For remarried couples, it's not easy to truly open up to each other.
But Chen Meilan was completely honest with Yan Zhao.
Zhou Xueqin may have changed her ways. People, when they have no money, will do anything for it, but once they have money, the first thing they think of is returning home in glory and compensating their loved ones.
Although Little Lang and Little Wang now treat her like their real mother, it's possible that if Zhou Xueqin is a bit nicer to them, their hearts will lean towards their biological mother.
After all, blood ties can't be severed. They were carried by Zhou Xueqin for ten months and born to her. Because of them, Zhou Xueqin nearly died twice.
However, the children's love wasn't what Chen Meilan cared about most. She cared about her own life.
The business had to continue, money had to be made, and in her personal life, she had to make sure Yan Zhao was honest with her. In the future, he couldn't hide things from her.
This was the only way to prevent Zhou Xueqin, who had also been reborn, from instigating her to act impulsively and make mistakes when she least expected it.
And to make a man honest, there was only one best method.
That was to make him feel ashamed and guilty.
Thinking of this, Chen Meilan asked, "What stage of chemotherapy is Director Sun at? Has he started taking Taxol?"
"Taxol? What's that?" Yan Zhao was taken aback.
"It's a special anti-cancer drug," Chen Meilan explained. "It should be imported. I read about it in the newspaper. They say it's very effective when used in cancer chemotherapy."
Sun Nutao was Yan Zhao's former superior. They had been to the front lines of Laoshan together and faced life and death situations.
He had cancer, so of course Yan Zhao was anxious. That's why he was willing to pay out of his own pocket for Sun Nutao to undergo chemotherapy in secret. The two thousand yuan now was equivalent to tens of thousands in the future, and chemotherapy technology had just been introduced in China, so the price was likely to be even higher.
Of course, that future expense would certainly be reimbursed.
But for Yan Zhao, Sun Nutao was closer than his own father. One more day of Sun Nutao's life was more important than throwing those two thousand yuan into a sewer.
Sure enough, anxiety crept into Yan Zhao's voice: "Taxol isn't among the drugs Director Sun is currently taking. How can this be?"
"It's probably because our city hospital doesn't have this drug yet. The sooner he takes it, the better. According to the newspaper, Taxol combined with chemotherapy is particularly beneficial for cancer patients..." After a pause, Chen Meilan added reproachfully, "Look at you, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
She shot him a glance that was both coy and angry.
Yan Zhao's poker face was dumbfounded.
Chen Meilan thought to herself, "Feel bad now, don't you? Regret it?" But she continued, "In the future, you should tell me about things earlier. Maybe I can help you think of solutions. Three cobblers with their wits combined equal Zhuge Liang. In your eyes, I might be a fool who doesn't understand anything, but I can read and write too. I can always try to help you think of ways to solve problems."
Yan Zhao's poker face furrowed and smoothed, smoothed and furrowed. After a long while, he finally uttered a word: "Okay."
His hand reached out, wanting to hold hers, but Chen Meilan dodged it, tucking her hand under her bottom.
Yan Zhao wanted to say more, but Chen Meilan closed her eyes, turned her head towards the window, and pretended to sleep.
Originally, they had many things to discuss. One was Little Lang's health, which she had planned to talk about with Yan Zhao on the plane. But since Sun Nutao's illness was so severe, she decided not to mention it for now, to avoid giving him more to worry about.
Then there was the movie "Return to the City", which told the story of educated youth and focused on the left-behind children they had abandoned.
Chen Meilan sincerely felt that once it was made, people would definitely want to watch it.
But she decided not to mention it now. She'd wait until it was made to bring it up.
Continuous guilt would teach him how to properly face marriage and learn to be honest within it.
Yuanyuan pouted, still wanting to sit with her mother. Seeing that the adults had finished talking and her mother had closed her eyes, she tugged at Yan Zhao: "Dad, I want to switch over."
"No," Dad said.
"But I want to sit with Mom," Yuanyuan insisted.
The stubbly-faced man, who was fierce to others but always gentle with Yuanyuan, and whom Yuanyuan preferred even to her biological father Yan Xishan, suddenly bent down, tilted his head, and said seriously: "So do I."
Yuanyuan looked up at her dad for a long time, truly not expecting him to be so childish. She pouted, turned her head to look the other way.
