Oh no, Lian Qiao must have heard everything!
Those nasty, vicious words—anyone who heard them would be deeply hurt.
There were so many of them; Lian Qiao must have been bullied.
Thinking this, Yang Chunmei was filled with regret. She should have sensed something was off earlier, should never have let her go out alone. Or better yet, she should have gone with her.
Tear their mouths, even if they grabbed her hair and pinned her to the ground—two people getting beaten was better than one. At least she could have shielded her.
Lost in these frantic thoughts, she snatched up a broken brick from the ground and charged into the activity room.
The scene before her made her hand go slack; the brick clattered to the floor.
Zhang Daju was kneeling on the ground, while Lian Qiao sat on a bench, legs crossed, looking utterly relaxed.
This was genuinely a bit too shocking.
Yang Chunmei rubbed her eyes, making sure this wasn’t a dream.
“Sis? What are you doing here?” Lian Qiao stood up.
“I…” Yang Chunmei didn’t even know what to say now.
Lian Qiao looked down at Zhang Daju kneeling on the floor and reminded her with a smile.
“So, you’ll do what you promised, and I’ll do what I promised, right?”
Zhang Daju nodded vigorously. “Right, right!”
“The floor’s cold. Even if you’re feeling hot, you shouldn’t sit on the ground for so long. Get up.” As Lian Qiao stepped toward her, Zhang Daju quickly shrank back, staggering to her feet, terrified of getting too close.
Yang Chunmei opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
Even after returning home with Lian Qiao, she still felt like she was dreaming.
They returned late. Li Guozheng was in a hurry to get back to the army base. Seeing them return, he left in a rush, with no time to ask what had happened or why his wife looked so dazed.
“Sis, have you eaten?”
Lian Qiao acted as if nothing had happened. Yang Chunmei forced herself to pull herself together.
“You… heard?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Zhang Daju was behind it?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m just asking casually… did you hit her?”
“No.”
“Then why did she look like she’d seen a ghost?”
“I just scared her a little.”
Scared her?
She scared the living daylights out of her!
Zhang Daju was the toughest, most shameless troublemaker in the compound!
To make her that terrified, and Lian Qiao just “scared her a little”?
Though Yang Chunmei felt a sense of vindication, she was still worried about Lian Qiao’s future. Gathering her thoughts, she spoke carefully.
“Qiao, you’re about to get married. It’s not worth getting tangled up with these people over something like this. The marriage certificate hasn’t even been issued yet…”
Lian Qiao knew what her cousin was afraid of. “Sis, marriage is important, I know. As long as she behaves, we’ll stay out of each other’s way.”
Other young wives were thin-skinned, too embarrassed to speak up when Zhang Daju picked on them. But she wasn’t afraid!
Whether it was Niu Aixiang or Zhang Daju, their husbands were all in the neighboring military camp. If the family committee couldn’t handle it, would the political department or the inspection team step in? If the regiment commander couldn’t manage it, would the division commander or the army commander intervene?
If Chen Lang decided not to marry her just because she made a fuss and it reached higher-ups, then that man wasn’t worth having anyway.
Emotions were emotions, principles were principles—that was Lian Qiao’s life motto.
It was too late for Yang Chunmei to say anything now. She could only pray the matter would stay under wraps. If Zhang Daju really made a scene, she’d apologize on Lian Qiao’s behalf. In any case, they had to get the marriage certificate issued first.
She didn’t know if the news had reached Chen Lang’s family yet. Please, don’t let anything else go wrong…
Good news never leaves the house, but bad news travels a thousand miles.
Shi Sue’s mouth was covered in blisters; even drinking water was a struggle.
Ever since that day when Chen Li came running home saying her new sister-in-law had been divorced before, Shi Sue felt her vision go dark and nearly fainted.
That evening, as soon as Chen Lang got home, the old lady flew into a rage.
Chen Lang, however, was straightforward and unapologetic. With just one sentence, he made her swallow her anger and accept it.
“Having been divorced doesn’t mean anything. She’s the one who was wronged. Her political review has already passed, and the organization has no objections. Please don’t dwell on this anymore. Once the application is approved, we’ll hurry up and hold the wedding. There’s no time left.”
Since the organization had already approved it, no matter how strong-willed she was, she didn’t dare go against the “organizational conclusion.”
She was, after all, a martyr’s family member and had lived in the military compound her whole life.
The organization’s word was law.
Besides, her daughter-in-law was now hanging on by a thread, waiting—waiting to see her son get married before she could finally close her eyes in peace.
No matter how aggrieved Shi Sue felt, she had to swallow it all down.
Chen Lang was running back and forth between the military base and home, and he had lost a noticeable amount of weight. She saw it with her own eyes, and it pained her heart.
She couldn’t hold him back any longer.
Just now, when Chen Li came running home in tears, she finally had an outlet for her pent-up anger.
If someone dared to step on her head, they’d better weigh their own worth first.
She grabbed a rolling pin and stormed out, with Chen Li unable to hold her back.
“Grandma, what are you doing?”
“What am I doing? Did Zhang Daju, that old woman, speak like a human being? My grandson is innocent! Gossiping about me? I think she’s asking for death!”
Chen Li now just wanted to slap herself twice. She had heard others gossiping and couldn’t hold back from retorting, but when someone said, “You’re still wet behind the ears,” her face flushed red with shame. That’s why she ran home in a fit of anger to complain to her grandmother.
Seeing her grandmother’s fierce demeanor, she was filled with regret.
Shi Sue’s temper was well-known far and wide. She wasn’t the type to cause trouble unreasonably, but she was no pushover either.
Today, she was going to teach Zhang Daju a lesson about the consequences of saying the wrong thing!
Before she even reached Zhang Daju’s house, she saw a few women gathered under the eaves, whispering among themselves.
Thinking she’d catch them in the act, Shi Sue didn’t make a sound but pricked up her ears to listen. If they dared utter a single wrong word, her rolling pin would make its debut.
“Don’t let Lian Qiao’s quiet appearance fool you—she’s really fierce when she acts, and her mouth is sharp too. I think Sister Zhang has really been put in her place. She doesn’t even dare step outside now.”
“Serves her right! Gossiping recklessly. Lian Qiao is reasonable too—she shut her up so thoroughly she couldn’t even speak. If this had really been taken to the political department, think how much it would’ve affected her husband!”
“Exactly! Zhang Daju used to be so domineering, but now there’s finally someone who can put her in her place. It’s satisfying.”
“You didn’t see it—Zhang Daju was scared out of her wits, thinking Lian Qiao was really going to kill her. She even wet her pants.”
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true! Everyone in the room was too scared to move. I tell you, she doesn’t look that old, but her temper is like a firecracker…”
The more Shi Sue listened, the more her anger dissipated, and the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
So, Zhang Daju had already been dealt with?
Chen Li was also listening intently and whispered, “Is it true?”
Shi Sue tucked the rolling pin under her arm and snorted.
The gossiping women were startled and immediately fell silent when they turned and saw her face.
“Gossiping again? Too much free time? If you keep yapping, I’ll teach you a lesson!” Shi Sue shot them a sidelong glance and scolded them coldly.
After the scolding, the old woman clasped her hands behind her back and walked back with brisk steps, Chen Li jogging alongside her.
“Grandma, aren’t you going to find Zhang Daju?”
Shi Sue turned her head to glance at her. “Your sister-in-law has already cleaned up, what am I supposed to tidy?”
“Sister-in-law?” Chen Li pouted unhappily. “Grandma, you’ve betrayed us…”