Chapter 29 Change Makes You a Stranger

Did Song Shiwei have a cleanliness obsession?

The thought flashed through Chen Yun's mind, but he still sat down on the small stool.

"Sister-in-law, have some candy."

"Sister-in-law, have some water."

When the sweet soup was served to Chen Yun, Song Shiwei looked up and suddenly widened her eyes. She quickly turned around and put the cup back on the table.

Chen Yun, whose hand was halfway there: "..."

"Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry." Song Shiwei's eyes reddened slightly, and her tone unconsciously carried a pitiful meaning: "Come sit on the sofa."

As he spoke, he grabbed Chen Yun's arm and led her toward the sofa.

“It rained a couple of days ago and we forgot to close the windows. The sofa got completely soaked. We were worried about it getting moldy, so we planned to air it out for a few days… Xiao Zheng and I have been sitting on small stools these past few days, and I didn’t expect that my sister-in-law would also sit on a stool.”

It's not that I'm a germaphobe...maybe I just have a bad memory.

"Sister-in-law, please sit down!"

"Wait..." Chen Yun's blank expression froze, and she grabbed Song Shiwei's arm to move aside: "Yarn needles."

Two knitting needles were stuck in the gray sofa fabric. If Chen Yun had reacted any slower, there would probably have been an extra hole in his butt.

"Look at my memory, I just stuck it here after I finished knitting yesterday."

Song Shiwei hurriedly grabbed a needle, then swept a handful of broad bean shells from the side, which clattered to the ground.

Chen Yun: "..."

There was no second floor in this room; the bed and living room were separated by a wardrobe, and all the furniture was covered with light-colored polyester fabric.

Pink background with blue flowers, white background with green bamboo... the whole room is full of gaudy colors.

"Sister-in-law, have some water."

After finally cleaning the sofa, Song Shiwei quickly brought over some sweet soup and handed it to Chen Yun.

Having seen the broad bean shells that had been hiding in the sofa cushions, Chen Yun glanced at her cup twice more as she drank water.

Chen Yun: "..."

"Why aren't you drinking it, sister-in-law? This brown sugar was specially brought back from the provincial capital by Xiao Zheng. It's sweeter than the brown sugar we buy at the supply and marketing cooperative."

A layer of dust floated on the surface of the sugar water. Chen Yun clearly saw Song Shiwei pour the water, so how could such a thick layer of dust have accumulated in just a few minutes?

Looking up at the roof beam, he quickly understood.

Thick dust on the roof beams danced in the light, drifting to every corner of the room as people talked and moved.

If you look closer... there's actually quite a bit of dust on the cloths covering the furniture.

"Sister-in-law, please have a seat." Chen Yun smiled at Song Shiwei, and while turning her head to speak, she pretended to take a sip of sugar water and placed it on the coffee table: "I don't think this dress of yours is a style from our factory store, is it?"

"Sister-in-law has such good taste. This dress was brought back for me by Xiao Zheng from the provincial capital."

Song Shiwei's eyes lit up, and she twirled in front of Chen Yun, pulling her skirt up, instantly filling the air with fragrance.

"Xiao Zheng is so good to you." Chen Yun smiled.

"Where's Company Commander Gao? His wife is so beautiful...she would look good in any style of dress."

Chen Yun: "..."

Perhaps she shouldn't have brought up the dress; most people would have guessed it was just small talk. But Song Shiwei seemed to have found a kindred spirit and talked about the dress's style for over ten minutes straight.

She spoke excitedly, taking out all the dresses from her wardrobe. If Gao Ming and Zheng Wen hadn't been chatting at the door, Chen Yun would have watched a whole costume show.

A closet full of dresses is enough to prove that Zheng Wen dotes on his wife.

"We'll eat at home for lunch. I'm going to buy groceries now."

After the two men at the door finished reminiscing about the past, Zheng Wenfei pulled Gao Ming to have dinner at home.

Gao Ming wanted to decline.