This dad was so petty.
Their family, because Chen Meilan had requested seats together to better look after the children, had been arranged by the ground staff to sit in the last row when they got their tickets.
It was the children's first time on a plane. As soon as they boarded, Little Wang and Little Lang pressed their faces against the windows, greedily looking at the thick white clouds outside.
The weather wasn't good today, overcast all the way. From up here, all they could see were white clouds whiter than snow, thick like woven blankets, stretching endlessly.
But for children who had never seen the world, this was already incredibly novel.
The two children looked greedily, not daring to even blink, feeling like they'd miss out if they closed their eyes for even a moment.
Yuanyuan was particularly unhappy today because she hadn't done well on her test and had been teased by her brother. Her eyes were swollen like peaches, and her little face, chapped by last night's tears, was red and wrinkled. She no longer looked like the sweet little girl she used to be, but more like a sun-wilted tomato.
Now, as the flight attendant was about to serve the in-flight meal, Little Wang was in big trouble. He had been holding on, but he felt terribly nauseous, dizzy, and could barely keep his eyes open. His stomach was churning.
Although the flight attendant offered him a glass of juice, asking if he wanted to drink, he was so airsick that when he opened his mouth, he looked like he was about to vomit.
"Little one, there's a sick bag in front of you. If you need to throw up, please use the bag, okay?" the flight attendant said.
So Little Wang reached out to look for the sick bag, but he was dizzy and the plane happened to hit some turbulence. He couldn't find the bag and ended up bumping his head hard.
Not everyone on the plane had high standards of behavior. Next to Little Wang and Little Lang sat a person wearing toad-eye sunglasses and wide-leg jeans, with permed hair. Seeing Little Wang stumble towards them, they immediately moved away in disgust: "Country kids never been on a plane, huh? Getting this airsick. You be careful now, these jeans cost 280 yuan. If you puke on them, I'll make your parents pay for it."
Little Wang was trying not to vomit, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he let out a "Wah" sound.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, what a nuisance. Finally get to take a flight and they seat me next to these two kids," the person said angrily, standing up and shouting, "Flight attendant! Flight attendant! Please change my seat."
Yan Zhao was watching Little Wang too. It was embarrassing for a child to vomit. He stood up, about to offer to switch seats with the person, but Yuanyuan had already unbuckled her seatbelt and run over to switch places.
"Uncle, you can sit in my seat," she said.
Then, patting Little Wang's neck, Yuanyuan found the sick bag and asked, "Brother, are you still feeling unwell?"
Little Wang had bullied Yuanyuan just yesterday. He let out a "Wah" sound but didn't actually vomit. Instead, he asked Yuanyuan, "Aren't you angry with me?"
He shouldn't have said that. It just reminded Yuanyuan of how she had done poorly on her test yesterday and been laughed at by Little Wang on the street. She shoved the sick bag at Little Wang and stretched her neck to look out the window with Little Lang.
Children's emotions always come and go quickly.
Little Wang retched for a while, but probably because he was too excited and hadn't eaten anything in the morning, he didn't actually throw up much. Hearing Little Lang's repeated exclamations, not knowing what interesting things he had seen outside, Little Wang gradually perked up. Seeing people walking up and down the aisle, he unbuckled his seatbelt and the three heads squeezed together to look out the window.
It wasn't until the flight attendant announced that there was turbulence and everyone should return to their seats that he sat back down in his own place.
Yan Zhao had called the capital before departing.
Yan Wei knew what time his third brother was arriving and had originally planned to pick up Yan Zhao himself, but he really couldn't get away, so he asked a buddy to pick up Yan Zhao's family.
This buddy was none other than Cui Min's brother, Minister Cui's eldest son Cui Zixiang.
Chen Meilan didn't know him yet, but he recognized her: "You must be Chen Meilan. Recently, I've heard Old Yan praising you non-stop in our top-level family compound." Old man Yan's praises of his daughter-in-law had reached everyone's ears to the point of fatigue.
In the entire top-level family compound, although no one had seen her, everyone knew of Chen Meilan.
For this reason, Minister Cui even joked: "In ancient times, there were two beauties; now there are two Lans. Our Chief of Staff Yan's family is truly the talk of the entire compound."
Of course, that was before.
