Chapter 86
Chen Shengqing's housing application was approved within three days. The new house was located in a row of residential compounds at the deputy regiment level or above with the best location.
Although the houses in the family compound are arranged in neat rows, they are somewhat shabby, with small yards and rooms compared to the blue brick and tile houses allocated to officers below the rank of deputy regiment commander. Officers above the rank of deputy regiment commander live in red brick houses with large yards and rooms. There are four households in a row, and there is an alley more than one meter wide in between them, which greatly reduces the possibility of being heard through the wall.
There were not many officers above the rank of deputy regiment commander in the border defense department, so the new house approved for Chen Shengqing was located on the right side of Deputy Regiment Commander Li.
When Zhao Erfeng heard that Chen Shengqing's family was moving, he brought a few children to Chen's house early in the morning to help move the luggage.
She said to Yang Qiujin, "Sister, I asked you to move three years ago, but you refused. Today you finally decided to move, and you moved next door to my house. We can talk to each other properly from now on."
"Sister Zhao, you're here so early. I've been busy with work and used to living here, so I never thought about moving. Now that our second baby is about to be born, it's not appropriate for our whole family to live in this yard, so I thought about moving." Yang Qiujin said as she put the folded clothes into a wooden box.
"You should have moved out long ago. Deputy Commander Chen has been the deputy commander for three years, and he still lives in a battalion-level officer's house. You don't know what other military wives say about you. They all say that Deputy Commander Chen is not favored by the higher-ups, so he has been living in a battalion-level officer's house."
As Zhao Erfeng was speaking, she saw her youngest son, Gou Dandan, who was already over five years old, reaching out to take a packet of snacks that Yang Qiujin had placed on the cabinet. She immediately walked over, slapped Gou Dandan's hand, and scolded him: "You son of a bitch, what did your mother teach you? When you go to someone else's house, you are not allowed to be ignorant and uneducated to take other people's things. Your memory has been eaten by a dog!"
Gou Dandan, with normal sparse hair and a shiny head like a small light bulb, burst into tears.
"Sister-in-law, why did you hit him? Children are always hungry. If he wants to eat, just give it to him." Yang Qiujin opened the package of snacks, revealing several large yellow cakes. She took two and put them in Gou Dandan's hand, wiped Gou Dandan's tears and said, "Don't cry, Gou Dandan. When you come to Auntie's place in the future, tell Auntie what you want to eat and she will give it to you."
"Thank you, Aunt Yang, you are such a good aunt. I wish you were my mother, then I could eat delicious food and drink delicious drinks every day just like brother Tianyou." Five-year-old Gou Dandan could not speak very fluently and spoke haltingly.
He held the big rhubarb cake in his hand, sniffed his nose and said, "I don't want to be my mother's son anymore. She is too stingy. She is reluctant to give us anything to eat."
"You bastard, you want to be beaten, don't you?!" Zhao Erfeng glared at him, raised her hand and slapped him, saying, "Have I abused you? Isn't the food at home enough to feed you?!"
When Gou Dandan saw her raise her hand, he immediately ran outside.
Several children outside saw the rhubarb cake in his hand and came over to him, "Goudan, where did you get the rhubarb cake?"
His elder sister Li Danier grabbed him and asked fiercely, "Goudan, you stole someone else's snacks again? Why don't you give them back?"
They have many brothers and sisters, and this is also because their father has always helped their hometown. Although their father is also the deputy leader, their life has always been tight, and they rarely eat snacks.
However, their mother always thinks of ways to make money. She usually buys some snacks and candies and keeps them in a locked cupboard at home. She gives them some every now and then to satisfy their cravings.
When it comes to education, their mother is very strict with them. For example, when they go to other people's homes, they are not allowed to take other people's things. She reminds them of this almost every day.
"No, no, Auntie Yang gave it to me." Gou Dandan protected the rhubarb cake in his hand, his eyes shrank, and it didn't look like he was telling the truth.
