Chapter 60 Chapter 60 Get rid of the burden and start a new life
In response to Zhao Xiaoxing's question, Xiaojuan answered frankly, "I probably didn't pass the exam."
"impossible."
"impossible."
Qingmei and Zhao Xiaoxing finished speaking in unison. Qingmei glanced down at the still-sleeping child and said in a low voice, "Your grades are much better than Zhao Xiaoxing's. She even made it into a junior college, so how could you possibly not have gotten in?"
Zhao Xiaoxing also said, "I've asked you questions several times while doing the exercises. I think there might be something wrong."
Qingmei actually thought so too. Xiaojuan's grades were comparable to Xiaoyan's. If she had the same learning conditions as them, it would be easy for her to get into an ordinary university.
Xiaojuan had a trace of regret on her face. She forced a smile and said, "Whether I pass the exam or not, I've already made up my mind to change my life."
Qingmei said, "Is it about you and Wu Shizhong?"
Zhao Xiaoxing came over: "What's the matter?"
Xiaoyan boiled some water, went into the house, put the thermos next to the door, and leaned over to listen.
Xiaojuan knew she couldn't hide the truth any longer, so she said frankly, "I want to divorce him."
Although it's a new society now, the word "divorce" is somewhat shocking. Xiaojuan has always believed that there's only the concept of widowhood, not divorce. She wonders if they would understand her.
However, she was surprised by the three sisters' reactions. When they heard she wanted to file for divorce, Zhao Xiaoxing curled her lips and said, "Well, I thought it was a big deal. If you can't live together, just divorce."
Xiaoyan nodded: "Well, let's get a divorce."
Xiaojuan looked carefully at their expressions and saw that they didn't seem to be trying to comfort her, but rather seemed to be indifferent. This attitude was something she had never expected.
Xiaojuan whispered, "They say we should encourage reconciliation, not separation... Why don't you encourage me?"
Zhao Xiaoxing muttered, "It's no big deal."
Xiaojuan didn't think so, instead she thought it was a big deal.
Zhao Xiaoxing didn't hide it and told Xiaojuan, "If I said it's no big deal, it's no big deal. Look at me, I'm the first one in the area to get divorced! After the divorce, I became a tractor driver and took the college entrance exam. Isn't my life now better than if I were married?"
Xiaojuan had thought Zhao Xiaoxing and Xiaoyan were both unmarried, so she was almost shocked when she heard this: "You're divorced?"
Zhao Xiaoxing patted her shoulder and told her to relax: "Of course it's different from your military marriage divorce. You need to think about it carefully."
Xiaojuan was also afraid that Wu Shizhong would not divorce her.
Qingmei, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly said, "Which school did you apply to? There's a phone number in the director's office. Let's borrow it and ask the school to check your results."
Xiaojuan lowered her head, twirled her skirt, and said, "This is so embarrassing."
Qingmei said, "What's there to be ashamed of? If you have questions about your grades, you should definitely ask, otherwise it will be buried in your heart for the rest of your life."
Gu Qingzhou came over after washing the diapers, put his arm around Qingmei's shoulders and said, "Be quiet, Zhaomei just fell asleep."
Qingmei suddenly pointed at his nose and said, "You are not allowed to call our son like that!"
Gu Qingzhou immediately stood up straight: "I will follow my wife's instructions in everything. I will call you whatever she says."
Qingmei pointed outside the door and said, "Go ask Director Wang if it's convenient to borrow his phone during this time."
Gu Qingzhou said: "I guess we'll have to wait a while."
Qingmei asked: "Why?"
Gu Qingzhou said: "Lu Qianghua has brought Zhu Xinghua's in-laws here."
Qingmei whispered, "Is it born yet?"
Gu Qingzhou said, "While you were talking, a daughter was born, and right after she was born, she was taken away by Zhu Xinghua's wife. My in-laws didn't see it, and they were about to start a fight next door."
