Chen Meilan understood Yan Zhao's resentment towards his father.
But the current situation was that everyone else had a wife, while only Yan Peiheng was single and had a personal relationship with Wang Gebi.
Wang Gebi had embezzled too much money. Once the shocking amount was revealed through an audit, it would incite public anger.
Everyone earned only a few hundred yuan a month, but they heard Wang Gebi had embezzled hundreds of thousands. Moreover, she wasn't military personnel, so even if prosecuted under military law, only Minister Wu could pass judgment. At most, she would have her assets confiscated but wouldn't face imprisonment.
When people became angry, they needed a target to criticize, and that target could very well be Yan Peiheng.
If father and son weren't united and presenting a united front at this time, with Yan Zhao giving his father the cold shoulder, people might start gossiping: "Look, even his son is rolling his eyes at Yan Peiheng. He must have been up to no good."
Rumors about misconduct spread particularly fast, and people enjoyed discussing them over tea and meals, adding their own speculations.
Even if Yan Peiheng had a strong reputation, if too many rumors circulated, the military would sideline him to a less important position for the sake of appearances.
So Yan Zhao's stubbornness was like an invisible weapon against his father.
How would it benefit him if his father stepped down from his position of real power?
Feeling both angry and unable to convince this man, Chen Meilan pinched him.
Even the muscles on Yan Zhao's waist were hard. She couldn't even twist them when she held her breath subconsciously. So Chen Meilan changed tactics and reached for his armpit to tickle him. Yan Zhao, who was afraid of this, dodged, nearly dropping the noodles he was holding out of the kitchen.
Suddenly, Liu Jingjing's voice came from outside the kitchen: "Sis, are you guys still making those noodles? Are we going to eat noodles today or not?"
Chen Meilan turned around to see Liu Jingjing standing at the door with her hands on her hips, watching the couple's playful fight.
"Why don't you come in and help us stretch the noodles?" she said.
Having given birth to a daughter, she inevitably had a fondness for girls and especially enjoyed teasing them.
Liu Jingjing bit her lip, rolled up her sleeves, and eagerly entered the kitchen.
But Yan Zhao immediately turned and said, "If that young man is your boyfriend and you don't want to be with him anymore, just break up properly. Why falsely accuse him of harassment?"
Liu Jingjing rolled her eyes without saying a word.
So Yan Zhao continued, "The reputation of retired soldiers is already not good these days. Your shouting like that will hit them even harder. As a child of military personnel, don't you understand this principle?"
Upset by this stern uncle's unexpected lecture, Liu Jingjing retreated from the kitchen again: "Fine, I won't eat the food you cook then, okay?"
Outside, the group of senior leaders were chatting happily. Minister Cui took the opportunity to say, "Jingjing, don't be angry. I'll let Xue Mingfang follow your Sister Meilan to Factory 271 to help run the factory. It's okay if people make mistakes; what's important is that they can change for the better. Don't break up with him, give him a chance to mend his ways, alright?"
Hearing this, Liu Jingjing felt even more annoyed.
She had first seen Xue Mingfang's photo in the newspaper when she was 16 and had launched a frenzied campaign to actively pursue him. But shortly after she caught him, Xue Mingfang had transferred to civilian life. When he changed into ordinary clothes, Liu Jingjing discovered that without the halo of a war hero, he was just an ordinary young man from rural Henan, with parents who still worked in the fields. She actually didn't like him much anymore at that point.
It was just that she had made such a big fuss when pursuing him that it had been difficult to break up, but in her heart, she had long since stopped liking him.
With everyone trying to persuade her like this, she lost even the desire to eat. Finding an opportunity, she quietly slipped upstairs and went home.
The matter of taking over the factory was considered settled.
Yan Peiheng surely had all sorts of worries, but because of Yan Zhao's stubborn temperament, he couldn't say anything more.
While his son and daughter-in-law were busy, Yan Peiheng paced to Chen Meilan's bedroom door. He saw the three children sitting shoulder to shoulder, back to back, on the bed reading comics. The old man tiptoed quietly, watched for a while, and hurriedly retreated before Yuanyuan could look up.
He didn't dare disturb them; if startled, they would hide in the bathroom.
Now, about the most important thing Chen Meilan and Yan Zhao came to the capital for – Gu Xiao's return to the country.
According to Secretary Mao, both customs and the Singapore consulate had been notified. Gu Xiao's return was just waiting for him to confirm the date and itinerary.
Since everything was settled, it was time to prepare to go home.
Chen Meilan was fired up, gathering her strength to deal with the bully who had picked on Little Lang when they got back.
