Decide

Although the two incidents at the He family stall had been investigated very clearly, the army had its own procedures, so after receiving the news, they did not punish He Ping immediately, but suspended all his duties. At the same time, they arranged for people to go to He Ping's hometown to verify these matters.

He Ping's hometown is quite far away from the military base, and it takes nearly a week to travel back and forth by train. However, the military base has its own channels, and the verification speed is much faster than Ye Min thought.

After only three or four days, further punishment came out. He Ping was indeed demoted to the lowest position and was punished.

In the final analysis, Yi Lu was implicated by He Ping's father. Although the murder of Wei Chunhua's current husband had nothing to do with He Ping, the father-son relationship could not be denied. In this era when one family member was demoted and the whole family was implicated, He Ping naturally could not get away with it.

In fact, if the problem is not serious and you are determined to draw a clear line, your work will not be affected too much.

But He's father was involved in a murder case, and he had killed someone for He Ping. This situation could not be resolved by simply severing the relationship in the newspaper.

The punishment was because Wei Chunhua was framed for cheating. Although He Ping was not responsible for this matter, the letters that Wei Chunhua produced proved that he was involved.

Yes, Wei Chunhua knew where the letter that the lecher had stolen was.

After all, they are husband and wife. Although their relationship is not very good, there are only two rooms in Laizi's house, and the other person can see clearly what the other person does at home.

Moreover, ever since Wei Chunhua was locked up at home, Laizi had lost all his scruples in front of her and dared to say anything. He was the one who told her where to hide the letters.

The He family would never have thought that when they went in and out of Laizi's house several times and watched Wei Chunhua almost starve to death, Wei Chunhua just happened to know where the thing they were trying so hard to find was.

Their indifference also deepened Wei Chunhua's hatred towards the He family, so when Deputy Commander Lu sent someone to persuade her, she agreed without much hesitation to come forward and identify the He family.

It was because of her intervention that the murder case was solved so quickly.

The letter was written by He Ping himself, and the handwriting was compared, so he could not deny it. Therefore, although he did not personally participate in the incident, he was still punished.

After receiving the punishment, he returned to his hometown. Not only could he not become an official, but no one wanted to be an apprentice. He could only live a hard-working life.

In addition, after these things were exposed, the He family's reputation has been ruined. Even if he returns to his hometown to farm, he will definitely be criticized in the future.

The He family is in chaos now. Although it was He's father who pushed the lame boy down the mountain, and he admitted to throwing the stone, his younger brother He Ping watched from the side without trying to stop him. Even if he is not sentenced to death, he will have to spend the rest of his life in prison.

As for He's father, he was shot for sure.

There were a total of three adult men in the He family. After this incident, one died and one was sent to jail. His brother and sister-in-law hated him so much after this incident that they abandoned their children and returned to their parents' home.

His mother was also demoted because she was involved in Wei Chunhua's frame-up.

The remaining people in the He family, except him, are all teenagers. It is easy to imagine that they will have a hard time in the future.

He Ping is a person who pays great attention to his image. No matter what time it is, his clothes are always neat and clean, and he shaves his beard every day.

But on the day he left the family compound, he looked emaciated, with stubble on his chin and wrinkled clothes. He looked a little pitiful.

But on this day, few of the people watching them move could feel sympathy for him.

What happened in the past few days is really subversive.

In the past, He Ping was always friendly to everyone he met and never quarreled with anyone, especially since his wife Wei Chunhua was a troublesome and nagging person, which made him look more polite and reasonable.

Although some people in the compound murmured that he was heartless when he sent Wei Chunhua back to her hometown, most people felt that he had no choice but to do so. After all, Wei Chunhua was too unreasonable and too prone to trouble.

Later, he neglected to take care of his family. Some people felt that he did not do it properly, but there were always reasons to explain. Men are the breadwinners and women are the homemakers. He was at the time of his career and of course he could not take care of his children when he was busy. If Wei Chunhua was reliable, why would he have such a heavy burden?

When Wei Chunhua had an affair with someone else and He Ping generously forgave her and the affair and the news spread back to the family compound, his good reputation reached its peak.

As a result, Feng Aiyun was tricked into being named and tied to him. Liu Mei tried her best to identify him, but no one was willing to believe her. He put himself in an invincible position by saying lightly, "I fell in love with Comrade Feng at first sight."

How good He Ping's image was before, how bad it is now.

How much people trusted him before, how much more angry they are now when they mention him.

