Chapter 66 The Enthusiastic Aunt He: "Daddy, I..."
"Daddy, I just got here and heard you were hospitalized?"
A young woman, her high heels clicking as she walked in, rushed to the bedside and exclaimed in an exaggerated Hong Kong and Taiwanese accent, "Oh my god, Daddy, how did you get so badly injured? Who hurt you? I'm going to call the police to arrest him!"
Cao Guangping's expression stiffened when he saw the newcomer. He moved his lips, but after a long while, he finally asked, "Jiahui, what brings you to the mainland?"
Chen Jiahui clung to Cao Guangping's arm sweetly and said, "Daddy, I missed you."
“I know you came to the mainland on official business, but I missed you and wanted to come and play in the mainland, so I came alone. Daddy, I came here without telling my older sister and the others. They just thought I went to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. They don’t know I came to see you.”
Cao Guangping: "Don't your older sister and the others know you came to see me?"
Chen Jiahui: "I don't know. I only informed your assistant this time. By the way, Dad, you must tell your assistant to make sure that if my older sister and the others ask, he shouldn't tell them that I'm here, okay?"
Hearing this, Cao Guangping's expression relaxed. He smiled helplessly and said, "Alright, alright, I really can't do anything with you. I'll tell A-Feng."
Chen Jiahui smiled with satisfaction upon hearing this.
But her attention quickly fell on the other people in the ward: "Dad, who are these people?!"
She glanced at everyone in the ward, then her gaze landed meaningfully on Bai Shuzhen. A half-smile played on her lips as she said, "The jewelry this aunt is wearing looks so familiar, especially the necklace around her neck. It's the same one you gave Mommy for our wedding anniversary two years ago."
She spoke casually, seemingly without intention, but her eyes lingered on Bai Shuzhen.
Bai Shuzhen felt extremely uncomfortable being stared at, and lowered her head to deliberately avoid Chen Jiahui's gaze.
Mingxi raised an eyebrow, feeling that Cao Guangping's daughter, who had just entered, was quite interesting.
Cao Guangping pursed his lips and remained silent.
Chen Jiahui grabbed his arm and shook it: "Daddy, why aren't you saying anything? Is this aunt an old acquaintance of yours and Mommy's? Is that why you're wearing so many of Mommy's same kinds of jewelry?"
Seeing that Cao Guangping didn't speak, Chen Jiahui went directly to Bai Shuzhen and asked, "Auntie, why didn't my daddy introduce you to me? Is your name something that's not presentable?"
Bai Shuzhen's face turned from green to red, then back to green, like a spilled palette of colors, looking extremely ugly.
Cao Guangping's face darkened: "Jia Sui, you can't be so rude!"
"Huh? Is it impolite to say something like 'not presentable'?" Chen Jiahui seemed to realize this for the first time, her eyes widening in surprise. She stuck out her tongue and looked up at Bai Shuzhen, saying, "Sorry, Auntie, my Mandarin isn't very good, I didn't know it was impolite. Please don't be angry with me."
At this point, she winked playfully: "But I'm sure a beautiful lady like you wouldn't hold a grudge against a little girl like me, right?"
Bai Shuzhen felt a lump in her throat, unable to breathe properly.
She strongly suspected that Chen Jiahui did it on purpose, but judging from her expression, she was unsure whether that was the case.
After all, this is the first time she has met Chen Jiahui, so Chen Jiahui has no reason to target her.
Bai Shuzhen could only suppress her anger and pretend to be generous, saying, "No, I won't hold it against you."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head, looking like she had a grievance but wouldn't say it, hoping Cao Guangping would stand up for her. However, she waited for a long time but Cao Guangping didn't say anything.
Instead, Chen Jiahui persisted in asking, "Daddy, you haven't introduced this aunt to me yet. Are you two old acquaintances? If you are, why didn't you introduce her to me? Afeng didn't tell me before that you had such an old acquaintance in Beicheng. If you had told me earlier, I would have definitely brought a gift for her this time."
That's really interesting.
