Chapter 61 - Why would a woman do that to another woman?
"I'm sorry. This was my fault."
Tong Xuelu apologized to them with her lips pinched and told them briefly about what had happened with Su Xiuying.
She did not regret helping out Su Xiuying. She didn't feel that she had done anything wrong, but she hadn't expected rippling effects like this afterward, especially to her siblings.
The girlfriend of Ma Mei's cousin could very well be related to the He's. Tong Xuelu would need to find out the details from Su Xiuying.
Neither Tong Jiaming nor Tong Jiaxin said anything after they heard what Tong Xuelu had said.
Tong Xuelu said, "Don't worry. I will get you back into school one way or another!"
The two brothers still didn't say anything.
Tong Xuelu sighed to herself, turned, and walked out.
As soon as Tong Xuelu had left, Tong Jiaxin immediately started talking, "Second Brother, this was all her fault. We would not have been expelled otherwise!"
Tong Jiaming looked up and gave Tong Jiaxin a cold look. "You are right that we would not be expelled from school had it not been for her. That's because we would already have been taken back to our hometown by Grandma and the others."
Once they were taken back to their hometown, never mind about going to school, the three of them would likely not even have enough food to eat.
Tong Jiaxin had only blurted it out earlier in the heat of the moment. He regretted a little when he heard Tong Jiaming's words. "What should we do now?"
Tong Jiaming remained silent for a little while, shook his head, and said, "I don't know either. Let's see what the school says first."
Tong Jiaxin's eyes reddened. "For sure they would expel us. Jiang Ming said that he was going to tell his grandfather and have his grandfather teach us a lesson!"
Tong Jiaming's lips tightened into a straight line, anger burning in his eyes.
Tong Xuelu headed over to the post office to phone Su Xiuying at the garment factory.
Su Xiuying felt odd when she received the call from Tong Xuelu. She turned pale when she heard about everything. "I'm so sorry, Xuelu. This is all my fault. This is only happening to you because you have helped me…"
Tong Xuelu interrupted her. "Big Sister Xiuying, this is not your fault. I called in the hope that you can help me find out if something is going on with the He family."
Su Xiuying nodded repeatedly. "Not a problem. Let me go see what I can find out. I'll phone you as soon as I find something out!"
Su Xiuying did not return to work after she hung up the phone. She ran over to Manager Ma from the workshop to ask for a day off before she hurried home.
Tong Xuelu returned to the government-operated restaurant after she stepped out of the post office.
When Chef Meng saw her come back, he said caringly, "Comrade Xuelu, is everything okay at home? Just let me know if there's anything that I can help you with."
Guo Weiping, to one side, also nodded as he looked at Tong Xuelu like a little deer.
Tong Xuelu felt a warm sensation flowing through her. "Some issues came up at home, and I hope to take some time off to take care of that. Does Chef Meng know anyone who can stand in for me during this period of time?"
She might be able to take a little time off here and there, but if they were talking about a longer period, Liu Dongchang absolutely would not allow that.
Chef Meng thought about it some and said, "I have a niece in the village. I'll have her come over today."
Tong Xuelu was very appreciative of that. "Thank you so much, Chef Meng. Your niece can keep the pay for the time that she substituted for me."
"It's no problem. You don't need to thank me." Chef Meng waved his hand and pulled out a slab of meat from the cabinet behind him. "Bring this home with you. It's all about eating and drinking in this world. Don't worry. Whatever it is, I am sure it will be resolved soon."
He had heard some about the girl's background. She had lost her parents at a young age and had a few younger siblings that she needed to support. Things were rough, so he would help her in any way as long as it was within his power.
Tong Xuelu felt that her heart was warmed. She did not turn him down.
She wrapped the meat up, placed it in her bag, and was about to go home and make some food for her brothers.
When she got to the lobby, Tan Xiaoyan walked up to her with a happy look. "I heard that your brothers got into a fight with someone. How's it going now? Were they hit?"
Tong Xuelu reached out her hand and pushed away her square face. "If you have the time to barge into my business, you are better off spending that time thinking about when you can find yourself a husband."
"…"
Being talked back to by Tong Xuelu, Tan Xiaoyan almost puked out blood from anger.
Tong Xuelu went over to the CSMC and bought some mushrooms and sheet tofu. She then headed over to the marketplace and bought some lettuce and green onions before she headed home.
The two brothers were inside their room with their door closed. She had no idea what they were doing inside.
She sighed to herself and brought the ingredients with her to the kitchen.
She planned to make three different types of buns: meat buns, vegetable buns, and pickled vegetable buns.
She first added water to the flour and formed a dough before she placed a cloth over it to let it rise.
While the dough was rising, she started with the fillings.
She minced the pork and added in two eggs. She then chopped green onions and ginger and added that to the pork with some soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Once she thoroughly mixed everything together, she set the filling aside and let it marinate.
While waiting, she soaked the mushrooms and dried sheet tofu in water. Once they had expanded, she minced the mushrooms and tofu and julienned the lettuce. She mixed everything up with spices to form the vegetable filling.
She then minced the pickled vegetables and mixed them up with some of the ground pork. That formed yet another set of filling.
To make sure that the buns are tasty, she was not one to skim on oil and filling. When the buns were done, an aromatic smell drifted out of the kitchen.
Tong Jiaxin sat up straight when he smelled it. "Second Brother, I think I smell meat!"
Looking at Tong Jiaxin, Tong Jiaming wasn't sure whether he should laugh or feel helpless. "Let's go check it out."
Tong Jiaxin still felt a bit awkward, but that did not last long in light of yummy food.
Tong Xuelu was going to fetch them after she was done, but they had already come over by themselves. "I've made some buns. There are three different kinds of fillings. Take them and eat in the living room."
Standing by the door, Tong Jiaxin tapped the ground with his foot ,and still looking awkward, he asked, "Which three kinds?"
As though she did not notice his awkwardness, Tong Xuelu said nonchalantly, "Meat, pickled vegetables, and vegetables."
Tong Jiaxin's eyes lit up right away. "That's awesome! Those are my favorites!"
Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes to herself: Is there any yummy food that is not your favorite?
The two brothers carried the buns to the living room to eat, and Tong Xuelu plated some buns to bring over with her to the Wei's to pick up Tong Mianmian.
Shen Wanrong was surprised when she saw Tong Xuelu. "How come you are off so early today?"
Tong Xuelu didn't hide it from her. "Something happened with Jiaming and Jiaxin at school, so I took some time off from the restaurant."
Shen Wanrong looked at her, worried. "Is it serious?"
Tong Xuelu nodded, then shook her head. "We don't know yet. We were told that the school would hold a meeting and decide on whether to expel them."
Shen Wanrong's eyes widened. "How could that be?"
Tong Xuelu didn't elaborate any more on that. "Grandma Shen, here are some buns for you. Is Mianmian inside?"
Seeing that Tong Xuelu no longer wished to continue on the subject, Shen Wanrong politely stopped asking.
Shen Wanrong only brought it up to Wei Zhiguo after Tong Xuelu had left with Tong Mianmian.
"I had no idea what happened. How did it get to the point of being expelled? They both seem like very good kids to me."
Wei Zhiguo picked up a meat bun and took a bite. The pork was juicy, tender, and well marinated, and the wrapping soft and light. He finished a bun in just 2-3 bites.
"This girl can cook. You should try one while it's still warm."
He picked up another one after he had said that.
Shen Wanrong gave him a disgruntled look and said, "I'm talking about serious matters with you. All you know is to eat!"
Wei Zhiguo quickly polished off two more buns before he spoke again. "Just pretend that she didn't say anything since she didn't elaborate on it. Just say yes if she asks us for help."
Shen Wanrong was surprised when she heard that. "I thought your motto has always been 'stay out of things that don't concern us'. What changed?"
"Of course, we should stay out of it if it's white-eyed wolves we are talking about. But this girl is a decent one, and she is worth helping."
She had borrowed 5 jin of flour from the Wei's last time but brought back 6. She didn't say anything about that. Had he not noticed that something was off and went to weigh it, he would never have found out.
One jin of flour didn't cost much, but one's character showed through from small things like that.
Shen Wanrong had always been fond of Tong Xuelu. She smiled and said, "Since you've said that, you can't say that I am meddling later on."
Wei Zhiguo picked up a bun and fed it to her. Showing his white teeth, he said, "When have I ever said that when you wanted to do something?"
Shen Wanrong gave him a glance and was full of smiles.
When Tong Mianmian saw the injuries on her two brothers when she got home, she was so scared that tears welled up in her eyes.
Tong Jiaming quickly comforted her. "Big Brother fell when he was walking. They don't hurt."
The little bun had no idea that what he said was a white lie and believed it when her brothers smiled at her.
She even blew at her brothers' wounds thoughtfully. "Blow, and the pain is gone."
Tong Jiaxin was ticklish and giggled when Tong Mianmian blew on him.
Watching the three siblings having fun with each other, Tong Xuelu had a different feeling for the first time.
In the past, she had only returned to them for a place to stay and to get a job that their parents left behind, since she wasn't able to get a job on her own in this era.
Raising the three bosses was just something she did on the side.
But now, she didn't just want to raise them. She wanted them to be a real family.
The next day, Tong Xuelu went to do her research outside of the school.
She had figured out the path that Ma Mei took to and from school.
Su Xiuying, too, had gotten back to her. Indeed, this was something to do with the He family.
Big Sister He's second daughter was the girlfriend of the youngest son of the Jiang family. The He family was unhappy that He Baogen and his mother had been reported to the police.
The Jiang's youngest son, to appease his girlfriend, told this to his family. He didn't avoid the children when he talked, so Jiang Ming started bullying Tong Jiaxin at school after he learned of the incident.
Me Mei was only able to be arrogant at school because she had the Jiang family behind her. She had always been their minion. For the sake of appeasing the Jiang family, she had been picking on Tong Jiaxin left and right.
Granted, Ma Mei had never been a good bird, and her exerting corporal punishment on students was a regular occurrence.
Su Xiuying apologized to Tong Xuelu repeatedly, and she deeply regretted what had happened.
If the Jiang family would target Tong Xuelu, then they would definitely not leave her and her family alone.
Tong Xuelu did not comfort her this time.
Wen Rugui had no idea about what was going on with Tong Xuelu.
He was on the train for 2 days and nights before he finally arrived at some city in the northwest.
He then transferred buses a few times before he arrived at the Chunlin Production Brigade and met the person he was there to pick up at the bullpen – the wife, daughter, and the in-law family of the Director of the Institute of Mechanics.
Jiao Boshan, the Director of the Institute of Mechanics, was his respected teacher and also the person who brought him into physics.
It should have been his teacher who came to pick them up himself, but with his special background, he had yet to be allowed to travel freely in and out of the base. As such, Wen Rugui had come on his behalf.
Zhong Shulan, the wife of Jiao Boshan, started crying uncontrollably when she saw someone there to pick them up.
On the third day, the school had made a decision – to expel Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin.
Tong Xuelu wasn't at all surprised by that decision, but that didn't stop her from feeling angry and disgusted.
Walking out of the dean's office, Ma Mei appeared in front of her again. "Do you still remember what I had told you the other day? I told you that the two of them will be expelled and let me tell you this right now. o other school in the entire capital would accept the two of them!"
Tong Xuelu couldn't be angrier right now, but she put on a pitiful look and pleaded with her. "Teacher Ma, please put in a good word for my brothers. I beg of you."
Seeing that Tong Xuelu was begging her, Ma Mei couldn't be more satisfied. "It's a little too late to be begging now. Coulda, woulda, shoulda."
Tong Xuelu pulled out a bundle of money from her military bag and shoved it over. "Teacher Ma, I will pay you as much as you want if you will put in a kind word for my brothers."
Ma Mei was so startled that she quickly pried open her hand. "What are you doing? Take it back quickly!"
Tong Xuelu took the money back. "Teacher Ma, we know that we were wrong. Please help us out. I have a death benefit from the government factory, and I can give that to you if you want."
Ma Mei's eyes lit up. "Come to the alleyway behind the school after school is over. Keep in mind that you can't let anyone know, or I am not going to help you!"
Tong Xuelu put on a delighted, surprised look. "Of course. Of course. I will head back and bring more money with me. I'll wait for you there after school is over. You must come, Teacher Ma!"
Ma Mei nodded haughtily.
Tong Xuelu nodded, bowed, and left with a smile.
Ma Mei had a sarcastic look on her after Tong Xuelu was gone. "Idiot!"
There was no way that she was going to help them.
Nevertheless, she could take the money and just tell them later on that she had done all that she could.
They were just a bunch of orphans anyway. They had no power or status. There was nothing that they could do to her after she had scammed them of their money.
After school.
Ma Mei purposefully waited for her coworkers to leave before she headed slowly toward the alleyway.
She saw Tong Xuelu waiting for her there by the time she got to the alleyway.
It was starting to get dark, and the school was situated in a more remote location. It was very quiet around them, and not another person could be seen.
Ma Mei made sure that there was nobody nearby before she walked into the alleyway. "Let me be clear. I am going to try, but I am not making any promises."
Tong Xuelu shouted angrily, "Try your SS!"
It took Ma Mei a couple seconds before she realized that Tong Xuelu was yelling at her. "How dare you talk to me like that?"
Tong Xuelu's lips curved. "Well, I just did!"
Having said that, Tong Xuelu suddenly lifted up her foot and kicked her from the side before Ma Mei could react.
Kicked by Tong Xuelu, Ma Mei was pushed a few steps back and fell hard to the ground.
Tong Xuelu didn't give her time to scream. She rushed up and pinned her down on the ground as she turned around and called out, "Come over here quickly you two!"
As soon as she was done talking, Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin quickly came running up from the other end of the alleyway.
Ma Mei turned pale and struggled with all her might. "What are you trying to do? I am telling you. Don't you dare try anything. You are not going to get away with this!"
Tong Xuelu removed her shoe and shoved it inside her mouth. She then had Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin hold down her arms and legs.
Then, tightening up her fist, she punched Ma Mei squarely on her chest.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
She punched Ma Mei repeatedly as if she was nothing more than a sandbag.
With the shoe in her mouth, Ma Mei couldn't make a sound.
Her chest hurt so much that tears were about to roll down her cheeks.
This lunatic!
She was sick!
