Su Ting's guess was not wrong. This year alone, three couples divorced in the family compound. If the scope was expanded to the surrounding brigades, the number of divorced couples would be so great that they could not be counted on both hands.

The divorce wave began with a report in a newspaper in late October of that year about the resumption of the college entrance examination.

When I first saw the news, I could feel the excitement and joy in people's hearts wherever I went, but as the registration campaign progressed, the arguments gradually increased.

There are quite a few military wives with a junior high school education or above in the compound. At least half of these wives want to take the college entrance examination, but not all of their husbands are willing for them to do so. As the two sides have different opinions, quarrels naturally increase, and some even end up in physical fights.

This kind of scene occurred not only in the compound, but also in many surrounding brigades. Ten years later, many educated youth who went to the countryside gave up the idea of ​​returning to the city and married and had children in the local area.

It is better if both husband and wife are educated youth, both from the city. Even if they have given up on returning to the city, after hearing the confirmed news of the resumption of the college entrance examination, they can rekindle their desire, quickly reach an agreement, and prepare for the college entrance examination together.

But the situation is quite different for those who marry locals. After the news gets out, conflicts begin to arise within the family.

There was a young intellectual in a military primary school who married a local after going to the countryside. She wanted to take the college entrance examination, but her husband disagreed. The two quarreled and fought. When she came to school the next day, she had a large bruise on her face.

Actually, beating wives is quite common in the countryside these days. Even the director of the Women's Federation cannot do anything when he sees it, and most of the time he turns a blind eye.

But the director of the Women's Federation didn't care. The principal of the military primary school couldn't bear to see his teacher being abused at home. After finding out the whole story and the teacher's personal wishes, he took the teacher to the brigade headquarters where she was sent to work and asked the brigade secretary to seek justice for her.

In the end, the man apologized to the teacher and agreed to let her take the college entrance examination, but the teacher did not forgive him. Instead, she filed for a divorce, packed up her things and moved out of his house, and moved into the school classroom dormitory.

After hearing about this, Meng Xiuzhen couldn't help but sigh: "Times have really changed. In the past few decades, I have never seen a divorced person. Now, divorce is as common as buying vegetables. You see one every few steps."

"There will be more in the future." This is just the beginning. The policy for educated youth to return to the city has not yet been implemented, and the peak of divorces will be next year.

Not only is there a peak in divorces, but also a peak in couples abandoning their husbands/wives and children.

In the past, Meng Xiuzhen would definitely not believe this, but after seeing it recently, she is not so sure anymore. She shakes her head and sighs: "The world is going downhill!"

After expressing his feelings, he asked again, "Did anyone from the Women's Federation come to talk to you?"

When Song Chunxue and Deputy Battalion Commander Ma were arguing about divorce, everyone still thought divorce was big news, and they would get so excited talking about it that they couldn't sleep for days or nights. But now when people talk about divorce, everyone is used to it, because it happens too often.

The only ones who continued to worry were the Military Family Resettlement Office and the Women's Federation. They arranged for people to take turns registering one party in the compound to take the college entrance examination, but they also did ideological work on the couples who had not yet divorced, and earnestly advised them to talk things out properly and not get divorced over a single disagreement.

Su Ting signed up, so she and He Dongchuan were also on the list.

Su Ting shook her head and said, "Not yet."

"Probably in these two days," Meng Xiuzhen guessed, and told Su Ting a piece of news, "They seem to have already contacted the couple living across the street from you." Shen Xuan, who lived in Room 201 across the street, also signed up for the college entrance examination.

Su Ting didn't know about this, so she shook her head and said, "Impossible? Our two families live next door to each other. They found Shen Xuan and his wife, so how could they leave us out?"

Meng Xiuzhen swore, "How is it impossible? I saw Secretary Chen going upstairs with my own eyes yesterday. In our building, only you and Shen Xuan signed up for the college entrance examination. Since he didn't come to find you, he must have come to find Shen Xuan." Secretary Chen works at the Women's Federation.

Su Ting thought for a moment, "Could it be that it was too late after we finished chatting?"

"Not late, she came a little after 7 o'clock and left at 7:30. I heard that," Meng Xiuzhen was rarely unsure and emphasized, "It's just what I heard, it may not be true."

