Chapter 126 He seemed glued to the woman.

This is indeed a huge sum of money, equivalent to almost a year's salary for an average first-level worker.

However, Jiang Wanqiu admired the girl's boundless energy throughout the day even more.

She picked up the stack of money, carefully counted out nine bills, and handed them to Le Yunyun.

"This is yours."

Le Yunyun clutched the money, so excited she almost jumped up.

Although it couldn't compare to what her father usually gave her, it was still money she earned through her own hard work.

She once again felt immense admiration for the woman before her.

"Alright! Then I won't stand on ceremony with you!" Le Yunyun carefully put the money away and said, "But it's late autumn, I think we should stop this business for now. The New Year is coming soon, and every household is busy preparing for the New Year. Besides, during the New Year, the whole family is gathered together and making a lot of noise, so there's no time to make a fuss at night."

Jiang Wanqiu nodded, agreeing with what she said.

Le Yunyun changed the subject and asked with concern, "By the way, how's your violin practice going? You're the headliner at the performance in a few days!"

Mentioning this, Jiang Wanqiu's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly, revealing a hint of worry: "I can only play Western tunes now, and I also know a few Chinese tunes, but none of them are really suitable for listening to during the New Year. I heard that the military region's performance requires playing revolutionary songs, but I don't have any sheet music for them."

"Hey! I thought it was something important!" Le Yunyun smiled. "Sheet music is easy to find! My dad has a whole bunch of them hidden away in his bookcase like treasures! He collected them all over the world when he was young, all to win over my mom. Come on, let's go to my house and get them later!"

The Le family's house was indeed worthy of being the residence of a high-ranking official; the interior was spacious and bright.

Le Yunyun stood on a small stool and carefully took out a thick music score book from a locked glass display case.

"Here you go! It's all here, take it and use it! Just return it to me when you're done!"

Jiang Wanqiu took the slightly yellowed sheet music and hesitated, "Should we tell the commander?"

"No need, he won't find out."

In the evening, Chief Le strolled back from outside with his hands behind his back.

He immediately noticed that his prized music score was missing from his display case, and his face contorted with rage.

"Le Yunyun! Where's my sheet music?!" Without a doubt, if anything goes missing from the house, it's definitely related to Le Yunyun.

"Dad, I'll lend it to Wanqiu for a few days. She's going to perform at the talent show!"

Upon hearing this, Chief Le glared at his daughter and muttered, "You spendthrift! You'll take anything out of the house! That's my precious treasure!"

Although he said that, when he heard that it was a loan to Jiang Wanqiu, he didn't say anything more, just hummed twice, which was taken as tacit approval.

Holding the sheet music, Jiang Wanqiu felt much more at ease.

She didn't want to stay outside any longer. With things in such a tense situation, it was best to avoid trouble. So she decided to go directly to the auditorium to practice once and then go home as soon as possible.

Inside the auditorium, members of the performing arts troupe gathered in twos and threes to rehearse.

As soon as Jiang Wanqiu appeared, everyone's attention was involuntarily drawn to her.

A stirring melody, "The Soldiers of the Production and Construction Corps Have the Rising Sun in Their Hearts," flowed from her fingertips.

The musical notes seemed to come alive, sometimes soaring like a thousand troops, sometimes melodious like a clear spring in the forest, unknowingly drawing everyone present into the bustling construction scene.

When the music ended, thunderous applause suddenly erupted.

"That sounds amazing! Sister-in-law Jiang, you're incredible!"

"Yes, I've never heard a violin played with such power!"

Praises rose and fell. Jiang Wanqiu was surrounded by a crowd that had gathered around her at some unknown time. A faint blush rose on her fair cheeks, making her look even more beautiful and charming.

In the corner, Bai Weiwei clenched her fists tightly.

Why?! Why does this vixen always get to steal the spotlight wherever she goes?!

She remembered how Du Wenxiu had found her yesterday and warned her in a low voice.

He said that if she dared to gossip again, he would teach her a lesson.

Bai Weiwei was so frightened that she couldn't sleep all night. Not daring to offend Du Wenxiu, she blamed Jiang Wanqiu for the whole thing.

Now, seeing Jiang Wanqiu being fawned over by everyone, Bai Weiwei is even more furious.

You think you can show off with just a tattered sheet music? I'll show you! I'll burn your sheet music and see how you'll still be glamorous on stage then!

In the more secluded shadows at the other end of the auditorium, Du Wenxiu watched that glimmer of light from afar, casually extinguishing the cigarette in her hand.

This woman is a cunning fox; she always flocks to crowded, well-lit places. She's so slippery that you can't find a single opportunity to make a move.

Seeing Jiang Wanqiu carrying that tattered scorebook and walking gracefully out of the auditorium amidst a chorus of flattery, Du Wenxiu turned up the collar of her military overcoat and quietly followed her.

The auditorium leads to the family compound via a small path. There are few people around, and when the cold wind blows, the bare tree branches make a "whooshing" sound, like ghosts wailing.

This is a perfect place to strike.

Seeing that no one was around, Du Wenxiu quickened his pace. Just as he was about to reach the slender figure behind him, a large hand suddenly pressed down hard on his shoulder, so hard that his bones ached.

