Chapter 19: Silk Banner

Chapter 19: The Commendation Banner

"Old lady, Old lady..." Chunlan held up the fainted Chen Lishi, shrieking in alarm.

Second Mistress Chen's face was flushed as she hurried to tell Second Master Chen the news—she didn't have time to deal with Chen Lishi.

Fortunately, Third Mistress Chen arrived in time and quickly took charge of the situation. She sent Xia Lan to get a doctor, had one of the stronger servants carry Chen Lishi back to her room, and told everyone else to get back to what they were doing and not make things worse.

"Now, tell me—why did the old lady pass out?" Third Mistress Chen asked Chunlan with a stern face.

"It's the Ninth Concubine—she gave away all the fields, the mountain, and the house that the Old Master gave her." Chunlan glanced around, then leaned in and whispered, "The land and house deeds are all in the old lady's hands. She'd planned to wait until the Ninth Concubine's mourning period for the Old Master was over, then marry her off to the Li family with those as her dowry. But then the Liberation Army showed up and 'liberated' her. The old lady was worried that the longer they waited, the more likely something would go wrong, so she set up today's flower-viewing banquet, planning to have Miss Xianxian push the Ninth Concubine into the water, then have the young maternal uncle dive in to save her. That way, the Ninth Concubine would be compromised and have no choice but to marry him. Who would've thought those people would move so fast and sweet-talk her into handing everything over."

Third Mistress Chen nodded, understanding. She'd known a bit about Chen Lishi's scheme but hadn't paid it much attention—since none of that stuff would ever end up in her hands anyway. As for Lin Zhijin, they weren't close—whether she lived or died was none of her business.

"Could the Ninth Concubine have done this on purpose?" Third Mistress Chen always thought the Ninth Concubine wasn't as dumb as they made her out to be.

"It wasn't her doing." Chen Lishi had only passed out from a fit of rage and came to after a moment. "Lin Pandi is just an easily swayed fool. It's my fault too—I've had too much on my plate lately and forgot to have someone keep an eye on her, which gave the Liberation Army a chance to swoop in."

Meanwhile, Second Master Chen heard from Second Mistress Chen that Lin Zhijin had donated the mountain to the state, and he slammed his hand on the table in a rage. "What? She gave it to the state?"

"Yes! Not just Jinshi Mountain, but also the hundred mu of land and the three-courtyard house. The Military Control Office just gave her a job at the Women's Federation, and she's thrilled about it. Can you believe how dumb she is?" Second Mistress Chen paced back and forth, all worked up. "What do we do now? Can we go to the Liberation Army and ask them to give it back?"

"Are you crazy, or am I? Or do you actually dare to go ask?" Second Master Chen was so angry his chest hurt. "That Lin woman is a complete idiot! We tried to buy it from her with cash and she said no, but then she gets sweet-talked out of it."

Jinshi Mountain—there's a good chance there's a gold mine there. Even digging a little would bring in more than that fool Lin would earn in a lifetime.

"Could Lin be using the Liberation Army as a cover, saying this on purpose so the old lady won't get any ideas?" Second Master Chen squinted and asked in a low voice.

Second Mistress Chen shook her head. "No way. I've dealt with her—she's a total fool, one-track mind. It just shows how good the Liberation Army is at talking—a few words and Lin does whatever they say."

The "fool" Lin Zhijin was already back at the hotel. If she knew how the old lady and Second Mistress Chen were talking about her, she wouldn't be mad at all—she'd be setting off firecrackers. Yeah, that's exactly how they should describe her—she doesn't know anything, she's an innocent, harmless citizen.

She'd only taken half a day off. She took a nap, had lunch, and grabbed her bag to head to the Military Control Office for work.

"Xiao Lin, what'd you do this morning?" Li Yue asked curiously when she saw Lin Zhijin.

"Just had some personal stuff to take care of." Lin Zhijin didn't want to bring up anything about the Chen family in the office. "Aren't we heading out to the countryside again tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we need to cover every corner of Nancheng. Not that we need to know it like the back of our hands, but we should at least get a basic sense of things." Li Yue looked Lin Zhijin up and down. "What, scared?"

"Not scared—it's not like I'm going alone." Last time she just hadn't been mentally prepared; who would've thought Women's Federation work could involve witnessing a firefight.

For the next week, Lin Zhijin followed Director Zhang and the others around, running until her legs were worn thin.

"Leader, Wang Fugui doesn't keep his word. I want a divorce." Li Guihua's voice came through before she even entered the door.

Everyone exchanged glances. Once Li Guihua came in, they immediately asked what was wrong.

"Leader, last time you said that if Wang Fugui did that to me against my will, you'd make him divorce me." Li Guihua looked at them nervously.

Wang Fugui came in from outside and, noticing Sister Qian and the others staring at him, lowered his head in guilt. Then he raised it again with self-righteousness. "I asked, and she nodded."

"You're lying! I wasn't nodding—I was dozing off." Li Guihua was so angry she wanted to scratch him.

"Li Guihua, I listen to the leaders and respect you, so shouldn't you respect me too? Who goes half a month without being touched? What normal man can stand that?" Wang Fugui was getting worked up.

"Comrade Li Guihua, is what Comrade Wang Fugui said true?" Seeing her nod, Sister Qian frowned and pulled her into the office, then asked in a low voice, "Do you have someone else? Is that why you don't want Wang Fugui to touch you?"

