After finishing frying the fish, it was already past nine, so the two of them stayed overnight at Lin Wan’s house. Early the next morning, Lin Wan brought half a rabbit and a small basin of fried fish to Sister-in-law Zhang’s house.
"You don’t have to bring sothing every ti you co, Lin Wan. Brother Huang and I feel embarrassed," said Sister-in-law Zhang, who was relaxing at ho on a Sunday watching Pidan doing so writing.
"Shi Lan and I ca yesterday. We’ve been up in the mountains picking mushrooms. We caught so small fish and even got a wild rabbit yesterday, so we brought them for you. Let Pidan have a treat."
"Thank you, Auntie." Pidan, who hadn’t dropped his pen since Lin Wan walked in with the gifts, promptly set it down and started eating a small fish as soon as he heard it was for him.
"Naughty boy, if you’re going to eat, go over there and don’t get oil all over your books."
After saying that, Zhang Cuiping sighed at Lin Wan. "You know, frying fish uses up so much oil."
She usually cooked for the governnt, and even the head chefs there were reluctant to use too much oil.
"It’s not that much, and it tastes better this way," Lin Wan replied, not angered by Sister-in-law Zhang’s comnts. She knew it was ant for her own good.
Zhang Cuiping didn’t dwell on it as she knew Lin Wan’s family wasn’t short on oil. "I wonder how Xiao Lan’s business of selling soybean paste is doing in the city."
"It’s going well enough for her to support herself. She ca back this ti to gather mushrooms in the mountains."
"Really? Well, I’m free today; maybe I can go with you."
"No need, Sister-in-law. We’re just killing ti, wandering around the mountains."
"I’m bored at ho anyway, so let’s go. I’ll join you." Sister-in-law said, retrieving a basket from inside to help them pick mushrooms.
Before they left, she reminded Pidan to finish his howork.
Pidan was about seven or eight years old, and when the adults weren’t around, he would often run around the courtyard playing with kids his age. Zhang Cuiping wasn’t too concerned.
On their way down, they unexpectedly ran into Sun Yu and her mother-in-law in the courtyard, rushing out with a child in their arms.
Lin Wan glanced at the two of them but didn’t ask anything.
Sister-in-law Zhang was puzzled too, noticing that Sun Yu didn’t look too well.
Shi Lan was already waiting for Lin Wan at the gate and, seeing that Sister-in-law Zhang was coming along, jokingly asked, "Didn’t you bring Pidan, Sister-in-law?"
"He’s too mischievous. If he ca along, nothing would get done."
The three of them chatted as they walked toward the mountains. This ti, Shi Lan took them to a different spot with plenty of mushrooms.
Talking and stopping along the way, they collected quite a lot by mid-morning.
"I’m telling you, doing small business on your own is better. Look at , working for over twenty a month and doing all sorts of tasks as a helper. The head chef just cooks while I and another woman do all the grunt work," remarked Sister-in-law Zhang.
"There’s risk in business, too. I only manage to sell a few bottles a day, and sotis I don’t sell any," Lin Wan said.
"Working for yourself has its advantages. Look at Sun Yu. Even if she’s on regular payroll, she only gets thirty-sothing a month. Both their salaries can’t support their family of four."
"But doesn’t Captain Yang earn a good salary?" Sister-in-law Zhang questioned. "The captain’s salary is also over thirty a month. Together, that’s sixty or seventy a month. How can’t they support a family?"
"Sun Yu spends more than she earns, rember? Yang Wei’s salary isn’t enough for her. Plus, her mother-in-law takes money from them, supposedly to nourish the grandson—only a month old. What does he eat?"
"I thought after what happened, she’d kick her mother-in-law out," Shi Lan said, puzzled.
"She wanted to, but Yang Wei wouldn’t allow it. He said if his mother leaves, Sun Yu will need to quit her job to take care of the child, so Sun Yu held back her resentnt and didn’t make a fuss," explained Sister-in-law Zhang.
Lin Wan discreetly picked up a lot of information from Sister-in-law Zhang. Every family has its challenges. Sun Yu had a high opinion of herself, yet she put up with so much just to keep her job.
By noon, Lin Wan and Shi Lan advised Sister-in-law Zhang to head ho since she had a kid, unlike them.
