7000 Nutrient Solution Bonus Chapter: Song Fenfang Returns to Mengjiatun (…)
Chapter 36
Faced with Meng Yingying's question, Qi Donghan gritted his teeth and swallowed the extremely spicy rabbit meat. Without changing his expression, he said, "Yes."
In front of Meng Yingying, he picked up another piece of rabbit meat with his chopsticks, put it in his mouth, and swallowed it without even chewing it, saying, "It's delicious."
Meng Yingying, "..."
If his face hadn't been so red, Meng Yingying would have almost believed it. She thought for a moment and then used her chopsticks to pick out the red chilies from his plate of spicy rabbit meat, one by one.
Put it in your own bowl.
I ate it with a bite of chili and a bite of noodles.
Qi Donghan watched her the whole time, until his expression became numb.
He really couldn't understand how Meng Yingying, such a frail young girl, could eat red chili peppers without batting an eye.
"Isn't it spicy for you?"
Qi Donghan asked a question.
Meng Yingying tasted it carefully, "It's a little spicy, but I can handle it."
The original owner of this body was a girl from Hunan, who grew up eating spicy food and couldn't live without it. This also meant that Meng Yingying herself had a bit of a craving for chili peppers.
To be honest, after coming to Harbin, she found that not many people here eat spicy food, and she was not used to it several times.
She thoroughly enjoyed today's spicy rabbit meat with buckwheat noodles.
She's afraid of gaining weight, so she estimates she'll need to jump for two more hours after eating to burn off the calories. Several times she's tried to resist the urge.
But I really craved that spicy flavor.
Qi Donghan noticed this and stopped eating. Instead, he pushed his plate of spicy rabbit meat in front of Meng Yingying.
"I can't eat spicy food."
Meng Yingying wanted to eat it, but she was afraid of gaining weight. She only glanced at it, picked out the chili peppers to mix with her noodles, and returned the rabbit meat.
"I'll have some chili peppers."
Qi Donghan was somewhat puzzled. In his eyes, it was obvious that everyone was short of meat these days.
He clearly didn't understand why Meng Yingying only ate chili peppers and not meat.
Meng Yingying sipped the chili pepper, carefully savoring each bite of spiciness. The dried chili peppers had been deep-fried, and they tasted both crispy and fragrant in her mouth.
And you don't have to worry about gaining weight even if you eat a lot.
Seeing Qi Donghan's puzzled expression, she explained, "Eating meat at night can easily make you fat. Eating some chili peppers to satisfy your craving is enough."
She touched her waist. "If I get any fatter, I won't be able to get over the horizontal bar when I go to the practice room tonight."
"Since I work in the dance industry, having a good physique is the most basic requirement."
Qi Donghan's gaze followed her hand down, finally lingering on her waist for a moment. "You're already very thin."
He murmured.
He even used his eyes as a measuring tool, feeling that Meng Yingying's waist was probably shorter than his arm.
Meng Yingying smiled without saying a word, ate the fried dried chili peppers and drank the noodle soup, feeling as if every pore of her body had been opened up.
"This meal was very enjoyable."
Her voice was somewhat shy.
Perhaps it was the spiciness, because her cheeks were flushed, and the fine downy hairs were clearly visible.
It truly resembles a ripe peach.
Qi Donghan's Adam's apple bobbed. "If you like, we can come back to eat here again next time."
"But we need to let Squad Leader Wang know in advance."
Meng Yingying was panting from the spiciness, and her lips were a little swollen, but her eyes were bright and sparkling, a feeling of wanting more after eating such a delicious meal.
"I'm not familiar with Squad Leader Wang, and I don't want to trouble him."
"If I ever get really craving something again, I'll come to you for help."
She could tell that Qi Donghan was clearly a local bigwig here, with money, connections, and influence.
Qi Donghan nodded, somewhat pleased that Meng Yingying was willing to come to him about something like this. "I value food the most, so you can tell me what you want to eat."
"I wouldn't say 100%, but I can probably get 70% or 80% of it."
This is still a conservative estimate.
Meng Yingying thought to herself, "That's great, I'm a foodie too. But I'm just afraid of gaining weight."
"I'll definitely look for you when I have the chance."
After having a meal with Qi Donghan, she found that she was not so afraid of him anymore, so she said goodbye.
Qi Donghan didn't actually eat much; the two plates of spicy rabbit meat ended up in Meng Yingying's stomach.
In the end, he slurped up the whole bowl of buckwheat noodles, leaving not a drop of soup.
After the two left the cafeteria, Meng Yingying felt a little regretful that she hadn't paid. "I'll definitely treat you next time."
Qi Donghan nodded, "Okay."
His voice is also crisp and clear.
He was decisive and straightforward; Meng Yingying liked dealing with people like him, and their return journey was essentially a stroll.
"You don't need to take me to my dorm, I'll go straight back to the practice room."
"Going again tonight?"
Qi Donghan was somewhat surprised. Even soldiers like them, except for special nighttime training exercises, rested at night.
