It seemed to have been going on for a long time, but in reality, only a morning had passed.
Yan Peiheng didn't manage logistics and didn't understand market economics. He couldn't estimate how much money Wang Gebi could actually make, but it was evident that she could even afford to go abroad, proving she had substantial funds. It also proved that she wasn't as tight-fisted as she usually appeared to be. How ridiculous - everyone in the compound had always thought Wang Gebi was perpetually struggling financially.
Looking at Yan Wei again, he had a dejected, drooping appearance.
Earlier, when Yan Peiheng heard that his son wanted a divorce, he flew into a rage, thinking of having his son demobilized and kicked out to fend for himself. But with such a weak and fragile son, if he really sent him out on his own, his life would be ruined.
Yet he had never doubted Wang Gebi and Mi Lan.
Like everyone else in the compound, he believed Mi Lan was the weaker party.
Thinking of this, Yan Peiheng made up his mind. All that was left was to consult with Commander Tao and hold a meeting to discuss the matter.
"Dad, my heart isn't feeling well. Can you please let me leave quickly?" Mi Lan said again from outside the door.
Indeed, she and Wang Gebi had already arranged everything for going abroad. They just hadn't left yet because they wanted to see Yan Wei - that weak, indecisive man who couldn't make money and was good for nothing - completely disgraced first.
Now, as soon as Yan Peiheng let them go, she and Wang Gebi could immediately board a plane and fly to America.
Yan Peiheng looked up and said, "Wait a bit longer. We'll have a meeting."
This old man had always been bad-tempered and fierce, cursing at people as soon as he opened his mouth. Today he hadn't cursed anyone and was very mild, so Mi Lan didn't feel anything was amiss. She looked back at Wang Gebi, who probably had the same thoughts, and said, "Mom, then let's go home first."
"That's right. We're innocent and have a clear conscience. What do we have to be afraid of?" Wang Gebi took a deep breath and said.
The mother and daughter looked once more at the dejected Yan Wei. Mi Lan smirked coldly: What a loser, unable to make money or get rich. He would never know that her wanting to take him abroad was actually to help him. Since he refused to leave the country, let him rot in this undeveloped nation with no future.
...
As for Chen Meilan, she needed to meet with director Zhou Yu today to discuss the investment in "Return to the City". With so many children, she couldn't bring them all.
So she grabbed Little Wang and Little Lang, saying, "You two stay here with grandpa today. Mom and Yuanyuan are going out for a while. This isn't our home, so no shouting or making a racket. This is an apartment building, not a single-story house. There are people living downstairs, so you especially can't jump around while playing. If you disturb the people downstairs, the soldier uncles will come up to scold you, okay?"
Little Lang actually wanted to go with mom more, but Little Wang stopped him.
Yan Peiheng was grandpa. Although he looked fierce and unapproachable, Little Wang felt he must get closer to grandpa.
He felt he had treated grandpa too badly before.
Not wanting to trouble Yan Wei to find a car again, Chen Meilan took Yuanyuan and called out to Yan Zhao, "Third brother, I'm heading out. I have something to tell you."
Yan Zhao called back "okay" from the bedroom and came out.
He was carrying a camel-colored overcoat, clearly bought for him by Chen Meilan. Yan Zhao still asked, "Is this mine?"
"No, I bought it for Little Wang," Chen Meilan replied intentionally.
Yan Zhao turned around, threw it on, and put it on himself. Camel color suits all skin tones, much better than the green he usually wore.
"Don't do that, this is Little Wang's coat. Why are you wearing a child's clothes?" Chen Meilan couldn't help but tease.
The elevator was transparent, like a mirror. Yan Zhao was wearing his autumn/winter uniform, but the capital was too cold. Without an overcoat, it was really a bit chilly. The woolen overcoat on him looked both proper and flattering, like Ken Takakura in the movies.
He was now gradually learning to joke: "I'll wear it first. When Little Wang grows as tall as me, I'll give it to him." Getting serious again, he said: "Just this one piece. Don't buy any more in the future. These things are very expensive."
He was frugal, didn't smoke or drink or treat others, and was even more economical with clothes. Having a work uniform meant he didn't need to buy more.
