Yan Zhao now stood inside what was once his home.
Snow fell on his eyelashes and quickly melted, dampening his eyes.
The light rain mixed with snow had made everything dirty. In the kitchen, there was spoiled rice on the stove that had been there for who knows how long. The living room was piled high with instant noodles, egg cakes, and whole boxes of Chun Du sausages. Most of the cookies had been opened, with a few pieces eaten and the rest left on the floor.
After looking around, Yan Zhao left and went to Yan Yong's house.
Yan Yong was the village chief and also Yan Zhao's neighbor.
"Lu Jingyu and Zhou Xueqin are always out and never at home. The girl was supposedly sent to a music school in the capital, while the boy attends Yanguan Primary School. They paid Principal Sun, so Sun Taochang personally tutors him. Zhou Xueqin's mother cooks for him and looks after him, but you know what she's like - she's out playing mahjong all day and just gives the kid money to fend for himself. That boy has too much money, and a bunch of teenage boys all follow his lead." Yan Yong struggled to find the right words: "He's basically a little tyrant in the village, a real troublemaker."
"Never mind about Zhou Xueqin not being here. Notify Lu Jingyu to come to my house on Wednesday. I'm taking back the house," said Yan Zhao.
Yan Yong was taken aback.
This house was where Yan Zhao's mother had lived. It used to be a rundown courtyard. His father was rarely home, and his two older brothers, having grown up in the city, didn't really look after the place.
Yan Zhao had built the house brick by brick during his annual leaves after joining the army.
Yan Zhao's mother's full name was Su Wen. Her family was from the Fifth Team, and she was an ordinary farm woman who couldn't read or write and had little education. But she was exceptionally beautiful, extremely kind-hearted, and naturally clean. She believed in Buddha and had a compassionate heart. During the Cultural Revolution, she had saved many of the "black five categories" who had been sent to labor camps.
Old Man Yan was once a notorious hooligan in the village. No one could control him except for Yan Zhao's mother, who could call him to work in the fields.
When the old lady died, Yan Zhao was still in the army and couldn't return. His father and brothers were also busy with work. Yan Yong and his brothers handled the funeral arrangements. Yan Yong witnessed it himself - after the old lady had been dead for three days, her body remained soft, her face wore a smile, and there was a faint, pleasant floral scent coming from her body.
Due to Yan Peiheng's position, they were worried about too many people coming, so the funeral was kept low-key. However, a monk came from Famen Temple, saying that the Bodhisattva had appeared in his dream and told him to personally conduct the funeral for the old lady. The monk said that because the old lady had done good deeds all her life, she had entered the Pure Land after death.
Yan Zhao had grown up with his mother and was influenced by her, making him exceptionally kind-hearted.
After all, he felt guilty towards Zhou Xueqin. During their divorce, Zhou Xueqin had been decent, finding a good stepmother for their two children.
At that time, when he gave the house to Zhou Xueqin, Yan Zhao had even taken her to the First Team and specifically told Yan Bin and his brothers not to bully her. Zhou Xueqin had also promised, patting her chest, that she would definitely take good care of Yan Zhao's house and treat it well while living there.
Even after death, a person's spirit lingers.
If Su Wen had truly reached the Pure Land, this would be her sacred place. How could it be allowed to fall into such a state of neglect?
The people of the First Team had long known how Lu Jingyu's family had treated Yan Zhao's house, but they were afraid of upsetting or depressing Yan Zhao if he found out, so they all agreed to keep it from him. Yan Yong occasionally couldn't stand it and would help clean up the area around the entrance.
Yan Yong could understand Yan Zhao's desire to take back the house, but he was occupying Yan Xishan's house, and the village had fully supported him in that.
Now that he wanted to take back Lu Jingyu's house, how could they support him, even if they were brothers?
Moreover, the property rights of this house should have already been transferred.
"You transferred the house to Xueqin, didn't you?" Yan Bin said.
Yan Zhao replied, "Yes, it was transferred, but there's still one last procedure at the police station that's pending because she refuses to see me. I'm still holding onto it, but that's not the problem. She once promised to take good care of my mother's house. Since she hasn't done that, I must take it back."
Yan Zhao had been holding back on the final procedure, wanting Zhou Xueqin to explain about someone bullying Little Wang, and hadn't completed it.
"Third Brother, you can want to take back the house, but I'm afraid we small village leaders can't support you in this," said Yan Yong.