"I have to drive this afternoon and can't drink. When I get back, I'll treat you and your sister-in-law to a meal at the factory restaurant."

"That won't do. You have to eat even if you don't drink." Zheng Wen held on tightly.

Just then, Song Shiwei coughed lightly twice, and her sweet and soft voice came: "Xiao Zheng, we're out of honeycomb briquettes."

"..."

Xiao Zheng's smile visibly froze, and embarrassment crept onto his face: "Then let's not eat at home, let's go to a restaurant."

Song Shi opened his mouth slightly, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Gao Ming was always good at reading people's expressions. He could tell from the slightest glance that Song Shiwei was unhappy, and he could even guess the reason for her unhappiness.

"Let's go out to eat!" Gao Ming patted Zheng Wen on the shoulder with a smile. "But this meal will be on your behalf, by your sister-in-law and me."

"Company Commander."

"Let's not say anything more. If you don't agree, then we won't eat this meal."

“It should have been our treat,” Chen Yun interjected with a smile, then put her arm around Song Shiwei’s arm. “Consider today our engagement party.”

Song Shiwei visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and her moist eyes returned to a smile.

The group locked the door and prepared to leave.

Yang Juhua, who lives across the street, was eating at the door with her bowl in hand. She raised her chopsticks and greeted Chen Yun.

"Dr. Chen, are you going back now?"

"Sister Yang is having lunch."

"The lunch was burnt, so I'll just make do with some water and some porridge." Sister Yang picked up her bowl, brought it close to the rim, and slurped up a big mouthful of porridge. Her voice was muffled as she said, "If my husband, Lao Hu, were half as good to his wife as Comrade Zheng, I'd eat out every day."

Xiao Zheng smiled but didn't say anything.

"If we can't afford to eat at a restaurant, we can only drink some porridge."

There was another slurping sound of porridge being eaten. Sister Yang smacked her lips a couple of times, about to say something more, when a sharp voice suddenly came from inside: "That mouth of yours, chattering away all day long, isn't it annoying? Will you die if you don't offend someone?!"

Yang Juhua stormed back into the house, unconvinced.

"Which word I said was a lie? With a monthly salary of just a few dozen yuan, I either buy clothes or eat out. What else could it be but a capitalist life!"

The four people, including Gao Ming, had already gone far away, and it was no longer clear what the Hu couple were saying.

Song Shiwei didn't care what Yang Juhua was saying at all, and continued to talk to Chen Yun about dressing up with great enthusiasm on the way.

The two men lagged a few steps behind.

Zheng Wen wiped his nose somewhat embarrassedly, then took out a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket and gestured, "Want one?"

When have you ever seen me smoke?

“You haven’t changed at all.” Zheng Wen struck a match, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag between his fingers, and exhaled the smoke. “Unlike me… I’ve become someone I don’t even recognize.”

"I remember you didn't smoke before. How come you started smoking after you started working at the newspaper?"

"I can't stay up all night to finish a draft without smoking," Zheng Wen said, exhaling a puff of smoke, his tone tinged with sadness.

“You used to say that after you retired from the military, you would save money for a few years and then bring your mother to live with you. It’s been several years now, why is there still no news?”

Zheng Wen's wish, which was practically a mantra in the army, was suddenly brought up by Gao Ming at this moment.

Zheng Wen held the cigarette butt between his lips, forgetting to inhale. After a few seconds, he took the cigarette out and rubbed his face hard with his right hand.

"My mother refuses to come."

Why?

Zheng Wen smiled bitterly, slowly exhaling the remaining smoke from his nostrils: "Because I insisted on marrying a capitalist's offspring, my mother wants to sever ties with me."

"I think it's not just because of that!" Gao Ming said with a serious expression, his lips pursed in thought.

Zheng Wen slightly raised his head to look at his wife, who was beaming with joy, and smiled weakly.

"Shi Wei has been married... and cannot have children."

