With a total of six men, if it weren't for the ready-made cooked food, Chen Meilan wouldn't have been able to prepare this meal.
Even so, she had to call Yuanyuan and Little Wang to help.
First, she called Yuanyuan in and asked her and Little Lang to go buy some rou jia mo (meat in a bun).
When Yuanyuan entered the kitchen, Chen Meilan pointed at her nose and asked, "Why are you arguing with Little Wang?"
"He hits people, he hits anyone who wants to be my friend," Yuanyuan said.
Not only does he hit her friends, but he also practices punching at home and wants to drive away all the classmates willing to be her friend. Her brother was making Yuanyuan extremely embarrassed at school, and he wasn't even aware of it.
"Then should I have a meeting with your dad tonight and send him away? We don't want him anymore?" Chen Meilan said.
Yuanyuan was just throwing a tantrum, speaking rashly, and thought Chen Meilan was serious. She quickly said, "Mom, I was just saying that out of anger."
But in Chen Meilan's view, saying such things out of anger was even more detestable than truly not wanting someone. She gave her daughter a hard slap on the bottom and pointed at her nose, asking, "Does it hurt?"
Yuanyuan was wearing a thin skirt, and the slap left a stinging sensation.
"It hurts," the little girl was stunned by the hit.
Little Lang, seeing his mom hit someone for the first time, also looked at her with a face full of fear.
Chen Meilan gave Yuanyuan three yuan and patted her bottom gently: "Now go buy the buns, and think on the way about how you felt when Little Wang and Little Lang came to our home this time last year. Mom also wants to teach you a saying: 'A kind word warms three winter months, a harsh word chills even in June.' Repeat this sentence several times on your way."
Yuanyuan took the money, held Little Lang's hand, and obediently left.
Yan Zhao happened to enter just then and saw Yuanyuan wiping tears as she left. He asked, "What's wrong with my daughter? Why is she crying?"
"I hit her," Chen Meilan said. Seeing Yan Zhao about to roll up his sleeves, she quickly added, "You go entertain the guests, I'll cook."
"There are so many people, can you manage?" Yan Zhao worried she couldn't handle cooking for six or seven people.
Usually at home, Yan Zhao did everything, but today his comrades were visiting, and Chen Meilan had to give him face in front of them, so of course she couldn't let him do the work.
"I can," Chen Meilan said.
Yan Zhao didn't leave and said, "Boys can be hit, they're tough, but girls shouldn't be hit. Just talk to her nicely."
Actually, Chen Meilan didn't really think that way, but she blurted out, "Don't spoil my daughter just because of Yan Xing. When children make mistakes, they need to be taught. I know how to handle my own daughter."
Yan Zhao stood there stunned, once again looking at Chen Meilan with disbelief.
Chen Meilan pushed him, and Yan Zhao's hands were pulled to his chest, still with a look of shock, but not saying anything.
"Go out quickly," Chen Meilan whispered.
Yan Zhao neither spoke nor left, and his group of comrades was just in the yard. If they kept struggling, they would see.
Chen Meilan, not knowing what came over her, suddenly reached out and tickled Yan Zhao's armpit.
The man jumped as if he'd been electrocuted, his face turning both black and red.
It's over, Chen Meilan thought, this man is furious and will probably hit her.
But actually, when Yan Zhao was young, he often played with Yan Xing, and she frequently tickled his armpits. The armpit was Yan Zhao's weak spot; once tickled, his whole body would go soft. If someone wanted to hit him, he could beat them to death, but if someone tickled him, he would completely melt.
But since Yan Xing's death, no one dared to touch the King of Hell, so no one had tickled his armpit for a long time.
He walked towards the door and accidentally banged into the doorframe with a loud thud, seeing stars.
"Boss, how did you hit the doorframe?" Ma Bo asked with a laugh.
A man called Zong Jin said, "Hey, do you remember that time when Xiong Dapao's engagement was called off? He took the photo to find Captain Yan, and the captain was just like this, hitting the doorframe three times in a row."
"Shh," Ma Bo winked at Zong Jin, also grinning mischievously.
Xiong Dapao and Yan Zhao were particularly close, and he had even taken a bullet for Yan Zhao on the battlefield, but until now, he seemed unaware that his former blind date had married Yan Zhao.
Everyone in the regiment was currently waiting for the drama, waiting for the day when Xiong Dapao, Meilan, and Yan Zhao would meet.
Actually, even without Yan Zhao, Little Wang could handle the guests himself.