"go."
Meng Yingying stood under the tree, the shadows of the tree casting a hazy glow on her face, making her appear even more fair, gentle, and quiet.
"If I don't go, I'll easily gain weight from eating so much, and it's also a basic skill to practice. I've fallen behind quite a bit in the week I've been away."
Qi Donghan then gave up, his brows furrowed, "Then I'll take you to the practice room."
This time, Meng Yingying did not refuse.
When they arrived downstairs at the practice room, Meng Yingying said goodbye. Before Qi Donghan had even left, two heads peeked out of the upstairs window, chuckling to themselves.
Laughter drifted down, and when Meng Yingying looked up, she saw Ye Yingtao and Lin Qiu, who were peeking and laughing from upstairs.
Meng Yingying's face instantly flushed. She glared at the person above, and just as she was about to leave, she remembered that she hadn't said goodbye to Qi Donghan.
He then hurriedly turned around and said something.
"Commander Qi, see you later."
He's incredibly decisive and efficient; he's completely lost all his previous reserve.
Clearly, this meal brought the two of them much closer than before.
Qi Donghan watched her graceful figure, then looked up again. The two women upstairs had already disappeared.
He stood downstairs for a while, and after hearing the sounds from the stairwell gradually fade away, he knew that Meng Yingying must have gone upstairs.
Qi Donghan then turned and left.
The practice room upstairs.
It's already past seven o'clock, but there are still several people practicing in the dance studio. You can tell that everyone is working really hard for the next rehearsal and performance.
Even after getting off work in the evening, they are still practicing in the practice room, clearly trying to make up for their shortcomings.
Meng Yingying, wearing shoes, stepped onto the waxed wooden floor, making a stomping sound.
"The female lead is back."
She hasn't arrived yet.
Ye Yingtao laughed in a high-pitched voice, clutching her stomach, "Our Yingying is back from her date."
"Commander Qi personally escorted you to the dance studio. I wonder what you think, Comrade Meng Yingying?"
He even stretched out his hand, making a microphone shape with his thumb and forefinger, clearly intending to interview Meng Yingying.
Meng Yingying almost laughed out of anger. She raised her hand as if to hit Ye Yingtao, but Ye Yingtao ran away while admitting her mistake, "Yingying, good Yingying, I was wrong."
“I shouldn’t have spied on you and Commander Qi talking. Next time I will—” she coughed lightly, “stand above you and watch openly.”
This caused Meng Yingying to hit her again.
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around. Cherry, you too, Yingying and Commander Qi should just be ordinary friends."
Lin Qiu interrupted.
Both Meng Yingying and Ye Yingtao were stunned.
How did you figure that out?
Meng Yingying asked curiously.
“Look, Cherry teased you, and you didn’t even blush; instead, you just wanted to vent your anger.”
“You remember when Cherry and Qi Changming went out to eat last time? When she got back to the dorm, we teased her and she turned as red as a monkey’s bottom.”
Then, Lin Qiu changed the subject, her round face full of teasing, "Tell me honestly, did you ever have a crush on Qi Changming?"
Otherwise, she wouldn't have reacted that way.
Ye Yingtao covered her face, cursing, "Who wasn't blind when they were young? Did I go blind before?"
If she didn't like Qi Changming, she wouldn't have cared about his family background and actively pursued him.
In the end, Ye Yingtao realized that Qi Changming was not a good match, and all that affection was useless.
In real married life, money, financial support, responsibility, character, and a simple relationship are the most important things.
As for that little bit of affection, Ye Yingtao had already made a choice.
Seeing her so direct, Meng Yingying next to her was a little uncomfortable, but Lin Qiu was very casual, "So, have you found someone else?"
She knew Ye Yingtao was determined to get married before she turned twenty-five.
Ye Yingtao was a little hesitant.
Lin Qiu's eyes widened immediately. "There really is?"
Ye Yingtao looked around. Everyone had scattered to practice dancing and no one was gathered together. She whispered to Meng Yingying, "Yes, it's Instructor Xu, whom Yingying met this morning."
"Yingying, I have another favor to ask of you."
Meng Yingying blinked. "What?"
"I want you to find out about Instructor Xu's family background indirectly through Commander Qi. If, and I mean if, his family is from the city and has a single or double income, I don't care."
"There's only one condition: I won't marry a man from the countryside."
“As long as he fails to meet the last criterion, I can relax the standards for the others.”
Meng Yingying didn't expect that Ye Yingtao would change her target so quickly.
"You like Instructor Xu?"
She asked a question, but instead of giving a direct answer, she asked a more indirect one.
Ye Yingtao paused for a moment. Not wanting to deceive Meng Yingying, she said, "I wouldn't say I like her, but I don't dislike her either."
"I just feel that at my age, I should start planning for my future."
Seeing Meng Yingying's wide eyes, Ye Yingtao made herself clear. She did a split and said, "Look at me now, I can't do a split as smoothly as I used to when I was young."
