Chapter 31 A Dark and Windy Night

A dark and windy night is the perfect time to do something "bad"—murder, arson, bah! It's clearly about eliminating evil, upholding justice, and protecting the good!

The streets were deserted and pitch black, with only the bright moon overhead acting like a giant lamp, providing a faint glimpse of the surroundings.

Cheng Cheng was dressed in a plain black long-sleeved shirt and trousers, so ordinary that she would be lost in a crowd. Half of her face was covered by a dark blue cloth, revealing only her eyes.

A faint, rustling sound came from outside the door, so faint that if one did not listen carefully, one might mistake it for the sound of the wind.

The man inside the house heard the noise and immediately stood up.

A look of surprise appeared on his anxious face, and he couldn't wait to walk to the door.

But then he suddenly stopped, subconsciously raising his hand to straighten his collar, looking down at his clothes, smoothing out the wrinkles, his Adam's apple bobbing involuntarily, his eyes filled with undisguised anticipation and determination.

After confirming that her clothes were still relatively tidy, she took a deep breath, trying to make her expression appear less anxious, and revealed her usual gentle and affectionate demeanor before opening the door.

He gazed at her tenderly, "Comrade Cheng..."

Ugh! Disgusting!

Cheng Cheng almost lost her composure, quickly lowered her head, and moved to the side.

Then, another figure emerged from the darkness.

Chang Wenbin's pupils contracted, and his expression immediately changed.

When he realized what was happening, he immediately tried to close the door, but Xu Fengying held it shut with one hand, and Chang Wenbin gritted his teeth and used all his strength.

He was a pretty boy who sat in an office all year round, did no production, and only knew how to indulge in romance and poetry. How could he be a match for Ms. Xu Fengying, who worked in the fields all year round and was invincible in the whole village?

The crack in the door was widening, and a hint of despair appeared in Chang Wenbin's eyes.

Xu Fengying squeezed through the crack in the door, grabbed Chang Wenbin's arm with one hand without saying a word, and swung her other hand to slap him across the face.

"Smack—"

The loud noise made Cheng Cheng, who came in after her, tremble involuntarily.

Dear Ms. Xu Fengying, if you hit him, you can't hit me!

She quickly closed the door, making sure not a single sound escaped.

"Auntie, calm down! Let me explain!"

Chang Wenbin was passively beaten and had no power to fight back. One slap made him see stars, and then he was pushed down and pressed to the ground.

He grabbed my scalp and started hitting me with a barrage of slaps, fists, and kicks.

The man curled up on the ground, covering his head and face with his hands, and couldn't help but wail, "Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!"

As soon as the man made a sound, Xu Fengying immediately covered his mouth and stuffed a dirty rag, which she had collected from somewhere, into Chang Wenbin's mouth.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Cheng Cheng kicked him a few times. She couldn't let her public image fall apart yet, so she whispered a few words of advice: "Mom, don't hit Comrade Chang. Hit me instead."

"Comrade Chang, are you alright? Hang in there a little longer, my mother will be fine once she's vented her anger."

Hmm, something's not right?

"Comrade Chang? Chang Wenbin?"

Cheng Cheng frowned, reached out and pushed the other person, who lay on the ground like a dead dog.

"Mom, he's passed out."

Upon hearing this, Xu Fengying kicked him again before stopping.

"Pah! Coward!"

Xu Fengying spat and got up from the ground with a disdainful look on her face.

Glancing at her troublesome daughter, Cheng Cheng shrank back and immediately changed the subject, getting down to business: "Mom, let's hurry up and look for her."

With important business at hand, Xu Fengying had no time to scold her daughter. The mother and daughter rummaged through the entire house, leaving no corner untouched, and found a stack of letters.

There was a thick stack of fish, some belonging to the original owner, and others to others. Clearly, given Chang Wenbin's personality, there couldn't possibly be only the original owner in the fishpond.

Cheng Cheng found all the documents related to the original owner of the body and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that none of them were missing.

"Mom, it's all here."

Xu Fengying's face was very pale at this moment. She suppressed her anger, picked up the chick on the ground, grabbed a piece of clothing, and tied the other person's hands behind their back.

Then he splashed a basin of water on the other person's face and slapped him twice.

