Chapter 38 She is my wife
Qiao Xingyue's impression of Xie Zhongming's wife was limited to a few words: tall, thin, and beautiful, but she couldn't form a complete picture in her mind.
These descriptions were all told by Xie Zhongming's grandmother and Aunt Mei, Jiang Beiyang's mother.
At this moment, the train was still clattering along the tracks, and outside the window was a stretch of lush green terraced fields in the Kunming mountains.
When the wind blows, a green wave surges with the wind.
The car window was slightly open, and a gentle breeze blew in, ruffling the wisps of hair on An'an's forehead. A strand of hair stuck to the corner of An'an's mouth, which was smeared with chicken leg oil. Qiao Xingyue brushed it away for An'an and wiped her mouth.
An'an is a little foodie. Once she started gnawing on a chicken leg, she couldn't stop. After taking several bites, she finally had time to shake her head and answer her mother's question, "Mom, Uncle Zhongming's wife isn't as pretty as a fairy. Uncle Zhongming's wife is a little chubby. But Uncle Zhongming said that his wife is a very nice person."
"Oh, is she fat?" Qiao Xingyue was puzzled. Wasn't she supposed to be tall, thin, and beautiful?
What's going on?
Just as Qiao Xingyue was about to ask, An'an took another bite of the braised chicken leg and then said, "Mom, please don't tell Uncle Zhongming that I said his wife is a little chubby. I promise Uncle Zhongming I won't talk bad about his wife behind his back."
"It's true that you shouldn't talk badly about others behind their backs."
An'an, still feeling a little guilty as she munched on a chicken leg, had almost told Uncle Zhongming that his wife was as fat as a pig.
At this moment, Ningning, who was also gnawing on a chicken leg next to her, had her eyes getting smaller and smaller, and her little head drooped down as if it were made of lead.
A gust of wind slipped in through the window cracks, ruffling the hem of her clothes, but Ningning was so sleepy that she almost dropped the chicken leg in her hand.
Qiao Xingyue quickly caught the chicken leg and put it back into the aluminum lunchbox. Ningning was always tired and sleepy after going to the hospital for treatment, and she didn't even have time to eat the chicken leg.
She carried Ningning to the soft sleeper bed and laid her down. An'an put down the chicken leg and helped Ningning take off her new red floral cloth shoes. An'an also had a pair of these shoes, which were new shoes made for the two sisters by Grandma Huang. They were very comfortable to wear.
After taking off her sister's shoes, An'an wiped her hands and picked up the chicken leg again to eat. Seeing that her mother had also put her chicken leg into the aluminum lunchbox, she hurriedly asked, "Mom, why aren't you eating?"
"An'an, do you think Mommy has gained some weight?" Qiao Xingyue asked instead of answering.
She doesn't eat chicken legs because she's afraid of gaining weight. The food at the Xie family's house is too good, and she's really afraid that one day she'll become as fat as the original owner of this body, who weighs over 200 pounds.
"Mom has some extra fat around her waist."
“Mom, you’re not fat.” An’an stared at her mother for a long time, but didn’t think her mother was fat at all.
However, upon closer inspection, Mom's eyes and Uncle Zhongming's wife's eyes are somewhat similar.
But Mom's eyes were brighter and more expressive, while the fat aunt's eyes were dull and lifeless, like those of a fool.
"My mom is the prettiest! Mom is the most beautiful!"
"You're so sweet-talking!"
An'an was about to tell Qiao Xingyue that she hadn't met Aunt Pang in person, but had only seen her photo in the newspaper.
Suddenly, the door to the private room was pushed open, interrupting An'an's words, "Mom, I..."
A plump middle-aged woman led a little boy with a buzz cut into the room. The boy was about the same age as An An and Ning Ning, chubby and with a fierce look like a little village bully.
The chubby, fierce-looking boy entered the private room and walked towards An'an without saying a word, grabbing her arm with his chubby hand and pulling her hard.
An'an wasn't one to be trifled with either. After being pulled up, she yelled, "Why are you pulling me?"
Qiao Xingyue, seeing that the fierce-looking fat boy was no good, quickly stood up and shielded An'an behind her.
"Get out of the way, this is my bed, get off."
The chubby, fierce-looking boy jumped onto the bed without even taking off his shoes.
Two dirty shoe prints were immediately left on the freshly washed bed.
Seeing that he was about to hurt Ningning, who had just been woken up, Qiao Xingyue grabbed his chubby arm and pulled him off the bed.
"What are you doing? What do you mean, 'your bed'? Get down here first."
The woman who came in with the chubby boy was about thirty years old. She was wearing a dark floral dress and her leather shoes were covered in mud. She looked like a countrywoman with little manners.
Her dark and plump body sat down on Qiao Xingyue's bed, startling Ningning so much that she quickly sat up and hid behind Qiao Xingyue.
Ningning hadn't been feeling well these past two days. She was woken up suddenly in the middle of the night by someone, and before she could figure out what was going on, her big, sleepy eyes were filled with fright.
