Chapter 25 Commander Song is Mighty
Song Yiping turned his head and saw that it really was Yan Ruyi, who was running out of the neighborhood office courtyard with a worried look on her face.
He hurriedly opened the car door and got out, walking towards Yan Ruyi. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Yan Ruyi saw him as a savior and, without bothering to explain, pulled him back, saying, "Commander Song, please go and help."
Wang Sicheng, on the other hand, became furious, cursing and swearing, determined to smash those antiques.
Yang Chaolei and Factory Director Li held him tightly and wouldn't let go. When Wang Sicheng saw that he couldn't break free, he got anxious.
Yang Chaolei was a policeman, so he didn't dare to hit Yang Chaolei. Instead, he picked up a brick and was about to hit Director Li on the head.
But before the brick could fall, his wrist was grabbed and his arm was twisted behind his back.
Wang Sicheng winced in pain and fell to his knees with a thud, almost tripping and falling flat on his face.
Wang Sicheng is about the same height as Song Yiping, and he looks more robust than Song Yiping.
Yan Ruyi was originally worried that Song Yiping would not be able to control him.
As a result, Song Yiping grabbed, twisted, and pressed down, and before anyone around could react, he had pinned Wang Sicheng to the ground.
Wang Sicheng tried several times but failed.
Commander Song is awesome!
He was pinned down tightly, struggling several times without success, and cursed, "Which bastard attacked me from behind..."
Factory Director Li was still shaken from the near-fatal blow to the head and angrily kicked him, yelling, "How dare you insult a People's Liberation Army comrade!"
Wang Sicheng turned his head with difficulty, but saw no one, only a sea of military green.
It really is the People's Liberation Army!
Moreover, this PLA soldier was extremely skilled in combat and easily pinned him down. His hands were like iron clamps, and he couldn't move at all.
He's no match for him at all!
He immediately chickened out and stopped cursing. He loosened his grip, and the brick fell to the ground.
Yang Chaolei was so angry he wanted to punch him.
He's the local police officer who's been in charge of this area for many years. Although he usually deals with trivial matters and everyday family squabbles, everyone still respects him. When he says something, people generally listen to him.
This is the first time I've encountered someone who doesn't take him seriously at all.
If he weren't mindful of being a police officer and not being allowed to lay a hand on ordinary citizens, he would have punched Wang Sicheng to the ground long ago.
Seeing that Wang Sicheng had become obedient, he pointed at him and cursed, "Wang Sicheng, you really have guts! You dare to smash antiques! You smashed them one minute and you'll probably be going to jail the next!"
Wang Sicheng retorted, "It's my own stuff, I can smash it if I want!"
Factory Director Li: "It's already been sold to the state, and you dare to smash state property, huh!"
It would have been better if he hadn't said anything, because as soon as he did, Wang Sicheng got angry again and tried to jump up, but Song Yiping held him down so tightly that he couldn't jump up even if he wanted to.
Now that things have come to this, he knows he definitely won't get those antiques back, and he won't get a single penny of the back pay his father gave him. So he decided to break ties with his mother and pointed at Grandma Wang, saying fiercely, "You really don't treat me like your son anymore? Fine, from now on, I don't have you as my mother anymore. When you get old and can't move, don't expect me to take care of you in your old age, or serve you by cleaning up your excrement. I'm saying this in front of so many people today: we'll see how things go. There will come a day when you're bedridden and can't move."
After saying that, he said to Song Yiping, "Comrade PLA, please let go, I won't cause any more trouble, I'll leave, okay?"
Song Yiping let go of his hand, and Wang Sicheng grinned as he stood up, stretched his arms, and spat into the room.
The women's director retorted, "Who are you spitting on? That's your own mother who gave birth to you!"
"You ungrateful wretch! Even a dog knows how to repay a debt of gratitude."
"If my son dared to treat me like that, I'd slap him across the face!"
"What a terrible thing to raise such a creature!"
...
Everyone could tell that Wang Sicheng was afraid of Song Yiping. As long as Song Yiping was there, even if he didn't say a word, Wang Sicheng wouldn't dare to utter a sound. They all became bolder and started pointing their fingers at Wang Sicheng and cursing him.
Wang Sicheng was verbally abused by the women, but dared not utter a word of complaint and slunk away.
Yan Fenghua patted her chest, "I thought he was going to crack Director Li's skull open, it scared me to death."
The women's director rolled her eyes at her. "You were the loudest one just now. I bet you were just hoping Director Li would get his head ripped open so you could watch the show."
