Chapter 17 Post Office Branch Manager

After she left, the Cheng family was so angry that they couldn't eat.

Cheng Jianli had a bandage on one hand, applied by the village's barefoot doctor, and slammed his fist on the table in anger with his other hand. "Why is she so arrogant! Even if we don't pay back the money, what can she do to us? Can she kill us all?"

“She won’t kill you. She’ll just sell you all into illegal mines and make you work as laborers for the rest of your lives,” Cheng Jiantong said, half-reclining in a deckchair, kindly reminding his good older brother.

Cheng Jianli:.......

He turned to Cheng Jiantong and angrily shouted, "Second brother, how did you raise your daughter? Look at the state your eldest daughter has become! She's so lawless and unruly, treating us elders like this. This morning she even beat me up and broke my hand. It hurt like hell! And you just let her torment us like this?"

"That's all your own doing! I've been running the mail for so many years, and you've all bullied those three women, mother and daughters. Don't you know how you've treated them? I'm like this because of your good son! You raised me and took care of me, that's only right. And you still dare to pick a fight with Xiaoying? I'm being lenient by not beating you up, and you still dare to nag me!" Cheng Jiantong said, rocking his chair.

Cheng Jianli looked at him in disbelief, not understanding why Cheng Jiantong, who had always been fooled by his family, had suddenly come to his senses and was now protecting Cheng Ying so much.

Seeing his expression, Cheng Jiantong guessed what he was thinking and gave a self-deprecating smile. "I was blinded by your so-called kinship and brotherhood before, unable to see how much my wife and daughter suffered and how much they endured. My current predicament is my own fault. But brother, one cannot be without conscience. You all know how I helped you before. Your son has harmed me to this extent, and as parents, you should take care of me. Don't even think about speaking ill of Xiaoying and her daughter in front of me. I feel ashamed towards them, and no matter what you say, I will not believe a word you say again. Now, Xiaoying is in charge of our second branch. You know her personality; when she goes crazy, even I, as her father, am afraid. You'd better not test her limits."

Cheng Jianli and his family remained silent.

When they were young, no matter how much the Cheng family mistreated and beat the two sisters, Cheng Ying and Cheng Xue, Cheng Ying always stood in front of Cheng Xue, taking all the sticks and slaps for her. She looked at them all with a pair of hateful eyes, never admitting defeat, never admitting her mistakes, and never begging for mercy.

Before she turned ten, Cheng Ying was too young to run or fight back. After she turned ten, she went to her maternal grandmother's house and came back as if she had become a different person. Whenever the Cheng family beat or abused her and her sisters, she would either kill the chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs that the commune had assigned to her family, or set fire to their house, or trick her cousins, Cheng Chunfu and his siblings, into a trap in the mountains, using her own blood to lure a pack of wild beasts, hoping they would devour them...

As these incidents continued, the Cheng family realized she was a ruthless person. The more they beat her and mistreated her, the more insane she became, and the more ruthless she became.

In the end, Cheng Yiguo couldn't stand it anymore. Fearing that she might do something like arson and burn her whole family to death at such a young age, he ordered the Cheng family not to beat or scold her so often and to cut back on the second wife's food. Only then did her heartless and crazy nature subside a lot.

Now, Cheng Ying has served in the army for four years. After retiring and returning to her hometown, she is strong, resourceful, well-connected, and possesses extensive fighting skills. Her ruthless nature is even more pronounced than before, and no one in the Cheng family can match her.

Cheng Yiguo sighed helplessly and said, "Stop talking, eldest brother and third brother. You should pay back all the money you owe. Try not to mess with Cheng Ying in the future. She's a complete madwoman, even more ruthless than I was when I was young. If you want to live a peaceful life, then don't cause any trouble!"

Cheng Jianye and the others exchanged glances, all seeing the resentment in each other's eyes. So much money! To pay it back, they would have to sell everything they owned. And after that, how would they live?

But if we don't pay it back, that madwoman Cheng Ying might do something drastic.

For a time, the Cheng family was shrouded in gloom.

Regardless of what they thought, after seeing Cheng Jiantong off, Cheng Ying borrowed a wooden cart from a neighbor and took Wan Shuhui and Cheng Xue to the back mountain to dig clay, delivering it home cart by cart.

Then, they spent a day building an earthen wall that was more than a person's height to separate the old Cheng family's courtyard from the west courtyard where their second wife lived.

During the construction of the wall, Huang Cuizhi and her two daughters-in-law stood in the yard and made all sorts of veiled insults at her. She responded to each insult without hesitation. Even Wan Shuhui and Cheng Xue, who are usually good-tempered, couldn't help but join her in arguing with Huang Cuizhi and her two daughters. The group almost came to blows, but Cheng Yiguo, fearing that he would lose face, stopped Huang Cuizhi and her two daughters, and the matter was finally resolved.

No matter how much they argued, the day after the courtyard wall was repaired, the eldest and third wives reluctantly took out all the money and threw it into Wan Shuhui's hands.

The eldest son's family gave 300 yuan in medical compensation, and the third son's family gave 150 yuan for the money they borrowed to get married back then, totaling 450 yuan. They scraped together the money by selling their possessions and borrowing from all sides.

