Chapter 149

Propose

Nie Weimin was waiting at the school gate, but Erdan waited for a long time and he just wouldn't show up.

Nian Gong had no choice but to get off the car and go look for Erdan. He was playing basketball with a group of kids in the playground. When he saw his father coming, he threw the basketball away and ran over with a sweaty head.

After getting in the car, Erdan quickly grabbed the worker's big teacup and gulped it down like a donkey.

Then sweat started to break out from his forehead like raindrops.

"We have to go to the Armed Forces Department tonight. Your Uncle Leng should have dinner there. Erdan, wipe your face." Chen Lina said.

When Nie Gong heard that he had to go to the Armed Forces Department, he was unhappy. "Why do you have to go to the Armed Forces Department? Can't Leng Qi just solve his own problems? No, hurry home. I'll cook a big fat rabbit for you tonight."

"I really have something to discuss with Leng Qi. If you don't want to go, get out of the car and give me the steering wheel." Miss Chen's words were decisive. If she pointed east, the worker would not dare to go west.

When they arrived at the Armed Forces Department, as usual, the orderly Xiao Wang had to come out before they could let their car in.

"Minister Leng's food is delicious. I wonder if there's any for us?" Nie Gong said when he saw beef stewed with potatoes and millet porridge.

Leng Qi said, "Beef stewed with potatoes, millet and rifles, that is the tradition of our republic. Come on, Xiao Wang, score a few more points so that our workers can have a taste of the food of the armed forces."

Xiao Wang saluted and hurried to the cafeteria to get his meal.

"Corruption, your armed forces are really corrupt. Look at this beef, one serving fills up half a pot." Nie Gong said, preparing to pass the beef to Chen Lina, who quickly protected the bowl. "I don't want it, don't try to support me anymore."

So he gave some more to Erdan.

Ever since Erdan started playing basketball, his muscles have been so tight that he can't be turned even if you pinch or twist him.

After finishing his meal, Xiao Wang took the initiative to take the children out because he saw that the leaders still had something to talk about.

"Well, Xiao Wang, can you ask my children to watch your evening exercises? If possible, I can take them for a run as well, so that they can experience some life. How do you think?" Chen Lina said.

"Sure, why not? Come with me." Xiao Wang said.

The evening exercises of the armed forces required us to go outside and jog with weights. We would run a lap half an hour after dinner. It was really tiring.

Chen Lina thought, if she let Erdan experience how hard it is to be a soldier, maybe that would discourage him from wanting to join the army.

Who knew that Nie Weimin and Sandan kept complaining, while Erdan would run out to play basketball during breaks, and he ran so vigorously that he wasn't even out of breath after running.

Chen Lina told Leng Qi about Ma Xiaofang's trouble at the woolen textile factory and the gossips of the employees there, and asked him, "What's wrong with you? Anna is not interested in you, but you always chase after her. Leng Qi, is it interesting? I ask you."

Leng Qi thought about it and nodded solemnly, "Interesting." It's indescribable.

"If you continue to do this, Anna's reputation will be ruined. Do you really want to force her, a homeless girl, to leave the mining area?" Chen Lina was very angry. "You know, she also told me that if you bully her again, she will apply for transfer to Altay. I want to ask you, are you willing to let such a good girl go to Altay?"

Leng Qi rubbed his shaved head and said, "Okay, you guys sit down first, I'll go look for Anna."

Leaving the guests alone, he ran away.

Nie Gong wanted to go after her to see what was going on, but Chen Lina grabbed him and said, "I'm telling you, outsiders shouldn't interfere in other people's emotional affairs. A forced melon is not sweet. But sometimes, maybe Anna really deserves to be forced. Do you understand?"

"Dad, Dad, I'm really tired." Nie Weimin came in with a long sigh.

He was really tired from running. His short forehead was covered with shiny beads of sweat. He shook his hair off, picked up the worker's cup and started drinking water madly.

As for Erdan, he was not breathing heavily or making any heavy sounds. He climbed three flights of stairs to get home, carrying Sandan on his back.

Sandan said sweetly, "My second brother is awesome. He's good at beating up those little hooligans, and even better at running with me on his back. He's also the best at stealing the ball when playing basketball."

"Nie Weijiang, did you ask your second brother to carry you and run away?" Nie Gong asked.

Sandan said confidently, "My second brother said he was so cool when he carried me on his back. What's wrong?"