"Did you already know about the infertility problem before you married Xiao Song, or did you only discover it after marriage?"

“I knew when I met her that Shi Wei divorced her ex-husband because she couldn’t have children. The newspaper sent me to interview her…”

One is a reporter sent by the newspaper to investigate the truth behind the divorce, and the other is a pitiful woman who was kicked out of her home by her ex-husband.

Zheng Wen fell in love at first sight with this woman who was crying her eyes out.

Song Shiwei comes from a large family that has been merchants for generations. Although by her parents' generation the family had declined to a level not much better than that of ordinary families, the way they educate their children is still old-fashioned and stubborn.

Women are born to depend on men for their lives... This is the life philosophy that Song Shiwei's mother taught her.

Song Shiwei was unable to live a normal life after leaving her ex-husband, and the two immediately got together as soon as Zheng Wengang expressed his feelings.

The two got married the following month, and Song Shiwei officially moved into Zheng Wen's dormitory.

As the romance gradually calmed down, all of Song Shiwei's problems began to surface.

"I'm not afraid to tell you this, but in my family, Shi Wei would rather starve than lift a finger unless I cook..."

Song Shiwei's biggest flaw is laziness. If Zheng Wen doesn't clean up, the overturned stool can sit there for a month.

Secondly, what Zheng Wen found most unbearable was his extravagant spending of money.

In the first year of their marriage, Zheng Wen gave all his salary to his wife, thinking that he would save up money for a few years to bring his mother to live with him, and then find an opportunity to adopt a child. He thought that his mother would eventually accept her daughter-in-law.

Who would have thought that when Zheng Wen wanted to take his colleague's wedding gift money, he would find that there was not a single penny left in the house.

"I really don't have a single penny, not even enough for tomorrow's cafeteria meal."

"You probably spent all your money on shoes!" Gao Ming sighed.

Gao Ming had seen the leather shoes Song Shiwei was wearing on the third floor of the factory store; they would cost half a month's salary to buy.

At that time, he and Chen Yun went to the store to buy wedding shoes, and finally chose two pairs of ordinary shoes, which cost half the price.

Zheng Wen sighed deeply, smiled bitterly, threw the cigarette butt, which was almost burning to his fingertips, on the ground, and stomped it out.

"I just received my salary on the 31st of last month, and today I only have ten yuan left..."

Zheng Wen knew that being extravagant in daily life was wrong, but the key problem was that he simply couldn't resist his wife's coquettishness.

I often lose most of my money in a moment of impulsiveness, and by the end of each month I have to go hungry for three days and two meals a day.

“Now that we’ve changed careers, I’ll still call you Brother Gao from now on,” Zheng Wen said.

"You can call me whatever you want."

"Brother Gao, how much do you earn a month? Does your wife manage the money, or do you?"

Gao Ming raised an eyebrow slightly and replied, "In our family, your sister-in-law manages the money; the payroll is all in her hands."

As for Zheng Wen's question about salary, it was cleverly glossed over.

“We have to do it the other way around in our family…”

Chen Yun heard every word of the conversation between the two men.

This couple is a typical example of...living paycheck to paycheck!

"Sister-in-law, have you ever eaten the food from the small window in our staff canteen?"

Chen Yun shook her head.

The small pot of dishes I prepared on my first day here was to satisfy my cravings, but I never got a chance to eat them later.

"Then you absolutely must never order steamed fish again! Stir-fried pork with chili peppers is alright..."

Instead of talking about what they wore, let's talk about what they ate!

"Brother Gao, what should I do in this situation?" Zheng Wen was full of troubles and could only ask Gao Ming for a solution.

Gao Ming scratched his head.

Gao Ming can still offer some advice on interpersonal relationships and teach people how to save money... but Gao Ming himself is extravagant.

As he pondered this, Gao Ming cautiously glanced at Chen Yun's retreating figure.

He had saved 900 yuan in five years working at the factory, and he was so ashamed when he handed the savings book to Chen Yun.