"Yingying, I'm already twenty-four years old this year. If I don't set a goal for myself, I'm worried I'll be discharged from the army, you know?"
“You know the future of us cultural troupe members. Our profession is one that relies on youth. If I can’t stand out and stay in the station, then I will have to leave.”
"My dancing talent isn't top-notch. The reason I've been able to stay in the performing arts troupe all these years is entirely due to my diligence and hard work. I haven't dared to stop for a single day, which is why I'm where I am today."
"But Yingying, if I don't plan ahead, if tomorrow, next week, next month, Officer Xu and Regiment Commander Fang make me retire and kick me out, where do you think I can go?"
She could only return to her home in the countryside.
That poor family, which favored sons over daughters.
"Isn't your family both employed?" Lin Qiu suddenly asked. "Even if you're discharged from the military, it shouldn't be described as so dire."
Ye Yingtao paused for a moment, "I told Qi Changming that both of my family members work, otherwise his mother wouldn't even let me into the house."
Now, even Lin Qiu didn't know what to say.
"Yingying, I really need you to help me find out about Instructor Xu's family background."
Ye Yingtao seemed determined to go all in, saying, "As long as he's not from the countryside, I'm willing to marry him."
“Even if he has four, five, or six siblings, I’m not afraid.”
She calculated that Xu Wenjun should only be in his early twenties, and at his age, he had already reached the position of instructor in the garrison.
The future won't be too bad.
He might be able to advance further, and even if he doesn't, he can still find a good job after retiring from the military.
In that case, even if she marries Xu Wenjun, she won't suffer much in the future. Even her children, whether daughters or sons, she has already chosen the best father within her means for them.
So that they wouldn't be born in the countryside, having to travel ten or twenty miles just for an egg, for the fields, or for school.
They even had to kneel down and beg.
These were all things Ye Yingtao had seen before.
She is now trying her best to avoid taking this path herself and her future children.
After listening, Meng Yingying couldn't help but say, "Cherry, you are very outstanding and have great foresight."
Ye Yingtao was the most clear-headed and the most calculating person she had ever met in her age group.
She saw her future path very early on, and she was filtering out the pitfalls step by step, striving to move in the direction she wanted.
Seeing Ye Yingtao like this, Meng Yingying couldn't refuse at all, "If I'm with Commander Qi again someday, I'll subtly inquire about it for you."
Ye Yingtao rushed over and gave her a hug, "Thank you, Yingying."
"Alright, alright, don't bother Yingying with this kind of thing. Yingying, this is a new dance move we learned this week."
"Look at this movement."
Lin Qiu picked up the fake gun leaning against the wall, tucked it into her hand, and performed a perfectly executed jump. As she jumped, the gun remained motionless in her hand.
There was even a plot twist, which was extremely dashing and heroic.
"Dancing with a gun?"
Meng Yingying watched intently, and sure enough, her attention was instantly diverted.
"yes."
Lin Qiu held the gun, chin held high, eyes fixed ahead, full of fighting spirit. "This is the way to dance the Red Ballet, which Director Fang found out from the Jilin City Cultural Troupe."
"It is said that their cultural troupe will perform this red dance in the grand performance."
"But it is very difficult. Whether it is a solo dance or a group dance, it is easy to fall out of rhythm."
"And as you know, ballet is all about gentleness, so Director Fang went to great lengths to invite Captain Zhao from outside to be our coach."
At this point, Lin Qiu felt a bit annoyed, "It's just that we didn't study very well."
"Look."
She demonstrated her movements, saying, "Ballet is the epitome of gentleness, but when I hold a javelin, I always feel like I'm about to go to war, so my expression and limbs can easily become stiff."
"This has resulted in my body, my dance moves, and the red egg ballet of the grassland female militia not being compatible."
"For this, Captain Zhao scolded me for a long time."
"And me too."
Mentioning this, Ye Yingtao lost all interest in planning her marriage. She had a headache. "I've been hit by Captain Zhao with his baton several times already."
She raised her arm, still shaken. "Look, the red marks haven't disappeared yet."
It's a long strip, and it looks a bit scary.
After listening, Meng Yingying roughly knew where the problem lay. "Let me hold the gun and try it out."
Lin Qiu handed her the fake gun. Meng Yingying held the fake gun and first got used to it in her hand. The fake gun was a bit too long.
However, when she turns around, she often accidentally pokes her chin.
Meng Yingying tried several times, but it didn't work.
"I'll try jumping down without turning back."
Lin Qiu demonstrated the new dance to her from the side, and Meng Yingying followed along, her limbs stretching out and moving very flexibly.
However, she encountered the same problem as Lin Qiu.
When she was holding the toy gun, the gun was heavy, and she got tired after holding it for a while, but that wasn't the most important thing.
The most important thing is mindset.
Ballet is the epitome of gentleness, a softness that emanates from the very core of one's being, making it easy for others to feel a protective instinct towards it.
But once you hold a gun, your mindset changes.