After all, he was the eldest at home and had learned from his father. He found a power strip to plug in the electric stove, put on a kettle to boil water, and while the water was boiling, he roasted some longan, red dates, and rock sugar around the stove. He also scooped some water to wash the wolfberries.
When the water boiled, the longan and red dates were fragrant, and the rock sugar had cracked and could be easily broken. He put them into clean teacups, broke a piece of rock sugar for each person, brought out the household guokui (a type of flatbread), and everyone drank tea and ate guokui.
Today's visitors were all ex-military officers who had transferred to civilian work, and coincidentally, they were all Wang Ding'an's comrades, colleagues, and fellow townsmen from the same county. Zong Jin's home was just across the river from his hometown.
Yan Zhao raised his teacup and clinked it with Wang Ding'an's.
Wang Ding'an sheepishly raised his cup and clinked it with Yan Zhao's.
Chen Meilan finished cooking and came out to serve the dishes herself. All the young men stood up, hurriedly clearing away teacups, taking chopsticks, and accepting bowls. Seeing a large plate full of rou jia mo, the crispy and crumbly old Tongguan rou jia mo, everyone's faces broke into smiles.
Ma Bo took the opportunity to ask Wang Ding'an with a smile, "Captain Wang, how's your sister-in-law's cooking?"
Wang Ding'an gave a bitter smile without speaking. Zong Jin quickly said, "Let's not mention Captain Wang's sister-in-law."
These men had all met Mi Fang and knew her character.
In fact, they were very clear about the details of how Wang Ding'an had abandoned his ex-wife and married the old bureau chief's daughter just to climb the ranks.
As fellow townsmen who knew each other well and worked in the same system, if men became officials and made fortunes just to return home in glory, they were the "home" Wang Ding'an was returning to in glory.
"Eat," Yan Zhao said as he handed Wang Ding'an a pair of chopsticks.
Wang Ding'an accepted the chopsticks with both hands, staring at everyone, his face burning with shame.
After the meal, Yan Zhao solemnly said to Wang Ding'an, "We've already interrogated the leader of those gangsters in our city and conducted an investigation. Their confessions are different from yours, and they don't believe the mastermind behind it is Yan Xishan."
Wang Ding'an wasn't stupid. As soon as those gangsters were arrested, he knew Yan Zhao must have made them confess and implicate his father-in-law.
Bureau Chief Mi was his backing, but as time passed since his retirement, his influence had waned, and he could actually help Wang Ding'an very little. He still kept a group of thugs, who would pay their respects to him during holidays, and the father and daughter would accept money.
When issues arose, it was Wang Ding'an who would smooth things over and clean up the mess.
"We're all ex-military officers who have transferred to civilian work, we should hold the same view. The legal system will become more and more perfect, and social order will improve through our efforts, right?" Yan Zhao continued.
Wang Ding'an nodded, feeling guilty, still not speaking.
Yan Zhao, who usually had a stern face, pointed next door and suddenly chilled his tone: "Qi Songlu is currently living next door and working in your sister-in-law's construction team. Mi Fang once personally threatened your sister-in-law, saying if she associated with her, she should be careful of her personal safety."
All the fellow townsmen turned their heads to look at Wang Ding'an in unison.
The reason Wang Ding'an had always kept a low profile was that for old Shaanxi men, face was more important than anything. He was shameless, clinging to Bureau Chief Mi's leg for promotion, but he still wanted to maintain a veneer of decency.
But now that veneer could no longer cover him. With a ripping sound, it was mercilessly torn away by Yan Zhao.
What position did Yan Zhao hold in the army? These comrades would always be loyal to him. Although Chen Meilan had only been married to Yan Zhao for a year and hadn't met them much, the wife of the regimental commander was still a sister-in-law, a close sister-in-law.
Moreover, threatening the family of a public security officer crossed a red line in policy. Once verified, it must be criminally prosecuted.
Ma Bo couldn't hold back anymore and slammed his teacup on the table: "Wang Ding'an, you fucking coward!"
Zong Jin also couldn't resist, turning to look at Wang Ding'an: "Tell the truth, Captain Wang, does that woman ride on your neck and shit and piss on you every day at home?"
Another man who worked in the policy department of the city bureau, one rank higher and who had never thought much of Wang Ding'an, simply said: "Alright, alright, no matter how stinky that ditch is, it's still a golden ditch. Lick it and you can get promoted. Our Captain Wang isn't afraid of being laughed at by his fellow villagers, what's there for you to sympathize with him about?"
The children were eating with Chen Meilan in the kitchen when they suddenly heard a crash from outside. They looked back to see a teacup shattered on the ground, with everyone glaring angrily at Wang Ding'an.