She only punched her on her breasts!
One punch after another, all of them landing on her breast.
Why would a woman do that to another woman? A punch to her left breast.
Why would a woman do that to another woman? A punch to her right breast.
Hitting her on her face would leave a mark. Tong Xuelu trusted that Ma Mei would not tell others that she was beaten on her chest, or else she'll need to show the evidence to other people!
Chapter 62 - She could smell an affair from miles away~
Tong Xuelu pulled the shoe out of Ma Mei's mouth when she was done with the beating.
Ma Mei stared at her so hard that her eyes could crack at any moment. "Tramp, unless you kill me now, I will report you to the police!"
Tong Xuelu smacked her a couple of times with the sole of the shoe and said, "Why didn't you ask why I am only beating you up and nobody else?"
Ma Mei's face turned beet red. "…" Those were the exact words that she said to Tong Jiaming.
Tong Xuelu exclaimed, "Because you are such a tramp!"
Ma Mei's eyes looked like they could poison somebody.
Tong Xuelu continued to mock her. "You want to report me to the police, huh? Go right ahead. Do you really think I would come and beat you up without having a plan first? If you dare go, I'll expose all of the dirt I have on you, and we will go down together."
Her words startled Ma Mei. She stared at Tong Xuelu viciously.
Had she found out her secret?
Ma Mei didn't think that would be possible. She had covered up her tracks very well. Tong Xuelu must be bluffing.
With that thought, she forced herself to calm down. "What are you talking about? I have no dirt. So you want to go down together? Fine by me. Let's do it!"
Tong Xuelu noticed the fraction of a second when Ma Mei became dazed. She had an idea.
Truthfully, she was bluffing.
However, she knew that everybody had dirt on them. Some were just meaningless little secrets, but others were major ones that they couldn't afford for anyone to find out about.
Judging from Ma Mei's expression, her secret belonged to the latter.
She looked down on Ma Mei, who was still propped up from the ground, while standing up. "You can try. The worst that could happen to me is to be sent to the reform camp for a short period of time. The same can't be said about you though. Your life will be ruined, and you will be left with nothing!"
"! ! !"
Ma Mei's face turned pale all of a sudden, and her limbs turned cold.
She had really found out!
Tong Xuelu was even more certain now.
What she still didn't know was what exactly Ma Mei had done to be that terrified.
This was all very interesting.
Seeing that it was starting to get dark, she stood up and told Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin, "Let's go."
Tong Jiaxin let go of Ma Mei's feet and, as he walked past her, suddenly lifted up his foot and gave her a swift kick before he ran off madly.
Ma Mei was still in shock that her secret had been discovered, so she wasn't prepared at all for Tong Jiaxin's sudden attack.
Her waist hurt so much that she cried out loud, her face twisted up in pain.
Tong Jiaxin waited until he had run out of the alleyway before he said complacently, "Second Brother, I've avenged you. I kicked her!"
"Mmm." Tong Jiaming gave him a look and acknowledged him, his lips curving upward.
Listening to what Tong Jiaxin was saying, Tong Xuelu told the two, "Do not tell anyone about what had happened today, okay?"
Both Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin nodded.
Tong Jiaming never let his emotions show. However, one could tell that all the blues that he was feeling due the whole situation were gone from the bounce in his step.
Even though he couldn't slap Ma Mei across her cheeks like she did to him, he was still very happy being able to give her a beating.
Before this, he became extremely angry every time he thought about how he was scolded and beaten without reason. For two nights in a row, he was so livid that he cried in his sleep.
Thankfully, he felt much better now.
Tong Xuelu only beat Ma Mei up for her two brothers.
She especially did it for Tong Jiaxin. Otherwise, this incident would scar him for the rest of his life, if it wasn't resolved.
The additional information that she had obtained, however, was not planned.
She now had to figure out what exactly wasMa Mei's secret and how to expose it.
Mother Xiao had always been an efficient person.
She phoned her Big Brother the day she met with Tong Xuelu and had him get her a thousand complete sets of high school mathematics, physics, and chemistry textbooks. Her Big Brother was a little baffled about why she wanted that many textbooks. Nevertheless, he still promised her he would get them for her.
Two days later, the textbooks were ready, so he called Mother Xiao to go and pick them up.
When Mother Xiao arrived at her brother's place, her sister-in-law was the only one home.
Her sister-in-law fetched the textbooks for Mother Xiao, and when she saw her, she asked, "What's the story with Chengping? Is he really dating that Comrade Tong?"
Mother Xiao blinked, shook her head, and said, "No, Chengping has nothing to do with that girl. You know Chengping. He had always been a kind child. One who can't even step on an ant. He just felt bad for her after discovering that her parents had passed away and wanted to help her out a little financially."
As upset as Mother Xiao was about Tong Xuelu's blackmailing, she saw no reason to let anyone else know about what had happened, given that it had already been resolved.
Granted, her main reason was she didn't want her son's name to be tied to Tong Xuelu.
The sister-in-law let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad to hear that the two aren't dating. Do you know that Comrade Tong has offended someone?"
Mother Xiao was taken aback a little. "Offended someone? What do you mean by that?"
Seeing that Mother Xiao was clueless about what was going on, her sister-in-law quickly filled her in about what had happened at City Nan Grade School during the last few days.
"I didn't know it was her at first, but when I heard that the two children that were expelled had no parents and their surnames were Tong, I figured it was the girl that Chengping knows."
Mother Xiao frowned a little. "Expelled? Wasn't it just squabbles among kids? Was it really necessary to have them expelled?"
Her sister-in-law sighed and said, "They had offended someone. The teacher was a relative of the Director of Education, your Big Brother's boss. I heard that no school in the entire city district would accept those two kids."
Mother Xiao frowned even more. "How can a teacher do such a thing? Someone like that does not deserve to be a teacher! Can Big Brother do anything about this?"
Her sister-in-law raised her brows. "You want to help them out?"
Mother Xiao said, "They are just a bunch of orphans. This is so unnecessary. I just don't like the way this is going is all."
She didn't think that Tong Xuelu was good enough for her son, but she also did not condemn setting others up through dirty means, especially when it was directed at a group of parentless orphans. That was revolting.
Her sister-in-law knew that Mother Xiao had always been a righteous one and followed the rules to the T. She wasn't surprised when she heard that. "You know that your Big Brother never got along with his superior. It won't be easy for him to meddle with this one."
Mother Xiao nodded in acknowledgement and didn't say anything else.
After she had returned, she became progressively more concerned when she thought about Tong Xuelu and her siblings more. If Chengping was to find out that Tong Xuelu was in distress, she worried that he would seek her out again.
She quickly had a discussion with her husband and had Xiao Chengping's uncle in the army quickly send a telegram to have Xiao Chengping returned to his troop.
Irritated, Xiao Chengping had been thinking about how his cousin had slipped and let his mother find out that he tried to loan money to Tong Xuelu when he received a telegram urging him to return to his troop after he had just arrived home.
He had an inkling that his mother had something to do with it.
Seeing the way that he was acting, Mother Xiao decided to take care of the problem once and for all. "It's fine if you don't want to leave right away. You can go to an arranged date tomorrow, and let's nail down the matters of your marriage."
Xiao Chengping's beady eyes widened. "Who am I going on an arranged date with, Mom? You hadn't already decided on that yet, had you?"
Mother Xiao said, "No, not yet, but that won't be a problem at all. You know the girl too. She's the daughter of the Feng's. She's pretty and matches our family status. I will broach the subject to the Feng's tomorrow if you don't want to return to your troop."
Xiao Chengping quickly said, "Don't, don't, don't. Don't go. I'll leave tomorrow, alright?"
Mother Xiao admonished. "Look at you. Jingyuan is such a nice girl. What don't you like about her?"
Xiao Chengping scratched his head. "I don't not like her. I just feel that her forehead is too high."
Mother Xiao, "…"
Lo and behold, those over at the Feng's were also talking about finding someone for Fang Jingyuan.
As soon as her mother had brought up Xiao Chengping, Fang Jingyuan immediately shook her head like a rattle drum. "No, Mom. I don't want to date Xiao Chengping!"
Mother Feng was baffled. "He's a good-looking and competent kid. What don't you like about him?"
Fang Jingyuan pouted a little and said, "I wouldn't say that I don't like him. I just feel that his eyes are too small."
Mother Feng, "…"
And that was how the arranged date was nipped in the bud. Xiao Chengping quickly packed up to return to his troop.
He wanted to say goodbye to Tong Xuelu before he took off, but with his Mother Xiao watching him closely day and night, he finally gave up on that idea.
As Wen Rugui had the approval letters from the government, the Production Team quickly released their group.
Walking out with Zhong Shulan and the others from Chunlan Production Team, Wen Rugui took the bus with them all the way into town.
They did not return to Capital City right away but stayed at a hotel in town because Zhong Shulan's father had fallen ill as soon as they had left the Production Team.
They had suffered a lot at the bullpen in the last few years. They did not have enough to feed or clothe themselves. They did the dirtiest and hardest of all work and had to go through a denunciation rally from time to time. They had suffered greatly both physically and mentally.
Old Mr. Zhong had been broken a long time ago, but he was just hanging in there for the sake of his daughter. Once they had received the letter that they had been redeemed, what had kept him going was gone, and his health deteriorated very quickly.
Zhong Shulan was worried sick seeing that her father had fallen ill and quickly fell ill herself.
Having to take care of both her mother and her grandfather, Jiao Yunshi became haggard in no time.
Wen Rugui, worried that she, too, would fall ill, quickly took over the responsibilities of taking care of Old Mr. Zhong.
With Wen Rugui's help, Jiao Yunshi was finally able to take a breather. "Thank you so much, Comrade Wen. We should have returned to Capital City right away, but we didn't think my grandfather and my mother would fall ill one after the other. I apologize for all the troubles that we had caused you."
Wen Rugui said nonchalantly, "Don't mention it. It is my responsibility to take care of you."
His beloved professor had helped him a lot in his career in the physics field. Had it not been for his professor, he would have given up on it a long time ago.
Jiao Yunshi changed the topic. "How's my father been? Is he still in good health?"
Wen Rugui nodded. "Profession is still healthy. He just misses you a lot."
Jiao Yunshi's eyes reddened. "Good. Good. We miss him a lot as well."
Wen Rugui said, "I think Old Mr. Zhong will be waking up shortly. Let me head back inside."
Jiao Yunshi paused a little and nodded. "Right. Right. Thank you so much, Comrade Wen."
Wen Rugui said nothing else but turned and left.
Jiao Yunshi looked at his back and only headed back after a long while.
Two workers from the hotel started yakking after they were gone.
"That male comrade is very good looking but also too straight. The female comrade was already crying, and he didn't even try to comfort her."
"Why did he need to comfort her? The two of them were obviously not lovers."
"Well, you are right about that too. I thought they were a family when they showed up together. I wonder if he has a girlfriend already."
"What are you thinking? You should stop with that fantasy of yours right now. Even if he didn't have a girlfriend, he wouldn't pick you anyway."
"What are you saying, huh?"
Tong Xuelu did not follow Ma Mei immediately the next day after she had given her a beating.
She was a little worried that Ma Mei would report her. In hindsight, beating up Ma Mei was an absolutely rash decision.
They had no backings or connections. They were just a bunch of kids. They would not be able to defend themselves at all should the other party decide to take revenge on them.
She was very envious of those female leads in novels that had cheats at times like this. It was very annoying that she didn't have so much as a dimension where she could store food.
And the timing wasn't the greatest either. This was now 1976. The 10-year activity was already coming to a tail end and would be over in just a month or two.
A few years earlier, she would be able to take advantage of the situation and public opinion to report Ma Mei and the Jiang family.
In those years, teachers did not have very high status, and many teachers were denounced for very minor things. But that was not the case anymore.
Never mind the Jiang family. Being able to work their way up to become the Director of Education, their power and network were not something that just anyone could rock.
It was best for them to lurk until the perfect moment.
Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin would not be attending school for the time being, so for the sake of distracting them, Tong Xuelu had them plow the yard and sow the vegetable seeds.
The Wei family had sent over a lot of seeds. With the exception of tomatoes and lettuce, there were also pumpkins. Tong Xuelu divided the yard into two portions – one side for the chickens and the vegetables and perhaps flowers on the other side.
Tong Mianmian was the happiest one after finding out that Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin didn't need to go to school. She followed behind them day in and day out and turned into their little tails.
Their days were quiet for a few days, and Tong Xuelu finally felt relieved.
That was when she started taking action.
She waited around Ma Mei's normal routes to and from work to see what she could find out.
In the beginning, Ma Mei would go to and from work like clockwork every day and never visited any places other than the school.
Her life was so structured that Tong Xuelu suspected that her speculation was wrong.
Nevertheless, a fox could only hide its tail for so long. Ma Mei finally couldn't hold out anymore.
On this very day, Ma Mei did not head straight home after school was out. Instead, she walked into an alleyway after taking a lot of detours.
Tong Xuelu didn't want to follow her too close for fear of being spotted by her, so she had almost lost track of her.
When she followed Ma Mei quietly into the alleyway, she was just in time to see Ma Mei walking into a house.
After Ma Mei had gone inside, a man poked his head out, looked around, and closed the door after confirming that he did not see anyone outside.
Tong Xuelu was so excited that her hands were shaking.
Oh boy. She could smell an affair from miles away~
With Ma Mei and the man's sneaky behaviors and the fact that Ma Mei had taken so many detours before coming here, it would be difficult for one to not think that it was an affair.
Given that it was autumntime, the days were shorter, and it was already starting to get dark now. However, there still wasn't a lot of foot traffic in this alleyway.
Tong Xuelu looked around and noticed that no lights were coming from either house beside the man's place. Tong Xuelu wasn't sure if the owners weren't home yet or if the houses were vacant to begin with.
She waited for a while at the corner and was bitten all over by mosquitos.
They were so itchy that she was going insane. She pressed her fingernails into the bumps and made crosses and #'s on them.
Tong Xuelu finally walked out from the corner after she had waited for over 10 minutes and still didn't see any signs of Ma Mei leaving the place.
The walls surrounding the man's yard were a bit high. Tong Xuelu could still climb on them, but it would be difficult to make an escape if she was spotted by someone.
As such, she only took a look from out front before she walked to the back of the house.
