Chapter 200 Who do you think you are?

On the day of departure, a military green jeep was parked early at the entrance of the military compound.

Zhao Wenchang was dressed in a crisp military uniform, carrying a large canvas duffel bag—a sturdy, spacious bag issued by the army, bulging with contents. His other hand remained tucked behind Jiang Wanqiu, as if afraid someone might accidentally bump into his wife.

Ping An carried a small military green backpack, her face was rosy, and her big eyes were darting around excitedly. She was so excited that her heels could hardly touch the ground. She would touch the car door one moment and look back reluctantly the next.

"Oh, what a pity, what a real pity."

The primary school principal stood by the car with his hands behind his back, looking at Ping An and sighing repeatedly, as if he had lost a precious gem: "This child is bright. If I had kept him here and nurtured him properly, he might have become the first college student I have ever taught."

Jiang Wanqiu smiled and offered a few words of comfort.

On the other hand, Yue Yunyun was making quite a fuss.

Today she wore a trendy batwing top, hip-hop pants, and aviator sunglasses, an outfit that was quite eye-catching in this day and age.

She was directing the guards to stuff several large boxes into the trunk, yelling, "Be gentle, be gentle! That's all my possessions. If you damage it, I couldn't afford to pay for it even if I sold myself!"

The group boarded the jeeps in a grand procession, the engines roared, kicking up a cloud of dust, and headed straight for the train station.

When we arrived at the station, it was packed with people, as if the old green train was about to burst.

Fortunately, with a special note approved by Chief Le, the group used the soft sleeper passage and boarded the train directly.

In the 1970s, a soft sleeper compartment had only four berths and a sliding door, which shut out most of the noise from outside.

As soon as Le Yunyun entered the room, she threw her sunglasses on the table and collapsed onto the bed: "Oh my god, we haven't even arrived in Beijing yet, and I already feel like my bones are going to fall apart. This long journey is really suffering."

After putting away the bags, Zhao Wenchang first took out a clean towel from his bag, wet it at the sink, and then carefully wiped the railings, walls, and even the small table in Jiang Wanqiu's bunk twice.

After wiping it down, he took out a thick cotton mattress from his luggage, laid it on the somewhat hard bed, pressed it down with his hand, and felt it was soft before turning to Jiang Wanqiu and saying gently, "Wife, sit here, it's soft here."

Jiang Wanqiu felt a sweet warmth in her heart and moved closer.

The door to the private room wasn't closed properly, and a noisy commotion came from the corridor outside.

A middle-aged woman with curly hair and wearing gold and silver jewelry was walking by, leading a chubby little boy who was eating with his mouth full of oil, and she was grumbling.

The chubby boy wiped his snot on his sleeve as he walked, his eyes fixed on the apples on the table in the private room.

"Grandma, I want to sleep here! It's spacious here!" The chubby boy pointed to the private room and rushed inside.

The lady peeked inside and saw Zhao Wenchang bending over to make the bed. Judging from his back, she thought he was a soldier.

Looking again at Jiang Wanqiu and Ping An sitting there, although they were dressed cleanly, they were wearing simple cotton clothes and didn't look like important people.

Her eyes darted around, and she strode in, wearing high heels, her chin held high: "Hey, soldier, I need to discuss something with you."

As she spoke, she pulled out a ten-yuan note from her pocket and slammed it on the table with a "thud," her expression as if she were giving alms: "I bought a hard sleeper ticket, but there are too many people over there, and the smell is too strong; my grandson can't stand it. Here's ten yuan for you; you can give me this berth, and you can use the money to squeeze into the hard sleeper. Anyway, country folk are tough and don't mind being crowded."

The private room fell silent instantly.

Le Yunyun, listening from the upper bunk, rolled her eyes. Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Wenchang made the first move.

Zhao Wenchang tightened the lid on Jiang Wanqiu's kettle and coldly uttered two words: "No replacement."

The wealthy woman was surprised that this "orderly soldier" dared to refuse, and her face immediately fell. She shrieked, "How can you be so ungrateful? Ten yuan is enough for your whole family to eat for half a month! I only gave you the money because I felt sorry for you with a child. Don't be so ungrateful! I'm a relative of a bureau chief in Beijing. Believe me, I'll make sure you regret it!"

As she spoke, she actually reached out to pull the cushion under Jiang Wanqiu: "Get up, get up! Take the money and get out of here, don't disturb my grandson's sleep!"

"Don't you dare bully my mom!"

Ping An rushed over like a small cannonball, pushed away the noblewoman's hand, and stood in front of Jiang Wanqiu.

"Ouch! You little bastard, how dare you push me?" The noblewoman staggered and raised her hand to strike.

Just then, a sneer came from the upper bunk.

Le Yunyun leaned halfway out, looking at the wealthy woman below as if watching a monkey show: "Hey auntie, which village did you just come from? You can't even read a military rank and you're already making a scene here? Is all that fat from eating too much lard and it's gone to your head?"

The noblewoman was stunned by the scolding and was about to throw a tantrum.

Zhao Wenchang slowly turned around.

He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a red military officer's ID card and a letter of introduction stamped with a bright red seal.

"An official document stating that active-duty military officers' families can accompany their spouses is an insult to active-duty military officers' families. Do you want to get off the bus now and go to the police station for a chat, or wait until we get to Beijing and have your bureau chief relative go to the garrison to pick them up?"