Sister-in-law Zhang didn’t argue since the child’s father would be back for lunch.
Lin Wan and Shi Lan had fried fish and buns for lunch and found so wild fruits in the forest.
"Xiao Lan, picking mushrooms alone every day isn’t sustainable. Maybe you should buy mushrooms from others," Lin Wan suggested.
"I’ve thought about that, but once it gets colder, it’s hard to find mushrooms. Where do the mushrooms in your family’s hotpot co from, and are they expensive?" Shi Lan asked.
"I source them from a village nearby. They aren’t expensive. I buy dried ones for fifty cents. We use them year-round, and they’re supplied by them. I’ll take you to check it out when we pass by tomorrow," Lin Wan replied.
"Alright, a jar of paste needs a bag of fresh mushrooms, and dried ones are only twenty to thirty pounds. Instead of spending ti on picking, I might as well sell more paste in town," Shi Lan agreed.
They didn’t gain much else today aside from mushrooms, but they picked more than yesterday.
They had two large bags of mushrooms and enlisted a guard to help carry them onto the tram trolley the next day.
They originally planned to take Shi Lan to Huang Dashan’s village but couldn’t manage with the two bags of mushrooms.
They would have to do it another day.
By the ti they got ho, it was almost noon. In the courtyard, Mom was playing with Little Star while doing laundry.
"Little Star... Mommy missed you so much," Lin Wan said, putting down the fried fish and kissing Little Star in the stroller.
"Alright, alright, you’ve been out for two days. Look how dirty you are. Stay away from the baby and change so I can wash your clothes," Mom fussed.
"Oh... Mom, I brought so fish. It’s in the basket," Lin Wan said, looking down at her stained clothes and heading inside.
"Got it," Mom replied.
....
In a district in the south
"Commander Zhang, you have a letter," a guard from the communication office called out when he saw Commander Zhang entering through the main gate.
"Weimin, could you grab it for ? It’s probably a letter from my hotown," Commander Zhang said hurriedly as he continued towards his office, having just been inford there was a phone call from HQ.
Director Lu acknowledged and turned towards the communication office.
"Director Lu, here’s Commander Zhang’s letter—one personal letter and another for your office," the communication officer handed over the two letters to Lu Weimin, who glanced at them briefly before taking them.
Then, with quick steps, he headed toward the office building.
The military-wide autumn competition was about to begin, and the leadership was busy with preparations.
Two days after receiving the letters, Lu Weimin finally had a mont to open them.
To his shock, as soon as he opened the envelope, an unsavory photograph slipped out.
The faces of the man and woman were clearly visible. Any leadership team would instantly recognize who they were at a glance.
Lu Weimin furrowed his brow as he discreetly glanced out the window.
Fortunately, it was nightti, and there weren’t many people around the office building.
Lu Weimin dared not linger on the photo and carefully tucked the letter into his chest pocket.
He went straight to i Langchi’s dormitory.
"Director Lu," i Langchi said as he returned from a shower and saw Lu Weimin hesitating at the door.
"Langchi, you’re back? I just rembered there are so specifics about this autumn’s competition I wanted to discuss with you," Lu Weimin said.
i Langchi paused; Director Lu was from the political departnt, and the competition wasn’t his concern. "Please co in, Director Lu."
Director Lu nodded and entered i Langchi’s room with his hands behind his back.
"Director Lu, where did we overlook?" i Langchi asked.
Without speaking, Director Lu pulled a letter from his pocket and handed it to him.
"If I didn’t have so rapport with your father, this could have been much worse, especially if soone else had co across this. Your military career would be over, and you and this woman could face a military tribunal," Director Lu said firmly.
Upon taking the two photos from the envelope, i Langchi’s expression darkened, his brow furrowing deeply, feeling a cold shiver.
"Thank you, Director Lu. I’ll handle this matter," i Langchi said after a mont of pause, his eyes reflecting determination.
"As long as you know what you’re doing," Director Lu said with a slight frown before adding, "I’ll take my leave."
The i family held so status in the Capital City. By helping i Langchi this ti, it also ant he owed Lu a significant favor.
This was no trivial matter, especially serious within military circles.
User Comments
0 comments from readers