Chapter 23 It's her causing trouble again.
It was too late to go to Sister Lian's house without prior notice, so Jiang Suining specially bought two jin of high-quality pork belly and some seasonal fruits and vegetables before heading to Commander Zhang's house with Lü Aiguo.
Commander Zhang is not home. His eldest daughter is married, and his youngest son goes to a classmate's house to play on the weekend and doesn't come back at noon. Only his sister-in-law is at home.
It wasn't lunchtime yet, and Sister-in-law Lian was idly flipping through the newspaper when she heard a knock at the door. She quickly came out to open it, and when she saw Jiang Suining, her face immediately lit up with a smile: "It's Suining! Come in quickly!" But when she saw what Suining was carrying, she chided her, "You're here, why did you bring anything? Why are you being so polite with your sister-in-law!"
Following behind Jiang Suining, Lü Aiguo flashed a bright smile and greeted her familiarly, "Hello, sister-in-law! My name is Lü Aiguo. I'm a construction engineer who was just assigned to the island. I'm also Lu Ye's junior brother."
Sister-in-law Lian didn't recognize Lü Aiguo, which surprised her. Her eyes darted between the two of them, unsure whether they had come together or bumped into each other at the door. She looked at Jiang Suining with a questioning look in her eyes.
Jiang Suining immediately understood and quickly explained, "Sister-in-law, it's like this. Lu Ye originally said he would take me to the library to borrow books this weekend, but he suddenly had a mission, so he asked his junior colleague, Comrade Lü, to accompany me. We just came back from the library, and I thought it would be lonely to eat alone, so I shamelessly came here for a meal. It just so happens that Comrade Lü has been wanting to visit Commander Zhang and you, so he came along too."
She made sure to explain the whole story clearly, and even mentioned Lu Ye, adding that the two of them came from the library together, rather than meeting in private.
"It wasn't me who insisted on coming; you dragged me here!" Lu Aiguo thought to himself, but on the surface, he could only go along with Jiang Suining's words and say, "Yes, sister-in-law, I'm new here and don't know many people. I've long heard of Commander Zhang and you, and I've always wanted to pay you a visit. I apologize for disturbing you by coming here today."
Sister-in-law Lian looked Lü Aiguo up and down. Seeing that he was handsome, had bright eyes, and spoke frankly, she invited the two of them into the house: "Hey, don't worry about disturbing us. I'm happy that you young people can come! It's just that Old Zhang has something to do at the troupe today and probably won't be back for lunch. Please don't mind."
"It's alright, it's alright, visiting you is the same thing!" Lu Aiguo's social skills kicked in completely, his words as sweet as honey. "I not only know that Regiment Commander Zhang is renowned, but I also know that you are the most outstanding military spouse in our military region!" He gave a thumbs up, "A March 8th Red Banner Pacesetter every year, you are a role model for us to learn from!"
"Oh dear, please stop talking, I'm getting so embarrassed!" Sister-in-law Lian said with a hint of reproach, but the smile lines at the corners of her eyes were impossible to hide. She thought to herself that this young man really knew how to talk. She wondered which lucky girl would be able to marry him. She would have to keep an eye out for a good match for him in the future.
Little did Lü Aiguo know that his few flattering words had led to him being set up on marriage. He found Sister-in-law Lian to be generous and kind, and her sweet words kept coming in like a never-ending stream, making Jiang Suining, who was standing to the side, get goosebumps all over. She quickly picked up the fruit and slipped to the kitchen to wash it.
At noon, Sister-in-law Lian was the head chef, with Jiang Suining and Lü Aiguo assisting. They busied themselves preparing a table of four dishes and a soup, enjoying a hearty and harmonious meal.
After the meal, Lü Aiguo wisely took his leave and left.
Jiang Suining, however, stayed at Sister Lian's house and refused to leave. Sister Lian was bored by herself, so the two sat in the living room, drinking tea and chatting, talking about interesting things in the family compound and their work at the factory.
