Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Jin Xiuzhu returned home with the children when it was already dark. Jiang Mingchuan wasn't home; he probably hadn't returned yet.

She didn't feel like cooking, so she took the children to the canteen for a meal and packed a portion of rice to bring back for Jiang Mingchuan.

When they arrived, there was no one in the canteen. The chefs were eating at the back, and upon seeing Jin Xiuzhu, invited her to join them. Jin Xiuzhu didn't hesitate and sat down with her two children.

Chef Zhang asked, "Why haven't you cooked dinner yet?"

Jin Xiuzhu told them about what had happened that afternoon.

They had heard some rumors about the fight between the children. They were familiar with many military wives who came to get meals, and they would occasionally chat.

Especially Chef Zhang, who seemed to know everything that happened in the unit, no matter how trivial. "I can't help but feel that Yang's child was set up. I've seen him many times before. His father used to bring him to the canteen often, and he was very well-behaved. He doesn't seem like the type to start fights. It's more likely that Qi Kang attacked him."

Jin Xiuzhu frowned at this comment.

A cook sitting beside him interjected, "You never know. Sometimes, the quiet ones are the most vicious. Perhaps that child is secretly a little tyrant."

Chef Zhang sighed. "How could he be a tyrant? His mother passed away not long after giving birth to him. His stepmother divorced his father a year later. His grandmother blamed him for everything and spread the word that he was the reason why people left. Whenever his father was home, he would keep him by his side because his grandmother barely fed him."

"Even her own grandson?"

"As long as her son is around, there will always be grandsons. Look at Captain Yang, isn't he married again? There'll soon be another grandson."

This made sense, but every family had their share of troubles. Everyone quickly moved on to other topics. After Jin Xiuzhu finished eating, Chef Zhang packed another meal for her to take away.

As he saw her off at the door, Chef Zhang couldn't resist telling his apprentice, "Captain Jiang has some good fortune."

If he had really married Zhao Yun, his future wouldn't have been pleasant.

The apprentice didn't understand and looked at his master in confusion.

Chef Zhang knocked on his head. "You're too young to understand."

On their way home, He Yan carried the food box and walked beside Jin Xiuzhu. After a while, he suddenly looked up and said, "I think Yang Yingxiong is pitiful."

He had always felt sorry for himself. His father had died, his mother remarried and left him, his aunt and uncle took over everything in his home and treated him poorly, and even his grandmother didn't dare to intervene because she feared being abandoned by her son and daughter-in-law in her old age.

But Yang Yingxiong was different. Despite having a father, why was he still so pitiable?

He Yan thought that if his biological father were still alive, his aunt and uncle wouldn't dare to treat him that way, and his grandmother wouldn't be afraid to stand up for him.

Jin Xiuzhu didn't know how to comfort him, as she had seen even more pitiful situations. These kinds of people and stories didn't easily stir her compassion.

She could only pat his head. "It'll be better when you grow up."

He Yan lowered his head and muttered quietly, "If you don't want a child, then don't give birth to them."

Jin Xiuzhu didn't hear him, but Fu Yanyan did, and she glanced at Jin Xiuzhu.

She thought to herself that this was also what she wanted to say in her previous life.

Jiang Mingchuan didn't return until late at night. The food had long gone cold. Jin Xiuzhu told him to wash up while she reheated the food in the kitchen. He washed up quickly, and by the time Jin Xiuzhu called him for dinner, he was already asleep in bed.

She decided not to wake him and kept the food warm in the kitchen.

Jin Xiuzhu lay down facing away from him, listening to his loud snoring. Irritated, she kicked him in the leg.

He seemed to notice but didn't wake up. Instead, he subconsciously reached out to adjust the blanket and patted her gently.

Suddenly, Jin Xiuzhu felt it wasn't such a big deal and closed her eyes.

She slept until the next morning. When Jin Xiuzhu woke up, only she and her daughter were home.

Her daughter was playing in the living room and told her, "Dad cooked porridge and left it in the pot."

After washing up, Jin Xiuzhu went to the kitchen to serve the porridge.

She spent the whole day painting at home. In the afternoon, Fang Min dropped by. Unlike Jin Xiuzhu, who was always going out, Fang Min's biggest daily activity was going to the entrance of the unit to mail her manuscripts and collect her fees. Sometimes, when she saw Jin Xiuzhu's manuscripts, she would help collect the fees as well.

Jin Xiuzhu received much more in fees this time. She had only received half the payment for her last book, with the remaining half due upon completion. In addition, she had also earned money from various illustrations sent to other publications. After Fang Min left, Jin Xiuzhu counted the money twice. It totaled 36 yuan and 6 fen.