Wang Ding'an slowly stood up, took off his hat, turned and bowed to Chen Meilan, then walked away hugging his hat.
The remaining police officers looked sheepish, wanting to say something in the kitchen but feeling too embarrassed.
Yan Zhao gave a signal with his eyes, and Ma Bo led the team in waving goodbye to Chen Meilan before leaving.
Yan Zhao took off his uniform, rolled up his sleeves and started clearing dishes and bowls.
Chen Meilan came out to help him collect the bowls, quietly asking, "Did you want Wang Ding'an to report Chief Mi?"
That was Wang Ding'an's own father-in-law - it didn't seem right that he would report his father-in-law just because a few police officers cursed at him.
"He will. After all, he's a fence-sitter who goes whichever way the wind blows," Yan Zhao said, unable to hide the contempt in his voice.
As he finished speaking and was about to take the bowls to the kitchen, he stopped and said, "I'll say it again - I didn't marry you because of Yan Xing, and I've never treated Yuanyuan as Yan Xing. But girls shouldn't be hit."
No wonder his father called him a stubborn mule - he was still indignant about her hitting Yuanyuan.
"You Yan..." Chen Meilan blurted out, but catching a glimpse of Yuanyuan listening intently, she had to say, "I'll argue with you about this in bed tonight."
She couldn't let Yuanyuan know about Yan Xing - it would break the child's heart.
But she also couldn't let Yan Zhao spoil their daughter, because she had seen too many spoiled girls, like Mi Fang for example.
If you don't teach children how to behave, society will teach them when they grow up, and that can be much crueler than parents.
...
As soon as Wang Ding'an entered the house, he saw Mi Fang sitting on the sofa eating a KFC burger. There were many red and white boxes strewn on the floor - clearly she had already eaten quite a few.
There was no KFC in the city yet, so for her to be eating this, could it be that relatives had come from the capital?
Mi Lan, Wang Ding'an guessed it must be Mi Lan who had returned.
Recently, she and Mi Lan had been constantly talking on the phone about 300,000 yuan, supposedly a huge sum of money left behind by Yan Zhao's mother Su Wen.
Mi Lan complained every day that Su Wen was biased, giving all the money to Yan Zhao, and Mi Fang naturally joined her in cursing Su Wen.
Seeing Wang Ding'an return, Mi Fang opened a drawer and asked, "Wang Ding'an, why is your salary this month short another 100 yuan? Where's the money?"
Wang Ding'an mumbled, "My dad said he needed money to buy fertilizer..."
Sending money to his elderly father in the countryside was Mi Fang's sore spot. She immediately snorted coldly, "Are you even a man? Your ex-wife ruined your kidneys, and you still have a bunch of poor relatives back home constantly asking for money. Do you think my family runs a bank? Marrying you was the worst luck of eight lifetimes. Where did you go today?" Spoiled by her official father since childhood, she was arrogant and imperious.
Of course, if things weren't harmonious in bed, it didn't matter how good-looking a man was - it would only breed resentment in her.
"Yan Zhao invited me to his house for dinner," Wang Ding'an said as he was about to enter the bathroom. He almost tripped on something - looking down, he saw it was Mi Fang's high heels.
There was a shoe cabinet in the house, but her leather shoes were always scattered everywhere.
This was karma. Once he had a beautiful, clean, gentle, family-oriented wife who was filial to her parents. For the sake of promotion, Wang Ding'an had allowed her to be branded a hooligan and paraded through the streets. Now he had to live with this slovenly wife, slaving away for her.
Mi Fang lay back on the sofa, her feet that had been fermenting in leather shoes and stockings all day giving off a sour stench. She suddenly rolled over and said meaningfully, "Yan Zhao's father was promoted by my uncle. Our Mi family is their Yan family's great benefactor - they can never repay that kindness in several lifetimes. Yan Wei is so grateful to Mi Lan because of this. Yan Zhao is an ingrate - it's like he doesn't know gratitude at all?"
Yan Wei was indeed extremely accommodating towards Mi Lan. Mi Fang said this to hint that Wang Ding'an should learn from him.
Wang Ding'an remained silent. Mi Fang continued, "Yan Zhao is so smug just being a deputy bureau chief. How can he compare to my dad? I heard he's quite stubborn at work. What's Chen Meilan like - is she smart? She said the other day she wanted to deposit all her money with me. I've been waiting. Hopefully she's a clever one..."
Her voice grew softer as she pondered something. She scratched her foot for a while, then started picking her nose. After picking, she wiped the snot on the sofa.