She was delighted when she saw a window in the back of the house. It was one of those old-style wooden windows, and it was shut tightly right now.
She crept up there quietly and placed her ear against the window.
She heard moaning noises coming from the inside and also the squeaking noises of the bed.
Wu wu wu. Her ear had been violated.
As an old creeper who had watched many videos in her previous life, she knew that they were really driving a luxurious car inside.
Once Tong Xuelu had confirmed that, she stopped listening and returned to the corner that she was hiding in previously, continuing to feed the mosquitos.
Another 10 ~ 20 minutes later, Ma Mei finally showed her face again.
The moon was very bright tonight, and with the moonlight casting down on her, Ma Mei's eyes were filled with charm. She looked like dried wood that had been watered by the spring shower.
Ma Mei looked around, even though there was nobody around, before saying, "Dai Ya, Aunty Mei is taking off now. I'll come visit you again next time!"
This time the man was carrying a little girl in his arms when he came out.
The little girl looked like she had just woken up and waved at Ma Mei, dispirited. "Bye-bye, Aunty Mei."
"Bye, Dai Ya." Ma Mei blinked at the man as she talked, "I should be on my way then, Brother Fu."
The man replied, "Alright, have a safe trip back."
Ma Mei smiled at him and walked away twisting her waist from side to side.
The man only closed the door and walked back inside the house with the little girl after Ma Mei had walked out of the alleyway.
Chapter 63- Tong Xuelu will need Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin's help.
Tong Xuelu remained squatted until everything had died down around her before she walked out from the corner.
From what she had found out before, Ma Mei was already married and had a son and a daughter.
The man had a child in his arms, so obviously he was also married. Meaning that both of them were cheating on their spouses!
Having an affair was a serious matter in this day and age. Once they were discovered, their lives would be ruined. Just a few years back, they would be paraded down the streets and be denounced.
If she wanted to expose Ma Mei, there were a few things that she would need to do.
Find out where Ma Mei's husband worked and get the numbers to his unit.
Find out more about the area around the man's place. That would help with her future planning.
Find out Ma Mei's relationship with the man. That being said, this one was not mandatory.
Tong Xuelu pondered over her plan as she walked toward home. However, after she had walked into the alleyway near her house, she suddenly saw a big body blocking her way.
She was able to make out the person's face with the streetlight –– It was Pu Jianyi.
And just what was he doing here?
Tong Xuelu paused a little before she walked over.
Pu Jianyi looked up when he heard footsteps and let out a sigh of relief when she saw Tong Xuelu. "You are finally back, Comrade Tong!"
Tong Xuelu was even more curious when she heard that. "Why are you looking for me, Comrade Pu?"
Pu Jianyi was just about to answer her question, but he was startled when Tong Xuelu got close to him. "What happened to your face, Comrade Tong? How did you get so many mosquito bites?"
Tong Xuelu, "…"
Must he mention that?
Pu Jianyi's mouth opened wide as he laughed. "One, two, three, four, five. Oh boy. You have five bug bites on your face! And the way your eye is swollen looks so comical. Hahaha…"
"…"
Listening to Pu Jianyi laughing at her, Tong Xuelu's eyes almost rolled all the way up.
It was obvious that Pu Jianyi had something to tell her, and they couldn't just stand around the side of the street. As such, Tong Xuelu let him into her place.
Once they were inside the house, Tong Jiaming and the siblings were waiting for her to have dinner. They were all dazed when they saw Pu Jianyi following behind her.
Tong Xuelu went on to explain, "This is a friend of mine, and there's something we need to talk about. Just start eating, and don't wait for me."
As Tong Jiaming and the others were inside the living room, Tong Xuelu had no choice but to bring Pu Jianyi into the study.
Pu Jianyi looked around the study as he walked inside.
The study was not big, but it seemed empty as there wasn't a lot inside of it. There was an old set of table and chairs inside and a chipped vase on top of the table with a few wildflowers inside of it.
The very simple study was greatly adorned by those few wildflowers.
Tong Xuelu brought over two glasses of water from the kitchen. "What is it that you want to talk to me about, Comrade Pu?"
Pu Jianyi took the water from her and drank a few big gulps before he started talking. "I heard about what happened to your family. What are your plans now?"
Bad news always spreads faster than good ones.
Not to mention that Pu Jianyi also lived in this area. Tong Xuelu was not surprised at all that he had learned about that.
"Cross that bridge when we come to it."
Even though Pu Jianyi was a friend of Wen Rugui's, Tong Xuelu still didn't trust him 100%.
Pu Jianyi could tell right away that she was just blowing him off. "I've been to the government-operated restaurant that you work at today. They said you have taken a few days off. Comrade Tong, what are you planning?"
He wasn't entirely barging into businesses that didn't concern him. Wen Rugui had called him specifically to have him keep an eye out on the Tong family.
He grew up with Wen Rugui, and this was the very first time that he saw Wen Rugui caring so much about a female comrade. Prior to Tong Xuelu, he had thought that Wen Rugui would remain single for life.
He was like those plants that bloom once in a millennium.
Naturally, Pu Jianyi would not reject Wen Rugui's request. Not to mention that he would still be borrowing money from Wen Rugui in the future.
Pu Jianyi learned about what happened to the Tong family from his brother-in-law, who worked at the Department of Education.
After he had learned about it, he specifically took half a day off to go look for Tong Xuelu at the government-operated restaurant, but he hadn't expected that she had taken a few days off.
He then found out where she lived from her coworkers and only found out that she was out and about after he had arrived at her place.
He waited outside for half a day before she finally returned. Darn, she was gone for most of the day and returned home with a headful of mosquito bites.
Recalling how she had sent Tong Zhenzhen to the farm and became the witness that had the He's mother and son sent to the farm, it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that she was up to something again.
"Why? Do you want to give me a hand?" asked Tong Xuelu with her brows raised.
Pu Jianyi explained, "It wasn't that I wanted to butt into your business, but Rugui had asked me to keep an eye out on you. I have known Rugui for many years, and this was the first time he cared so much about a girl. How can I not help him out?"
Most girls would blush when they heard that.
Tong Xuelu blinked and then smiled. "So it was Comrade Wen who asked you to help me. Now I can trust you."
Pu Jianyi, "…"
So that was why she wouldn't divulge anything to him earlier. She had her guards up.
Tong Xuelu said to him, "What I want to do is very simple. I want my two brothers to go back to school."
Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin were expelled because they had "talked back to their teachers and were too unruly to be taught." Nothing was mentioned about the fight for the sake of protecting Jiang Ming, the grandson of the Director of the Department of Education.
Since that was the case, the only way to get them back to school was to prove that they were not too unruly to be taught.
And the best way to prove that they were not bad students was to show that their teacher was an immoral individual.
As long as Ma Mei's reputation was ruined, she could use that to get Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin back to school.
Pu Jianyi went silent for a little while and asked, "So you are aiming for that Teacher Ma?"
Tong Xuelu denied, "Not aiming for. This is about doing the right thing. Someone like her shouldn't be a teacher."
Pu Jianyi asked, "What do you have in mind then? Perhaps I can help."
Tong Xuelu thought about it some and said, "I don't think you should meddle in this one. This will affect you negatively."
Pu Jianyi was the captain of the investigation team and not a minion cop who took care of matters between citizens. Things would really get blown out of proportion if he was involved in it.
Besides, they were both single and not related. There would be all sorts of speculations if word got out.
She had wanted to report Ma Mei on the charges of corruption but she quickly gave up on that idea. That was not an easy way to go.
In order to catch her red-handed, she would need to have a cop's presence. But that way she would end up dragging Pu Jianyi in. Nevertheless, if there was no cop presence, things could backfire easily.
Pu Jianyi asked, "You can take care of it on your own?"
Tong Xuelu nodded. "I already have an idea of what to do. That being said, I do have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
"Can you please help me find out information on Ma Mei's husband, including where he works?"
Pu Jianyi couldn't really figure out what Tong Xuelu had in mind but looking that information up was not difficult for him at all.
He nodded and said, "That's not a problem. I'll get them to you as soon as possible. But you must promise me that you would not do anything illegal."
Tong Xuelu promised him. "Don't worry, Comrade Pu. I am a law-abiding citizen. I will never do anything that's against the law!"
Yes, she was a green tea, but there are good green teas and bad green teas. She would never break the law, and she would never be a third person in a relationship.
Life was so good. What would be a reason to do those things?
Pu Jianyi nodded, pleased with the answer. Suddenly, his stomach growled.
He cracked his mouth open and smiled. "Comrade Tong, Rugui mentioned that you are a great cook. See, I've waited for you to get back this entire time and haven't even had dinner yet…"
If you want a horse to run for you, it is vital to feed the horse amply. Even if Pu Jianyi didn't ask, Tong Xuelu would have.
Standing up, she asked, "What would Comrade Pu like? Anything that you can't have?"
Pu Jianyi was smiling from ear to ear. "I eat everything. There is nothing that I don't eat!"
No wonder he was so stoutly built. He was an easy one to feed.
Thought Tong Xuelu to herself as she walked over to the kitchen.
In the past few days, in addition to having Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin continue with their studies at home, she also taught them how to sprout greens and soybeans.
Thus, she has very good bean sprouts in her kitchen right now.
The Wei family had given her some dried noodles, so she made two bowls of cabbage and eggs noodles and a bean sprout cold dish.
Since she had dried noodles, it didn't take her long to cook everything. It only took a total of 20 minutes.
Truth was, Wen Rugui had never mentioned Tong Xuelu's cooking to Pu Jianyi, but Wen Rugui wouldn't even spare a piece of date cake with him last time. This had bothered him until now.
Slurping the noodles mixed with the crunchy bean sprouts, Pu Jianyi couldn't be more satisfied.
When Wen Rugui returns, he must gloat and mention to Wen Rugui that he had eaten noodles that Tong Xuelu had made.
Not sharing date cakes with him? Hmph!
Tong Xuelu went out collecting information in the next couple of days.
Finally, on the third day, she found out something about Ma Mei's affair.
The doors to the houses next to Ma Mei's rendezvous place with the person she was having an affair with were closed when Tong Xuelu headed over the last two days. However, the doors of one of the houses were finally opened today.
Next to them lived a 60-something old woman. The daughter of the paramour was playing in the old lady's yard right now.
Tong Xuelu used the excuse of buying a house to get close to the old lady and was successfully able to get information on the man from her.
The paramour's name was Duan Wanfu; he was a worker at a metal factory.
He has a wife and a daughter. His wife was an educated youth sent to the countryside, while he lived in the capital city with his daughter. The old lady next to him babysat his daughter for him in the daytime.
The old lady had no children but had a nephew in the countryside. She visited her nephew every Saturday afternoon and would only return Sunday night.
That gave Tong Xuelu an idea.
If she was right, Ma Mei and her lover met up on Saturday nights to do their deeds.
Since the old lady would be gone and the other house next to them was empty, nobody would run into them.
Tong Xuelu retreated quickly after she had gained that piece of information.
She then found out more from Pu Jianyi's side.
Ma Mei's husband worked in the well-drilling team in the Water Resources Bureau. He worked long hours, normally working till 8 or 9 at night. As the Water Resources Bureau was not in the city, he only went home once a month.
Ma Mei's mother- and father-in-law didn't live with them. They live with their oldest boy. As such, nobody would question Ma Mei coming home late on Saturday nights.
Tong Xuelu tsked to herself and planned to start acting this coming Saturday.
She wouldn't be able to do it all on her own, so she had Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin join in.
In the compound of the Logistic Department.
The other Tong family finally learned about what had happened on Tong Xuelu's end.
Big Brother Tong said to his wife, "My little sister would not know what to do. Perhaps we should find time and go visit her."
Chen Yueling was just about to agree when Mother Tong walked in and said, "What's the point of visiting her? Can you help her solve her problem?"
Big Brother Tong scratched his head. "Regardless of whether or not I can solve her problem for her, it would still be nice to go and see what is going on."
Mother Tong's face dropped. "What is there to find out? Did she tell us when she switched to a restaurant job? Has she ever come to visit us?"
Chen Yueling tried defending Tong Xuelu. "I've heard that those who work at the government-operated restaurant don't get any time off. Xuelu probably didn't have time to come visit us."
Mother Tong did not look happy. "One way or another, none of you are allowed to go. We didn't abuse our power when Zhenzhen was in trouble. Are we now going to abuse our power for an outsider?"
Her words silenced both Big Brother Tong and Chen Yueling.
Chapter 64- Ma Mei's Eyes Widened.
Ever since Mother Tong returned from Yuanqing with her ankle sprained, she became progressively more upset whenever she thought about it.
Tong Xuelu never said a word to them after she had moved to the city. Did she expect her, as the elder, to take the initiative to visit her first?
That did not make any sense!
She held herself back from going to visit Tong Xuelu. Now that Tong Xuelu was in trouble, Mother Tong wanted to visit her even less. She forbade her son and daughter-in-law from visiting her as well.
She worried that Tong Xuelu would ask her son and daughter-in-law for help if they go visit her.
With Mother Lu's demand, Chen Yueling and Big Brother Tong had to give up on their idea.
On Wen Rugui's side.
When one gets sick, one really gets sick. Old Mr. Zong's condition became critical at one point. In fact, the hospital had released the final notice and asked the family members to prepare their goodbyes.
Luckily, however, he was able to pull through after all.
Nevertheless, with his current health condition, the others dared not put him on a long train ride back.
As such, Wen Rugui's return time was delayed once again.
Such was Saturday afternoon.
Tong Xuelu brought Tong Mianmian over to the Wei family to have someone help look after her when she left with Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin.
She had Tong Jiaming head over to the post office and place a call to Ma Mei's husband, telling him that a house had collapsed and Ma Mei was trapped under it.
The person who answered the phone was startled. He didn't even ask who it was that was calling but instead got the address of the collapsed house and immediately hung up.
Meanwhile, Tong Xuelu and Tong Jiaxin went over to the Duan's place and waited there. They placed the dried branches and firewood that they had collected to one side.
Everything was ready, except for the final touch.
The sky gradually turned darker.
The alleyway was so quiet one could hear a pin drop.
Tong Jiaxin was bitten quite a few times on his face by mosquitos. It was so itchy that he couldn't stop scratching himself. "When is that woman going to come?"
