Jiang Jianhua scooped the soap out of the water, squeezing the foam out of his palm: "This is absolutely unacceptable! Fu Yucheng is such a high-ranking officer in the army. If people say his family is colluding with capitalist relatives, his future will be affected! My mother will skin me alive!"
Xu Runli sneered and hung the washed shirt on the clothesline: "Now you're scared? When you were thinking about stealing the ledger, did you not think about how you would ruin Yun Tangyin?"
She tugged at the collar of her shirt, leaving a water stain on the rope. "Either do as I say, or continue to let her control your monthly allowance. The choice is yours."
Jiang Jianhua's fingers, gripping the soap, turned white, and the astringent smell of the soap pods filled his nostrils.
It felt like there was a wad of cotton stuck in my throat.
"It's fine if it's just a family squabble, but we can't let the army find out." She gritted her teeth and conceded, "At most, I'll just gossip about it with a few older women in the yard and make Mom think that she has ulterior motives."
A hint of disdain flashed in Xu Runli's eyes, but she replied, "Sure, let's test the waters first. If Mom doesn't react, we'll think of something else."
She bent down to tidy up the wooden basin. "Tomorrow when you go to the supply and marketing cooperative, remember to ask Accountant Wang about Yun Tangyin. You don't need to worry about the rest."
Jiang Jianhua tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep well. In the middle of the night, he heard noises outside the window. Peeking through the crack in the window, he saw Xu Runli sneaking out of the yard, clutching an envelope in her hand.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she quietly followed Xu Runli out. She saw Xu Runli stuff the envelope into the suggestion box in the military family compound, a box that the regimental headquarters used specifically to receive complaint letters.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Jianhua abandoned his sleep and rushed outside.
"Are you crazy!" Jiang Jianhua grabbed her arm, his voice trembling. "The letters in that box will all be handed over to the political commissar!"
Xu Runli shook off her hand and patted the corner of the envelope: "I didn't write my name on it, how would anyone know that we put it here?" She lowered her voice, "Even if they find nothing when they investigate, their reputation will be tarnished, and Yun Tangyin will never be able to hold her head up in the family compound again."
Jiang Jianhua stared at the suggestion box painted red, the night wind whipping a chill down his spine as it crept into his collar: "You're pushing the Fu family into a fire pit!"
“I’m helping you.” Xu Runli straightened her rumpled clothes. “Once Yun Tangyin falls, the ledger will be yours. You can buy as much stuff as you want then.”
These words were like a needle, pricking Jiang Jianhua's heart and causing him pain.
Watching Xu Runli turn and go back into the house, she suddenly felt that this person was colder than an icicle under the eaves. In order to trample on others, she would even scheme against her own man's relatives.
Jiang Jianhua forced himself to say, "It just won't work!"
As he spoke, Jiang Jianhua grabbed a gun and tore the envelope to shreds.
Xu Runli frowned as she looked at Jiang Jianhua. Her face instantly darkened as she stared at the envelope torn to pieces on the ground. Her voice was icy: "Are you crazy? Is this something you can tear up?"
Jiang Jianhua tossed the scraps of paper in his hand into the wind, scattering them everywhere: "What's wrong with tearing them up? If you keep causing trouble, and the Fu family gets punished by the military, Zhicheng won't let you off the hook! The Fu family won't let you get away with it either!"
She pointed at Xu Runli's nose, "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. You just can't stand seeing Yun Tangyin doing well, and you want to use the Fu family's affairs to stir up trouble! You never intended to help me at all!"
Xu Runli clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white: "How could I not be doing this for you! Do you really think Yun Tangyin will tolerate you? Once she gains a foothold in the Fu family, she'll be the first one to squeeze you out!"
"Whether we can squeeze out or not is none of your business!" Jiang Jianhua took a half step back, creating some distance. "From now on, don't mention Yun Tangyin's name to me again. I won't fight over the ledger anymore; let her manage the monthly allowance if she wants. It's better than being dragged into a fire pit by you!"
Looking at her resolute expression, Xu Runli suddenly laughed, the laughter particularly jarring in the night: "You think Yun Tangyin will appreciate your kindness by doing this? She's probably secretly laughing to herself right now. Do you know what this is called? Dogs fighting."
“At least I’m not so bad as to gamble with the Fu family’s reputation.” Jiang Jianhua turned and walked into the courtyard. “You’d better watch yourself. Don’t wait until Zhicheng comes and you can’t even say a decent word to him.”
Xu Runli watched her figure disappear behind the courtyard gate, the scraps of paper at her feet were blown by the wind and stuck to her shoes.
She bent down and picked up a piece of paper that hadn't been blown away. The words "capitalist" were still written on it, the ink stained blue by the dew.
"Fine, very well." She gritted her teeth and crumpled the scraps of paper into a ball: "Jiang Jianhua, Yun Tangyin, you just wait!"
Xu Runli slammed the crumpled paper to the ground and turned to leave.
When Jiang Jianhua returned to the room, he saw Fu Yuanshan sitting on the edge of the bed smoking, the tiny red dot flickering in the darkness: "Where did you go?"
"I spoke a few words with Xu Runli." Jiang Jianhua took off his shoes, got into bed, and sighed. "Maybe we shouldn't get involved in Yun Tangyin's affairs anymore... I always feel that this Xu Runli is unreliable. Yun Tangyin knows everything perfectly well, and we can't win against her."
Fu Yuanshan flicked his cigarette ash: "I told you before, but you wouldn't listen. You insisted on messing around with that new daughter-in-law from the Jiang family."
He glanced towards the window. "I heard you arguing outside the yard. She didn't do anything to you, did she?"
"No." Jiang Jianhua buried his face in the quilt. "I just feel ashamed. I've been waiting for so long, and this is what I got."
After finishing his last puff of cigarette, Fu Yuanshan suddenly laughed out of the blue: "You'll learn your lesson from being embarrassed."
Jiang Jianhua didn't say anything, but the blanket quietly trembled.
The next morning, just as Yun Tangyin put breakfast on the table, she saw Xu Runli coming back from outside with a basket in her arms. The basket was filled with wild vegetables, and her trouser legs were still covered in mud: "I went to the back mountain to dig up some shepherd's purse. It's the best for making steamed buns."
After saying that, Xu Runli stared intently at Yun Tangyin and asked, "Sister, you shouldn't mind, right?"
Yun Tangyin smiled and said, "What do I mind? If you want to eat steamed buns, then eat them. I'm not taking advantage of you. But let me make this clear beforehand: the refined flour will cost extra."
Xu Runli's smile froze instantly, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the basket handle: "It's just a few buns, why are you being so calculating? Besides, I'm digging wild vegetables for everyone to eat, I can't just do my work for nothing, can I?"
"Effort is effort, and food coupons are food coupons." Yun Tangyin pushed a bowl of corn porridge in front of her. "We just checked the food ration book yesterday. There are only three catties of refined wheat flour left this month. Mom said to save it for Fu Yucheng. You can take it if you want, but you'll have to pay extra."
These words left Xu Runli speechless.
She originally intended to use the opportunity of digging up wild vegetables to sell and to incite Song Yushuang to think that Yun Tangyin was stingy, but she did not expect that the other party would directly bring up Fu Yucheng as an excuse.
Now Xu Runli is speechless... If she really uses this bread to make steamed buns, then she's being unreasonable.
But what would happen to the shepherd's purse she had painstakingly dug up if she didn't make steamed buns?
What skills does she have that she can sell well?
Yun Tangyin did this on purpose, didn't she?
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