Yan Fenghua said awkwardly, "Look at what you're saying. Even if I like watching a show, I don't want to see Director Li get his head split open. That bloody mess is so gruesome."
After saying that, he nudged Li Yan next to him with his elbow and asked her, "Who is this PLA soldier? He seems to know your sister-in-law quite well. Is he your sister-in-law's boyfriend?"
Li Yan looked at Song Yiping, who was talking to Yan Ruyi. She didn't recognize him, but she guessed who he was. She guessed he was the Commander Song who was on a blind date with Yan Ruyi.
Wow, they do look quite energetic, and the two of them do seem to know each other pretty well.
It doesn't seem like a blind date that didn't work out.
If two people don't get along, they'll at least ignore each other if they meet, if not argue heatedly.
How can you be so familiar with each other?
They even gave away TV supply vouchers. TV supply vouchers are so valuable, who would give them away for free?
Could it be that her sister-in-law really had a stroke of luck and caught the eye of Commander Song?
Factory Director Li saw a group of women huddled together, chattering incessantly. Although they were all cursing Wang Sicheng, Grandma Wang was still inside. The mother and son had quarreled like this, and her own son had publicly severed ties with her. She must be feeling terrible.
Yan Fenghua, in particular, outwardly joined in criticizing Wang Sicheng, but every word she uttered was like rubbing salt into Grandma Wang's wounds.
Thinking of how Yan Fenghua had wanted to see him get his head cracked open by Wang Sicheng, he was furious. He shouted, "What are you all standing here for? Get back to work! Yan Fenghua, come to the office with me. The day before yesterday, someone saw you take a whole stack of cardboard from the factory home. That's collective property. Embezzling collective property is illegal. Come here and explain what happened. From now on, you better behave yourself. If you take anything from the factory again, no matter what it is or how much you take, you'll be dealt with according to factory rules."
Yan Fenghua was startled.
The day before yesterday, when she left work, she did take a stack of cardboard home. When she passed by a recycling station, she sold it for a total of 25 cents.
She used to do this all the time, and Director Li never said anything. Why is she breaking the law today?
If we handle it according to factory rules, shouldn't they fire him?
If she loses her job, will her family still be able to survive?
Terrified, she followed closely behind Factory Director Li, trying to defend herself, "Factory Director Li, don't listen to people's nonsense. The other day I just picked up a few scraps of wood to take home for my daughter to play with. They were all things the factory didn't want. I would never do anything illegal..."
He hurriedly followed Director Li to his office.
Yan Ruyi was explaining the situation to Song Yiping.
She rashly pulled the person over; she couldn't let them help her in a muddled way.
She explained the whole story and thanked him.
These past few days, she has been thanking Song Yiping.
This favor is like a snowball, it just keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Song Yiping waved his hand dismissively, saying it was nothing and there was no need to thank him. Then he pointed to Yan Ruyi's hand and said, "Nice pen, is it new?"
Yan Ruyi then remembered that she had been holding that pen the whole time.
Actions precede thought; before the brain can even process it, the hand holding the pen has already hidden behind the back.
Song Yiping, "..."
Yan Ruyi, “…” It’s just a pen, why is she hiding it like she’s afraid someone will ask her for it!
She was a little embarrassed and was trying to think of something to say to smooth things over when Xu Licheng came over and helped her out of the predicament.
Xu Licheng said to Song Yiping, "Thanks to you today, otherwise, things would have been really difficult to handle. That brat actually dared to smash things."
Xu Licheng, unaware that Yan Ruyi had brought Song Yiping over, asked him, "What brings you here? On business?"
Song Yiping said, "I was on my way to the Armed Forces Department when I saw Comrade Xiao Yan calling for help, so I came over to see what was going on."
After saying that, he glanced at his watch and said, "I still have to go to the Armed Forces Department, I'll be going now."
Xu Licheng waved his hand, "You go about your business."
After Song Yiping left the courtyard, Xu Licheng asked Yan Ruyi gossipy, "Do you know Commander Song?"
Yan Ruyi dared not admit that she had gone on a blind date with Song Yiping, and vaguely replied, "I met him in Zhaojiagang."
Xu Licheng: "Yes, I heard that Commander Song's regiment was sent to Zhaojiagang."
He didn't think much of it, casually praised Song Yiping a few times, and then said to Yan Ruyi, "Let's go too."
They didn't have much money on them, nor did they have any receipts, so they discussed with Grandma Wang and asked her to go with them to the antique shop.
