages!"
Twenty-some pages from the village public phone meant someone was waiting for Chen Meilan in the village.
Though she didn't know who was waiting for her.
Looking at the record, the first message was from 11 AM, and it was now 2 PM, which meant that person had been waiting at the village entrance for three full hours.
Stepping on the gas, Chen Meilan arrived at the village entrance twenty minutes later.
From a distance, she could see several military vehicles with army plates parked at the entrance. As she got closer, she saw many villagers gathered around her house gate, and among them were several people wearing new military uniforms with stars and stripes on their shoulders.
These must be people from the army.
Second Sister Liu was also among the onlookers. Seeing Chen Meilan from afar, she ran over and called out, "This is something! Meilan, your father-in-law is here. He's been sitting at your door for three whole hours. Why are you only coming now?"
So it was Yan Peiheng, waiting right at her door?
It had been exactly a month since Chen Meilan's last attempt to call him.
During this month, the old man had either been traveling or in meetings, and Chen Meilan hadn't been able to reach him by phone. She hadn't expected him to suddenly show up today.
Regarding Factory 291's contract, even without Chen Meilan's help, Yu Xiaoqiao would certainly have found other connections with her influence.
With the military leadership being in the capital, Chen Meilan couldn't possibly know who Yu Xiaoqiao had approached.
However, she had been firm enough in coldly rejecting Yu Xiaoqiao, so she didn't need to worry about Yan Peiheng accusing her of using his connections.
As Chen Meilan returned, the crowd gathered around her house gate gradually began to disperse.
Yan Peiheng was indeed at her door, sitting in the bamboo chair that Yan Zhao usually left outside for Chen Meilan to use when chatting with visitors or enjoying the cool air. He was currently talking with Yan Sanye.
Chief Secretary Mao Xun stood beside him.
The old man must have been sitting there for quite a while, holding a large tea cup with his jacket draped over the chair back.
Seeing Chen Meilan from afar, he immediately stood up.
The three children, upon seeing Yan Peiheng, instinctively shrank behind Chen Meilan.
They say Yan Peiheng and Yan Sanye were the same age.
In contrast to Yan Sanye's scruffy beard, crusty eyes, and wrinkles deep enough to trap flies, Yan Peiheng stood straight, and though his face had wrinkles too, his square-shaped face and thick eyebrows made him look twenty years younger than Yan Sanye.
"Meilan, you're back?" Old Master Yan Peiheng said in a surprisingly pleasant tone, even smiling.
His voice made Chen Meilan feel somewhat uncomfortable.
Walking to his side, the old master glanced over and pointed at the champagne-colored luxury car in the distance. With slightly furrowed brows but still maintaining a relaxed tone, he asked, "Is that the car Gu Xiao gave you?"
The first time he heard about Gu Xiao giving her a car, Yan Peiheng had nearly accused Chen Meilan of betraying her family over the phone.
How strange that today his tone had suddenly changed, becoming so relaxed.
Though puzzled, Chen Meilan still called out to the children first: "Little Wang, Little Lang, Yuanyuan, come greet your grandfather."
The children emerged one by one from behind Chen Meilan, heads lowered, saying, "Hello, Grandfather."
Yan Peiheng stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over Little Wang, who wore new sportswear and brand-new sneakers, looking clean and neat.
Looking at Little Lang, the little fellow was wearing short sleeves despite it being April, his little arms particularly firm - clearly indicating excellent physical condition.
When his gaze reached Yuanyuan, he noticed the little girl boldly looking back at him, and he quickly turned away.
Chen Meilan opened the courtyard gate, gesturing for Yan Peiheng to enter.
As they walked, Yan Peiheng said, "Recently, a woman named Yu Xiaoqiao wants to take over our Factory 291 in Henan. You must know about this, right?"
Chen Meilan brought chairs into the courtyard, saying, "Yes, she came to see me, wanting me to put in a good word, but I refused."
Yan Peiheng entered the courtyard, looked around, then slowly raised his index finger, curling it slightly before saying with a smile, "Our leadership team has nine people total, and I'm the Second Commander."
Chen Meilan had already placed the chairs in the shaded part of the courtyard, gesturing for the old master to sit down.
Just as Yan Peiheng was about to sit, someone bumped into him. He turned to find Yuanyuan there.
The round-faced little girl, with her wet, doe-like eyes, quickly placed a soft cotton cushion on the chair before running away.
Yan Peiheng touched the soft cotton cushion but didn't sit down. Instead, he raised his index finger slowly until it was in front of Chen Meilan's face and said, "Including Ms. Yu Xiaoqiao, there are ten private enterprises competing to bid for Factory 291."
Chen Meilan remained silent, watching her father-in-law quietly.
"These private entrepreneurs have been trying to influence our team and our families through various connections, giving gifts, hosting dinners, and some even trying to give money directly," Yan Peiheng said, staring intently at his daughter-in-law, emphasizing each word: "You and Yan Zhao are the only ones who refused them."
Secretary Mao explained with a smile, "Since Factory 291 is the largest inland military factory, the top military commission leaders are watching this matter closely. When they heard that you and Yan Zhao refused to help with connections, you brought glory to the Commander in front of the top leaders!"
Chen Meilan finally smiled too.
No wonder her father-in-law was beaming today.
It was because her rejection of Yu Xiaoqiao's advances had brought honor to the old master among the leadership.
Currently, the situation with Factory 291 was that every military leader wanted to secure the factory for their own connections and relationships.
Just like the Qin Chuan Group situation before, everyone would inevitably fight, cause trouble, and turn against each other, attacking one another.
But in a leadership team of nine people, someone had to take charge of this matter.
Yet no one would yield to another, each forming their own faction, which would eventually lead to an irreconcilable situation.
In the end, when the Military Commission got involved, the top leaders saw that Yan Peiheng maintained a firm stance, and his family members were equally steadfast, so the task fell on Yan Peiheng's shoulders.
This was the real reason the old master suddenly came to Xiping City.
Factory 291 was in Henan, very close by, and he had come to oversee the bidding and competition.
"Your attitude, Chen Meilan, represents my attitude," Yan Peiheng paused before adding, "Thank you for bringing me honor this time!"
Though this old master had a bad temper, he knew when to bow and humble himself before his daughter-in-law, and he could be incredibly forthright.
Chen Meilan suddenly realized this might be why Su Wenhui truly loved this old master.
Yan Peiheng slapped his thigh, looked around again, and asked Chen Meilan, "Are there any spare bedrooms in this courtyard? I'll need to stay here for a few days while handling the bidding."
"Why don't we go back to the city and stay in a hotel? The conditions are better there," Secretary Mao suggested.
Yan Peiheng waved his hand, "No need, you all stay at the hotel, I'll stay here."
Chen Meilan remained calm - after all, they had plenty of rooms and large enough beds, so if her father-in-law wanted to stay, let him stay.
But the children, who were peering from the bedroom window, were terrified upon hearing this news.
None of the children wanted to spend more time with their grandfather.
And then there was Yan Zhao - his father had actually, for the first time ever, come to stay at Yan Xishan's landlord-like courtyard.
One could only imagine what his expression would be when he heard about this.
