Chapter 172

Chapter 172

"You little brat! What are you doing? What are you doing!" Sister Qian screamed in despair. Xu Yuqing and Xie Junli exchanged glances and hurried forward.

Although Sister Qian was usually talkative, everyone in the residential compound knew she loved children. Some people from the countryside would clutch their pockets tightly when they saw kids, fearing their things might be taken, but Sister Qian never did that.

She would even take out some candies to share with the children.

Encouraging them to play more with her own child, Odie.

Given her current state of screaming, something must have happened.

Xu Yuqing, taking advantage of her petite frame, squeezed through the crowd to the front.

Sure enough, it was because something had happened to a child. Odie's hair was messy, there was a large bump on his forehead, his pants were torn, and he was covered in dirt, crying along with Sister Qian.

Xu Yuqing had some rapport with the children in the compound, partly due to giving them candies. She grabbed the nearest little girl, "Dahua, do you know what happened?"

Dahua, who had been watching intently, was about to get angry at being pulled but recognized the generous Aunt Xu. She quickly nodded, "I know!"

There were many people around, so Xu Yuqing leaned close to the little girl to listen carefully.

"Tell me what happened."

Dahua swallowed, recalling the events: "Odie took a small notebook and a pencil, telling everyone he was going to start primary school. Chen Kang got upset and said Odie couldn't go to school, only he could!"

Chen Kang? That name sounds familiar.

Xu Yuqing looked over and indeed saw a somewhat familiar face, the same child she remembered most vividly when she first arrived at the Military District.

It was Song Mei, who called herself a representative of women, and her son Chen Kang.

Xu Yuqing recalled that this Song Mei was quite domineering. Looking at her now, Song Mei appeared more worn down but no less fierce. Though thinner, the harshness on her face was even more pronounced.

Seeing her suddenly, Xu Yuqing felt a sense of exasperation.

Weren't this mother and son sent back to their hometown? How did they return?

Dahua, despite her young age, seemed to notice Xu Yuqing's confusion and quickly explained, "Chen Kang has been here for a while! He said his father rented a house for him to attend a good school, not letting Odie go. He said Odie is from the countryside and can only go to school there."

The little girl's voice was clear and loud. Despite the crowd, everyone fell silent as she spoke. Sister Qian had asked Odie repeatedly without getting an answer, but now everything was clear.

With a venomous gaze, she looked at Chen Kang and Song Mei, "Everyone heard that, right? Children don't lie! My Odie was just happy to go to school, yet he was insulted for being from the countryside and beaten like this!"

Tears streamed down her face as she hugged her child tightly.

This scene was heart-wrenching, and no one could bear it. Everyone started consoling Sister Qian. At this moment, Song Mei inwardly cursed, knowing that if this escalated, there would be consequences.

She was furious but couldn't bring herself to punish her son. She gave him a stern look and tried to sneak away with him.

But Chen Kang, who had grown in age but not in wisdom, was excited by the sight of Odie and his mother crying. He refused to leave.

"I won't go! I want to watch!" he shouted loudly.

This shout drew everyone's attention.

Xu Yuqing looked at Song Mei and Chen Kang, then calmly asked, "Chen Kang, you said people from the countryside can't read. Do you know where your father is from?"

Chen Kang pouted, looking smug at Xu Yuqing. His quick-tongued mother couldn't stop him, "Of course my father is from the city! I am from the city too! I'm going to be a big official in the future!"

The crowd was stunned, amazed at such arrogance.

Everyone knew Deputy Commander Chen came from the mud, making every step with hard work. He had even received commendations.

Now hearing this, Song Mei was both anxious and angry, almost fainting. She regretted not covering his mouth earlier.

"No, no, it's because I didn't tell him about his father's origins. He's still young!"

She tightly held Chen Kang's round belly, trying to explain.

Unfortunately, no one listened, including Chen Kang himself.

He struggled in pain, biting Song Mei's arm in anger for embarrassing him in front of his friends, shouting, "That's not true! You said it yourself! You said I don't need to do anything, relying on my father! You said my status is different from these peasants!"

...

These words were shocking, leaving no one speechless. Even Sister Qian stopped crying, staring in shock.

No one dared to speak, and the large area fell into a chilling silence.

Taking advantage of the quiet, Xie Junli stepped forward, immediately checking if Xu Yuqing was alright, "Are you okay?"

He asked worriedly.

Xu Yuqing shook her head, pointing towards Chen Kang and Song Mei, "Go check on them."

They had also fallen silent, sensing the tense atmosphere. Even the defiant Chen Kang clung to Song Mei, quieting down.

Xie Junli glanced over. It was dinnertime, and more people were gathering. Someone had already gone to fetch Deputy Commander Chen.

