Speaking of Yan Xishan, dressed in a Western suit, he was holding his daughter's hand and talking to Yan Xiong and Yan Sanye about his campaign for People's Representative.
He was boasting confidently: "Given the reputation of Xishan Company, I think my chances of being elected are very high."
"Congratulations, Xishan. You're heading into politics now," Yan Xiong said with a smile.
Yan Xishan waved his hand and said, "I wouldn't dare claim that, but we must strive, behave well, and align ourselves with the Party."
Seeing Chen Meilan approaching from afar, Yan Xishan walked over with a smile and said, "Meilan, there's something I need Yuanyuan's help with. Tomorrow morning, we private entrepreneurs have been arranged by the People's Congress Organizing Committee to visit a nursing home. The other bosses are no match for me, but there's one surnamed Xiong, a single father who's an ex-military businessman. His business is particularly successful, and the committee members have a very good impression of him. Could you lend me Yuanyuan for a day so I can boost my popularity a bit? What do you think?"
To become a People's Representative, one needs to build a public image, and visiting the elderly is part of that image-building.
Yan Xishan had resumed his night school and was treating Yuanyuan well. Seeing that his complexion was normal and he had put on some weight proved that he hadn't been drinking excessively lately.
This meant he was on the right track.
"Come pick her up early tomorrow morning," Chen Meilan said.
Yan Xishan smiled and said, "Why don't you let her stay with me for the night? I've been trying to quit drinking recently, and nights are difficult. Having Yuanyuan with me for the night would help me get through it better."
"Mama, please, let me stay with Papa for the night," Yuanyuan said with a smile.
After all, Yuanyuan was Chen Meilan's own daughter. Even though Chen Meilan was reluctant, the child wanted to go, and the people around were also persuading her to let Yan Xishan take the child for the night. Chen Meilan had no choice but to agree.
When Yuanyuan heard she could stay with her father for the night, she held her father's hand and was already saying goodbye to Chen Meilan: "Mama, I'll come back tomorrow after we're done. Let Little Wang and Little Lang keep you company today."
Yan Xiong and Yan Sanye were about to escort Yan Xishan out of the village when they happened to see Qi Songlu buying some vegetables to cook at home. Yan Xiong said, "Xishan, you're not getting any younger. Qi Songlu is quite tall and not bad-looking. She's been getting along well with Sanye lately. Would you like your uncle to introduce you? Don't be too picky. Why don't you marry Qi Songlu and start a family? What do you think?"
Yan Sanye chimed in, "Although Songlu has a small bottom and might only give birth to girls, if you have several children, you're bound to have a son eventually. You're rich, so you don't need to worry about government fines. What are you afraid of?"
Yan Xishan looked up and caught Qi Songlu staring at him with a cold smirk.
The current Yan Xishan was not the same as before; he was about to become a People's Representative.
Qi Songlu looked down on Yan Xishan, but Yan Xishan looked down on her even more. A woman with no hips, no waist, and short hair like a tomboy - Yan Xishan would have to be crazy to consider her.
His former women, how beautiful Chen Meilan was, how gentle Hu Xiaowei was - how could Qi Songlu compare?
Even if all the women in the world were gone and only Qi Songlu remained, Yan Xishan would rather castrate himself than marry Qi Songlu.
"We'll see. I'm still young, no need to rush," he said with a smile as he parted from the group. Yan Xishan hugged Yuanyuan and left with a face full of joy.
He went off to participate in the elderly care activity with great ambition.
Chen Meilan called Little Wang home, needing him to make a phone call to Yan Wei.
She could have made the call herself, but after all, she was the younger sister-in-law, and Yan Wei was the elder brother-in-law. She was afraid that if she called alone to discuss Feng Yu's matter, Mi Lan and Wang Gebi might become suspicious if they overheard.
After calling Little Wang into the house, Chen Meilan said, "Little Wang, do you miss your second uncle? Why don't you give him a call?"
"Why would I miss him? Why should I?" Little Wang found it puzzling.
"He's your uncle after all. It's been almost half a year since he returned to the capital. Give him a call and check on him," Chen Meilan said without further explanation, already dialing Yan Wei's home number.
Little Wang reluctantly picked up the phone.
Yan Wei and his wife didn't live with Yan Peiheng. Chen Meilan first dialed Yan Wei's home, but after two attempts, no one answered.
So she had to dial back to Yan Peiheng's home. This time, someone picked up after just two rings.
It was Yan Wei who answered. Even through the phone, one could hear the surprise in his voice: "Little Wang, you actually remembered to call your second uncle?"