This was much more than what she earned working in the canteen. It included sugar tickets, cloth tickets, tea tickets, and soap tickets.

Jin Xiuzhu went to her room and took out the middle book from the top shelf. She removed all the money hidden inside and counted it excitedly. Adding it to the earlier amount, she had a total of 262 yuan and 78 fen.

This included the money she brought from her hometown, what she earned in the canteen for half a year, and what Jiang Mingchuan contributed.

Jiang Mingchuan's salary wasn't low, but he only brought home a little more than half of it each time. Jin Xiuzhu suspected that he lent the rest to others besides sending money to his sister.

She took out 2 yuan and 78 fen, and put the rest back in the book, placing it back on the shelf. She wouldn't touch this money anymore.

Returning to the living room, she met her daughter's curious gaze.

Jin Xiuzhu composed herself and said, "Children shouldn't be so curious about adult matters."

Fu Yanyan saw through her and said, "Mom, you have a lot of money, right? Why do you let Dad lend it to others?"

Jin Xiuzhu wasn't embarrassed and sneered. "Others can borrow from him, but he can't borrow from others? He'll learn his lesson after suffering a few losses."

Fu Yanyan looked at Jin Xiuzhu with admiration. She didn't expect that she knew about Jiang Dad lending money to others.

In her previous life, it was indeed like this. Whenever someone was in trouble, they would seek help from Jiang Dad. But once, when he fell ill and needed surgery, he had to use all their savings. After finding out, "Jin Xiuzhu" had a huge argument with him, forcing him to go door-to-door to collect the debts. However, very few people paid him back. Only then did Jiang Dad learn his lesson and stop lending money. This incident caused a lot of gossip about their family.

Jin Xiuzhu took the two-yuan-plus to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought meat and vegetables. That evening, she prepared a full table of delicious dishes.

She had planned to invite Fang Min over for dinner, but unexpectedly, Jiang Mingchuan had returned, while He Yan still hadn't come back.

After waiting for a while longer, Jin Xiuzhu became somewhat worried and asked Jiang Mingchuan to go out and check.

Jiang Mingchuan changed his shoes and went downstairs. Before long, the sound of father and son talking could be heard from the outdoor stairs, and Jin Xiuzhu sighed in relief.

The moment He Yan entered the door, he excitedly called out for his mother and sister, then explained that their teacher was angry today and made them stay behind to memorize their lessons, which was why they were late. "Today, our Chinese teacher randomly picked students to recite their texts. Many hadn't memorized them, so we had to stay after school until each one finished reciting."

"Is that so? Quickly wash your hands and eat."

"Mm-hmm."

Dinner consisted of four dishes and a soup, all things He Yan loved to eat. As he ate, he chattered about what happened at school that day, such as Wei Ningqing ranking first today while he came third, or how a student was made to stand during class for sleeping, and even that the math teacher had found someone special...

In the past, Jin Xiuzhu advocated not speaking during meals, but gradually she got used to this lively dinner atmosphere and would occasionally ask a question.

Halfway through the meal, an argument suddenly broke out upstairs.

The four of them froze, instinctively falling silent.

The noise upstairs grew louder, and a sharp voice clearly reached their ears—

"It's all your fault! He's been gone for a whole day and night, and you still have the heart to eat..."

"Oh, my poor grandson, what did you do to deserve this?"

"Mom, stop shouting. I'll go look for him."

"You always take her side. Do you even care about me, your mother? We've been married for so long, and there's still no sign of pregnancy. I serve her every day, but instead of giving me a grandchild, she's chased away my precious grandson..."

After Zhao Yun said something, it quieted down for a moment before the old woman raised her voice again, "Listen to what she said! Is that any way to talk? Yang Yao, I raised you with so much effort, and this is how she treats me..."

Jin Xiuzhu strained her ears to eavesdrop. Jiang Mingchuan acted as if he didn't hear anything and continued eating. Seeing that Jin Xiuzhu wasn't touching her chopsticks, he placed a piece of good meat on her plate and helplessly said, "Eat quickly."

He showed no curiosity about other people's family affairs.

Only He Yan unusually lowered his head and silently ate his rice.

Fu Yanyan, sitting beside him, glanced at him several times.

Around eight o'clock in the evening, knocking sounded at the door.

Jin Xiuzhu was hunched over the table with her son, drawing and scribbling, while Jiang Mingchuan taught their daughter to read nearby. Hearing the knock, Jiang Mingchuan handed the book to his daughter and got up to open the door.

Opening the door, he saw Zhao Yun with red eyes from crying, and subconsciously froze.