It was curiosity, excitement, tension, awe, and finally, the fearless stance after taking up the gun.
This results in it going against the principles of flexibility in ballet.
Holding a fake gun, Meng Yingying danced for a while before suddenly stopping. "Do you know what it feels like to dance ballet while holding a fake gun?"
"How does it feel?"
Meng Yingying held the toy gun to her eyes and made an aiming motion. "If I encountered an enemy right now, I'd dare to go up and shoot him!"
Women's physical structure means that they are much weaker than men in terms of physical abilities.
Their dancing has always emphasized flexibility, aesthetics, and beauty.
The only thing they never paid attention to was the sense of power they felt in wielding such authority.
That is control over one's destiny, and contempt for one's enemy.
"I even feel that with this gun, why would I need to dance? If I ever need to go to the battlefield, I'd be willing to shoot them."
Even a gentle and delicate woman like Meng Yingying would feel a surge of heroic spirit.
How can we practice like this?
"Yes, yes, yes."
Lin Qiu instantly became excited, "When I practiced dancing with a gun, I felt the same way as you. My limbs could move along with the movements, but they just wouldn't be flexible. All I wanted to do was—" she chuckled, "shoot the enemy off."
"If I already have such human thoughts, how can I possibly dance with such grace and gentleness?"
Isn't this making things difficult for people?
Meng Yingying stroked the gun, stood there for a while, then jumped around a bit. As she jumped, she couldn't help but stroke it again.
"I want to take a gun and fight the Japanese devils!"
Dancing? What a load of crap!
This is such a waste!
Lin Qiu, "..."
Ye Yingtao, "..."
"Oh no, I've discovered that this modified dance has led our Yingying astray too."
Meng Yingying felt that the fake gun was poisonous; after touching it, she didn't want to dance at all, and only wanted to shoot the enemy.
She took a deep breath, thought carefully about the problem, and then put the gun back against the wall.
Then, she asked Lin Qiu to tune the radio back to the song "Grassland Women Militia".
She started dancing slowly to the song, and soon she was getting into the swing of things.
When Captain Zhao, who came to conduct a spot check that evening, saw this scene, he immediately stopped in his tracks.
Lin Qiu and Ye Yingtao, who were standing nearby, noticed that Captain Zhao was coming over and wanted to remind Meng Yingying, but Captain Zhao stopped them.
She shook her head, indicating that she should watch Meng Yingying continue dancing.
Meng Yingying hadn't danced in a long time, so she wanted to get her body in shape. The dance studio was spacious, and once the music started, she quickly got into the groove.
He no longer had the fake gun.
When she danced this dance, she was incredibly graceful, with her limbs stretched out and her waist swaying; every movement was a feast for the eyes.
The song ended.
Captain Zhao couldn't help but applaud, "Well done!"
"Are you Meng Yingying?"
Clearly, although she had never met Meng Yingying, she had already heard of Meng Yingying's great reputation.
After all, even before the person had officially started working, Commander Fang had already spoken up and ordered Officer Xu to stop all his work.
He accompanied Meng Yingying back to her hometown to complete the background check and transfer the relationship back.
Based on this alone, Captain Zhao could tell that Commander Fang had gone to great lengths to win over Meng Yingying.
After Meng Yingying finished her jump, she lowered her arms, breathed lightly, and then said to Captain Zhao, "Yes, I am Meng Yingying."
Coach Zhao looked at her figure; it was very graceful and slender, with the right proportions of her body: long, thin, and small.
She finally understood why Commander Fang was willing to invest so much in Meng Yingying.
She's a natural dancer.
If properly nurtured, she might be able to rival Shen Qiuyue from the neighboring performing arts troupe.
"Not bad. Hold the fake gun in your hand and jump a bit more so I can see."
Meng Yingying did as she was told. With the fake gun in her hand, she became somewhat clumsy, and her previous gentle movements disappeared.
That's rather too rigid.
"Stop, stop, stop."
Captain Zhao interrupted her, "Are you dancing?"
"What are you thinking about?"
Meng Yingying paused for a moment, then answered very seriously, "Hold a gun and fight the Japanese devils."
Captain Zhao, "..."
Captain Zhao almost laughed out of anger. Looking at Meng Yingying's small frame, she said, "With a frame like yours, you want to fight the Japanese? I think the Japanese will be the ones fighting you."
Meng Yingying was unconvinced. She looked up, her clear black and white eyes filled with stubbornness, "Why can't we fight the Japanese anymore?"
"If I had a real gun, why would I dance? I'd go fight the Japanese."
One shot, one Japanese soldier.
Absolutely no ambiguity.
Captain Zhao's face almost turned green. "No wonder you all stood there so stiff with your guns. So you wanted to fight the Japanese. I was wondering why your dance was getting worse and worse."
"Let me tell you, with your current attitude, you won't even get past the first round, the competition between your own people, let alone the final arts performance."
“You’re carrying guns like you’re carrying grenades. I’m waiting for you to come back with the last one up.”
