Chapter 31 You can call me brother

Wang Lanying knew her son's character very well. After all, her son had come from her womb, and she knew exactly what Shen Zhimin was thinking.

Her son actually liked Yan Ruyi, but he broke up with her for the sake of his future.

Wang Lanying is different from her son; she prefers Tang Yanna.

Yan Ruyi appears gentle, but she is actually very opinionated. Shen Zhimin married her, but he couldn't control her at all.

If the two really get married, Shen Zhimin might have to listen to her from now on.

Tang Yanna is different. Tang Yanna seems to have a bad temper, but she has no opinions of her own, knows how to be coaxed, and listens to Shen Zhimin very much. After marriage, Shen Zhimin will definitely be the head of the household.

Moreover, Tang Yanna's family consists of powerful and influential people.

Although Tang Zhengjun has fallen, she still has an uncle who works in the municipal government. Once the two get married, even if the Tang family is unhappy, they can't help but plan for their daughter's future. They'll transfer Shen Zhimin back to his office without them even having to say anything.

With the Tang family's help, Shen Zhimin will be able to climb the ranks step by step. Once he reaches the top, if he really likes Yan Ruyi, he can always win her back.

Even if the Tang family is determined to break up Tang Yanna and Shen Zhimin, they should at least show sincerity and make reasonable demands during negotiations, such as having her son transferred back to the appraisal center to work in an office.

In short, whether Shen Zhimin and Tang Yanna separate or stay together, she will not suffer a loss.

This is why she calmly waited for Tang Yanna's mother to come over and bow her head to her.

After a while, someone did come looking for her, but it wasn't Tang Yanna's mother; it was Ye Hongzhen.

Wang Lanying didn't know Ye Hongzhen, and Ye Hongzhen didn't know Wang Lanying either. She had to ask several people before she finally found her, saying that Wang Lanying was at the poplar tree.

As I approached her, I didn't ask who Wang Lanying was, I just called out, "Wang Lanying!"

Wang Lanying subconsciously agreed, but before she could even close her mouth, she was struck with a stick.

Wang Lanying cried out "Ouch!" Before she could react, Ye Hongzhen grabbed a stick and started hitting her hard across the face, yelling, "I'll teach you to spew filth and ruin my daughter's reputation!"

Caught off guard, Wang Lanying was beaten so badly she couldn't fight back and had to cover her head as she tried to dodge.

Several women nearby, fearing they might be hit, dared not intervene.

A large crowd quickly gathered around.

They were living in the same family compound, and the men managed to pull Ye Hongzhen away.

Several women also advised Ye Hongzhen, "Talk things out calmly. If you beat someone and cause them serious harm, you won't get any credit either."

Ye Hongzhen, though alone, was no less imposing. Pointing at Wang Lanying, she cursed, "If I ever hear you talking about my daughter again, I'll cut your tongue out."

A woman nearby asked her, "Who are you? Why are you causing trouble in our residential compound?"

Ye Hongzhen, "Yan Ruyi's mother!"

Oh, it's the victim's mother who came to our door.

Some people initially spoke up for Wang Lanying, but once they heard that it was Yan Ruyi's mother, they all fell silent.

During this period, Wang Lanying made a lot of accusations against girls surnamed Yan, which was indeed asking for trouble.

Wang Lanying was beaten black and blue, and felt she had lost face, so she stubbornly refused to admit it. "What did I say about your daughter? My son Zhimin was originally assigned to the office. It wasn't your daughter who took his job and squeezed him into the archaeological team."

Ye Hongzhen, "How dare you! You clearly took my daughter's job, and now you're turning around and blaming me. Do you think you can do whatever you want in the Cultural Relics Bureau just because you've hooked up with the deputy director's niece? The Cultural Relics Bureau doesn't belong to your Tang family. There's a director above the deputy director. The director knows exactly what's going on. Otherwise, why would he have stripped the deputy director of his position as soon as he came back and transferred your son back to the archaeological team? If you're so capable, go find the person in charge of job assignments. What kind of ability is it to gossip about my daughter!"

Ye Hongzhen became increasingly angry as she spoke.

She didn't know about this at first. It was when she went to buy groceries today that someone from a fertilizer factory also went to buy groceries. The two knew each other and chatted for a while.

The man asked her, "I heard that your Ruyi found a foreigner. She'll be marrying so far away. Are you worried about her?"

