Chapter 5 Taking Charge
Cheng Ying knew very well that her father was a diligent and conscientious employee and a good work partner, but he was definitely not a good father or a good husband.
She took over his job not only for his wish from a past life, but also for her own.
If she stays in the army, she will inevitably be entangled with Wei Muchen for the rest of her life. Her experience of being entangled with Wei Muchen in her previous life has left her physically and mentally exhausted. She does not want to live the same life as before. She just wants to return to the countryside and live a different life than in her previous life.
Cheng Ying didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "Dad, if Cheng Chunfu were really a good person, what did he do when your leg injury flared up and you asked him to cover your shifts for a few days? He readily agreed to help you deliver mail, but then he just slept at home, delaying your work for several days and getting scolded by the branch manager. Afterwards, he even made excuses, saying he forgot about it. He was unwilling to cover your shifts before, so why did he suddenly decide to run the mail with you now? Now that you're sober, do you believe that when he comes to see you, he'll tell you that Da Huang accidentally bumped into you, knocking you off the cliff, and blaming Da Huang for what he did? Dad, do you want to make a bet with me and see if Cheng Chunfu will say those things?"
Dahuang is Cheng Jiantong's dog, and it's already four years old. Back then, Wan Shuhui was worried that Cheng Jiantong might encounter wild animals while traveling alone in the countryside delivering letters, newspapers, and packages, and that he wouldn't be able to protect himself.
Starting from the second year of Cheng Jiantong's mail delivery work, despite the objections of Cheng's family, they found a tall and mighty local dog and kept it by Cheng Jiantong's side, so that Cheng Jiantong could take the dog with him when he was delivering mail.
In the more than 20 years that Cheng Jiantong has been a mail carrier, he has raised a total of four dogs. Of the first three, one died fighting with a pack of wolves to protect him, one accidentally fell off a cliff and died, and another lived to old age and died. Dahuang is the descendant of the dog that died of old age. It is very smart and quick-witted. It usually accompanies Cheng Jiantong on his mail runs and has solved a lot of troubles for him.
Cheng Jiantong fell silent upon hearing this. He had fallen down the mountain so suddenly that he was only now fully conscious due to the severity of his injuries and had not thought about the details of that day at all.
Looking back now, on the day Cheng Chunfu and he were running the mail route, when they reached the top of Ayi Mountain, the weather was not good, and the road was very slippery and muddy. The soles of his liberation shoes were covered with a thick layer of yellow mud, making it really difficult to walk. That's why he and Cheng Chunfu stopped by the roadside to scrape the yellow mud off the soles of their shoes.
Before he fell, he felt a force hit his back. Da Huang was right next to him at the time, and he thought that Da Huang had suddenly gone crazy and bumped into him, without thinking that it was Cheng Chunfu.
Looking back now, although Dahuang was a dog, it was very smart and sensible. In the four years that it ran with him on the mail route, it never ran around recklessly, nor did it ever bump into him on a dangerous road. It was impossible for Dahuang to knock him off the cliff.
Cheng Jiantong may be blindly filial and favor sons over daughters, but he is not stupid. He was a soldier and he actually knows many things better than anyone else. It's just that he is blinded by his own involvement and clear-headed bystanders, and he is unwilling to admit it.
He remained silent, but Wan Shuhui couldn't hold back any longer. She angrily said, "I told you long ago, your parents, your older brother, your younger brother, and their whole family are scheming against you and our family. They want to crush us two daughters and make us rich. But you've been blinded by greed, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to what they've done, letting them bully my daughters and me. Old Cheng, let me tell you, I've tolerated your family for a long time. Now that Xiaoying is back, I have someone to rely on. Cheng Chungui, at such a young age, is already thinking of harming you, trying to kill you, doing such heinous things to you. If you're going to try to smooth things over and pretend this never happened, then there's no point in us living together anymore. Let's get a divorce as soon as possible, go our separate ways, so I won't have to suffer from your parents' family anymore!"
Wan Shuhui has a good temper and a gentle personality. When she is wronged, she only dares to complain to others and never dares to really fight back. The Cheng family knows that she is weak and cannot stand up for herself, so they can bully her as much as they want.
Wan Shuhui knew she couldn't stand on her own two feet. Her husband was blindly filial and often away from home. Before her two daughters grew up, she had always swallowed her anger, silently shed tears, and raised her two daughters alone.
When Cheng Ying began to show her fierce, self-reliant, and opinionated side from the age of ten, she often confronted, argued, and even fought with the Cheng family, protecting her and Cheng Xue. Although Wan Shuhui felt that her daughter was too fierce and had become famous in the surrounding villages, making it difficult for her to find a husband in the future, it was precisely because of her eldest daughter's personality that she was spared so much loss and suffering. She gradually came to regard Cheng Ying as her support and backbone.
When Wan Shuhui saw Cheng Ying return from military service, she was initially a little angry. This girl gave up a promising future in the army and insisted on returning to serve, saying she wanted to take over her father's job as a postman. She wondered what she was really thinking.
On second thought, it's good that my daughter is discharged from the army. That way, I won't have to worry about her safety, or that she might get injured, bleed, or even die while on a mission.