With a cold, emotionless gaze, Xie Junli looked at Chen Kang, showing no patience. Chen Kang instantly shrank back, not daring to move, "Everyone, disperse and go eat dinner. I will handle this fairly."

Hearing Xie Junli's words, everyone nodded, "Alright, let's disperse."

"Indeed."

Some new soldiers passing by glared at Song Mei, making her shrink back several times.

This wasn't under Xie Junli's jurisdiction, and his intervention wouldn't be convincing. He turned to Xu Yuqing, "Go eat first. Just bring me some food. I'll take care of them."

"Alright." Xu Yuqing understood the severity of the situation and nodded. Seeing his cold glance, Song Mei immediately stood up, pulling Chen Kang along with her.

Indulging in thoughts at this moment was a big taboo. Xu Yuqing looked at Chen Kang and shook her head regretfully.

He was a good child, but without proper guidance from his parents, she felt that Deputy Brigade Commander Chen also bore some responsibility. Being family, how could he not speak up or notice anything when he returned home?

It was simply a matter of her own perception.

Seeing their cooperation, Xie Junli's anger subsided somewhat. He looked at Sister Qian and the crying child in her arms. "Sister, let's go."

Sister Qian wiped her tears, stood up, and picked up the child. "Alright, let's go. I must seek justice."

As Xie Junli led them away, Xu Yuqing walked past them towards the cafeteria.

She served herself food but saw no familiar faces, so she decided to take it home. This way, Xie Junli would have warm food when he returned.

With this plan in mind, she held her lunch box and greeted everyone in the cafeteria before carefully making her way home.

Along the way, everyone had heard about what had happened and began discussing it. Xu Yuqing pursed her lips, unsure if this was a good or bad thing.

It was better to root out ideological problems now. If someone dared to hit another over a word, who knew what they might do in the future.

Thinking about this, she couldn't help but shake her head.

Meanwhile, at the Military District leadership meeting, Xie Junli knew that the brigade commanders had just finished their session, and the division commanders were still there. This explained why Deputy Brigade Commander Chen hadn't arrived yet.

Leading the four people to his office, which was small, simple, and spartan, with only a table and two chairs, Xie Junli brought a stool for Sister Qian. "Sister, let the child sit down. I'll get some medicine to treat his wounds."

"Okay, thank you!" Sister Qian looked gratefully at Xie Junli. The child remained silent, silently weeping, breaking her heart.

Xie Commander was indeed thoughtful, remembering the child's head injury. Thinking about this, Sister Qian glared at the mother and son opposite her, resentful that they hadn't asked about the child's condition once.

If it weren't for that little brat saying the wrong thing, they wouldn't have been scared.

Sister Qian suppressed her anger and waited. She wanted to see if Song Mei would regret raising such a son!

Xie Junli went next door to fetch the first aid kit, bringing back disinfectant and red medicine water. "Sister, did you bring a handkerchief?"

Before he could pull one out of his pocket, Sister Qian quickly stopped him. "Yes, yes, I have one. Don't worry!"

She took out her handkerchief, knowing that as a military wife, she should be prepared. She wet the handkerchief with hot water from the kettle and gently wiped the mud off the child's forehead, then carefully applied the medicine.

The moment the medicine touched the wound, the child cried even louder.

This time, it was a loud wailing.

Sister Qian's tears flowed as she continued applying the medicine.

After finishing the treatment, the mother and child cried together, a pitiful sight. Finally, voices came from outside, and several people rushed in.

Political Commissar Huang, Deputy Brigade Commander Chen, and Company Commander Qian, who had been searching for a long time, finally found them here.

They met at the door. Political Commissar Huang, having heard a rough outline of the situation, quickly made way for the anxious Company Commander Qian to enter first.

"Nie'er! How is my son?!"

Company Commander Qian shouted anxiously, looking around frantically.

Seeing her support arrive, Sister Qian called out, handing the child over. "Look at your son! See how badly he was beaten!"

Everyone turned to look. The child's forehead, covered in red medicine, appeared swollen and frightening, with dirty clothes and torn patches.

Company Commander Qian's eyes instantly welled up with tears as he looked at his son. "Son! Who did this to you?!"

Deputy Brigade Commander Chen's eyes flickered, and he rushed in, dragging Chen Kang out. Facing Company Commander Qian, he yelled, "Kneel down!"

Chen Kang looked at Deputy Brigade Commander Chen in disbelief. "I won't!"

Deputy Brigade Commander Chen gritted his teeth. "Do you think you can get away with your mistake? I'll break your legs if you don't kneel!"

Though he put on a good show, no one paid attention except his wife, Song Mei, who looked at her child with concern but didn't dare to speak.

"Enough, stop pretending. This isn't the first or second time."