Ye Hongzhen was taken aback. "When did my daughter find a foreigner?"

The man was also surprised and said, "I didn't find anyone. I heard it from Wang Lanying, who is Shen Zhimin's mother. She said that your daughter found a foreigner, who is quite old. Your daughter took advantage of the foreigner's influence and squeezed out Zhimin's job."

Actually, what Wang Lanying said was even harsher, and that person didn't dare repeat Wang Lanying's original words.

Even so, Ye Hongzhen was furious.

She was still angry about Shen Zhimin and Yan Ruyi's breakup. It was Ye Hongjuan who advised her not to go to Wang Lanying, as it would make it seem like they were so reluctant to let go of Shen Zhimin.

She just put up with it. Anyway, they weren't officially engaged, so they might as well break up.

It's likely that Wang Lanying thought they were easy to bully, so she became even more aggressive.

She couldn't stand it. She wasn't exactly known for her good temper. People said she had a good temper only if they didn't provoke her.

Instead of buying groceries, they went straight to the fertilizer factory's residential compound and asked their way to Wang Lanying.

Forget everything else, let's beat him up first and vent our anger.

He then said to everyone, "If you don't believe me, go to the Cultural Relics Bureau and find out who took whose job. I'm telling you right now, anyone who lies will be hit by a car and killed as soon as they step out the door!"

After such a vicious curse, what else is there for everyone to understand? It was Shen Zhimin who first climbed up to the deputy director's niece and squeezed out Yan Ruyi's job. Later, the director found out and removed him from his position as deputy director. Then Yan Ruyi was transferred back, and Shen Zhimin was also transferred back to the archaeological team as originally assigned.

Wang Lanying, however, twisted the truth and fabricated a story that the girl had found an older foreigner.

Shen Zhimin's family are not employees of the fertilizer plant, yet they occupy the plant's buildings, which has drawn complaints from many residents in the family compound.

Now she has no one left to speak up for her.

Seeing that Wang Lanying's face was covered in blood, Ye Hongzhen didn't dare to hit her anymore. She decided to stop while she was ahead and snorted, "This matter can't be left like this. I'm going to go to the street office right now and ask if the street office does anything about this, since you're not only spreading rumors about my daughter but also about foreigners. If they don't care about spreading rumors about people, I'll go to the street tomorrow and shout that you, Wang Lanying, have been cheating on people, and not just one!"

Several women couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Ye Hongzhen threw down the stick in her hand and went to the neighborhood office in a huff.

The fertilizer plant also belongs to Xinli Subdistrict. Director Li took the matter very seriously after hearing Ye Hongzhen's explanation.

The last time Wang Sicheng caused trouble at the neighborhood office, it was Yan Ruyi who called Commander Song over to help.

Yan Ruyi and Commander Song clearly knew each other, and were quite familiar with each other.

Even if we don't care about the monk, we should care about the Buddha. Just because of Commander Song, they have to take care of this matter.

Moreover, this involves foreigners, and if not handled properly, it could have international repercussions.

Director Li repeatedly assured Ye Hongzhen that the subdistrict office would handle the matter seriously and told Ye Hongzhen to go home and wait for the results.

Ye Hongzhen vented her anger and then went home.

I passed by a vegetable shop and went in to buy some vegetables.

He bumped into Yan Ruyi right at his doorstep.

Yan Ru was relieved to see her return. "Mom, where did you go?"

Ye Hongzhen didn't want her daughter to know about the gossip, so she said to her, "I went to buy groceries and ran into your Aunt Zhang. I chatted with her for a bit and didn't check the time. I got back late. Are you hungry? Mom will cook for you right away."

Yan Ruyi said, "Give me the vegetables, and I'll pick them."

Ye Hongzhen had just bought some green beans, so she gave them to her, saying, "It's hot in the kitchen, go pick them in a shady spot outside."

Yan Ruyi took her vegetable basket to the yard, picked some vegetables for a while, then remembered Tiger Balm and asked her mother, "Mom, do we have any Tiger Balm at home?"

Ye Hongzhen: "Yes, I just bought a box yesterday. Were you bitten by bugs? Where were you bitten?"