He didn't seem to say anything, but his words implied that Cao Guangping had his assistant deliberately hide Bai Shuzhen's existence from his family.
It just so happens that she had previously implied that Bai Shuzhen was not presentable, so no matter how you look at it, Chen Jiahui's words seem to have a deeper meaning.
Mingxi, engrossed in the play, couldn't resist nudging Ma Meixia with her elbow and whispering, "It seems your mother-in-law's family doesn't like her very much."
Ma Meixia nodded emphatically.
If it wasn't obvious at first, now even a fool could tell that Chen Jiahui's every word was aimed at Bai Shuzhen.
Bai Shuzhen wasn't stupid; she realized the hostility in Chen Jiahui's words. She squeezed her eyes, and her eyes instantly filled with tears. She lowered her head, covered her face with her hands, and her shoulders trembled as if she were sobbing silently.
Seeing her like this, Cao Guangping felt extremely distressed. He said sternly, "Chen Jiahui, what nonsense are you spouting? This is Bai Shuzhen, your Aunt Bai. She's an old acquaintance of mine from many years ago. I finally managed to reunite with her this time when I returned to Beicheng. What do you mean by being sarcastic?"
With a pout and a half-crying expression, Chen Jiahui said, "Daddy, how could you wrong me like this? When have I ever been sarcastic or mean?"
She put her hands on her hips, stomped her feet petulantly, and said, "I finally managed to come see you, and you get angry as soon as you see me! That's so unfair! I'm going back to Hong Kong to complain to my older sister!"
She stuck out her tongue at Cao Guangping, made a cute but fierce face, and said, "Just you wait. When I see my older sister, I'm going to tell her that there are problems on the mainland. When Daddy comes to the mainland, he's like someone else's daddy. He's mean to me but nice to others."
Cao Guangping's expression changed upon hearing this, and he quickly put on a smiling face: "Jiasui, Daddy's Jiasui baby. Daddy's tone was not good just now, Jiasui, please don't be angry with Daddy, okay?"
He pulled Chen Jiahui along and said gently, "It's not that Daddy doesn't love our Jiahui, it's just that Aunt Bai is an old acquaintance of mine, and Daddy hopes you can speak to her in a gentler tone. Of course, if our little darling doesn't want to, Daddy won't say anything. For Daddy, your happiness is the most important thing."
Bai Shuzhen's expression froze upon hearing this.
Ah, just as I expected.
A man's words are deceitful.
Before Chen Jiahui arrived, Cao Guangping would say things like, "I'll give you whatever you want, even the stars in the sky." Now that Chen Jiahui is here, she's making sarcastic and insinuating remarks about her, and Cao Guangping can't even stand up for her.
Bai Shuzhen's expression was not good: "Guangping, if it's inconvenient for you to come with your daughter, then we'll go back first. I'll come to see you another day."
Cao Guangping turned back to look at Bai Shuzhen reluctantly, but did not say anything to stop her. Bai Shuzhen tightened her chin and prepared to leave.
But at that moment, Chen Jiahui spoke up.
"Wait a minute, Daddy. You still haven't told me who hit you with these injuries. Isn't this considered malicious assault? Don't the mainland police care? Or did you not call the police?"
"Daddy, you're too easygoing. You absolutely have to call the police to arrest them. We're here to invest. If the police here can't even guarantee our personal safety, how can we trust this place?"
Upon hearing this, Cao Guangping looked embarrassed.
Wei Yafei nervously grabbed Bai Shuzhen. Chen Jiahui's "sir" seemed to mean the police.
If she calls the police, he'll be finished!
Wei Yafei: "Mom, you can't call the police! Please beg Uncle Cao not to call the police! Aren't you two dating? Tell him not to call the police!"
Upon hearing this, Chen Jiahui's eyes widened. Her eyes darted back and forth in their sockets, looking at Cao Guangping and then at Bai Shuzhen.
"What?! Daddy, are you dating Aunt Bai?"
Chen Jiahui took a step back, glared at Cao Guangping, and angrily accused him: "No wonder you didn't let Afeng tell us about Aunt Bai's existence, no wonder you haven't called home these past few days, no wonder you're acting so strangely today!"