"Goudan, what did our mother teach us? She told us to be good children who don't steal or take anything. Give the rhubarb cake back to him." Li Danier tried to snatch the rhubarb cake from his hand.
"No, this was really given to me by Aunt Yang." Gou Dandan started crying and held the rhubarb cake in his hand tightly.
Yang Qiujin heard the noise and quickly came out with the rhubarb cake. "Daniel, that rhubarb cake was given to Gou Dandan by his aunt. He didn't take it himself. You guys should have some too. Don't take Gou Dandan's."
Li Danier then realized that she had really misunderstood her brother. She said to Gou Dandan a little embarrassedly, "I'm sorry, Fifth Brother. I wrongly blamed you."
There were five children in the Li family, and each of them received a large yellow cake. Yang Qiujin was now empty-handed with snacks.
Zhao Erfeng chased out and saw that the snack paper was empty. He blamed her and said, "Big sister, why are you feeding those bastards? They are bottomless pits that can never be filled."
Yang Qiujin wrapped up the remaining two large yellow cakes and said, "It's okay. It's a rare weekend for the children to come and help me move. I can't just ask them to help me for nothing."
After receiving the rhubarb cakes from Yang Qiujin, the little guys worked very hard. The older ones helped to carry boxes and packages, the younger ones helped Chen Tianyou to pull the fruits and vegetables planted in the yard, and some saw Li Xiu'e holding a handkerchief and a broom and followed Li Xiu'e to clean the new house. They were all busy and happy.
Zhao Erfeng felt better knowing that his own child had such good eyesight, and went back to the house with Yang Qiujin to clean up.
For such a big event as moving, all the colleagues and their families who usually got along well with Chen Shengqing and Yang Qiujin came to help, including the Xu Tao sisters, and Liang Xueqing and her daughter.
Sister Xu Tao followed Li Xiu'e silently to clean the new house, while Liang Xueqing brought her daughter and son to help Yang Qiujin tidy up various odds and ends in the house.
After a few years of getting used to each other, Zhao Erfeng's attitude towards Liang Xueqing, the capitalist lady, has improved. She looked at Liang Xueqing and her daughter, both wearing white dacron shirts and long skirts, spotless, with slender fingers, helping to move the packages weakly. She couldn't bear to watch: "Comrade Liang, you should take your daughter with you to help Sister Yang clean up the dishes and chopsticks. Let me do the heavy work of moving things."
Liang Xueqing knew that she meant well and had no intention of teasing her, so she said a little embarrassedly, "Then I'll trouble you, sister-in-law."
"Well, why bother talking about whether it's a trouble or not? We are neighbors, isn't it normal to help each other?" Zhao Erfeng said as he picked up a large luggage weighing dozens of kilograms and walked towards his new home carelessly.
Liang Xueqing looked at the Chen family's gradually empty house, feeling very sad, "Sister Yang, you guys have moved away, I really can't get used to it."
She had been with the army for nearly ten years. During these ten years, because of her class background, she had lived a secluded life and rarely went out to interact with other military wives. She was afraid that they would look down on her or that they would use her class background to cause trouble for her husband.
Over the years, only Yang Qiujin took the initiative to hand her over, did not despise her, and always wanted to share a portion of any delicious food she made with her family.
The children of the two families were very good friends. Suddenly, Yang Qiujin's family moved away. Liang Xueqing felt empty inside, as if something was lost invisibly.
Yang Qiujin sorted a small box of needlework and said, "If you are not used to it, come and see me often. Our new home is not far from here. It is only two rows of barracks away, less than 20 minutes away. It is not easy for you to come and see me."
Liang Xueqing thought, that's different. There's like an invisible barrier between the family quarters at the deputy regimental level and above and the family quarters at the battalion level. No matter how much she likes Yang Qiujin, she will never be able to integrate into her circle in the future.
Feeling very sad, Liang Xueqing said gently, "That's true. I'll come to see you when I'm free in the future."
Yang Qiujin smiled and just as she bent down to pick up her pickle jar and walk to her new home, a pair of big hands took the jar from her hands and said, "Qiujin, take a rest. Don't do these heavy work that will tire you out. Now everything should be based on your own health."