Yang Chaolei borrowed a flatbed cart from Factory Director Li and said to Grandma Wang, "Grandma Wang, I'll take you there."
Although she was mentally prepared, Grandma Wang was still exhausted by Wang Sicheng's antics, so she didn't stand on ceremony with Yang Chaolei and thanked him.
Before getting into the car, she said to Yan Ruyi, "That pen is indeed quite old and not worth that much money. I'll go to the department store later to ask how much it's worth, and I'll return the extra money you gave me."
Yan Ruyi knew from the beginning that she had given too much.
A pen couldn't possibly be worth 20 yuan; Zhao Dongsheng was probably just trying to rip her off.
However, firstly, she really liked that pen, and secondly, Grandma Wang was doing good deeds, so she figured the extra money was a way to do good together with Grandma Wang.
After all, she earns money much more easily than Grandma Wang now.
Yan Ruyi said, "You don't need to pay me back. Take the extra money back to build the school. Consider it my contribution to the school."
Grandma Wang said, "You've just started working and your salary is low, so I can't take more money from you. If Lian Mo finds out, he'll blame me."
Yang Chaolei said, "You get in the car first, let's go to the antique shop first, and then I'll take you to the department store later."
Grandma Wang got on the flatbed cart, and Yang Chaolei rode ahead on it. Xu Licheng and Yan Ruyi had also come by bicycle, and the two of them followed behind Yang Chaolei's flatbed cart. The group returned to the antique shop.
The neighborhood office has plenty of loudspeakers, and by the time Yan Ruyi got off work, everyone knew about Wang Sicheng's outburst at the Xinli neighborhood office.
She was stopped several times on the way. "Ruyi, I heard that Wang Sicheng cracked open Director Li's head with a brick, and there was blood everywhere. Is Director Li alright?"
They were practically asking if Director Li was still alive.
Yan Ruyi was speechless. "Who told you that? Factory Director Li is perfectly fine. He wasn't hit."
"Hey, I told you they were just spreading rumors. If they really cracked his head open, what would happen to Director Li... Grandma Wang must have made a lot of money from those antiques. Is she really planning to take them all back to her hometown to build a school?"
"I heard that Wang Sicheng intercepted Grandma Wang on the way, knocked her unconscious, and robbed her of all her money."
...
Yan Ruyi repeated herself over and over until her throat was dry. After that, she pretended not to hear anyone calling her and rode her bike very fast.
As soon as he entered the house, his mother called him back.
Ye Hongzhen and Zhao Cuifang were sitting in the shade picking vegetables when they saw Yan Ruyi return. Ye Hongzhen's eyes lit up. "Ruyi, come here. Mom has something to ask you."
Yan Ruyi answered skillfully, "Factory Director Li is fine. He wasn't hit, and his head wasn't cracked. The antiques sold for a total of 2,600 yuan. Grandma Wang didn't keep a penny; she deposited it all in the bank. Officer Yang went to the bank with her, and Wang Sicheng didn't intercept her halfway. Including the back pay that Teacher Wang received before, Grandma Wang plans to take it all back to her hometown to build a school. Grandma Wang has already asked Officer Yang to call her hometown, and people from her hometown will be coming in the day after tomorrow."
Ye Hongzhen: "Oh my, how did you know Mom was asking you that?"
Yan Ruyi said, "I've been asked this question eight hundred times along the way."
Ye Hongzhen sighed, "With so much money, no wonder her son keeps causing trouble."
Zhao Cuifang said, "If you ask me, Grandma Wang doesn't need to be in such a hurry to sell it. If she keeps the things in her own hands, she won't have to worry about her son not supporting her in her old age. After she passes away, she can ask someone to sell them to build a school."
Ye Hongzhen said, "Given her son's character, he'll probably try every means to steal the things. Once he's gone, see if he'll still care about Grandma Wang. Besides, people get forgetful as they get older. Who knows, Grandma Wang might forget about it one day, and in the end, it'll just benefit Wang Sicheng. Anyway, she's determined not to leave any money to that ingrate. It's better to sell him off before he gets senile and save herself the trouble of worrying about him every day. He's always causing trouble, isn't that exhausting?"
Zhao Cuiying sighed, "I'm getting old. My husband is gone, and my son doesn't care about me. I don't even have anyone I can rely on. I'm afraid no one will even know when I pass away."
Ye Hongzhen said, "She used the money to build schools, which is a great act of kindness. The country will not abandon her. When she can no longer move, she will probably be sent to a nursing home. There will be people in the nursing home to take care of her food and drink, and to provide for her in her old age and see her off in death. It is better than living with an unfilial son."
