Chapter 27, November 12th

Meanwhile, the kitchen on the fifth floor was also bustling with activity.

Chen Yun looked at the silver carp in the enamel basin, its tail thrashing wildly due to lack of oxygen, with a troubled expression.

I can cook, but I can't kill fish...

In my past life, fish were prepared at the market and ready to cook at home. Now, I have to do everything myself, starting from catching the fish.

"What should we do?" There was another person who was too afraid to kill the fish. Ruan Qiu huddled behind Chen Yun, waiting anxiously for the fish to jump out and die on its own.

"Is Li Huguo going to work overtime tonight?"

Ruanqiu nodded.

“Gao Ming is also in a meeting in the office. It will be too late to kill the fish by the time he comes back.”

Taking a deep breath, Chen Yun rolled up his sleeves, squatted down, grabbed the silver carp, and slammed it to the ground with all his might.

Snap—

The silver carp flicked its tail weakly a few times and then stopped moving. Its skin was covered in dust, making it look quite pathetic.

"I'm making spicy boiled fish tonight," Chen Yun said with a smile.

I haven't had a chance to use the spices I bought from Huangniba Commune last time, but I'll use them on this fish today.

"Is Dr. Chen cooking fish tonight?"

Yu Jing had actually been standing at the kitchen door for quite a while, waiting for Chen Yun to pick up the fish and clean it before carrying the enamel basin inside.

"Comrade Yu is also cooking dinner?"

Chen Yun scraped off the fish scales with the back of the knife, then cut along the fish bones to remove the fish meat. As long as it wasn't a live fish, Chen Yun handled it with ease.

The fish was quickly filleted into a small basin. Chen Yun grabbed a handful of salt and rubbed it in to wash it. After rubbing out the slime, he had to wash it again in the water room.

As I passed the stove by the door carrying the porcelain basin, I glanced at it casually.

"Comrade Yu eats so little?"

In her past life, Chen Yun would have thought that this person was on a diet, but now everyone is starving, and Yu Jing's small handful of rice is barely enough to make two bowls of porridge.

Besides... there's no need to count the four green vegetables next to it.

"Yang Hua eats at the company cafeteria. The factory hasn't assigned me a job yet, so I have to be careful with my money." Yu Jing smiled and carefully pushed the few grains of rice stuck to the bottom of her bowl into the pot.

The husband eats at the company cafeteria, while the wife saves money by cutting back on food and clothing at home.

Chen Yun's expression hardened slightly as she tried to figure out the connection between Yu Jing's words.

"Deputy Director Yang's salary is more than enough to support his family of several people, and Sister Yu is so frugal!"

Ruanqiu didn't notice the contradiction in Yu Jing's words, but she certainly knew best how much salary Yang Hua earned each month.

"Deputy Director Yang went to the cafeteria... and asked you to stay home for porridge?" Chen Yun asked, puzzled.

As Yu Jing stirred the pitiful grains of rice in the pot, she turned her head and smiled at the two of them.

"Yang Hua and I each spend our own money. He manages his own salary, and it doesn't apply to me..."

He spoke as casually as if he had eaten something that day, but to Chen Yun and Ruan Qiu it was like a thunderclap.

This also got her talking, and she gradually revealed many secrets that left people bewildered.

Yang Hua and Yu Jing were a couple in name only; in reality, they lived separate lives.

"If I weren't worried about ruining my parents' reputation, I would never marry such a despicable person!"

Yu Jing went even further, bluntly calling Yang Hua a despicable scoundrel.

The words "marriage due to a ruined reputation" are enough to explain everything. Yu Jing curled her lip in disdain: "If he hadn't married me, would Yang Hua have been able to become the deputy director?"

Chen Yun: "..."

The air was filled with the smell of fish. Chen Yun looked at the fish slices in the basin that should have been washed long ago, and then at Yu Jing, who was still about to continue talking.

After only a slight hesitation, I placed the basin on the table.

"Later, my dad lost his voice at work, and Yang Hua's face changed faster than the weather."

The two didn't have a few days of peace. After being transferred from his father-in-law's influential unit in the provincial capital, Yang Hua immediately changed his attitude.

Yang Hua proposed that he would take charge of the household from now on, and that Yu Jing's entire salary would be handed over to him.

They said it was to save money for raising children, but in reality, they just wanted Yu Jing, who had never experienced hardship, to ask her family for money.

Yu Jing isn't stupid; how could she possibly agree?

So Yang Hua proposed that each of them manage their own wages, and that household expenses be shared by the two of them.

"Last year, I sent twenty yuan to Yang Hua's mother for the Spring Festival, and Yang Hua made me give him ten yuan before he would stop... That's his mother!"