"From yesterday until today, why haven't you mentioned anything about Feng Yu embezzling military district assets?" Chen Meilan had called Yan Zhao out separately for this reason.
In her view, a worm like Feng Yu should be reported early, letting the military district deal with him.
Yan Zhao instead asked Chen Meilan: "Do you really want to take over Factory 271?"
Of course Chen Meilan wanted to. The Xingda Construction Team had Chen Degong watching over it, so she didn't need to worry too much about it. If she could manage a factory and do some real industry, even if it was Little Wang's factory where she could be the general manager, it would be better than the construction team's day-to-day uncertainty and payment difficulties. Running a real industry would at least provide a stable salary.
"Let's wait a bit longer. If we bring up the Factory 271 issue now, you won't be able to contract the factory," Yan Zhao paused and said: "I'll see if there's any other way to help you get Factory 271."
Chen Meilan thought to herself that this man had become smarter, even knowing how to use backdoor connections to help her get the factory.
Of course, Chen Meilan had a general idea of why Yan Zhao was so eager to help her get Factory 271. He was looking even further ahead than Chen Meilan. Even if Factory 271 wasn't given to Feng Yu and was contracted to someone else, people's hearts weren't as pure as they used to be. It might still not escape the fate of being sold off.
As for Chen Meilan, no matter how much she didn't want to or felt innocent, she was Yan Peiheng's daughter-in-law and had an unbreakable family connection with Feng Yu. If they brought up what Feng Yu had done publicly now, not only would Minister Cui not contract Factory 271 to her, but even Yan Peiheng, to avoid suspicion, would absolutely not let her get involved with Factory 271 anymore.
So Yan Zhao was still waiting for an opportunity, to see if there was another way to deal with Feng Yu first.
Speak of the devil and he shall appear. They were still talking about Feng Yu as they went downstairs, and as soon as they got down, they ran into the man himself.
Right in the courtyard downstairs, Cui Zixiang was chatting with a man.
The man was offering Cui Zixiang a cigarette, patting his chest, and saying something to him. Cui Zixiang kept nodding.
Yan Zhao stopped, sniffed the air, and Yuanyuan also whispered as they passed by the man: "Daddy, it smells bad."
Yan Zhao stopped, looked at the man, and said to Chen Meilan: "This man is smoking marijuana."
This was actually Wang Gebi's proud son-in-law and Mi Lan's proud brother-in-law, Feng Yu. He was tall and thin, but had a very strong, skunk-like odor. Most people would think it was just body odor - many people have body odor, and everyone just endures it. His face was pockmarked, it was a human face, but for some reason it looked particularly strange. He had extremely exaggerated eye bags, and his eyeballs were brown, lacking any spirit.
He wore glasses and was very refined in appearance, speaking very gently.
Chen Meilan had only told Yan Zhao that Feng Yu wanted to take over Factory 271, but she had never mentioned that Feng Yu smoked marijuana. From the time after liberation until the 1990s, there was a period when drugs had been eradicated in China. How did Yan Zhao smell it?
And then, he added: "He probably has a sexually transmitted disease too."
Chen Meilan was shocked: "How do you know that?" She had originally been worrying about how to explain things to Yan Zhao, but now it seemed she had overthought it. This man was capable enough to become the director of the Beijing Bureau on his own merits, much more formidable than she could have imagined.
"Vietnam produces a lot of marijuana. Drug use implies promiscuity, and promiscuity leads to syphilis. There are a lot of people like this in the border troops over there," Yan Zhao turned back and said: "You two go on your own. I'll see what's going on with this guy."
Just then, Cui Zixiang saw Yan Zhao and was about to stop him: "Yan Zhao, let me introduce you. This is my buddy Feng Yu."
When Yan Zhao reached out his hand, he saw that Feng Yu's hand was bleeding from chapped chilblains due to the winter cold. He didn't shake hands. He was tall, wearing the woolen overcoat, and took a step back, his deep-set eyes coldly staring at Feng Yu.
Feng Yu smiled and offered a cigarette: "It's all a misunderstanding. My mother-in-law is just an old lady, and Mi Lan has a heart condition. What could they do? You're Yan Zhao, right? Fellow soldier, I've long admired you. Why don't we find a place to have tea? I'll call a few more old comrades, and we can chat slowly?"