Qingmei frowned and briefly explained the whole thing to Xiaojuan, who didn't understand the whole thing. She then said, "Zhu Xinghua was hoping for a grandson, but now it's a granddaughter... Alas, Comrade Chang Xiaoqing's life is too hard."
Seeing that they didn't say anything else, Gu Qingzhou opened the closed door.
Sure enough, someone was already arguing outside.
Qingmei was not very interested in this. She was also a daughter-in-law and could not bear to hear words that would hurt her feelings.
Fortunately, her mother-in-law was very helpful. Zhao Wuhe prepared homemade confinement meals, which included a combination of meat and vegetables to meet Qingmei's needs after giving birth. She placed them in front of Qingmei, and Qingmei's mood instantly improved.
No one else had this treatment. Gu Qingzhou went to the hospital cafeteria to get some food, and several people gathered together to eat.
When Xiaojuan heard they were going to call the school, she was apprehensive. She hadn't checked her answers with them, so she didn't know the details. If she passed, it would be fine, but if she didn't, it would be too embarrassing. Isn't this just like Wang Chuanxing in the library, half-baked and just messing around?
She ate a few bites and went to the corridor to be alone for a while.
Who knew that just as she came over, a person suddenly appeared in the stairwell, slipped in through the crack of the door she opened, holding something in his hand!
"stop!"
Xiaojuan was a military dependent and was very vigilant. Her childhood sweetheart was living inside. Without saying a word, she tried to grab the other person's collar, but the other person had already rushed in.
When she took another step forward, she saw an old woman being restrained by Gu Qingzhou by pushing her against the wall. Who else could this person be but Zhu Xinghua's wife!
Qingmei was sitting on the bed eating her special meal, far from the door. She had a piece of chicken wonton wrapped by Zhao Wuhe in her mouth and hadn't had time to swallow it yet.
When Gu Qingzhou saw that it was Zhu Xinghua's wife, he let go of her hand and took a step back, and saw that she was holding a thin baby in her arms.
Zhao Wuhe cried out "Ouch!" and looked at the miserable baby. She asked Zhu Xinghua's wife, "Sister, what are you doing? Your ward is next door!"
Zhu Xinghua's wife fell to her knees and cried softly, "Please save my granddaughter. My old man told me to abandon her. She was just born and I can't bear to let her go. Please adopt her and treat her as if she came out of your young master's belly. It will be easy to register her, just like buying an extra pair of chopsticks!"
Everyone looked at each other in confusion at the sudden loss of composure, and then looked at Qingmei.
Zhu Xinghua turned toward Qingmei's bed and knelt down, crying, "Madam, don't you love your daughter? You can keep her by your side as a maid and just feed her leftovers. I really can't bear to throw her away."
Qingmei knew that she was also a son-in-law, and she had even seen her scolding Comrade Chang Xiaoqing. There must be a trap here.
By registering the child as part of her family's household, she truly became a member of her family. Qingmei believed she couldn't really treat the child as a servant, so she would definitely treat him well and give him the same resources and treatment as her own son...
Thinking of this, Qingmei suddenly understood something.
She was eating melons when she realized they were plotting against her family. She immediately threw her bowl on the table and shouted, "Throw her out!"
Zhu Xinghua's wife had already discussed it with him: Captain Gu's family preferred daughters, while theirs wanted sons. So why not just give their granddaughter to them for adoption? Who would dare to say Captain Gu couldn't become commander? That was the commander's daughter.
After a dozen years, when the child is grown up, she can be allowed to return to her ancestral home. She will enjoy the best family conditions, the best education, and the connections of her adoptive parents. If she marries in the future, she will marry someone higher up!
If she waits until she has a younger brother and helps him out, then wouldn't his life be smooth sailing?
No matter how good their calculations are, they are not as efficient as Qingmei's "throw it away"!