Yu Jing indignantly listed the family expenses that Yang Hua mentioned, which, to put it bluntly, were all social obligations on his side, including some relatives that Yu Jing didn't even know the names of.

"A man as petty as him, anyone who marries him is doomed!"

After moving to the machinery factory, Yu Jing's work couldn't be arranged for the time being, so Yang Hua simply stopped going home for meals and didn't worry about whether his wife was eating enough at home.

“He knew I was too proud to tell my family the truth.” Yu Jing clapped her hands, chopped up a few greens and threw them into the pot: “I’m really embarrassed to tell my parents these upsetting things.”

“Then we…” Chen Yun said.

“We live next door. You’ll see the difference between us sooner or later. I’ll just tell you myself, so that Yang Hua, that bastard, won’t lie and make up stories about me.”

"Come to my house for fish tonight."

Chen Yun overestimated; this small handful of rice cooked into more than half a bowl, so clear and watery that even a face could be clearly seen in it.

"Don't mention it. I'm not saying this to ask for your pity or to help me out," Yu Jing waved her hand.

"I……"

"Dr. Chen."

Li Weihong's family was blocked from going upstairs by furniture at the stairwell entrance and had to wait quite a while before they could climb up.

"Uncle Li! Auntie!"

Chen Yun had been receiving acupuncture almost every day during this period, and the elderly couple, Chen Yun and Li Xuedang, were already familiar with each other. They recognized each other immediately upon seeing each other's faces.

Chen Yun: "..."

Several familiar and unfamiliar faces behind Li Xuedang were looking this way, making the scene quite large and easily leading to misunderstandings.

"What are you doing...?"

"My husband and I went up the mountain and picked some sorghum berries..." Li's mother said politely, her gaze sweeping over Ruanqiu and the others: "Where does Dr. Chen live? We'll bring them to your room."

There's something I need to say...

"Ruanqiu, you wash the fish, I'll take care of the rest later." Chen Yun wiped her hands clean with a towel, then patted Yu Jing's shoulder: "We'll eat here tonight."

We can't just listen to such a huge family scandal and watch people go hungry.

Chen Yun was one of the few single women in the factory who lived in a single dormitory, and all the women, whether married or not, envied her.

"The dormitory is so bright."

Stepping inside, Zhang Lanqiong's first impression was that the room was brightly lit, much better than her own bungalow, which was pitch black by four in the afternoon.

"Please sit wherever you like." Chen Yun brought a stool, poured water, and then placed the milk candy that Uncle Luo had asked Gao Ming to bring from Taicheng in front of Li's mother.

After only a few interactions with this aunt, it became clear that she had a particular fondness for sweets. During breaks from Li Xuedang's acupuncture treatments, she would occasionally lick a piece of rock sugar, and then put it back in her handkerchief to wrap it up.

Once Li's mother saw the milk candy, she couldn't take her eyes off it for even a second.

"Didn't you have something to say to Dr. Chen?" Li Xuedang felt embarrassed and nudged his wife a few times with his elbow: "Hurry up and take out the eggs."

"Look at my memory..." Li's mother winked at Li Weihong again.

The family exchanged meaningful glances in front of Chen Yun, each seemingly wanting to say something, but none of them dared to speak.

"Let me speak!" Zhang Lanqiong, with her impatient nature, shoved Li Weihong behind her with one hand: "Weihong and Xuegong have been married for four years but haven't had a child. We'd like Dr. Chen to help us figure out what's going on."

Chen Yun suddenly realized.

“There are many reasons why a woman cannot get pregnant. I certainly cannot determine the cause based on just a few words…” Chen Yun looked at Li Weihong and then at Huang Xuegong: “Sometimes the problem may also be caused by the man.”

“There’s no problem with your work-study program!” Li Weihong quickly reassured her husband.

Chen Yun pursed her lips, feeling embarrassed to give a detailed explanation of reproductive medicine with so many people watching.

"Xuegong, you and your father-in-law go downstairs and wait for a while." Zhang Lanqiong keenly noticed Chen Yun's hesitation, so she spoke up to dismiss the two men: "You're in Weihong, so please excuse me."

"..."

After the men left, Chen Yun became much more direct in her speech.

After inquiring about Li Weihong's menstrual cycle, they carefully asked about the two women's work hours.

Li Weihong told them everything.

Chen Yun silently calculated in her mind and already had a rough guess.

"I'll draw up a chart. Go back and record your menstrual cycle in detail. Also... record the time of intercourse. Next month, bring this chart to the hospital to see me, and I'll examine you based on the results."