Yan Zhao pursed his lips, the lines on his face mechanically twitching: "Alright."
He turned back, gesturing for Meilan and Yuanyuan to go first, pointing upstairs and saying: "Go on, to my place."
He didn't take the cigarette either, saying coolly: "I don't smoke."
Feng Yu probably didn't expect that finding Yan Zhao at this moment would be walking into a trap, but she happily followed him upstairs.
Chen Meilan took Yuanyuan on a bus, following the address of director Zhou Yu from the magazine.
In her mind, being a director was a sacred and high-class profession, so she assumed he must live in a very upscale place. However, following the address led her to a dilapidated apartment building with walls plastered in small ads for hospitals - circumcision, genital warts treatment, cervical erosion, and locksmith phone numbers.
When she knocked on the second floor door, a scruffy-looking man with greasy hair came out. He looked Chen Meilan up and down and actually asked, "Are you here to be a model? Take off your clothes so I can see your figure."
Chen Meilan took two steps back and asked suspiciously, "I'm looking for Director Zhou Yu. Is he not here?"
Take off clothes to check her figure? This guy must be crazy.
If this was really Zhou Yu, Chen Meilan would never invest with him.
"You want to be on TV and become a star, right? Well you've come to the wrong place. No one watches Zhou Yu's films anymore. Why don't you be a model for me instead? As long as you're willing to strip, you'll be a big star tomorrow," the man said with a smile.
Fortunately this wasn't Zhou Yu. Chen Meilan peeked inside and quickly covered Yuanyuan's curious eyes.
The cultural renaissance of the capital in the 1990s particularly revered Western art. Nude painting and figure drawing were very popular during this era.
There was a nude model lying in the living room with her back to the door, and several students sitting opposite her painting.
Chen Meilan had no issue with artists, and although she couldn't accept this kind of thing herself, that was her own problem and she didn't need to show it.
So she explained that she was an investor looking to fund Director Zhou Yu's film. The painter looked Chen Meilan up and down, then glanced at Yuanyuan. Seeing she had brought a child, he stopped his inappropriate talk and quickly wrote down a new address for Chen Meilan.
According to the painter, Director Zhou Yu was determined to make the film "Return to the City", but the film studio wouldn't give him funding. So he sold his house to raise money, selling it to the painter.
That's why he used this address when advertising, but he had long since moved to a new place.
After this prelude, when Chen Meilan finally found the real Zhou Yu, she nearly burst into tears.
Zhou Yu was a man in his early fifties, clearly born before the revolution and educated. He wore a grey cotton jacket and glasses, and had a neat and tidy appearance. Compared to the greasy-headed painter from earlier, this was truly the kind of person Chen Meilan imagined could create legitimate art.
When he heard Chen Meilan wanted to invest in "Return to the City", Director Zhou Yu was overjoyed.
The house was too small, with a layout where you had to climb onto a kang bed right when you entered. He fished 10 yuan out of his pocket, insisting on treating Chen Meilan, his big investor, to a meal.
Chen Meilan declined the meal, and just discussed her conditions with him. He could make the film however he wanted, as long as it turned out well, but it had to be filmed in Shaanxi Province and showcase Shaanxi's culture, customs and history.
"If you're really willing to invest, I'd rather turn it into a TV series spanning 30 years," Director Zhou Yu said with trembling hands. "I want to show the fate of the generation that went up to the mountains and down to the countryside, and their descendants, rising and falling along with the nation's destiny..."
"I'm willing to invest up to 200,000 yuan," Chen Meilan interrupted.
She just wanted to spend all that money in one go.
But in an era when a few tens of thousands could make a film, 200,000 was an astronomical sum - enough to make a TV series. So the director was dumbfounded with joy.
"Then let's make a TV series, at least 12 episodes. I'll start revising the script right away!" Director Zhou Yu said, then eagerly asked, "Do you want to hear about my vision for this show?"
Chen Meilan wasn't very interested in the arts, so she politely declined and took Yuanyuan home.
Of course, at this point she just wanted to spend the money, not knowing what a sensation this investment would create for Yuanyuan, Little Wang, and all of Shaanxi Province, or what kind of returns it would bring.
