The two grown men then gave Li Huai and his wife another thorough critique.
Qian Hongxia would occasionally chime in, and although her husband would scold her, she didn't care at all.
They said they were just having a few drinks, but perhaps they got carried away with the conversation, and in the end, both Yang Qingmin and Battalion Commander Qu were a bit drunk.
Yang Qingmin put his arm around Battalion Commander Qu's shoulder and said, "Brother, you know how annoying Li Huai and his wife are, it would be better if they didn't chop them up here."
"Yes, if they weren't here, my wife might have gone back to how she used to be," Battalion Commander Qu remarked.
"I'll tell you a little secret," Yang Qingmin suddenly whispered.
"What secret?" Battalion Commander Qu asked, his eyes still glazed over.
"When I went into town last time, I discovered that Li Huai was hiding something."
"What's the matter?" Battalion Commander Qu immediately perked up.
"He secretly opened a shop in the city and exploited his mother-in-law and sisters-in-law to work for him. You tell me, is this how we soldiers treat the masses? Is he practicing capitalism?" Yang Qingmin slapped a big accusation on him.
"Exactly, I never expected him to be this kind of person," Battalion Commander Qu echoed indignantly.
"Sigh, it's only because I trust you that I told you this. Although I don't like Li Huai, I can't openly complain to the regimental commander, political commissar, or higher-ups. Otherwise, the leaders will think that I'm fighting with Li Huai for a position and deliberately trying to undermine him."
Even though that's exactly what he was thinking, Yang Qingmin pretended to be very upright.
His words, which impaired Battalion Commander Qu's judgment after drinking, sparked an idea.
Yes, Deputy Regiment Commander Yang might not dare to do it, but I can.
If we could get rid of Li Huai, it would not only rid the army of a parasite, but also keep my wife away from Zhao Qinglan. Wouldn't that be killing two birds with one stone?
The more Battalion Commander Qu thought about it, the better he felt it was.
As he pondered, he didn't see the glint of shrewdness flash in Yang Qingmin's eyes, who was staring at him.
Having eaten too much, Zhao Qinglan and the children started to feel sleepy right after dinner and went back to their rooms to sleep.
Li Huai had already volunteered to wash the dishes and clean up by himself outside.
After everything was settled, he climbed into bed and slept for half an hour.
In the afternoon, Li Huai went to the office quite early.
He hadn't been sitting for long when he was notified of an impromptu meeting, so he grabbed his notebook and pen and headed out.
When they arrived at the conference room, Li Huai found himself sitting next to Yang Qingmin. Being so close, he could easily smell the alcohol on Yang Qingmin.
However, he only frowned slightly and didn't say anything.
After all, he and Yang Qingmin were of equal rank, so he couldn't discipline the other.
Drinking in the middle of the day usually means either something good is happening or someone is in a bad mood. I wonder what's wrong with Yang Qingmin.
Yang Qingmin seemed to be in better condition, but Battalion Commander Qu, who arrived later, was clearly in bad shape.
Battalion Commander Qu not only smelled strongly of alcohol, but his face also had a flushed appearance from being drunk.
When most of the people had arrived, Sun Shengli and Political Commissar Zhou Hai walked in carrying some things.
“A document has just been issued from above. Let the political commissar read it to you,” Sun Shengli said before even sitting down.
Soon, Zhou Hai opened the folder he was holding and began reading the document aloud.
As he listened, Sun Shengli's gaze swept across the faces of everyone in the conference room.
They were all seasoned drinkers, and as soon as Sun Shengli saw Battalion Commander Qu, he knew that the other man had drunk quite a bit at noon.
This isn't some high-ranking leader or guest who needs to be entertained with meals and drinks. They still have work to do, yet they've gotten this drunk. He immediately felt somewhat dissatisfied with Battalion Commander Qu.
However, since the spirit of the document was being read out at the moment, Sun Shengli held back and didn't say anything.
After Zhou Hai finished conveying the contents and spirit of the document to everyone, he and Sun Shengli each said a few words.
Just when everyone thought the meeting was over and everyone was about to leave, Sun Shengli suddenly said, "I want to emphasize something."
Those who were about to leave immediately sat up straight.
“I know there are many people in our barracks who can drink, and I understand that, but there’s a time and place for drinking. If anyone dares to mess things up because of drinking, I’ll skin them alive.” As he spoke, he glared and scanned the room.
Yang Qingmin shamelessly looked around at others with a suspicious gaze, as if he were completely innocent.
Battalion Commander Qu's skills weren't quite as sharp; the regimental commander was practically calling him out by name, and he visibly became embarrassed.
Fortunately, Sun Shengli still gave him some face, and after reprimanding him, he waved for everyone to disperse.
Anyone with eyes could see that Battalion Commander Qu had been drinking.
Li Huai began to suspect that Yang Qingmin had been drinking, and Battalion Commander Qu had also been drinking. He remembered that when they returned at noon, Battalion Commander Qu did not travel the same way as them. Could it be that the two of them had gone out drinking together?
Thinking back to when he saw Yang Qingmin leave from Battalion Commander Qu, he felt that this was quite likely.
However, it was none of his business that the two of them were drinking together. He disliked both of them and thought to himself, "Birds of a feather flock together."
Back in his office, Battalion Commander Qu lingered for a long time without sitting down.
The reason he went drinking was because his wife listened to too much of Zhao Qinglan's words, which caused discord in their relationship.
In the end, it was all Li Huai and his wife's fault that had harmed him.
He completely forgot that the person who invited him to dinner was Yang Qingmin.
Perhaps fearing that he might incur the wrath of Battalion Commander Qu for indirectly causing trouble for someone, Yang Qingmin wisely refrained from showing up this time.
However, even he didn't expect that Battalion Commander Qu's strange thought process would not consider him at all.
No, I absolutely have to get rid of Li Huai.
Battalion Commander Qu felt he had lost face, so he wanted to create an even bigger scandal to cover up his own misdeeds.
In the capital, Yu Huimin, who had been quiet for a while, finally started thinking about her stepson Li Huai again.
However, after inquiring with her informant, she didn't get much useful information.
There was nothing she could do. Besides Wei Hong and Wu Mei, Zhao Qinglan wasn't familiar with other military wives; she only knew a few at most.
During this time, she was busy with the store and spent less time in the residential area during the day.
As for the eldest child and the others, under Zhao Qinglan's discipline, they rarely went out, and the woman didn't even have the chance to run into them and ask about them.
Therefore, they know very little about the current situation of Zhao Qinglan's family.
She quickly brought up another matter.
"Old Li, there's not much time left before the New Year. Even though you and Li Huai are arguing, you should at least call their whole family back for the New Year this year, right?"
In fact, Yu Huimin knew very well that Li Huai had no intention of coming back to spend the New Year with them.
She brought this up deliberately to amplify the conflict between her husband and Li Huai.
The reason why the father and son have become so estranged is because of her instigation.
Just thinking about it made her very proud.
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