"Sister-in-law Lian, when the military region's logistics department came to inspect last time, didn't they ask our factory to develop waterproof fabric? Has there been any progress on that?" Jiang Suining listened to Sister-in-law Lian chatting about everyday things for a while, and then smoothly steered the conversation to the matter she was concerned about.
"The R&D department is already working on this. It's a confidential project within the factory, so I'm not too clear on the specific progress," Sister-in-law Lian shook her head.
"I do have some immature ideas, but I'm not sure if I should say them," Jiang Suining said tentatively, feigning hesitation.
"You have an idea? About waterproof fabric?" Sister-in-law Lian was a little surprised and didn't react for a moment.
“Hmm,” Jiang Suining nodded, afraid of arousing suspicion, she didn’t dare to say too much, “I’ve only heard some superficial things mentioned by people before, I don’t know if it’s right.”
Thinking of this, Sister-in-law Lian encouraged, "It's good that you're thinking about things at the factory! If you have any ideas, you can talk to the colleagues in the R&D department. Maybe you can give them some new ideas."
For some reason, even her sister-in-law's encouraging words seemed to reassure Jiang Suining. She breathed a sigh of relief and secretly resolved to go see Zhou Chunlan as soon as she got to work on Monday.
That evening, Jiang Suining had dinner at Sister Lian's house before returning home. Before going to bed, she carefully wrote down the selected waterproof cloth production methods that met the technological standards of the time in her study, and repeatedly pondered her simple yet key points, preparing to go see Zhou Chunlan the next day.
Perhaps because she had something on her mind, Jiang Suining didn't sleep well that night. She woke up early the next morning, washed up, and went to the cafeteria for breakfast.
As usual, there was a morning meeting on Monday. Jiang Suining could only suppress her thoughts and wait until the meeting was over before taking the paper full of her ideas, taking a deep breath, and heading towards the technology research and development department.
When Zhou Chunlan saw Jiang Suining coming to see her, she was quite surprised and didn't even think about the waterproof cloth research and development. After all, the Women's Federation and the Technology Research and Development Department didn't have much overlap in their work. She thought Jiang Suining had some personal business and warmly pulled her to the empty small conference room next door.
"Xiao Jiang, what's up? Are you having some trouble? Just tell me, I'll definitely help you!" Zhou Chunlan was cheerful and had a good impression of Jiang Suining.
"Waterproof cloth?" Zhou Chunlan was stunned, looking Jiang Suining up and down, her tone incredulous, "You know about this?"
"I don't really understand it, I just know a little bit of relevant information, which might, perhaps, provide some inspiration for your research and development." Jiang Suining didn't dare to make any definitive statements, and her tone was humble.
"Oh? Then tell me what you think." Zhou Chunlan agreed, but she didn't really take it seriously. These professionals were still in the exploratory stage, and Jiang Suining, an outsider, couldn't possibly offer any good advice. But she meant well, and she didn't want to discourage her.
Jiang Suining noticed her indifference but wasn't discouraged. Following her plan from the night before, she succinctly pointed out the key issue: "Sister Zhou, have you considered trying 'wax' or 'rubber'?"
“Wax and rubber?” Zhou Chunlan repeated the two words, a sudden thought flashing through her mind. She frowned slightly and fell into thought.
Seeing that she had taken it to heart, Jiang Suining decided to stop while she was ahead: "I was just mentioning it casually, thinking that since both of these things are waterproof, they might be of some use. Whether they work or not is up to your experts to judge, just take it as a reference. Well, Sister Zhou, you're busy, I won't bother you any longer." After saying that, she got up and left.
Zhou Chunlan was still lost in thought about the keywords "wax" and "rubber," and only subconsciously waved in the direction Jiang Suining had left. Jiang Suining walked out of the technical department, feeling as if she had accomplished a great task, and felt completely relieved.
At lunchtime, Jiang Suining and Sister-in-law Lian went to the canteen for lunch. Commander Zhang had been so busy these past few days that he was constantly on the go, and the weather was hot. His youngest son went to his sister's house for lunch, so Sister-in-law Lian was too lazy to cook for herself.