Zhao Yun choked back tears and said, "I'm really sorry to disturb you so late, but I just wanted to ask if you've seen our child. Last night, when Yang Yao came home and found out about the fight, he scolded him and hit him. We thought that would be the end of it, but he hasn't been seen all day."

Jiang Mingchuan frowned. "When did the child go missing?"

"He wasn't seen this morning. We assumed he'd gone to school early, so we didn't worry. Sometimes he leaves earlier. Yang Yao went out to look for him just now and hasn't returned yet."

Jiang Mingchuan didn't comment, only saying, "Then I'll go look for him too."

"Really? That's great, thank you so much, Commander Jiang."

Jiang Mingchuan nodded. "Ask around the others as well. I'll change my shoes."

"Okay."

Zhao Yun sniffled but didn't leave, standing by the door to wait.

Jin Xiuzhu also heard this and didn't interfere, only reminding, "Be careful."

Jiang Mingchuan hummed in acknowledgment and gently said, "Go to sleep once you're done. Don't wait up for me."

Jin Xiuzhu nodded.

Even after the door closed, they could still hear the two talking in the hallway. Fu Yanyan looked at Jin Xiuzhu, surprised that she showed no emotion and simply lowered her head to continue drawing, completely unaffected.

As if sensing her daughter's gaze, Jin Xiuzhu couldn't help but raise her head and ask, "What's wrong? Where are you stuck?"

Fu Yanyan shook her head, lowering her eyes and quietly saying, "Dad went out with that person."

Jin Xiuzhu looked puzzled. "So what? Does he dare to have other thoughts behind my back?"

Fu Yanyan remained silent, thinking that in her previous life, Jin Xiuzhu wasn't like this. If Jiang Dad spoke to any auntie, she would throw a fit, let alone going out with Zhao Yun.

Beside them, He Yan held his pen without moving for a long time. Fu Yanyan calmly asked him, "Do you know where he is?"

He Yan's body stiffened, surprised that he was found out so quickly. He hurriedly shook his head. After shaking it, he saw his mother looking at him suspiciously and shrank his neck, nodding slightly.

Mother and daughter narrowed their eyes at him.

Feeling a bit guilty, He Yan confessed, "Yang Yingxiong ran away last night. I heard he spent the night in the classroom. When we finished reciting our lessons and almost everyone had left school, I passed by his class and saw he hadn't left. So, Wei Ningqing and I went to find him. At first, he wouldn't say anything, but I gave him the leftover buns from lunch, and then he told us about his dad hitting him. Wei Ningqing secretly hid him in the attic of his house."

That was why he was late coming home.

Every day, besides lunch, He Yan would bring some snacks. Sometimes they were buns, which he usually wouldn't finish all at once, saving some to eat with Wei Ningqing on the way home.

Wei Ningqing's grandmother couldn't cook, and his grandfather usually prepared a mishmash of foods. However, Wei Ningqing didn't want to accept things from others. He would only ask for something when they discussed homework on the way home.

He Yan was proud because his lunch was the most sumptuous and delicious in the entire class.

He thought for a moment and added, "Yesterday, it wasn't him who started it. Qi Kang attacked him, cursing his stepmother and blaming her for getting his own mother scolded. He called Yang Yingxiong a pitiful orphan, which led Yang Yingxiong to retaliate by picking up a stone and hitting him, causing a lot of bleeding. Once others arrived, Qi Kang claimed that Yang Yingxiong had struck first and accused him of being angry at his mother matchmaking for his father, making his father and grandmother neglect him. Yang Yingxiong said that his grandmother never cared for him..."

Speaking up to this point, He Yan felt like crying. In Yang Yingxiong, he saw a reflection of his past self—no matter what he did, it was always wrong. Whenever his uncle and aunt's children made mistakes, they would blame him, and his uncle and aunt would beat him with a stick without asking questions.

Jin Xiuzhu didn't particularly want to get involved in these matters. Hearing this, she told her son, "Go tell your father."

He Yan puffed up his cheeks, somewhat unwilling. He felt that Yang Yingxiong's family wasn't good to him.

Fu Yanyan reminded him, "If something happens to Yang Yingxiong, their family will look for Mom and Dad."

He Yan had always known that his sister was smarter than him. Seeing her say this, he had no choice but to get up and run out.

About an hour later, Jiang Mingchuan and his son returned.

Jin Xiuzhu had already gone to sleep.

After Jiang Mingchuan took a shower and returned to the room to lie down, he hugged her from behind.

Jin Xiuzhu hadn't fallen asleep yet, so she asked how things were.