Yan Ruyi: "I wasn't bitten by any bugs. Tomorrow I'm going to Liujiagou with Teacher Jiang and Xia Pengfei. We won't be back in one day and will have to stay there for a few nights. Xia Pengfei said there are a lot of mosquitoes in the mountains and told me to bring a box of Tiger Balm."

Ye Hongzhen: "You just got back not long ago, why are you going on another business trip?"

"Go collect antiques."

Ye Hongzhen felt sorry for her daughter, but this was a job arranged by the government, and she couldn't stop her no matter how much she felt sorry for her.

He then found the Tiger Balm and gave it to Yan Ruyi.

Ye Hongzhen prepared the meal, and Yan Guoqiang and the others came back to eat, but they didn't see Yan Minghe.

"Where's Sihe? Why hasn't he come back yet at this hour?"

Yan Ruyi said, "He's probably still out having fun. I'll go find him."

Yan Ruyi searched the family compound but couldn't find Yan Minghe. She asked several people, but they all said they hadn't seen him either.

Grandpa Li at the gatehouse told her, "Sihe isn't in the family compound. He ran out by himself. I asked him where he went, but I didn't hear him clearly. There's road construction on Dadong Street, and there's a pile of sand by the roadside. Go and see if he's playing in the sand there."

Dadong Street is right next to the machine tool factory's residential compound. When Yan Ruyi ran over, she saw that there was indeed a pile of sand by the roadside, and three children were playing on the sand pile, but Yan Minghe was not there.

She overheard Xu Qingmei and Wang Aizhen talking about child trafficking. They would sell the young children and then maim the older ones who were old enough to remember things, taking them to Shenzhen to be beggars.

Yan Ruyi broke out in a cold sweat.

Yan Minghe wasn't abducted; he got lost and was huddled in a corner.

He didn't know where he was or how to get home.

As the sun gradually slanted westward, he felt a little panicked and a little scared.

He had heard about child trafficking, but he didn't dare ask anyone. If he were abducted by traffickers, he would never see his mother or his sister again.

Tears streamed down my face.

Just as he was shedding tears, he saw a People's Liberation Army soldier come out of the fruit shop across the street, and he felt as if he had seen a savior.

The teacher said that if you encounter difficulties, you should look for the People's Liberation Army soldiers or police officers.

He stood up and charged towards the People's Liberation Army soldiers like a small cannonball.

Song Yiping passed by a fruit shop and went in to buy a few apples.

He had just come out when he saw a little boy running towards him, and the next second someone grabbed his leg.

Looking down, I saw a little boy, who looked about 8 or 9 years old. His face was covered in black and white smears, and he had tears in his eyes. He said pitifully, "Uncle PLA soldier, I'm lost."

The child is lost, and the adults at home can't find him. They must be so worried.

Song Yiping said, "Come on, I'll take you home."

His car was parked on the side of the road. He opened the car door, and Yan Minghe immediately climbed inside.

The People's Liberation Army soldiers personally escorted him home, which put his mind at ease and calmed him down.

It was his first time riding in a car, and it was a car driven by a People's Liberation Army soldier. He was filled with admiration and wonder, and he sat in the car, touching and looking at everything.

Song Yiping took an apple out of the net bag, wiped it with a handkerchief, and handed it to Yan Minghe, saying, "Are you hungry? Have an apple to tide you over."

Yan Minghe swallowed hard and put his hands behind his back. "Thank you, People's Liberation Army uncle. My mom said I shouldn't eat food from strangers."

Song Yiping smiled, "The People's Liberation Army uncles are no ordinary people; the things they give you are edible."

He was indeed hungry, and the bright red apple was too tempting. Yan Minghe hesitated for a moment before taking it. "Thank you, Uncle. I'll have my mom give you the money when we get home."

The child was quite polite. Song Yiping patted his head and then started the car.

Where do you live?

"I live in the staff quarters of Sany Machine Tool Factory."

Song Yiping's heart skipped a beat. "Do you know Yan Ruyi?"

Yan Minghe's eyes lit up. "She's my sister. Uncle, you know my sister?"

What a coincidence! No wonder I thought this child looked a bit like Yan Ruyi at first glance; it turns out he's Yan Ruyi's younger brother.

"Yes, I know you. I'm your sister's friend. What's your name?"