"Dr. Chen, is it because I overworked myself when I was a child that I'm infertile?"

Chen Yun directly created a table by handwriting. Li Weihong was so worried about how complicated it was that she kept rubbing her palms together.

"Based on my experience, I think you should have no problem with fertility." Chen Yun then gestured for Li Weihong to extend her hand, placed it on the dining table, and felt her pulse: "The biggest problem you and Comrade Huang haven't been able to conceive for several years is probably due to work hours."

"..."

"Can work affect pregnancy?" Zhang Lanqiong had never heard of such a claim before.

"So Comrade Li needs to go back and record for a month, and then I will be able to roughly determine whether this is the problem or not."

If you tell them about a woman's ovulation period now, they might forget it after hearing it; you need a table to record it accurately so you can make a judgment.

"Could you prescribe two doses of traditional Chinese medicine for my daughter-in-law who has cold uterus?"

“I can prescribe it.” Chen Yun withdrew his hand and sighed helplessly, “But I can’t prescribe medicine for you at home.” He then looked at Zhang Lanqiong and said, “Auntie should know that prescribing medicine privately is a violation of work regulations, and I will be punished.”

Dealing with employee misconduct is of paramount importance in the work of the Youth League Committee, and Zhang Lanqiong certainly wouldn't knowingly commit a violation.

"Oh my God!" Zhang Lanqiong jumped up with a start, ran to the window to look out, then ran back to grab Li Weihong: "If there's anything wrong, we can go to the hospital to see Dr. Chen tomorrow."

"..."

Even if it might involve violating regulations, there's no need to be so nervous that your face turns pale.

"Mom," Li Weihong said, equally puzzled, "Dr. Chen hasn't finished speaking yet?"

"Look at my brain! I forgot to tell you who the family we ran into moving downstairs was... That's Liu Qiang from the Development and Reform Commission. If he targets us, we won't be able to explain ourselves even if we have ten mouths."

The Reform Committee is also divided into two factions.

Two-thirds of the respondents believed that whistleblowing must be based on evidence, and that a conviction should only be made after verification.

The few remaining ones are privately known as "mad dogs," because if they are targeted, they will bite off a piece of skin before letting go.

Liu Qiang was the most representative of all, and there were quite a few people in the factory who wished he would die sooner.

"Don't panic." Li Weihong quickly stood up to reassure Zhang Lanqiong: "The more flustered you are, the more trouble he'll cause. We're just here to deliver sorghum wine. What can he say? Does he think we can't even visit each other privately?"

Chen Yun thought it made sense and chimed in, "Auntie, just sit there and wait for me to finish drawing the form."

The Reform Committee will be abolished one after another once the revolutionary movement is declared over next year. Liu Qiang's unreasonable behavior will not last long.

After the table is drawn, Li Weihong will be taught how to record the data.

After explaining everything clearly, Chen Yun specially escorted the group downstairs.

"Uncle Li, Auntie, take care."

"Don't bother sending it anymore, go upstairs quickly... If you enjoy the food, your aunt will send you some sour dates as a snack in a couple of days."

"It's nothing, Auntie, don't be shy." Chen Yun glanced at the house by the stairs on the first floor, smiled and stuffed 50 cents into Li's mother's arms. "If you have any more delicious wild fruits next time, don't forget me."

"How can you charge money for just a few wild fruits!"

"You absolutely must accept this money, otherwise I won't dare to accept your fruit next time!" Chen Yun smiled and gestured to the side.

Li Weihong quickly accepted the 50 cents on behalf of her mother: "If you don't accept the money, it will affect Dr. Chen's work. We can't break the factory rules."

“Exactly,” Zhang Lanqiong chimed in.

Liu Qiang's reputation as a "mad dog" is well-deserved; he has to listen carefully to every little sound he makes.

There was only a woman looking around at the door a moment ago, but a man came out in the blink of an eye, putting a red armband on his arm as he walked towards Chen Yun and the others.

One of the hallmarks of the Reform Commission...

Chen Yun turned and went upstairs, and Liu Qiang followed.

"Comrade, wait a minute."

Upon reaching the kitchen door on the fifth floor, Liu Qiang called out to Chen Yun, and then turned around to block the middle of the corridor.

“I am Liu Qiang from the Reform Commission. I just heard you and those women talking about giving gifts... According to regulations, I have the right to check what gifts she gave you.”

"Can the Reform Committee really control our employees' private social interactions? Which regulation says we can't interact with friends and colleagues?"

Chen Yun truly didn't expect Liu Qiang to be so arrogant, coming up and immediately wanting to inspect without even asking any questions.