Jiang Mingchuan didn't know how to explain, so he said, "When we found him, the child was sleeping in the attic. Wei Ningqing said he planned to wait until his grandparents fell asleep before looking for him. Then, we brought him back."

"The child initially refused to go with Yang Yao, crying that Qi Kang hit him first, but no one listened to his explanation."

Grandma scolded him as a good-for-nothing who only knew how to spend money. Dad didn't even ask any questions before hitting him. And there was Zhao Yun, insisting he apologize...

The scene was quite awkward at the time. Commander Wei and his wife were present. However, it was better this way. The child's future should improve significantly.

Jiang Mingchuan also learned tonight that Wei Ningqing, who often played with He Yan, was actually Commander Wei's grandson.

Thinking of this, he mentioned to Jin Xiuzhu, "Just maintain normal interactions; there's no need for special treatment. Keep things as they were before."

Jin Xiuzhu didn't expect him to share these matters with her. When she was with Lord Marquis, he never mentioned anything about official affairs, making her acutely aware that she was merely a concubine and plaything in a man's eyes.

She turned around and hugged him, agreeing softly.

Jiang Mingchuan patted her back. "Sleep. I'll cook breakfast for you tomorrow morning."

"I want to eat egg custard."

"Sure."

The next day, Jin Xiuzhu guessed that Zhao Yun would definitely come over again. So, after finishing breakfast, she took her daughter to visit the neighbors.

Sure enough, in the morning, they heard knocking on the door.

Fang Min looked at her. "It seems to be your house."

Jin Xiuzhu didn't raise her head. "Ignore it. It's Zhao Yun upstairs."

Fang Min was puzzled, wondering how Jin Xiuzhu knew without even looking.

Jin Xiuzhu then told her about the events of the past two days, as well as Liu Hongyue's report and Zhao Yun's apology over dinner. After listening, the usually quiet and elegant Fang Min couldn't help but widen her eyes, surprised by all that had happened recently. Before meeting Jin Xiuzhu, she rarely interacted with other military wives, so no one had shared such stories with her. As a result, she was quite shocked upon hearing them.

"So, you're saying Qi Kang intentionally hit Yang Yingxiong but was instead injured by him. Then, he falsely accused Yang Yingxiong and pretended to be seriously hurt. His goal was to make the Yang family plead with his father for leniency and bring his mother back?"

Fang Min quickly grasped the logic behind it all. She found reality more intriguing than fiction, filled with unexpected twists and turns.

Jin Xiuzhu nodded and added, "The Yang family is also complicated."

Fang Min fell into deep thought. She had been stuck in a creative rut for the past month. Readers had written in, saying her novels followed the same formula, where they could predict the content after reading just the beginning. She should have started writing long ago, and her editor had urged her several times, but she kept revising and remained unsatisfied. For some reason, after hearing Jin Xiuzhu's words, an image of a lonely figure huddled in a corner suddenly appeared in her mind. This figure gradually merged with her own childhood self, igniting a strong desire to create.

Jin Xiuzhu continued, "If I go out now, she'll tell me how great Jiang Mingchuan was last night, helping find the child. Since she can't find me now, she'll definitely come back tonight. That's when Jiang Mingchuan will be home, and she'll say she caused trouble last night and that her good intentions were misunderstood by the child, portraying herself as wronged..."

Fang Min turned to look at her.

Jin Xiuzhu raised an eyebrow. "Don't believe me? Just wait and see tonight."

These petty tricks were ones she had used countless times.

Sure enough, around eight o'clock in the evening, Fang Min heard someone knock on the neighbor's door. Perhaps it was due to curiosity sparked by Jin Xiuzhu's earlier words, but she couldn't resist opening the door to take a look. There, she really saw Zhao Yun standing outside the neighbor's door.

Seeing Fang Min open the door, Zhao Yun gave an apologetic smile.

Fang Min closed the door but didn't leave. Instead, she stood behind it to eavesdrop.

Within seconds, she heard the sound of the neighbor's door opening. It must have been Jiang Mingchuan who opened it, as she heard him ask what the matter was.

Zhao Yun said, "You really troubled yourself last night. Without your help, we wouldn't have known when we'd find the child. I don't know why, but the child doesn't share his thoughts with us. At the time, we didn't think much about it. Hearing that he had sent someone to the hospital, we feared it would affect his reputation. We decided that no matter what, we had to calm the other party down first. Little did we know that it would lead to a misunderstanding where he thought I didn't believe him..."

As she spoke, her voice became choked up.

Fang Min wasn't moved by her words. She was simply amazed that Jin Xiuzhu had accurately predicted everything.