Qingmei had come from a world of media information explosion after all, so as soon as Zhu Xinghua's wife finished speaking, Qingmei knew what they were planning!
Even if Qingmei didn't say this, Gu Qingzhou's gloomy face made Zhu Xinghua's wife kneel on the ground and dared not look up at him for a while.
Zhu Xinghua and his wife really won’t cry until they see the coffin!
Zhao Wuhe and Zhao Xiaoxing, their childhood sweethearts, said they would go south, not north. Even though they felt sorry for the little baby girl, they still had the heart to drag Zhu Xinghua's wife out.
Xiaoyan was afraid of dropping the baby girl, so she picked her up and touched her little face, saying helplessly, "Don't blame us, blame them. No matter how kind a person is, they won't fall into a trap."
The relatives next door were still searching for their child. When they saw Zhao Wuhe and the others coming over aggressively, looking as if they were accusing someone, they immediately looked at Zhu Xinghua fiercely: "Didn't you say that my granddaughter was stolen?!"
Zhao Xiaoxing yelled, "Look everyone! This old woman stole her daughter-in-law's child and is giving it away! Is she still human?!"
Chang Xiaoqing, lying on the bed with a gray scarf wrapped around her head, cried and howled, "This life is so miserable! They even stole my child and gave him away! I want a divorce! I want a divorce!"
Before she entered the delivery room, she heard the military representative say that when she returned to the Second Spinning Mill, she would apply to the Second Spinning Mill's leadership to remove Zhu Xinghua from his position as workshop director and criticize him in public.
Then, her mother-in-law dared to secretly give her daughter away. She felt so depressed that she felt like she was living a life worse than death.
Zhao Wuhe thought Chang Xiaoqing's family was easy to manipulate, but she saw that Chang Xiaoqing's parents were burly, with big heads, thick necks, and bloody bodies, just like a butcher. Maybe they were a butcher.
She wanted to join in the scolding, but immediately backed off, feeling that there was no place for her to do so.
Qingmei got out of bed angrily. After taking two steps, she heard a loud noise next door. If you didn't know, you would think it was an earthquake.
Gu Qingzhou put a coat on her and walked with her to the next ward. But she didn't know what was going on when she got there.
Zhu Xinghua and his wife were pinned to the ground and beaten from all sides by their father-in-law and mother-in-law.
"Good fight! Hit hard! Hit!" Qingmei shouted angrily, wanting to applaud and cheer for her in-laws. Gu Qingzhou laughed and took her little hand and whispered, "Keep a low profile."
Qingmei didn't even turn her head and watched them fighting. It was so satisfying.
Many people in the corridor crowded at the door of the ward to watch the excitement, and Gu Qingzhou helped Qingmei block the crowd.
Seeing his wife was still very angry just now, he instantly perked up and applauded and cheered for Chang Xiaoqing's parents. Gu Qingzhou originally wanted to find someone to mediate, but then he thought that this was what Zhu Xinghua and his wife deserved, so he just let it go.
Zhu Xinghua was nearly caught by his father-in-law and thrown downstairs. He was stuck on the windowsill with blood pouring out of his nose.
The other people watching in the ward didn't try to stop the fight at first; it was so exciting. When Zhu Xinghua was about to be thrown down, everyone rushed over, grabbed his belt, and pulled him to the ground.
And then... continue to watch.
Zhu Xinghua's wife's scalp was almost torn off, her hair was pulled out in handfuls, and she kept wailing in the room.
The mother-in-law was a skilled and powerful player. She used her knees to restrain her movements, and switched between grabbing and pulling with her hands freely, and cursed at her. She used both physical and mental attacks, and beat Zhu Xinghua's wife so hard that her skin and face were bruised and swollen. She slapped her hands on the ground helplessly. In the end, her strength became weaker and weaker, and she couldn't even shout for help.
Qingmei tugged at Zhao Wuhe's clothes, and when she reluctantly turned her head away, she asked her, "Were you this fierce in fighting before?"