An'an held Ningning protectively in her arms, saying, "Ningning, it's alright. I'll protect you."
Qiao Xingyue patted Ningning's head, "Ningning, it's okay, Mom's here! Don't be afraid!"
"Get out of the way!" The dark-skinned, fat woman glared at Qiao Xingyue.
Qiao Xingyue was tall and thin, with fair and clean skin.
The key point is, she just claimed to be the child's mother?
She's so beautiful and looks as young as a college freshman, how come she's already a mother of two?
Both are women who have given birth, so why is she able to be so slim, tall, and beautiful, with skin so fair it practically glows?
The plump, dark-skinned woman looked at her own post-pregnancy figure and dark skin, and instantly felt a pang of jealousy. Her voice was filled with obvious displeasure as she said, "You vixen, what are you still standing here for? Get out of here, this is our bed."
Hey!
This is like running into a person who has no manners and spews filth!
There are always oddballs in every era.
Qiao Xingyue wasn't angry, but she wasn't someone to be bullied.
Looking at the dark-skinned, plump woman, she said bluntly, "To be a vixen, you have to have the looks of a vixen. You have to be beautiful to be called a vixen. Ma'am, if I'm really a vixen, then what are some of those dark-skinned, plump people? Are they fat black sows that gave birth to equally dark-skinned, plump piglets?"
Hey! Who are you calling a fat sow?
"Did I name you? What, do you think you look like a fat, black-haired sow?"
Qiao Xingyue wasn't upset.
Anyway, whoever is fat, dark-skinned, ugly, or uncomfortable is the one who suffers.
"You want to fight, huh?"
The dark-skinned, plump woman rolled up her sleeves, took two steps forward, and looked ready to fight Qiao Xingyue.
The bespectacled man in a Zhongshan suit sitting opposite her quickly stood up and stepped between Qiao Xingyue and the obese woman, kindly advising her:
"Comrade, let's talk this out, don't resort to violence. This berth originally belonged to this thin woman. I checked tickets with her, and you two not only tried to take her berth as soon as you came in, but you also started swearing at her. That's not right."
The fat woman shoved the man in the Zhongshan suit, causing the thin man to stumble back two steps. "What's wrong? You see how thin and pretty she is, do you have designs on her? So you're going to take this vixen's side?"
The man in the Zhongshan suit looked like an intellectual; his voice was refined and polite, yet it also carried a hint of helplessness. "Comrade, you can't just say things like that."
"Am I talking nonsense? You speak up for her just because she's pretty. Isn't it obvious that you're bullying me because I'm fat?"
"this……"
"This is our bunk, and the three of them have to get out!"
As she spoke, the fat woman sat back down on Qiao Xingyue's lower bunk and glared fiercely at Qiao Xingyue again.
Qiao Xingyue quickly picked up Ningning and placed her on the berth of the man in the Zhongshan suit opposite her. "Comrade, let my daughter sit here with you for a while. Thank you for your help. I am very grateful for your help earlier. I will deal with this unreasonable woman. Thank you."
After putting Ningning down, she turned to the fat woman, took out her ticket, and said, "This is my ticket. Are you going to walk by yourself, or wait for me to ask the police officer on the train to come over?"
"So that's where my ticket went! You little vixen stole it. Give it back to me!"
The fat woman reached out to snatch it.
Qiao Xingyue waved the arm holding the ticket back, preventing the other person from grabbing it.
I've never seen such an unreasonable person.
How did it become a case of her stealing the ticket?
"I stole your ticket. What evidence do you have? Show me the evidence."
"What proof do you need? Your name isn't on this ticket, so it doesn't prove it's yours. How can it not be that you stole it from me?"
Unlike later train tickets, train tickets in the 1970s did not have passengers' names printed on them. Current train tickets are anonymous, only showing the departure station, route, destination, validity period, class of service, and fare. A real-name ticketing system for trains will not be implemented for several more decades.
This really stumped Qiao Xingyue; she hadn't expected to encounter such a difficult person today.
Seeing that Qiao Xingyue was at a loss, the fat woman took out a dark handkerchief from her bag, and then took out a folded letter of introduction from the handkerchief.
In those days, ordinary people could only travel by regular hard seat ticket; to buy a soft sleeper ticket, one needed a letter of introduction.
So when entering the station, Xie Zhongming not only gave Qiao Xingyue a train ticket, but also a letter of introduction, saying that if the ticket inspector asked to check the letter of introduction, she could just show it to them.
She touched her pockets; they were empty.
How did her soft sleeper ticket purchase referral letter end up in this fat woman's hands? It must have been too crowded when she was bringing An An and Ning Ning into the station, and she accidentally lost it, which was then picked up by this fat woman!
"I have a letter of introduction, do you? If you don't have a letter of introduction, then you stole this ticket from me. When the police arrive, they'll arrest you, you ticket thief!" the fat woman threatened arrogantly.