"Well, you say."

"I heard that Director Wang and Director Zhao discussed a list and ranked the divorce possibilities of you military wives who registered for the college entrance examination from high to low. Those who have already submitted divorce applications, like Captain Lu, are ranked at the front, and the two directors will do ideological work on them. Those who seem to have a good relationship, have not had any arguments since the college entrance examination registration began, and seem to have a stable relationship are ranked in the middle, and the staff of the two units will do ideological work on them one by one."

Su Ting asked: "What about me and Dongchuan?"

"For couples like you who are well-known for their love in the compound, and for those whose husbands have clearly expressed their support for their candidates taking the college entrance examination, you will be ranked last. It doesn't matter whether we do ideological work on them or not." There was obvious teasing in Meng Xiuzhen's eyes.

Although Meng Xiuzhen's words were very pleasing to the ear, Su Ting still couldn't help but blurt out: "You are making this up, right?"

In contrast to Su Ting, Meng Xiuzhen didn't like what she said and asked unhappily, "Am I the kind of person who likes to talk nonsense? I heard this from an official at the Military Dependents Resettlement Office. I can't guarantee it's true, but I'm definitely not the one talking nonsense."

"Then this list was definitely not made by Director Wang and Director Zhao." Su Ting muttered. She didn't think the two directors were such people.

Meng Xiuzhen couldn't imagine that they could do such a thing, and said, "I don't know about that, but I didn't believe it before, but now I believe it halfway. Otherwise, after talking to Shen Xuan and his wife, why didn't Secretary Chen just come to your house and knock on the door?"

Su Ting guessed, "Maybe they divided the work, and the person who did the ideological work for us was not the same person who did the ideological work for Shen Xuan and his wife."

"That's possible, but then again, you two families live in the same building, why don't you just assign someone to do ideological work for you? Why do you have to send someone to make an extra trip?" Meng Xiuzhen said, coming to her senses, "You don't believe that list, so you feel embarrassed, right?"

"Why should I be embarrassed?" Su Ting asked back.

Meng Xiuzhen smiled and said, "I'm sorry that people say you two are a famous loving couple in the compound."

Su Ting finally couldn't bear it anymore and asked angrily, "Do you still want me to lend your review materials to your daughter?"

Meng Xiuzhen also has a candidate in her family, her daughter who will graduate from high school this summer. After listening to Su Ting's suggestion, she and her husband considered it and decided to let their daughter stay.

Her daughter had good grades and found a job in a state-owned factory in the county after graduating from high school.

Meng Xiuzhen was very happy at that time, and told everyone about this happy event. This was a job that her daughter had found through her own ability, what a promising future!

But when the notice of resumption of the college entrance examination came, Meng Xiuzhen was dumbfounded.

As a recent graduate, she does have more advantages in taking the college entrance examination than those who have been working for several years or even ten years. But how can taking the college entrance examination six months after graduation compare to taking it immediately after graduation?

Of course, the time to resume the college entrance examination is not something that ordinary people like them can control, but if she is not in a hurry to find a job, she can study for another half a year.

But now, because she had just joined the unit, her daughter had a lot to learn. In the past few months after graduation, her daughter had basically not read any books.

Meng Xiuzhen regretted it. If she had known this would happen, she should not have been in such a hurry to help her daughter find a job.

But there was no point in regretting it, so she could only ask her daughter to pay more attention, study hard, and try to pass the exam in one go. For this purpose, she even asked her daughter to quit her job at the state-owned factory.

Meng Xiuzhen was a little hesitant at first about quitting her job. After all, it was hard to find a job these days, especially since it was a job in a state-owned factory. What if she lost her job and her daughter failed the exam? Wouldn't it be a waste of time and effort?

But with the previous experience, Meng Xiuzhen now trusts Su Ting very much, so she goes to her for advice.

Su Ting knew that her daughter had good grades, so she said, "If I were you, I would let her quit her job and concentrate on preparing for the exam. If she fails this year, she can take the exam again next year. If she fails next year, she can try again later. She will pass the exam eventually. Even if she fails to get into university, she can go to a technical secondary school. The job she will be assigned after graduation will not be worse than that of a frontline worker. Even if she really cannot continue to study, if she can get into a state-owned factory once, she can get in a second time."