"Second Uncle, wishing you good health and all the best. Okay, goodbye," Little Wang just perfunctorily responded, ready to hang up the phone.
Chen Meilan took over the phone: "Second Brother, has Father returned? Have you moved back to live with Father?"
Yan Wei chuckled rather politely on the phone before saying, "Only I moved back. Meilan, your sister-in-law and I have been discussing recently, we're planning to get divorced."
It was mid-December now, and it had been nearly half a year since Mi Lan and Yan Wei returned to the capital. Chen Meilan had always thought their relationship should have eased by now, but they were actually talking about divorce?
"Where are Sister-in-law and Little Ha now?" Chen Meilan then asked.
"Them?" Yan Wei sighed, "Who knows? Anyway, I'm the villain in the military compound now. I get scolded wherever I go. Our dad is on a business trip and hasn't returned, but he'll scold me too when he gets back. Mi Lan is seen as the righteous one, she can go wherever she wants, I don't care."
After all, Mi Lan had lost her only child and had her tubes tied. As soon as Yan Wei mentioned divorce to her, regardless of the reason or whose fault it was, he, as a military man, daring to abandon a woman who had her tubes tied for him, became the target of everyone's criticism.
A modern-day Chen Shimei.
The military compound where he lived was full of elders who had watched him grow up. They could drown him with just their spit.
"So is Auntie Wang Gebi taking care of you now?" Chen Meilan then asked.
The last time she called, Wang Gebi had answered. Chen Meilan thought it was interesting that even though Yan Wei and Mi Lan were talking about divorce, they still let Wang Gebi stay at their house every day?
"You mean my mother-in-law? She's been living with her eldest daughter Mi Xue for the past half year, hasn't really come back to the military district," Yan Wei surprisingly said.
This was interesting. Yan Wei said Wang Gebi hadn't been back to the military district for half a year.
But when Chen Meilan called Yan Peiheng's house, it was clearly Wang Gebi who answered the phone.
There must be something fishy going on here, but exactly what it was, she'd only know once she got to the capital.
However, Chen Meilan could be certain of one thing: Wang Gebi was deliberately making her and Yan Zhao think that her relationship with Yan Peiheng was inappropriate.
But it was very likely that in the eyes of the old leaders in the military compound, she and Yan Peiheng were completely innocent, with no relationship whatsoever. Fortunately, Chen Meilan could keep her cool and didn't say anything about this in front of Mi Lan and Yan Wei.
Otherwise, even Yan Wei would have doubted her character.
Unable to steer the conversation towards Feng Yu, Chen Meilan became a bit anxious and decided to ask directly: "Second Brother, Mi Lan's brother-in-law is called Feng Yu, right? It seems he's trying to acquire our city's Factory 271. I'm also in business and interested in that factory. Do you think I have a chance against him?"
Speaking of this, Yan Wei paused for a moment before saying, "You mean Mi Lan's brother-in-law? He's a big shot in our military district. I'm afraid you might not be able to compete with him."
Feng Yu was also a retired military man who, after leaving the service, made a fortune in the military industry business using Wang Gebi's connections.
When Mi Lan wanted to scold Yan Wei for being incompetent, she would use Feng Yu as a comparison. Over time, this led Yan Wei to believe that the men in their family were incapable of making money and were all useless.
Otherwise, why would he have looked down on Yan Zhao so much before?
"What if I want to give it a try anyway? We're family after all. Do you know anyone in the military who could put in a good word for me?" Chen Meilan tentatively asked.
Yan Wei sighed before saying, "Dad strictly forbids me from using military connections. I'm in a non-combat role and about to retire soon, so I really can't help you. Besides, Feng Yu has probably already secured Factory 271. Although the paperwork is still being processed, he's been in Xi Ping City for the past few months, likely at Factory 271 the whole time. Why don't you go and see for yourself?"
With this statement from Yan Wei, Chen Meilan understood.
The military personnel stationed at Factory 271 had long since been withdrawn, and the factory was currently closed.
While Feng Yu was processing the paperwork in the capital, he had actually already entered the factory and was probably already selling off state assets.
"Thank you, second brother. Take care of yourself," Chen Meilan said as she hung up the phone.
Putting other things aside, Chen Meilan had a husband who worked in public security, which was quite convenient in this regard.
Tonight, she planned to call Yan Zhao and go survey Factory 271 in person.
Hopefully Feng Yu wasn't in such a hurry that he had already started selling off state assets. Otherwise, he would completely disgrace Wang Gebi.