Recently, because Mi Lan and Yan Wei are getting divorced, in the Level One Family Compound, Yan Wei is currently treated like dirt. And Yan Peiheng hasn't even returned yet. When the old man comes back and hears that Yan Wei actually wants to divorce Mi Lan, he'll probably enforce family law and beat him to death.
Cui Zixiang was also driving an old Volkswagen Santana with regular license plates.
Along the way, not only did the three children refuse to listen to Chen Meilan's admonitions to fasten their seatbelts, insisting on eagerly looking out the windows, but Chen Meilan herself couldn't help but curiously stare wide-eyed at the splendor of the capital in the 1990s.
Cui Zixiang asked Yan Zhao with a smile: "The last time you came to the capital was seven years ago, right? How do you find it? The changes from the reform and opening up these years are big, aren't they?"
Yan Zhao corrected Cui Zixiang: "My last trip to the capital was in 1981, strictly speaking, it was 9 years ago." It's now 1990, and the song that would be popular for the next 20 years, "Love Song 1990," was playing on speakers all over the street.
The capital is an especially large city, and with the rapid pace of construction, in this decade when other cities were just beginning to develop, shopping malls were everywhere, restaurants abounded, and dance halls, video halls, skating rinks, and discos were ubiquitous. It had already become a prosperous international metropolis.
The bustle was accompanied by some chaos, with signs and speakers everywhere on the streets, and stalls at every corner.
There were people practicing qigong on the street, others teaching gambling tricks, some selling thirteen spices, rat poison, and cockroach bait - it was extremely lively.
There were even people walking down the street who would flash open their coats like birds at passersby.
Little Wang, having sold cassette tapes since he was young, found these people who kept flashing their coats very strange, reminiscent of himself.
Just then, the traffic light turned red and the car stopped.
The window was open, and suddenly a man flashed open his coat and asked Cui Zixiang: "Brother, want some porn?"
"Get the hell out of here before I shoot you," Cui Zixiang said.
The man bent down and saw Yan Zhao in the passenger seat wearing a police uniform, and surprisingly said: "Bad luck, there's a cop in the car. Brother, come find me another time when the cop's not around. I've got porn, Hong Kong, Taiwan, American, everything."
Little Wang was stunned, tugging at Chen Meilan's hand and saying: "Mama, did you see? That man was covered in videotapes."
This kid, having sold cassette tapes since he was little, was itching to sell upon seeing the videotapes.
"No," Chen Meilan said sternly.
Little Wang's neck stiffened: "Why not?"
Unlike in Xi Ping city where pornographic videos were only secretly shown in video halls, in big places like the capital, porn was sold openly on the streets.
Chen Meilan suddenly remembered something. She recalled that in her past life, Lu Jingyu had once casually cursed: "What's so great about Yan Zhao? Do you know? They say his son sold porn since he was young, made his fortune from selling porn, and even went to juvenile detention for it."
The porn seller had already walked away. Chen Meilan suddenly turned back, looking at the nine-year-old Little Wang, her heart skipping a beat: Surely this kid wouldn't sell porn in this life?
Hopefully not, otherwise she'd beat him to death!
...
The streets of the capital nowadays were in an era where pedestrians didn't yield to cars, and cars didn't yield to pedestrians. People jaywalked recklessly, and cars ignored traffic lights. There weren't many cars on the road to begin with, but it was still congested.
After stop-and-go traffic, the car finally turned onto a street where suddenly everything became quiet. This street was lined with low walls on both sides, with a clean road in the middle, and not a single vendor or stall in sight.
In this era, the gate was surprisingly a sliding type. The security room staff just pushed a lever, and the gate automatically slid open.
This was the Army General District's family compound. There was a line of text on the wall: Level One Family Compound.
Quiet amidst the bustle, it looked plain and low-key. People passing by might not even know what this compound was for.
But it was said that even an ordinary vegetable-buying old man living in this compound, if he put on a military uniform and chose to go out, would be a person of considerable influence in China's official circles.
Chen Meilan had always heard Yan Peiheng call Wang Gebi "Neighbor Wang," not knowing why until she entered the compound and followed Cui Zixiang upstairs.
Besides the low-rise buildings in the compound, there was also a high-rise building, 20 stories tall, with elevators.