Sympathy? There is no such thing!

No one threw rotten eggs at him because supplies were scarce at the time and eggs wouldn't last long enough to go bad. As for good eggs, no one wanted to waste them on such a person.

Rather than sympathizing with him, it is better to sympathize with the children who follow him.

Liang Juan sighed and said, "After they go back, the He family's children will probably have a hard time." With a father and family like this, they will definitely be pointed at and even bullied when they return.

In fact, there is a way to ease their situation. Although the He family's reputation has been ruined, Wei Chunhua is a victim and is not affected. If she is willing to raise these children, take them to her side, and let them draw a clear line with the He family, they can be protected from being bullied.

But Wei Chunhua was hurt so badly by the He family, it is unknown whether she is willing to raise a child with He family blood. And even if she is willing to raise a child, whether she can raise the child alive is also a question. She is just a woman, and her mental state is not very good now. It is difficult for her to raise herself, let alone these four children?

Liang Juan couldn't help but sigh: "It's difficult!"

Ye Min also found it difficult, but the difficulty was not for Ho Kwok-ching, but for the three sisters of the Ho family.

She had seen the barrage and knew that the great movement would end in 1976, when those who had been accused would gradually have their labels removed. The He family would only be criticized in the next few years.

After getting through these few years, apart from being a little poorer, He Guoqing's life in the future will not be too difficult.

But the three sisters of the He family are different. Girls from poor families have been laborers since childhood, and when they grow up, their parents may marry them off in exchange for a dowry.

It would be fine if the parents were soft-hearted. They would not only consider money when choosing a man, but would try to choose a man with similar conditions to their daughter. But if the parents are cruel, the girl's situation will be hard to say.

No matter how you look at it, the He family is not a good family.

But the three sisters were surnamed He, and although their parents were divorced, they were still alive, so it was not her turn to worry about these things. She couldn't worry about them either, because their hometown was thousands of miles away from the army.

I can only follow Liang Juan's words and say: "I hope they can have a good ending."

Of course, this is only directed at the children. As for He Ping, the more destitute he is in the future, the better.

He Ping did fall into poverty later on. Although he was relatively calm when he left the army, after having experienced the adoration he received when he returned home, how could he endure the current condemnation?

One can still think of finding an opportunity to make a comeback every day or two, but if there is no hope for one or two years, anyone would become depressed, let alone someone like He Ping who once thought of taking shortcuts to success.

Less than a year after returning to his hometown, He Ping became addicted to alcohol because he could not bear the various setbacks.

At first he drank local liquor, but later he felt it was not strong enough, so he tried to buy white liquor. But country people did not have white liquor tickets, and he still had some savings, so he went to the black market to look for it.

Because he had been a soldier and was not bad in martial arts, he got to know the leader of the local black market gang while wandering around in the black market, and started to follow him, leading a good life for a while.

But not long after, he ran into a police investigation while guarding the black market. Because he had been drinking, he was dizzy and did not see the road clearly when he was being chased, and he stepped into the pond.

Drowned.

…

The person who was most happy to see He Ping reaping the fruits of his own action was Feng Aiyun.

In order to thank Ye Min and his wife for their help and advice, Liang Juan for her efforts in investigating the rumor spreaders, and Qian Xiaoyun for her company, Feng Aiyun personally cooked on Sunday and invited the three families to have dinner together.

Originally, Feng Aiyun wanted to have dinner at the commune's state-owned hotel. It wasn't that she didn't want to cook, but she thought that no matter how good her aunt and uncle were to her, this was not her own home. It was okay for her to live alone, but it wouldn't be nice to have a dinner at their house.

But Feng Xiuling did not agree. Her parents died early, and it can be said that Feng Aiyun was raised by her parents. In her heart, there is not much difference between her niece Feng Aiyun and her biological daughter.

This time, Ye Min and others helped Feng Aiyun, and she was grateful and wanted to thank them in person.

On the day of the meal, the three families agreed to go out together. Because Feng Aiyun specifically told them not to bring anything, they all went out empty-handed.

Qian Xiaoyun is a reasonable person. Except for Ye Min's house, he always brings one or two things when visiting other people's houses. This is the first time he came empty-handed, and he felt a little uncomfortable. He asked in a low voice: "Is it appropriate for us to eat without bringing anything?"