On the way home, as they approached the entrance to the compound, Yuanyuan suddenly asked, "Mom, do you think Grandpa doesn't like me?"
It had been a busy day with many things happening.
Moreover, Chen Meilan had noticed that compared to Yan Zhao's excitement, Yan Peiheng did seem rather indifferent towards Yuanyuan. After all, compared to Yan Zhao's daily interactions, Yan Peiheng only spent a few short days with Yan Xing each year during his leave.
He only had a thin photograph, which he would take out to look at each year. He had probably forgotten what Yan Xing even looked like.
Chen Meilan even felt that missing Yan Xing was just an excuse, and that her father-in-law needed it to continue hating her mother-in-law.
And Yuanyuan was Yan Xishan's daughter - it was good enough that he didn't openly show dislike, how could he possibly like her?
This was probably what they called "Professed love of dragons"?
Thinking of this, Chen Meilan said, "Grandpa definitely loves you, he just has a bad temper and is hard to get along with. And even if he didn't love you, you still have Mom and Dad, right?"
Yuanyuan jumped into the elevator and quickly pressed the button for the 19th floor, saying "Okay."
When they got upstairs, their front door was open, as was Mi Lan's. Groans could be heard coming from Mi Lan's apartment, along with Wang Gebi's faint sighs.
There was also a woman's strong voice saying: "It's alright, Mom. Uncle Tao, Uncle Cui, and Uncle Xu will stand up for us. You're just a weak woman who sold some labor insurance goods. They even gave you the approval slip. If there's any fault, it's theirs first. How could they let you take the blame for the mistakes of a group of grown men? It's impossible. My uncles are all upstanding military men, they won't let a weak woman bear responsibility for their errors. We're not afraid. We have to believe in them."
"My chest hurts, sister. Can you go upstairs and ask when their meeting will be over?" Mi Lan said weakly. "I want to go to the hospital. I need to go to the hospital."
On the other side were Yan Zhao, Feng Yu, Yan Wei, and Cui Zixiang, along with some other young people, sitting in silence.
In the hallway were Aunt Cui and Minister Xu's wife Auntie Xi. Since Mi Lan kept complaining of chest pain, and people have compassion, they were neighbors after all, so Aunt Cui couldn't help asking Cui Zixiang, "Why don't you take Mi Lan to the hospital first?"
Cui Zixiang looked at Yan Wei, who said nothing. Yan Zhao answered for him: "We can't. We have to wait until the leaders finish their meeting."
...
This showed how clever Wang Gebi was. She hadn't said a word the whole time, only occasionally letting out a soft sigh.
The aunties in the hallway were kind-hearted people who wouldn't actually mock her. They were all shaking their heads and sighing. When Chen Meilan came upstairs, Aunt Cui wanted to give her some advice: "The Mi Lan family was one of the first in our compound to start doing business. But look what's happened. Whether they followed the rules or not, who can stand this kind of trouble? Meilan, go tell Cui Min not to even think about doing business."
Chen Meilan nodded and said, "Okay."
Just then, footsteps suddenly sounded in the stairwell as Yan Peiheng and Minister Cui came downstairs.
There was also a balding man in plain clothes with a kindly smile - it was Commander Tao.
The main reason for their meeting was that Yan Peiheng suspected Wang Gebi of reselling military supplies, not just for subsistence, but possibly profiting from it. Since they had all agreed to help solve Wang Gebi's living situation, they had just had a brief discussion without alerting the logistics department to check the main accounts yet.
Commander Tao was the one who had originally approved this proposal, so he naturally had to take responsibility for the matter.
He suggested they first ask Wang Gebi exactly how much money she had made, and after deducting living expenses, have her return the rest.
Mi Lan had been complaining of chest pain the whole time, and they were all uncles after all - they couldn't refuse to let the child go to the hospital.
Faced with a woman 20 years their junior, who was their obedient little sister and had never quarreled with them for decades, the old comrades naturally spoke in gentle tones.
"Gebi, can you tell us privately exactly how much money you made? No matter how much it is, hand it over. We'll take responsibility for any mistakes and report it externally for inspection," Commander Tao said.
Mi Lan's crying stopped abruptly.
Mi Xue, who was holding her hand, also froze.