As the two stood in the food queue, Jiang Suining gradually sensed something was amiss. It seemed as if people around her were secretly observing her, their gazes strange, and they were huddled together in twos and threes, whispering amongst themselves, their eyes frequently glancing in her direction.
“Sister-in-law Lian,” she tilted her head slightly and asked in a low voice, “don’t you feel like a lot of people are looking at me?”
“I noticed it a long time ago,” Sister Lian said, her face not looking too good. She lowered her voice. “They started whispering to each other as soon as we entered the cafeteria. I don’t know what they were talking about.”
Jiang Suining wanted to hear what they were saying, but when those people met her gaze, they immediately looked away as if they had been choked and fell silent.
"What? Who's spewing nonsense and spewing filth!" Before Jiang Suining could speak, Lian's sister-in-law's face turned red with anger, and her voice suddenly rose, drawing all eyes to her.
Jiang Suining, however, was perfectly clear-headed. When she met Zhou Xiaomei's meaningful gaze yesterday, she had already foreseen that nothing good would come of it. She just hadn't expected the rumors to spread so quickly and the methods so despicable.
"Sister-in-law, don't get angry." Jiang Suining calmed down instead, gently tugged at Lian's arm, her voice not loud, but carrying a reassuring power, "A clear conscience fears no accusation. I haven't done anything, so let others gossip as they please. Let them talk." As she said this, seven or eight thoughts had already flashed through her mind in an instant, and she quickly decided on a solution.
"Oh, Xiao Jiang! You can't say that!" Sister Lian stamped her foot anxiously. "Gossip is a terrible thing! If this gets out, it won't be good for your reputation or Chief of Staff Lu's reputation! Besides, it spread so fast, someone must be deliberately causing trouble! You wait, I'll go and find out which heartless person is pulling this stunt behind the scenes!" Sister Lian said, and was about to leave.
"Sister-in-law, wait a minute." Jiang Suining grabbed her arm, her eyes calm. "If we ask now, it will only make us look guilty and alert them. Let's wait a bit longer."
"We can't wait any longer!" Zhang Hongjuan said anxiously. "The longer this drags on, the more people will believe the fake news!"
"Sister Hongjuan, Sister-in-law Lian, you have to believe me." Jiang Suining looked at her two sisters who were genuinely worried about her, and a warm feeling washed over her. Her tone became even more firm. "I know what I'm doing, and I've already figured out what to do. Don't worry, she won't be able to throw this mud at me."
Seeing her confident demeanor, the two men, though still worried, stopped insisting and silently nodded.
The three of them got their food and left the cafeteria amidst strange looks and whispers.
In the following days, the rumors not only did not subside, but instead snowballed and spread more and more wildly, embellished and described in vivid detail, and spread to almost the entire residential compound and labor protection factory.
Sister-in-law Lian was both angry and anxious. She tried to discuss it with Jiang Suining several times, but Jiang Suining always told her to wait. Although Sister-in-law Lian was puzzled, she had no choice but to suppress her temper when she saw Jiang Suining's calm and collected demeanor.
Three days later, Jiang Suining took the initiative to go to see Sister Lian.
"Sister-in-law, I'll have to trouble you to come with me today." Jiang Suining's expression was calm, but her eyes revealed an undeniable determination.
"Where are we going?" Sister-in-law Lian asked.
“Go find the group leader,” Jiang Suining said clearly, “and then go to the police station to report the case.”
Sister-in-law Lian was taken aback at first, then suddenly realized, and a look of relief and approval appeared on her face: "Good! It should have been done a long time ago! Come on, I'll go with you! Let's see who dares to gossip now!"
The rumors had been circulating in the family compound for days, and Lu Ye's comrades had naturally heard about them. Some of them didn't know that Lu Ye was married, and most of those who did know had never met Jiang Suining. Even those who had met her didn't know much about her. After hearing those detailed rumors, they couldn't help but wonder: Where there's smoke, there's fire. Lu Ye went on a business trip right after getting married. His new wife is so young. Could it be that he really can't stand being alone?