"Dad, this run has made me determined to join the army. Now I can't wait to graduate from junior high school so that I can join the army." Erdan said, wiping his sweat.

Nie Gong glanced at Chen Lina, and Miss Chen also had a distraught look in her eyes.

She thought that just like those nouveau riche contractors in her previous life who would drive their sons to move a few bricks on the construction site when they wanted to teach them a lesson, and like the old farmers who would drive their sons to plant the fields when they wanted to teach them a lesson, she only needed to drive Erdan to do some exercises and he would give up. Unexpectedly, he became even more determined to join the army.

The worker was obviously angry.

In his opinion, his son could work in the physics industry or the oil industry, but how could he be interested in being a soldier and carrying a gun and being a rough guy?

"No, Nie Weiguo, don't even think about letting me join the army before you graduate from college." Nie Gong said angrily, as if he was the boss because he gave birth to him.

Erdan is not afraid of this. "My legs are on my own body. If you don't let me join the army, I will go quietly by myself."

The laborer was so angry that he said, "If you do this again, get off the bus."

"Erdan, what kind of soldier do you want to be?" Chen Lina saw the father and son quarreling and had to hurry to mediate.

Erdan pointed at the officers walking around in the armed forces and said, "I want to be a soldier like them, who can touch a gun at will and patrol everywhere with a gun in hand."

The armed forces on the border have always been equipped with guns.

"Then you probably can't be one. Look at those patrolmen with guns in front of you. They are all high school graduates. The ones in the back without guns are junior high school graduates. Even if they join the army, they are divided into different levels. Do you think everyone can hold a gun?"

"Ah?" Erdan was anxious. "Why don't junior high school graduates get guns, Mom?"

"You have just graduated from junior high school and you can barely read. How can the army let you hold a gun at ease? Hurry up and go back to do your homework for me and try your best to get into high school." Chen Lina said.

Nie Gong was still very angry. "What if he graduates from high school and still wants to join the army? What should I do?"

"He has graduated from high school. If he wants to be a soldier, let him be one. I think being a soldier is good. It's about defending your country. His name is Wei Guo. You chose the name yourself. Why should you stop him?" It's better than being a gangster, right?

Nie Gong still couldn't figure it out, but he didn't say anything.

Here, Anna was cooking dinner when someone came to see her.

"Oh, Anna, I'm in great shape." A woman outside the door said this and walked in.

Anna looked up and saw that it was her second mother, Wang Yun, again.

She spoke to Anna in a very proud manner, but it turned out that she came here just for Anna's house.

"That house is a great nuisance to you. Your father was labeled a capitalist-roader because of it, and you couldn't stay in Shanghai because of it. Anjia Courtyard, you must be sad when you think of it. Now, you just need to give me your fingerprints and sign, and I can do it directly without you having to come to the site. Donate it to the country, it will benefit both you and the people, right?"

Anjia Courtyard is Anna's former home.

Before liberation, it belonged to Grandpa Anna, a big textile merchant. After liberation, it was rented out to many people for a while. The huge yard became a large compound, accommodating tenants of all kinds.

A living version of "Seventy-two Tenants".

Because An Heshan had a good temper and because he had been in the frontier, the rent was collected by Wang Yun. As for the money collected, it was only a few dimes a month.

Well, it was just a few dimes, but when the Four Cleanups and Five Antis movement came, An Heshan was labeled a capitalist-roader.

Furthermore, he was later labeled a Soviet revisionist, which was really adding insult to injury and made his situation worse.

"Come on, sign, Anna. It's not easy for me to come here. From now on, this yard no longer belongs to us. Hey, I can finally lift a burden off my shoulders." Wang Yun said.

Anna had no feelings for her former home, as it had been a slum for as long as she could remember. Just as she was hesitating, Leng Qi came in like a gangster with his hands in his pockets.

"Why, are these Anna's relatives here to visit?" he said.

When Wang Yun saw such a handsome officer, she immediately stood up and shook his hand. "I'm Wang Yun, from Shanghai."

"I didn't expect that Anna's family has such a big yard?" Leng Qi took a look at the contract on the bunk bed and laughed, "Is this the country buying back the original old yard and cultural relics? Hey, once this is signed, if Anna doesn't return to Shanghai, then the money from the country's buyback will probably all belong to you, old lady?"

"What do you mean by old lady? I'm only 42."