Cui Zixiang directly pressed the button for the 19th floor. When the elevator opened, he smiled at Chen Meilan and said: "Four households per floor. Our home is right across from yours, next door is Wang Gebi's family, and on the other side is our Vice Minister Xu's home."
Seeing Chen Meilan's confusion, he added: "The real old revolutionaries, old comrades-in-arms - my dad, the late Deputy Chief of Staff Mi, Uncle Xu, Chief of Staff Yan - they all participated in the revolution together, then worked together. Except for the few commanders on the 20th floor, they have the closest relationship in this compound. My dad, Vice Minister Xu, and Uncle Yan were all promoted by Uncle Mi!"
So this was like an elderly F4 alliance?
Chen Meilan thought with schadenfreude.
Cui Zixiang handed the key to Yan Zhao: "You go in first to freshen up and rest. Yan Wei will come home after work, and Chief of Staff Yan should arrive in the capital tomorrow."
Chen Meilan didn't rush to enter. She first asked Cui Zixiang: "Brother Cui, could you look at this address? Is it far from our place? If it's far, could you drop me off there first?"
She was asking about the address of the director of "Return to the City."
Military personnel had a very special status in this era.
Although they lived in the city, they were out of touch with the rapidly changing, fashionable urban life.
They were rigid, strict, and at the same time somewhat woodenly proper.
Cui Zixiang took the address and looked at it, then said with a smile: "It's not too far, about five bus stops away. Comrade Chen Meilan, your way of addressing me is good, but I should remind you that if you want the aunties in this compound to be happy, it's best not to call me 'brother.'"
An old lady across the hall had just opened her door and immediately asked: "Zixiang, are you talking bad about me and your Auntie Xi again?"
"Mom, how could I? I'm just teaching Chen Meilan so she doesn't offend all of you without knowing anything," Cui Zixiang said with a laugh.
Aunt Cui's face was rather embarrassed as she glared at her son: "Just come in already."
Chen Meilan didn't know this old lady, but she could guess who she was. She immediately extended her hand: "Hello, Auntie. I've often heard Cui Min mention you. Thank you, Comrade Cui Zixiang, for troubling him to pick us up today."
Chen Meilan changed her form of address smoothly. The old lady, who was about to go inside, turned back and patted Little Wang's head: "When Yan Jun first came to the capital, he was this big, wearing pants full of patches. Yan Wei was about as small as this little one, looking just the same."
"Hello, Grandma," Little Wang jumped in front of the old lady, smiling. Little Lang also said: "Hello, Grandma."
Just then, Cui Zixiang was about to help Chen Meilan with her bag, but she quickly grabbed it, saying: "Comrade Cui Zixiang, you can go home now. This is our own home, we'll manage. No need to trouble you further."
As soon as the door opened, the children filed in one after another, all eager to see the view from the 19th floor.
Yan Zhao had just gone in too, leaving only one big bag. Chen Meilan took it from Cui Zixiang's hand, picked it up, and went inside, closing their door with a bang.
Aunt Cui was also about to close her door when she turned back and saw her son still smiling at Chen Meilan's back. She surprisingly asked her son: "What, feeling useless because they wouldn't let you help? I think this female comrade is quite smart and proper. No wonder your sister always praises her, saying she's a good person."
Cui Zixiang picked up on his mother's comment smoothly: "Mom, before Chen Meilan came, you kept saying that she must be a female comrade just like Wang Gebi, otherwise Chief of Staff Yan wouldn't praise her every day. Now that you've met her, you think she's good too. You old aunties, can you stop targeting my Aunt Wang every time you open your mouths? She's younger than all of you, it's only right for her to call my dad and the others 'brother.'"
So, when Chen Meilan had called Cui Zixiang "brother" earlier, Aunt Cui had been angry.
But when she promptly changed to addressing him as "comrade," Aunt Cui was pleased again.
Chen Meilan might not know, but Cui Zixiang certainly did. This was because Wang Gebi was unique in the compound, calling everyone "brother" regardless of their age.
As decades-long neighbors, Cui Zixiang was reminding his mother not to always be against Wang Gebi.
Although Wang Gebi was older, when comparing people, she was 14 years younger than Aunt Cui and 20 years younger than Vice Minister Xu's wife, Auntie Xi. From the perspective of the younger generation like Cui Zixiang, there was nothing wrong with Wang Gebi calling a bunch of old men "brother."