The men's focus of discussion differed from the women's; they were more concerned with speculating about the identity of that young man.
As the rumored "pretty boy," Lü Aiguo's life was truly miserable. The day Jiang Suining dragged him to Commander Zhang's house for dinner, he thought she was making a fuss over nothing. But now, he wished he could travel back in time and slap his past self twice!
At first, he wanted to explain, but he was afraid that the more he explained, the worse it would get; later, he wanted to consult Jiang Suining for a solution, but he was afraid that if he were seen in this sensitive situation, he would be unable to clear his name no matter what. He dared not do anything and could only anxiously hope that this storm would pass quickly.
However, instead of finding peace, he received a summons from the regimental headquarters.
It turned out that Jiang Suining, accompanied by Sister-in-law Lian, went directly to Commander Zhang.
Lu Ye was a favorite of Commander Zhang, and since his family had been wronged, Commander Zhang naturally had to take care of it.
In fact, Commander Zhang had already heard about the rumors from his wife and had secretly sent people to keep an eye on them. He originally thought that if the impact was not significant, he would handle it internally, but he did not expect that the person involved would come to him directly.
"Commander Zhang, you must stand up for us!" Jiang Suining entered the office, tears streaming down her face before she could even speak, her grievance perfectly timed. "Lu Ye and I have only been married for a short time, and some people can't stand to see us doing well, spreading these dirty rumors behind our backs! Now it's all over the place. It doesn't matter if my reputation is ruined, but I can't let it affect Lu Ye's and the organization's reputation! Commander Zhang, if you can't handle this, I'll have to go to the police station to report it and let the police investigate!" Her words were soft yet firm, expressing both her grievance and highlighting the seriousness of the matter.
"I'll handle it! I must handle it! Who says I can't?!" Upon hearing this, Commander Zhang's face immediately darkened. Lu Ye was on an important mission away from home; how could his own backyard be on fire? He immediately declared, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, don't worry, don't be afraid! I, Zhang, am determined to handle this matter! To be honest, your sister-in-law has been nagging me about this for the past few days, and I've already had people investigating! Rest assured, anyone involved in spreading rumors will be dealt with severely, without exception!"
"Exactly! They must be severely punished!" Sister-in-law Lian echoed angrily. "Xiao Jiang left her hometown to come to our Nan'ao Island. She's a stranger in a strange land, and her husband isn't around. She's all alone. Those who spread rumors are heartless! They're bullying an honest person!"
"Don't worry, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation!" Commander Zhang reassured Jiang Suining and then had his guards record the details.
Jiang Suining recounted the entire incident clearly, including how she went to the library with Lü Aiguo, how she met Zhou Xiaomei, and how she went to Commander Zhang's house for dinner to avoid suspicion. Her sister-in-law was also present as a witness. Upon hearing that the other party involved was Lü Aiguo, Commander Zhang immediately sent someone to fetch him.
When Lü Aiguo arrived at the regimental headquarters and saw Jiang Suining and Sister-in-law Lian, he immediately understood most of the situation. He quickly pleaded his innocence to Regimental Commander Zhang, recounting the entire incident in detail, which perfectly matched Jiang Suining's account and the timing was also correct.
Commander Zhang immediately sent people to the library and the vegetable market to verify the situation. With conclusive evidence, Commander Zhang repeatedly assured Jiang Suining that he would deal with the matter seriously. Only then did Jiang Suining, accompanied by Sister-in-law Lian, leave the regimental headquarters with red eyes.
Commander Zhang acted swiftly and decisively, uncovering the source of the rumor the very next day and sending someone to inform Jiang Suining of the outcome.
The technical department staff have been working tirelessly these past few days to tackle the problem, making them one of the few departments in the factory unaffected by the rumors. Zhou Chunlan came today not only to express her gratitude but also to comfort Jiang Suining after hearing the rumors.