"Just notify Lu Jingyu to come to my house on Wednesday," Yan Zhao said as he turned and left.
For Yan Zhao, the matter was already settled.
Yan Zhao's tone was always firm, and he didn't usually inquire about Chen Meilan's work. Of course, if he did ask, he would oppose it.
However, when he got home today, while washing vegetables, he suddenly asked Chen Meilan, "When you hire workers, do you issue a 'Labor Dispatch Notice'?"
Seeing Chen Meilan's confusion, he continued, "I went to Qinchuan Group today and saw that on their project responsibility column, it says that construction teams with 'Labor Dispatch Notices' will be protected by the labor bureau if there are disputes between the foreman and the migrant workers, or conflicts with the construction party. Otherwise, because of your illegal status, the government and law won't protect you. If you don't have one, find time to get one processed."
Most of the current foremen are just putting up a false front without registering with the government.
Even a dog could be a foreman.
But that's like being a stray soldier, not abiding by the law and not protected by the state.
If Yan Zhao hadn't reminded her, Chen Meilan would have forgotten about this.
If she really wanted to do construction work, she would need to file records with everything from the business license to the labor bureau to the tax bureau.
Only then would she be a legal foreman.
Yan Zhao was impressive, reminding her of such an important matter.
Meilan didn't know how Yan Zhao would feel seeing their house in that state, but tomorrow was Monday, and the children's cotton clothes had been washed but weren't dry yet. Yan Zhao would have to hang them one by one over the stove to dry.
Yuanyuan and Little Wang's feet were growing fast, wearing out their cotton socks quickly. They were all torn, and Chen Meilan had planned to mend them after dinner. But when the meal was set on the table, she saw Yan Zhao already mending socks for the two children. Not bad, although the stitches looked like centipedes, at least they were sewn up.
There was also a courtyard full of rain and snow. If Yan Zhao hadn't led the children to sweep it out, the courtyard would have become a garbage dump.
At night, after they got into bed, Yan Zhao finally told Chen Meilan that he was going to reclaim the house in the First Team, and that he would announce it and take it back on Wednesday.
Chen Meilan's reaction was the same as Yan Yong's: "If you want to take it back, Zhou Xueqin might not agree, right?"
He was still occupying the Xishan family's courtyard, how could he take back Zhou Xueqin's?
Even if it was dirty, he had already given that house to Zhou Xueqin. It was hers now, and it was up to her what to do with it.
"Don't worry about it. When Lu Jingyu comes over, I'll negotiate with him," Yan Zhao said, then paused and asked Chen Meilan, "Are you not feeling well?"
Her stomach felt very cold to the touch.
Chen Meilan was on her period, so of course her stomach was cold. She even exaggerated a bit: "Not just cold, I think I caught a chill. It hurts too. Why don't you warm it up for me?"
She was frantically hinting: come into my blanket.
"I'll boil you a bowl of brown sugar water," Yan Zhao withdrew his hand, sat up, and added, "Have you been washing your dirty underwear by hand all this time? Don't touch cold water these days, and don't handle your dirty underwear either. Leave them, I'll wash them for you."
Watching him get out of bed, Chen Meilan thought to herself, young people, just reach out and warm me up. It's the middle of the night, that should be more effective than brown sugar water, and more intimate too. Why go to all this trouble?
But since he was only willing to work silently, Chen Meilan accepted it.
In the cold winter, having lived two lifetimes, this was the first time she had enjoyed brown sugar water boiled by a man. The brown sugar water she didn't have to boil herself tasted especially sweet. After drinking it, her whole body felt warm, and she slept comfortably.
Also, she had always washed her own underwear during her period, and dirty underwear had to be washed in cold water or it wouldn't get clean. She was always afraid that if Yan Zhao tried to help, he might not clean them properly and ruin her underwear. So she always kept her underwear to herself and washed it herself, not letting anyone else touch it.
But the next evening, as soon as she entered the bedroom, she saw that he had washed her underwear from yesterday along with his own, hanging them side by side.
They were so clean they looked almost new.
...
Today, Teacher Huang and Third Sister-in-law Huang went to the hospital, and they went to the provincial hospital.
Now Third Sister-in-law Huang's baby is eight months along. According to the ultrasound, the doctor said that although the baby has a nuchal cord, it's very healthy.
Chen Meilan was genuinely happy for Teacher Huang and his wife. Teacher Huang was still young, and apart from teaching at the primary school, he had no other commitments. For the sake of their child's future, he would also work diligently at her construction site.