The dance studio fell silent instantly.
Meng Yingying stood still, holding the gun, without saying a word.
Lin Qiu's face was also flushed. She wanted to retort, but she was an obedient person and not good at getting into conflicts with others.
On the contrary, Ye Yingtao, that little firecracker, kept spouting, "So what if we're in last place? You're the captain and the coach. You see we have problems, but you don't teach us. Then you come and criticize us for not dancing well."
“If you don’t dance well, you can teach me. Our Commander Fang hired you here and paid you a salary and gave you allowances.”
"We didn't invite you here to condescendingly criticize us for dancing poorly and to humiliate us."
The entire practice room fell silent instantly.
Everyone looked over.
Captain Zhao's face turned ashen instantly. "Ye Yingtao, are you the captain, or am I the captain?"
Ye Yingtao was not afraid at all. She looked up and stared straight at him, "You are the captain, but being the captain does not mean that you can humiliate and eliminate us at will."
"You're the captain, isn't your job to teach us?"
"Or is it that Commander Fang invited you here just to insult us?"
These words are getting sharper and sharper.
By the end, Captain Zhao was breathing heavily. She slammed her fist on the table, her voice rapid and thunderous, "This is outrageous! Outrageous!"
“Call Commander Fang over. I can’t teach these pampered young ladies in your cultural troupe.”
After saying this, Captain Zhao stormed out in a huff.
Left behind, Ye Yingtao's face instantly turned pale. Meng Yingying noticed her regret and walked over, patting Ye Yingtao on the shoulder. "When Commander Fang arrives, we'll just tell him the truth."
Ye Yingtao absentmindedly hummed in agreement.
Lin Qiu wanted to say something more, but Meng Yingying shook her head.
She could tell that Ye Yingtao was in a bad mood.
After a while, Meng Yingying saw that Ye Yingtao's emotions had calmed down a bit, so she analyzed word by word, "Captain Zhao went to Commander Fang to complain, which was nothing more than two points: first, we didn't dance well, and second, on the basis of our poor dancing, we were still arguing with her."
"So, the real problem lies in how poorly we jumped."
“If we dance well, Commander Fang won’t even need to spend extra money to ask Captain Zhao to come and give us special lessons.”
Ye Yingtao was a smart person. She had been a little flustered, but after hearing this, she calmed down a lot. "You mean?"
"Um."
Meng Yingying said, "It's exactly what you think."
"As long as we dance this dance well, talking back or arguing won't be a problem for Commander Fang."
"What we need to do is solve the fundamental problem, and everything else will fall into place."
Ye Yingtao murmured, "It seems so."
Lin Qiu, standing beside him, couldn't help but nod in agreement. "I think Yingying is right. You need to be strong yourself to succeed. Cherry, don't worry or be afraid. Even if Commander Fang comes, we'll still be in the right."
Sure enough, not long after she finished speaking...
Commander Fang, who should have left work early, was invited over by Captain Zhao, whose face still showed lingering anger.
"Commander Fang, the female soldiers under your command are like pampered young ladies of capitalists. If they don't dance well, they'll talk back to me. I can't teach these people."
Commander Fang's face didn't look good.
After all, she had spent a lot of money and pulled some strings to invite Captain Zhao.
"What happened?"
Ye Yingtao's face turned red. Meng Yingying tugged at her and stepped forward to speak for her, "Commander Fang, it's like this."
“When we danced the grassland female militia dance, we had to hold fake guns, which caused our performance to be substandard. Captain Zhao scolded us for being disappointing.”
At this point, Meng Yingying glanced at Captain Zhao, and seeing that he was about to explain, she spoke first before he could.
"Cherry has a quick temper and is also impatient. After being scolded, she argued with Captain Zhao for a bit."
"Captain Zhao, I know you have to explain. I'll ask you a few questions later, and we'll answer them in front of everyone."
Captain Zhao didn't want to say anything at first, but seeing Meng Yingying's behavior, he reasoned with her and analyzed the situation, realizing that she didn't want to cause a scene in front of Commander Fang.
So he held back and said, "Go ahead and ask."
Meng Yingying slowly walked from behind Ye Yingtao to in front of Captain Zhao.
"Right here, are you saying that with the dance moves we've practiced, we're destined to be at the bottom of the class?"
Captain Zhao instinctively tried to explain.
Meng Yingying interrupted her, her voice calm and unhurried, "Captain Zhao, all you need to do is answer yes or no."
Are you saying we're just going to be at the bottom of the rankings in the future?
Under everyone's gaze, Captain Zhao, though unwilling and reluctant, still nodded and said, "Yes, I did say that, but those were your dance moves, which were really unprofessional."
"That's the second question."
Meng Yingying didn't refute her, but went along with her words, "Our problem is that our dancing posture is unprofessional. It is precisely because we are unprofessional and have problems that Director Fang asked you to come and correct us, isn't that right?"