Ye Min said, "There's nothing inappropriate about it. Didn't you hear what Aiyun said? She invited us to dinner to thank us. Besides, Deputy Division Commander Lu is the leader of the army. If we come to his house with a lot of fanfare and bring gifts, it won't be good for him or Ding Yang. It's better to go empty-handed."

"That's right." Qian Xiaoyun thought about it and felt that it made sense, so he didn't say anything more.

The wall of the Lu family's yard was a little taller than Ye Min was, and the gate was about the same height. It was not closed today, but open on both sides. Standing at the door, one could hear voices coming from the house.

Although Ye Min and her friends were invited by Feng Aiyun, they didn't want to just rush in. So after arriving at Lu's house, they didn't go in. Instead, they stood outside the yard and waited for Ye Min to knock on the door and ask if Feng Aiyun was at home.

Feng Aiyun's voice was soon heard from inside, but it was Feng Xiuling who came out to greet them. She was less than 40 years old this year, and even though she was not living a life of luxury after marrying Lu Wennian, she had never done any heavy work, so she looked very young.

Feng Xiuling was a teacher at the commune middle school. She was busy with work and didn't interact much with the military wives in the compound. But they were all in the same compound, so she knew them all. When she came out, she greeted them one by one with a smile and explained, "Aiyun is busy in the kitchen."

Ye Min and the others suddenly realized what was going on, and greeted her with a smile, then followed her inside.

The Lu family's yard is quite large, with a circle of flowers planted around the wall, two fruit trees, and some vegetables, but they are all easy to grow and do not require much fertilizer.

Although there are many things planted in the yard, they are well taken care of and look full of vitality even in winter.

The living room was also large, with a set of sofas that could seat five people in total. Feng Xiuling watched as a few more stools were moved over, then went to the kitchen to call her daughter and asked her to pour tea for everyone.

Feng Xiuling's daughter is thirteen years old this year. She has a very quiet personality, but she speaks and acts in a very confident and generous manner, which shows that she has been well brought up.

When the mother and daughter were pouring tea for them, Feng Aiyun came out and said with a smile: "Everyone, please sit down. There are two more dishes. We can eat after they are cooked."

Ye Min agreed, then stood up and asked her if she needed help.

"No need, it will be ready soon. Just sit and wait." Feng Aiyun pushed Ye Min back onto the sofa, and together with Feng Xiuling, distributed tea to everyone, then left in a hurry.

Feng Xiuling stayed to entertain them. When asked why they didn't bring their children, Liang Juan smiled and said, "My kids at home have big appetites. I don't feel comfortable bringing them here."

Ye Min also said: "My two kids are happy when we are not around, so they can rule the house."

"That's right."

Not long after the greetings, Lu Wennian came back. He came over to greet everyone first, and then invited Meng Cheng and a few others to go to the study to chat.

Although Lu Wennian's attitude was warm, he was a troop leader after all. Liang Juan and Qian Xiaoyun both felt quite pressured when he was in the living room, so they both breathed a sigh of relief when he left.

Feng Xiuling saw him and said, "Lao Lu only looks serious, but he is actually very gentle. You don't have to be afraid of him."

"We can see it." Liang Juan and Qian Xiaoyun said with a smile.

After chatting for another ten minutes, Feng Aiyun finally came out to announce that dinner was ready.

In order to prepare this meal, Feng Aiyun got up at dawn in the morning. She first queued up at the meat station to buy meat, then queued up at the vegetable station to buy vegetables. After coming back and having breakfast, she rolled up her sleeves and started working.

Although Feng Aiyun was spoiled at home, her parents did not raise her to be lazy. She could do nothing during weekdays because she had to go to school, but she still had to do some housework during the winter and summer vacations.

Her parents are busy with work, and her married brothers and sisters have either moved out or are both working full-time and have no time to cook, so she has to do it because she has all the free time.

After joining the army, Feng Aiyun seldom cooked. Her aunt and uncle were busy with work, so they usually ate in the cafeteria and only cooked on their days off.

But cooking skills are the body's memory, and you won't forget them if you don't cook for a while. Feng Aiyun performed fairly steadily in this meal. Although she cooked dishes from her hometown, she took everyone's taste into consideration, and the sweet and sour spare ribs had just the right amount of sweetness.

After dinner, Lu Wennian took Meng Cheng and others back to the study. Feng Xiuling took the initiative to clean up the dishes and asked Feng Aiyun to accompany Ye Min and others to the living room to sit for a while.

Feng Aiyun couldn't refuse, so she had to take Ye Min and the other two back to the living room.