Tong Xuelu was bitten all over her face last time. With Tong Jiaxin there with her this time, the mosquitos actually spared her and bit him instead.
She looked at all the mosquito bites on Tong Jiaxin's face and said sympathetically, "I think she's coming soon. Let's just wait a little longer."
Ten more minutes had passed. Right when Tong Xuelu started thinking that perhaps Ma Mei wouldn't be coming today, she finally showed up.
Compared to the previous time, Ma Mai seemed to have dolled herself up purposefully this time. She had on a Dacron dress, her waist swaying from side to side as she walked.
Ma Mei knocked a few times on the wooden door.
Her lover showed up at the door quickly. His eyes lit up when he saw her outfit. "Mei, you look so pretty today."
Ma Mei gave him a playful stare. "What are you talking about? Let's hurry up and go inside. Oh right, is Da Ya asleep yet?"
"Yes, she's asleep and will stay asleep for a while."
The two headed inside as they talked.
Tong Xuelu had heard it all in the past, so their conversation did nothing to her.
Tong Jiaxin, on the other hand, looked like his world had just been turned upside down.
Tong Xuelu shoved him and said, "Get it together. Let's get started."
Tong Jiaxin finally recollected himself and carried the firewood over to the Duan's with Tong Xuelu.
Tong Jiaxin climbed over the wall, while Tong Xuelu handed the firewood over to him from the other side.
To make sure that it was the right time, she walked to the back of the house and heard the moaning sounds. Coming back around, she then had Tong Jiaxin light up the firewood.
Tong Jiaxin climbed back over the wall and walked around to the back of the house. He pushed against the wooden window with his hands to prevent them from escaping through the back window.
Tong Xuelu, on the other hand, ran out of the alleyway to get help to extinguish the fire.
"Help! A house is on fire!"
It was fall, and the weather was dry. Once a house was on fire, the fire could spread very quickly.
When the others heard that there was a fire, they all ran out with their water bucket to help extinguish the fire.
Tong Xuelu led the way and brought them precisely over to the front of the Duan's.
The crowd saw that there was, indeed, a fire in the yard. It had not yet spread to the house, but soon enough it would, if they don't put it out.
The crowd was just about to knock on the door when Tong Xuelu stopped them. "Don't bother with the knocking. I think something happened to those inside. I've called out to them for a while, but there was no response. Quickly climb over the wall, and knock down the door to save them!"
Nobody doubted Tong Xuelu's words. She was, after all, the first person who noticed the fire. Naturally, she would have called out to the people inside before she ran to get help.
As such, the crowd gave up on knocking, scaled the wall, and quickly unlocked the wooden door from the inside.
After everyone had rushed inside, they put out the fire in the yard quickly.
Meanwhile, two sturdy men went to knock down the door of the house.
BAM!
The two people getting hot and heavy inside were startled.
Ma Mei turned pale. "What- what is going on?"
Duan Wanfu was scared as well. He was unable to perform right away. "How would I know?"
Ma Mei shoved him with her hand. "Well, hurry up and check it out then…"
She hadn't finished her sentence when there was another loud BAM!
The wooden door that was less than sturdy was knocked open.
The crowd came running in and was expecting to see the people inside unconscious in bed. Lo and behold, they saw two very much conscious persons laying on top of each other in bed; neither one had any clothes on.
The crowd was stunned.
Ma Mei let out a loud cry and pulled a blanket over herself.
Duan Wanfu, whose bottom was now exposed, quickly pulled the blanket over himself as well.
Tong Xuelu, mixed in with the crowd, said in a fake voice, "By golly! I thought Comrade Duan's wife was sent to the countryside. Who's that woman then? They are not having an affair, are they?"
That reminded the others.
"Oh right, I remember that his wife was sent to the countryside and would only return during New Year. That woman is not his wife!"
"No wonder they wouldn't open the door up this whole time. They were here doing the unspeakable!"
"Everyone, let's hurry. Tie them up, and bring them to the police station!"
Having an affair was a serious crime in their current society. Not only would one's reputation be ruined, but they may also have jail time.
Ma Mei trembled in fear under the blanket. She was about to pass out. She pinched Duan Wanfu hard with her shaking hand.
Duan Wanfu let out a loud cry before he said with his pale face, "You all misunderstood. This is my wife under the blanket!"
Tong Xuelu said again in her fake voice, "I don't believe you. Let us see her face!"
Duan Wanfu, running out of options, patted Ma Mei and said, "Wife, just show them."
He only hoped that his location was remote enough and that he didn't mingle with his neighbors much in the past. In addition, with his wife only coming home once a year, he hoped that the others would not recognize that it was not his wife with him now.
That was Ma Mei's thought as well. She showed her pale face slowly from under the blanket.
Indeed, not very many people recognized Duan Wanfu's wife. A couple of them had met her in the past, but with Ma Mei only showing half of her face, they weren't able to tell that it wasn't her.
Tong Xuelu did her green tea thing again. "I know her. She's not Duan Wanfu's wife. She's a teacher at City Nan Grade School. Her name is Ma Mei!
"Teacher Ma Mei is having an affair. Hurry up and call the cops!"
Ma Mei's husband, upon hearing that his wife was in an accident, quickly took the day off and rushed over.
It was a 2-hour car ride over to the city from the Water Resources Bureau. His boss,being thoughtful to him, had the driver of their department bring him over immediately.
After the car was parked, Ma Mei's husband and the driver rushed over and saw a crowd standing in front of the house where Ma Mei had supposedly had an accident.
Seeing the crowd, he thought that the accident was real and quickly pushed his way to the front.
He had just walked inside the courtyard when he heard someone saying out loud, "She's Teacher Ma Mei from City Nan Grade School. She having an affair!"
He heard a loud buzz in his head right away.
The others, too, acted quickly. Someone was already heading over to the police station.
The cops came quickly and arrested Ma Mei and Duan Wanfu.
When Ma Mei was brought out of the house, she looked up and suddenly saw her husband standing there looking at her, his face long.
Ma Mei's husband rushed up to her and slapped her multiple times. "You tramp. Have I, Wang Baoguo, ever wronged you that you have to do this to me? I am going to kill you!"
Ma Mei felt her cheeks burning. But now wasn't the time to be concerned with the pain. "Lao Wang, I was set up. I didn't wrong you!"
Wang Baoguo slapped her again. "You are still trying to lie even now?"
Ma Mei's face was slapped to one side. With her face turned, she suddenly saw Tong Xuelu standing among the crowd.
Amidst the gray crowd, Tong Xuelu stood there like a white crane. Standing tall and straight, she was very eye-catching.
Ma Mei's eyes widened.
Chapter 65 - An unexpected guest.
It was her!
The tramp Tong Xuelu was the one who set her up!
Ma Mei started screaming. She wanted to struggle free and lung at Tong Xuelu. "Tramp! I am going to kill you!"
She had yet to lung at Tong Xuelu when her arms were twisted by the cops and she was unable to move.
Like a trapped animal in a cage, she stared at Tong Xuelu with her beet red eyes.
Tong Xuelu blinked at her and mouthed to her –– Goodbye.
Ma Mei and her affair were brought to the cop station.
With all the ruckus going on outside, Da Ya, Duan Wanfu's daughter, never woke up.
Tong Xuelu felt that something was off.
She entered a separate room along with the crowd and saw the girl very groggy and her face, just the size of a palm, pale after she was woken up by the others.
Tong Xuelu looked around and saw a lot of peanut shells next to the girl's bed.
She had an idea.
Peanuts are something that many are allergic to. Everyone's reactions to them vary, from dizziness to inflammation of the skin. To some, it was cold sweat or weakness in their limbs.
She suspected that the girl was very well allergic to peanuts and, Duan Wanfu, as the father of the child, very likely fed peanuts to the girl every time before his date so he would have time to spend with Ma Mei.
If that was the case, then the father Duan Wanfu was truly a monster!
That was merely her speculation, however. She didn't want to voice that unless she had more evidence.
Luckily the girl was fine in the past and it didn't seem like anything would happen to her this time.
As Duan Wanfu was arrested and the girl's mother was in the countryside. The girl was taken away by the cops to care for until her mother could make her way back.
After the girl was taken away, the crowd continued to talk about the event. Many of them scolded Ma Mei.
"That was so shameless. She was a teacher and she ended up on some other man's bed. So shameless!"
"Exactly. How's someone like that a teacher? My son attends City Nan Grade School. I worry that all the other teachers are the same as Ma Mei!"
"Now you have me worried too. Can a child learn to be good with teachers like her?"
Tong Xuelu left in content after she listened to the discussions.
Tong Jiaxin, who was in the back of the house, also ran out amidst the chaos.
After they walked out of the alleyway, Tong Jiaxin looked up at her and quickly lowered his head again. He kicked a stone in front of him and looked at her awkwardly again.
Noticing his unusual behavior, Tong Xuelu said to him, "Whatever you have to say, just say it
Tong Jiaxin said in a low and deep voice, "You shouldn't have shown you face. Now that you were seen, what if Jiang Ming's grandfather takes revenge against you?"
Tong Xuelu frowned slightly. "You are concerned about me now?"
Tong Jiaxin's face turned beet red. He lifted his head and gave her a stare. "No, I'm not. I am not concerned about you. I just… just feel that that was stupid of you!"
Tong Xuelu curved her lips. "You can just say it if you are worried about me. Stop feeling so awkward about that!"
Tong Jiaxin's ears turned red entirely. "Nonsense. I said it wasn't about you!"
Tong Xuelu almost busted out laughing. "Fine. If you say so. I am not worry that they will revenge me. That's why I showed my face!"
First of all, she didn't set Ma Mei up. Ma Mei was the one in an affair, she didn't knock Ma Mei out and placed her in the man's bed.
Secondly, Ma Mei's incident would brood tomorrow. There wasn't a lot of entertainment in this day and age and words on matters like this would spread very quickly. By then, Jiang Ming's grandfather would want to stay as far away from this as possible. No way he would stick his neck out for a distant relative.
As for Ma Mei, regardless of whether she saw Tong Xuelu or not, she would have suspected her anyway.
As such, what was the point of hiding?
She might as well just show her face and add fuel to the fire.
Tong Jiaxin felt relieved after he had heard that but he harrumphed and said, "That made no sense whatsoever!"
Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes, "Such a dishonest boy!"
"…"
Tong Jiaming went straight home to take care of Tong Mianmian after he had made the call.
Seeing the two back home, he could no longer keep calm like his usual self. He asked them nervously, "How did it go? Was she arrested?"
Tong Jiaxin's eyes rounded, and he excitedly recounted the story with some embellishments.
He did not forget to cover up Tong Mianmian's ears, so she couldn't hear him.
Tong Mianmian pouted so much that one could hook pork from her lips.
While the children talked, Tong Xuelu went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Tong Jiaming had already cooked the rice and prepared vegetables and spices. All she needed to do was to fry.
Early this morning, she had Tong Jiaming go to the CSMC to get pork belly, which she had retrieved from the well for dinner.
After rinsing the meat out, she boiled it in some cold water with ginger, green onion, and Sichuan peppercorn. She then pulled the pork out of the water and sliced it thinly when it was 80% cooked.
Now, twice-cooked pork was a big challenge for one's knife work. Too thin and it could fall apart; too thick and it won't have the right consistency.
But knife work was no problem for Tong Xuelu. All of her slices came out with the same thickness.
When the twice-cooked pork was ready, she quickly stir-fried a garlic vegetable dish. With that, dinner was ready.
Tong Jiaxin had long since finished telling the story. He ran over madly when he smelled the aroma coming from the kitchen. Seeing the twice-cooked pork, his eyes became brighter than the light bulb above his head.
He picked a piece up stealthily with his fingers and hurriedly put it inside his mouth. The shaking piece of fatty meat melted almost instantly in his mouth. The non-fatty part of the meat was tasty and had the perfect texture. The taste of bean paste and green peppers spread through his mouth, having both savory and spicy flavors.
Yummy!
It was incredibly yummy!
He picked up the plate of twice-cooked pork and ran inside the living room. "Time for dinner! We have twice-cooked pork today!"
He was expelled from school, but if that meant he could have yummy food like this every day, so what if he was expelled?
Days were like heaven to him right now compared to the time when they were living in the compound.
How could he have said such stupid things like he didn't want to move before?
As they had taken care of the issue called Ma Mei, the Tong family enjoyed their meat tonight thoroughly with satisfied looks on their faces.
The matters concerning Ma Mei spread quickly. The rate at which the words spread had exceeded Tong Xuelu's expectations.
She had even planned to add fuel to the fire secretly, if necessary. Turns out, she didn't need to do anything after all.
Words about Ma Mei having an affair spread to school quickly. Even teachers at school were shocked.
Ma Mei was ill-tempered, but they hadn't expected her to commit such a shameless act.
"You sure can't judge a book by its cover. I would never have thought that Teacher Ma was this kind of a person!"
"How can you still refer to her as Teacher Ma? Calling a shameless person in an affair a teacher is an insult to the word!"
"I heard that her husband is seeking a divorce."
"How can he not? He caught her red-handed. What kind of man would be okay with that?"
Everyone was shocked, and nobody would speak up for Ma Mei.
The school reacted quickly after Ma Mei's incident – her teacher qualification was canceled.
At the same time, much as Tong Xuelu had expected, Director Jiang, Jiang Ming's grandfather, said that the Jiang family were just cousins of Ma Mei and that the cops should do their job and pursue the matter to the fullest extent of the law!
Ma Mei's husband felt that he had been cheated on and decided to divorce Ma Mei before the verdict.
Duan Wanfu's wife returned to the capital city and also chose to have a divorce. In addition, she took Duan Wanfu's job from him and was able to move back into the city.
Ma Mei and Duan Wanfu's incident had such reaching consequences that everybody was talking about it.
For the sake of improving morale, the two were dragged to a square or denunciation rally.
Tong Xuelu brought Tong Jiaming and the others to witness it after she had learned about it.
Tong Xuelu and her siblings arrived relatively early but many had already gathered around the square. The square was packed in no time.
Ma Mei and Duan Wanfu had their arms tied and were placed in the middle of the square. They both looked disheveled and aged by quite a few years.
