Shen Huai, who was leading his team in closed-door training, received a phone call from the military academy.
He was immediately driven out of the training grounds.
The training grounds were enormous, located on a deserted stretch of desert grassland with hardly a trace of civilization around.
It took the jeep more than four hours before they finally began to see scattered residential houses.
The driver stopped by the roadside and dropped him off.
“Deputy Company Commander Shen, you can only wait here for a vehicle back to the city. My mission is complete. Have a safe journey.”
The two men saluted each other.
“Thank you for your hard work. Take care.”
Shen Huai did not have to wait long before he caught the last bus.
By the time he arrived in the city, it was already six-thirty in the evening.
He hurried to the military academy and went to Staff Officer Wu’s home.
“Brother Shen Huai! You’re here!”
Wu Ting knew that the Lin family had been robbed, and she did not feel the slightest bit guilty about getting her father involved. Instead, she was in a good mood because the Lin family had been given such a hard time by Yang Guifen.
Shen Huai gave a slight nod, walked past Wu Ting, and found Staff Officer Wu.
“Staff Officer! You asked to see me?”
Staff Officer Wu took a sip of tea and slowly said, “There is indeed something I wanted to talk to you about. Your father-in-law was hospitalized.”
“Which hospital? I’ll go there right now!”
“Hey, hey! That’s not the most important thing.”
Staff Officer Wu stood up and pulled him back.
“How is Lin Shu?”
“Uh… she’s fine. It’s just that one of your relatives is being held at the local police station and says she wants to see you.”
Shen Huai suddenly raised his head, immediately connecting the two matters.
“Who?”
His gaze instantly became sharp, and even Staff Officer Wu noticed the change.
“Don’t get worked up. I’m also partly to blame. At the time, I felt sorry for them, so I had your aunt take them to the Lin family…”
Shen Huai no longer wanted to hear another word.
He immediately ran out.
Shao Qin came out and said unhappily, “See? Back then, you shouldn’t have approved his marriage to that capitalist’s daughter. Now he’s even giving you attitude.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about. If we’re going to blame anyone for this, it’s all because of Tingting!”
Wu Ting, who had been called out, quietly slipped back into the room.
Shen Huai first went to the local police station.
After explaining why he had come, he saw Yang Guifen sitting there in a daze.
She thought she was dreaming.
After the police reminded her several times, Yang Guifen suddenly stood up.
“Shen Huai! Oh, you finally came! Your aunt…”
“Shut up! I have nothing to do with you! Comrades, this woman has absolutely nothing to do with me. While I was away, she pretended to be my relative and went to my father-in-law’s home to freeload and steal things. Please handle this according to the law. I have no objections whatsoever!”
Seeing that he was rather agitated, the police officer took him outside separately.
“Comrade, you should clarify things a little. Is the woman inside actually related to you or not? She claims those two children are the sons of your biological uncle.”
Shen Huai did not want to bring up the past, but in front of the police, he revealed a little of his history.
After hearing about the shameless things the woman inside had done, the anger on the police officer’s face deepened.
“Comrade, rest assured. We’ll contact the police station in Shan’ai Kouzi right away. Once we’ve investigated everything, we’ll get in touch with you.”
“Thank you for your hard work!”
After saluting once again, Shen Huai hurried away.
By the time he reached the hospital, it was almost completely dark.
The corridor lights cast a faint glow, and the only sound echoing through the empty hallway was Shen Huai’s footsteps.
A sudden knock came at the door.
Lin Shu glanced through the glass window.
“Shen Huai?”
The next second, the door opened.
Lin Tianlun was already asleep. The leaders had come to see him that afternoon and talked with him for quite a long time. He had been exhausted by the conversation and gone to sleep early.
Lin Shu was the only one staying there to look after him. Her brother and sister-in-law had taken the children home to clean up the house.
“Why did you come back early?”
“Come outside for a moment. I have something to tell you.”
