The Hei Province Military Region was an old establishment, well-developed over years of operation.
At this hour, work had already ended, and the three-story office building was quiet.
But as Wu Guihua and her three children walked ahead, with Li Hongyuan—that giant panda—and Wang Yun—that disheveled pig head—following behind, everyone voluntarily came back to work, returning to their offices to fetch water and wipe floors, all with the sole purpose of passing by the door of the Political Commissar's office.
"Did you hear? Teacher Wang isn't Battalion Commander Li's wife?"
"Heard about it, of course I heard about it! This is the biggest gossip of the new year. They're usually glued to each other when walking, and it turns out they're having an affair—"
"Oh my, how shameful, I can't even say it!"
"Exactly, exactly! Those two have such thick skin, especially Battalion Commander Li with his usual stern demeanor. Who would've thought that behind closed doors—"
"Haha, in public they call her 'sister-in-law,' but in private she calls him 'hubby.' Hahaha!"
Commissar Huang pushed the door shut with extra force, then pulled aside the hastily summoned regimental commander Liu Hongjun and the soon-to-be-transferred deputy regimental commander Yu Jianguo, quietly filling them in on the matter.
All three furrowed their brows so tightly they could crush mosquitoes, feeling unprecedented disappointment toward Li Hongyuan.
Wang Yun had been caught completely off guard earlier, and her brain had been working overtime the whole way here, but she still hadn't come up with a good plan.
When she first arrived at the family quarters, she had kept a low profile for a while, afraid of the awkwardness if her identity were exposed. But she was even more afraid that Li Hongyuan wouldn't take care of her and the children, so dragging him into bed to solidify their "married" relationship had been the best choice.
Over the years, she had disguised herself successfully, and her mother-in-law had kept Wu Guihua tightly controlled, so she gradually let her guard down—even forgetting that Wu Guihua existed.
Who would've thought Wu Guihua would suddenly come storming in!
Wang Yun gritted her teeth and knelt directly before Wu Guihua, wailing loudly.
"Guihua, this is all a misunderstanding. It's my misfortune—my husband died early, and I was bullied in the village with two children. Hongyuan, remembering his big brother's kindness, took me and the children in to care for us.
"I was afraid others would gossip and ruin Hongyuan's bright future, so I never dared to say anything… I'm just his sister-in-law. Sob That's how the misunderstanding grew deeper and deeper.
"Don't worry, although we live in the same house, Hongyuan has been sleeping on the floor the whole time. We're completely innocent!
"I'll take the children and leave right now. Even if I die, I won't trouble Hongyuan again. As long as you two live well, I don't mind suffering or being bullied…"
Wang Yun wept like a pear blossom in the rain, a complete mess, which made Li Hongyuan's heart ache as he hurriedly helped her up, growing even angrier at Wu Guihua.
"Wu Guihua, what exactly do you want? You come here and start hitting people, making a huge scene—aren't you embarrassed? How many times have I told you? I promised Big Brother I'd take good care of his sister-in-law and the kids. I can't go back on my word!
"Sister-in-law has already suffered enough. You can't bully her anymore! She's in poor health…"
Wu Guihua's hands itched again!
"You two are truly an eye-opener! One 'cares for his widowed sister-in-law' all the way into bed, spouting morality and righteousness. The other clings to her brother-in-law, sucking the blood of her sister-in-law, while claiming she's innocent.
"You're a match made in heaven—a pair of dogs and bitches—thinking everyone else is blind fools!
"Aren't you afraid Big Brother's coffin lid won't hold him down and he'll crawl out at midnight to settle scores with you? Who gave you such nerve—a black bear from the mountains?"
Commissar Huang, fearing they might start fighting again, quickly stepped between them.
"Comrade Wu, calm down. There might be a misunderstanding here. Um… you brought the children here this time—is something the matter? Speak up quickly. If it can be resolved, we'll definitely help resolve it."
Wu Guihua wasn't willing to waste her breath either, since no amount of clear facts could wake up a pair of dogs and bitches pretending to be oblivious.
"Commissar Huang, I'm not at the military region usually, but you all see these two shameless ones day in and day out. Whether they're truly innocent or actually playing husband and wife, you know better than I do!
"But I'm not here today to quibble over that. Because first and foremost, I am a mother—and only then am I Wu Guihua!"
Wu Guihua pulled Li Lan forward. "This is my eldest daughter. She just got into Normal University, but Wang Yun instigated Li Hongyuan and my mother-in-law to force her to give up her admission letter to Li Jiaojiao. My daughter is thin-skinned and hot-tempered—she nearly jumped into an ice hole!
"Today, I must stand up for her and vent this anger!"
With that, she pulled forward the scrawny, neck-tucked Li Xiaojun.
"This is my youngest son, Li Xiaojun. When I was eight months pregnant, my mother-in-law beat him out of me with a broom handle. From the moment he was born, he's been on medicine—sick every few days, big or small. Li Hongyuan has never cared for him a single day, never given a single cent!"
Finally, Wu Guihua rolled up her sleeve, revealing rows of bruised needle marks.
"Children are born of father and mother. I, as the mother, have already sold all my blood. I truly have no other choice. Now it's time for their father to take responsibility."
"I demand that Li Hongyuan hand over all his years of allowances and compensate me with at least half of it. Also, I want to send my eldest daughter to university, and from now on, Li Xiaojun will be raised by Li Hongyuan!
"As for whether Li Hongyuan and Wang Yun continue sharing a bed—or whether your military unit doesn't care about the nation's monogamy policy and allows Li Hongyuan to have both women—that's your decision. I don't care!"
Commissar Huang was rendered speechless for a long time, and Regimental Commander Liu and Deputy Commander Yu also hung their heads.
It was truly shameful!
The legitimate wife who had been mistreated for over a decade suddenly showed up, only to discover that her husband was maintaining two households and had set up a separate home with his sister-in-law. Most people would have been hysterical and demanded a divorce by now.
But Wu Guihua wasn't making a fuss about that, nor was she pursuing the military's negligence in covering this up. She was only asking her husband to take responsibility for supporting the family and stop forcing her to sell her blood…
This was heartbreaking for anyone who heard it!
If their own daughters had been bullied like this, they would have already pulled out their guns and shot the bastard son-in-law dead!
Wang Yun was frantic. She wanted to resolve the immediate crisis quickly, but absolutely not by giving up half the family's wealth.
"Guihua, I know you're angry, but Hongyuan hasn't had it easy all these years either. My health is poor, and Jiaojiao…"
"If your health is poor, shouldn't you be paying for your own treatment?"
Wu Guihua sneered. "Back then, when Big Brother was killed by the supply and marketing cooperative's truck, they gave you a thousand yuan and a job slot. But you cried and wailed, insisting on following Li Hongyuan to the military base, and then you sold the job for six hundred yuan.
"Where did all that money go? Don't tell me you saved it all and just used Li Hongyuan's allowance to support yourself and the kids?
"No wonder he had no money to support his own mother and children, and every autumn he'd take all the fine grain the family had been allocated! Anyone who didn't know better would think the military wasn't feeding him!"
Wang Yun was both guilty and angry at being called out, so she could only tug at Li Hongyuan's sleeve.
Li Hongyuan was angry too. As a daughter-in-law, wasn't it her duty to take care of her mother-in-law and the children? How come other comrades' wives could manage, but Wu Guihua had to come and cause a scene?
And she was asking for the moon—over a decade of allowances, even half of that would be three thousand yuan. That was simply too much!