A group of people were chatting at the village entrance when Yan Dawei jumped off his bicycle and joined the conversation: "Meilan, you're really getting into the construction business. Our Dongfang Group is about to build staff apartments, but unfortunately, I've been sidelined. Now Fan Xiang is making the decisions. Otherwise, I would have given that project to you."
"Her? Not possible. Fan Xiang has been in contact with Lu Jingyu recently. I heard Lu Jingyu has been bribing Fan Xiang with a lot of money. We only do small projects; how can we afford to bribe?" The speaker was Yan Bin, carrying a small bag, who had just returned to the village after work. He walked up to Chen Meilan with a dejected look: "That project will definitely be taken by Lu Jingyu."
Zhou Xueqin made money selling coal, and Lu Jingyu, with his initial capital, ventured into construction.
That couple was now the talk of Yanguan Village, making a fortune as husband and wife in two different fields.
As for Chen Meilan, Yan Zhao had told her not to engage in bribery or corruption, and she herself didn't dare to. She only earned honest money with a clear conscience.
In the future, when anti-corruption efforts intensify, many big contractors would be investigated, and they would fall one by one. It wasn't worth doing that for temporary gains.
However, seeing Yan Bin's dejected look, Chen Meilan suddenly sensed something and deliberately asked him: "Second Brother, Lu Jingyu is a decent person, and the wages I pay you are low. Haven't you thought about working for Lu Jingyu? Wouldn't that be more promising than working for me?"
Yan Bin took the bait immediately, smiling as he said: "Meilan, let me tell you this. Lu Jingyu actually approached me a couple of days ago, saying you're not good at construction and asking me to work for him. But who is he? Zhou Xueqin's lover. And who are you? My sister-in-law. Besides, I'm not just working for you; I have other income too. Even if he offered me a thousand yuan a month, I wouldn't do it, let alone the 700 yuan he's offering!"
Indeed, Lu Jingyu not only stayed to do construction work but also attempted to poach Chen Meilan's people.
Even if Lu Jingyu couldn't poach Yan Bin, if he did, Chen Meilan could still find someone else to replace him.
But in her previous life, Lu Jingyu was particularly fond of poaching people from others.
Whether he could use them or not, poaching people could at least defeat the opponent in the short term.
The staff apartments for Dongfang Group were a big project. They would start preparations this year and should be able to begin construction by the end of next year, lasting at least two years. Deep down, Chen Meilan was particularly envious.
But if Fan Xiang was in charge of the project, she definitely wouldn't get it.
Fan Xiang was once Hu Xiaomei's stepfather and also Yan Xishan's benefactor, an extremely cunning old fox who had Yan Xishan wrapped around his finger.
The winter vacation was approaching, and the children had just finished their final exams. Yuanyuan got 100 in math and 96 in Chinese, but she wasn't satisfied and was now correcting her mistakes.
Little Wang's mind was never on studying. He got 78 in math and 61 in Chinese. Logically, he should be even more diligent in correcting his mistakes than Yuanyuan, as he ranked third from the bottom in the class, but he couldn't be bothered.
He sneaked out quietly, probably going to sell cassette tapes to make money again.
"Mom, Ningning got 100 in both subjects, and so did Songsong from Team Three. I think the reason I didn't do well is because I became the class monitor. Next semester, I won't be the monitor anymore," Yuanyuan said while correcting her homework.
Little Lang hugged his small alarm clock and pointed at the wall, saying, "I have a certificate too."
The kindergarten didn't have exams, but Little Lang received the only certificate in the family this semester - the Best Performance Award from the kindergarten. To encourage the two older children, Chen Meilan had specially framed it and hung it on the bedroom wall.
Yuanyuan pouted, "Mom, I'll definitely work hard next semester and try to bring back a certificate too."
Just then, a postman called from outside, "Is this Yan Shengnan's home? Registered mail."
Yan Shengnan was Yuanyuan's full name. Who would send her a letter?
Chen Meilan went out and took the envelope from the postman. It was an extra-large envelope, and it felt like there was a thick stack inside.
"Mom, what is this?" Yuanyuan asked curiously.
Chen Meilan didn't know what it was either, but when she opened it, she and Yuanyuan both exclaimed in surprise.
Nowadays, movie promotions weren't like in the future where they would advertise everywhere in the media. The most common method was postcards. For a movie, they would take many postcards of the main actors and then sell them in bookstores and newsstands.