What's more, it is questionable whether this county-level state-owned factory can survive in the future. Su Ting feels that she cannot give up the opportunity to go to university for such a job that may not last long.

So Meng Xiuzhen gritted her teeth and stomped her feet, and asked her daughter to quit her job and come back home to concentrate on preparing for the exam.

Because of her good relationship with Su Ting, when Meng Xiuzhen learned that Su Ting was also going to take the college entrance examination, she asked her to review with her daughter.

Meng Xiuzhen felt that her daughter was a recent graduate after all, and her grades were always among the best. If she could guide Su Ting, she might be able to help her get good grades as well.

As a result, the two of them studied together for a long time. When they came back, her sister asked: "Mom, how did you tell Sister Su to let me study with her?" Because Su Ting was not much older than her, she really couldn't call her Aunt Su.

"I told her that you have good grades and you two can study together. If she has any questions, she can ask you." Meng Xiuzhen then asked, "Why are you asking this all of a sudden?"

Her daughter covered her face when she heard this and said weakly, "Sister Su's foundation is much stronger than mine. The questions I asked her are not too different."

Meng Xiuzhen was shocked and asked twice before she believed that the girl was not lying. She then asked Su Ting and learned that although she had left school for many years, she had never given up studying. Only then did she understand what was going on.

From then on, whenever the two of them studied together, it was no longer Miss Meng Xiuzhen who taught Su Ting, but Su Ting who lent her notes and exercise books.

Therefore, Su Ting's words hit Meng Xiuzhen's soft spot, and she said, "Okay, I won't tell you, I won't tell you."

…

Coincidentally, just after they finished discussing this matter during the day, someone came to Su Ting and He Dongchuan's house in the evening to do ideological work.

And the person who came was not an ordinary clerk, but Director Zhao.

Thinking of what Meng Xiuzhen said during the day, Su Ting felt terrible.

Although Meng Xiuzhen said that she and He Dongchuan were a well-known loving couple in the compound, she felt a little embarrassed, but no matter what, they couldn't be ranked among the couple with the highest divorce rate, right?

As soon as the thought flashed through her mind, Su Ting shook her head. She felt that she had been misled by Meng Xiuzhen, and it was not certain whether the list was real.

No, it should be said that the list is definitely fake. Director Wang and Director Zhao are both serious people. It is unlikely that they can come up with such an idea that seems to be reasonable at first glance, but is so unreasonable the more you think about it.

"Comrade Su, Comrade Su?"

Su Ting came back to her senses, sat up straight and said, "Director Zhao, please go ahead."

Director Zhao smiled gently and said, "Don't be nervous. I just came here to ask you about your plans after you get into college."

He Dongchuan also noticed that Su Ting was not feeling well, so he leaned over to her ear and whispered, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, I just thought of something," Su Ting shook her head, looked at Director Zhao and asked, "What plans do you want to ask about?"

"For example, which university do you plan to attend, how do you plan to balance family and studies after you are admitted, where do you want to work after graduation, etc."

In fact, Director Zhao did not want to ask about the personal affairs of the military wives in such detail. In just half a month, two couples in the compound filed for divorce, and several other relationships were on the verge of breaking down.

This data may not seem like a lot, but divorces are happening so frequently that the couples left in the compound who seem to be doing well for the time being may not be unaffected.

Now the relationship between husband and wife in their compound is like a tightly stretched rubber band that may break at any time.

Once a large-scale divorce occurs in the compound, it will not only affect the individual officers, but also the stability of the troops and their external image.

Therefore, the task of doing ideological work for the couples who registered for the college entrance examination in the compound was actually arranged by the higher-ups.

For marriages that can be saved, we should do a good job of ideological work and try to persuade them to give up the idea of ​​divorce. If the ideological work does not have a significant effect, we should report it immediately.

As for those who have not yet had problems, we must also understand clearly whether they will have problems that may lead to instability in their marital relationship in the future, and strive to have a clear understanding of the stability of military couples' relationships to avoid a large number of couples divorcing and being caught off guard and unable to respond in time.