Tonight, Yan Peiheng said he had an overnight meeting and didn't come back. After putting the children to bed, she took a shower and was preparing to sleep when she turned around to find Yan Zhao and Yan Wei standing at the front door, peering out.
But the two kept looking outside without speaking.
Listening closely, there were people talking outside.
Chen Meilan, wearing her pajamas, walked over and saw Liu Jingjing standing at the door with her hands behind her back.
Seeing Chen Meilan approach, Yan Zhao moved to close the door: "Come on, let's go to bed."
"Second brother, I just heard it from someone else, okay? I'm going upstairs now," Liu Jingjing called out from outside.
Just as the door closed, Yan Wei turned back and said with a mix of mockery and sarcasm: "Karma. Now everyone outside is spreading rumors that our dad has an affair with Wang Gebi." Turning to Yan Zhao, he added, "Should we go out and explain to some aunties from the leaders' families?"
Indeed, rumors about the affair between Wang Gebi and Yan Peiheng had already spread.
Liu Jingjing had come to give them a heads up.
At this point, shouldn't Yan Zhao at least soften a bit? If not explain, at least pick up his dad after work and explain to a few female comrades – that would show some attitude. But he didn't. Instead, he coldly asked Yan Wei, "When he accepted favors from Wang Gebi, didn't he think there would eventually be a day like this?"
Yan Zhao's retort left his brother speechless, and he went into the bedroom first.
Yan Zhao followed Chen Meilan into the bedroom. The children were all asleep. He sat on the edge of the bed and just kept sitting there.
Chen Meilan guessed he had that intention. After all, when they were in Xiping City, they hadn't been together for at least half a month. It had been three or four days since coming to the capital. This man had a strong drive, and if he didn't release some fire for a while, his temper would become more irritable.
She reached out and touched his sensitive area, nearly making Yan Zhao jump. Chen Meilan glanced at the bathroom and said in a low voice, "There's a sink."
Yan Zhao had definitely been thinking about it but couldn't find a suitable place. In Chen Meilan's experience, the sink could work for both front and back positions. Indeed, the man just needed her to expand his thinking and broaden his horizons. Without Chen Meilan having to move herself, Yan Zhao picked her up in one motion and went straight into the bathroom. He closed the door too loudly with a bang, startling Yuanyuan, who called out in her sleep, "Mama."
Chen Meilan quickly turned on the faucet: "I'm using the bathroom."
Under the cover of the water sound, Yan Zhao started to take care of business. Chen Meilan hadn't intended to use sex as leverage, and this was Yan Zhao's family matter, so she didn't need to worry about it. But when they finally finished, she tried saying, "How about going to pick up your dad after work tomorrow, and then go out to explain to the aunties in the compound?" As a daughter-in-law, it wasn't appropriate for her to explain her father-in-law's situation, otherwise she would have gone herself.
Yan Zhao turned off the faucet and spat out, "No need."
"Didn't you hear how badly the rumors are spreading outside? If too many rumors spread, your dad might have to retire early. How could that benefit you?" Chen Meilan asked again.
Yan Zhao still coldly said, "He won't." After saying this, he put on his pants and walked out.
Unyielding and stubborn, this guy wasn't just the King of Hell, he was truly a stubborn mule. But Chen Meilan was deeply worried. She felt that this time, Yan Peiheng might not be able to escape the rumors.
These days, while Yan Wei was handling his transfer to civilian life, he probably truly wanted to divorce Mi Lan. Fearing that Mi Lan wouldn't agree to a quick divorce after finishing her investigation, he simply filed for divorce through military law.
Yan Zhao left early and returned late every day, keeping extremely busy.
Since Chen Meilan couldn't leave, she simply took Little Wang, Yuanyuan, and Little Lang to visit director Zhou Yu again.
This time, she listened carefully and attentively to Zhou Yu's creative concepts.
This is where coincidence comes into play.
Yuanyuan and Little Lang were playing in the courtyard. Yuanyuan liked to sing, and bored while waiting for her mother, she started singing. She enjoyed singing pop songs as well as folk songs. Recently, her favorite was Li Guyi's "Going to Xibei."
Sitting in the warm winter sun, a little girl hugged her knees and hummed with her eyes closed: "Brother, you're leaving for the western frontier, little sister I can hardly let you go. Thinking of you leaving for the west, oh little sister, my tears often flow."
Watching the little girl sitting there humming, Director Zhou Yu suddenly closed his previously talkative mouth.
"Director Zhou, what's wrong?" Chen Meilan was listening with interest and didn't understand why the director had stopped talking.