Wang Ding'an said nothing, thinking to himself that while Yan Zhao might be smug, at least he wouldn't go to jail. Her father was about to be imprisoned soon.
Nothing else happened that evening. Early the next morning, Mi Fang got up early to go to work. Wang Ding'an sat by the bedside for a while, then opened Mi Fang's drawer and took out a stack of bank passbooks. He used the home phone to page Yan Zhao.
It wasn't that he had suddenly developed a conscience. He had always known that Mi Fang used to bully Qi Songlu.
But it wasn't easy for a child from a poor family to have good prospects, so he could only endure it.
However, now Mi Fang was reaching out her greedy hands, itching to bully Chen Meilan.
The police system used to be the domain of Chief Mi's gang of old hooligans. As batches of military transfer cadres replaced them, it was now the military transfers who held power. He needed to distance himself from Chief Mi early to keep his job, otherwise he would be squeezed out by those military transfers.
Wang Ding'an needed to follow the prevailing wind. He would formally report Chief Mi for involvement in organized crime and collecting protection fees.
The evidence he possessed was more comprehensive than what Yan Zhao had, and as Chief Mi's son-in-law and a member of the Jinxi Branch Bureau, his report carried special significance. After discussing with Sun Nutao, Yan Zhao coordinated with people from two other branch bureaus. Four branch bureaus simultaneously reported the situation to the city bureau.
After careful consideration, Zhang Chao, the chief of the city bureau, no longer showed consideration for his old leader's reputation. He officially announced that the Jindong Branch Bureau would arrest Chief Mi!
...
The rift between Yuanyuan and Little Wang not only hadn't improved, but was getting worse.
Little Wang practiced boxing every day, striving to be the fiercest brother.
But he had gone astray. The more he practiced boxing and fought at school, the angrier Yuanyuan became, increasingly ignoring him.
On the 2nd, payday, Yan Zhao had mentioned he wanted to buy clothes. It happened to be the weekend, so Chen Meilan took the three children and paged Yan Zhao after work, saying she would wait for him on the third floor of the department store. She took the children to browse the store first.
Chen Meilan chatted with the children as they browsed. She first asked Little Wang, "Are you the fiercest in school now? Can you beat up all the boys?"
"Pretty much. Many of the boys are afraid of me now," Little Wang said, clenching his fists.
But in reality, his little fists were badly swollen. Recently, because he kept getting into fights, the teacher had called Chen Meilan in for a talk. The principal was even planning to speak with Yan Zhao. If that happened, not only would his fists be swollen, but his bottom would be too.
Yuanyuan kept rolling her eyes at her brother in annoyance. Chen Meilan deliberately said, "How about this, Yuanyuan - I'll transfer you to a different school. You must feel very embarrassed having such a fierce brother, right?"
"Okay," Yuanyuan actually agreed.
Little Wang suddenly stopped and turned to look at Yuanyuan. "Yan Shengnan, I've been fighting the classmates who bully you. Why do you want to transfer schools?"
"How has Liu Jiaxuan bullied me? He just wants to be my friend. He even told me that you used to bully him all the time. Now every time you hit him, he tells me," Yuanyuan said.
Little Wang was furious, gesticulating wildly. Liu Jiaxuan used to be his good friend, but ever since Yuanyuan was willing to be friends with him, he no longer paid any attention to Little Wang.
So he was using Little Wang as a smokescreen to get close to Yuanyuan - he had ulterior motives.
Chen Meilan had actually investigated: "I heard Liu Jiaxuan's grades are quite good, better than our Little Wang. Yuanyuan, is it because Liu Jiaxuan studies well that you want to be friends with him?"
"Mmhm," Yuanyuan nodded emphatically.
Little Wang suddenly stopped in his tracks. That's right - he had been angry about his good brother betraying him, but hadn't considered that Liu Jiaxuan's grades really were better than his.
"Little Wang, how about studying hard and getting better grades than Liu Jiaxuan on the final exam?" Chen Meilan asked.
Barking dogs don't bite. Little Wang nodded silently, with a resolute and tragic expression of determination to teach his traitorous brother a lesson.
Liu Jiaxuan, you despicable villain!
The state-owned department store had recently opened a new counter - Goldlion.
In the future, this brand's clothes would be beloved by middle-aged and elderly men in third-tier cities. Chen Meilan browsed over.
"Hello sister, helping your husband pick out clothes?" A very pretty girl walked over from the Montagut counter to the Goldlion section, smiling as she said, "Your children are so cute."