Yuanyuan only appeared at the beginning of the film, playing the deceased daughter of the female lead. It was said that her total screen time was only 5 minutes.
Chen Meilan never imagined that she would also have the treatment of being on postcards, and even with the female lead.
However, this was probably just sent to Yuanyuan as a memento and wouldn't be put out for sale.
"Mom, this is sister..." Little Lang took one and immediately exclaimed in surprise.
They were all of Yuanyuan, shots taken with the female lead.
Yuanyuan looked at them one by one. She only remembered the female lead hugging her and playing for a long time, but she hadn't thought that someone would be taking photos of her at that time.
There were photos of her smiling at the female lead, and some of her and the female lead gazing into the distance lost in thought. The background in the studio was of yellow sand and an ancient castle. She and the female lead were both wearing costumes from the film. Although it was just a studio, the photos made it look as if she was really in the desert.
Finally, they came across one that was just of her alone.
The mother and two children huddled together, and Chen Meilan pulled out a remittance slip from the envelope. This was Yuanyuan's pay for her role in the film.
Currently, film pay was still based on fixed wages. Even those film actors only earned five or six hundred yuan a month.
Yuanyuan only filmed for two days and earned twenty yuan.
But it was her second income after the five yuan for the ending song.
"Mom, I want to buy you a necklace," Yuanyuan blurted out, holding the remittance slip.
Because Little Wang had been calling for a piano, Little Lang also caught on and patted the table, "Buy a piano, buy a piano."
Chen Meilan decided not to cash this remittance slip. She wanted to frame it and hang it on the wall.
To let everyone who came to their house know that Yuanyuan had acted in "The Yellow River Ballad".
However, at this moment, a child's voice suddenly asked from outside the window, "Excuse me, is this Chen Meilan's house?"
It was Lu Dabao's voice. Chen Meilan immediately lifted the curtain.
Then she saw Lu Dabao enter the door with one hand covering his forehead, his shoulders swaying unsteadily, followed by a group of children, and surprisingly, Lu Jingyu right behind them.
Moreover, Lu Jingyu was holding onto Little Wang, who was clutching a small basket full of cassette tapes he had recorded of Yuanyuan's singing.
"Brother, who hit you?" Yuanyuan said as she rushed out the door, reaching out to pull Lu Jingyu, "Uncle, please let go of my brother."
"Little girl, open your eyes. It was your brother who hit someone first. Look at my forehead," Lu Dabao said loudly, puffing out his chest and directly confronting Yuanyuan.
Yuanyuan wasn't one to back down. She jumped up and pointed at Lu Dabao, "You're lying! My brother never hits people. You must have provoked him."
Lu Jingyu, being an adult, of course smiled even though he might be plotting behind their backs.
He pushed Little Wang towards Chen Meilan and said with a smile, "It's like this. The brothers Dabao and Little Wang met for the first time, and Little Wang has quite a temper. He hit Dabao with a brick."
He was wearing a Montagut suit and tie, looking quite presentable. He looked around and asked with a smile, "Yan Zhao isn't home? Ah, Little Wang's upbringing leaves much to be desired."
Although Little Wang was unharmed, many of the cassette tapes in his small basket were covered in dirt, and several had been damaged, hanging from the basket like frog eggs.
Little Wang quickly defended himself, "Mom, I really didn't mean to. That fat kid provoked me first."
Indeed, Lu Dabao had provoked him first and even pushed Little Wang, but when it came to fighting, Yan Zhao's son had never backed down from anyone. Little Wang picked up a brick and unhesitatingly smashed it on his head.
Yan Zhao had set Wednesday for collecting rent on the house, and today was Wednesday.
However, he was still at work and wouldn't get off until 6:30 at the earliest. It was only 4 pm now.
Little Wang had been running around the village selling cassette tapes and knew well that Lu Dabao was Zhou Xueqin's darling. He would usually avoid him if he saw him, so why did he hit Dabao today?
Moreover, given Dabao's temperament, he was always the one hitting others. How could someone else hit him?
So Lu Jingyu, smiling on the surface, although not knowing how Yan Zhao planned to acquire the house, was definitely instigating Lu Dabao to deliberately provoke Little Wang. This was to create momentum for himself regarding the team's house, hoping that when the time came, the village leaders would side with him.
This cunning man had become wealthy early in life, but his greed and scheming hadn't changed one bit.