An'an glared angrily at her, "My mother is not a thief, don't make false accusations."
An'an raised her head and looked at Qiao Xingyue, her big, dark eyes filled with panic and fear. "Mom, what should we do?"
"Don't be nervous, Mom has a plan." Qiao Xingyue gently comforted An'an, stroking her head. "We're not afraid of her."
The man in the Zhongshan suit next to him was also somewhat embarrassed. "Comrade, what's going on? Did she pick up the letter of introduction?"
Qiao Xingyue said calmly, "It's alright, we'll find the police officers on the train to handle this."
A short while later, the man in the Zhongshan suit helped to call the train police officer on the train.
The train police officer was tall and strong; the moment he stood there, the timid, overweight woman was instantly intimidated.
After a few seconds of panic, the fat woman calmed herself down, stamped her feet, and continued her unreasonable tirade, "Officer, she's the one who stole my train ticket! I have a letter of introduction, the ticket is mine, you have to stand up for me! You can't favor her just because she's pretty."
The police officer spoke in a serious and loud voice, "You are subject to disciplinary action for fabricating facts to defame public officials. Please correct your attitude. You say this ticket is yours, how can you prove it?"
The fat woman was intimidated again. After a few seconds of panic, she started to throw a tantrum, "What, officer? You only want me to testify, so why don't you let her testify for you? Are you just bewitched by her pretty face?"
This double-decker sleeper compartment was already cramped, and the fat woman's loud voice made it painful to listen to.
Qiao Xingyue frowned, then said decisively, "Officer, I can prove that the train ticket and the letter of introduction are mine."
The letter of introduction was clutched tightly in the fat woman's hand and had become crumpled.
Hearing Qiao Xingyue's confidence, the fat woman felt uneasy. This was someone she had picked up, what was she going to do?
Qiao Xingyue stared at the letter of introduction and said, "The person who opened this letter of introduction is Xie Zhongming. He is a regimental commander in the Jincheng Military Region. He is currently working in the Kuncheng Military Region."
She added, "Comrade, my name is Qiao Xingyue. You can just make a phone call to the Kuncheng Military Region and ask Commander Xie Zhongming."
She knew that there were dispatch telephones on trains in that era, but they were only for use by train staff.
Upon hearing this, the police officer, who was feeling troubled, suddenly had a bright idea. "That's a good idea, Comrade Qiao. Please wait a moment, I'll go to the dispatch room and make a call to ask."
...
Kuncheng Military Region.
Xie Zhongming and Xie Jiang had just finished an important confidential meeting when a communications officer jogged up to them. "Commander Xie, you have a call. It's from the Kunming-Jinzhou Railway line."
"The railway line?"
The father and son looked at each other.
Xie Jiang immediately became worried. "Zhongming, is this a call from the Kunming-Jinzhou Railway line? Could it be that Xingyue, An'an, and Ningning have encountered some trouble?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Zhongming's brow furrowed, and before he could answer Xie Jiang's question, his military boots pounded the muddy ground as he ran towards the communications room like the wind.
Without catching his breath, he rushed inside, picked up the phone from the table, and clenched his fists tightly. "Hello, this is Xie Zhongming. Is something wrong with Qiao Xingyue?"
"Hello, are you Xie Zhongming, Commander Xie?" the railway police officer on the Kunming-Jinzhou Railway asked politely.
After confirming Xie Zhongming's identity, the other party told him about the situation on the train.
Upon learning that Comrade Qiao had only had her letter of introduction picked up and hadn't encountered any danger, his tense brow relaxed slightly. "Yes, the ticket and letter of introduction both belong to Qiao Xingyue."
The other party asked, "Commander Xie, may I ask who Comrade Qiao is to you?"
There are regulations for purchasing soft sleeper tickets on the railway, and Xie Zhongming was aware of them.
If he were to say that Comrade Qiao was merely their family's nanny, it would certainly be against regulations.
However, Qiao Xingyue was taking An'an and Ningning back to Jincheng alone, and Ningning was sick. He was worried about not buying them sleeper tickets.
"Qiao Xingyue is my wife. She has two children, one of whom is sick. She came to Kunming for medical treatment and bought a return ticket after the treatment. Could you please take care of her for me?"
This is the first time Xie Zhongming has ever lied in his life.
When he lied, his ears burned and turned red, and even after he hung up the phone, they still felt hot.
The Kunming-Jinzhou Railway Line.
After confirming the information, the train police officer returned to Qiao Xingyue and the plump woman. "Comrade Qiao, the ticket and letter of introduction are indeed yours. We have already verified them."
The fat woman retorted, "Why do you say it's hers?"
The train police officer looked at the unreasonable fat woman with a serious expression, "Just because the train ticket was bought by Commander Xie, and the letter of introduction was also issued by Commander Xie. And this Comrade Qiao is Commander Xie's wife."
What!
Qiao Xingyue was slightly startled. Why did Comrade Xie directly tell the train police officer that she was his wife?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com