"They argue all day long," Chen Meilan said in a low voice. "Their quarrels never end."
"It's the same with my brother and me. When we were kids in school, if I spoke even one extra word to a boy, my brother would go and beat him up. Now it's funny - he's scared off all the male classmates, yet he's constantly urging me to date." As she spoke, the girl took out seven or eight T-shirts, dress shirts and suits from behind the counter, saying: "Here, feel free to touch and choose whatever you like."
It was still the era when salespeople looked down their noses at customers, so it was rare to find such a generous salesperson offering so many items at once.
Yan Zhao had dark skin, which made choosing clothes difficult. Colors that were even slightly off would make him look even darker.
Chen Meilan spotted a T-shirt that looked particularly high quality. She glanced at the price tag on the counter and swallowed hard. It wasn't that she couldn't afford it, but Yan Zhao couldn't - it cost 380 yuan.
"Don't be afraid. Just tell me which one you like, and I'll give you the insider price," the salesperson said.
"How much of a discount can you offer?" Chen Meilan had to try. If it was only 10% or 20% off, she wouldn't bother having Yan Zhao try it on.
"My brother rented these counters with his military pension, and I run them myself. You tell me - how much are you willing to pay?" the salesperson unexpectedly replied.
Designer clothing definitely had huge profit margins. Chen Meilan thought to herself that this young girl, despite her age, had good business sense. Her brother must be quite capable too - likely an ex-soldier. Using a military pension to rent retail space was the best choice in these times.
"What year did your brother leave the army? Does he know Yan Zhao?" Chen Meilan thought if her brother happened to be Yan Zhao's fellow soldier, it would be easier to negotiate the price.
"Yan Zhao? You mean Officer Yan from the Jindong Branch Bureau? That's my brother's old regimental commander! He'll be here shortly. What a coincidence - we're actually helping choose clothes for their old commander," the salesperson said with a smile.
Chen Meilan was suddenly very curious about this girl's brother. It was rare to find someone from the military with a good head for business. Who exactly was this girl's brother?
...
Meanwhile, Yan Zhao had obtained the arrest warrant to formally arrest Director Mi.
Mi Fang, being a relative and specifically reported by Wang Ding'an, with most of the bribes received by Director Mi in her possession, was also to be summoned for questioning as part of the investigation.
She was at her workplace today, in her office.
She had just helped someone carry out some illegal operations, which could result in a 10-year prison sentence if discovered.
But she wasn't worried. She had connections, she had her father. She never concerned herself with such matters.
She had just seen off a client and was pondering work-related issues.
Chen Meilan still hadn't made the large deposit, so her savings bank continued to lag behind Song Huaihua's. Rumor had it that the postal headquarters was considering promoting Song Huaihua directly to head of the loan department at headquarters - the most lucrative position in the banking industry. Mi Fang was incredibly envious.
She didn't dare to easily harass Chen Meilan, but was contemplating whether to find some people to teach Song Huaihua a lesson.
Just then, the police arrived, saying they needed her to assist with an investigation.
Mi Fang had no idea it was about her father's case. She assumed some small-time thug had been arrested for assault and implicated her.
This was easy to handle - she could just find Wang Ding'an to resolve it.
Seeing several tellers looking at her curiously, she said cheerfully, "I'll be right back."
After all, she had people in high places.
As long as her father was alive, she would never be in trouble!
Yan Zhao got off work, and he wasn't alone. Ma Bo, Zong Jin, Song Qianye, and several other comrades were with him. They had all received their salaries and were heading to the department store to buy some designer clothes from Xiong Dapao, the only businessman among them.
The group chatted about the case as they walked, since it was only two stops away.
Xiong Dapao didn't just deal in clothing; he was also a small-time contractor, the type who would do any business that made money. He was dressed very fashionably, leaning against his Harley motorcycle, wearing a helmet, waiting for his comrades at the entrance of the department store.
As soon as they met, he took off his helmet, revealing skin that was fair, smooth, and radiant. He put on his sunglasses, showing off his red lips and white teeth.
"Come on, let's go upstairs. It's on me today, choose whatever you like," Xiong Dapao said with a snap of his fingers.
Yan Zhao had been busy and hadn't checked his pager, so he didn't know Chen Meilan had been waiting for him. As they went upstairs, what a coincidence - Chen Meilan was there with Xiong Dapao's sister, Xiong Xiaohua, looking at suits. The whole group came bustling in.
For now, let's not discuss what Yan Zhao was thinking.
All the police officers froze the moment they saw Meilan.
How would Captain Yan introduce her?