The lady was stunned by the series of titles. She glanced at the document and, although she couldn't see the words clearly, she recognized the bright red stamp.

These days, a letter of introduction with an official red header is a valuable commodity; you can't afford to mess with it!

Her face turned deathly pale, and her arrogance vanished instantly. She grabbed her drooling grandson, not even daring to take the ten yuan, and slunk away, saying, "Misunderstanding... wrong house..."

Watching that fleeing figure, Le Yunyun laughed so hard she rolled around on the bed.

"Well done, Commander Zhao! That's impressive!"

The train started with a clatter, and the trees outside the window rushed past.

As night fell, the train carriage swayed violently. Jiang Wanqiu, who was already pregnant, felt nauseous and barely ate any dinner; her face was pale.

Zhao Wenchang had no desire to sleep either. He had Jiang Wanqiu lie on her side, and he sat on the edge of the bed, gently patting her back with his large hand.

"Are you feeling really unwell?" Zhao Wenchang frowned, his eyes filled with heartache.

Jiang Wanqiu shook her head weakly: "I'm fine, just a little stuffy."

Once the nausea subsided, Zhao Wenchang got up, fetched half a basin of hot water, wrung out a towel, and used it to wipe Jiang Wanqiu's face and hands.

Seeing his wife's slightly swollen calves, Zhao Wenchang didn't mind. He held her feet in his arms and massaged them with moderate pressure. His large, warm hands, covered with calluses, felt so comfortable on her aching calves that Jiang Wanqiu couldn't help but groan softly.

"Go to sleep, I'll keep watch," Zhao Wenchang said in a low voice.

After a long and bumpy journey, we finally arrived in Beijing.

The platform was packed with people, all carrying large and small bags. The bustling atmosphere of a metropolis was palpable.

As soon as I got off the bus, someone was holding up a big sign in the distance.

"Commander Zhao! Sister-in-law!"

Xiao Zhang, the guard sent by the Cui family, spotted Zhao Wenchang in military uniform at a glance. He squeezed through the crowd, ran over, stood at attention, saluted, and quickly took the bag from Zhao Wenchang's hand.

At the same time, another black sedan stopped not far away.

That was because Chief Le had connections in Beijing; he specially sent someone to pick up Le Yunyun.

Le Yunyun put on her sunglasses, reverting to her former air of a spoiled young lady.

She originally wanted to go to the Cui family to see what was going on, but when she thought about the shop she had just taken over, she decided to go and take a look first.

"Alright, I won't join in your fun." Le Yunyun waved to Jiang Wanqiu and turned around gracefully. "I'll go check out the shop first, and then I'll come find you guys after I'm settled. Bye!"

After saying that, she put on her little leather shoes and got into the car without looking back.

With one hand protecting Jiang Wanqiu and the other holding Ping An's hand, Zhao Wenchang nodded to Xiao Zhang: "Let's go."

The jeep drove smoothly, making a few turns, and headed towards a quiet area in the west of the city.

The atmosphere here is noticeably different from the streets we just passed.

The sentries standing guard at the gate stood ramrod straight, holding real guns and live ammunition, their eyes like those of eagles.

Before the car even got close, the sentry gestured for it to stop for inspection. Xiao Zhang handed over his documents, which the sentry checked carefully several times before snapping a salute and letting him pass.

Once inside the compound, the noise outside seemed to be cut off all at once.

Tall plane trees line both sides of the road, sheltering rows of neat red-brick buildings.

These small buildings look quite old, with ivy climbing the walls, giving them a heavy, solemn feel.

Jiang Wanqiu looked out the car window, secretly surprised. It seemed that the Cui family's status was much higher than that of the original military region.

The car stopped in front of a small two-story house with its own gate and courtyard.

Before Xiao Zhang could even turn off the engine, a woman hurriedly walked out of the gate. The woman looked to be around fifty years old, with her hair neatly permed and tied in a bun at the back of her head. She was wearing a dark blue woolen coat and looked well-maintained, exuding a scholarly air.

That's Minister Cui's wife, Lin Wan.

Zhao Wenchang got out of the car first, then turned around and helped Jiang Wanqiu and Ping An down.

"Oh my, we've finally arrived!" Lin Wan rushed over, her face beaming with joy. She grabbed Jiang Wanqiu's hand with such warmth that anyone who didn't know better would think her own daughter had returned.

Lin Wan's gaze naturally fell on Jiang Wanqiu's prominent belly, and her eyes softened instantly, even showing a hint of envy and affection. She murmured, "You must be exhausted from the journey. It must have been tough traveling by train with such a big belly. Come on, let's go inside and rest. Don't stand in the wind."

Zhao Wenchang followed behind, carrying luggage, and politely greeted her, "Auntie."

"Hey, Wenchang has gotten quite strong too." Lin Wan replied with a smile, then led Jiang Wanqiu into the house.

Upon entering the living room, the heating was on full blast, and a wave of warmth washed over me.

The floor was covered with an intricately patterned carpet that felt soft and fluffy underfoot.

On the leather sofa in the center, Minister Cui was holding a teacup and reading a newspaper. Seeing Zhao Wenchang enter, he put down the newspaper, his usually imposing face softening slightly, a smile playing on his lips. He nodded to Zhao Wenchang: "You've arrived? Please have a seat."

"Good morning, Minister." Zhao Wenchang put down his things and gave a straight salute.