It's best to leave the money to Chen Yun for arrangements.

Zheng Wen: "Sigh—"

On the left ear is Song Shiwei's condemnation of the steamed fish served at the cafeteria's small window, which is actually made with carp; on the right ear is Zheng Wen's countless sighs.

The two voices intertwined, making it quite difficult to distinguish between them.

***

Factory area restaurant.

Through the gaps in the large red characters on the glass, you could see that there weren't many people having lunch; a few tables were scattered around in various corners.

Two waitresses sat in the doorway, basking in the sun.

The chef, shirtless with a loose blue apron hanging on his body, was cracking sunflower seeds and spitting the shells out onto the roadside.

"Comrades, shall we have a meal?"

The chef asked the question in a lazy manner, while the two waiters sat on stools and glanced at the four of them a few times.

“Four people, let’s eat,” Gao Ming replied.

The chef immediately turned his head and shouted into the restaurant, "Four people."

"Comrade, please come in."

The young woman who rushed out was the complete opposite; she enthusiastically led the group to a seat and helped them get some water.

"Here's the menu. What would you like to order?"

Gao Ming took the menu and was about to hand it to Zheng Wen when a slender hand suddenly reached out and took it from him.

Zheng Wen gave an awkward, silent laugh.

Chen Yun didn't pay attention, glancing at the layout of the restaurant lobby one moment and peeking into the kitchen the next.

Finally... it fell to the waiter who took the order.

Because the girl was staring intently at her, her eyes seemed to hold a thousand words she wanted to say, but she was too timid to speak.

"Does the comrade know me?"

She remained silent, so Chen Yun took the initiative to ask, searching her memory to confirm that she did not recognize her.

The woman nodded vigorously, her two braids swaying gently with each nod.

"You're Dr. Chen from the staff hospital!"

"Hmm." Chen Yun waited for her to continue.

“I went to the hospital the day Jiang Meihua gave birth. Everyone in our apartment building said you were a miracle worker. My neighbor, Grandma Zhang, wanted her granddaughter to give birth at your hospital…”

The waitress happily launched into a long list of praises from the neighbors for Chen Yun, and finally got to talk about herself.

“My second sister-in-law is due to give birth next month, and my brother wants her to give birth in the hospital.”

"Did you have any checkups during your pregnancy?" Chen Yun asked.

The waitress was shocked: "You have to go to the hospital for a checkup when you're pregnant? I only found out my sister-in-law was pregnant when her belly was already quite big."

“Then I suggest she have an ultrasound at the hospital before delivery, so that we can roughly see the baby’s position and prepare accordingly.” Chen Yun clenched her left fist and pointed downwards: “Think about it! If the baby is head down, the head will definitely come out first. If it’s head up and feet down, the baby won’t be able to come out easily and will suffocate…”

"Just like Jiang Meihua!" the waitress exclaimed.

There was a ready example right in front of her: when the nurse was lifting Jiang Meihua onto the car, blood was dripping from her clothes, which made her heart clench.

"Giving birth is like a life-or-death experience for a woman. In the past, we didn't have the means to do so, but now that conditions are better, we should be more prepared."

"I'll tell my brother as soon as I get back." The waitress put away her smile and hurriedly promised with a serious face, "I will definitely make sure my sister-in-law gets into trouble."

The significance of popularizing medicine lies in making ordinary people pay attention to their health.

"Your second sister-in-law is so lucky to have a sister-in-law like you," Chen Yun said with a sincere smile.

"Women should help each other." The waitress was embarrassed by the praise and patted the "March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter" badge on her collar with her chest puffed out.

Yang Juhua's was already faded, while hers was still brand new and shiny, clearly just recently acquired.

When it comes to food and clothing, Chen Yun can only smile and agree with "uh-huh" in agreement, but when it comes to work and profession, she seems to suddenly become a different person.

Gao Ming loved watching Chen Yun talk about work, and he would prop his head up with one hand and tilt his head to watch with great interest.