But Aunt Cui, or rather, a group of female comrades in the compound, particularly disliked Wang Gebi.
Whenever a new female comrade came to the compound, they could barely hide their disgust for Wang Gebi on their faces.
Not only did the older generation of male comrades find this very annoying, even young people like Cui Zixiang felt it was unfair to Wang Gebi.
Aunt Cui was at a loss for words, almost dying of anger, and couldn't be bothered to talk to her son anymore: "I don't want to talk to you about this."
In Aunt Cui's view, the men in this compound were simply blind.
However, just as Aunt Cui turned around, she saw her son dialing a number, and it was actually a call to Wang Gebi.
"What are you doing?" Aunt Cui asked in surprise.
Cui Zixiang smiled and said, "Neighbor Auntie Wang has been losing sleep over Yan Wei and Mi Lan's marriage. She's recently back in our military compound and can barely walk. Isn't Mi Lan also hospitalized due to her heart condition? Since Yan San is here, I'll talk to Mi Lan and encourage her to try harder, after all, she really doesn't want a divorce."
"Well, hurry up then," Aunt Cui said.
But Aunt Cui was still upset.
Not because of Mi Lan, who was a pitiful woman.
She was angry about Wang Gebi.
Strangely enough, Wang Gebi had always been thin, extremely thin, with very pale skin, and her health was particularly poor. She would often feel dizzy and have headaches, and she'd be out of breath after just a few steps.
This gave the men in the compound the impression that she desperately needed care and attention.
Aunt Cui had grown fat in her old age, and on the other hand, Vice Minister Xu's wife, Auntie Xi, had also grown fat. In fact, all the old ladies in the compound had collectively gained weight in this materially abundant 1990s.
Not to mention other aspects, just Wang Gebi's thinness, paleness, and sickness made them feel that their own good health was almost a sin.
Look, even her own son wasn't concerned about her, but instead cared about Wang Gebi.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Chen Meilan had just entered the house with Yan Zhao.
She was examining the furnishings in the room. It was on the 19th floor, a spacious three-bedroom apartment with floor-to-ceiling windows. Supposedly, this was a new building constructed in 1986, with marble floors, hardwood red oak beds, red oak tables and chairs, white walls, and old-style sofas.
The bathroom not only had a flush toilet but also a shower and a bathtub.
Even in the capital, in this era, this was considered a luxury residence.
Low-key luxury with substance - it had to be said that these old leaders lived in quite nice places.
Especially the heating - it was so warm that the children took off their coats as soon as they entered.
"Mom, look quickly, the people down there look as small as ants," Yuanyuan exclaimed suddenly after peering out the window for a while.
Little Wang and Little Lang were also saying, "Come and see, Mom, the houses in the distance look even smaller than matchboxes."
The panoramic view from the 19th floor immediately stunned the children.
It was like country bumpkins visiting the city for the first time.
Chen Meilan was still puzzled about one thing. Firstly, Yan Wei had personally said that Wang Gebi hadn't been living in the family compound recently, and this was the 18th floor. With neighbors all knowing each other, how could Wang Gebi secretly sneak into Yan Peiheng's house in the middle of the night to answer their phone?
And how coincidental was it that she happened to answer the call from her and Yan Zhao?
The odds of that happening were even lower than winning the lottery, after all, who knew when they would call?
Little Lang was already hungry, clinging to Chen Meilan's back, looking expectantly for something to eat.
Chen Meilan hadn't bought groceries when she came. Looking in the kitchen refrigerator, she saw only a few packs of instant noodles, a string of garlic sausages, and a few boxes of Diuxiangcun pastries. She realized that during the time Yan Wei was dealing with the divorce from Mi Lan, and with his father away, he had been living like a bachelor.
She observed through the window and saw that this compound was fully enclosed. Apart from this high-rise building, there were vegetable vendors, a video hall, a swimming pool, as well as a department store and a health clinic near the multi-story residential buildings in the distance. Clearly, this was a self-sufficient little compound once the gates were closed.
There were many restaurants in the capital now, and Chen Meilan had a plan. Tonight, she wanted to take the children out for a luxurious treat that they currently loved the most - KFC. This was something she had owed Yuanyuan since her previous life.