Zhao Cuiying said, "What's the use of having a son? It's better to have a daughter. A daughter isn't so heartless. If I had a daughter, the old lady wouldn't have suffered so much."
After a moment of sighing, Ye Hongzhen remembered to ask Yan Ruyi, "I heard that Commander Song subdued Wang Sicheng, or did you call Commander Song over?"
Yan Ruyi said, “Mom, you know so much. I saw that Officer Yang and Director Li couldn’t hold him down, so I went outside to find some help. Commander Song happened to be passing by, so I called him over. If I had called anyone else, he would have gone to help anyway.”
Afraid that her mother would keep asking questions, she said she had to go write a report and then quickly went back to her room.
Ye Hongzhen thought to herself, "I know a lot. I even know that you walked down the street and drank with Commander Song."
Ye Hongjuan told her about this.
If Ye Hongjuan hadn't told her, she wouldn't have known that Yan Ruyi drank with Song Yiping the day she got drunk.
The second son took the blame.
The two sisters had no idea what the situation was with those two people, so they decided to pretend they didn't know and not ask anything.
These two have been going back and forth, and maybe over time they'll fall for each other.
The two chatted for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Cuifang went home to cook. As she walked to the door, she turned to Ye Hongzhen and said, "Caiyun is here."
Before long, Fang Caiyun arrived on her bicycle.
Ye Hongzhen said, "I made a dress for Miaomiao. It was just finished this afternoon. I was just thinking of sending someone to tell you to bring Miaomiao over to try it on. And here you are! Remember to take the dress with you in a bit to see if it fits."
Fang Caiyun: "Didn't we just make one last month? Why are you making another one?"
Ye Hongzhen: "Cuifang's niece was having a birthday party, and she wanted to make her a dress. She asked me to go with her to buy fabric. I saw that the pink floral print was quite pretty, so I bought a piece too. We had tailor Hu make a dress for us. Tailor Hu said it was a trendy style that came from Shanghai, and it would look good on the little girl."
As he walked over, he saw a cardboard box on the back seat of Fang Caiyun's car and asked her, "What's this?"
Fang Caiyun said, "It's hot outside, so the factory gave out soda, one case per person. We kept one case for ourselves, so we brought this case over for you."
The steel mill has good benefits. Not only do they give money and gifts during holidays, but they also give heating allowances in winter and soft drinks and popsicles in summer.
Fang Caiyun's father and brother both work at the steel factory and have access to soda, so they don't need to worry about drinking it.
Fang Caiyun and Yan Minghai each received a box; she kept one for her own family and brought the other over.
That's why Ye Hongzhen favors her eldest daughter-in-law. She's generous and always thinks of this place when the factory gives out supplies, sending some over as well.
Unlike her second daughter-in-law, who always hides her things, afraid that others will find out and take advantage of her.
Ye Hongzhen helped her untie the ropes, complaining as she did so, "This was obviously tied up by Dahai, look how tightly bound."
Fang Caiyun: "He was afraid that the box would fall off due to the bumpy ride, so he tied it with several extra straps."
Ye Hongzhen was in a hurry to cook, and seeing that she couldn't untie the rope in a short time, she called Yan Ruyi to come out and untie the rope while she went to cook.
Yan Ruyi had already come out of the house. Seeing that only Fang Caiyun was there, she asked Fang Caiyun, "Where is Sister-in-law Miaomiao?"
Fang Caiyun "kept clamoring to find her uncle, so my mom took her away."
The two untied the rope, and Fang Caiyun carried the box down. She took out two bottles of soda and handed them to Yan Ruyi, telling her to fill them with water and put them on the ice. "I just saw Sihe running around like crazy in the courtyard. I called him but he couldn't hear me. He'll definitely want water when he comes back. Put some on the ice for him so he can drink it when he gets back."
Yan Ruyi filled a basin with water and put two bottles of soda in it. Seeing that Fang Caiyun was about to go to the kitchen, she pulled her aside and whispered, "Sister-in-law, I have something to ask you."
Fang Caiyun: "What is it?"
Ye Hongzhen was busy in the kitchen and could come out at any moment, so Yan Ruyi pulled Fang Caiyun into the house, saying, "Let's talk inside."
He pulled her into his room.
Fang Caiyun had just ridden over and was covered in sweat. Seeing a folding fan on the table, she picked it up and fanned herself while laughing, "What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"
Yan Ruyi said, "Sister-in-law, I have something to show you."