Cao Guangping: "Hey, Jia Sui, stop messing around and let Daddy explain."
Chen Jiahui covered her ears: "I won't listen, I won't listen! When Mommy left, you clearly promised us that you wouldn't be with anyone else. Now, less than a year after Mommy's death, you've already forgotten your promise. You're a bad person, I don't want to call you Daddy anymore!"
After she finished speaking, she left the ward as quickly as the wind, and Cao Guangping couldn't stop her in time.
Cao Guangping clutched his chest in anger, glaring at Wei Yafei with a sinister look.
How could Shuzhen have such a brainless son!
He had never seen such a stupid person in his life!
Wei Yafei finally realized that he might have said something he shouldn't have. He stared at Bai Shuzhen with pleading eyes.
Bai Shuzhen didn't know what to say.
Wei Yafei is really stupid. Chen Jiahui didn't even know who hit Cao Guangping. He just casually mentioned that he would report it to the police, and Wei Yafei jumped out and exposed himself.
They even revealed her relationship with Cao Guangping.
The problem is, she still doesn't know what Cao Guangping is thinking.
Bai Shuzhen bit her lip and tentatively asked, "Guangping, did Yafei say something he shouldn't have, and upset your daughter?"
Cao Guangping was furious inside, but he didn't show it on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, "No, Jia Sui will find out about you and me sooner or later anyway. It's just that her mother hasn't been gone long, so she probably can't accept it yet. I didn't originally plan to tell her about it so soon, sigh..."
Bai Shuzhen could hear the unspoken message in his voice and quickly tugged at Wei Yafei's ear: "It's all Yafei's fault! Yafei was too quick to speak, he shouldn't have said those things! Guangping, don't..."
Cao Guangping waved his hand: "I didn't take it to heart, but I'm a little annoyed right now. Shuzhen, you guys go ahead and leave me alone."
Bai Shuzhen bit her lip and made a pitiful gesture, but Cao Guangping acted as if he didn't see it and didn't say anything.
Seeing his expression, Bai Shuzhen knew that saying anything more would be useless, so she pulled Wei Yafei and Wei Sijia away.
Bai Shuzhen and the other two left, and Wei Yong'an, Ma Meixia, and Mingxi, who had come to watch the commotion, also had to leave.
The six of them walked downstairs together. Wei Yafei complained, "Mom, even if I said something wrong just now, Uncle Cao didn't have to act like this. What does it mean to give us the cold shoulder?"
He kept muttering, "Besides, you're clearly dating him. Sijia and I both know that, so why can't we tell his daughter? Didn't he say that his daughter would find out sooner or later? So why is he giving us the cold shoulder?"
Upon hearing this, Mingxi raised her head and glanced at Wei Yafei.
She simply couldn't understand how Wei Yafei could be so blind.
Wei Sijia was a bit better than Wei Yafei. She looked up and gave Wei Yafei a smacked elbow, her expression unpleasant: "Shut up. Can't you see that your Uncle Cao doesn't even look at our family and doesn't want to introduce our mother to his daughter?"
Wei Yafei: "What?!"
Does Cao Guangping really look down on their family?
Wei Sijia rolled her eyes: "Even if you can't figure out what your Uncle Cao is thinking, you can't possibly not see that his daughter doesn't like our mom, right?"
"Who said that!"
Wei Yafei retorted, "Of course I could see it. What kind of person is that Chen Jiahui? She's all high and mighty, looking down on everyone, and her words always imply that she looks down on our mother. If you ask me, Uncle Cao is spoiling her too much. If I were Uncle Cao, I would have stormed out long ago."
Mingxi pursed her lips and didn't say anything.
I don't know who it was just now, but they were so scared by Chen Jiahui's two words that their legs went weak. Now they're putting on an act.
Wei Sijia didn't respond.
The scene fell silent instantly.
Wei Yafei was somewhat embarrassed.