After sitting down, several people talked about the New Year.

This year's Spring Festival comes earlier, on January 23rd, and it is already the 15th, with only a few days left.

Among the few people, Liang Juan was the only one who was sure to go back home for the New Year. She and Feng Xuewen had not been back to their hometown for three years. If they did not go back this year, their parents-in-law would have opinions.

Liang Juan is worried about the cost of going back home: "Our hometown is far away. Just to go back, we have to change trains six times. If we are lucky, we can get home in four days. If we are unlucky, it is not uncommon to arrive on the sixth day. The ticket price is also expensive. For an adult to go back home, the bus and train tickets alone will cost nearly 30 yuan, and for two people, it will be nearly 60 yuan. Among my three children, only the third child does not need to buy a ticket. Qingping and Qinglan have half-price tickets, which adds up to the expenses of an adult. If we don't count the food expenses on the way, the fare alone will cost 160 or 170 yuan."

That’s not all. Feng Xuewen is, after all, a deputy head of the group, which means he is well-off in the eyes of his family. When they return to their hometown, they certainly cannot dress too poorly, and everyone has to buy a new set of clothes.

Although they also need to buy new clothes for the New Year in Yunnan, it is warm in Yunnan, so a slightly thicker coat is enough, without cotton. But it is not possible to go back to her hometown, which is in the north, where the temperature often drops below zero in winter, so you need to buy a thick cotton jacket to survive.

It's easy to tell which is more expensive, a cotton padded jacket or a slightly thicker coat.

This cotton jacket was not worn long enough after it was bought, and it could not be worn after returning to the army. It was not a big deal for her and Feng Xuewen, who were adults, and they could pick it up and wear it when they returned to their hometown in a few years. But the three children were growing up, and they could not wear it when they returned from their hometown after the New Year. After a few years, they could not wear it again.

In addition to buying new clothes for myself, I have to show my appreciation to my parents on both sides of the family, and I also have to give gifts to my family relatives. When all the miscellaneous expenses are added up, it will cost at least 500 or 600 yuan.

So Liang Juan felt worried when she thought about going back to her hometown.

Feng Aiyun is also going back to her hometown this year, and she is also worried.

But what she was worried about was not the expenses of returning home. After all, she was not married yet. Not only would she not have to give money to her parents when she returned home, her parents would also give her money to support her.

She was worried about whether she should come back after the Chinese New Year.

Hearing this, the three of them were stunned.

Ye Min was the first to react: "Hasn't He Ping's reputation returned to his hometown? Why are you leaving?"

Feng Aiyun had mentioned leaving the army before, but Ye Min thought she wanted to leave because she didn't know whether the results of the investigation could kill He Ping, and she was afraid that he would stay in the army and continue to play dirty tricks.

Now that He Ping's reputation has been ruined and she has left the army with her family, Ye Min thought she would give up the idea, but she didn't expect that she still planned to leave.

Yes, although Feng Aiyun said that she would consider coming back after the new year, they all knew that this sentence basically meant that she was leaving.

Because of this, this sentence circled Feng Aiyun's social media many times during the meal just now, but she finally chose to remain silent because she didn't want to affect everyone's mood for the meal.

But after traveling thousands of miles with you, there will always be a farewell, and she will leave eventually.

Feng Aiyun raised her hand to wipe away the moisture from her eyes and said, "Although He Ping has returned to his hometown, the impact of that incident will not disappear in a short time. I don't want to be pointed at all the time."

She used to think that as long as He Ping's reputation was ruined, she would be free from this name, but reality told her that this was not the case.

When He Pinggang revealed his true identity, everyone recalled the plot against Feng Aiyun and thought that he might really be involved, so many people in the compound sympathized with Feng Aiyun.

But as He Ping returned to his hometown, public opinion changed again.

In fact, it is not that the public opinion has changed. So far, most people in the area still sympathize with Feng Aiyun. But there are always some people who like to speculate others with the greatest malice, and even call it "the world is drunk but I am sober".

Even though He Ping instigated the He family to frame Wei Chunhua for divorce several months ago, and he saved Feng Aiyun only two months ago, some people are very smart and feel that He Ping must have had his eyes on Feng Aiyun for a long time.

He framed Wei Chunhua for divorce so that he could be with Feng Aiyun.

Some people also said that Feng Aiyun might have been interested in him for a long time, otherwise how could they have had those contacts? Don't say that it was Qin Fang's plan. Before Qin Fang harmed her, she had already eaten at the same table with He Ping.