A leader-like person walked up onto the stage and rang a gong to quiet down the audiences before he started announcing the charges of the two individuals:
"Ma Mei and Duan Wanfu are a teacher and a technician at a metal factory. They had both turned their backs on the training and trust from our party. They had committed hooliganism and their negative impact is far reaching!"
There was an uproar from the audiences.
Someone among the audiences suddenly shouted out, "Overturn the adulterers! Overturn illicit affairs!"
That quickly drawn a lot of agreements.
The crying become more and more excited and some even started throwing rocks at them.
Ma Mei and Duan Wanfu had blood on their heads in no time.
Tong Xuelu no longer wished to be there anymore.
Covering Tong Mianmian's eyes, she made her way back out of the crowd with Tong Mianmian in tow.
When Me Mei looked up, she seemed to have seen the back of someone who looked like Tong Xuelu.
She suddenly recalled what Tong Xuelu had told her the other day in the alleyway. "Your reputation will be ruined and you will be left with nothing."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
An unexpected guest showed up at the Tong's the next day –– Fang Jingyuan.
Tong Xuelu lifted her brows when she saw Fang Jingyuan. "Are you here looking for me?"
Fang Jingyuan lifted her chin. "What's that look on you? Can I not come looking for you?"
Tong Xuelu shrugged and said, "Of course you can."
Fang Jingyuan harrumphed and pushed her bicycle into their courtyard.
Leaning her bicycle against the wall, she looked around the courtyard and said, "Did you buy this place or is it a rental?"
"It's a rental?"
Fang Jingyuan's eyes lit up. "Who did you rent it from? How much is it?"
Tong Xuelu showed her four fingers.
Fang Jingyuan's eyes widened and she shouted out in surprise. "40 yuan a month? You don't even make 40 yuan a month, do you?"
Tong Xuelu rolled her eyes. "I didn't say it's 40 yuan. It's four words – none of your business."
Fang Jingyuan, "…"
Tong Xuelu led her toward the living room as she asked, "You didn't just show up for no reason. Go ahead. What is it?"
Following behind Tong Xuelu, Fang Jingyuan harrumphed and said, "You think I want to be here? My mom had me come over. She learned that your family ran into some problems of late and had me swung by to see if you need any help."
Mother Fang?
Tong Xuelu was a bit surprised. "No, I am fine. Thank your mom for me."
Fang Jingyuan harrumphed through her nose again and twisted back and forth on the chair as she looked over at Tong Xuelu time and again.
Tong Xuelu placed a cup of tea in front of her and said, "There's something else that you want to talk about?"
Fang Jingyuan struggled for a little while before she started to talk. "Didn't you say last time that this hairstyle doesn't fit me? Then, what will be a good hairstyle for me?"
Tong Xuelu had almost forgotten all about that. "You wish to switch to a new hairstyle?"
Fang Jingyuan blushed a little. "I am just here to find out whether you had lied to me!"
Tong Xuelu felt that Fang Jingyuan's uncomfortable look resembled how Tong Jiaxin was last night a lot. Her lips curving up some, she said, "Your forehead is too high so it's best that you have fringes."
Fang Jingyuan was puzzled. "Fringes?"
Tong Xuelu nodded, "That's right. And I am not talking about a thin layer. I am talking about a thick layer."
Fang Jingyuan couldn't even begin to imagine that. She had seen others around her having fringes. All of them thin and short. It was just a few strands of hair and did not look good at all.
Tong Xuelu looked at the sky and said, "Let's go. I'll go with you to the salon."
Fang Jingyuan was shocked, "Right now?"
Tong Xuelu glanced over at her. "Aren't you here for a new hairstyle? Or that you don't trust me on this? If you don't trust me on this, you can go now."
Looking at Tong Xuelu waiting for her to leave, Fang Jingyuan was so mad that she gritted her teeth.
She thought about it some and stomped her feet. "Fine! Let's go!"
Chapter 66 - What to make from the Dacron?
As such, Tong Xuelu grabbed her military bag, locked the door, and left with Fang Jingyuan to head to the government-operated salon nearby.
Arriving at the government-operated salon.
The minute that they walked in, they saw a not-too-clear mirror facing the door. In front of the mirror, there was a small old dim-yellow wooden table with razors, scissors, and other hair-cutting tools on it.
The only hairstylist in the shop was an old man dozing off on the couch. His snoring was so loud that it could almost blow the roof off.
Tong Xuelu walked over to him and said loudly, "Old Master, we would like Comrade Liu Hulan's hairstyle."
The old hairstylist was startled by her shout and woke up groggy. He had yet to say anything when Fang Jingyuan started to complain. "That's what you said is a good fit?"
Tong Xuelu raised her brows. "What is it now? Do you not trust my taste? How about it? If your hair is messed up, you can do whatever you like to my hair!"
Fang Jingyuan bit her lower lip and thought about it some. "Fine. You said it. You will never see the end of it if my hairdo is messed up."
Fang Jingyuan never got along with Tong Xuelu ever since they were kids. Nevertheless, she must admit that Tong Xuelu always knew how to doll herself up.
"What do you mean by messing up? Do you know how to speak properly, Comrade? I had been doing this for dozens of years. I have never messed up anyone's hairdo!"
The old master was not pleased.
Tong Xuelu curved her lips and smiled sweetly. "My little sister doesn't know any better. Do forgive her, Old Master. I've already asked around before we came here, and people said that you have the best work in the capital city. Why else will we come all the way here?"
A big smile appeared on the old master instantly. "Ah, you know what's good for you, Comrade! This art was passed down from my ancestors for generations. Just you wait!"
Tong Xuelu quickly pressed Fang Jingyuan down into the styling chair and jokingly offered her ideas on how the old master should cut Fang Jingyuan's hair.
The old master didn't pay attention to any of Tong Xuelu's random ideas at all.
In the end, Fang Jingyuan ended up with Liu Hulan's hairstyle with full, thick bangs, which was quite similar to a bob cut with bangs in modern times.
Truth was Tong Xuelu felt that wavy hair suited Fang Jingyuan much better, but in their day and age, people need a referral letter from the government for a perm. People were also required to tie their hair up, so it couldn't be too short. Thus, Tong Xuelu had to suggest the next best thing available for Fang Jingyuan's new hairstyle.
After the haircut was finished, Tong Xuelu raved about the old master's handy work. "Wow, I am so lucky to see you in action today, Old Master! Your skill is so solid and so amazing! I will absolutely come here for my haircut next time!"
The old master smiled so much that his face resembled a blooming chrysanthemum. "Wait here. Let me get my tools for the bangs!"
The old master returned with his hair-perming tools shortly. He then used a small brush and curled the not-so-docile bangs.
When he was done, Fang Jingyuan had a 180-degree change.
Her forehead, which shined like a mirror, and her hairline, which resembled the popular high hairline men had from the Qing dynasty, had both been miraculously covered by her new bangs.
With the bangs, even her face seemed smaller.
Fang Jingyuan looked at herself in the mirror in disbelief. "This… this really is me?"
The old master harrumphed. "Are you still worried that I will mess up your hairdo, Comrade?"
Fang Jingyuan shook her head violently. "No, no. You did an amazing job, Old Master!"
Wu wu wu! It was so pretty that she could cry!
The old master was so pleased by the praise that he even gave them a 10 cent discount, only charging them 30 cents in total.
He did not forget to tell Tong Xuelu that she must look for him for her haircut when she needed it in the future. Tong Xuelu promised him that she would do just that.
Walking out of the salon, Fang Jingyuan stroked her hair, still in disbelief, and stammered with her ears reddened. "Em… why don't I treat you to the government-operated restaurant. But don't look too much into it. I just don't want to owe you a favor, is all!"
Tong Xuelu thought about it some and said, "I don't need dinner from you. I work at the government-operated restaurant. I can eat there whenever I like. If you want to repay me, there is something else that you can do for me."
Fang Jingyuan paused for a little and then asked tentatively, "You are not trying to get me to speak highly of you in front of my brother, right? Didn't you ignore him like he was just some dog poop last time?"
"…"
Tong Xuelu had no idea how Fang Wenyuan would feel if he heard that, but she found it so hilarious that she almost passed out from laughing.
"I still think of your brother as dog poop. No. I would like your help with something else. I need you to spread the word about my two brothers being expelled from school. The more people that know about it, the better."
Right now, everybody knew about Ma Mei and her affair, but nobody knew about Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin being expelled for talking back to their teacher.
Tong Xuelu's original idea was to negotiate with the school using Ma Mei's scandal to get her two brothers back to school.
But she had a change of heart now.
She was going to force the school to beg them to return using public opinions!
She didn't want to just go back like an underdog!
Fang Jingyuan had thought that it would be something difficult. Hearing that this was her request, she nodded immediately. "Not a problem. Count me in!"
Fang Jingyuan worked at the Cultural Troupe and knew many people. The Fang family also has many relatives, and all of them work in government units.
She was the perfect person to spread the word.
Before Fang Jingyuan took off, Tong Xuelu headed to the CSMC and purchased some snacks. They were meant for the Fang family and also the other Tong family.
In addition, she also took out 100 yuan for Chen Yueling. She said it was what she had borrowed from her before.
After parting ways with Fang Jingyuan, Tong Xuelu headed home directly.
Wen Rugui was also on his way back to the capital city by then.
Tong Jiaming and others were still out when Tong Xuelu returned home.
Wei Zhiguo took Little Sister Wei with him today to visit an old comrade in arms in the countryside. He asked whether the Tong's siblings wanted to tag along before he took off.
After learning about what had happened to the Tong family, the Wei family had been sending food over using all kinds of excuses. All of the Tong family members were well aware of that.
Wei Zhiguo was a reliable person, and the countryside wasn't that far away. Tong Xuelu also felt that it was not good for Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin to be cooped up at home all day long. It wouldn't hurt for them to take a trip out, so she had them decide for themselves.
Tong Jiaxin and Tong Mianmian really wanted to go. As such, Tong Jiaming had no choice but to tag along to take care of the two of them.
Seeing that it was still early, Tong Xuelu brought the Dacron fabric that Wen Rugui had given to her in the past and headed over to the Wei's.
Shen Wanrong was bored being home by herself, so she revealed a bright smile when she saw Tong Xuelu.
"Oh mi. Finally! Someone to keep me company! It felt so strange with Zhuzhu gone today."
Tong Xuelu smiled and said, "I was going to come by sooner, but something happened at home. I was finally only able to come visit now."
Shen Wanrong welcomed Tong Xuelu into her house. "You can come over whenever. It's not like I have a lot going on. Oh right. What would you like to make out of this? A dress or a shirt and a pair of pants?"
Tong Xuelu thought about it some and said, "Why don't we make it into a dress?"
People were still conservative back then, but they could have dresses that fall below the knees.
Besides, by October next month, the Ten Year Activity would be over, and the society would become progressively more open and modern. As such, making it into a dress should not be a problem.
Shen Wanrong smiled and nodded in agreement. "Yes, a young girl like you should dress up nice. I liked dresses a lot too when I was young. Aiyo. I'm so old now."
Tong Xuelu quickly shook her head and disagreed. "Grandma Shen is still very attractive now, not old at all. I thought you were still a girl in her 20s when we first met, Grandma Shen!"
Shen Wanrong smiled so much that even her crow's feet could be seen. She smacked Tong Xuelu with a smile, completely flattered. "Oh, stop with that already. Any girl in her 20s looking like me would be crying!"
Tong Xuelu had exaggerated some, but Shen Wanrong truly looked young. She was close to her 60s but looked to be less than 50.
Chapter 67 - The dean left as awkward as he had come.
The Wei family had a dedicated sewing room for Shen Wanrong.
The room was spacious and bright, with a Peony brand sewing machine inside.
Back then, a sewing machine cost around 130 yuan, and not everyone could afford it. The Wei family was not short of money.
Shen Wanrong took Tong Xuelu's measurement with a measuring tape. She couldn't help but praise Tong Xuelu when she got to her waist. "Oh, your waist is so slender! Yours is even half an inch smaller than mine when I was young."
What she didn't say was that Tong Xuelu's chest was quite impressive as well. With her curvy body and her waist-to-chest ratio, she would look amazing in a cheongsam!
Unfortunately, nobody even dared to mention cheongsams nowadays, much less wear them. What a bummer.
After she was done taking measurements, Shen Wanrong discussed the style with Tong Xuelu.
She finally brought up Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin being expelled from school after everything else was taken care of.
"Their teacher had already been arrested, right? So Jiaming and Jiaxin should be able to return to school then?"
Tong Xuelu nodded. "Yes, but I want to wait a little while longer."
Shen Wanrong gave her a look. "Let me know if you need any help. My husband has quite a bit of connections in the capital city. All of them can be of help."
Truth was, she didn't understand what Tong Xuelu had just said, but she could tell that Tong Xuelu was a child with her own ideas. She didn't want to ask unless Tong Xuelu was ready to share.
Tong Xuelu smiled and thanked her again. "Thank you, Grandma Shen. You will be the first to know if I need any help."
Even though there were disgusting people like Ma Mei and Tan Xiaoyan in this world, there were also nice and cute individuals like the Wei's.
They chatted for a little while longer, and before they knew it, the setting sun dyed the sky red.
Tong Xuelu was just about to take off when she heard a loud crying sound coming from the yard.
The voice sounded like it was from Wei Zhuzhu.
Startled, both Tong Xuelu and Shen Wanrong, Shen Wanrong in particular, dropped whatever they had in their hands and rushed out.
When they reached the yard, they saw from afar that Wei Zhuzhu was bawling. Wei Zhiguo, her grandfather, was by her side wooing her, but he wasn't very successful in calming her down.
When Tong Xuelu looked atWei Zhuzhu carefully to find out what was wrong, she gasped at what she saw and had goosebumps all over.
She discovered that Wei Zhuzhu's hair was completely covered with green caterpillars. She almost stopped breathing just from looking at her!
Oddly enough, as soft as Shen Wanrong was, she wasn't bothered by the caterpillars right now.
She was picking the caterpillars off of her granddaughter's hair as she complained about Wei Zhiguo. "How do you look after the child? How could you let her get these cockleburs on her head?"
Wei Zhiguo had an innocent look on him. "I only looked away for a second, and the next thing I knew she got cockleburs all over her head!"
Cockleburs?
Tong Xuelu was taken aback. Those were not caterpillars?
