Fame and profit—fame comes first, profit follows.
Once you have a reputation, the profits will come.
Shen Fuyao didn’t want to live a hard life. In this life, she would definitely continue doing business. With the experience from her previous life, her career this time would surely grow even bigger.
She understood deeply how crucial reputation was to any enterprise. She had to crush these rumors in the cradle, make sure the onlookers didn’t dare spread them further.
“Young comrade, what are you going to do to me?” Zheng Hongmei leaned on her age. “I’m old enough to be your granny. Can’t you show some respect to the elderly?”
Some people nearby pointed and whispered, thinking it was just a small matter and not worth making such a fuss.
Shen Fuyao walked up to one of them. “If she said you were sleeping with a vagrant, could you just laugh it off?”
The man immediately fell silent.
Shen Fuyao grabbed Zheng Hongmei and said loudly to the crowd watching, “I will hand her over to the hospital director and report truthfully that she fabricated and spread rumors. If the director thinks it’s a minor issue, then I’ll go straight to the Public Security Bureau to file a report.”
“I am innocent. I didn’t abuse any children, I didn’t collude with bandits. And my grandmother is alive and well—I didn’t sell myself to bury her.”
“If any of you dare to spread rumors again, I won’t let a single one of you off.”
Shen Fuyao swept her cold gaze over the onlookers. Those who had been gossiping all lowered their heads, secretly relieved that their words hadn’t been as vicious as Zheng Hongmei’s and that Shen Fuyao hadn’t latched onto them.
Zheng Hongmei was stunned. She tried to break free, but Shen Fuyao was too strong. Unable to escape, she shouted at the crowd, “You all can testify! These words were clearly said by Brother Wang!”
No one in the crowd responded. Some people had only just arrived and hadn’t heard anything; even those who had heard wouldn’t offend the commander’s future in-laws for the sake of a cleaner.
At that moment, a patrol from the hospital’s security department passed by. Shen Fuyao handed Zheng Hongmei over to them and explained that she had fabricated and spread rumors about a military wife.
Just as the patrol was about to take her away for investigation, Xia Yulan jumped out.
“Wait! Shen Fuyao isn’t even a military wife. You don’t need to get involved in this.”
Xia Yulan wasn’t helping Zheng Hongmei out of kindness. She simply didn’t want Shen Fuyao using the identity of “military wife.” Two days earlier, when the Wang family arrived, Wang Zhuo’er had told her that Shen Fuyao might come to the army base to make trouble.
Xia Yulan immediately shut the door and discussed it with the Wang family.
In the end, it was Wang Zhuo’er who came up with the idea: have Wang Daren and Zhou Lanxiang spread the story throughout the compound that four years ago, Shen Fuyao’s grandmother had been gravely ill, the family had no money for treatment, and Wang Chaoying—home recuperating—had kindly given money to save her. Shen Fuyao then clung to him shamelessly.
Xia Yulan thought the explanation was good and reported it to her father right away.
Back in the 1930s, before going to war, the commander had once been married. After the war, he returned to his hometown to look for his original wife, but couldn’t find her—neither alive nor dead. He loved her deeply and never thought of remarrying.
Later, Xia Yulan’s biological father, Xia Dadan, sacrificed his life saving the commander, leaving behind a widow and children, including one unborn. To repay the debt of gratitude, the commander brought them home and took care of them.
Xia Yulan’s mother, Xie Furong, was gentle and refined. Over time, feelings developed, and the commander married her. They later had a son, Shen Nianqiu.
In wartime, it wasn’t uncommon for soldiers to lose track of their original wives, or for wives to remarry after years of waiting. Some officers even formally severed ties and married someone else they loved.
So when Xia Yulan told the commander that Wang Chaoying had no feelings for his rural wife, that they had never registered their marriage, and that the woman had clung to the Wang family without even consummating the marriage, the commander agreed to let Xia Yulan date Wang Chaoying.
After gaining the commander’s approval, Wang Daren and Zhou Lanxiang spread the story throughout the compound.
Only, by the time it circulated, the grandmother wasn’t gravely ill anymore—she was said to be dead.
“I’m not a military wife—so what are you?” Shen Fuyao raised an eyebrow.
Xia Yulan, used to being willful and lacking the modesty expected of women of that era, lifted her chin proudly. “I will be in a dozen days or so. My father has already agreed to my marriage with Chaoying. We’ll be registering our marriage soon. You don’t even have a marriage certificate with him—what kind of military wife are you? And in these four years, he’s never touched you. There was no husband-and-wife relationship between you. You’re just thick-skinned, insisting on clinging to the Wang family. What kind of military wife does that make you?”
The patrol officers recognized Xia Yulan and knew she was the commander’s most beloved daughter. They immediately echoed her words. “That’s right—you’re not a military wife. You don’t have the right to demand that we deal with hospital staff.”
Shen Fuyao snorted coldly. “Well, this is a real eye-opener. So if you’re not a military wife, not part of the army, you don’t even have the right to defend your own reputation?”
“This old comrade only said a couple of things. She didn’t cause you any real harm. You’re being far too aggressive and lacking in tolerance. This behavior of yours is capitalist—looking down on a poor cleaner. Over such a small matter, you want to make an elderly comrade lose her job. That’s extremely detrimental to unity among the people.”
Xia Yulan spoke righteously, slapping labels onto Shen Fuyao.
“I’m even beginning to doubt your identity. It was just a few words, yet you insist on making a big issue of it. You’re not a spy, are you?”