"You can order now."

It was that fair, delicate hand that reached out and interrupted Chen Yun's speech.

The waitress then realized what was happening and hurriedly took out her notebook to write it down: "Sir, please speak."

What kind of fish do you use to make your restaurant's sweet and sour fish?

The waitresses only realized what Song Shiwei was asking after she had memorized the three words "sweet and sour fish" in her notebook. They looked at the chef eating sunflower seeds at the door with a troubled expression.

"It should be grass carp...it should be grass carp."

"Sweet and sour fish should be made with carp to taste good; grass carp has too many bones." Song Shiwei frowned slightly and muttered softly, then sighed reluctantly, "If you don't have carp, then use grass carp."

"So, are you going to order or not?" the waitress asked, frowning.

I've seen hundreds or even thousands of people eat here, and I've never met anyone who complained about using grass carp, even though grass carp is two cents more expensive than carp.

"I ordered, I ordered, don't be angry." Song Shiwei quickly apologized, but her soft voice did not soften the waitress's expression; instead, it made her frown even more.

In her past life, Chen Yun had a friend who was a typical Jiangnan woman, speaking and acting in a delicate and charming manner. After spending a long time with her, she had grown accustomed to it.

However, for the current aesthetic standards, the "Iron Girl" is the more popular type.

"Sweet and sour fish, what else would you like to order?" the waitress asked, her tone gradually becoming stiff.

Song Shiwei seemed oblivious, and lightly tapped the menu with her index finger, saying, "This one."

"How am I supposed to know which one this is if you don't tell me?"

Chen Yun quickly took the menu and said, "Potatoes and eggplant stew." Song Shiwei's finger had just been pointing to that dish.

Then she looked at Zheng Wen and asked, "Little Zheng, is there anything you'd like to eat?"

"Whatever you order, sister-in-law, is fine with me." Zheng Wen smiled awkwardly and gently nudged Song Shiwei's arm under the table with his right hand: "Today, sister-in-law and Brother Gao are treating, so we'll eat whatever you order."

"So it was someone else who treated us..." The waitress glanced at Song Shiwei with disdain.

Song Shiwei is someone who absolutely does not silently suffer in silence...

Just before Chen Yun finished ordering, the waiter gave her another disdainful look, and Song Shiwei's grievances instantly erupted.

"Why can't I order food if I'm not treating? She's just looking down on me!"

Chen Yun: "..."

It's unclear who the person he was referring to was, but while Chen Yun and Gao Ming were still stunned, Zheng Wen had already taken the initiative to apologize.

"Next time you come to order, just order whatever you want."

"My sister-in-law handed me the menu... Waaah... Does she also think I'm from a bad family background... Waaah..."

Chen Yun pursed her lips.

She was mistaken; Song Shiwei was definitely not the same as her friend from her previous life.

She may speak in a delicate manner, but at least she is reasonable in her actions and behavior, and she wouldn't take Chen Yun's kind help as contempt.

"Your sister-in-law meant well, but you're just prone to overthinking."

"What kind of good intention is this? They probably look down on you, and you're still being silly by calling them brothers."

Tears streamed down her face like broken beads; Song Shiwei cried so hard her face was streaked with tears, and she seemed to feel more and more aggrieved the more she spoke.

“If she really considered you a friend, why would she make excuses when I asked her for money? If we had money... let’s see if she would still dare to look down on me. If a woman is looked down upon by others, it’s because her husband is incompetent.”

"We can talk about it when we get home. There are so many people watching here!"

It seems that Zheng Wen didn't think Song Shiwei was wrong at all; on the contrary, he was a little embarrassed by the stares of the other diners in the restaurant.

People can actually laugh in exasperation when they are extremely speechless.

Chen Yun curled her lips into a cold smile and pointed at Zheng Wen: "Now I know why Xiao Mu didn't tell you that Gao Ming works at Hongri Machinery Factory."