She finally noticed that the caterpillars on Wei Zhuzhu's hair didn't move at all.
She walked over to take a closer look and realized that they were not caterpillars but the green seeds of some kind of plant. They were the size of half a pinky and looked a lot like caterpillars from afar.
Shen Wanrong carefully pulled the cockleburs off of her granddaughter, but as careful as she was, she would still tug her hair occasionally. Whenever she tugged too hard and hurt Wei Zhuzhu, she would bawl.
Tong Jiaxin smiled and said, "Grandma Shen, Zhuzhu said she wanted to make herself a floral crown and put the cockleburs on her own head."
Tong Mianmian nodded her little head forcefully and said in her milky voice. "Big Sister Zhuzhu said it would be very pretty!"
Having said that, she spotted Tong Xuelu walking over. Her eyes beamed, and she immediately pitter-pattered over Tong Xuelu on her two little legs.
"Big sister!"
Tong Xuelu caught the little bun who threw herself at her, checked her hair, and let out a sigh of relief after she saw that Tong Mianmian had no cockleburs in her hair.
Wei Zhuzhu was still screaming from the tugging on her hair. Shrieking, she said, "It's so difficult to be pretty…"
She just wanted to look pretty. Why did this have to happen to her? QAQ
Seeing her head full of cockleburs and hearing what she had said, everybody bursted out laughing.
Fang Jingyuan did not immediately return home after she arrived back at the compound of the Logistic Department. Instead, she headed over to the Tong's first.
Chen Yueling was startled when she saw Fang Jingyuan. "Is that you, Jingyuan? Whatever happened to your hair?"
Fang Jingyuan touched her hair proudly. "I just got a haircut. What do you think, Big Sister Yueling?"
Chen Yueling studied her hair and her face for a little while and nodded. "It's pretty. Prettier than how you used to have it. I almost didn't recognize you!"
Fang Jingyuan's smile deepened when she heard that. "Xuelu helped me design this. I like it a lot as well!"
"Xuelu? You've gone to visit Xuelu?"
Chen Yueling's eyes widened.
Fang Jingyuan nodded. "Her two brothers were expelled from school, so I headed over to see if there was anything that I could help with."
Chen Yueling's face started to turn ugly when she heard that.
They were once Tong Xuelu's closest family, but now that she was in trouble, nobody from the Tong family went to visit her.
She and her husband had wanted to go check on Tong Xuelu, but her mother-in-law wouldn't allow them to.
Fang Jingyuan didn't notice the look on Chen Yueling. She handed over two bags of snacks and the money from Tong Xuelu and said to her, "Xuelu bought you some snacks, and here's money from her. She said this was what she had borrowed from you in the past. Okay, I've dropped the items off. I am going to get going now."
Fang Jingyuan was in a rush to show her pretty hairdo to her family.
"Wait, Jingyuan, this is too much!"
Chen Yueling counted the money and noticed that it was over by 20 yuan. They only gathered 80 yuan to give to Tong Xuelu when she took off.
"That has nothing to do with me. Just pay her back later."
Fang Jingyuan left without looking back.
With the snacks and money, Chen Yueling felt even more guilty.
When the Fang family members saw Fang Jingyuan's hairdo, they reacted the same way as Chen Yueling. They were all very surprised at the sudden change but also felt that the hairdo suited her very well.
After Mother Fang had learned that not only did Tong Xuelu not ask Fang Jingyuan for help but had her bring snacks back, she sighed and said, "I've always known that Xuelu was a good girl. Had it not been for that incident, she might have been my daughter-in-law by now!"
Hearing their words from the couch, Fang Wenyuan's lips twitched.
Fang Jingyuan pouted a little and said, "She's alright. But compared to how she was, she's a little bit better now. At least what was coming out of her mouth wasn't as annoying as before."
"Oh right. Xuelu asked me to spread the word that her brothers were bullied by that teacher of theirs. Since I have already promised her that I'd do that, you need to help me with that as well."
Seeing how Tong Xuelu had helped her get such a nice hairdo, Fang Jingyuan would certainly do a good job of advertising for her!
Mother Fang said, "That poor girl. We should help her out in whatever way that we can. I'll go and spread the word at my unit tomorrow."
Father Fang was not the gossiping type, but he also felt that the school and the teacher were at fault in this case. As such, he should help out as well.
Fang Wenyuan was the only one who didn't say anything.
Fang Wenyuan did not let him off the hook. "Big Brother, you must spread the word at your unit tomorrow as well."
Fang Wenyuan acknowledged her with a grunt.
Fang Jingyuan was not reassured. She leaned over and whispered to him, "Big Brother, you don't need to worry that Xuelu will be stalking you again like she used to. I've just confirmed it with her. She said she thinks of you as dog poop!"
Fang Wenyuan, "…"
The next day, when Fang Jingyuan headed to the Cultural Troupe, she was once again the center of attention.
Those in the Cultural Troupe chattered around her, asking her how she came up with the idea for her hairdo and where she had it done.
Thus, Fang Jingyuan mentioned Tong Xuelu.
The crowd was stunned again. "Jinyuan, I thought you couldn't stand Tong Xuelu in the past. How are you two all chummy now?"
Fang Jingyuan pouted and said, "Who said I couldn't stand her in the past? She was always spewing out annoying things before, which was why I always talked back to her. But she has been much better and not like how she used to be. Why else would she help me get such a nice hairstyle?"
The original owner was also part of the Cultural Troupe in the past, but with her proud personality, she never got along with the others in the same troupe.
Everybody was surprised and curious when they heard what Fang Jingyuan had said.
"Did she really design the hairstyle for you, Jingyuan? Do you think she will be willing to help me design one if I ask?"
Fang Jingyuan remembered her promise and said, "I can put in a good word for you, but she can use some help right now. If you help her some, it will be much easier to approach her for designing a hairstyle later."
Hearing that, the others asked quickly, "What kind of help?"
As such, Fang Jingyuan told the story of how Ma Mei picked on Tong Xuelu's two brothers and encouraged the school to expel them.
Ma Mei was a very well-known person in the capital city as of late. Even a three-year-old child knew of her, let alone those in the Cultural Troupe.
They were all enraged after hearing Fang Jingyuan recount the incident.
"That woman is too shameless!"
"Exactly. I'll help. Regardless of whether or not Tong Xuelu will help me design a hairstyle!"
"Me too!"
Fang Jingyuan was very impressed with Tong Xuelu when she saw that everyone chimed in that they wanted to help.
What she had just said was taught to her by Tong Xuelu. Tong Xuelu had told her to say exactly what she just did and that if she did, the others would be willing to help.
Fang Jingyuan was skeptical at the time, but lo and behold, Tong Xuelu had nailed it!
She truly felt that Tong Xuelu had changed a lot and was completely different from how she used to be.
Hard at work, the other Fang's family members also helped spread the word at their respective units.
When Chen Yueling caught wind of what was going on, she told her husband in private how the Fang family were helping Tong Xuelu, and after discussing, they, too, helped with spreading the word.
As such, words of City Nan Grade School siding with Ma Mei and expelling students unreasonably were spread.
Oh, the power of words!
Sometimes, words could be more powerful than real guns and bullets and could even kill one in private.
The principal caught wind of the rumor quickly and was so angry that he almost had a heart attack.
Ever since Ma Mei had been arrested, the school had only wished to wipe away all traces of Ma Mei ever being there and drew a clear line between them.
A rumor like this out of nowhere claiming that they were siding with Ma Mei could destroy them!
If words traveled up, even if they could keep their job, they would probably never be promoted again!
After many discussions, they finally came up with a solution – have Tong Jiaxin and Tong Jiaming return to school.
As long as the two returned to school, the rumor would have no legs to stand on.
As such, the principal sent the dean to visit the Tong's place in person.
Cold sweats came pouring down the dean's face when he received the assignment.
Recalling the sister of Tong Jiaming, he had a feeling that this assignment would not be an easy one.
Sure enough, he stumbled onto obstacles on his very first trip to the Tong's.
Tong Xuelu did not look happy at all after he had expressed that they would allow Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin back to school.
Quite the contrary, she said to him calmly, "Thank you for making a special trip over, Dean. But I have already decided to bring my two brothers back to my hometown for their education."
Cold sweats came pouring down from the dean again. "Comrade Tong, you don't really think the resources in your hometown are comparable to what we have in the capital city, do you? No smart person would make that decision."
Tong Xuelu curved her lips and snickered. "You are right. The educational resources in my hometown won't measure up to those of the capital city, but at least the schools would be fair and would not hit their students for no reason. Schools in my hometown would definitely not expel them for no apparent reasons."
The dean, "…"
The dean left as awkward as he had come.
Ch 68: "It's me, Wen Rugui."
The dean was scolded severely by the principal when he reported the outcome back at school.
"Do you not have a brain? They are still upset at us right now. Of course, they wouldn't want to return. You go and tell them that as long as they are willing to return, we will waive all of her brothers' tuition and cost for textbooks from now on. The school will cover them all!"
With the principal's words, the dean returned to the Tong's.
He felt certain that Tong Xuelu would accept this time. Lo and behold, Tong Xuelu had turned him down again.
He had said everything that he could, but she still insisted that she would be returning to their hometown.
He was about to drop down onto his knees and grovel!
The dean recalled a history story of how a general had visited the person he wanted to recruit three times before the person promised he would help. Given his experience with the Tong's eldest sister, however, the dean felt that three times would not be sufficient for him to complete his mission.
The dean failed his mission again and was scolded thoroughly by the principal once more.
The principal decided that the dean was useless, and there was no point in sending him anymore. Instead, he sent two female teachers the third time.
Tong Xuelu's attitude was much milder toward the two female teachers, but her answer was still no.
Nevertheless, their trip was not entirely fruitless. At least Tong Xuelu's tune started to soften.
She subtly mentioned the fact that they lived quite far from the school and that it would be great if they could have a bicycle.
The two female teachers relayed the message back to the principal. When he heard the message, the principal slammed his fists onto his desk angrily. "The audacity!"
They have conditions now? That was simply infuriating!
As mad as he was, he would still have to arrange for a bicycle for them. As of late, the rumors regarding their school were getting worse.
He even heard one that said the principal himself might have had an affair with Ma Mei, too. Why else would he allow her to do what she did at school?
The principal almost vomited blood when he heard that.
To quell the rumors, the principal had no choice but to gather up funding for a brand new Phoenix brand bicycle and ordered someone to deliver it to the Tong's as soon as possible.
After the bicycle was offered, Tong Xuelu pretended to decline it a couple of times before accepting it.
She promised that she would have Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin return to school the coming Monday, which was two days from now.
As soon as the two female teachers had taken off, Tong Jiaxin came rushing over. Circling the bicycle with his eyes bright like stars in the night sky, Tong Jiaxin said, "Big Sister, is this bicycle really ours now?"
Big Sister?
That was the first time Tong Jiaxin had called her Big Sister.
Tong Xuelu lifted her brows quietly and nodded. "That's right. You and Jiaming can ride this to school from now on."
Tong Jiaming, standing next to them, glanced over at Tong Jiaxin and didn't say anything.
Tong Jiaxin cheered and ran around the yard like a little lunatic. "Oh my gosh! We have a bicycle now!"
Tong Mianmian had no idea what had happened, but she was happy seeing that her big sister and brothers were happy.
She pitter-pattered behind Tong Jiaxin, spread her two chubby arms, and said in her milky voice, "Yay… we have by-kle now!"
Tong Xuelu said, "Don't be happy so soon yet. Do you two know how to ride a bicycle?"
Tong Jiaxin's celebration halted abruptly. "Not I."
Tong Jiaming replied, "I don't either."
Tong Xuelu shrugged. "Well, in that case, I guess we won't be putting this bicycle to use any time soon."
Nevertheless, as far as Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin were concerned, this was not a matter of whether they knew how to or not. They could always learn.
A bicycle was a luxurious item in this day and age. Only very few people could afford to have one.
Now that the Tong family had one, Tong Jiaxin treated it like his precious baby.
In order to better protect their bicycle, Tong Jiaxin made a trip over to the Wei's just to get some tips.
Wei Zhiguo found it incredulous that the school had gone as far as to offer up a bicycle just to get the two brothers back to school.
However, he did not say anything in front of the child.
The only thing that Wei Zhiguo told Tong Jiaxin was that he needed to tie up the handles and the cross bars of the bicycle with plastic straps in order to protect the paint.
After Wei Zhiguo had passed on all of his experiences, he even got a bunch of plastic straps for them.
Tong Jiaxin was grinning from ear to ear when he received the plastic straps. He thanked Wei Zhiguo and went home carrying the plastic straps with him and wrapped the bicycle with Tong Jiaming's help after he had gotten home.
When Tong Xuelu came out of the kitchen after preparing lunch and saw the very colorful bicycle, she thought she was going to go blind.
That was beyond ugly.
She, however, did not say anything seeing how happy the two brothers were.
After lunch, the two brothers did not go take a nap. Instead, they went and practiced riding the bicycle in the alleyway.
Bicycles back then were large and heavy, and at 9 years old, Tong Jiaxin would not be able to control theirs at all.
Tong Jiaming, however, could do so if he tried hard enough.
Tong Jiaming was, after all, the future genius in business and had a steep learning curve. He was already able to ride the bicycle swaying from side to side by sunset.
After taking the train for two days, Wen Rugui and the others finally arrived at Capital City.
Zhong Shulan was so anxious to return that she barely slept since they had gotten onto the train.
The thought of almost being able to meet up with her husband made her unable to feel tired. Once she was certain that her father's health was alright, the group quickly hopped onto the train and headed to the base.
Jiao Boshan received a call two days ago and knew that they would be arriving today. Unfortunately, without permission from the government, he was not allowed to set foot outside of the base at all.
Ever since he had awoken at 3 AM, he wasn't able to sit or stand. He was in an excited state.
It had been ten years. Ten years since he had last seen his wife and daughter.
His daughter was just 10 years old when they parted. He wondered what she was like now.
Others at the base, after learning that the wife and daughter of the director of the base were coming, quickly helped them arrange for a new place to stay and also bought them a lot of food. They also sent someone to go pick them up from the train station in a car.
By noon, Wen Rugui and the others finally arrived at the base in anticipation of the others.
Zhong Shulan, not needing any assistance, was the first to get out of the car.
