Chapter 102 Face-to-Face Questioning
"sister in law."
Fu Lan took a step closer and lowered her voice, as if she were trying to kindly advise her.
"Wang Erdan is a key candidate for promotion right now, so don't get involved or you'll get into trouble."
[How ungrateful! You dare to meddle in such a troublesome matter? Let's see how you handle this!]
Qiao Wanyin's eyes turned cold.
"Oh? Then I need to get to the bottom of this. If someone really has questionable character, how can they stay in the military?"
She turned around and said gently to Zhang Xiulan, "Sister, please don't worry. Although the situation is a bit complicated, we will do our best to help you."
The people around them also became excited: "That's right! We're here to solve this problem!"
"How can we stand idly by and watch our child suffer so much at such a young age!"
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became lively and exciting.
Seeing that things were not going well, Fu Lan snorted coldly and turned to leave.
She didn't turn back, but pushed open the door.
Qiao Wanyin glanced at her back.
Then his gaze fell back on Zhang Xiulan.
"Big sister, don't be afraid. Now please tell me in detail what exactly happened."
"Don't worry, the leadership won't stand idly by; they will definitely give you an explanation!"
This time, that heartless man must pay the price!
Seeing that Comrade Qiao spoke sincerely, Zhang Xiulan felt much more at ease and recounted the past events in detail.
She was sent by her parents to the Wang family to be a wife when she was a teenager.
Wang Erdan had just turned seventeen at that time.
She served her parents-in-law for a full ten years.
During that time, Wang Erdan joined the army and left, leaving her to support the family on her own.
She gets up before dawn every day to start a fire, cook, feed the chickens and pigs, and clean the yard.
She served her parents-in-law meals and water, and helped them dress and wash up, never daring to be negligent in the slightest.
Farming, harvesting grain, carrying water, washing clothes.
She took on all the farm work and housework by herself.
After her two daughters were born, she took care of the children while working.
After putting the child to sleep at night, I still have to mend clothes.
Wang Erdan occasionally wrote back while in the army, but he never inquired about his family's situation, nor did he ever send any money.
She gritted her teeth and persevered, hoping that after Wang Erdan was discharged from the army, they could live a peaceful life together.
After giving birth to two daughters, her mother-in-law and father-in-law became increasingly disgusted with her.
They resented that she didn't give birth to a son, berated her for being useless, and wouldn't even let her sit at the table for meals.
They wouldn't let us light fires in winter, saying it was a waste of firewood, and my daughter cried from the cold.
She could only hold the child in her arms to keep warm.
They usually eat leftovers, and the two children can only eat cold steamed buns.
Her mother-in-law often berated her in front of the neighbors, saying that she was incompetent and couldn't even give birth to a son.
Her father-in-law also treated her coldly, never letting her show her face when relatives came to visit.
She would say one thing and be scolded ten times, making each day harder than the last.
Last year, Wang Erdan was promoted to platoon leader, and when he came home, he kicked her and their two children out of the house.
He stood at the door, dressed in his brand-new military uniform, without even glancing at her.
Her two daughters shrank behind her in fright, the youngest of whom was still clutching a rag doll.
He said he was making room in his house for his new wife and that they should leave immediately.
Zhang Xiulan wanted to ask for clarification, but before she could speak, he closed the door.
She squatted at the door and cried for half the night. In the end, she held her two children and stayed in the dilapidated temple at the entrance of the village for a few days.
Later, when there was really nothing left to eat, they had no choice but to take the children to the county town.
He said I was uneducated and that taking me out would embarrass him.
Zhang Xiulan's voice trembled.
"But I don't know a single word, where can I go? I can only beg for food in the county town with my child."
Every day, she would kneel with her child at the entrance of the market, with a broken bowl in front of them.
The eldest daughter was sensible; she didn't cry or make a fuss, but instead looked down and counted the cracks between the bricks on the ground.
Her youngest daughter always wanted to look up at people, so she quickly pressed the child's head down.
When a kind person gave her a meal, she fed her child first and then ate the leftover bread herself.
They slept under the eaves of the City God Temple at night, covering the children with old clothes.
She said she dared not go back to her hometown, fearing her child would be bullied.
Lin Xiaoyuan's face turned red with anger upon hearing this.
"This is so heartless! Even if we weren't married, we've been together for so many years and have two biological children. How can we just abandon them like that?"
She slammed her hand on the table, making the teacups jump.
Lin Xiaoyuan ignored him and raised his voice even higher.
"What kind of man is this? He eats her food, wears her clothes, and the child is his own, yet he turns his back on her!"
She got angrier and angrier as she spoke, and her eyes even turned red.
"If this were in the army, my comrades would have been criticizing me behind my back for this kind of thing."
She wished she could go find that platoon leader Wang right now and confront him face to face.
Qiao Wanyin thought for a moment and asked Lin Xiaoyuan, "Zishu, how did the army usually handle this kind of situation in the past?"
Qiao Wanyin spoke in a calm tone, but her fingers gripped the chopsticks tightly.
She knew things would be difficult without a marriage certificate, but the issue of the child couldn't be left ambiguous.
Lin Xiaoyuan frowned, recalling similar cases he had heard of in the past.
"This is difficult!"
Lin Xiaoyuan shook his head, "Without a marriage certificate, it's difficult to legally recognize them as husband and wife."
She said the military sometimes mediates internally, but only if the parties involved acknowledge the facts.
If the other party insists that this didn't happen, and there's no one to testify.
The only recourse is through paternity testing and determining parentage responsibility.
But now Wang Erdan is taking a hard line and won't cooperate at all.
"But the child is his biological child, and he can't deny that. At the very least, he has to pay child support!"
Qiao Wanyin nodded and looked at Zhang Xiulan: "Sister, what do you want most right now? Do you hope that Platoon Leader Wang will turn back, or do you just want to fight for your and your child's basic rights?"
Qiao Wanyin's gaze was firm.
She didn't want Zhang Xiulan to have any more illusions; she just wanted to help her get real, tangible assistance.
Zhang Xiulan lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes with her fingers, and remained silent for a long time.
Zhang Xiulan smiled bitterly: "Turning back? I don't want to. I just hope he can acknowledge these two daughters and give them something to eat."
She had once hoped that Wang Erdan would change his mind, but reality had worn her heart down.
She asked for nothing more than that her two daughters could survive and stop going hungry.
The eldest daughter quietly tugged at her sleeve, and she reached out to touch the child's head.
At this moment, the little girl who had been silent spoke up.
"Mom, I want to go to school."
These words brought tears to the eyes of everyone in the room.
Qiao Wanyin immediately squatted down to be at eye level with the little girl: "What's your name? How old are you?"
She looked at the little girl's dirty face, noticed several dry, cracked cuts on her fingers, and that her sleeves were torn at the edges.
"Wang Zhaodi, I am six years old."
The little girl whispered, "I want to go to school like the children in the city."
After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and tightly gripped the tattered hem of her clothes with both hands.
Qiao Wanyin's heart clenched suddenly.
It felt like something had hit my chest hard.
She stood up.
"Big sister, we will definitely see this through to the end."
She straightened her back, her eyes revealing an unwavering determination.
"Not only must Platoon Leader Wang take responsibility, but Zhao Di must also be able to enroll in school smoothly!"
She raised her voice.
"Children should not suffer because of their parents' problems, and they should not lose the opportunity to study because no one is taking care of them."
Other family members also responded:
"Yes! Let's write a letter to our superiors and report this!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