After learning that it was a request from above, Su Ting did not hide anything and told He Dongchuan about her and his plans: "I plan to apply to a school in Shanghai. After I am admitted, I will consider renting a house outside the school and bring my child to live there first..."

Director Zhao interrupted and asked, "Where is He Yan?"

"He will graduate from primary school next year, and there is only one semester left. Dongchuan and I don't plan to let him transfer schools. We want him to finish primary school in the military area and go to junior high school in the city next year. We will live in the city during the semester. Dongchuan will come to visit us on Sundays and may stay for one night. He will live in the compound during winter and summer vacations."

After confirming the resumption of the college entrance examination, Su Ting and He Dongchuan discussed the arrangements for the next few years several times. Everything else was easy to deal with, but He Yan was the more difficult one.

Because he was about to enter junior high school, if she let him transfer to a school in the city, she was afraid that he would need time to adapt to new teachers and classmates, which would affect his grades; if she let him stay in the compound and continue to attend the military primary school, Su Ting was afraid that he would not be able to handle it on his own without her.

...Although she didn't do much work when she was there, at least she remembered to wake He Yan up when the weather got cold, and she would go buy groceries every morning so that He Dongchuan could cook directly when he came back.

After she and Man Man went to the city, He Yan would definitely have to get up by himself and could only eat three meals a day in the cafeteria.

After several discussions, Su Ting still couldn't make up her mind, and finally decided to ask He Yan himself.

When He Yan was asked whether he wanted to be with his father or mother, his first reaction was - it's over, his parents are definitely going to get divorced!

After figuring out the whole story and confirming that his parents had no intention of getting divorced, He Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief and started to think seriously about the problem.

After a long while, he asked, "Is Mom busy after school?"

“It might be busy at first.”

"Can mommy take care of my sister alone?"

"I plan to send Man Man to a nursery after school starts. I can just drop him off in the morning and pick him up in the evening."

The main reason was that Man Man was too young and needed other people to help her put on her clothes. If she left her at home, He Dongchuan obviously wouldn't have enough time to take care of her, so she could only take her over to a nursery so that she could go to school and take care of the child at the same time.

He Yan seemed to be thinking about something, and asked the third question: "I only finished primary school at home. Do I also go to my mother's house for junior high school?"

"Yes, this way you won't have to adjust to new classmates in the last semester, and you'll be able to do better on the exams. But your father and I are a little worried that you won't be able to handle it on your own."

"What can't be dealt with?" He Yan asked doubtfully.

“Eating, getting dressed, and stuff like that.”

He Yan was even more confused: "I can dress myself, I can also wash clothes, and don't we eat in the cafeteria?" He is really versatile.

Su Ting laughed: "Yes, yes, you can handle it, so do you plan to finish your last semester at the military primary school?"

"Go ahead. I don't really want to meet new teachers and classmates."

"You can't hold on to that idea. When you enter junior high school next fall, you will definitely have to get to know new teachers and classmates."

He Yan is very single: "We'll talk about next autumn in autumn."

So the matter was confirmed.

Director Zhao thought about their plans and said, "It can be seen that you have a plan in mind. What about after graduation? Where do you plan to work?"

"I don't have any idea for now. If I get inspired, I will probably continue to draw comic strips."

Comic strip artists are freelancers who can work anywhere, so unless there are any major changes in the next few years, the relationship between the couple should be stable.

Director Zhao thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I understand."

After understanding the couple's plan, Director Zhao relaxed and said with a smile, "I have visited many companies in the past few days, but I feel most comfortable talking to you guys."

Su Ting recalled Meng Xiuzhen's words and asked, "Are there any other couples getting divorced?"

"It's not like they are all going to divorce, but the conflict is huge. In this regard, I have to praise Comrade He!" Director Zhao pointed at He Dongchuan and said, "Sometimes I really want you to do ideological work for those troublemakers. Is it wrong for my wife to pursue progress and go to college? Not only do they not understand and support me, they also try every means to hold me back."

He Dongchuan was pleased with himself, but he didn't show it on his face. He just followed the criticism and said, "That's really not right. Anyway, in our family, I always support the decisions made by the leader."