"Your purpose in existence is to be here for us students who have made mistakes, is that it?"
Captain Zhao was speechless at Meng Yingying's words, and he remained silent.
Meng Yingying didn't press further to force an answer. Besides, what she said wasn't actually for Captain Zhao's sake.
It was meant for Commander Fang's ears.
For Meng Yingying, she has always been very clear about these workplace relationships, and what is most important to them is not Captain Zhao.
It was Commander Fang who showed Commander Fang the facts.
This is what Meng Yingying should do.
Sure enough, as soon as Meng Yingying finished speaking, Commander Fang's expression softened a bit. She turned to look at Captain Zhao, "Little Zhao, is what Meng Yingying said true?"
How was Captain Zhao supposed to answer that?
She was clearly in the right, but after Meng Yingying's explanation, how did it become that she was in the wrong?
Unfortunately, she was asked by Commander Fang, and she couldn't refuse to answer, so she had no choice but to bite the bullet and say, "Yes."
The next second, the team leader spoke up, "Xiao Zhao, this is not right of you. You are the coach and the captain. We all know that these girls have flaws when they dance. If they didn't have flaws, I wouldn't have asked you to be the coach."
Don't you think so?
The question was the same as Meng Yingying's before, but because the person saying it was different, the effect was different.
As expected, when confronted with Commander Fang's questioning, Captain Zhao obediently replied, "Yes."
That's clever of them.
Meng Yingying raised her eyelids and secretly looked at Ye Yingtao. Ye Yingtao winked at her, her eyes filled with indescribable gratitude.
It was Yingying's departure that changed their previous disadvantageous situation with just a few words.
She thought she was going to be punished again.
"In that case, let's have one of us teach well and the other practice well."
Commander Fang picked them up high on both sides and then gently put them down.
Captain Zhao hummed in agreement and glanced at Meng Yingying and the others with a complicated expression.
Meng Yingying stepped forward and bowed to Captain Zhao, saying, "Captain Zhao, I'll be relying on you for guidance from now on."
Look, she's already put Captain Zhao on a pedestal; it's hard for her to refuse even if she wanted to.
Captain Zhao had this mindset; she didn't say anything.
Meng Yingying tugged at Ye Yingtao's arm, and Ye Yingtao instantly understood. She also bowed to Captain Zhao, "Captain Zhao, I'm sorry for what happened before."
In front of Commander Fang, they should apologize and make amends. Even if conflicts arise again later, they shouldn't be blamed.
Ultimately, Captain Zhao was doing this for Commander Fang's benefit, and Meng Yingying and the others were doing the same for Commander Fang.
It all comes down to who does it better.
Sure enough, it was Meng Yingying and Ye Yingtao who bowed, but it was Captain Zhao who felt uncomfortable.
At that moment, she felt like she wanted to devour two Siberian tigers alive.
After Commander Fang left.
Captain Zhao's smile vanished, replaced by a coldness. "I didn't realize you greenhorns would try to set a trap for an old soldier like me."
Ye Yingtao is going to become a chili pepper again.
Fearing that she would start arguing again, Meng Yingying took a step forward and landed in front of her, smiling slightly, "Captain Zhao, shouldn't we be in an adversarial relationship, but rather help each other succeed?"
“You are a master invited by our Commander Fang, and also a secret weapon. Similarly, you can treat all of us as your soldiers. As long as we can make a name for ourselves in this arts and culture performance competition, then you can also make a name for yourself.”
"When others invite you back, they'll pay you two, three, or even ten times the salary."
Now, Captain Zhao stopped talking and stared at Meng Yingying.
Meng Yingying was not afraid. She let the other party look at her and said, "Captain Zhao, you can think carefully about whether what I said is true or not."
Captain Zhao was ultimately defeated.
"I rely on the salary that Commander Fang pays to support my family, and similarly, I want to make a name for myself through you."
"Of course, that's on the premise that you guys live up to expectations."
"If you guys don't live up to my expectations, I won't be making a name for myself, I'll be getting a lot of hate."
Meng Yingying shook her head, "No, you can look at us. We're not stupid or dumb. Apart from me, all of us have been in the performing arts troupe for more than ten years."
“Their basic skills are also beyond the reach of ordinary people. I believe that as long as Captain Zhao is willing to teach us, we will definitely learn well.”
With just a few words, the conflict between the two sides was resolved.
They even managed to bring Captain Zhao into their camp, making them all in the same boat.
Captain Zhao stood on the steps of the practice room, and said in a complicated tone, "Then you all need to practice hard too."
"I will definitely practice hard." Meng Yingying immediately raised her hand to guarantee it, and also called Ye Yingtao and Lin Qiu over.
Both of them made their promises.
Their attitude was quite good.
Captain Zhao's anger gradually dissipated. "Forget it, let's leave it at that this time."
"Go home and reflect on this tonight, then come back tomorrow morning to see how you can correct it."
Meng Yingying smiled and said "Ah," watching Captain Zhao leave.