"Hmph, this time it was just because I wasn't prepared. Next time, if that brat does the same thing again, I'll definitely show my brotherly attitude and teach her a good lesson."
Mingxi rolled her eyes so hard they almost flew into the air. This guy really has no self-awareness.
He has no relation to Chen Jiahui at all, yet he acts like she's his older brother?
He doesn't even consider whether people acknowledge him as an outsider.
Wei Yafei himself felt good. He thought that as long as Bai Shuzhen married Cao Guangping, he would be Chen Jiahui's stepson, even though he was not Cao Guangping's biological son.
But he's a son too!
Someone who can take care of Cao Guangping in his old age and see him to his death!
Her status at home is definitely more important than that of a little girl like Chen Jiahui.
Wei Yafei had even planned that after Bai Shuzhen married Cao Guangping, he would give Chen Jiahui some dowry and simply send her off to get married.
In other words, Mingxi didn't know Wei Yafei's thoughts, otherwise she would definitely roll her eyes and say he was dreaming.
After leaving the hospital, the Wei family was going home. Mingxi definitely couldn't go back with them this time. She said goodbye to Ma Meixia and went home alone.
Mingxi forgot her keys when she went out today, and Zhao Sulan opened the door for her. Zhao Sulan said, "Didn't you go to the neighborhood office with Yang Weihong? How come you were gone all morning and only came back this afternoon?"
Mingxi: "Hey, don't say anymore. The matter at the neighborhood office was quickly resolved. I accompanied her to the secondhand market, and then we ran into Bai Shuzhen again when we came out."
Zhao Sulan became interested: "What happened?"
"Bai Shuzhen was spotted shopping with that old man by her daughter, and they had a big fight in the street. Later, when they got home, her daughter told her son about it, and her son got into a fight with the old man and beat him so badly that he ended up in the hospital."
Zhao Sulan: "Huh, good heavens!"
Mingxi: "That's not all! The old man's daughter came looking for us later too!"
Zhao Sulan: "Wait a minute, his daughter? Wasn't the old man from Hong Kong? His daughter came from Hong Kong too?"
Mingxi nodded and said, "His daughter said she came because she missed him, but I suspect it's not that simple."
She stroked her chin with one hand and pushed up her non-existent glasses with the other, saying, "I suspect Cao Guangping's daughter already knew about him and Bai Shuzhen, otherwise it wouldn't have been such a coincidence, and she went directly to the hospital. Cao Guangping and Bai Shuzhen were on a date alone, without anyone else with them. How could she have known so perfectly that her father was in the hospital? She must have had someone watching him beforehand. While she was in the hospital, she didn't show anything on the surface, but her words and actions were all aimed at Bai Shuzhen, making it seem like she already knew about Bai Shuzhen and her father."
To be honest, Chen Jiahui wasn't exactly polite to Cao Guangping either. On the surface, she was targeting Bai Shuzhen, but every word she said was barbed and implied something about Cao Guangping.
"That's possible."
Zhao Sulan nodded: "Isn't it said that the old man's family is quite wealthy? Rich people always have their share of troubles. Maybe his daughter is keeping an eye on him."
Even if she was never rich, she must have watched plenty of storybooks and TV shows.
Rich people's homes are always messy!
Zhao Sulan: "Yes, didn't you say before that the old man married into the family and that his current businesses were all left by his ex-wife? Then I guess his marriage with Bai Shuzhen won't go smoothly."
Cao Guangping and his ex-wife have children, so how could they just stand by and watch the old man remarry and divide up the family business?
Maybe this guy came here today just to test the waters as a striker.
Zhao Sulan, being an experienced and shrewd woman, guessed the truth of the matter almost perfectly at a glance.
Chen Jiahui was indeed sent as a probe; the first thing she did after leaving the hospital and returning to her hotel was to call her family in Hong Kong.
The silly smile on her face was gone, replaced by a cold expression. As soon as the call connected, she immediately said, "Big sister, what Arong said is right. He really has found a new love here."
After a pause, Chen Jiahui let out a cold laugh, saying something on the other end: "Heh, big sister, don't worry. That woman is a little clever, but all she can think about is hooking up rich guys. That man is very susceptible to that, but only he would be fooled by such tricks."