The man unconsciously let out a muffled groan, his consciousness gradually returning. He slowly opened his eyes, his vision blurred for a while before he could finally make out who was standing in front of him, and his whole body stiffened.

His teeth chattered, and he dared not look at the shrew in front of him. He turned his head to look at the woman, his eyes filled with hope, "Cheng Cheng, please save me!"

Cheng Cheng seemed not to hear, her head lowered and her body trembling slightly.

On the surface, he seemed furious, but secretly he was laughing. He mentally prepared himself, looked up—Action!

The performance begins.

She looked heartbroken and trembled with anger. She gave a cold laugh and threw the stack of letters at the man.

He demanded, "What is this? Chang Wenbin, you're lying to me!"

Upon seeing the letter on his body, Chang Wenbin panicked. "No, Cheng Cheng, let me explain."

"Fine, go ahead and explain. You're seeing me while you're corresponding with other women, talking about poetry and ideals. You're not going to tell me that you and they are just pen pals, are you?"

The woman's words silenced him, leaving Chang Wenbin speechless. However, he quickly found an excuse for himself, "Cheng Cheng, I'm just friends with them. They were feeling down and wrote to me to confide in me..."

"Oh! So you really enjoy helping others? And you're even helping respectable women?"

Xu Fengying, who was standing to the side making sarcastic remarks, got angry, walked over, and kicked him.

The man groaned and collapsed to the ground, his body curled up in a ball, his face deathly pale.

Chang Wenbin regained his senses, his eyes filled with resentment and frustration. At this moment, he was filled with regret. He shouldn't have been greedy. He had taken a risk because of lust. Not only did he not get the meat, but he also attracted a shrew and exposed the matter.

Clearly, the other party did not suspect Cheng Cheng. After all, Cheng Cheng had always given the impression of being beautiful and arrogant, but also incredibly stupid and brainless, easy to fool and deceive!

Chang Wenbin regretted getting involved with Cheng Cheng's mother. If only he had known... He raised his head and looked at the woman. Her fair and beautiful face was on the verge of tears, and her bright eyes seemed to have lost their light.

Chang Wenbin desperately wanted to rush over and hug the woman to comfort her. He struggled on the ground, glaring fiercely at the shrew, and threatened, "Untie me right now! Or I'll call for help!"

"Go ahead and yell! If you've got the guts, yell! Let everyone see what kind of person you are!"

"At worst, we're all finished! My daughter will just be pointed at and gossiped about, or at worst, she'll be sent to a farm for reform through labor. That's fine, so I don't have to see her and get upset. I can just pretend I don't have a daughter!"

"mom?!"

Cheng Cheng looked devastated, staring at her mother in disbelief.

Xu Fengying glanced at her. Her daughter's acting skills were comparable to those of the leading actresses in movies, so she naturally couldn't lose to her daughter!

They have a "what's the use" attitude, like someone who has nothing to lose and is fearless as long as they are willing to go all out!

Xu Fengying pretended to open the door so he could call for help, looking completely indifferent. Anyone who didn't call was a coward!

Chang Wenbin was shocked by the other party's actions. He didn't expect that this shrew was serious and didn't care about his daughter's life or death at all.

His gaze swept over the woman, who looked panicked and terrified, completely at a loss for what to do.

Seeing that Cheng Cheng's mother had already locked the door, Chang Wenbin was shocked and quickly called out to stop her, "Wait, wait a minute!"

"Auntie, don't be impulsive! Let's talk this out! Let's talk this out! Even if you hate me, you have to think about Chengcheng!"

Chang Wenbin didn't dare to speak loudly. Although he had sent the others away beforehand, he couldn't rule out the possibility that the commotion would be too great and spread elsewhere.

Upon hearing this, Xu Fengying paused in her actions, seemingly hesitant. Seeing that there was a chance, Chang Wenbin immediately continued, "Auntie, what do you want? Sit down and let's talk it over."

"This is disgraceful. If word gets out, it's one thing if my future is ruined, but Auntie, can you bear to see Cheng Cheng's future ruined too?"

Cheng Cheng glanced at the other party in surprise. She had to admit that Chang Wenbin was quite capable, as he had figured out the key point so quickly.