Villagers always loved to watch some excitement, and by now quite a crowd had gathered at their doorstep.
Chen Meilan wasn't a good stepmother. Although she treated Little Wang and Little Lang the same as Yuanyuan on the surface, in her heart, she would always love Yuanyuan the most. But this didn't mean she wouldn't protect her stepchildren.
Moreover, she knew Lu Dabao all too well.
"Little Wang, tell me, why did you hit Lu Dabao?" Chen Meilan asked.
"He pulled my tape and said Yuanyuan's singing was crap. He said his sister studies at a music school in the capital and was the runner-up in a children's singing competition," Little Wang replied, still angry. "So what if your sister is the runner-up? My sister sings better than yours."
Lu Dabao shrugged his shoulders and pointed at Little Wang: "My sister is the runner-up in a singing competition. She sings a thousand times better than your sister!"
Chen Meilan deliberately fanned the flames: "Dabao, aren't you being a bit of a coward? My Little Wang is so skinny, how could he possibly beat you?"
"Fuck, I wasn't even trying to fight him, otherwise I would've pummeled him to death," Dabao exploded at the slightest provocation.
Chen Meilan immediately pushed Dabao in front of Lu Jingyu: "Brother Lu, is this how you educate children? Didn't you hear how he cursed with such foul language?"
Lu Jingyu wore a fake smile and pulled his son close, saying: "Meilan, this child just has a bit of a temper, but he's excellent in his studies. I heard your Little Wang is at the bottom of his class at Dongfang School, but my Dabao is top of his class at Yanguan Primary School. And it's true that my daughter is studying at a music school in the capital. Children, well, why should they be so well-behaved? What's most important is that they have abilities in the future, don't you agree?"
Seeing Chen Meilan's cold smile, he even added: "Meilan, you've always been timid, and you didn't do well in school. It's understandable that you find it challenging to educate children. But you're kind-hearted, Meilan. You should use your kindness to influence the children, okay?"
He was clearly an old PUA (Pick-Up Artist) at work.
But Little Wang was indeed affected by his words, as someone in the crowd whispered: "Lu Dabao may be a bully, but I heard he really did rank first in the final exams."
"Our Little Wang is still at Dongfang School. Could his grades really be that average?" someone else said.
Lu Jingyu had not only stolen her man but was now speaking such sarcastic words. Chen Meilan was furious.
The reason she had been so fixated on winning the Qinchuan Group project was that subconsciously, she wanted to prove that she was no worse than Lu Jingyu.
And now, she was increasingly confident that she was more capable than this scumbag, not just as a person but in abilities too, regardless of gender.
When it came to Yan Xishan, she might still be willing to scold him a bit, but with Lu Jingyu, she couldn't even be bothered to curse at him. She just needed to be more successful in her career than him to win.
But suddenly, she wasn't angry anymore. In fact, she realized she had to compete with Lu Jingyu.
Today, she not only wanted to knock down this prematurely wealthy PUA man who had become even more arrogant than in her previous life, but she also had to compare herself with Lu Jingyu. This would be an excellent real-life lesson for Little Wang, who didn't like studying and only thought about running small businesses.
Chen Meilan happened to be holding some postcards. She took one out and turned to Sister Mao, saying: "Sister, take a look at the postcards Yuanyuan made for the movie. The print quality is quite good, but it doesn't do Yuanyuan justice. She's much prettier in person."
If it was about comparing children, bring it on. Let's see whose child is more outstanding.
You think your daughter getting second place is something to brag about? Well, my daughter has starred in a movie.
At the scene, the most shocked person was Little Wang.
He first looked at Yuanyuan: "You even made postcards?"
"Why did you hit someone? Didn't you used to never hit people?" Yuanyuan asked Little Wang in return.
He never used to hit people at school.
Little Wang said: "Well, no one used to bully you and Little Lang before." He took the postcard, and in that instant, he stopped breathing.
This was a solo shot. The Yuanyuan on the postcard wasn't as pretty as she was in person, because of the deliberate pre-liberation era makeup that made her look sallow and thin. She was shielding her eyes from the sunlight pouring down from above, squinting at the camera.
But her gaze and the clothes she wore immediately transported people from the 90s back to the pre-liberation era.
It made one feel the misery of the old society and the tragic childhood of children in those times.
This was his sister, and his sister was much better than Lu's daughter. She even had her own postcard!