It was the weekend. Yuanyuan had been taken away by Yan Xishan, and Yan Zhao had gone out to work overtime, leaving only Chen Meilan, Little Wang, and Little Lang at home.
Usually on weekends, Little Wang and Little Lang liked to eat out.
A Sichuan stir-fry restaurant had recently opened at the village entrance. The food was decent, especially spicy. So Chen Meilan took the two kids out and invited Qi Songlu to join them for some stir-fry.
Xiong Dapao had quoted 30,000 yuan for that Volkswagen Passat. Recently, Chen Meilan had also received a payment of 140,000 yuan from Dongfang Group. After deducting project expenses, she could afford to buy the car.
Chen Meilan also wanted to repay the 60,000 yuan in Yuanyuan's account as soon as possible.
It just so happened that Song Huaihua had recently been promoted to loan officer at the Postal Savings Bank.
During the meal, Chen Meilan discussed with Qi Songlu about preparing the documents for the wholesale market building, mortgaging it to the bank, and borrowing 60,000 yuan to repay Yuanyuan's money.
As for the loan, they could save up all the rent from the wholesale market and pay it off in a year.
There was a dish of Kung Pao Chicken on the table, with more bamboo shoots than chicken. The chicken was crispy and particularly flavorful. Qi Songlu, Little Wang, and Little Lang were all bowing their heads, pecking at the chicken pieces like roosters.
Looking up, Qi Songlu smiled and said, "Chen Meilan, you really are a boss. You're so good at planning. In just a few moves, you've acquired a whole building."
Chen Meilan reached out to pat Little Wang and Little Lang's heads, saying, "That building belongs to Little Wang and Little Lang, not me."
Even close brothers need to be clear in their accounting, let alone her being their stepmother.
Moreover, the building didn't just belong to Little Wang. When Su Wen died, Little Lang wasn't born yet. If he had been, Su Wen would surely have left him a share too.
Yan Zhao was a man of few words and didn't say much about this. But Chen Meilan needed to let her two stepsons know that she hadn't taken a penny from them.
"Why do we need to take out a loan? Don't we have 300,000 yuan? Isn't that my money? Mom, why do you want to borrow? Don't borrow, don't owe people money, okay?" Little Wang suddenly looked up and stopped grabbing chicken pieces.
Chen Meilan paused too.
Those 300,000 yuan were a matter of dignity for Yan Zhao and his sons. How to spend it couldn't be decided by her alone.
Besides, contracting a military factory would cost at most 200,000 yuan, and Cui Min was going to contribute 100,000 yuan. So they could only spend 100,000 yuan, and she wondered how to spend the rest. Maybe she should ask Little Wang. Little Wang was Su Wen's most beloved grandson. If he spent the money, Su Wen would be happier in heaven.
They didn't bring up this topic again during dinner. After returning home and bathing, Little Wang and Little Lang slept together tonight. Chen Meilan lay in bed and finished telling stories to the two boys before asking Little Wang, "Little Wang, if you had 200,000 yuan, how would you spend it?"
Since Yuanyuan wasn't here, Little Wang could finally sleep with Little Lang tonight.
The two were having a pillow fight when Little Wang heard Chen Meilan's question. He immediately put down his pillow and sat up: "Mom, are you talking about that 300,000 yuan?"
If they really invested in Factory 271, they would need at least 100,000 yuan, so Chen Meilan said to Little Wang: "There's about 200,000 yuan left now, because Mom has already planned how to spend 100,000 yuan to help you. Tell me, how would you spend the remaining 200,000 yuan?"
For a little miser like him, how could he not be tempted when hearing about that 300,000 yuan?
Wouldn't he imagine how he would spend it if the money was really his?
Since the lottery was introduced in 1987, the reason the prize pool has grown to hundreds of millions is because everyone, adults and children alike, has a daydream of getting rich overnight.
Little Wang looked like he had been waiting for this question. He snapped his fingers and looked at Chen Meilan mysteriously: "Then let me tell you how I would spend it if you gave me the money, okay?"
"Go ahead."
Little Wang smiled so hard his eyes crinkled. He jumped up and pulled out a copy of "Popular Cinema" from the cabinet, saying: "Do you remember when we visited Xi'an Film Studio? I asked the staff member who played with us, and he said it costs 200,000 yuan to make a movie. If I could spend it, I'd use 200,000 yuan to make a movie just for our Yuanyuan, so she can star in it from beginning to end, not just for three minutes."
Chen Meilan had thought Little Wang would have some extraordinary ideas.
He really was just a child.