If Li Weihong gave her anything that was even slightly expensive, Chen Yun would definitely accuse her of accepting bribes.

Liu Qiang had a face full of fat and a fierce look in his eyes as he stared at Chen Yun. He pointed to the red armband on his arm and said, "See that?"

"If our Reform Committee wants to conduct an inspection, even your Director Liu has to obediently accept the inspection!"

"Why should you just inspect whenever you want? If you want to inspect and put someone in a hat, you need to produce evidence first!" Chen Yun glared back angrily. "This is my dormitory, a single woman's room. You think you can just walk in alone... no way!"

If we just let Liu Qiang into the house today, who knows if he'll find some excuse to barge in again in the future?

"Believe it or not, I'll bring you into the Reform Commission's office for a talk tonight."

Chen Yun: "..."

Just as the standoff was reaching its conclusion, two people came up the stairs at the same time.

"Qiangzi!"

"Chen Yun".

Gao Ming strode towards Chen Yun, his dark eyes revealing a gloomy expression. He walked straight up to Liu Qiang, standing about two palms apart.

"Qiangzi."

The woman was in her thirties, and her attire was the complete opposite of Liu Qiang's; she was dressed in fashionable square-toed leather shoes, a style not seen on any other woman in the factory.

"Why did you come up here?" Liu Qiang frowned in displeasure and reached out to stop the woman from getting closer. "Go downstairs and watch the children. I have some work to take care of."

The woman tugged at Liu Qiang's sleeve in a panic: "Stop talking, let's go home!"

Gao Ming was also asking Chen Yun what was going on.

"That's the situation. Why did he enter the dormitory of a single female comrade for inspection without any evidence?" Chen Yun said.

"Exactly! I think the checkup is a sham; who knows what kind of tricks they're up to!"

Yu Jing interrupted abruptly. Others might be afraid of the Reform Commission, but she wasn't. The Minister of the Provincial Reform Commission was her father's old comrade-in-arms, so she wasn't afraid to even take the matter to the provincial level.

Ruanqiu looked around nervously, afraid that Liu Qiang would really go crazy and take the two of them to the Reform Committee office.

"Why didn't you say so sooner!"

The woman whispered a few words in Liu Qiang's ear, and her expression changed instantly.

"I've never seen it before, how would I know?" The woman glared angrily, but her voice remained low.

"Cough cough cough—" Liu Qiang pushed the woman's shoulder back and suddenly chuckled dryly: "Misunderstanding, misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. If I had known it was Dr. Chen earlier, I wouldn't have had this misunderstanding."

The change was so swift that, apart from Gao Ming who seemed to have anticipated it, the others were caught off guard.

"Please don't take the misunderstanding to heart, Dr. Chen. I won't disturb you while you're cooking. Just let me know if you need any help in the future!"

From his previous arrogance to his current obsequious smile and retreating posture, Chen Yun couldn't believe that his identity as a doctor would have such a powerful deterrent effect.

"..."

"What happened?"

Chen Yun turned to look at the only variable among them—Gao Ming.

He remained completely silent from beginning to end, neither arguing nor saying anything kind, as if he knew exactly how things would unfold.

Gao Ming pointed towards the kitchen: "We'll talk while we cook, or it'll be dark by then."

As dusk deepened, a thin mist gradually enveloped the sky, and the aroma of food wafted from the apartment building where only a few families lived.

Sauté ginger and scallions in a pan until fragrant, then add the spices prepared by Chen Yun and a spoonful of fermented bean paste and stir-fry until fragrant.

Two ladles of water were poured into the pot, and the sizzling sound and aroma filled the air.

Gao Ming took out some salt from the cupboard and casually tossed a small spoonful into the pot.

He was busy cooking, while three women waited anxiously behind him, all wanting to know why Liu Qiang had suddenly changed his expression and left.

Chen Yun reacted quickly, picking up the enamel basin and handing it over.

Gao Ming put the fish bones and fish head into the pot, put the lid on, and washed his hands in the basin before turning around to speak.

"The woman who pulled Liu Qiang just now is his wife."

Chen Yun nodded, "I see."

"Liu Qiang's wife often asks our transport team to carry things... Not long ago, she even asked me to bring her a bottle of perfume."

Gao Ming always spoke in such a slow and unhurried manner, pausing occasionally to glance at Chen Yun.

Anyone with an impatient nature would have already started urging her on impatiently, like... Ruanqiu.

"Li Huguo learned this from you. He speaks in roundabout ways, always going around in circles before he can make himself clear!" Ruanqiu roared.

Chen Yun suddenly realized something at that moment.