Wang Gebi stood up and said, "I do have some savings. I have over 30,000 yuan. If you want to take it, go ahead. But please let me take my child to the hospital first."
Commander Tao glanced at Yan Peiheng, then at Minister Cui. If Wang Gebi only had 30,000 yuan in her account, though it was a large sum, taking it all would be too heartless.
"We can't let martyrs shed blood and sweat, only to worry about their wives and daughters from the afterlife," Commander Tao said. "Let Mi Lan go to the hospital first. We won't check the accounts now. Thirty thousand isn't a big deal, is it?"
Yan Peiheng felt it couldn't be that simple.
But Minister Cui also said, "Let Mi Lan go to the hospital first. Can't we investigate everything else slowly?"
Yes, they could check the accounts on Monday. Whatever Wang Gebi had taken, regardless of how much she sold it for, the cost price could be verified.
At that moment, Mi Lan was still crying out. She needed to be taken to the hospital.
But in Yan Peiheng's mind, the word "trust" kept repeating.
He was different from the others. Commander Tao and Minister Cui had their wives by their side and their children with them. They had no personal entanglements with Wang Gebi. Only he had interacted with Wang Gebi for over twenty years because of the children. Once the foundation of trust crumbled and suspicion arose, it was hard to erase.
Just then, Yan Zhao came out and asked Yan Peiheng, "Father, how is the management in the military region now? It seems much stricter than when we were in the army."
At this, Aunt Cui suddenly spoke up, complaining, "Strict? I don't think so. Just in the family quarters, someone was wandering around recently, claiming to sell cheap soap at factory prices. When I bought some and checked, they were all fake. Look at that, you let scammers into the compound and still talk about being strict."
Old ladies always focus on things you least expect.
The 1990s were a time when scams were at their peak. Chen Meilan couldn't help but chuckle when she heard this.
She remembered the most famous one: someone claimed they would blast a hole in the Himalayas to let the warm currents of the Indian Ocean blow through the snow-capped mountains. This way, Tibet would become like Jiangnan, and the Northwest would be even more prosperous than Jiangnan.
That person had even managed to scam over 200 apartments in the capital with this idea.
The army had also gone through a brief period of chaos during this era.
They say there are three difficulties for soldiers: difficulty in transferring to civilian work, difficulty in finding a wife, and even more difficulty in supporting parents.
The root cause was that society was reforming, the economy was expanding daily, but their income levels were still at the old pace from decades ago. The new social order and the drastic changes in people's hearts after the reform and opening up, along with the gradually worsening people outside, were all affecting this team.
Auntie Xi also said, "In theory, entering and exiting the compound used to require approval slips. Now anyone can come and go freely. This is also a problem."
Yan Zhao had just started the topic, and as wives of leaders, they liked to report any major issues they noticed.
Chen Meilan then said, "When I came in just now, the guard only asked a simple question. I didn't need anyone to escort me in."
Yan Zhao seamlessly picked up on the women's comments: "With Commander Tao and everyone here, there's surely no problem with military discipline. The family quarters are the responsibility of the security office. If people with STDs and carrying marijuana can get in, the security office bears a huge responsibility."
"Who? Who dares to hide marijuana in the military region?" The old leaders were immediately shocked.
Drugs flowing into the military region was unthinkable. There was a period when the army strictly rectified itself, wasn't it because of this?
Yan Zhao had understated the problem, but they could realize how serious it was.
Amid all the eyes, Feng Yu seemed to realize something was wrong. He suddenly stood up and turned to rush out the door.
With so many people in the corridor and Yan Zhao at the elevator, he certainly couldn't escape.
And things were heading in a direction no one had anticipated.
Mi Xue, also a very thin woman, had been trying to persuade Mi Lan. Suddenly, she hesitantly, with raised shoulders and a tilted head, tiptoed out of the house.
Then she stared straight at Feng Yu.
As if looking at a stranger.
No, it was more like she was looking at the murderer of her parents.
At this time, Feng Yu was at the elevator, pressing the button. She suddenly lunged at him, scratching his neck, and asked fiercely, "Are you the one with the STD?"
This woman suddenly shrieked hysterically, "Did you bring that stuff here today?"