Upon hearing that he was his sister's friend, Yan Minghe felt more at ease. He took a bite of his apple and answered ten questions in one go, "Uncle, my name is Yan Minghe, my eldest brother is Yan Minghai, my second brother is Yan Mingtao, and my sister is Yan Ruyi. Oh, Uncle, you are my sister's friend, so you must know my sister's name."

Yan Minghe kept calling me "uncle," which didn't bother me at first, but now it started to sound a bit off.

They're from different generations; if they get used to calling each other that, it'll be hard to change their way of addressing each other later.

Song Yiping coughed. "You can call me brother."

He's 26, and the kid is at most 8 or 9 years old. With such a big age difference, he seemed a little uncomfortable asking the kid to call him "brother."

But this is a matter of principle, and for the sake of the future, this must be changed.

Yan Minghe thought about it seriously for a moment and said solemnly, "No, the teacher said we should call them 'Uncle People's Liberation Army'."

He felt that calling someone "PLA brother" was disrespectful to PLA uncles. He had never heard anyone call someone "PLA brother" before, so he couldn't change it.

This is a matter of principle.

In his 26 years of life, this was the first time Song Yiping had ever coaxed a child. He was already feeling very awkward, and the child was quite principled. He had no choice but to give up trying to coax the child to change his mind.

Why did you come here?

Speaking of this, Yan Minghe was very indignant. "I had a slingshot contest with Ercheng, and I lost to him. My slingshot frame was no good; it broke as soon as I used a little force. Ercheng said his was made of willow wood and that he found the wood in People's Park. So I thought I would go to People's Park to find wood. Ercheng lied to me. I walked around the park for a long time but couldn't find any with a fork. I wanted to go home, but I got on the wrong bus and ended up here. I didn't have enough money for the bus fare, and I didn't know which bus to take back."

This is something a child this age could do.

"How did you compete?"

"He hit the target 10 times with a slingshot, while I only managed 5 shots before the slingshot frame broke. Er Cheng kept laughing at me. I'm more accurate than Er Cheng. If the slingshot frame hadn't been so flimsy, I would have beaten him long ago."

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to People's Park to find wood, wanting to make a sturdy one to defeat Ercheng.

Song Yiping said, "I have some particularly sturdy wood. If you want, I can make you a slingshot that will guarantee you a 20% win rate."

Yan Minghe's eyes lit up immediately, and he said repeatedly, "Yes, Uncle, can you make one for me? I'll pay you."

After thinking about it, he realized he had spent all his allowance and had no money left, so he changed his mind and said, "I'll have my sister give you some money."

She puffed out her little face with pride and said, "My sister is really good at making money. My family's TV was bought with her money. Uncle, do you have a TV at home?"

Song Yiping: "Yes, but I'm your sister's friend, so I don't need to pay."

Yan Minghe immediately fawned over Commander Song, giving him a "good guy" card, saying, "Uncle, you're so kind."

Song Yiping, "..."

I wonder if a slingshot can coax him into changing his mind.

Song Yiping was worried that Yan Ruyi and the others would be anxious, so he drove very fast and soon arrived at the machine tool factory's residential compound.

Yan Minghe saw Yan Ruyi while sitting in the car. "Uncle, I saw my sister. She must have come out to look for me."

Song Yiping also saw Yan Ruyi and honked the horn.

Yan Ruyi couldn't find Yan Minghe outside and was sweating profusely. She was about to go home and call her family to help her search when she heard a car horn. She turned around and recognized it as the car that Song Yi usually drove.

Finding someone by car is faster than on foot, so she wanted to ask Song Yiping for help to drive her to find Yan Minghe. Before she even got close, she saw Yan Minghe stick his head out of the car window, waving at her excitedly, "Sister!"

Yan Ruyi, “!”

Song Yiping stopped the car. Yan Minghe didn't know how to open the car door, so he leaned out the window and grinned at his sister.

Yan Ruyi was nearly driven mad with worry when she couldn't find Yan Minghe earlier. Now that she saw him return unharmed and grinning at her, Yan Ruyi's anger flared up. She wanted nothing more than to beat him up. "Where have you been? Do you know how worried I was?"

Yan Minghe said with a wronged expression, "I went to People's Park, but then I got lost, and the People's Liberation Army uncles took me back."

Song Yiping opened the car door, and Yan Minghe reluctantly jumped out of the car.

Yan Ruyi: "Commander Song, where did you see him?"

