Upon hearing this, everyone in the canteen, from the soldiers eating to their families getting food, was filled with confusion and shock, and they began whispering among themselves.
"How is it possible that Commander Lu's wife is a capitalist? Wasn't it said that her family were poor peasants, and that her ancestors for eight generations were all farmers with impeccable revolutionary credentials?"
“That’s right. If she really were the daughter of a capitalist, her marriage application with Commander Lu would never have been approved. Besides, she’s a nice person and should be one of the masses, not someone from the exploiting class.”
"You wouldn't know this, but I heard that Commander Lu's wife isn't his biological daughter. She was switched at birth. Who knows what kind of monsters and demons her biological parents are? Maybe this is a conspiracy by the enemy class, trying to use the poisonous ideology of capitalism to undermine Commander Lu's loyalty through his wife's influence."
Opinions are varied, and the more they are discussed, the more serious it becomes, and the faster it spreads.
The loud-voiced military dependent asked Zhou Yinhua, "Yinhua, are you telling the truth? You can't just make things up without evidence."
“Of course it’s true. Zhou Yinhua is a woman of her word and never wrongs innocent people. Yu Yao is the daughter of a capitalist. I have witnesses and physical evidence. Her parents are comprador capitalists.”
"Comprador capitalists?"
A new term has emerged: "Sister Dan, what is a comprador capitalist? Are there different types of capitalists?"
Zhu Xiudan explained: "Our domestic capitalists are mainly comprador capitalists and national capitalists."
"Simply put, comprador capitalists work for foreigners and belong to the exploiting class, the enemy class."
“If they are found out, they must be criticized, educated, and ideologically reformed.”
If Commander Lu's wife is indeed the daughter of a comprador capitalist, then this matter is not just about Lu Ze, but a very serious political incident for the entire island unit.
It's almost a certainty that Regiment Commander Lu will be affected; not to mention his bright future, whether he can even stay in the army is another matter entirely.
The wives of the soldiers around Zhu Xiudan all stared wide-eyed after hearing her explanation.
“This comprador capitalist is a bad element, and Regiment Commander Lu’s wife is the capitalist’s daughter, so she is also a bad element. This kind of bad element cannot be allowed to stay in the military family compound; she should be expelled from the military compound.”
“That’s right. It’s a disgrace to be kicked out of the compound and to have such a person as a neighbor. We came to the island to respond to the call to go out into the world and temper our hearts with patriotism. We can’t let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch.”
"She went to great lengths to infiltrate the military compound. What if she's an enemy agent? Could the attack on the shipyard expert by spies be related to her?"
"The spy we caught last time might just be a smokescreen. There's a good chance she had accomplices, and she is one of them."
"This...no way, hearing you say that gives me goosebumps. Just thinking about living in the same residential compound with such bad elements for so long makes me shudder."
The more they talked, the more panicked they became. The noise was like a pot of porridge, with all sorts of explanations coming out, and everyone was filled with anxiety.
Seeing that the time was right, Zhou Yinhua took the initiative to ask Zhu Xiudan, "Sister Dan, what should we do about this?"
Everyone stopped to listen to what she had to say.
Zhu Xiudan's sharp gaze swept over her surroundings, her voice firm and resonant:
"Please calm down. If this is true, I will report it to the organization and will never give such bad elements an opportunity."
She paused, then continued, "But at the same time, we cannot arbitrarily accuse any innocent companions; we must have solid evidence."
Zhu Xiudan is upright and incorruptible, methodical and never lenient.
If she says it, she will definitely do it.
With her as a pillar of support, everyone felt much more at ease.
"Zhou Yinhua, you say you have witnesses and physical evidence?"
"Yes, Sister Dan, Yu Yao's biological parents are at my house. My cousin is watching over them. I'll take you there."
Zhu Xiudan put down her chopsticks and followed Zhou Yinhua away. The other military dependents quickly finished their meals and followed them.
*
Yu Yao and Lu Ze returned to the military base from the post office; it was still early.
Lu Ze first helped Yu Yao carry the bucket back, and then went to work.
After a quick wash, Yu Yao changed into some old clothes and took out a small bag of flour from the cupboard, which was a gift from Sister-in-law Sun Yu.
She planned to make some egg pancakes.
When we passed by the mangrove forest earlier, Lu Ze took her in and they found a nest of seabird eggs.
There were four or five, each only the size of a pigeon egg.
She only needs two; the rest will be left for Lu Ze.
In the private plot of land against the wall in the yard.
Perhaps due to the hot weather on the island, the seeds they sowed before leaving—various vegetables such as bok choy, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes—have already sprouted and grown tall.
The bok choy and scallions looked fresh and green, and they looked delicious.
Yu Yao picked some.
Chop the scallions into sections and mix them into the flour to make scallion pancakes.
The pale yellow batter is dotted with green scallion segments. When the oil is hot, it is poured into the pan, and the batter sizzles as it hits the hot oil.
The pancakes turned golden brown, and a aroma of scallions, eggs, and fresh wheat filled the kitchen.
Steaming hot, the water vapor forms a thin veil.
I pinched off a piece of the freshly cooked egg pancake, blew on it, and ate it. It was hot, fragrant, and crispy.
Then she picked out the conch shells she had made before.
Clean the snail meat thoroughly, slice it into paper-thin slices, blanch it in boiling water from the thermos in the pan used to fry the egg pancakes, and add some scallions and ginger to remove the fishy smell.
The soup is milky white, rich, and fragrant.
Add a handful of firewood to the stove, and it starts bubbling and gurgling.
This method of blanching snails results in delicious boiled snail meat, whether dipped in soy sauce or other dipping sauces.
Yu Yao simply stir-fried the remaining bok choy with garlic.
While Yu Yao was having dinner in the main room, Zhu Xiudan and the others had already arrived at Zhou Yinhua's house.
From a distance, you can see a man and a woman with gray hair standing in the courtyard, looking rather old.
Seeing Zhu Xiudan frown, Zhou Yinhua explained, "These two are reformed prisoners from the cowshed of the next production team. Yu Yao is their youngest daughter. They are in their sixties or seventies and look old."
Upon entering the courtyard, Zhou Yinhua did not introduce Zhu Xiudan's identity, only saying that she was the eldest sister and could help the two of them to clarify the matter in detail.
The two men looked at Zhu Xiudan, knowing she was a cadre, and recounted the whole story from beginning to end.
After listening to what the two said, Zhu Xiudan also looked at the photos.
She didn't believe it completely, but instead asked a soldier to go to the telephone exchange to call the production team to verify the situation.
Not long after, the sentry returned.
"Report, Comrade Zhu! We have confirmed with the island fishing brigade that Jiang Yuqing and Liu Yu are indeed from their brigade. They lost their daughter twenty years ago and have been searching for her with her photo all these years."
Jiang Yuqing and Liu Yu eagerly confirmed: "We are not lying, Yu Yao is indeed our daughter."
Zhu Xiudan's eyes were like knives as she looked at the two of them, her tone somewhat interrogative.
"Is she really your daughter? If she is your biological daughter, do you know what it will bring her if you acknowledge her as your daughter? Even so, are you still insisting on acknowledging her?"
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