Holding a thick wad of ten-yuan bills, Wan Shuhui couldn't believe that the money the third branch of the family owed her for so many years had just returned. She clutched the money, laughing and crying for a while, then took out a wad and stuffed it into Cheng Ying's hand. "Xiao Ying, take this three hundred yuan. If it weren't for your decision to have the first branch compensate your father for his medical expenses, the first branch would never have paid a single penny. Take this money to town and use it to buy a bigger house. Then your sister and I can live more comfortably in town."

Cheng Ying initially wanted to refuse, but then she thought that housing prices in town weren't cheap, and she couldn't be a postman for the rest of her life. Sooner or later, she would have to follow the times and do another job.

In a few years, the national land system will undergo tremendous changes. She needs to plan ahead and find new ways out for Cheng Xue and Wan Shuhui, such as renting a house with a shop so that her mother can do some small business in town and find something for her to do, so that she doesn't have to revolve around her father, but can find her own value in life and live her own life.

After thinking it over, he didn't refuse. He immediately took the village's oxcart to the commune, which is Qingqu Town, to find a suitable house to buy.

Of course, she didn't go directly to buy a house. Instead, she went to the commune post office, found the branch manager, and told him that her father had been pushed down the mountain by his nephew and was seriously injured, becoming paralyzed on one side and unable to work as a postman anymore. She would take over his job.

The branch chief was named Feng Dongyuan, a thin, middle-aged man nearing fifty. I heard he had served in the army before.

He sat behind his desk at the post office and nodded, saying, "I know about your father's situation. A couple of days ago, the director of the county post office specifically spoke to me about you taking over his job. For the past two weeks while your father was recovering from his injury, I've been temporarily filling in for him on the mail route he was working on. There's no problem with you taking over his job. Just fill out an application form, go to the logistics department to get a set of work clothes and mail parcels, and then go to the county post office for two days of training. Then you can start delivering mail. But before you complete your application, I need to ask you a few questions."

"Excuse me," Cheng Ying asked, sitting upright opposite him.

The branch manager looked at her intently and said, "You clearly had a bright future in the army, so why did you leave the army and come back to take over your father's postman job? Do you know how difficult the postal route your father ran was? Can a woman like you handle the job of a rural postman? Do you know how arduous, quiet, and lonely it is to walk alone in the mountains? You are still young, how long can you handle this job?"

“Branch Chief, there are many reasons why I retired from the army and returned to my hometown, so I won’t answer that question for you. My father was a rural postman for over twenty years, and I even ran a mail route with him once when I was little, so I know how arduous that route was. But no matter how hard running mail was, it wasn’t as tough as the training and missions I went on as a soldier. I’m a retired female soldier, and I have plenty of combat skills. You don’t need to worry about me, a woman, getting into trouble running mail alone in the mountains. I’m capable of protecting myself. I don’t really like crowded places; I prefer to be alone. Loneliness and quiet are my ideal state. No one can guarantee what the future holds. I can only say that I will do a good job as a postman within the next ten years. Whether I’ll continue after ten years depends on my own thoughts.” Cheng Ying spoke very sincerely, without any concealment.

The branch manager sipped his old mountain tea, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Fill out your job application form. After you get your uniform and training, I'll take you on a trip along the Mashan Township postal route that your dad used to run."

"No rush," Cheng Ying said. "I plan to buy a house in town so it will be easier for me to deliver mail. I need to buy the house and tidy it up in the next couple of days before I report to the station. Then I can deliver mail directly. You don't need to accompany me, branch chief. I know the way. Even if I don't, Da Huang (my dog) knows the way."

After Cheng Jiantong's accident, his big yellow dog stayed in the rented house Cheng Jiantong rented in the town, and was taken care of by his colleagues.

Cheng Ying naturally takes Da Huang with her when she runs the mail route. Firstly, Da Huang can guide her and help her find her way around. Secondly, with Da Huang by her side, she won't be so lonely. If she encounters any problems, Da Huang will also help her.

The branch chief was taken aback for a moment. “You little girl are just like your father, you have your own ideas. You want to buy a house, right? My wife knows a few people from the Women’s Federation in town. They know everything about town. Come with my wife and ask them to help you find a house. I guarantee they’ll find you a house you’ll be satisfied with.”

Cheng Ying's eyes lit up. "That would be perfect. Thank you, Branch Director. You are truly a good leader who cares about your subordinates. No wonder my dad often talks about how good you are to me."

How could it not be good? The post office has a total of three mail carriers, who have to run different mail routes in all kinds of weather. If any mail carrier has a family emergency, gets sick, or encounters other problems and cannot deliver letters and packages, the branch manager, who is in charge, has to take over.

Although he was a leader, he had no airs of authority. He never complained about climbing mountains and wading through rivers, and he never accepted payment for covering shifts. He always covered shifts for free, cared about his subordinates, lent them money, and so on. He was a truly good cadre who did practical things for his subordinates.

Everyone loves to hear nice words, and the branch manager was no exception. He chuckled and said, "Stop being silly. Fill out the job application form. I'll take you to the logistics department to get your uniform in a bit, and then I'll take you to see your aunt."

"Okay, thank you, branch director." Cheng Ying took the job application form from him, picked up the Hero brand fountain pen he handed her, and quickly filled out the job application.