"I happened to be passing by the fruit shop on Zhongxing Street after get off work. He was quite clever; he didn't stop anyone else, but he stopped me and told me he was lost."

She's quite clever; she doesn't stop anyone else, except her sister's blind date.

Yan Ruyi thanked Song Yiping and then said to him, "Commander Song, you haven't eaten yet, have you? My mom has already prepared it. Why don't you come to my house for a simple meal?"

Although Song Yiping really wanted to visit Yan Ruyi's parents, the time was not yet right.

Firstly, it would be impolite to visit empty-handed, and secondly, on his first visit, he preferred to be seen as a prospective son-in-law.

He said to Yan Ruyi, "I have something to attend to, I'll bother you another time."

Just before getting on the bus, he made a "6" gesture to Yan Minghe.

Yan Minghe nodded vigorously, and finally waved to Song Yiping, "Goodbye, Uncle!"

Yan Ruyi was puzzled. After Song Yiping left, she asked Yan Minghe, "What did he mean by making that hand gesture to you just now?"

Yan Minghe chuckled, "This is a secret between my uncle and me, I'm not telling you."

Yan Ruyi pulled out her trump card, "I'll tell Mom in a bit that you sneaked out to play by yourself, got lost, and the People's Liberation Army brought you back."

He'd get a beating from his mother!

Yan Minghe, a man of principle, immediately told his sister everything: "Uncle is going to make me a slingshot. He'll bring it to me tomorrow. We agreed that I'll wait for him at the gate of the family compound at 6 o'clock tomorrow."

"Make a slingshot?"

Yan Minghe was still hoping his sister would cover for him, so he told her the whole story.

"Sis, please don't tell Mom. I'll never dare to run away alone again."

A dignified regimental commander actually agreed to make slingshots for Sihe!

Is this the legendary friendship that transcends age?

Yan Ruyi felt it was necessary to scare her brother. "I won't tell Mom this time, but if there's a next time, I won't stop Mom from beating you. You were lucky this time to run into Commander Song. If there's a next time, you probably won't come back. There are child traffickers out there. If they kidnap you, they'll break your arms and legs first, then take you to Shenzhen to be a little beggar, lying on the ground every day asking people for money."

Yan Minghe was terrified. In fact, even if his sister hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have dared to run away alone again.

Yan Ruyi was finally satisfied.

Yan Minghe wanted to curry favor with his sister, so he said to Yan Ruyi, "Sister, let me tell you a secret. That PLA uncle was a bit strange. He insisted that I call him brother."

She puffed out her little chest as she spoke, "But I didn't call him that. If he tells you to call him 'brother,' you shouldn't either. The teacher said you should call him 'Uncle PLA,' calling him 'Brother PLA' is wrong."

Yan Ruyi's face inexplicably felt hot. She patted Yan Minghe and said, "You talk too much. Hurry up and go home. Don't tell them what you just said."

Yan Minghe flattered his sister, saying, "I won't tell anyone, we're the best of friends in the world, I'll only tell you." He was mainly afraid of letting something slip and getting a beating from his mother.

When Song Yiping arrived home, Aunt Liu had already prepared the meal.

After dinner, Fang Yuru and Song Chengren went for a walk.

Aunt Liu tidied up the house and left.

He has a storage room at home where he keeps some things that he doesn't use often.

Song Yiping picked out a handsaw, sandpaper, and a knife. Seeing that there was also a can of varnish inside, he took it up to the yard as well.

There is a walnut tree in the yard, left by the previous owner. It grows lush and bears many walnuts every year.

Walnut wood is hard, wear-resistant, and not easily cracked or deformed.

Moreover, the grain of walnut wood is somewhat similar to that of rosewood, which is very beautiful and makes it very suitable for making slingshots.

He hung the handsaw on his waist, jumped up and climbed the tree, then climbed a few more times until he was on top.

When Fang Yuru and Song Chengren returned from their walk and passed under the walnut tree, they heard a "hissing" sound overhead. Looking up, they saw Song Yiping in the tree, sawing a branch with a handsaw.

Fang Yuru: "Yiping, what are you doing?"

Song Yiping succinctly stated, "Make slingshots."

Fang Yuru and Song Chengren were stunned.

Fang Yuru said, "Son, come down, let me touch your forehead."

Did the fever make him stupid, and did his IQ regress to that of a child?