It was even said that He Ping wanted to kick Wei Chunhua away. Maybe he received a hint from Feng Aiyun. She has never been very reserved in relationships between men and women, so she could do such a thing.

Although there were few people who speculated about Feng Aiyun in this way, after seeing her, those people dared not say a word, and their expressions were very guilty. But when Feng Aiyun heard those words, she still felt cold all over.

If it were in the past, Feng Aiyun might not care about the gossip, but after going through so much, she no longer has the fearlessness she once had.

She has realized that sometimes, rumors can really kill people.

Maybe she could find the Women's Federation and make those people shut up, and maybe after a year or two, people would stop talking about these things, but Feng Aiyun knew that as long as she was here, no one would truly forget it.

In the days ahead, she will be more likely to be involved in public controversy than the average person.

So after careful consideration, Feng Aiyun discussed the matter of leaving with her aunt.

Feng Xiuling was reluctant to let her go, but she also knew that it would be better for Feng Aiyun if she left here and started over in a new place.

She considered more than Feng Aiyun.

Feng Aiyun is already 22 years old this year. Although she is not too old, she is definitely old enough to consider marriage. However, it is obviously difficult for her to find a partner in the army.

Firstly, there really haven't been any particularly young and promising people in Pingcheng in recent years. Those who have been promoted are either not good-looking, too old, or already married. The ordinary soldiers are of suitable age, and some of them are good-looking, but they are too young and immature, and it is hard to say how they will perform in the future.

If the man's hometown is the same place as Feng Aiyun's and he has no future, it doesn't matter. He can serve in the army for a few years and then return to his hometown, use his connections to arrange a good job for him. The young couple can then live a happy life.

But Feng Xiuling thinks that he is okay, and his hometown is somewhere else. Maybe if we ask him now, he will answer that he doesn't mind going anywhere in the future. But people's minds are fickle. What if he changes his mind in a few years and finds that he still wants to go back to his hometown? The rice has been cooked, how can Feng Aiyun refuse?

But for a girl, if she travels thousands of miles to a completely unfamiliar place, her family members may not even know if something happens to her. They are unreliable.

Secondly, it’s still those words. Although they think there is nothing wrong with pursuing one’s own happiness, some people just can’t stand it. Not only can they not stand it, they will also say that you are wrong to do so.

Feng Aiyun's unsuccessful pursuit of Zhai Mingqiu eventually affected her reputation.

There was also the matter of He Ping tying her name to his. Although Feng Aiyun was the victim, there were always some people who could not tell right from wrong and thought she was not self-disciplined enough.

It would be fine if only one of these two things was related to Feng Aiyun, but both of them were related to her, and the scope of spread was so wide that it could be said that everyone in the area knew about it.

Yes, there are so many unmarried young people living there, and you can always find someone with positive values ​​who doesn’t think Feng Aiyun is wrong.

But the thoughts of bystanders and those involved in the situation are different. When they are strangers, they don’t think she is wrong, but no one knows whether their thoughts will change after they become her husband.

Even if he doesn't care about it after marriage, no one knows whether he will bring up these things when the couple quarrels a few years or even a dozen years later.

What's more, Feng Aiyun really liked Zhai Mingqiu.

The human heart cannot stand the test, the best way is to keep these things secret. But it is obviously impossible to keep these things secret when looking for someone in the local area. Even if this person is really oblivious to what is happening outside, after he gets along with Feng Aiyun, someone will always tell him these things.

From a marriage perspective, Feng Xiuling also thinks it is better for her niece to leave.

Feng Aiyun had never considered these things, but Ye Min and the other two were all married, and she thought of these connections when she said she didn't want to be criticized.

Ye Min stopped trying to persuade Feng Aiyun to stay and asked, "Where are you going?"

Feng Aiyun mentioned a place name, which is the island where Lu Wennian's second son served in the army: "The medical resources on the island are tight. I am applying for a transfer there now, and the process can be completed quickly. It is also close to my hometown, so it will be very convenient for me to go home after I go there, and I don't have to go home every few years like I do now."

Hearing her say that, going to the island is indeed a good idea. Ye Min thought about it and asked, "When do we leave?"

"Twenty-eight."

"I'll come and see you off then." Knowing that she liked An An, Ye Min added, "Take An An with you."

Feng Aiyun smiled instantly: "That would be great!"