The last time they only saw Yuanyuan in a three-minute movie, which wasn't enough. He had been thinking about it ever since, which is why he said this.
She patted the bed and said, "Lie down and tell me slowly."
"Think about it, our Yuanyuan was in 'The Yellow River Ballad'. 'The Yellow River Ballad' is so popular now, lots of kids in our school have seen it. If she could star in a whole movie, wouldn't that be even more popular? I wouldn't sell cassette tapes anymore, I'd sell movie videotapes instead. Videotapes make more money, they cost ten yuan each."
Little Wang got more and more excited as he spoke, gesticulating wildly. He lost his grip on the "Popular Cinema" magazine and it flew onto Chen Meilan's head with a smack.
"Mom, I'm sorry." The little one was startled. "Did it hurt you?"
"It did hurt. Now go to sleep right away." Chen Meilan pretended to be angry.
After all, he was just a child. Little Wang's fanciful way of spending money had no practical reference.
If she were to spend money making a movie for Yuanyuan, let alone the fact that she didn't know how to make movies, even if they made one, wouldn't people laugh themselves to death?
Little Wang immediately crawled under the covers and obediently closed his eyes. After a while, he muttered, "Mom, don't be angry. Don't leave, stay and sleep with us, okay?"
"I'm not leaving. Go to sleep now," Chen Meilan said. She was about to put away the magazine and turn off the lights to sleep.
But her eyes paused, and she saw an article that made her sit up.
"Popular Cinema" mainly published articles about film production, mostly discussing the filming situations of movies from studios like August First, Beijing, and Shanghai Film Studios.
In this issue of "Popular Cinema", there was an article saying that a director named Zhou Yu had originally planned to shoot a film called "Return to the City", but due to lack of funds, the film had been put on hold.
Director Zhou Yu particularly regretted shelving that script. Currently, he was seeking funding from all sectors of society to help him shoot "Return to the City". He said that after the film was released and recouped its costs, he would return all the collected money in full.
Finally, Director Zhou Yu left his home address in Beijing. He said if anyone was willing to invest, they could write to him or go to his home directly to discuss.
It was only the 1990s, and investment in the arts hadn't taken off yet. When directors wanted to make films but lacked money, they would use this method to raise funds.
Chen Meilan quickly scanned the brief introduction and felt increasingly confident.
The film "Return to the City" told a story similar to "Debt of Sin", which was very popular in the 1990s. It was about the difficult lives of educated youths returning to the cities, and the tragic experiences of their children left behind in the countryside - some running to the cities to find their parents, some being trafficked, and others struggling to survive on their own. In short, it reflected the reality of educated youths in the 1980s.
In her previous life, the TV series "Debt of Sin" had been a huge hit. She wasn't sure how much this film would cost to invest in, but investing in a film about educated youths seemed more meaningful than investing in a military factory.
More importantly, it was Little Wang's idea, and it could reflect the situation of some children in society, which was more meaningful than investing in a military factory.
At present, investing in a film would cost at most a few tens of thousands of yuan, and the money could be recovered after the film was released.
For now, they could spend whatever they could.
In this era, it was actually quite difficult to spend a huge sum of 300,000 yuan.
Thinking of this, Chen Meilan took a pair of scissors and cut out the director's address from the newspaper.
She planned to go to the capital in a few days to personally meet with Director Zhou Yu to discuss this matter.
Yan Zhao's footsteps were heavy as he returned home. The two children were already asleep.
Chen Meilan was anxious to tell Yan Zhao about Feng Yu's embezzlement of military factory materials. Moreover, tonight she still needed to take Yan Zhao to Factory 271 to see firsthand if Feng Yu had already started selling off assets.
Seeing that Chen Meilan was sleeping in the children's bedroom, Yan Zhao brought some water and came over to wash up.
It was cold, and Chen Meilan didn't want to get off the heated kang bed or go outside, so she told him about this matter while still on the bed.
Setting aside Wang Gebi for now, let's first talk about Mi Lan's brother-in-law Feng Yu embezzling from military factories and state-owned assets. Our country has eight military regions, each with not just one but over a dozen large-scale military supply factories under their direct control.
Factory 271 was just the beginning. In the future, Feng Yu would take over all those dozen or so supply factories, completely usurping and selling them off.
With this, he could leap to become a famous tycoon nationwide.
Yan Zhao was washing his face when he looked up, paused and asked, "Where's Yuanyuan?"
"Her father has some business with her tomorrow, so he took her home," said Chen Meilan.
A brief look of displeasure flashed across Yan Zhao's face as he said meaningfully, "Haven't you been getting a bit too close with Yan Xishan lately?"