Moreover, with her eldest daughter by her side, supporting and protecting her, she was no longer afraid of being bullied or mistreated by Old Lady Cheng and her family.
Thinking of this, Wan Shuhui looked at Cheng Ying, who was wearing a military uniform, with tears welling up in her eyes. "Xiao Ying, it's good that you're back. I can't rely on your father. From now on, you will be in charge of our family. Whatever you say, Mom will listen to you."
“Sister, I’ll listen to you too.” Cheng Xue immediately raised her hand. “Our dad has been completely invisible in our family all these years. He doesn’t act like a father at all. Mom and I can’t win arguments, fights, or even beat anyone. He’s never stood up for us. It’s good that you’re back. Now that we have someone who can take care of things, Mom and I won’t be afraid of being bullied by Grandma and the others anymore.”
The words of the two men filled Cheng Jiantong with shame. Only then did he realize how much harm he had caused to his wife and daughter by believing that harmony in the family was the key to prosperity and that he could earn money to support his family simply by working hard.
Seeing his face turn pale and then green, Cheng Ying said firmly to Cheng Jiantong, "Dad, Cheng Chunfu's actions cannot be left unpunished. This is an act of murder. We must call the police and make him receive the punishment he deserves. You are not allowed to be soft-hearted and try to smooth things over like before, and just let this matter go."
You've heard what my mother said. I'm twenty years old now, all grown up, and capable enough to support this family. I don't care whether you value my sister and me or not, you need to understand one thing: other people's children are ultimately their children. No matter how good you are to them, they won't treat you any better. They have their own parents to support, how could they possibly take care of you in your old age? Stop dreaming! The only people you can rely on are your own children, your two daughters!
If you continue to be stubborn and don't treat your daughter and wife well, but instead blindly listen to your grandparents and others and treat other people's sons well, then I no longer need to acknowledge you as my father.
From now on, I'm in charge of this household. I'll take over your postman job, and no one can take it from you. Take good care of yourself, and when my grandparents and uncle's family come to visit, you'd better keep your mouth shut and don't say anything you shouldn't.
If these words had been spoken in the past, Cheng Jiantong would have said that Cheng Ying was too arrogant, selfish, lacked family affection, and didn't respect him as her father.
But now, perhaps because he is middle-aged and his health is failing, or perhaps because he saw his eldest daughter in her military uniform, capable of standing on her own, Cheng Jiantong's stubborn filial piety and preference for sons over daughters are gradually loosening.
He looked up at Cheng Ying, sighed and said, "I'm old now, and I'm partially paralyzed. I can't make decisions like I used to. It's good that you come back to take charge. You can handle Chunfu's affairs."
Without wasting any words, Cheng Ying immediately left the hospital, took a minibus from the county to the county's armed forces department, found the head of the armed forces department, and then took the bus to the county post and telecommunications bureau, where she found the director of the post and telecommunications bureau and told them the truth about how her older cousin had pushed her father down the mountain with the intention of murdering him for money and taking her father's job.
Upon hearing this, the two cadres were outraged. Cheng Chunfu had actually taken advantage of the soldiers' absence, protecting the country, to harm someone's father, leaving him paralyzed on one side. Cheng Ying had returned home after being discharged from the army because of her father's situation, seeking justice for him. If the local military, the military headquarters, and higher authorities found out about this, the entire county leadership would be in deep trouble.
Immediately, the leaders of the two departments went to find the leaders of various departments in the county. They first went to the hospital to express their condolences to Cheng Jiantong. Then they found a group of police officers from the county public security department and sent a special car to put Cheng Jiantong, who was about to be discharged from the hospital, into the car and lay him down. The group then followed the car to Xianfeng Commune. After reprimanding the commune leaders, the group returned to Qingshui Village in a grand procession.
Upon arriving at the village entrance, Cheng Ying, Wan Shuhui, Cheng Xue, and a group of leaders all got out of the car. Cheng Ying politely declined the commune leaders' offer to help carry Cheng Jiantong on a stretcher home. Instead, she and Cheng Xue each carried one end of the stretcher and carried Cheng Jiantong towards the Cheng family's old house.
The Cheng family's old house is located in the middle of Qingshui Village, surrounded by the river, near a small hill. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Cheng family ancestors provided a lot of supplies to the Eighth Route Army and treated many Eighth Route Army soldiers and underground party members. Several ancestors even participated in the War of Resistance Against Japan and sacrificed their lives for it. Therefore, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, the village redistributed the land, and the Cheng family received a large plot of land. The old man Cheng built a big house on that land.
The Cheng family's house was built with traditional mountain stones and had a tiled roof, so it could be considered a tiled house. The white walls and black tiles stood in front of a large bamboo forest with bamboo as thick as a bowl.
The house faces south and has eight rooms. Apart from the two rooms occupied by Grandpa Cheng, Grandma Cheng, and their youngest daughter, the other three families each occupy two rooms. On the left and right sides of the house are the kitchen, woodshed, chicken coop, and livestock shed. In the middle is a fairly large courtyard with fruit trees planted in the four corners. From the outside, the Cheng family's house is considered one of the larger houses in the village.
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