Director Zhou came back to his senses and said with a smile, "I've always felt that our TV series was missing something, unable to immerse the audience in the experience. Now I understand - it's the Xin Tian You, the folk songs of Northern Shaanxi. Back when we were sent down youth, what drove me wild and haunted my dreams were the local children singing Northern Shaanxi folk songs. Your daughter has a good voice. There's a role in the play of a little girl who loves singing mountain songs from childhood. I think she'd be suitable. Let her audition when the time comes."
Chen Meilan suddenly remembered that in her previous life, she had watched a drama about educated youth called "Romantic Red", which had once caused a sensation because of its authentic Northern Shaanxi folk songs.
If "Return to the City" were to add Northern Shaanxi folk songs, wouldn't it become a combination of "Debt of Sin" and "Romantic Red"?
How could this TV series not be good?
Chen Meilan smiled and said, "I'll have my daughter learn some folk songs when we get home, and work hard to get her in."
For Yuanyuan, playing a little girl who sang mountain songs from childhood would be typecasting.
The filming location was also in Xiping City, so it wouldn't interfere with her studies. Might as well let the child act again.
Strangely enough, this 200,000 yuan investment was increasingly aligned with Little Wang's intentions.
The children finally waited for Chen Meilan to finish talking with the director. In the cold weather, they were frozen and annoyed, not wanting to return to their fierce grandfather's house, and were already eager to go back to their own home.
But if Yan Zhao didn't leave, Chen Meilan couldn't leave.
So she quietly took the children for another round of KFC.
After leaving KFC, she bought each child a pack of Bobo stars and a bottle of Wahaha.
To prevent the children from eating everything too early, she waited until they got home to give it to them.
Little Lang sat on the windowsill hugging his comic book, taking a sip of milk and a bite of Bobo stars, then glancing at the comic. It happened to be quitting time, and the loudspeaker in the courtyard was playing "Only Mom is the Best in the World."
Little Lang thought with a smile that he really was like a treasure, a child with a mother.
Chen Meilan was about to make dinner. After preparing the vegetables, she went out to take out the trash and ran into Auntie Xi from Vice Minister Xu's family. She decided to help her throw away her trash as well.
Auntie Xi, who had never greeted Chen Meilan before, smiled and said, "Yan's third son looks fierce, but he's quite nice. He sat and chatted with me for half the afternoon today, speaking very gently, and even helped clean my house. Little Chen, you've found yourself a good husband."
Yan Zhao was indeed a good person, always helping out wherever he went.
But he was also quite busy with work. He hadn't left for the past few days, and Chen Meilan thought he must be working on some earth-shattering big project. How did he end up at Auntie Xi's house, helping her clean?
Yan Wei came home early today. As soon as he came upstairs, he first knocked on Mi Xue's door to give Yan Ha some snacks. Then he returned to his own home. Not only had he bought Bobo stars and Wahaha for the children, but he had even bought Jigang stomach medicine and big snowman-shaped ice cream, which delighted the children.
However, Yan Wei was particularly nervous today. As soon as he entered, he moved all the chairs in the house out to the living room, washed all the teacups, and prepared the tea leaves. It seemed as if he was waiting for someone.
"Are we having guests?" Chen Meilan asked.
Yan Wei said, "It's the standard procedure. After filing for divorce, the court will send someone, and they'll also invite neighbors to mediate. Mi Lan finished her investigation today and will be coming home soon for the divorce mediation process."
Although Wang Gebi had committed a crime, it didn't implicate Mi Lan. For military couples, regardless of the circumstances, they must accept mediation when filing for divorce.
With both spouses present, relatives, friends, and leaders would make a final attempt at reconciliation before going to court.
Soon enough, Mi Lan really did come. She was helped in by Auntie Xi and Auntie Cui, along with two unfamiliar aunties. After not seeing her for about a week, she had lost even more weight. Being a patient, her hair was dry and yellow, and her eyes were dull.
As soon as she entered, without saying a word, she went to the kitchen to help boil water for tea.
Yan Wei was also in the kitchen. She walked over to him, no longer with the arrogant attitude she used to have towards Yan Wei. Instead, she took the initiative to say, "I heard that many people have been spreading rumors about our parents recently. Don't worry, I'll explain things."
Seeing that Yan Wei didn't respond, she added, "Thank you for taking care of Yan Ha. Yan Wei, I understand now that a plain and simple life is the real thing. Can we live a good life together from now on?"
From her tone, it was clear that a few days of investigation had stripped away a layer of Mi Lan's skin. This time, she had truly reformed and wanted to live a good life.