When a man gets jealous, you have to coax him properly.
Chen Meilan quickly said, "Let's wait until he's elected as a People's Representative. For now, we should support him."
Yan Zhao's unhappiness was written all over his face.
After all, ex-husband and ex-wife with a child between them is an unbreakable connection.
Recently Zhou Xueqin had been making money in Guangzhou, supposedly earning quite a bit.
A couple days ago she even called Yan Zhao, asking him to send Little Wang and Little Lang to stay in Guangzhou for a while during the winter break.
In her words, she didn't treat the children well before when she had no money, but now that she has money, she wants to make it up to Little Lang and Little Wang. She also said she wanted to take Little Wang and Little Lang to eat at McDonald's.
That's the most popular food there in Guangzhou now, and kids love eating it.
Zhou Xueqin is a mother after all. In her words, seeing Lu Dabao and Lv Erniu wolfing down their food made her think of her own two sons, who had never eaten such good things before.
Of course, regarding this matter, Yan Zhao would definitely refuse firmly.
From the day of the divorce, he didn't want to have even the slightest entanglement with Zhou Xueqin again.
He had a strong smell of 84 Disinfectant on him and was washing his hands with soap. When he heard Chen Meilan mention Feng Yu, he paused and said, "This Feng Yu you're talking about, coincidentally, I just heard someone mention him today."
Chen Meilan jumped off the kang bed despite the cold: "And then?"
"Minister Cui from the General Military Region in the capital called me a few days ago, saying that a demobilized soldier named Feng Yu was coming to our Xi'an City to do some business. Since we're all military connections, he asked me to look after him a bit. He came to my office to find me once today, and said he'd like to invite me for a meal sometime."
This is what connections are about.
Minister Cui values Wang Gebi, so he highly regards Feng Yu.
And for Feng Yu to come do business in Xi'an City, embezzling state-owned assets, he'd need to use big trucks to transport them, right?
Once he starts transporting, the police would certainly investigate.
As an old leader, Minister Cui gives Yan Zhao a heads up. Then Feng Yu invites Yan Zhao for a meal, establishing a connection. In the future, when Feng Yu wants to embezzle assets, he just needs to say he knows Yan Zhao, and the police below would naturally let him pass.
However, Chen Meilan hadn't anticipated that Feng Yu had been constantly trying to arrange a meal with Yan Zhao.
"Then go eat with him, and take us along?" Chen Meilan became even more interested.
She was an old fox who had lived a lifetime. She could tell just by looking at Feng Yu's complexion whether he had contracted an STD.
But Yan Zhao shook his head and said, "We probably shouldn't eat with Feng Yu. He came to find me today when I wasn't in, and Ma Bo received him. Ma Bo said he had a very strange smell on him. Ma Bo couldn't figure out exactly what the smell was, but advised me not to meet that person. After all, a superior has put in a word, so it's not good to help or not help. It's best not to meet, to avoid unnecessary trouble."
Chen Meilan almost blurted out: That's the smell of marijuana!
People who smoke marijuana carry a strong marijuana odor on them.
In her previous life, this situation must have happened too. At that time, Yan Zhao considered Minister Cui's face, feeling it wasn't good not to help, but he didn't want to help either. Following Ma Bo's advice, he simply didn't meet Feng Yu.
As for Feng Yu, he turned to lobby other police officers instead.
So Yan Zhao missed out on catching that big rat.
But in this life, since she knew Feng Yu smelled of marijuana, Chen Meilan could be certain he was already smoking it. This point alone was enough.
As long as she could meet Feng Yu, she could expose him.
Because marijuana addicts have cravings, just like cigarettes, they would carry marijuana on them at all times.
But this point alone wasn't enough. She still needed to take Yan Zhao to Factory 271 to have a look. It would be best if they could get evidence that state-owned assets were already being embezzled. When they got to the capital, they could convince Minister Cui, Yan Peiheng, as well as Commander Xu and Wang Gebi's group of good brothers.
Just as Chen Meilan was about to speak, Yan Zhao suddenly said, "...Lan, I need to discuss something with you."
"Go ahead," Chen Meilan said excitedly as she rummaged for her car keys.
"Zhou Xueqin mentioned wanting to take Little Wang and Little Lang for a while. I refused. We already agreed in the divorce that the children would be with me. So, at most, she has visitation rights, but can't keep the children overnight." Yan Zhao's tone sounded somewhat annoyed?
As he spoke, he pulled out the keys from a drawer and slapped them down in front of Chen Meilan.