However, dreaming about controlling her mother is probably more realistic!

Xu Fengying descended the steps, looking down at the pale-faced man lying on the ground, and couldn't help but sneer, her sharp eyes fixed on him.

Xu Fengying only made a move when she made the other person's scalp tingle and large beads of sweat drip from their forehead.

She gave her daughter a cold glance and said nothing. Cheng Cheng immediately became respectful and looked aggrieved as she handed over the letters between the original owner of this body and Chang Wenbin.

Xu Fengying tore it to shreds, then lit a match and burned it all in front of Chang Wenbin until it turned to ashes.

Cheng Cheng was relieved, but Chang Wenbin felt a pang of heartache. However, what would make him even more upset was yet to come!

Xu Fengying picked up the stack of letters on the ground, a thick pile, and slapped it onto Chang Wenbin's face, her tone laced with threat and warning: "You, surnamed Chang, listen to me carefully, my daughter doesn't know you, and you don't know my daughter, remember that!"

"If you dare to spread rumors and ruin my daughter's reputation, I'm not afraid of you!"

Xu Fengying waved the stack of letters in her hand and sneered, "You want to eat peanuts? Then I'll send you to eat peanuts!"

Maintaining close contact with multiple women and engaging in illicit sexual relationships is a capital offense!

Chang Wenbin broke out in a cold sweat and immediately swore, "I don't know Cheng Cheng! I absolutely don't know Cheng Cheng!"

Xu Fengying didn't even raise an eyebrow upon hearing this; she remained dissatisfied.

Chang Wenbin was panicking, but in a moment of quick thinking, he blurted out, "I haven't seen you tonight! Nothing happened tonight!"

"Very good, that's right."

Xu Fengying's smile vanished in an instant, her eyes flashing sharply as she stared at the young man. "You deceived my daughter, so it's not unreasonable for me to ask you for some compensation. Will you give it to me or not?"

"I'll give it to you! I'll give it to you!"

Chang Wenbin didn't hesitate at all; he just wanted to get rid of this plague god as soon as possible.

But this number... Cheng Cheng frowned, wondering who it was implying.

250.

Xu Fengying received the money, which her daughter called compensation for emotional distress. She was about to leave with the stack of incriminating evidence when she noticed her daughter staring intently at the young man.

Xu Fengying almost lost her temper. Upon closer inspection, she realized that her daughter was staring at the watch on the other person's arm.

No one knows a daughter better than her mother. Could it be that this brat bought it for that pretty boy?!

Xu Fengying walked over and chopped the young man on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.

Wow~

Cheng Cheng stared at her mother, dumbfounded, her eyes sparkling, and whispered, "Mom, are you a legendary martial arts master? You're hiding your true abilities!"

Xu Fengying: "..."

Suppressing the urge to curse, Xu Fengying reached out to check the young man's nose and found he was still breathing. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

I was startled; I thought I had sent someone abroad with a single slap.

Thank goodness, I'm not dead! I'm not dead!

Xu Fengying shoved the stack of evidence into her daughter's arms with a huff, then quickly tried to take the watch off her daughter's hand, but couldn't.

She didn't know how to untie it, so Cheng Cheng immediately squatted down, opened the clasp, took off the watch, and respectfully handed it to Ms. Xu Fengying.

Xu Fengying sneered inwardly. Even if her daughter showed this honest and docile look now, it was too late!

That brat! She has money to burn, buying that ridiculously expensive watch for that pretty boy. Why doesn't she know to give some to her and her husband? She and Aiguo have never worn such rare things before!

I'll teach you a lesson when we get back!

The journey was uneventful, and I didn't encounter many people. I arrived home safely.

Immediately afterwards, Cheng Cheng was plunged into a night of utter misery.

She didn't dare to say anything, and the next day she sadly saw Ms. Xu Fengying off. With her mother there, she couldn't do anything.

Chang Wenbin lost both his money and his wife, and she also had leverage over him. This huge bombshell was finally defused, and now only Ding Manman remained.

Chang Wenbin suffered such a big loss, Ding Manman will definitely come to find her, whether to test her or to find out what's going on. Just keep her calm and she will come.