Jiang Suining was grateful and was about to tell Zhou Chunlan that she had reported the situation to the troupe when she saw two serious-looking guards escorting a deathly pale-faced Zhou Xiaomei straight into the Women's Federation office.
"So there's a result already?" Jiang Suining knew the answer in her heart, but her face remained expressionless.
One of the guards announced loudly to everyone in the office, "By order of Regiment Commander Zhang, we are bringing Zhou Xiaomei here to publicly apologize to Comrade Jiang Suining and eliminate the negative impact, as she has been spreading rumors and damaging the reputation of military families!"
As expected, it was her causing trouble again. Jiang Suining looked at Zhou Xiaomei coldly.
"It was her! The one who came in last place in the last job exam! Spreading rumors about Xiao Jiang is definitely out of jealousy and revenge!"
"How malicious! How could someone do something like this to ruin someone's reputation!"
"Xiao Jiang, we can't let her get away with this! She's spreading rumors about military dependents; she should be taken to the police station!"
“Zhou Xiaomei?” Jiang Suining walked up to Zhou Xiaomei, feigning surprise as she looked at her. “It’s you? I’ve never offended you, why are you slandering me like this?”
"It wasn't me! Stop accusing an innocent person!" Zhou Xiaomei's face was pale, but she still stubbornly insisted on speaking her mind.
"Not you? So you mean Commander Zhang made a mistake?" Jiang Suining's tone was calm, but carried a sense of pressure. "Investigating cases requires evidence. Without solid evidence, why would we have brought you here?"
"I told you it wasn't me! Stop making baseless accusations!" Zhou Xiaomei shouted, her voice trembling with fear.
Jiang Suining was too lazy to argue with her anymore, and said directly to the guard, "Comrade, since she refuses to admit it, let's proceed according to procedure. Spreading rumors and slander, especially involving military families, let's see how the law judges it."
“You’re not a soldier!” Zhou Xiaomei blurted out, trying to argue her point.
“I am a military family member.” Jiang Suining looked at her and suddenly smiled. “Besides, the other person you’re spreading rumors about, Comrade Lü Aiguo, is a soldier. Doesn’t this count as you admitting your guilt?” She turned to the guard. “Let’s send him to the police station. I believe the law will give a fair judgment.”
"I, I didn't! I didn't mean to!" Zhou Xiaomei completely panicked. Seeing that Jiang Suining was serious, she was so frightened that her legs went weak and she almost collapsed to the ground. She broke free and grabbed Jiang Suining's arm, pleading incoherently, "Sui Sui, Sui Sui, listen to me! I really didn't mean to! I just... I was just chatting with some people and said a few things casually. Maybe they misheard and spread it... You have to believe me, I didn't mean it!"
"Oh? So you admit that those words came from you?" Jiang Suining seized on the loophole in her words and asked calmly.
Zhou Xiaomei was instantly rendered speechless, as if she had been choked. She deflated like a punctured balloon, slumped down, and turned ashen-faced.
Jiang Suining felt little pleasure looking at her like this. In the end, she was mindful of the camaraderie between Li Guodong and Lu Ye and did not want to push things too far and cause trouble for Lu Ye.
She looked down at Zhou Xiaomei, who was slumped on the ground, and said in a deep voice, "Zhou Xiaomei, for the sake of Company Commander Li, I'll give you one chance. I want you to publicly apologize to me, clarify the facts, and restore my reputation through the loudspeaker in the family compound during the noon broadcast for three consecutive days. If you do as I say, this matter will end here; if you refuse, or if you pretend to comply but do not, then don't blame me for being ruthless, and we'll see each other at the police station! At that time, it won't be something that can be resolved with an apology!"
Zhou Xiaomei trembled, raised her head, her eyes filled with fear and struggle. In the end, her last bit of hope and bravado completely crumbled. She lowered her head and said in a trembling voice, "I...I'm willing to apologize."
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