Yang Qiujin turned around and saw Chen Shengqing in military uniform. He had hired Chen Shengqing for half a day to help with the move, and he had been busy since early morning without a break.
Yang Qiujin watched him lift the 20-pound kilogram kilogram pot of pickles effortlessly, and also carry a square table on his shoulder, with steady steps, as he prepared to walk out.
Yang Qiujin said, "Deputy Head Chen, don't you think you've been too nervous with me recently? It's just a 20-pound pot, I can lift it, it's not tiring at all. Your nervousness makes me feel uneasy, I always feel like I'm not pregnant, but I'm carrying a baby, and something unexpected could happen at any time. Don't forget, in my hometown, most women work in the fields until the day of giving birth. I'm not as delicate as you think."
When she said this, she thought of the women in her hometown. Most of them had such hard lives, and their men didn't feel sorry for them at all. They made them work even when their women were pregnant and about to give birth. It was so sad for them.
After she married Chen Shengqing and before she joined the army, she also worked everywhere with a big belly. At that time, she didn't think there was anything wrong. It was because her parents-in-law loved her. After six or seven months, they didn't want her to work in the fields. But she couldn't help but work secretly. Overall, she was happier than those women in her hometown.
Now that she is with the army and is pregnant with her second child, Chen Shengqing treats her like a treasure every day, fearing that she will do more work. This is something she never dared to think about before she got married.
Chen Shengqing carried the table, turned around and looked at her and said, "Don't say those unlucky words. I don't care how others treat their women. You are my woman. There are not many things I can do for you. I should do everything. You can't always think of doing everything yourself."
He will naturally love his daughter-in-law well.
Yang Qiujin laughed and said, "You are a soldier who firmly believes in Marxist-Leninist materialism. Why do you also believe those unfounded words?"
"Some things should not be said if they can be avoided. If you say them too much, they will come true. It has nothing to do with what ideology you believe in." Chen Shengqing carried the table and walked away without looking back.
There were a lot of things to move, mainly furniture, such as wardrobes, storage cabinets, small boxes, tables, chairs and benches. They were all new furniture custom-made by Chen Shengqing when Yang Qiujin followed the army.
If the furniture was not moved away, not only would it cost money to rebuild it, but if it remained in the original house, it would also become military property. So it took more than an hour to move the furniture.
The remaining miscellaneous items, such as the grape vines planted in the yard, a date tree, and other crops, were all moved to the new home.
Because the yard of the new house is bigger, Chen Shengqing and Chen Tianyou had already cleared an area in the yard to grow vegetables. They also built a horse shed specifically for Benying, the tall horse.
The new house faced south and sat north. The houses were arranged in a horizontal row, with two rooms on the left, the middle one being the main room, and a room on the right next to the kitchen and toilet. They were all quite spacious, with glass windows, earthen kangs, and a half-man-high wall around the yard. It looked better than a battalion-level officer's house.
Liang Xueqing helped Yang Qiujin to arrange everything in the house. She looked around enviously and said, "I wonder when I can live in a house like this."
"You will definitely be able to stay here." Yang Qiujin comforted her.
Liang Xueqing smiled bitterly, "Don't comfort me. Because of my class background, my old Wang will probably be stuck at the battalion-level position of instructor for the rest of his life. When I joined the army, he was only at the level of company commander. Later, although he made military achievements and was promoted to instructor, he almost didn't get promoted because of my class background. Now there are less than four years left before his term ends. If he doesn't get promoted in these four years, he will have to retire and my family will have to leave the army."
"That's a problem." Yang Qiujin thought that if Wang Jianjun really couldn't get promoted, he would retire with his wife and children, and then her son would be separated from Wang Songyue. She also sighed and said, "Don't think too much, just let it go. Retirement is not a bad thing. At least with Instructor Wang's current level, he can get a job in a government agency after he goes to the local area. The salary and benefits are not low, and it won't be a problem to support his family."
Liang Xueqing thought about it and felt relieved.