Cheng Cheng's prediction was correct. That afternoon, she was leading her daughter Xiaoxiao out of the library when she saw Ding Manman on the street.

At this time, is Ding Manman taking leave again?

"Let's talk at my house."

Cheng Cheng looked listless, as if she had been quite devastated and hadn't slept well last night.

It must be said that this was a beautiful misunderstanding.

When they got home, Cheng Cheng told Xiao Xiao to go inside and play, leaving only her and Ding Manman. She hung her head dejectedly.

After a while, he looked up again, his face filled with a mixture of distress and sadness, which transformed into determination and worry. He took Ding Manman's hand and said firmly, "Manman, Comrade Chang is no good. We all misjudged him. Don't marry him. Just pretend I never said those things."

She was so devoted to her, no one could tell. Look how understanding she was, how considerate she was of her best friend. She would give up a good man for her, but when she found out he was a scoundrel, she would immediately advise her best friend to give up on him.

She can make your heart break and your tears flow; she is the purest white jasmine flower!

Ding Manman feigned ignorance and tentatively asked, "What exactly happened between you two?"

Cheng Cheng looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated, and finally let out a long sigh, unwilling to say anything more.

Anyway, he said, "Manman, don't ask anymore. Just remember what I said. Don't mention Chang Wenbin to me again."

After that, no matter how Ding Manman asked or probed, Cheng Cheng wouldn't respond, either avoiding the topic or sighing in silence.

Finally, Ding Manman was almost losing patience. She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Cheng Cheng, you are my best friend. I will definitely stand by you."

"I believe you when you say Comrade Chang isn't a good person, but I'm worried..."

As she spoke, Ding Manman looked at her with a worried expression, "Comrade Chang has your correspondence. Should we go and ask him to return it?"

"You mean this? Don't worry, Manman, those things were already taken by my mom—"

Cheng Cheng was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly realized she had let something slip and covered her mouth.

He mumbled, "Anyway, everything was burned."

"Alright, Manman, don't worry anymore. Let's not talk about these unhappy things."

Changing the subject, Cheng Cheng patted her hand, a hint of joy on her face, "Manman, you're not getting any younger, it's time for you to settle down. I'll ask my older sister and mother-in-law to introduce you to someone."

Ding Manman's face stiffened slightly, and she withdrew her hand. "Why are you bringing me up all of a sudden? I'm not in a hurry, and I don't want to get married right now."

"Oh, Manman, don't be in such a hurry to reject me. Why aren't you in a hurry? You're a year older than me. Look at me, I already have Xiaoxiao, and you're still single."

"You're not worried now? When are you going to be worried? By the time other kids are running around like crazy, your kid will probably still be somewhere running errands!"

"Listen to me, let's settle this for now. I'll talk to Aunt Xiulian tomorrow and I'll go with you to meet the man. As your good friend, I definitely won't harm you, and I'll even help you vet him!"

Cheng Cheng, speaking in a tone that seemed to be doing it for her own good, took on the role of the marriage-urging ambassador that Cheng Cheng hated the most.

"No, no need."

Ding Manman was somewhat absent-minded, her hand unconsciously touching her stomach. "Cheng Cheng, I have something to do, I'll go first."

"What's the rush? Manman, I haven't finished speaking yet!"

Cheng Cheng shouted at her back, a smirk involuntarily rising to his lips, a glint of triumphant gleam in his eyes.

Now we just have to wait for good news.

At the end of last month, the textile factory paid out wages, and the next day her mother went to the Ding family to demand repayment of the debt.

Only three members of the Ding family—Ding Dazhuang, Ding Pingfeng, and Ding Manman—have jobs, and their combined wages are less than one hundred yuan.

If Ding's father and Ding Manman's salaries are used to pay off debts, then Ding Manman's older brother's salary will have to cover the family's expenses, so they will definitely have to live a very tight life.

As far as she knew, the Ding family had not had a peaceful month, frequently making headlines in the textile factory's news.

Sister-in-law Ding wanted her sister-in-law to give up her job. Sister-in-law Ding had this idea before and had been eager to do it, but this time she was more determined and would not give up until she got what she wanted, causing chaos in the Ding family.