"Who is your leader?" Su Ting asked with a squint.

He Dongchuan looked at her and said without blushing or panting: "In our family, of course you are the leader and I am the one being led."

Director Zhao smiled and said, "Comrade He is right. In a family, there must be someone who gives orders and someone who is led. Only with a clear division of labor can the family be harmonious."

She had a lot of work to do, and was about to go back after finishing her business. Su Ting hurriedly got up to see her off.

When we were leaving, Director Zhao said, "In fact, I was not the person originally chosen to do ideological work for you two, but I thought it has been a long time since I came to talk to you, so I took this job."

After the county began to vigorously promote anti-trafficking education, Director Zhao's workload increased further. Not only did he have to deal with matters in the compound, he also had to find time to give lectures in various units and schools.

Moreover, the county has made such a big fuss that even the city leaders have heard about it and are very interested. It is foreseeable that Director Zhao will be even busier in the future.

But this kind of busyness is good. For her personally, it allows her to make further progress in her career. For anti-trafficking education, the larger the scale, the more effective it will be.

Su Ting then recalled Meng Xiuzhen's words and asked, "Are the people you want to work on ideologically all those with strained marital relationships?"

Director Zhao was stunned: "You can say that, how did you know that?"

"I heard it." Su Ting repeated what Meng Xiuzhen told her about the list and asked tentatively, "Did you really make a list?"

Director Zhao laughed and shook his head. "We did make a list, but it's not that exaggerated. Well, okay, it's about the same when you think about it. We can't do anything about it. For couples like you and Comrade He who are in love, it's easy to deal with. We can send anyone to get a general understanding of the situation. But for those who are so upset that they want to get a divorce, the people below can't suppress it at all. They are willing to talk properly only when Director Wang and I go."

“It’s really hard.”

"Yeah, it's difficult," Director Zhao sighed, "I just don't understand, reinstating the college entrance examination is obviously a good thing, why has it become the source of conflict now?"

Su Ting shook her head: "I think your idea is not quite right. The resumption of the college entrance examination has never been the root cause of the conflict. Those couples who have conflicts because of this are essentially husbands who are used to their wives devoting themselves to the family. Think about it, what is the reason for their quarrels?"

"There are many. Some say that my wife's study will affect the housework. Some ask what will happen to the children if my wife goes to school after passing the exam. And some..."

Director Zhao did not continue. She already understood what Su Ting meant. Although great men have said that women hold up half the sky, in real life, the mainstream idea is still that men are responsible for the outside world and women are responsible for the home.

And this concept of men working outside and women working inside is very interesting. Men have jobs and can ignore all the household affairs, but women have jobs and have to take care of both work and life.

In those families where there are constant quarrels, the men, after returning home, basically don't even bother to help if the oil bottle falls over, while the women are busy as soon as they enter the house, taking care of the children, lighting the fire and cooking. Before the notice of the resumption of the college entrance examination came down, the relationship between the couple was not necessarily harmonious.

Su Ting continued: "Men are used to women's devotion. When one day women don't want to continue devoting themselves, conflicts will erupt. The root cause lies in individuals, not in policies."

"You have a point." Director Zhao sighed again and asked, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"

Su Ting smiled and said, "We have different standpoints. My ideas may not be able to help you."

"It's okay. I just want to hear more of your ideas. If they are useful, I'll adopt them. If they are not, forget it."

After Director Zhao said that, Su Ting stopped hesitating and said, "I think women cannot pin all their hopes in life on others. As the saying goes, 'If you rely on people, they will run away; if you rely on mountains, the mountains will fall.' Being able to stand up on your own is the most important thing. I won't say anything if you choose to be in the Lord, but if a woman wants to make progress and a man holds her back because of personal selfishness, it's better to kick this man out as soon as possible."

Director Zhao understood the meaning of Su Ting's previous sentence. Her ideas were indeed different from those of most people today, and were also different from their working methods.

Those who work in the Women's Federation say they want to fight for women's rights, but they face many constraints in their work. When they encounter conflicts between couples, they still tend to persuade them to reconcile rather than to separate.