"Big sister, I know you're worried about me. Don't worry, no one here can make things difficult for me. But you need to be careful over there, watch out for those two ingrates setting you up..."
Chen Jiahui gave instructions to the person on the other end of the phone for a long time before hanging up.
However, her complexion did not improve.
Zhao Sulan was right; there are many problems in wealthy families.
This is how Chen Jiahui's family is.
Chen Jiahui's mother, Chen Meilin, and Cao Guangping had two sons and two daughters. Because Cao Guangping married into the Cao family, all four children took Chen Meilin's surname, Chen. The eldest, Chen Jiahui, and the youngest, Chen Jiahui, are daughters, while the second and third children are boys.
Chen Meilin treated her four children equally. Before her death, she divided the family's sixty restaurants into four parts, with each child responsible for managing fifteen restaurants. Of course, she didn't forget Cao Guangping either. Although the restaurants were divided, she entrusted Cao Guangping with the management of the Meilin Foods headquarters, which Chen Meilin had established.
This is equivalent to the relocation of all personnel at headquarters, with the management of all stores being handed over to Cao Guangping.
Cao Guangping had selfish motives, favoring his two sons among his four children. He deliberately supported his two sons and two daughters in competing against each other, including, but not limited to, maliciously replacing stale ingredients, colluding with store managers and employees to feign compliance, and attempting to bankrupt the stores under his two daughters' names so that he could take over these stores.
Chen Jiahui and her sister, of course, would not remain indifferent. After realizing what was happening, they immediately joined forces with the people Chen Meilin had left at headquarters to launch a counterattack against Cao Guangping.
The two sides were evenly matched.
As for investing in the mainland, that was something that was decided when Chen Meilin was still alive. It was originally supposed to be handled by Chen Meilin's eldest daughter, Chen Jiahui, but because Cao Guangping is now in charge of headquarters management, this task was taken over by Cao Guangping.
It was quite a coincidence.
When Chen Jiahui and Chen Jiasui learned that Cao Guangping was coming to the mainland, they were worried that he might try to pull some tricks in the investment, so they bribed one of Cao Guangping's assistants to keep an eye on him.
Unexpectedly, they overestimated Cao Guangping. He was eager to come to the mainland not to use this incident to gain prestige within the group, nor to tamper with investments, but rather to meet with his old flame.
On the first day Cao Guangping met Bai Shuzhen, Chen Jiahui's bribed assistant told her about it. Upon learning this, her first reaction was that she could make a fuss about it.
If Cao Guangping has a new partner in mainland China and her two older brothers find out that she is about to have a stepchild, will they still be able to behave as dutiful sons and grandsons in front of Cao Guangping?
Chen Jiahui knew her two older brothers best; those two had no family affection, only self-interest.
They already consider Cao Guangping's assets as their own, waiting to divide his power within the group after his death. If they find out that Cao Guangping has remarried and is letting someone else divide what "already belongs to" them, they'll probably break off the partnership with him first.
It took Cao Guangping and his two sons to fight Chen Jiahui and Chen Jiasui to a standstill. If they were to break up, it would be nothing to Chen Jiahui and Chen Jiasui.
So Chen Jiahui made a special trip to Beicheng to find out about Bai Shuzhen and what kind of people her son and daughter were.
She wanted to use Bai Shuzhen to break the alliance between Cao Guangping and his two sons, but she didn't really want to invite trouble.
Fortunately, Bai Shuzhen seems to be a narrow-minded and easy-to-deal-with woman, and her son and daughter are even more obvious fools.
That is, Bai Shuzhen's stepson, the one named Wei Yong'an, doesn't seem easy to deal with.
However, Chen Jiahui felt that she and Wei Yong'an were not enemies.
So it doesn't really matter.
Chen Jiahui pondered for a moment, then, thinking of Mingxi who had appeared in the ward with Wei Yong'an and Ma Meixia today, she opened the door and called her assistant in: "Go and find out who the stranger in the ward was today, and what her relationship is with Bai Shuzhen. Report back to me after you've found out."