"No, Leader, you can't say that. I'm the most proper woman—I'd never mess around." Li Guihua shook her head, hemming and hawing for a moment before saying, "I don't know what's wrong. After giving birth to our third, I just don't like him touching me anymore. The thought of him going on and on scares me."

Sister Qian nodded in understanding and told her not to rush into divorce—they'd talk to Wang Fugui again. After all, he was still fairly obedient; he'd managed to hold out for half a month.

"This kind of thing has to be enjoyed by both parties. She's clearly been scared by you to the point of being repulsed. I suggest you don't touch your wife for a while. Be gentler with women. When you can't control yourself, think about your three kids—how pitiful they'd be without their mother." Sister Qian finished advising Li Guihua, then came to advise Wang Fugui.

"But I clearly have a wife, yet I'm living like a bachelor." Wang Fugui was unhappy too. Wasn't he good to Li Guihua? Now even normal married life wasn't allowed?

Just then, the guard brought in a couple.

"Director Qian, this female comrade has a matter she'd like the Women's Federation to help with."

Sister Qian's official title was Deputy Director of the Women's Federation, but she was warm and approachable, so most people called her Sister Qian.

Sister Qian nodded and had Sister Li attend to the newly arrived couple, with Lin Zhijin and Li Yue observing and learning. As for Wang Chunhua, she spoke without thinking and would only make things worse.

"Leader, I want a divorce." The woman spoke directly.

"I... I don't want to." The man muttered quietly behind her.

"Hah, you don't want to? How long do you expect me to live like a widow?" The woman shot him a glare. "Leader, I've been married to him for three years and haven't experienced a woman's pleasure even once. I'm still young, and I don't want to live like this."

The man was equally aggrieved. "I've asked around—I'm a normal man. It's you who wants too much; no ordinary man could keep up."

Hearing this, everyone was momentarily stunned. The Women's Federation staff glanced at Li Guihua and her husband. How interesting—one couple complained the man was too much, the other complained he wasn't enough.

"Sister, aside from this aspect, does your husband have any other problems?" Sister Qian asked patiently.

The woman paused. "No, he treats me well. But what use is that if he can't perform in that area?"

"I told you, I'm perfectly normal." The man pulled out a medical report, his face red. "I went to the hospital specially for a check-up. See what the doctor wrote—normal."

"Comrade, don't get angry. We know there's nothing wrong with your body. Come over here with me." Sister Li led the male comrade to the other side to prevent him from doing anything rash out of anger.

"Comrade, I really am normal. My wife... she wants it every night, and once isn't even enough. Even an iron body couldn't withstand that!" The man was deeply aggrieved.

On this side, Li Yue was also communicating with the woman, but could hardly persuade her. She was adamant about divorcing, with no room for negotiation.

"Even if you don't think of yourself, think of the children. No woman divorces over something like this." Li Yue frowned.

Hearing this, the woman burst into loud sobs. "I'm so miserable! I thought since you're women too, you'd understand me, but you're saying the same things my parents said. Children, children, everyone says for the children—but what about me?"

Li Guihua and Wang Fugui had stopped arguing and were now watching the later couple with great interest.

Sister Qian quickly comforted her. "Of course not. We just want you to think it over carefully."

Lin Zhijin muttered under her breath, "If only the two couples could swap—everyone would be happy."

Sister Qian shot her a glare. "Nonsense! Comrade Wang Fugui, Guihua may be your wife, but she's a person with her own autonomy. No matter what, you can't force her."

Lin Zhijin hadn't expected to say that out loud and gave them an awkward smile.

"My own wife won't let me touch her—what kind of nonsense is that?" Wang Fugui said sullenly, displeased.

"Then you can't come every day and stay half the night. I'm made of flesh, not iron." Li Guihua suddenly looked at the woman. "Why don't you take her? You both like it—you'd make a perfect pair."

Hearing Li Guihua's words, the woman's eyes lit up. She glanced at Wang Fugui, then lowered her head without speaking.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Wang Fugui's face turned bright red.

The more Li Guihua thought about it, the more she felt it could work. "Leader, we'll go home and discuss it further."

She directly pulled the woman away, gesturing for the two men to follow.

"Are they really going to trade partners?" Lin Zhijin stared in disbelief.

Director Zhang came out with a stack of documents and glanced at her, "These are the concubines and maidservants liberated over the past two days. Get their files set up ASAP; they're coming in tomorrow."

A week later, Lin Zhijin wore a light blue dress, black leather shoes, and a high ponytail, looking fresh and turning heads as she walked down the street.

The moment she got to the office, she heard a buzz of chatter. She went closer and saw someone handing over a banner.

What's going on? Was it from one of the people they'd helped free?

Entering the office, Lin Zhijin thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She rubbed her eyes in disbelief—it really was Li Guihua, Wang Fugui, and that couple with the "no-good" husband. But the way they were standing was weird: Li Guihua stood with the "no-good" man, while Wang Fugui was with the "no-good" wife.

Li Guihua beamed as she handed the banner to Sister Qian, "Thanks so much, everyone, for your help. Our marriage problems are sorted out, and life's been great now. Our families visit often, and for the sake of the kids, we've decided to move next door to each other."

Lin Zhijin looked at them in astonishment. She had only thought about it, but they actually went through with it—impressive!

"Xiao Lin, what are you standing there for? Come take a photo! This is the first banner for our Nancheng Women's Federation, and you deserve some credit for it too," Li Yue said cheerfully.

Lin Zhijin stared at the bright red banner, a genuine question forming in her mind: Is this banner even legit?

Author's note:

I made some edits; I'm afraid of getting censored...