"She asked you to bring foreign perfume, didn't she?"

Gao Ming chuckled and nodded with an "Mm".

“If the family members of the staff of the Reform Commission take the lead in buying things from the capitalist world, then the couple should be allowed into the Reform Commission’s office.”

Chen Yun explained things clearly, and Ruanqiu and Yu Jing finally understood.

“No wonder he ran so fast.” Yu Jing had seen many officials who abused their power for personal gain, and she put it even more bluntly: “His family members can use foreign perfumes. I wonder how much bribes this bastard has been taking.”

He could accuse Chen Yun of accepting bribes after just a few words because he was very familiar with the process and could tell from his expression that he was there to give gifts.

"Just keep it to yourself. He won't dare to cause us any more trouble, so we don't need to pay any attention to him."

Gao Ming concluded.

"I'll go back and get a bottle of wine; we'll have a few drinks tonight."

No sooner had Yu Jing left than Ruan Qiu winked at Chen Yun, saying she wanted to leave the kitchen for the two of them.

Chen Yun took the cutting board down and sharpened the knife blade a few times with the bottom of a bowl: "I wasn't finished talking just now... Who gave the perfume to Liu Qiang's wife?"

"My partner is smarter."

Stop teasing me.

"The deputy county magistrate of Panshui County." Gao Ming slowly uttered a figure from a very distant past, his smile intriguing: "Guess why the county magistrate's wife sent foreign perfume to Liu Qiang?"

"It seems that Liu Qiang has some kind of leverage over the deputy county head."

"Only they would know! I'm just someone who delivers things... I have no idea what kind of dealings they have with each other."

Chen Yun smiled, pursing her lips.

This is what they mean by "the more you know, the faster you die"...

"Whatever shady business they have between them, it's none of our business."

Slicing potatoes into thin strips is Chen Yun's specialty. Thin potato slices, almost translucent, are quickly transformed into potato strips under the blade, a movement far smoother than when she was tossing fish earlier.

Gao Ming watched for a while, then suddenly leaned close to Chen Yun's ear and said, "The Housing Management Department notified us that we can go to choose a house at any time, and the marriage application has also been approved... When are we going to the county town?"

Take the report and letter of introduction to the county town to take wedding photos, and then go to the civil affairs bureau to apply for a marriage certificate.

The whole process can be completed in half a day, and most importantly, once Chen Yun gets the marriage certificate, she will... become a married woman.

"November 12th, I guess," Chen Yun replied after thinking for a moment.

"Is there anything special about this day?"

"It's my birthday!"

November 12th was not only her birthday in her past life, but also her birth date in this life.

One is born, one is reborn as a human being, and finally, it is the beginning of another identity in life.

***

Ten residential buildings of Hongri Machinery Factory.

The Ten Residential Buildings is a very special residential complex. The "Ten Buildings" does not refer to a single building, but rather a cluster of small red brick buildings.

Each house is a two-story red brick building, with one family living upstairs and one family living downstairs.

“Many people have asked me about the house privately. I reserved one for you just a few days ago when it became available.”

Zhao Qing, the head of the housing affairs department, enthusiastically introduced the property, his spittle flying everywhere, just like a real estate agent from his previous life.

"In a tenement building, more than a dozen families live on one floor. If you burp, the neighbors can hear you clearly. This house is much quieter. There's one family upstairs and one family downstairs, and there's even a small yard to grow some scallions, ginger, garlic, and other things. It's so convenient."

What Zhao Qing was referring to were probably the only two advantages of this house.

The house is on the first floor.

From the outside, Chen Yun could tell that the room had a very low ceiling; the bed sheets hanging outside the second-floor window were almost dangling down to the first-floor windowsill.

When I went inside, the room was as dark as dusk.

The room is over 40 square meters. The front window is mostly covered by a bed sheet from upstairs, while the back window is partially covered by a wall enclosed by the neighbors in the back row.

Chen Yun's petite figure wasn't as noticeable inside the house, but when Gao Ming stood inside... it seemed like he could touch the ceiling with his outstretched hand.

"Section Chief Zhao...look at this house."

"There's more to come. I promise I'll find you a house you like today," Zhao Qing immediately replied when she saw Gao Ming's dissatisfied expression.

Although the housing allocation for cadres was not under the jurisdiction of the Housing Affairs Department, Gao Ming still secretly gave him a lot of nice things.

As the saying goes, "He who takes a bribe is bound to be obligated to pay his dues."

All the benefits went into their pockets... Usually, the housing department says you get whichever room you're assigned, but today it's going to be a matter of choosing until you're satisfied.