Mi Xue couldn't understand, she was about to go crazy: "How many times have I told you not to bring your dirty, stinking stuff into the military region? How dare you bring it to a place like this? Are you insane?"
Daring to bring drugs into the military region, this person must have gotten too cocky from making money these past few years, forgetting his own name.
He used to be a good person, a bit handsome, but a poor country boy. After being discharged, he had nowhere to go and sold spices outside. What did he borrow? It was Wang Gebi's connections and seed money that he used to make money.
Money made him arrogant. Although he always assured her he had never been with prostitutes, Mi Xue could tell from the occasional unfamiliar scents on him, and the unexplained brown foundation and perfume on his clothes, that he probably had.
Being a woman, Mi Xue's attitude towards marriage was always like an ostrich. As long as she could avoid thinking about many things, she wouldn't try to prove them. After all, they were husband and wife with two sons. The sons were the most important.
As for the man, she just treated him as a money-making tool and a dead person. She knew he smoked marijuana, and she scolded him, but didn't really try to stop him.
But if Feng Yu had an STD, that was different. Had she been infected?
What about the children? Had their two sons been infected?
A man who gets an STD and doesn't tell his wife is not human.
"You really got an STD? Visiting prostitutes is one thing, I treated you like a pile of dog shit, but you... what are you? You're nothing but a hooligan, a poor stinking soldier. If it wasn't for my mom giving you capital to do business, how would you be any different from those smelly spice sellers on the street? Feng Yu, you son of a..." Because of Feng Yu's silence, Mi Xue started screaming again and again.
She had suspected it all along, and Yan Zhao's one sentence had confirmed it.
The scene was chaotic.
But Mi Lan thought it wasn't enough and shouted, "Sis, how much did brother-in-law take from mom? At least 100,000, right? He really got an STD? Does Little Ha have it too? Did he infect Little Ha? Kill him, I want to beat him to death! Call the police, arrest this heartless bastard!"
The Mi sisters were pinching and hitting Feng Yu. Wang Gebi, who had been sitting on the sofa, watched her daughters with a shocked expression. She tried to stand up, but her legs were too weak. So she suddenly crawled, very quickly, like an old dog, towards Yan Ha. She pried open the child's face, eyelids, and even suddenly pulled down his pants, examining the little penis carefully amidst the child's screams and cries.
These three women had never fallen out over money. They could even send children back and forth between them. They were mother and daughters, the closest people in the world. Having lost their husband and father, that great mountain of support, at a young age, they worked together, always striving to make life better.
Even now, they were still working together to save the situation.
But the STD was the last straw that broke them.
Money brought so many benefits - luxury goods, designer bags, enjoyment at high-end restaurants, and that heavenly American dream.
But there were also things they couldn't tolerate - STDs, drugs. The man hadn't just ruined himself, he might have infected them, infected the children. They had lots of money, they were about to go to America, but because of an STD, they might be beyond redemption.
The people present weren't deaf.
Wang Gebi had given at least 100,000 to her elder son-in-law. She must have earned more than 100,000 from selling military supplies.
Currently, an ordinary soldier's monthly allowance was 280 yuan.
Yan Peiheng and others of his rank only earned 500 yuan a month.
While they ate cabbage, the weak sister Wang Gebi they pitied could afford to let her son-in-law use drugs and visit prostitutes.
How ridiculous.
Minister Cui and Commander Tao could no longer say anything for Wang Gebi.
No, the expressions on their faces were as if they had stepped in dog poop.
I don't know what others were thinking, but Yan Peiheng's gaze pierced through the crowd.
By the elevator, three children were sitting quietly on the windowsill radiator, looking uneasy.
The two boys were saying something to the little girl, who suddenly looked up at him, then immediately turned away.
He also immediately averted his gaze.
He remembered after Yan Xing's death, Su Wen had said, "Peiheng, believe me, it was just an accident."
That was her only defense, but he didn't believe it. His heart was completely blinded by insecurity, suspicion, and jealousy.
If only he had been willing to trust Su Wen as he trusted Wang Gebi, she would surely be alive now. They would have grown old together, and in this world, they would have seen that child they once lost.
So-called deep love is so insignificant in the face of trust, no wonder his wife never forgave him.
But it's only now that he finally understands.