Jiao Boshan, waiting outside the base, saw a skinny and disheveled woman getting out of the car, and his eyes watered.
That was his wife.
He had never seen her like this before. Before she was sent to the ranch, she was bright like a rose.
Her look right now stabbed him in his heart like a dagger.
Walking up quickly, he held his wife's hand tightly and said, "Shulan, I am finally able to see you again!"
Zhong Shulan felt equally sad when she saw how her husband looked now.
15 years ago, they returned from the other end of the Pacific Ocean in support of their own country, but 10 years ago, they were forced to part from each other.
For ten years, they had not heard from each other. When they finally met again, her husband had already gone from that very ambitious young man to an old man with white hair on both sides.
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
The Jiao family were all crying, and the others at the base, who witnessed this bittersweet reunion, also dabbed their tears away.
It was after everyone had calmed down that Jiao Boshan recalled his student Wen Rugui.
"Rugui, thank you so much for your help!"
He should have been the one who went in person to pick them up, but he could not leave the base. He also did not trust anyone else with the task, but Wen Rugui kindly volunteered to pick up his family for him.
After talking to his wife for a while, he had learned that they had fallen ill during the journey, so their trip took longer than what was expected. If it wasn't for Wen Rugui's help, it would probably have taken them even longer.
Wen Rugui replied, "Don't mention it, Teacher. This is my duty."
It was when Wen Rugui had spoken that Jiao Boshan noticed that his voice was hoarse from exhaustion.
Jiao Boshan felt bad. "Hurry up and get some rest. Don't worry about returning to the laboratory right away. I'll talk to the principal myself about your time off."
Wen Rugui was exhausted after running around for about 10 or more days. He nodded in acknowledgement and headed toward his dormitory.
An Yuemei happened to see Wen Rugui as she stepped out of the office and quickly ran up to him. "Comrade Wen, Comrade Pu called you a couple of times while you were out. He said to have you return his call as soon as you are back."
Wen Rugui paused a little when he heard that before turning around and calling Pu Jianyi.
After he hung up on the phone, he did not return to his dormitory. Instead, he turned and left the base.
The Tong family was having dumplings tonight in celebration of having a bicycle and the Tong brothers returning to school.
The entire family sat around the living room, wrapping dumplings together. Even the little bun Tong Mianmian was participating.
Naturally, the ones that were made by Tong Xuelu were the most presentable.
Tong Jiaming didn't do a good job at the beginning, but since he had a steep learning curve, his dumplings looked much better after observing Tong Xuelu for a bit.
Tong Jiaxin's clumsiness surprised Tong Xuelu greatly. She thought that as a future fashion designer, he must have had at least some skills working with his hands since young.
Lo and behold, all of his dumplings were so crooked that she couldn't even bear looking at them.
"Third Brother's dumplings ugly!"
Tong Mianmian was young, but even she couldn't stand looking at them.
Tong Jiaxin dabbed some flour onto her face and said, "You're telling me? Yours are worse than mine!"
Tong Mianmian felt aggrieved. Pouting, she said, "Third Brother your dumplings ugly!"
Tong Jiaxin made a face at her. "Your dumplings are uglier, as ugly as you are!"
The two siblings started to bicker, and finally, Tong Mianmian got upset and shouted, "Third Brother, I will not be cleaning up your poop after I've grown up!"
"Puuuuf––"
Tong Xuelu couldn't help but burst out laughing when she heard that.
Tong Jiaxin had always been telling Tong Mianmian that since he took care of her now, she had to take care of him when he grew old. She would feed him and clean up after him, and Tong Mianmian had agreed.
Lo and behold, now that the two got into a fight, the little bun no longer wanted to clean up after him.
Tong Xuelu was laughing so hard that there were tears in her eyes. Tong Jiaming's eyes, too, curved.
Suddenly, they heard knocking on their door.
All of the Tong family members were stunned.
Tong Xuelu wiped her hands clean and said, "I'll go get the door. You guys keep doing what you are doing."
She walked toward the door with her long legs after she speaking.
When she arrived at their front yard, Tong Xuelu asked through the wooden door, "Who is it?"
There was a short silence outside the door before she heard a hoarse voice.
"It's me, Wen Rugui."
Wen Rugui?
He is back?
Tong Xuelu finally opened the door and saw Wen Rugui standing there, covered in dust from his travels. He looked disheveled and seemed to have lost quite a bit of weight.
Wen Rugui's eyelashes fluttered when he caught sight of Tong Xuelu after many days of not seeing each other.
The moon tonight was bright, and Tong Xuelu's eyes reflected the night sky, making her eyes twinkle. She looked even more charming in his eyes.
Tong Xuelu's lips curved. "Comrade Wen, when did you get back?"
"This afternoon," said Wen Rugui with difficulty. His voice sounded even more hoarse than before.
Is he that clingy? He came over as soon as he had gotten back?
He really is like a puppy.
The smile on Tong Xuelu deepened. "C'mon in quickly. You haven't had dinner yet, have you, Comrade Tong?"
The tips of Wen Rugui's ears were warm. He shook his head and said, "Not yet."
He didn't even think it through and rushed over after he learned about what had happened to the Tong family from Pu Jianyi.
His mind was much clearer and his heart much calmer after he had gotten out of the car and felt the evening breeze. He now felt that he was being too impulsive.
Well, he was already in the city by then, so he decided to head over to the Tong family's house anyway.
Chapter 69 - he couldn't say that his daughter was a good match for Wen Rugui.
Tong Xuelu closed the wooden door and smiled. "You are in luck. We are making dumplings as we speak."
Normally a person would not be hungry for food when they are tired but the thought of Tong Xuelu's yummy cooking still made Wen Rugui salivate.
The two walked side by side into the living room. The moon casted down on them and their shadows were of different lengths.
Wen Rugui cleared his throat and said, "I've heard about what had happened to your family. I am sorry I wasn't able to help."
So that is why he was here.
Tong Xuelu looked up at him, "No, you've helped a lot already. Thank you so much, Comrade Wen!"
Pu Jianyi only helped her looked into Ma Mei's husband because of Wen Rugui. Had she looked into that herserlf, it would certainly had taken her much longer.
The breeze picked up strands of her bangs and she was looking straight at Wen Rugui. They was both charming and warm.
Wen Rugui felt that his heart was pounding all over again. His eyelashes fluttered and he said, "Don't mention it. Are you two brothers back to school yet?"
Tong Xuelu nodded. "The issue with the school had been resolved and the two of them will be returning tomorrow."
As for naughty child Jiang Ming and his grandfather, it wasn't that she didn't want to teach them a lesson but more that her ability was limited.
When she was weaker than her opponents, making a rash move would only hurt herself.
Wen Rugui felt relieved when he heard then but immediately became worried again.
He was unaware that matters had already been taken care of being he came over. Would she find him too abrupt coming over the way that he did?
Tong Xuelu had no idea about the struggles that Wen Rugui was having. She was thinking about making him a drink to help sooth his throat.
Wei Zhigou had brought back some pears from visiting his old comrade in arms and they still had some rock sugar at home. She would be able to make him stew pears with rock sugar.
The two walked inside the house with different thoughts on their minds.
Tong Jiaming and the others were familiar with Wen Rugui by now and they all looked up and called him "Big Brother."
Tong Mianmian as the most familiar with him. She climbed down from her chair the minute that she had spotted Wen Rugui and handed him candies from her pocket, "Have some candies, bb."
Wen Rugui had not yet said anything when Tong Jiaxin cried out loudly, "Mianmian, why didn't you offer any candies to Third Brother if you've had some?"
Tong Mianmian's little face blushed. Twisting her body, she said, "Big Brother likes candies."
Tong Jiaxin felt unreconciled. "Third Brother likes candies too!"
Tong Mianmian blinked her large eyes and said, "But Third Brother is not good looking."
Subtext: You are ugly and don't deserve candies.
Tong Jiaxin, "…"
Ouch, Little Sister!
With a smile in his eyes, Wen Rugui rubbed Tong Mianmian on her little head and said, "Big Brother doesn't want any. You keep them for yourself."
Tong Xuelu brought him a glass of water from the kitchen. "You sit and wait here. I'll go cook the dumplings. It won't take long."
Taking the glass of water from her, Wen Rugui thanked her with his hoarse voice.
An idea occurred to him suddenly. He recalled her saying that a man who knew how to cook was no ordinary man. After finishing the water, he said, "Let me go wash my hand and give you a hand."
Tong Xuelu didn't think much of it and walked inside of the kitchen carrying a plate of dumplings.
The water in the pot was already boiling and she added the dumplings inside.
While waited for the dumplings to cook, she took the opportunity to make the stew pears with rock sugar.
She pulled out two pears, skinned them, chopped them up, cored them, and placed them into a pot to stew with the water and rock sugar.
When the dumplings were done and Tong Jiaming and Tong Jiaxin came to the kitchen to collect them, Wen Rugui had already wrapped a lot of dumplings.
The dumplings that he made were surprisingly pretty. There were ingot-shaped ones, clam-shaped ones, and moon-shaped ones.
Tong Xuelu placed the plate down on the table and smiled. "Not bad at all, Comrade Tong."
Wen Rugui's heart skipped a beat but he remained calm on the outside and said, "We do a lot of dumplings at home over New Year's time. I've have quite a bit of experience with them."
Tong Xuelu smiled and nodded. "Good job. Why don't you go wash your hands and come eat, Comrade Wen?"
Wen Rugui put down the dumpling that he was holding and acknowledged her, "Okay."
Turning and walking out of the living room, his lips curved upward uncontrollably.
Tong Xuelu picked up the uncooked dumplings and brought them into the kitchen for cooking before joining the others in the living room to eat the cooked dumplings.
Tong Mianmian scooped out a dumpling and brought it in front of her Big Sister. Her large eyes blinked. "For you, Big Sister!"
"Mianmian, good girl. Big Sister has her own. You eat."
Tong Xuelu made a lot of smaller dumplings earlier for the little bun. She didn't want her to accidentally burn herself when eating the big dumplings.
Tong Mianmian was not disappointed. She followed Tong Xuelu and took a big bite of her small dumpling. It was so delicious that her eyes narrowed in contentment.
Tong Mianmian looked so cute at that moment that Tong Xuelu's heart shivered.
The little kiddo was cute and caring. She would always save a portion for Tong Xuelu whenever she came across some good food.
Looking at the interaction between the two sisters, a shred of warmth crossed Wen Rugui's pitch-black eyes.
Meanwhile, Tong Jiaxin didn't care at all that the dumplings were too hot to eat. He shouted out how delicious they were as they went down burning into his stomach.
Tong Xuelu made sure that they were not too difficult to eat for the children. She was able to make the wrap of the dumpling nice and thin, soit wasn't difficult to bite through them after they were cooked. In addition, even though the skins of the dumplings were thin, she ensured that they were wrapped tightly and stirred gently, so none of them broke while being cooked.
The three-ingredient kind was a mixture of lean and fatty pork, mushrooms, carrots, and some crispy black fungus. One bite and the rich soup would come pouring into one's mouth. It was so savory and extremely delicious that one could swallow one's tongue after eating a dumpling.
Wen Rugui was too tired to have an appetite. Nevertheless, the food greatly stimulated all of his senses and subsequently his appetite. When Tong Xuelu finished cooking, the dumpling's heavenly aroma was detected by his nose, and the sight of all the nice, plump dumplings along with the dipping sauce entered his tired eyes. He accidentally devoured two big bowls.
After dinner, Tong Jiaming delivered raw dumplings to the Wei's next door with Tong Mianmian following behind him on her two stubby legs. Tong Jiaxin knew to go and do the dishes without being told.
As such, Tong Xuelu and Wen Rugui were the only two remaining in the living room.
Under the light, Tong Xuelu looked particularly charming in Wen Rugui's eyes. Her cheeks were red as if she had applied blush on them., Her lips were red and shiny, and her birthmark next to the corner of her eyes was close to the color of her lips. She was like a beautiful rose.
Wen Rugui only took a look at her before he quickly turned away. "It's getting late. I should take off."
Tong Xuelu stopped him. "Wait a minute. I've made you some stew pears with rock sugar. It should be ready by now. I'll go fetch it."
Wen Rugui stood up. "I can go get it."
"It's fine."
Tong Xuelu moved with alacrity and had already turned and walked out of the living room by the time she was done talking. She quickly returned with the stewed pears with rock sugar.
The tips of Wen Rugui's ears were a pinkish color. "Thank you so much for this."
More and more he felt that the purpose of his trip was the food rather than coming here to help solve her problems.
Tong Xuelu placed the bowl on the table. "Pears with rock sugar are good for your lungs. Have it while it's still warm. And stay away from spicy food for a while."
Wen Rugui acknowledged her instructions and had a spoonful of the dessert.
It was sweet and warm, just like her caring words. This sweetness went straight from his mouth and into his heart.
After he was done, Wen Rugui dared not waste any more time. He stood up and said his goodbye.
Tong Xuelu stood up and looked at the sky. Suddenly, she said, "Why don't you spend the night, Comrade Wen?"
Wen Rugui's heart skipped a beat, and his travel bag almost slipped and fell out of his hand.
He looked up at her, and before his brain could process the message, his mouth had already said to her, "Okay."
He froze on the spot after he had said that.
How did he just accept her invitation?
He should not stay. It would be bad for her reputation if word got out that he spent the night at their house.
But he had already accepted her invitation.
What the heck was he thinking?
"Jiaxin sleeps with his brother, so his room is vacant. You can spend the night in his
Tong Xuelu led the way as she spoke.
Wen Rugui followed behind her, dazed.
He followed her obediently and looked at her slender body from behind. There was only one thought in his mind right now and that was…
They would be spending the night under the same roof tonight.
Sensing his unusual mood, Tong Xuelu turned in curiosity. What she saw was Wen Rugui looking dazed and walking by moving his hands and feet from the same side in synchrony, just like a stiff robot.
Her lips curved, almost laughing out loud.
She only invited him to stay because she could tell that he was exhausted by the dark circles under his eyes and his hoarse voice.
He had come running over, worried about her, as soon as he had returned. It was so late at night that she had no heart to make him walk back to the military compound.