Ding Manman, what would you do?

Don't let her down!

-

"Ten minutes to prepare!"

The solemn and powerful commands resounded through the loudspeakers to every corner of the launch site. The Gobi Desert fell into an unprecedented silence. Everyone held their breath and stared intently at the giant white arrow that stood silently on the launch pad, ready to be launched.

"One minute to get ready!"

At an observation point far from the launch site, the leaders who came to watch the rocket launch stood up in unison, held their breath, and stared silently at the giant dragon in the distance.

Will it be able to soar to new heights this time?

"ignition!"

As the sound faded, orange flames erupted from the rocket's tail, roaring like a dragon.

It doesn't take off instantly, but rather accumulates power until it's full, then begins to tremble, breaks free from the earth, and slowly rises.

Then it accelerated faster and faster, leaving a trail of orange flames. At that moment, everyone seemed to be frozen in place, looking up at the sky.

Until the rocket soared higher and higher until it finally disappeared from people's sight.

Everyone came to their senses, and someone shouted "We succeeded!" with a trembling and choked voice.

This sentence instantly ignited people's confidence; now is not the time to let our guard down or celebrate.

Until the phone rang, the excited voice of the person in charge of the landing area measurement station came through the line:

"Landing zone report: Target achieved! Stance normal! To reiterate, target achieved!"

The sound was amplified through loudspeakers throughout the entire test site, instantly eliciting huge cheers from the crowd. Young students and technicians jumped up and hugged each other, laughing and crying, creating a scene of jubilation.

At that moment, everyone finally realized that their experiment had truly been a success.

The data that had been calculated ten thousand times on paper and in their minds, and the repeated attempts to verify it, finally became a real trajectory in the sky. They succeeded!

They succeeded!

"Teacher! We did it!"

After hugging his companions, Guan Jue still felt it wasn't enough, so he jumped up and hugged his teacher, as excited as a child.

"Teacher! We did it! That's great!"

Zhou Yue patted his shoulder, and the corners of his mouth slowly and uncontrollably turned up, revealing a very slight smile.

Beside him, Luo Yuquan raised his hand, clenched it into a fist, and showed a tired but gratified smile on his face.

"Congratulations, Mr. Zhou!"

Zhou Yue also clenched his fist, raised it to meet the other's, and exchanged a knowing look.

"Congratulations, Mr. Luo."

"Hahahaha..."

Luo Yuquan punched him hard with his fist, "It wasn't easy, but we finally succeeded! We didn't let everyone down."

At this moment, Commander Zhang picked up the microphone and announced over the loudspeaker: "Alright, comrades, quiet down. I hereby announce that this test has been a complete success! Now, all departments shall begin data retrieval and debris search operations according to the pre-arranged plan."

After the brief celebration ended, everyone quickly returned to their posts and methodically threw themselves into the next task.

Commander Zhang walked to Zhou Yue's side, put his big hand on his shoulder, and patted him a few times, his voice filled with undisguised joy and pride.

"Comrade Zhou Yue, well done! Keep it up and keep up the good work!"

"yes!"

Zhou Yue stood at attention with a serious expression and saluted.

Commander Zhang's gaze fell on him, and the satisfaction in his eyes was almost overflowing, as if he were looking at a junior who made him extremely gratified and proud.

"Your family visit leave is approved! Go soon and come back soon!"

"This time when I go back, I'll bring my wife and kids over. The conditions at our base are much better now, and it'll be good for the whole family to be reunited."

Most importantly, with my wife and children by my side, I won't have to worry about them all the time. I can focus all my attention and energy on my work without any further concerns.

"good."

At this moment, he was eager to return home!

-----------------------

The author says: I'd like to share a little story. I don't know if it's a custom or what, but in my area, the older generation, when talking about deceased people, will say that they went abroad if anyone asks. I've heard them say that so-and-so went to America, Madagascar, or something like that, and that their dog went to Cat Planet. If anyone asks, they'll say that they went abroad.

It seems that it was very difficult for the older generation to go abroad in the past, and there must be historical reasons behind it. Everyone says this, which is a kind of feigned ease, and also a way of commemorating the deceased.

That's all for today, goodnight everyone! See you tomorrow!