As she spoke, she opened the drawer and showed Fang Caiyun the fountain pen she had bought from Grandma Wang. "Sister-in-law, what do you think of this fountain pen?"
After saying that, she looked at Fang Caiyun expectantly, waiting for Fang Caiyun to praise her for having good taste.
Fang Caiyun wiped her hands on her clothes before taking the pen. "I don't know much about these, but they look really nice. They're so golden, could they be made of gold? Did you buy them yourself or was they a gift?"
Yan Ruyi said, "I bought this as a gift for a friend. He has helped me a lot, and I wanted to give him a gift to thank him. His handwriting is exceptionally beautiful; it's the best I've ever seen. I think it's almost on par with a calligrapher. Really, don't doubt me. I'll show you his handwriting when I have the chance, and then you'll know if I'm exaggerating."
When Fang Caiyun saw her praising this friend so highly, she thought to herself that it must be someone more than just a friend, and smiled, saying, "I believe you."
Yan Ruyi said, "I think this pen is perfect for him, but I don't know if it's appropriate to give him a pen as a gift."
The moment she saw this pen, she thought of Song Yiping, so she bought it without much thought.
A fine sword is for a hero, rouge is for a beautiful woman, and a good pen is naturally for someone who writes well.
However, apart from Luo Huihui and her own family, she has never given gifts to anyone else.
Especially since the other party is a gay man.
I wonder if there are any rules or taboos regarding giving gifts.
She was afraid her mother would ask all sorts of questions, so she didn't dare to ask. But now that her sister-in-law was here, she wanted to ask her for advice.
My eldest sister-in-law is much more reliable than my second sister-in-law. At least she won't pry into my life. If she doesn't bring it up herself, my eldest sister-in-law won't ask any more questions, let alone offer any bad advice.
Fang Caiyun whispered, "This friend you're talking about, is he a gay man?"
Yan Ruyi: "He's a gay man."
After saying that, he added seriously, "Sister-in-law, don't overthink it. We're just ordinary friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend."
In fact, the friendship was only considered by her unilaterally; who knows, Song Yiping might not have considered her a friend at all.
However, she now feels that getting along with Song Yiping is still very easy.
So she unilaterally classified Song Yiping as a friend.
Fang Caiyun smiled and said, "I didn't think much about it."
Yan Ruyi grabbed her arm and shook it, "Then why are you still laughing?"
Fang Caiyun suppressed a smile. "I'm not smiling. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. He writes well, so giving him a pen is to please him. Isn't the point of giving a gift to someone to touch their heart? You're giving it to him generously and expressing your gratitude. He'll definitely be happy to receive a gift that suits his taste."
Yan Ruyi: "Then I'll give it to him?"
Fang Caiyun: "Send it."
Ye Hongzhen went to get the little dress she had made for Miaomiao and saw the two sisters-in-law whispering to each other with their heads close together. She asked them, "What are you talking about? Why are you so happy?"
Yan Ruyi quietly tugged at Fang Caiyun's sleeve. Fang Caiyun understood and smiled back at Ye Hongzhen, "I was just chatting with Ruyi. Dahai will be off work soon, and I have to go back to cook."
Ye Hongzhen said, "Wait a minute, take Miaomiao's dress away."
Ye Hongzhen packed the dress and handed it to Fang Caiyun, saying, "If Miaomiao doesn't like it, just take it to Hu the tailor, the one on Erma Road. He can tell at a glance that it was made there, because only he can make this style."
Fang Caiyun responded, picked up her skirt, and walked out.
Yan Ruyi: "Hey, sister-in-law, the fan."
This folding fan was given to her by Song Yiping during their blind date at the movie theater.
Because Song Yiping suddenly confessed his feelings to her, she was in such a hurry when they parted that she forgot to return it to him. Later, she wanted to return it to him, but she kept forgetting, so it remained on her desk.
I'll have to return it to him later.
Fang Caiyun then realized she was still holding the folding fan. "Oh dear, I forgot."
Ye Hongzhen said, "It's just a fan; your sister-in-law took it and that's it."
Yan Ruyi, “This fan…”
I almost blurted out, "This fan belongs to Commander Song."
But he realized what he was saying before he could finish, "This fan... I like it the most, sister-in-law, I'll get you a new one."
The sister-in-law wasn't the stingy type; she wouldn't hesitate to let Fang Caiyun take a fan.
Unless this folding fan has an unusual origin.
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Author's note: "枝" (zhī) - branch, "象" (xiàng) - likeness, "俱" (jù) - possess; I'll punish myself by copying this 10 times.
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