She could have let him borrow the bicycle, but there was a long stretch of road with no street lights between here and the military compound. Furthermore, the road was not in the best condition. With him being so tired, it was best that he doesn't try to travel at night.
She didn't think he would be this nervous.
Tong Xuelu showed him to Tong Jiaxin's room. There were extra pillows and blankets inside the room. All of them were washed and sun-dried.
"There's hot water in the pot. You can take a bath if you like."
"Okay."
Jiao Yunshi left with a big bag of scaphium affine, which were seeds to help with sore throats, only to return with all of them shortly after.
Zhong Shulan was baffled when she saw that. "I thought you wanted to give the scaphium affine to Comrade Wen. Didn't you go?"
Jiao Yunshi said, "I did. But he was out."
Jiao Boshan just returned from taking a bath. He frowned when he happened to hear their conversation. "Rugui is not in the dormitory?"
Jiao Yunshi nodded. "Comrade Zhou next door to him said that he never returned. He must have gone back to the city."
Jiao Boshan's brows furrowed when he heard that. "He had been on the road for over 10 days and was so tired that he had lost his voice. Why isn't he resting?"
Zhong Shulan also frowned. "Perhaps Old Mr. Wen asked for him?"
Jiao Boshan thought about it some and nodded. "Most likely. Rugui is a very filial child."
Zhong Shulan agreed with that statement. "Yes, he is a very good child. We were lucky to have him on this trip. Yunshi would not have been able to take care of me and her grandpa by herself."
Jiao Boshan knew that his student was wonderful. He might appear cold on the outside, but he was actually a very caring person.
Zhong Shulan gave her daughter a look and said, "You should hurry up and go take a bath, Yunshi. You can bring them over to Comrade Wen after he returns."
Jiao Yunshi pinched her lips shut a little before nodding and going back inside her room to fetch her clothes.
As soon as she had walked out of the door, Zhong Shulan held her husband's hand and sat down with him.
The two chatted some before Zhong Shulan asked, "Does your student Wen Rugui have a girlfriend?"
Jiao Boshan thought about it some and shook his head. "No. Why do you ask?"
Zhong Shulan asked, "What do you think about him and our daughter Yunshi?"
Jiao Boshan gave her a look and didn't say anything.
Had it not been for the last ten years, he might still say that they were a good match. However, many things had already happened to their family. His freedom was restrained because he had studied abroad, and his wife and his father-in-law had been sent to the ranch because of their capitalist status.
Now? He knew that their family and the Wen family were as close as heaven and earth.
Old Mr. Wen was a colonel in the air force and a former commander. He had accomplished a lot during his career in the military and received many first-class and special awards. He earned the title of Hero of the First Class before his retirement.
Wen Rugui's father was a lieutenant colonel in the air force and had also earned countless achievements before he passed away. All of the other children of the Wen family had various degrees of accomplishment in the military.
Had Wen Rugui joined the military, his achievements would have already superseded that of his father.
He was Wen Rugui's teacher, but that was not a family that they could measure up to.
Even so, he could just lie through his teeth and say that his daughter was a good match for Wen Rugui to avoid upsetting his wife.
Chapter: 70 - Does he not at least worth some persimmon cakes after all that he had done?
Seeing that Jiao Boshan didn't say anything Zhong Shulan sighed and said, "I know many would not want to be close to us given our current status and we don't measure up to the Wen's, but Yunshi is already 20 years old. If we don't find her a husband soon, it would only get more difficult.
As she spoke, Zhong Shulan's eyes reddened.
Her daughter was sent to the ranch with them at a very young age and had to start picking up excrements before she even reached 12 years old. Then there were the denunciation rallies in which she had to be denunciated and spat on. Recalling those days still made her heart felt like it was being sliced up by a knife.
Seeing that his wife was crying, Jiao Boshan pulled out his handkerchief to wipe away the tears for her, his heart aching. "Don't cry. You don't want Yunshi to see that."
Zhong Shulan, choking back her tears, said, "Alright, I'll stop crying now. I was just sad. We brought Yunshi down with us."
Jiao Boshan didn't feel any better than her. He, too, let out a deep sigh.
Jiao Yunshi, standing outside the door, her eyes, too, were reddened.
She returned to get the soap but now was not a good time to go get it. She turned back around and walked away.
Tong Jiaming and the siblings didn't have any opinion on Wen Rugui spending the night.
It was common to have relatives staying over from time to time. They did not think much of it.
The siblings returned to their room for bed after they had bathed.
Wen Rugui thought for sure that he would not be able to fall asleep but his body was too tired out. He felt asleep the minute that his head had hit the pillow.
Tong Xuelu did not company Tong Jiaxin and Tong Jiaming on their first day back to school.
She didn't want to overprotect them just because she was here. She wanted them to strengthen up and turned into the bosses described in the novel.
She was going to return to her work at the government-operated restaurant today but, as Wen Rugui never woke up, she had to take an extra day off.
Wen Rugui didn't wake up until it was almost noon. He was startled when he saw how bright it was outside the window.
He looked at his watch that he had placed next to the pillow: 11:15 AM.
The tips of his ears turned red all of a sudden.
How could he let himself sleep for so long?
He quickly got up, get changed, and walked out of the room. The first thing he saw was Tong Xuelu kicking the shuttlecock in the yard.
Tong Xuelu was obviously very good with it. She kicked it forward and backward, left and right, turned and kicked.
She was agile like a lark hoping between trees and it was hard for one to take their eyes off of her.
Tong Mianmian clapped her little paws nearby. "Big Sister is so amazing!"
Tong Xuelu reached out, grabbed the shuttlecock, and landed both feet on the ground. She said to Tong Mianmian, "Here, you try."
Tong Mianmian held the shuttlecock made out of coins and chicken feather. Her little mouth pinched shut with a serious look on her.
She reached out her little hand and tossed the shuttlecock into the air the same way her sister did and, at the same time, kicked one of her little legs.
SMACK!
She fell onto butt and the shuttlecock fell and landed on her head.
The little bun's black grade-like eyes blinked and her eyes reddened, "Big Sister, Mianmian is so stupid."
Tong Xuelu almost busted out laughing when she saw the silly look on Mianmian. "Mianmian is not stupid. Mianmian is just too young. Mianmian will get very good at it when she gets older."
Tong Mianmian cocked her head and said in her milky voice, "Will I be as good as Big Sister?"
Tong Xuelu picked her up and planted a kiss on her white and soft cheek. "Of course you will. Our Mianmian is so pretty, I am sure you will be as smart as Big Sister!"
The little bun's broken heart was cured instantly. She nodded heavily and said, "Right, right. Big Sister Zhuzhu also said that Mianmian is pretty."
She then frowned and said, worriedly, "What about Third Brother then?"
Third Brother was not pretty and for certain was not smart.
Tong Xuelu knew exactly what she meant and laughed so hard that her stomach hurt.
Tong Jiaxin, who was at school, sneezed.
When Tong Xuelu picked up the little bun, she caught a sight of Wen Rugui standing there, looking at the two of them, dazed.
"You are up, Comrade Wen."
Wen Rugui quickly recollected himself when he heard her voice. The tips of his ears slightly reddened as he apologized, "I'm so sorry I had overslept."
His voice was much better than the night before after a good night's rest, but it was still hoarse.
"It's alright. I'll go cook you some dumplings."
As she spoke, Tong Xuelu put down Tong Mianmian and walked into the kitchen.
She was fast. A bowl of vegetable dumplings was prepared in no time.
After he was done eating, Wen Rugui said his goodbye to the Tong family again.
Tong Xuelu walked him to the door and said casually, "Comrade Wen, I like the Dacron fabric that you have given to me a lot. Thank you."
Wen Rugui smiled softly. "You are welcome."
Tong Xuelu's red lips curved, and she looked straight at him with her almond eyes. "I've made the Dacron into a dress. I'll show you next time?"
Looking at her brilliant smile, Wen Rugui's eyes fluttered.
Tong Xuelu reflexively looked at his ears, and the smile on her deepened.
Sure enough, his ears were red again.
This man was so simple!
Wen Rugui was walking with both hand and foot from the same side again on his way out.
Wen Rugui did not return directly to the base or to the military compound immediately.
Instead, he headed over to the police station where Pu Jianyi worked.
Pu Jianyi chuckled when he saw Wen Rugui. "I knew you would be coming by!"
This guy called him back the moment he returned and immediately hung up on him when he learned about what had happened to Tong Xuelu. He even thought that Wen Rugui would be coming over yesterday.
Wen Rugui pretended that he didn't know what Pu Jianyi was talking about and said nonchalantly, "Oh right. The Teacher Ma that you have mentioned on your call yesterday. Did you say that she dared to do what she did because her relative was the Director of Education?"
Pu Jianyi lifted his sword-like brows and said, "Why do you ask, Rugui? You aren't thinking about avenging Comrade Tong, are you?"
Wen Rugui pinched his lips shut. "All you need to do is to tell me their relationship."
Pu Jianyi knew right away what Wen Rugui meant when he said that.
Truth be told, Pu Jianyi was not supportive of Wen Rugui getting involved in this.
He, however, knew Wen Rugui well and knew that once he had made up his mind, nobody could convince him otherwise.
As such, he explained to him the relationship between Ma Mei and the Jiang family.
After Pu Jianyi was done, Wen Rugui picked up his travel bag again and said, "Thank you. I understand now."
Pu Jianyi tsked. "Rugui, don't you feel that you are paying this Comrade Tong a little too much attention?"
Wen Rugui's kep silent, his eyelashes fluttering.
The door to the office was open, and anyone could come inside anytime. As such, Pu Jianyi did not plan on pursuing thesubject.
As such, he changed the topic. "Did you bring any souvenirs back from the northwest this time?"
Wen Rugui replied, "I brought back two servings of dried persimmon and dates."
Pu Jianyi had a big smile on him. "Ah, finally you had me on your mind. Hurry up and hand them over to me."
Wen Rugui answered in a deadpan tone. "I forgot to get your share."
Pu Jianyi was stunned. "Don't tell me you got one serving for your Grandpa and one for Comrade Tong, but you didn't get me any?"
Wen Rugui acknowledged him and quickly walked out of Pu Jianyi's office with his travel bag in tow.
Pu Jianyi, "…"
So with everything that he had done for him, did he not even deserve some dried persimmon?
What the heck!
Tong Xuelu went to tidy up the room after Wen Rugui had taken off.
The first thing she saw when she walked inside was the blanket that was folded up neatly like a brick of tofu. All four corners were neat and even. It looked like the kind that was folded by military personnel in videos she had seen during her previous life.
Tong Xuelu was pleasantly surprised.
Wow. The way that Wen Rugui had folded the blanket was amazing.
And then there was the time when he had pinned down Tong Zhenzhen effortlessly. It seemed that he had received formal training.
Had he received military training in the past?
As she thought about it, she realized how little she knew about Wen Rugui andhis family.
She turned around and noticed two bags on the table.
She opened them up and found dates and dried persimmons inside.
Tong Xuelu couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle. Wen Rugui had definitely left these behind.
But what was with this habit of his?
Why did he always give her gifts stealthily? Was he worried that she might not accept them?
If it were true, he had really thought too much. Of course, she wouldn't turn him down.
She pulled out a dried persimmon the size of her palm. It was dusted with a layer of sugar.
She took a bit and it was soft and sweet. Sweetness spread in her mouth. It was sweet but not overly so. It made one want to take a second bite after the first.
Tong Xuelu squinted her eyes in satisfaction. That was how she remembered dried persimmons tasted like when she was a child.
Tong Mianmian came pitter pattering over on his stubby little feet and drooled when she saw her Big Sister eating dried persimmons. "What are you eating, Big Sister?"
Tong Xuelu lowered her head and saw the little bun looking at her intensely. Her red little lips was pinched shut but she was gulping secretly.
Tong Xuelu wanted to tease her. "Big Sister is eating dried persimmons."
The little bun stared at the dried persimmons in Tong Xuelu's hand without blinking. She was short of drooling. "Is dried persimmons tasty?"
Tong Xuelu nodded. "Very tasty. Soft and sweet. It doesn't get any better."
Of everything that she had said, Tong Xuelu never mentioned giving Tong Mianmian one. She even took a bite right in front of her.
Tong Mianmian twisted her little fingers and looked at Tong Xuelu there was desire in her big eyes. "Can Mianmian take a whiff of it, Big Sister?"
"Puuuff––"
Tong Xuelu finally laughed out loud.
What kind of uber cuteness was this?
Tong Mianmian was short of drooling but all she asked was to take a whiff of it?
Tong Xuelu pulled one out from the bag and handed one over. "You don't need to take a whiff of it. Here's one for you. But having too much dried persimmons is bad for you. You can only have one."
The little bun's clear and black eyes teamed. She took the dried persimmons from Tong Xuelu and said happily, "Ty, Big Sister."
Taking a bite as she spoke, Tong Mianmian's eyes lit up even more.
It surely was soft and sweet just like her sister had described it.
So delicious!
Tong Mianmian licked her lips and smiled so much in satisfaction that her eyes squinted.
Tong Xuelu ate two in a row and starting thinking about what she should make for Wen Rugui in return.
She suddenly recalled the chrysanthemum that her neighbor was growing. They were booming recently. If she could get some and dried them for tea, that ought to be good for the throat.
She poured out half of the dried persimmons and dates and put them in a paper bag. "Big Sister is going to Grandma Shen's, do you want to come with?"
"Yes!" Tong Mianmian nodded repeatedly. "But we don't have any for Big Sister Zhuzhu."
Tong Xuelu chuckled, "Oh we do. These are for them."
Finding out that Big Sister Zhuzhu would also have some, Tong Mianmian let relieved.
Not only did the Wei family let Tong Xuelu go and picked some chrysanthemums after they had received the dried persimmons, they even sent over two pots of chrysanthemums.
Tong Xuelu rinsed the chrysanthemums thoroughly and placed them somewhere airy to be dried.
She would steam them after they were dried and then dried them after afterward.
She would need to dry them for 7-8 days the second time. Meaning that she would not be abel to give these chrysanthemums to Wen Rugui anytime soon.
When she was done with all those, Tong Xuelu was about to bring Tong Mianmian with her and head to the CSMC for groceries.
She opened the door and saw a woman there with a little girl.
The woman seemed to have been started by the door opening and took a step back with the little girl in her hand.