Zhao Erfeng also took a tour of the new home and sat on the kang bed prepared by Yang Qiujin in the master bedroom on the left side. He took a rest and drank the brown sugar water poured by Yang Qiujin and said, "Comrade Liang, you can relax. Your man is obsessed with you and doesn't let you do any work. Looking at our entire family compound, you and Yang Damei are the best. Even if you leave the army in the future, he won't let you suffer. Unlike me, I have a miserable life. I have to deal with that bastard Li Zhiyong. He doesn't let me do any work and makes me do it all by myself. I am exhausted all day long."
Liang Xueqing smiled and didn't answer.
Yang Qiujin handed another bowl of brown sugar water to Liang Xueqing, then sat next to Zhao Erfeng and asked, "Sister-in-law, didn't you cruelly abandon your child last time and go to work as a confinement nanny for a month at the home of Comrade Ren, the farm I introduced you to? Deputy Head Li hasn't changed at all?"
Zhao Erfeng got angry when he mentioned this. "When I left, that bastard initially asked someone to persuade me to go back and tried to take care of the children himself. But he couldn't stand it after two days and sent an urgent telegram to his mother, so his mother came to my house with her two aunts.
Oh my! As soon as they came, they locked me in the cupboard and wasted all the rice, flour and oil that were allocated to me. That was fine, but they also took away the better clothes I had put in the cupboard, including the children's clothes, and wore them themselves.
My two daughters were beaten and scolded by them every day, saying that they were money-losing girls and should be married off soon. They were not allowed to eat, and the boys were not treated well either. The longer their milk came, the longer they had not had a full meal. The house was made a mess by them.
Later, the children hated them so much that they did all kinds of things to them. They went to Li Zhiyong, that bastard, to cry and complain every day. That bastard couldn’t stand it anymore, so he sent them back to their hometown.”
Yang Qiujin had also heard about this matter, but Zhao Erfeng was not at home at that time, and Yang Qiujin was not comfortable asking about other people's family affairs. She only allowed Chen Tianyou to occasionally invite Zhao Erfeng and several children to her house for dinner.
For some unknown reason, several children did not come to her house. Now that I think about it, it was probably because Zhao Erfeng taught them not to just go to other people's homes to ask for money.
Yang Qiujin said with some sympathy: "Sister-in-law Zhao, your mother-in-law and sister-in-law are really troublesome. They made such a fuss in the army, but Deputy Commander Li has nothing to say?"
Zhao Erfeng drank the sugar water in the bowl in one gulp, wiped the water stains on his mouth with his hand and said, "He is much better now. He used to mail fifty yuan to his mother every month, saying to his mother that his brothers had a hard time in the countryside and he had to support them. Since his mother came to make trouble, several children deliberately let him see how his mother treated and beat the children harshly. He probably became upset and sent half of the money back.
For this reason, his mother drove to the gate of our unit to make a fuss, but he asked the guards to send her back. Now you know to help me, look after the children, and wash the dishes, but you don't change your bad habits such as washing clothes and cooking, throwing stinky socks around, drinking and smoking when you have nothing to do, etc. You are not like Deputy Commander Chen and Instructor Wang, who treat you like their eyes and are reluctant to let you do more work to tire me out. They hope that I will work myself to death. I envy you."
"Then Sister Zhao, why did you marry Deputy Headmaster Li back then?" Liang Xueqing politely took a sip of brown sugar water, put the bowl on the low table beside her, and asked the question that was in her mind.
"Well, it's a long story," Zhao Erfeng wiped his sweaty face and said, "Back then, my marriage to Lao Li was also arranged by our parents. His mother thought that my two sisters had given birth to several sons in a row, and if they married me as a daughter-in-law, I would definitely give birth to a son, so she went to propose marriage on behalf of Lao Li and married me.
At the beginning, Lao Li didn't like me. He was the company commander at that time. When he saw some beautiful city girls, he looked down on me because I was so rustic. He didn't even touch me. I was also anxious. We had been married for almost a month. It would be a waste if we didn't do that. So I coaxed Lao Li to drink some wine, hehe...
