Seeing that someone was talking to her, Xu Runli cried even harder, slapping her thigh and wailing, "It's that Yun Tangyin! She withheld most of our family's food coupons! My Zhicheng is so thin he's just skin and bones, and she's doing just that, drinking chicken soup every day, she has no conscience at all!"
Yun Tangyin suddenly laughed out loud, turned around and went back into the house to bring out a wooden box. She opened it in front of everyone, and inside were neatly stacked grain coupon registration books and coupon receipt signature forms.
She pulled out a page and showed it to the military families who were watching: "Look, ladies and sisters-in-law, this is my family's record of receiving grain coupons this month. Thirty catties of fine grain and fifty catties of coarse grain. The Fu family and the Jiang family don't even have the same surname. Xu Runli, tell me, which grain coupon did I withhold from you?"
Xu Runli's crying stopped abruptly, her eyes darting around: "You...you're falsifying accounts!"
"Fake accounts?" Yun Tangyin shouted, "Officer Wang! Come and see if this is your signature! She's just spouting nonsense and making things up."
Wang, the logistics officer, happened to be passing by. Hearing this, he came over, took a look, pointed to the signature on the form, and said, "This is my signature, no doubt."
The onlookers, mostly military families, immediately began to murmur among themselves: "So that's how it is!"
“I told you the Fu family weren’t those kinds of people.”
Xu Runli's face turned purple, and she suddenly lunged at Yun Tangyin: "You little bitch! How dare you scheme against me!"
Fu Yucheng reacted quickly, shielding Yun Tangyin behind him. Xu Runli missed her target and fell to the ground, getting her mouth full of mud.
She got up and continued to make a scene, but Officer Wang stopped her, saying, "Xu Runli! If you keep causing trouble, I'll call the security department!"
"Report it!" Xu Runli threw a tantrum, rolling on the ground. "I'll die in front of the Fu family's door today! Let everyone see how they bully others with their power!"
Xu Runli suddenly got up and tried to run away, but Fu Yucheng blocked her way.
He pointed to the stones on the ground: "Take your things and get out."
"I won't leave!" Xu Runli still wanted to be stubborn, but she was startled by the sound of Yun Tangyin throwing the registration book in her hand.
Yun Tangyin said slowly, "It seems you want everyone to know that you secretly exchanged the extra grain coupons for cloth coupons."
These words resounded like thunder in the crowd, and the way the military families looked at Xu Runli immediately changed.
Someone spat and said, "So they were just smuggling military dependents' food coupons. How shameless!"
Xu Runli panicked completely, pointing at Yun Tangyin but unable to speak.
Jiang Zhicheng arrived at some unknown time, his face flushed red. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm, saying, "Have you made enough of a scene?!"
"I did nothing wrong!" Xu Runli still struggled, "She framed me!"
"Framed you?" Yun Tangyin slammed the registration book in front of her. "Weren't you carrying a blue cloth bag that day? Should I take you to the Jiang family's house right now to search for that piece of cloth?"
Xu Runli's lips trembled, and she could no longer utter a single word.
Jiang Zhicheng could no longer hold back and slapped her across the face. The crisp sound stunned everyone.
"You dare hit me?" Xu Runli covered her face, her eyes filled with disbelief.
"I'll not only beat you, I'll divorce you!" Jiang Zhicheng trembled with rage. "I, Jiang Zhicheng, am incompetent; I can't afford to support a wife like you who causes all sorts of trouble!"
He turned around and bowed deeply to Yun Tangyin and Fu Yucheng: "I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
After saying that, he grabbed Xu Runli and left, refusing to let go no matter how much she cried and screamed.
The military dependents who had been watching the spectacle praised Yun Tangyin, saying, "Yinyin is really amazing; she saw through that woman's trick in no time!"
"It's only because you're observant; if it were us, we would have been extorted by her long ago!"
Yun Tangyin smiled and thanked everyone. Just as she was about to close the door, she saw Jiang Jianhua standing in the corner, his face pale.