There are too many people who cried and shouted that they wanted a divorce, but when they were really persuaded to break up, they changed their minds and said forget it. Some people even changed their minds and turned the tables, saying that their comrades in the Women's Federation had bad intentions in persuading them to break up.

What's more, she is the director of the Women's Federation in the compound. Her job is to protect women's rights and try her best to stabilize the relationships between couples in the compound.

So although Su Ting's idea is good, it is not a reference for her work.

Director Zhao said, "I'll think about it when I get back. By the way, has "The Adventures of the Three Fires" been published? When can I buy it?"

Su Ting replied: "Yes, it will be released in the next two months. I am not sure about the exact date now."

Because the Sanhuo series is so popular, the third story was confirmed to be published early in the series, and the time was set to be within two months after the end of the series.

"The Adventures of Three Fires" was completed in early November, and the comic book will be available in early January at the latest.

Moreover, this time, not only was the royalties high, but the number of copies published was also much higher than the previous two books. The first edition would print 100,000 copies, and the two volumes together would cost 200,000. The royalties from this publication alone would be enough to make up for all the royalties she had received in the previous few years.

"This time, will we publish only The Adventures of Sanhuo, or will we publish it together with the Anti-abduction Class?" Director Zhao asked and took the initiative to explain, "It's like this, I think the topic of the Sanhuo series is very good, and the anti-abduction knowledge in the Anti-abduction Class is also very useful. If we can publish them together, next time I go to the city, I want to suggest to the leaders of the Women's Federation to buy some comic books to distribute."

Su Ting suddenly realized and replied, "They will be published together, but separately. A separate booklet will be printed as a gift and given away with the book."

"That's not bad." Director Zhao thought for a moment and said, "I'll talk to them about this when we go to the city some other day."

"good."

Because of the conversation, the two stopped to chat for a while after going downstairs. Meng Xiuzhen saw them from the window, and as soon as they separated, she hurried out and asked, "What did Director Zhao want to see you for?"

"Do some ideological work for us." Su Ting thought to herself, but in fact she only asked them about their future plans.

"That's impossible? Isn't it said that Director Zhao only works with couples who quarrel the most?" Meng Xiuzhen didn't quite believe it. "You and Comrade He have never quarreled, right?"

"We didn't argue, but Director Zhao did come to us for this matter."

Meng Xiuzhen was confused: "Could it be that the list was really made up by someone?" Although she repeatedly emphasized that she was not guaranteeing the authenticity of the list when she told Su Ting, she actually believed in the list in her heart.

Su Ting deliberately followed her words and joked: "It seems that your information is sometimes inaccurate, Sister Meng."

"This only proves that the person who told me this news is unreliable." Meng Xiuzhen said seriously. She was determined not to admit that she was unreliable.

Su Ting laughed: "Then you misunderstood me."

"Misunderstanding..." Meng Xiuzhen just said this, then she reacted and asked, "Is the list real? No, that's not right. If the list is real, how could it be Director Zhao who came to do ideological work for you? Did you just lie to me?"

"The list is real, and Director Zhao is really here to do ideological work for us," Su Ting said as she walked into the hallway and the lights came on. Noticing the expression on Meng Xiuzhen's face, she raised her hand hastily, "Don't make blind guesses. There is no problem between Dongchuan and me. Director Zhao wanted to ask me for something else, so I took the initiative to take this job."

Meng Xiuzhen breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought so. We live upstairs and downstairs. How could I not know that you and Comrade He had a quarrel?"

"That may not be the case. Maybe we were arguing quietly and you didn't hear it." Su Ting walked upstairs while turning her head to talk to Meng Xiuzhen.

Meng Xiuzhen stood at the door of her house and said with a smile: "When you are angry, who cares whether the sound is quiet or not? Unless you are arguing in bed."

Su Ting almost slipped and said, "I won't tell you anymore." Then she quickened her pace and went up to the second floor.

As soon as I entered the room, I heard He Dongchuan, who was sitting in the living room, asking, "What's the quarrel on the bedside?"

Su Ting walked to the tea table and tactically picked up the enamel cup to drink water: "Nothing, just listen to her nonsense!"

He Dongchuan leaned against the sofa, slightly raised his head and looked at her, deliberately prolonging his voice: "Oh~~~"