Later, I gave birth to a daughter, Da Ni'er. My mother-in-law scolded me all day long, saying that my nose was not a nose and my eyes were not eyes. I was not a good-tempered person, so I quarreled with my mother-in-law every day.
Later, I got pregnant again and gave birth to Er Ni'er. This child turned out to be a backward baby. I had a difficult labor and heavy bleeding while giving birth to her, and I almost died. Er Ni'er was also stuck in my belly for too long, and she died when she was born.
My mother-in-law scolded me as a hen that couldn't lay eggs. Erni'er's body wasn't even warm yet and my lower body was still bleeding, but she was already clamoring for Lao Li to divorce me and remarry, and to kick me out of the house.
At that time, I always thought that the cowardly old Li would listen to his curses, but he refused to divorce me no matter what I said, and was unwilling to drive me away. He had a big fight with his mother for the first time, and went to our border defense department with Danier without telling me. At that time, the houses in the border defense department here had not been repaired yet... Later, I gave birth to two boys in a row, and my back was finally straightened..."
Yang Qiujin suddenly realized. No wonder she always heard Zhao Erfeng call her children "Da Ni'er" and "San Ni'er". She thought that people in their place called their children by their generation differences. It turned out that one of their children died in the middle.
Liang Xueqing didn't expect that Zhao Erfeng and Deputy Captain Li, who seemed to be quarreling all the time, had actually experienced such things.
From this perspective, Deputy Head Li is not such a male chauvinist. He is a nice person. At least he has always been loyal to his wife.
Zhao Erfeng saw their expressions, guessed their thoughts, and said with a smile: "This is why I have been quarreling with him for so many years, and why I still live with him. He is indeed a person with a lot of problems, but because he took me and the children away without hesitation, and gave me all the money except the money to send back home, and let me manage it, I can endure it and live with him."
Yang Qiujin nodded unconsciously. Indeed, with these factors, Li Zhiyong was much better than most men who did not do housework, did not earn much money, and gave all the money to their parents, or who only thought about themselves and used the money only for themselves.
However, Yang Qiujin still felt that men should be like Chen Shengqing and Wang Jianjun. Even if they didn't treat women with great care, they should at least do the housework. They couldn't just indulge them in everything.
She couldn't say this directly, so she said to Zhao Erfeng in a roundabout way: "Men are all bad people, you can't get used to it. The better you treat him, the more he treats you as a weed. So when it comes to men, you must play hard to get and treat them as your own sons. Let them do what they should do, and coax them when they should be coaxed. You must control them tightly."
Hearing this outside, Chen Shengqing, who was delighted to be a son, said:
Since they were moving to a new house, they naturally had to entertain all the people who helped with the move. Several women were busy cooking in the kitchen. Li Zhiyong, Wang Jianjun, and even military officers such as Guo Shengrong and Political Commissar Liao all came to congratulate them on the move.
One is that they admire Yang Qiujin's cooking skills, and the other is that during the meal time, everyone gets together to talk about business.
In the living room, everyone sat around a round table. Guo Shengrong drank the tea made by Chen Shengqing and said, "Xiao Chen, you did a good job in this fly hunting mission. Commander Zhou and the higher-ups have been praising you. It won't be long before the bonus and merit plaque for this mission are issued. However, we suffered heavy losses in this mission. You have to write a report and give Commander Zhou a detailed account of what happened. Only then can Commander Zhou speak for you to the higher-ups."
The final result of this mission was that Chen Shengqing's special operations team destroyed the Soviet reconnaissance plane, captured two people alive, found a Soviet map marking possible oil fields in my country's border areas, and killed nearly twenty people.
Although they made great contributions, due to the sandstorm, nearly thirty of the enemy escaped and our personnel also suffered heavy losses. A company-level officer and six soldiers were killed, and officers and soldiers including the battalion commander, company commander Ruan, and platoon leader Wu were seriously injured and are still lying in the intensive care unit of the army hospital.
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