The Northwest Military Region compound.
"Hey, did you know? Deputy Regiment Commander Xu has been dismissed and put in solitary confinement—"
"Really? What happened? I heard from my husband that he's already submitted his demobilization application and is just waiting for approval from his superiors so he can go back to his hometown. What mistake did he make?"
"You don't know, do you? This is a long story. Do you know the background of Deputy Regiment Commander Xu's wife?"
"His wife? Sister Wu? Besides the fact that I heard she can't handle stress, what's her background?"
"Hey, you're late to the party, you don't know! This Deputy Regiment Commander Xu's wife was married before, to someone in our unit, his former company commander. Later, during a mission, the old company commander sacrificed himself to save Deputy Regiment Commander Xu and the others! Before he died, he entrusted Deputy Regiment Commander Xu to take care of his wife. Little did he expect that Deputy Regiment Commander Xu would take care of her, and end up taking her to live with him!"
"Wow! Is that true?"
"That's right! After the old company commander sacrificed his life, he didn't know his wife was pregnant, so he only entrusted her to Deputy Regiment Commander Xu. After his wife gave birth to the child, Deputy Regiment Commander Xu married Sister Wu!"
"They had a child before? That's not right! Didn't Deputy Commander Xu only have two children, a son and a daughter?"
"You don't know! Although Deputy Regiment Commander Xu's wife gave birth to the previous child, she doesn't like him at all. She says that the previous child was unlucky and caused the old company commander to die! That child is pitiful. He is beaten or scolded at home every day, and he goes hungry every few days. If Deputy Regiment Commander Xu were at home, it would be better, and Wu Hongqin would be more restrained."
"When Deputy Regiment Commander Xu went on a mission, the child was left unattended and wandered around the family compound looking for food. She practically grew up eating food from everyone she met. Later, when Deputy Regiment Commander Xu realized this wasn't working, he sent the child back to his hometown and had his own mother help raise her. The mother and daughter never saw each other, and that's how things were peaceful."
"They say even tigers don't eat their cubs, but Wu Hongqin is so heartless, you never would have guessed."
"What does this have to do with Deputy Regiment Commander Xu? You've gone off on a tangent!" Some people were getting more and more confused.
"What do you know? Isn't it because Deputy Regiment Commander Xu is about to be transferred to civilian work? The army has been investigating the living conditions of the families of martyrs, their orphans, and widows, to see if they have been abused or treated unfairly! They have found many cases where the martyrs' pensions have been embezzled, leaving widows and children struggling to make ends meet."
"Didn't Deputy Regiment Commander Xu come back and say that the old company commander's daughter, who was sent to his hometown in the countryside to be raised by his biological mother, is doing quite well and works at the local department store? The higher-ups thought it was rare to have such positive news, so they brought that daughter over, intending to set an example for her!"
"Who knew that yesterday, the old company commander's daughter was called in by the army to find out what was going on? It turns out that the life she lived in the hometown of Deputy Regiment Commander Xu was worse than that of the daughters of landlords and rich people in the old society!"
"What do you mean by that? Tell me quickly!" A large group of people gathered around.
"That girl was sent back to her hometown when she was three years old. Not long after she returned, her own mother, Wu Hongqin, abandoned her on a mountain road, where she was almost carried off by wolves! It is said that Deputy Regiment Commander Xu was afraid something might happen, so he came back to look for her. After finding her, he didn't dare to bring her home, so he gave her away!"
"Given away?" Everyone was shocked.
"That's right! She was given to a family in the same village and clan. They had a girl of similar age who had gone missing, so they took this girl home! They said they got the woman in that family a job and gave her ten yuan a month for living expenses."
"This isn't bad either! It's better than staying with Wu Hongqin's biological mother, who might just abandon her again, right?"
"That's true, but that family isn't good people! They got the job from Deputy Regiment Commander Xu and a monthly allowance of ten yuan, but they never spent a single penny on this girl. They just abandoned her in her rural hometown and didn't care about her at all. The old company commander's girl lived in the countryside for more than ten years, working like a slave for that family, and was almost pushed into the water and drowned by that family's aunt! The family that adopted her, her parents and two sons are all enjoying a life of luxury in the city!"
Upon hearing this, some people felt indignant on behalf of the girl, while others defended Xu Changfeng: "This only shows that the adoptive parents are not kind-hearted. It's not Xu's fault, he really paid the money. It's just that he was far away, how could he know that his adoptive parents would take the money and not do anything?"
Many others echoed this sentiment.
One of the more perceptive people couldn't stand it anymore: "Didn't you guys really think about it carefully? Deputy Regiment Commander Xu gave the girl to that family to raise for over ten years. That child was abused like that, and he just didn't notice? They're all from the same village and clan, how could he not see it? Even if he didn't see it, he could have asked around and found out, right? Didn't he say he has a biological mother back in his hometown? Didn't she help take care of her? Since giving that girl away, our Deputy Regiment Commander Xu has rarely gone back to visit his family. Have you noticed? Those who know think he gave her to someone from the same clan and village to raise, but those who don't might think he just abandoned the child and didn't care whether she lived or died!"
"If Deputy Commander Xu and his wife had paid even a little more attention and shown more care, would that girl have suffered like this?"
Those who had just been agreeing with him suddenly realized what was happening.
"And most importantly, that girl didn't see a single penny of the ten-yuan monthly allowance they were supposed to give her! The old company commander's pension wasn't even spent on her! Think about it carefully. The old company commander died in the line of duty; he was an orphan, with only Wu Hongqin as family. And that girl didn't know that all of the old company commander's pension was taken by Wu Hongqin to Deputy Regiment Commander Xu's house to raise his two children—"
Everyone here is a member of the military, so we all know how the compensation should be distributed.
After a quick mental assessment, their expressions changed.
Several thousand yuan! No wonder Deputy Regiment Commander Xu, a young and promising man, insisted on marrying Wu Hongqin, a divorcee.
With several thousand yuan in hand, plus Wu Hongqin being quite pretty and having a reputation for repaying a debt of gratitude, who wouldn't take the job!
Everyone was speechless and fell silent.
After a long silence, someone finally broke the silence: "So, Deputy Commander Xu has been dismissed and put in solitary confinement because this matter was exposed?"
...
Military district building.
The military region leader, his face ashen, slammed his fist on the table: "Outrageous! How could no one have discovered this black sheep in our unit? This is a serious oversight on our part! How are our soldiers supposed to feel? How can they be at ease protecting our country and our people? How can they trust their comrades in the future? Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! See if our fallen comrades, their descendants, their families, are still living in the same misery!"
"Go down and think about it. If it were you, sacrificing your lives for the country and the people, and your own families couldn't even get any protection, how would you feel? We can't let heroes and martyrs die with regrets!"
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