However, after hearing this, Yan Wei just gave a cold laugh. That smile inexplicably made Mi Lan feel a chill down her spine.
They had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. She had truly changed, and her visa to the United States had been revoked by the consulate. Mi Lan had no job now and was at a dead end, with only Yan Wei left to rely on. And Yan Wei, she knew, must love her.
He still hadn't taken down their marriage certificate from the wall.
Her shoes were still neatly arranged in the shoe cabinet, cleaned spotlessly.
The photos hanging at the entrance and in the foyer were still of her and Yan Ha. He hadn't taken them down. These were all signs of Yan Wei's love for her.
But why did he give such a cold laugh?
Soon after, two female colleagues from the military court arrived, just as Yan Peiheng and the others were coming home from work.
Seeing the commotion here, Minister Cui and Minister Xu also came over.
Whether to persuade reconciliation or separation, everyone wanted to see how Yan Wei's matter would finally be resolved.
But no one could have anticipated that today's protagonist would turn out to be Yan Zhao.
He entered last, carrying a large stack of medical records in his arms.
Yan Zhao had only been here for a little over a week, but strangely enough, every auntie knew this dark-skinned, fierce-looking man with a stern face. Moreover, as soon as he entered, everyone started praising him.
"The Yan family's third son is a good boy. He helped me clean for half a day today," said Auntie Xi.
Auntie Cui said, "He's really capable. Yesterday when I was buying groceries, he taught me how to pick out free-range chickens. The flavor was indeed delicious."
Another auntie said, "The day before yesterday, I heard there was a big sale on food outside. He accompanied me to go grab some. Sure enough, eggs were cheaper by 1 cent per jin. What a bargain!"
Not only Yan Peiheng was shocked as he scrutinized Yan Zhao.
The ice cream in the children's hands on the balcony was about to melt.
Chen Meilan was absolutely dumbfounded.
When did the black-faced King of Hell Yan Zhao turn into such a good man, even a domestic househusband type?
Yan Zhao put the medical records on the coffee table and suddenly said, "Auntie Xi, you mentioned that around 1968, you had heard someone say that my mother Su Wen seemed to have a good relationship with a man called Gu Xiao."
Auntie Xi nodded.
Earlier when Yan Zhao was chatting with her, she thought everyone in the capital believed this, so it wasn't a secret, and she had said a few words about it. Was that wrong?
Yan Zhao then asked another auntie, "You said you heard that my sister was killed by my mother?"
This auntie also asked, "Isn't that right?"
Yan Peiheng's face instantly became very uncomfortable.
His breathing stopped for a moment.
At this moment, Yan Zhao turned to ask Auntie Cui, "Auntie, you used to take care of Yan Wei and Yan Jun, and you had a good relationship with my father. Can you tell me who you heard this from?"
"I heard it from Gebi, but Gebi said it came from your Auntie Wang," said Auntie Cui.
The auntie surnamed Wang nearly jumped up: "Old Cui, don't you dare throw mud on me. May lightning strike me if I ever said such things. I also heard it from Gebi."
In fact, with one glance at each other, the answer was obvious.
The person who had been spreading rumors and continuously damaging Su Wen's reputation in the capital was Wang Gebi.
But the events were from long ago, and no one expected Yan Zhao to be such a persistent person. That he would spend a week building good relationships with these old ladies, then take the opportunity of them being together to get to the bottom of things.
"My mother had no bad reputation in Yanguan Village. She was pure and clean, known as a living Bodhisattva," Yan Zhao said.
His eyes today weren't cold at all, but exceptionally clear, and his voice was particularly gentle and calm.
But this calmness and frankness, in an instant, made the old aunties who had been living with Yan Peiheng day and night feel ashamed and speechless.
They had spoken so many bad things about Su Wen before, were those all lies?
They had laughed at those words from that strange woman they'd never met, how embarrassing it was to think of that now.
At this point, Yan Wei could no longer contain himself. He suddenly stood up, grabbed the medical records from the table and hurled them at Mi Lan with a loud smack, shouting with a heart-wrenching cry: "My dad used to prescribe a lot of medicine to treat my mom's illness, and I even personally mailed the medicine several times..."
Throwing the medical records wasn't enough, so he picked up a cup of tea and splashed it at Mi Lan: "Damn it, Mi Lan, do you know that your mother replaced all the medicine with vitamins? Fucking vitamin B1, B2 to B12, look at how many vitamins your mother prescribed over those years! Look at how vicious your mother is, your mother Wang Gebi is a murderer!"
In an instant, everyone was in an uproar.