He shuddered in fright, turned around abruptly, and met a face as cold as ice.

It's Zhao Wenchang.

He was dressed in a crisp military uniform, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and his tall figure was like a mountain. He stood there heavily behind me.

"What are you doing here?" Zhao Wenchang frowned, his cold eyes glaring at him.

Du Wenxiu stammered, looking away guiltily, "N-nothing... I... I just came out to find someone."

Zhao Wenchang's lips curled into a mocking smile. He didn't believe his nonsense at all and directly called him out: "Looking for someone? Are you looking for He Xiaoman?"

Upon hearing the name "He Xiaoman," Du Wenxiu's expression instantly changed, and she quickly waved her hands, saying, "No, no, no, I don't know this person! Don't talk nonsense! I'm here to see Company Commander Li of the Third Company and invite him out for a couple of drinks!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Wenchang said coldly, "The military region has rules that prohibit drinking alcohol during the day."

Du Wenxiu was taken aback, then gave Zhao Wenchang a dry laugh, "Oh dear, look at my memory! Yes, yes, discipline, discipline! Well... then I'll reschedule for another day, another day!"

After saying that, he slipped away without looking back, as if he had greased his feet.

Jiang Wanqiu had just returned home and was about to boil some water to cook when the door opened.

Zhao Wenchang walked in from outside, bringing with him a chill.

She was a little surprised, blinked her big, watery eyes, and went to help him take off his military coat: "Why are you back so early today?"

The man seized her soft little hand and pulled her into his arms.

His palms were rough and warm, enveloping hers and bringing a sense of comforting warmth.

"Once the Lunar New Year is over, there's nothing major going on in the military region. All the leave for those bastards under my command has been approved." Zhao Wenchang looked down at his little wife in his arms. She had a small, delicate face upturned, and her skin was as white as fine mutton fat jade in the sunlight. Because she had just come back from outside, the tip of her nose was a little red from the cold, which added to her adorable and endearing charm.

His Adam's apple bobbed: "These next few days, I won't go anywhere; I'll stay home with you. Once the military region's performance is over, we'll go back to the village for the New Year."

In the following days, Du Wenxiu had no chance at all.

Zhao Wenchang seemed to be glued to Jiang Wanqiu; wherever she went, he followed.

He followed her to the cafeteria; he followed her to the supply and marketing cooperative; even when Jiang Wanqiu went to the auditorium to practice the piano, he would bring a small stool and sit next to her like a guardian deity.

Du Wenxiu squatted there for several days, but couldn't even touch the hem of Jiang Wanqiu's clothes. She was so angry that her teeth itched, but she didn't dare to do anything to Zhao Wenchang.

He was furious but had nowhere to vent his anger, and on top of that, his father, Du Fuhua, caught him and gave him a thorough dressing-down.

"You good-for-nothing!" Du Fuhua pointed at his son's nose and cursed, "You've completely disgraced me! People from the Discipline Inspection Department came to me, saying you're having an affair with a military wife, huh? Do you even want to be a decent person anymore!"

Du Fuhua grew angrier and angrier as he spoke. His son had been idle since childhood, relying on his father's position in the military region to get by. Now he was getting bolder and bolder, even daring to set his sights on Zhou Ying's wife! If this continued, he would inevitably cause a huge mess sooner or later!

"Next spring, you'd better get out of here and learn a trade in another province! Otherwise, you'll embarrass me!"

Du Wenxiu, with her neck stiff and a defiant look on her face, retorted, "Don't always say I'm ignorant and incompetent. I earn far more money than your meager salary!"

"Where did you get the money?" Du Fuhua stared at him suspiciously.

"Don't worry about that." Du Wenxiu was too lazy to argue with him, and finally agreed to what her father had said, "Okay, I'll leave next spring, is that alright?"

Back in her room, Du Wenxiu locked the door and suddenly pulled open the drawer.

There was nothing else inside, just a whole drawer full of brand new "Great Unity" coins!

He roughly counted it again, and it amounted to several thousand yuan! That's enough for him to live comfortably and extravagantly for several years.

Speaking of which, we really have to thank that stupid woman, He Xiaoman.

If it weren't for her family's eagerness to curry favor with the leaders by voluntarily covering all the alcohol for the military region's New Year's reception and insisting on buying the best Moutai out of their own pockets, he wouldn't have been able to rake in such a large sum of money so quickly.

The next day, Du Wenxiu wandered to the logistics warehouse, opened boxes of liquor labeled "Maotai", unscrewed a bottle and smelled it. A pungent smell of inferior alcohol hit her.

He has replaced all the liquor with fake liquor.

He smiled smugly, thinking to himself that these old fogies in the military region usually drank coarse grain liquor, never having tasted real good wine. He could easily fool them with these fake Moutai.

His gaze shifted and landed on another inconspicuous wooden box in the corner. Du Wenxiu walked over and gave it a light kick with her toe.

This box contains counterfeit cigarettes. When he bought the counterfeit liquor, the shopkeeper, trying to get on his good side, gave him this whole box for just ten yuan.

The alcohol was for the leaders, and so were the cigarettes.

There are several old leaders in the military region who are known for their heavy smoking habits; they can't go a day without two packs of "big guns" (a type of cigarette).

He needs to find a way to get rid of this box as well.