She didn't have any particular feelings for Mingxi, but she felt uneasy about a stranger who was not under her control getting involved in the matter.
Mingxi was unaware that Chen Jiahui had asked someone to inquire about her identity. Bai Shuzhen and Cao Guangping's affairs were just a spectacle to her; after chatting with Zhao Sulan, she quickly forgot about them.
She's been busy with the Women's Federation's legal education lectures lately.
The matter was almost settled, and the steel mill's punishment for Shen Mo was also issued.
Given that Shen Mo concealed his marital status while participating in the matchmaking event, the organization considered him to be morally corrupt, ideologically improper, and morally decadent. He was given a severe punishment, with six months' salary deducted, and he was transferred from the union to work as a boiler operator in the boiler room.
This punishment is undeniably severe.
Generally, university graduates assigned to factories are there to gain experience at the grassroots level. After a couple of years, they can find a suitable opportunity to be promoted to a position in the administration. But Shen Mo has now received a major disciplinary action, which has completely eliminated any possibility of him being promoted to an administration position. Even if the entire leadership team of the steel rolling mill is replaced in the future, the new leaders, seeing his serious disciplinary action, are unlikely to give him a chance for promotion.
If Shen Mo hadn't left the steel rolling mill, the best he could have become was an ordinary clerk; he would never have had the chance to become a leader.
This is quite cruel for a college graduate like him.
Not to mention being transferred to the boiler room to work on the boilers. The boiler room was tough, tiring, and hot, essentially a physical job, which was nothing like his previous job sitting in the office at the trade union.
Most importantly, the penalty notice didn't specify how long he was required to work in the boiler room. Whether he could be transferred back to the union depended entirely on the leaders' wishes.
But now, because of the Women's Federation's accountability issue, all the leaders of the steel rolling mill have opinions about Shen Mo, and it is almost impossible for the leaders to take the initiative to transfer him back to the trade union.
Compared to these two penalties, the wage deduction is the least noteworthy.
When the penalty notice was posted, it left all the employees of the steel rolling mill stunned.
Everyone inquired about the reason why Shen Mo was punished so severely.
At this point, a guy with connections stepped forward and said, "I know, I know! He got married to someone in the countryside, but at the social gathering, he pretended to be single to find a partner."
"Wow, Wang Lei, are you serious?"
Yes, the person who stepped forward to speak out is Wang Lei, the same Wang Lei who was sent to jail by Mingxi that night for spreading rumors at the social gathering.
When Wang Lei heard someone questioning him, he immediately became displeased. He put his hands on his hips and said, "Of course I'm telling the truth! I heard it with my own ears that day. When Shen Mo was arguing with his country wife, I was locked in a small dark room in the security office!"
When he said that, everyone remembered.
"Yes, yes, Wang Lei was taken to the security department and locked in a dark room by the Women's Federation comrades that day for spreading rumors."
"He was detained for three days before being released, right?"
"Yes, the factory even disciplined him for this!"
Wang Lei: "Hey, hey, hey, now you're talking about that bad guy Shen Mo, why are you talking about me?"
Everyone pursed their lips, thinking to themselves that Shen Mo was a bad guy, and Wang Lei wasn't any better.
However, everyone is now getting the juicy gossip from Wang Lei, so they all shut up and listened to what he had to say.
Wang Lei: "Shen Mo, that bastard hypocrite, is no good person at all. He's always so polite and reasonable at the factory. That's because you have no idea how hateful he can be when he's being unreasonable! The other day, his wife from the countryside came looking for him, and he blatantly lied, saying they were just fellow villagers. He even claimed she was framing him..."
"Oh, right, you guys don't know this, do you? When Shen Mo was in college, he had to ask his wife for his living expenses..."
After hearing this, everyone started chattering, "Tsk tsk, they're really shameless."
"Exactly! Isn't this just like Chen Shimei in the opera?"
"I never would have guessed that Shen Mo was this kind of person!"