Actually, ever since Yan Wei had returned, he had felt that something wasn't right.
He and Yan Zhao had been sharing a bed recently, talking more than they had in the past thirty years combined.
When the two brothers discussed the medicine Su Wen used to take, because it was so long ago and Yan Zhao was still a child then, he couldn't remember clearly. But the brothers had some doubts, so they had been spending time in the hospital's medical records room looking through files whenever they had a chance these past few days.
There were sheets and sheets of medical records, some signed with Wang Gebi's name, and others with Yan Peiheng's.
From '68 to '72, a full four years.
During those four years, Yan Peiheng had been continuously prescribing medicine for Su Wen.
He prescribed medicine to treat her illness, while Wang Gebi was also prescribing, but she prescribed only various vitamins.
However much Yan Peiheng prescribed, she would match.
It was almost always one after the other, at corresponding times.
Mi Lan, with tea leaves on her head, still tried to defend: "My mom was sick, she was sick for years, the medicine was all for her to take."
Yan Wei looked at Mi Lan, saw her sallow complexion and her tearful eyes, and couldn't help but take out his handkerchief and hand it to her.
To get back to the point, Wang Gebi had tasted the sweetness of profiting from selling military property and didn't want to remarry. She wanted to keep making money, but the military district wouldn't let her remain a widow forever. They would certainly arrange for her to remarry and introduce her to marriage prospects. At this time, she needed to find an excuse to stay.
Taking care of Yan Wei and Yan Jun was the best excuse.
It was clear that Yan Peiheng was about to be promoted, and family members would be able to relocate with him. But if Su Wen went to the capital and there was someone to take care of Yan Wei and Yan Jun, the organization would likely pressure her to remarry and move out of the military district.
It just so happened that Yan Xing died at this time, and Su Wen fell ill.
Xiping City had a shortage of medicines, and anti-epileptic and sedative drugs were always mailed from the capital by Yan Peiheng.
In order to prevent Su Wen from coming and to be able to continue caring for Yan Wei and Yan Jun, Wang Gebi secretly replaced all the medicine with various vitamins before Yan Peiheng mailed them.
That's why Su Wen's illness never improved, because she missed the best time for treatment.
So Yan Wei had no choice but to divorce. He still loved Mi Lan, even reluctant to tear up their wedding photo, but with the enmity of his mother's murder between them, he and Mi Lan had no future together in this life.
Mi Lan thought this was the end of it, and was still racking her brains, thinking about how she could defend Wang Gebi.
Meanwhile, Yan Zhao pulled out a few more A4 papers from the medical records and continued: "As we all know, in our country during the '70s and '80s, all overseas letters required registration of personal information, which can be verified. The day before yesterday, I went to the International Mail Department of the Capital Postal Bureau and found records of at least ten letters sent by Wang Gebi to Gu Xiao in Singapore. The letters started in '76 and continued until last year, without interruption. Gu Xiao belongs to the opposition party camp in Singapore..."
He turned to look at the two female colleagues from the military court: "Colleagues from the military court, Wang Gebi was in the military district and corresponded with an opposition party leader for over a decade without approval. This constitutes espionage. Who should I submit this evidence to?"
The two female colleagues from the military court couldn't process so much information at once, but immediately said: "Comrade Yan Zhao, this case isn't under our jurisdiction, but we can help transfer the evidence."
Mi Lan slowly wiped her face, only now realizing that it wasn't a matter of softening up or begging to make her lover change his mind.
She had to face the fact that not only would all the money be confiscated by the military district, the house would be taken back, but her mother would also be criminally charged and go to jail.
Yan Peiheng raised his hand, about to slam it on the table, but remembering there were children behind him who were afraid of him, he ended up covering his own eyes instead.
Everyone present was dumbfounded.
Until Auntie Xi spoke first: "We can't blame old Yan, right? Gebi was blinded by money, who could have guarded against such scheming?"
"That's right, no one's saying anything bad about old Yan, he's an upright person!" Auntie Cui chimed in.
Yan Zhao, with his usual stern face, scanned the room, his gaze stopping on Chen Meilan's face, and said softly: "I'll go buy tickets, we'll go home tomorrow."
He stood up, tall and slender, his dove-colored woolen coat softening his strikingly dark skin, making his whole person appear particularly gentle, his eyes bright and piercing.
He turned and left the room.
It was only at this moment that Chen Meilan realized that from Yan Zhao's standpoint, he would not reconcile with his father.
Nor did he need to.
He had only one goal: to clear his mother's name and send Wang Gebi to prison.
And from a professional perspective, he was capable of doing all of these things.