Gao Ming's eyelids twitched slightly, and Chen Yun uttered his thoughts aloud.

"And you too." Chen Yun pointed to Song Shiwei again: "It's Zheng's choice to revolve around you, but others won't do it out of boredom."

"Sister-in-law." Zheng Wen's expression changed drastically, and a sense of shame welled up in his heart: "Shi Wei is clumsy with words and doesn't know how to speak."

"Xiao Zheng," Gao Ming spoke up at the right moment, but asked about something else: "Have you borrowed money from Xiao Mu and the others?"

Zheng Wen trembled and lowered his head.

"You were the most well-read person in the whole company, but you've completely forgotten the words 'reading and understanding principles' that you used to say all the time."

It should be a happy thing for two comrades who have shared life and death to be able to work in the same place.

But soon they discovered that one of them had become a stranger, and the final shake of the head and sigh was enough to express their disappointment to the fullest.

"Company Commander."

“You just specifically reminded me that Comrade Song spends money extravagantly, which is why his family can’t save any money. I think you’re just waiting to borrow money from Gao Ming in a few days, right?” Chen Yun bluntly exposed Zheng Wen’s lie.

At first, it might just seem a little strange, but once the two of them started talking, you could quickly figure out most of it.

The house had such a thick layer of dust that it hadn't been cleaned for at least a year and a half; it wasn't just Song Shiwei who was lazy, but both of them.

"See! I told you people looked down on you." Song Shi blushed slightly and pushed Zheng Wen away. "In this world, only I am truly good to you and don't look down on you for being incompetent."

"You're the one who made him poor." Chen Yun's face darkened as he launched into a tirade: "You say Xiao Zheng is poor, but look at what you're wearing and what you're walking on. No matter how rich you are, you can't keep up with his spending. After you run out of money, you turn around and blame him for being incompetent. I think it's you, you bloodsucker, who made him poor!"

"Well said!"

The waitress who had been watching the scene unfold at the kitchen entrance for quite some time clapped her hands in delight.

"She's dressed up so extravagantly, while her husband's shirt is so worn out from washing that it hasn't even been mended." The chef chimed in, adding his own opinion.

Zheng Wen was startled and hurriedly looked down to check his clothes.

Song Shiwei started crying again, her lips bitten until they lost their color, and she kept letting out aggrieved sobs.

These pitiful cries immediately drove Zheng Wen to the brink of madness. He slammed his fist on the table, stood up, and roared at Chen Yun, "It's none of your business if I want to spend money on my lover! Who do you think you are to dare insult her!"

The gentle man's neck turned red with anger, which reached its peak when Song Shiwei rushed into his arms.

"You fucking dare to hit one and see what happens."

The next second after the large hand was raised, Gao Ming had already grabbed the wrist, his eyes filled with a chilling aura that seemed to foreshadow an impending storm.

The murderous look in Zheng Wen's eyes, which he had seen on the battlefield, filled him with a deep-seated fear.

"Get her out of my sight, and we'll pretend we don't know each other anymore." Gao Ming pushed her back forcefully. "Keep your wife in check. If she dares to nag in front of my partner again, I, Gao Ming, will punish people regardless of gender."

Zheng Wen left, taking Song Shiwei, who was crying and sobbing, with him.

Chen Yun sighed, "Actually, I don't like sweet and sour fish, it's too sweet!"

"Comrade, could you please change the way you prepared the sweet and sour fish we just ordered?" Gao Ming stood up and asked the waitress at the kitchen door.

"We can replace him, we can replace him." The shirtless chef waved his spatula and shouted back, "Men have to protect their partners. If your partner is bullied and you still act like a brother to the bully, that's no good."

"Change it to braised," Gao Ming laughed.

"Li Juan, give the comrades two more meat dishes back; one fish will be enough for the two of them," the cook called out again.

Li Juan smiled and picked up a pen to mark two meat dishes.

Disappointment aside, for Gao Ming, those who remain are true friends, while those who have changed are strangers.