Yun Tangyin asked knowingly, "What's wrong, Second Sister-in-law?"
Jiang Jianhua rubbed his hands together, and after a long while, he managed to say, "Yinyin, I... I will never associate with Xu Runli again."
"That's your business," Yun Tangyin said calmly. "However, you should also know... why you were able to stay in the Fu family, right?"
Jiang Jianhua's face fell instantly, and he stammered, "I understand."
Fu Yucheng put his arm around Yun Tangyin's waist from behind and said in a low voice, "Are you tired? Come inside and rest."
Yun Tangyin shook her head, looking at Jiang Jianhua's back, and said, "Some people's hearts won't wake up unless they're given a good talking to."
Just then, Yu Xia brought over a bowl of pickled vegetables and said with a smile, "I heard that Xu Runli has been tied up by Jiang Zhicheng? That's really gratifying!"
"Tying her up won't change her nature." Yun Tangyin poured her a cup of tea. "She's a pitiful person too."
“There’s always a reason why someone is pitiful.” Yu Xia curled her lips. “If it weren’t for him protecting her back then, Xu Runli wouldn’t have dared to be so arrogant.”
Fu Yucheng, who was sharpening a knife nearby, chimed in, "This time he should know that indulging a wife is not the same as loving her."
As the three were talking, Jiang Zhicheng's voice came from outside the courtyard gate: "Yucheng, Yinyin, I've come to apologize."
Fu Yucheng opened the door and saw Jiang Zhicheng carrying a cloth bag, his face full of fatigue.
Jiang Zhicheng handed over the cloth bag: "This is the cloth that Xu Runli secretly switched. I'm bringing it back to you."
When Yun Tangyin opened it, she saw that it was a piece of dark blue fine cotton cloth, which was indeed exchanged with grain coupons.
She shook her head: "Keep the cloth. Consider it the money Brother Jiang gave her for the divorce papers."
Jiang Zhicheng's eyes reddened: "I'm so sorry."
"Let's not dwell on the past." Fu Yucheng patted his shoulder. "Live a good life from now on."
Jiang Zhicheng nodded heavily, then turned and left.
Yun Tangyin watched his retreating figure and suddenly sighed, "I hope he has truly come to his senses this time."
Fu Yucheng hugged her from behind: "Don't think about these worries. Tomorrow we'll go to the Songhua River, and I'll take you to catch the biggest fish."
Yun Tangyin laughed: "Okay, if you can't catch any, I'll punish you by making you wash the dishes for a month."
"Yes, sir." Fu Yucheng lowered his head and kissed her forehead, causing Yu Xia to cover her mouth and giggle uncontrollably: "Shameless~ So sweet."
The moonlight rose, illuminating the raised courtyard walls and the two people embracing inside.
The next morning, Fu Yucheng had the car ready. Yun Tangyin came out carrying a bundle and saw Jiang Jianhua standing at the door with a cloth bag in his hand.
"Yinyin, these are sugar pancakes I made overnight. You can eat them on the road." Jiang Jianhua handed over the cloth bag, his eyes filled with apology. "Before... I was wrong."
Yun Tangyin took the cloth bag and said with a smile, "Thank you, Second Sister-in-law, we're leaving now."
As the carriage drove away from the military dependents' compound, Yun Tangyin glanced back and saw Jiang Jianhua still standing at the door, waving in the direction of the carriage.
She suddenly realized that perhaps people's hearts really can be warmed up slowly.
Fu Yucheng took her hand: "What are you thinking about?"
"I was thinking about the fish in the Songhua River." Yun Tangyin smiled and leaned on his shoulder. "I was also thinking that things will definitely get better and better from now on."
Fu Yucheng looked down at her, his eyes full of tenderness: "Yes, things will definitely get better and better."
The car slowly drove away in the morning light, accompanied by a gentle breeze, like a lighthearted song, singing of their future.
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