There are no secrets in a steel rolling mill, let alone such explosive gossip.
The news quickly spread to the family compound, and of course, the gossip queen, Aunt He, also got her share of the juicy gossip.
As soon as Mingxi got off work, Aunt He stopped him: "Xiaoming, is it true that Shen Mo is involved? Does he really have a wife in the countryside?"
The matter has already been spread, so it's no secret. Mingxi nodded: "Yes, that's true."
Aunt He curled her lip: "No wonder people say that cultured people are truly wicked when they turn bad. Shen Mo, that black-hearted bastard, is wicked to the core!"
Mingxi: "Aunt He, you can't say that. This isn't a problem with cultured people; Shen Mo is an isolated case."
Aunt He: "What isolated cases? Didn't you see the Qin Xianglian petitioning group in the newspaper? Aren't they all young wives abandoned by intellectuals? If you ask me, these bastards are shameless to the extreme. Back when they were sent to the countryside, no one forced them; they all married voluntarily. Now that they've been admitted to university or have the opportunity to return to the city, they turn around and say, 'We have no feelings for each other anymore, let's get a divorce.' Damn it, why didn't they say they had no feelings for each other when they got married? Now that they've been admitted to university, they feel their wives aren't good enough for them, so they say they have no feelings for each other?"
Aunt He was very emotional: "If you ask me, your Women's Federation and the Ministry of Civil Affairs are also problematic in issuing divorce certificates. How can you issue a divorce certificate just because there is no love? What, should a woman's good youth be wasted like this?"
With the resumption of the college entrance examination and the return of a large number of educated youth to the cities, such events were indeed numerous, and newspapers reported on them every day.
Mingxi could understand Aunt He's emotional state, and she comforted her, saying, "If a relationship breaks down, you can apply for a divorce. This is a government regulation and a freedom guaranteed by law. Our Women's Federation can't handle this. But our Women's Federation can help women like this fight for compensation."
Aunt He: "Compensation?"
Mingxi: "Yes, women who take on the responsibility of caring for the family and children in the countryside can apply for financial compensation. In addition, women who take care of the man's parents, provide financial support to the man, or have given birth to children for the man can also apply for certain financial compensation."
Aunt He: "That's actually quite good."
It's not that there's financial compensation, or that divorce is always a good thing.
There are definitely people who don't want financial compensation and therefore don't want a divorce.
But since the man has already changed his mind, if you insist on getting a divorce, then getting financial compensation is better than nothing, right?
Aunt He: "Xiaoming, could you explain this economic compensation to us in more detail?"
As soon as Aunt He said this, many of the other women around her perked up their ears. Mingxi noticed this and deliberately raised her voice: "Aunt He, if you want to know the specific procedures for economic compensation, you can attend the marriage law knowledge lecture jointly organized by the street office, our women's federation, and the district court tomorrow afternoon. We will explain these issues together with legal professionals from the district court."
"Besides divorce settlements, this lecture will also provide a comprehensive explanation of relevant legal knowledge related to marriage, including the rights protected by a marriage certificate, the division of marital property, and how to deal with domestic violence... If you are interested, you can attend this event at the neighborhood office tomorrow afternoon. We will also be holding a quiz with prizes; those who participate and answer the questions correctly will receive a prize—ten eggs!"
The idea of giving away eggs with a quiz contest was also Mingxi's suggestion.
She believed that the best solutions, tested by countless health product sellers in her past life, would have been effective in the 1980s.
As expected, the older women initially showed little interest when they heard it was a knowledge lecture.
It's called a knowledge lecture, but it's really just a class. The people on the stage talk non-stop, and the girls listen from below—it's completely boring.
But when they heard that there was a quiz with prizes including eggs, the aunties' eyes lit up instantly.
Aunt He rubbed her hands together: "Xiao Ming, are you serious? You really are giving away eggs?"
Mingxi: "Really! If you answer the questions correctly in the quiz, I'll give you ten eggs!"
"I'll go, I'll go! Xiaoming, you absolutely have to save the eggs for me!"