She wanted to let her daughter enjoy a real KFC meal right there in the restaurant.
At this moment, Yan Zhao was organizing the photos he had taken from Factory 271, seemingly intending to go directly to Minister Cui. So Chen Meilan shared her doubts with Yan Zhao.
Yan Wei had flatly denied it, saying Wang Gebi hadn't set foot in their home for half a year.
Cui Zixiang also said Wang Gebi had been living elsewhere recently.
How coincidental was it that on the day she and Yan Zhao called, Wang Gebi just happened to answer the phone at their house?
"The phone?" Yan Zhao put away the photos and said in a businesslike manner, "If both Yan Wei and Cui Zixiang say so, then it's a criminal case. We can investigate it using criminal investigation methods. It's not a big deal."
He said it lightly, but Chen Meilan was truly curious.
"Dad, I've looked at the bedrooms. You and Little Wang can sleep in that one, and I'll sleep in the biggest room with Mom and Little Lang," Yuanyuan came over and said.
Away from home, adults had adult matters, and children had their own little plans. Yuanyuan wanted to sleep with her mom in an unfamiliar place. This was her little calculation, small but the most important thing to her.
At this moment, Chen Meilan was checking the refrigerator, so Yan Zhao bent down and said seriously to Yuanyuan, "No."
"Why not? We're away from home, so Mom should sleep with me. Couples shouldn't sleep together in someone else's house," Yuanyuan said.
This was her experience from before. In Shaanxi, husbands and wives couldn't stay together when visiting others, everyone knew that, adults and children alike.
Yan Zhao continued to argue seriously with his daughter, "This is my home, and it's your home too. It's not someone else's place."
"But I want to sleep with Mom, and so does Little Lang. We're scared in an unfamiliar place," Yuanyuan said.
Yan Zhao remained serious, "I want to sleep with Mom too. I'm also scared."
Yuanyuan pouted. She now felt that this dad wasn't very lovable. What should she do?
Just then, a vigorous voice came from the corridor.
Then, someone inserted a key into the door, but didn't open it. Instead, they kept talking outside.
The door had two layers, one solid wood door and one security door.
Chen Meilan opened the solid wood door. The security door had an iron mesh, and Yan Wei was just outside, turning back and smiling as he listened to an old leader in military uniform saying something.
The old leader said, "Yan Wei, if you really divorce Mi Lan, it will involve a soldier's honor and credibility. Mi Lan responded to the one-child policy, had her tubes tied, and lost her only child. In terms of the grand policy, she's someone who won a banner for our first-class family compound. Recently, many people have been raising this issue. They say if you dare to divorce, they won't let me help you with your job transfer. They'll directly demand your discharge and demobilization. It's difficult for your uncle too. Marriage is not child's play, you must consider it carefully."
Yan Wei was nodding and smiling, but not saying anything.
"Reflect on your own problems. Your Auntie Wang has taken care of you since you were little, Feng Yu even gave you his own son, and now Mi Lan has given up going abroad. In terms of marriage, you must give Mi Lan an explanation!" the old leader said again.
Yan Wei was still smiling, but surprisingly said, "Uncle Cui, I know I'm worse than a pig or a dog, but this marriage must end in divorce."
The person talking to Yan Wei was indeed Minister Cui, who was now using the job transfer issue to pressure Yan Wei, but Yan Wei wasn't taking the bait. Isn't that infuriating?
With a bang, Minister Cui closed the door and went into his home.
The children had also curiously gathered around, and Little Wang opened the door with a push.
Yan Wei rubbed his face, entered and reached under Little Lang's armpits to pick him up. "Oh, what's wrong with this little guy? Why is his forehead bruised?"
Little Lang was also looking at his second uncle, one arm around Yan Wei's neck, while his hand reached out to touch his hair, asking in surprise, "Second Uncle, why do you have less hair now?"
"Uncle, you've gotten even thinner. Haven't you been eating for a long time?" Yuanyuan asked in shock.
After not seeing him for half a year, Yan Wei had lost a lot of weight and his face was full of wrinkles.
Once, he had a thick, lush head of hair, styled in a big pompadour like Tang Guoqiang, and was a quintessential handsome man with a baby face like a matinee idol.
But now his hair volume had decreased by at least half.