Ye Yingtao, who had been tense, suddenly collapsed, half of her body falling down next to Meng Yingying. "Yingying, if you hadn't been here today, I would have been in real trouble."
Meng Yingying touched her head and said softly, "Alright, it's all in the past, don't think about it anymore."
Ye Yingtao hummed in agreement, straightened up, and slapped herself twice. "I've always had this temper. I know that if I don't change, I'll drag everyone down sooner or later."
If it weren't for Meng Yingying's quick wit and sharp reflexes, she wouldn't have been able to handle both Commander Fang and Captain Zhao.
She's definitely going to get at least one demerit this time.
Arguing with the coach and captain while stationed at the team is a matter of principle and unforgivable.
Just as she was about to slap him again, Meng Yingying pulled her back, saying, "Alright, alright, that's enough, don't think about it anymore."
"Everyone, go back tonight and think carefully about what Captain Zhao said. How can we integrate holding a gun with ballet?"
"One must be both extremely gentle and extremely firm."
"Each of these elements is clearly indispensable."
After Meng Yingying finished speaking, Ye Yingtao and Lin Qiu fell silent.
When they were about to go back to their dormitory together, they had just changed their clothes and reached the door.
Jia Xiaoli and the others stopped her, saying, "Meng Yingying, you almost dragged everyone down with you."
It was clearly aimed at Meng Yingying.
There are actually small cliques within the performing arts troupe, but Ye Yingtao and Lin Qiu don't associate with any of them.
Jia Xiaoli and her friends formed a group, with Jia Xiaoli leading the group. Before Meng Yingying arrived, Jia Xiaoli was considered a talented player.
They even speculated at the time whether Jia Xiaoli would be elected as the captain of the cultural troupe, given its current situation.
But unexpectedly, before Jia Xiaoli could become the team leader, Meng Yingying suddenly appeared, got in through Qi Donghan's connections, and was personally selected by Commander Fang to join the art troupe.
Now look what's happened; before he's even become the team leader, he's already got an obstacle in his way.
In any case, this was a situation that Jia Xiaoli absolutely did not want to see.
Meng Yingying was stopped. She stood there, holding her dance costume in her hand. She planned to wash it when she got home that night and bring it back to change into the next day.
She wasn't surprised to encounter this situation, because she had experienced it in her previous life.
Meng Yingying simply rolled the dirty clothes around her wrist, looked up at Jia Xiaoli calmly, and asked, "What do you want to do?"
Her movements as she rolled up her clothes were incredibly skillful.
It's a bit like how gay men roll up their clothes in their hands beforehand to make it easier to fight, reducing the impact and preventing pain.
Jia Xiaoli frowned slightly and subconsciously took a step back, putting some distance between herself and Meng Yingying.
She then said coldly, "Do you think you're so great and powerful just because you've just made your mark?"
Meng Yingying rolled up her clothes, her beautiful face now cold and indifferent. "I don't know if it's impressive for me to stand up, but people like you who hide behind when you should stand up and dare not utter a word, who play dead when you should fight for your interests, and who jump out to criticize after you have won your interests are really despicable."
Jia Xiaoli's face changed instantly. "What did you say?"
"I said you're not presentable enough."
Meng Yingying spoke slowly and deliberately, marking the first time she had shown her talent in the performing arts troupe's rehearsal room.
“Jia Xiaoli, if you’re really that capable, you should have stood up when Captain Zhao accused us of being at the bottom of the class. You didn’t.”
"So when Ye Yingtao stood up for everyone in the art troupe, you didn't support her when you should have."
“When she was being targeted, you, as a comrade-in-arms in the cultural troupe, still did not stand up for her.”
"After I stood up for Ye Yingtao and fought for everyone's interests, you stood up and criticized me. What did you criticize me for?"
Meng Yingying tilted her head, staring at Jia Xiaoli, or rather, staring at the person behind her.
“If you follow a boss like this, I’m worried about your future.”
This is blatant provocation and sowing discord.
Jia Xiaoli was furious, "Meng Yingying!"
Calling him by his full name.
Ye Yingtao also changed her clothes and came out. Seeing Meng Yingying being bullied, she immediately stood in front of Meng Yingying like a mother hen. After making sure she was alright, she fired a barrage of questions at Jia Xiaoli, "Are you calling your mother?"
"Jia Xiaoli, stop trying to win over and suppress us with your little clique."
"Sorry, we don't buy that."
"besides."
She walked up to Jia Xiaoli, looked at her overly harsh face, and said coldly, "Being a bully at home is the most despicable thing."
“Meng Yingying is standing right here. If you have the guts, try and lay a finger on her.”
"I want to see if you really manage to get rid of Meng Yingying, and whether you or she will be the one who suffers."
Anyone with eyes can see that Meng Yingying is someone Commander Fang values.
It was also the key to their performing arts troupe winning a prize in the competition.
But there are idiots like Jia Xiaoli who still go for it.