"He Dazui, what nonsense are you talking about? Didn't you hear what Xiaoming said? The eggs are given to those who answer the questions correctly in the quiz."
Aunt He retorted, "Hey, how do you know I answered the question wrong?"
"How about we have a contest and see who wins the eggs tomorrow?"
Aunt He: "Fine! Let's have a competition!"
She's determined to show everyone her strength!
The news that Aunt He was going to compete with someone to win an egg spread throughout the alley. Some were curious whether Aunt He could actually win, some were also interested in eggs, and of course, some were interested in the lecture itself.
And so, when the legal knowledge lecture began the next day, the room where the lecture was held was packed with people.
Not only were all the seats filled, but even the spaces behind the seats and between the seats were packed with people.
Even the front and back doors were blocked by people.
Director Shen was surprised by the scene and looked curiously at the comrades from the subdistrict office: "Why are there so many people here today?"
Director Wang of the neighborhood office also couldn't figure out what was going on.
The neighborhood office has organized similar events before, but never before have so many people participated.
It was a quick-witted junior staff member who knew what was going on and rattled off the story of Mingxi giving a lecture in the alley and Aunt He's competition.
Director Wang raised her eyebrows in surprise, then said with a smile, "I didn't expect that, Director Shen, your Women's Federation is full of talented people, and you even have such a good young comrade who is good at doing grassroots work!"
Director Shen laughed, "I didn't expect that either."
However, after thinking about it, she said, "This is not a bad way to promote ourselves."
Director Wang: "That's right."
Even while gossiping and chatting, she didn't forget to promote the knowledge lecture, and she even used a quiz with prizes to fully mobilize the enthusiasm of the masses. She is definitely a good candidate for publicity work!
Thinking of this, Director Wang felt a pang of regret.
What a pity! Such a promising talent has already been snatched up by Director Shen and taken to the Women's Federation. Otherwise, it would have been so much better if she could have worked in their subdistrict office!
Mingxi had no idea that Director Shen and Director Wang thought highly of her behind her back; she was currently being pulled along by Aunt He.
Aunt He: "Xiaoming, look, we're all neighbors in the same courtyard, and our relationship is so deep that it's something no one else can compare to, right?"
Mingxi: "...Aunt He, please just say what you want to say."
Don't try to appeal to her emotions; she's scared.
Aunt He rubbed her hands together: "Hey, it's nothing really, I just wanted to ask you what kind of questions you'll be asking for the quiz later?"
Mingxi: "Hey, Aunt He, are you trying to get me to give you the exam questions? That's cheating."
Aunt He winked and said in a pitiful tone, "Don't make it sound so serious. This isn't a formal exam or competition. It's just a fun quiz. Why use such a serious word as 'cheating'?"
Mingxi: "...You know this isn't a formal exam?"
These aren't formal exams, is it worth cheating?
Aunt He: "But I've already made those boastful claims. If I can't answer any of the questions later, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"
"It's not that bad."
Mingxi patted Aunt He on the shoulder to comfort her: "The questions for the quiz are based on the lecture we're about to go. As long as you don't get distracted during the lecture and listen carefully, you definitely won't be unable to answer any of the questions."
After saying that, she saw the court staff who had already walked in and said, "They're here. Aunt He, I won't talk to you anymore. Good luck in a bit."
Mingxi stood up and moved aside. At that moment, Director Shen walked over, patted Mingxi on the shoulder, and praised her, "Xiaoming, you did a great job this time."
Director Shen's sudden remark caught Mingxi off guard: "Director Shen, what are you talking about...?"
Director Shen: "You did a great job in promoting this knowledge lecture. The publicity was thorough, and you made full use of the power of the masses, which stimulated their enthusiasm.
Mingxi scratched his head: "You mean this? Actually, I didn't do anything..."
Despite saying that, Mingxi's lips curled up in a smile.
At this moment, the lecture officially began. The colleague from the court stepped onto the stage and introduced himself: "Hello everyone, I am the speaker for this lecture. Today I will guide you through some legal issues related to marriage, starting with..."
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