In the living room, Political Commissar Zhu sat at the table reading. Seeing her sneaky appearance, he couldn't help but laugh and asked, "What are you doing?"

Fang Min's face flushed, and she was about to leave when she heard Jin Xiuzhu's voice from outside— "Please move aside." She didn't specify who she was addressing. Soon, the hallway echoed with hurried footsteps.

Then came the sound of knocking upstairs. Curious, Fang Min peeked through a crack in the door and saw that both Jiang Mingchuan and Zhao Yun at the door seemed bewildered.

Jin Xiuzhu's voice was loud. Upstairs, it seemed Captain Yang opened the door, asking, "What's the matter?"

Jin Xiuzhu said, "Captain Yang, I've heard you're well-versed and exceptionally intelligent. Lately, I've been studying and encountered some problems I don't understand. You know, I'm from the countryside, and I always feel inferior compared to others."

"Sigh, it's helpless. During the day, I have to take care of the children and the household, leaving me with only evenings to study. With my husband and children busy, I can only come to you for help. Please, will you help me? I really want to improve. If you won't help me, how can I live..."

Her tone was coquettish, and she even choked up, as if she was about to cry.

Fang Min widened her eyes, unable to resist pressing her face against the crack in the door to watch. She saw Jiang Mingchuan's expression darken at the neighboring door.

Perhaps because she was too engrossed, she didn't notice a shadow appearing behind her, also curiously craning its neck to look.

Upstairs, Captain Yang seemed somewhat flustered. "W-Where's Jiang Mingchuan?"

Jin Xiuzhu pouted and whined, "He's ignoring me. He's talking to your wife, who's even crying. Let's just leave him be. Teach me instead..."

Captain Yang's reaction was unseen by Fang Min. She only saw Jiang Mingchuan storm up the stairs with a dark expression, taking four steps at a time, and disappearing from sight in a blink. Soon after, his voice, barely restrained, echoed down, "Go back to your room."

Jin Xiuzhu still seemed unhappy. "What are you doing? I want Captain Yang to teach me. Everyone says he's gentle and well-versed..."

Jiang Mingchuan, face dark, didn't bother with what she was saying. He simply lifted her up and carried her downstairs. Jin Xiuzhu let out an 'oh', but upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she waved at Captain Yang. "Then teach me next time."

Fang Min then watched the couple descend, passing by Zhao Yun without a word. Jin Xiuzhu, tucked under Jiang Mingchuan's arm, secretly waved in Zhao Yun's direction.

Fang Min: "…"

Two small heads popped out from the neighboring door, looking around. He Yan stuck his tongue out at Zhao Yun before the door slammed shut with a "bang."

Zhao Yun glowered at the closed door, unmoving, before turning and heading upstairs after a moment.

Fang Min retracted her gaze, still somewhat engrossed in the scene. As she turned, she noticed someone standing beside her.

The person straightened up awkwardly upon meeting her gaze, cleared their throat, and commented, "Quite interesting."

They then returned to their seat.

Fang Min looked at the elegant figure and bit her lip, suppressing a smile.

She never expected the usually stern and taciturn political commissar to enjoy such spectacles.

In the neighboring room, Jin Xiuzhu feigned innocence. "Why did you carry me back? It's so impolite. What if Captain Yang saw?"

Jiang Mingchuan's face was grim. "Is this how you should behave? Going over late at night and speaking to another man like that..."

He had never heard such a tone before.

Jin Xiuzhu looked confused. "It's alright, isn't it? You were engrossed in conversation, so I went to Captain Yang. What's wrong with that? Zhao Yun was downstairs. Don't overthink it. Captain Yang is a good person."

Hearing this, Jiang Mingchuan's expression darkened further, but he was at a loss for words.

After a moment, he firmly stated, "You're not going over there anymore."

Jin Xiuzhu replied nonchalantly, "I know, I know."

Her indifferent tone suggested she wasn't taking it seriously.

Jiang Mingchuan gritted his teeth but said nothing more.

He Yan, sitting nearby and working on his homework, peeked curiously. His sister suddenly rapped his head, and Fu Yanyan warned him with a glance, mouthing, "Do your work."

He Yan rubbed his head and obediently returned to his studies.

Fu Yanyan glanced at the couple nearby and couldn't help but smile.

That night, lying in bed, Jiang Mingchuan couldn't sleep. The more he thought about Jin Xiuzhu's tone when she spoke to Yang Yao, the stranger it felt. Unable to resist, he leaned over and whispered, "Stay away from Yang Yao in the future."

Jin Xiuzhu pushed him away irritably. "You're so annoying."