Zhou Shuhua gripped Lin Yao's hand tightly, her brows furrowed.
"Silly child, what's going on between you and Huaichuan? Weren't you two betrothed since childhood? How come he suddenly married someone else? Is there something wrong with this?"
These words had lingered in her mind for days, ever since Shen Huaichuan submitted his marriage application; they had been stuck in her mind like a thorn.
Lin Yao wouldn't answer her phone, and she couldn't be found, which made her so anxious that she developed blisters on her lips.
Lin Yao had already thought about this issue. Her eyes reddened as she recounted everything she had witnessed that day.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure either. Anyway, when I saw it, that's how it was..."
She bit her lip, her voice trembling.
"They must have gone into the wrong room or something. Anyway, Shen Huaichuan wasn't wearing any clothes. He was holding her in his arms, and the two of them were very intimate."
“At the time, many interns and nurses from the provincial military hospital were having a meeting there and they all saw what happened. If I were to marry Shen Huaichuan again, I would probably be laughed at for the rest of my life. Zhou Qiqi’s fiancé didn’t want her anymore either, so we discussed breaking off the engagement and letting Shen Huaichuan take responsibility for Zhou Qiqi.”
Zhou Shuhua frowned even more as she listened. As someone who had attended university, she was rational and felt that there was something strange about the matter.
"This is ridiculous! How could they possibly go into the wrong room?"
"They said the hotel corridor lights were broken, and they looked at the wrong door in the dark."
Lin Yao's heart skipped a beat. She secretly pinched her inner thigh with her nails, and tears welled up in her eyes. She threw herself into Zhou Shuhua's arms and cried, her shoulders shaking.
"Since things are already like this, there's no point in saying anything more..."
Seeing the little girl crying so heartbrokenly, Zhou Shuhua's doubts turned into heartache, and she gently patted the girl's back.
"Good child, it's all Huaichuan and Zhou Qiqi's fault. They've wronged you."
Lin Yao took the opportunity to wipe away her tears and recount the grievances she had suffered that morning.
"Forget all that, this morning, I went to see her out of kindness, to check on her health and see if she was still in pain. But before I could even ask, she turned around and accused me of stealing, and then she put on a show of bullying me!"
For some reason, Zhou Shuhua felt a sudden pain in her chest whenever she saw Zhou Qiqi, as if the girl was inherently incompatible with her.
Coupled with everything that had happened before, she harbored a deep-seated prejudice against Zhou Qiqi.
Upon hearing Lin Yao's words, they immediately felt that Zhou Qiqi was in the wrong.
"Qiqi has really gone too far this week! She's really out of line! Don't be afraid! Auntie will stand up for you!"
But she had to attend a women's federation meeting that afternoon, so she had to patiently wait until the next morning. She specially asked a new recruit on guard duty to deliver the message, and repeatedly told him not to let Shen Huaichuan know.
She finally understood: Zhou Qiqi had completely bewitched Shen Huaichuan, and nothing could be done in front of him. She had to call him to her office alone and, as the women's director, have a serious talk with him.
The next morning, when the soldier found Zhou Qiqi, she was rushing out the door.
Hearing that Zhou Shuhua wanted her to come over, he paused in his actions and frowned.
"Did Director Zhou say what he wanted to see me about?"
The soldier shook his head honestly.
Zhou Qiqi was thinking to herself that she had arranged to meet Zhao Damei at Wang Dasao's house today to discuss selling flowers, and she had already been delayed for quite some time. Sister Zhao must be getting impatient.
Zhou Shuhua didn't say anything, so she figured it was nothing serious and told the soldier.
"Then tell Director Zhou that I have something important to do today and can't come right now, but I'll go tomorrow."
After giving her a quick explanation, she jogged to the west gate to meet Zhao Damei, and the two of them hurried to Wang Dasao's house together.
Sister-in-law Wang was already waiting at the door. When she saw them arrive, she warmly welcomed them into the house and busied herself pouring tea.
When Zhao Damei met a military wife other than Zhou Qiqi for the first time, she was so nervous that she didn't know where to put her hands and feet, afraid that the other party would look down on her for coming from the countryside.
Sister-in-law Wang noticed her discomfort at a glance and raised her voice.
"You're from Qianjin Village? My hometown is also called Qianjin Village! Although we're not from the same place, we have the same name, so we can be considered half 'fellow villagers'!"
That one sentence immediately shortened the distance between the two and got them talking.
The two chatted back and forth, and soon got down to business about selling flowers.
After receiving the news yesterday afternoon, Sister-in-law Wang distributed five pots of spider plants and five pots of chrysanthemums.
She grows high-quality multi-headed chrysanthemums, which are in full bloom right now, and a pot can sell for 1.2 to 1.5 yuan.
Spider plants are cheaper, costing about seven or eight cents a pot.
“Let’s do as we agreed yesterday. Once the money is made from the sale, we can split it 50/50,” Sister-in-law Wang decided.
Zhao Damei hurriedly waved her hand.
"No way, you planted all these flowers and made all the pots. I only did a little work, how can you ask for so much? You can have seven, I'll have three."
"No, no, no, selling things isn't that easy! If you can't sell them, it'll be a lot of trouble! I can't let you suffer that loss!"
"No..."
The two of them kept pushing and shoving each other, neither willing to take more than their share.
Zhou Qiqi was afraid they would start arguing, so she quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Alright, alright, you two stop arguing. Let's just take the middle value, 60/40. After all, you put your heart and soul into planting these flowers, so it's only right that you take 60%."
She then looked at Zhao Damei and said, "Sister Zhao, it's not easy for you to go out and sell these things. Taking 40% isn't much."
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