Now that things were out in the open, Ye Yingtao didn't mind making everything clear: "You can follow Jia Xiaoli, but if she uses you as a pawn and you end up as scapegoats leaving the art troupe, don't regret it later."
After saying this, she didn't even look at Jia Xiaoli's expression, and left with Meng Yingying.
nonsense.
She didn't have Meng Yingying's ability to navigate relationships with leaders.
However, if she can't even protect Meng Yingying within a small group, then she doesn't deserve the title of "Little Chili Pepper."
We left the practice room.
Meng Yingying took a deep breath and looked back at the light that was still on. "I always thought that as long as we practiced the dance well, that would be enough."
"That's impossible."
Ye Yingtao said, "Where there are many people, there will be conflict."
"However, you don't need to take Jia Xiaoli seriously. She's a fool who's all talk and no action."
This description left Meng Yingying both amused and exasperated. After thinking for a moment, she said tactfully, "We should always be more cautious and not let our guard down."
Ye Yingtao paused for a moment, then nodded hesitantly.
Once back in her dorm, Meng Yingying had already forgotten about Jia Xiaoli and the trouble she had caused earlier.
She was thinking about dancing.
How can one achieve a balance of softness and strength while holding a gun and performing a red ballet?
Meng Yingying fell into deep thought.
What she didn't know was that Song Fenfang, on the other side, finally arrived in western Hunan after three days of bumpy train travel.
As soon as she appeared at the train station, the top leaders there received the news.
Someone was sent to wait for her at the train station.
As soon as Song Fenfang stepped out of the train station, people who were waiting nearby came over to greet her.
Finally, the commune director of Mengjia Commune, who knew Mengjiatun best, was pushed to the front. Director Niu took a deep breath, stepped forward cautiously, and asked, "Excuse me, are you Professor Song?"
Song Fenfang hummed in agreement, seemingly unsurprised that a high-ranking leader would come to pick her up.
At her level, she generally had to report to her superiors before traveling. When she asked Du Xiaojuan and the director for leave, bodyguards appeared around her.
"It's me."
Director Niu took a deep breath. "That's good, that's good. Professor Song, we've finally been waiting for you."
He received the message yesterday that he was to pick up Song Fenfang at the train station today and ensure that Professor Song's personal safety would not be compromised.
Seeing that the senior leader remained silent, Director Niu had no choice but to continue, “Professor Song, I am Director Niu from Mengjia Commune. If you are going to Mengjiatun to find your relatives, I can take you there.”
Song Fenfang actually knew the way, but she lacked transportation to get here.
Therefore, when faced with Director Niu's volunteering, she did not refuse, but simply said in a low voice, "Thank you for your help."
"No trouble at all."
Seeing her so polite, Director Niu was somewhat flattered. Noticing that the leaders around him were giving him meaningful glances, he immediately received the order and introduced her to Song Fenfang, "Professor Song, this is Section Chief Liu from our Xiangxi Municipal Party Committee."
Seeing that Song Fenfang didn't seem to mind, Director Niu breathed a slight sigh of relief and then proceeded to give a full introduction.
"This is Director Ming of our Xiangxi Research Institute."
"This is our Mayor Li."
"We all warmly welcome Professor Song to western Hunan."
Song Fenfang nodded calmly, "Please take me to Mengjiatun, thank you."
Now, everyone who wanted to speak immediately swallowed their words. They could only place all their hopes on Director Niu.
Director Niu, who was being expected of great things, immediately nodded and said, "Chief Ming is driving over. Would it be alright if he took you to Mengjiatun?"
They showed great respect.
Song Fenfang nodded and said to Director Ming, "Then I'll trouble Director Ming to make the trip."
Director Ming immediately replied happily, "No trouble at all, no trouble at all."
He was very willing to be the driver, and of course, Professor Song would also like to give him some pointers on the way.
That would be even better.
Seeing Song Fenfang get into Director Ming's car, with Director Niu accompanying her.
Even if the remaining people wanted to go up, there wasn't enough room. This made the others regretful; they should have tried to borrow a car to come along.
Professor Song might have ended up in their car.
"They've boarded the bus, so let's hurry up and try to follow Professor Song to Mengjiatun together."
This is a perfect opportunity for them to show their faces.
On the other side, Song Fenfang was unaware of the situation outside. After getting into the car, she learned about the situation in Mengjiatun from Director Niu.
However, she never dared to ask about Meng Baichuan and Meng Yingying's personal situation.
She didn't dare ask.
She only dared to see it with her own eyes.
Upon arriving at Mengjiatun, the black sedan stopped at the entrance of the village. Director Niu got out first and opened the car door for Song Fenfang.
Twenty years later.
Song Fenfang stood once again on this familiar land. She looked in the direction of the Meng family, her gaze distant, and murmured, "Baichuan, Yingying, are you both alright?"
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Author's Note: This is a very long chapter, four chapters combined, including an extra chapter with 7000 nutrient solutions. Feel free to leave nutrient solution comments, I'll try my best to update more frequently!
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