"I didn't expect that you look so old. People would believe you if you said you were 72." Leng Qi was straightforward.

"Anna, sign quickly and give your fingerprints. It's over. I have to leave now. People in this place are like dogs. They don't even look at people."

"No, no, I think Anna is the most beautiful in the world. There is no other way. I am Erlang Shen, I have a third eye on my forehead, a flaming eye with golden pupils, specializing in identifying demons and monsters."

"Really? How did you get into this green coat? Why didn't you get killed when we criticized you? You call yourself Erlang Shen, but I think you're just a Roaring Sky Dog." Wang Yun has been quarreling with tenants all his life, and his tongue is much more skillful than Leng Qi's.

Leng Qicai didn't want to let her get confused, so he shook the contract and said, "No, Aunt Anna, this kind of thing, I'm afraid you can't get it done with just your signature and fingerprints. When you go to the Housing Authority, do you want your daughter to come with you?

Anyway, they look a bit alike, so if you use Anlin to impersonate Anna, it will probably cost a few tens of thousands of dollars, and you can get it, right?"

It's a large yard in the center of Shanghai. The government has cleared out the tenants now. If they want to set up a woolen textile factory there and buy it back, how many tens of thousands of yuan will it cost?

Wang Yun looked at Leng Qi for a while, said nothing, picked up her small bag, turned around and was about to leave.

Of course, she probably wanted to take a big risk, for example, just let Anlin sign the mortgage. Anna was not going back to Shanghai anyway, so she could just quietly collect the money and be done with it.

"What are you doing here?" Anna rolled her eyes at Leng Qi.

"Look at you, what's wrong?" Leng Qi asked back.

…

There is a small woodland behind the wool textile factory. The setting sun casts long shadows on the trees.

Anna walked in front and said, "I'm telling you, Leng Qi, I won't marry you. I can't do such an immoral thing as forcing a man's wife to divorce in order to marry his mistress. I can't just turn around and bite someone else after the dog bites me."

"I didn't say I wanted to marry you. I didn't even ask you to have sex with me. I just see you once a day. Is that not okay?" Leng Qi held a lighter in one hand and just shook the cigarette box, ready to take a cigarette, but when he saw Anna glaring at him, he put it back in the cigarette box.

Anna then glared at him again and said, "I don't have the habit of stealing other people's husbands."

"I didn't expect you to agree now." Leng Qi put his hands in his trouser pockets, stood behind and looked at Anna, and said, "You know, in order to pursue my ex-wife, I picked her up and dropped her off at night since she was in junior high school, carried her to school and back, and never let her walk. A virtuous woman is afraid of a clinging man, and she got married because I had no choice but to cling to her. I didn't expect you to agree today, but a drop of water can wear away a stone. Anyway, if you ask me to cling to you, you can't run away."

"Shame on you, don't you know I hate you?" Anna rolled her eyes at him.

Leng Qi said, "But I don't hate you. I'll tell you the truth. My wife cheated on me while we were married. She cheated before me. I cheated on her just to get revenge on her. Anyway, our marriage broke down. We were both at fault. You were the first to start it. You slept with me first, right? So.

From now on, I won't say anything else. I will consider you as my family. As long as you promise not to cheat on me, I will treat you like an ancestor. I will keep pestering you until the day you get married. However, if you ever lie in bed with another man, I will shoot you."

"I didn't promise to marry you." Anna went crazy. Besides, she didn't want to hear about Leng Qi and his ex-wife.

Leng Qi pulled Anna into his arms and looked at the beautiful girl with two eyes.

She frowned and thought for a while, then said, "No, if you really want me to collapse, I can't stop you from breaking the phone. Please, after we get married, just don't sleep with other men, okay?"

"Who wants to marry you?"

"You, get the marriage certificate tomorrow, and I'll take you back to Shanghai the day after tomorrow. Your second mother is thinking about taking away the repurchase money from your family. Do you understand? Let's go, I'll accompany my wife to ask that shameless 70-year-old lady for money."

Anna stood in the woods and smiled. After smiling for a long time, she began to cry.

She thought about it and decided that if a man was willing to admit that he and his wife had cheated on him, then the truth must be true.

As a fellow loser, she took two steps forward, suddenly turned around, and rushed towards Leng Qi. "I'm different. I'm ruthless. If you dare to cheat, I'll slap you with a knife."