The two carefully left the hospital room and stood in the dim corridor, breathing in the hot night breeze.
“This was my fault. Was Dad’s hospitalization related to Yang Guifen?”
“Yes. But you don’t need to blame yourself. You didn’t know about it beforehand.”
“About some time ago, I happened to meet a fellow villager on the road. She was my younger uncle’s ex-wife, but her two children had nothing to do with my uncle.”
“Here are the keys. Go home and get some rest. Come back early tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you.”
Lin Shu’s mood brightened immediately because of Shen Huai’s words.
“That’s right. Listen to me.”
She hoped that half a year from now, he would still listen to her.
…
Three days later, Lin Tianlun was discharged from the hospital.
The leaders had specially approved him to rest at home for half a month before returning to work.
Unable to sit still, Lin Tianlun had been trimming and repairing things in the backyard over the past couple of days.
“Xiaojie, why are there so many marks carved into the pillars under the eaves in the backyard? Who has been coming to our house?”
Lin Shu, who was eating, choked on her soup.
“Cough, cough…”
“Have some water.”
Shen Huai picked up her cup and placed it in front of her.
“You did this?”
Jiang Jie tried to brush it off.
“Dad, maybe it’s just because the house is old and hasn’t been properly maintained. I don’t know either. It shouldn’t have been Nan-Nan. He can’t even reach that high.”
“Who could be so inconsiderate? Since I happen to be home these days, I’ll buy a bucket of paint and touch it up. This house really is getting old…”
The sisters-in-law exchanged a glance before lowering their heads and continuing to eat.
“Pretty much. Don’t ask anymore. If Dad hears about it, he’ll scold me again.”
Shen Huai had explained the general situation regarding Yang Guifen to his father-in-law the day after he returned.
In the past, he had only ever said that he was an orphan and had hardly told outsiders anything about his tragic childhood.
When Lin Tianlun heard the truth, his eyes were filled with sympathy as he looked at Shen Huai. He said a few comforting words, telling him not to dwell on it.
As for Yang Guifen, she was now facing imprisonment and had enough trouble taking care of herself. The two children had been escorted back to the place where their household registration was located. For the time being, they would be taken care of by the production team where they were registered.
“Xiaoshu, after we finish eating, would you accompany Dad to visit Uncle Cheng?”
When Lin Shu heard this, memories from long ago resurfaced.
Uncle Cheng was her father’s childhood friend. However, because of his class background, he had not been as fortunate as the Lin family. A few years ago, he had been sent to a farm on the outskirts of the city for re-education.
“Sure, Dad.”
She remembered that when she was little, Uncle Cheng had always adored her. He had three sons in a row but no daughters, so he treated her like his own daughter.
Over the years, everyone had been struggling just to survive and protect themselves, so they had not dared to visit him.
“Dad, is everything okay?”
“It should be fine. Let’s go take a look. We’ll leave right away.”
“Okay, then I’ll go get ready.”
Lin Shu put down her bowl and went upstairs. She changed her clothes, then came downstairs with some money and ration coupons. They would stop by a non-staple food store along the way and buy some food and necessities for Uncle Cheng and his wife.
“Ready? Then let’s go.”
Shen Huai wanted to go with them, but his father-in-law refused.
“You’re a company commander now, more or less. You have to set an example and be careful with your actions so people don’t have anything to gossip about. Your Uncle Cheng is undergoing re-education at the cadre school. It wouldn’t be appropriate for you to go.”
Over the past two days, Shen Huai had been on leave, and he had practically followed Lin Shu wherever she went.
“Fine. Then I’ll at least see you to the station.”
Jiang Jie watched the three of them leave and smiled at her son.
“Who’s the little tagalong?”
“Uncle is the little tagalong!”
The mother and son laughed.
These past few days had really opened their eyes.
A grown man like Shen Huai had been following his sister-in-law around all day.
It was probably because he still couldn’t let go of what had happened with Yang Guifen.