Zhao Wuhe patted his sleeves and thought it was a piece of cake: "It's even better than that."
Qingmei smiled sinisterly: "Sure enough, he pulled someone's hair behind my back."
“…” Zhao Wuhe was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that he had been tricked by his daughter-in-law.
You learn from who you follow. He even picked up all of Gu Qingzhou's tricks.
"I'll explain it to you later." Zhao Wuhe said weakly.
"Okay." Qingmei snorted and continued to stand on tiptoe to watch the fun.
Chang Xiaoqing's mother shouted, "Fellow villagers, you are all going to be parents, so you must never let your daughter marry far away. Look at how they have abused my daughter, and they are even giving my granddaughter away. Please be my witnesses! I want to support my daughter's divorce!"
Zhao Xiaoxing spoke first: "I support divorce!"
Others also started to say, "Divorce isn't shameful nowadays. Living in a den of wolves like this is really exhausting. Divorce sooner rather than later and escape this sea of suffering!"
Xiaojuan swallowed and repeated the words "Leave as soon as possible to escape from the sea of suffering".
When they had almost finished fighting, the nurses arrived "in time" and helped Chang Xiaoqing's parents up.
Zhu Xinghua and his wife rolled on the ground in pain. The head nurse said coldly, "It doesn't look like there's any serious damage. It's nothing serious."
As he said this, he glanced towards Gu Qingzhou.
Gu Qingzhou was the highest-ranking official present, so the matter would be determined based on what he said.
Gu Qingzhou said calmly, "She tried to bypass the mother and give the child up for adoption. It depends on whether the mother wants to pursue legal responsibility. Child trafficking is a serious crime."
Zhu Xinghua's wife sat on the ground, her hair disheveled and dirty, and said, "What legal responsibility? I can't be a prisoner in a labor camp. My dear daughter-in-law, please, don't make me a prisoner in a labor camp."
In fact, Gu Qingzhou was just trying to scare her. She did not make any profit from the baby girl, which is difficult to be classified as child trafficking in law.
As long as Zhu Xinghua's daughter-in-law is not stupid, she should know what to do next.
Chang Xiaoqing was determined to sever ties with the Zhu family, and she would never miss the opportunity that Gu Qingzhou secretly gave her.
"Tell your son to stop being with that woman and come back to me to divorce me, and I'll save you from going to labor camp."
"Wow!!" Qingmei was really shocked! Zhu Xinghua's family was too ridiculous! No wonder the man didn't show up, it turned out he was cheating.
The ward was filled with noise, and the sudden and dramatic incident required time to digest.
The nurse beside her muttered, "No wonder Chang Xiaoqing ran back to her parents' home. Her family is so powerful, so she naturally has to rely on them for support!"
"That's what I mean. Why keep a family like this? Let's go together, mother and daughter."
"You're even thinking of sending your granddaughter to Captain Gu's house. What a wild idea! When it comes to climbing the social ladder, his family is the best."
... ...
The head nurse called a few soldiers on duty and sent all the people who were enthusiastically watching the show back to their own wards.
"Everyone, go back. This is someone else's private matter. Just look at it and don't spread it around."
After hearing this, everyone seemed to have had enough of the fun and some left, planning to go back to their own wards to gossip.
Chang Xiaoqing remained silent. When the room was clear, she came to Qingmei and said, "Thank you for the chocolate. It at least made me feel a little bit of warmth worth cherishing. It's a pity that my family can't buy chocolate, so I can't repay you."
Qingmei said: "Since I have given it to you, I don't want you to pay it back, I just want you to come out safely."
Chang Xiaoqing's face turned frighteningly pale. After a long moment, he said, "Look, we're still strangers, yet they can do this. They're not even worthy of being human."
Chang Xiaoqing turned around and looked at the two old men lying on the ground and said, "Last time I wanted to leave you, but you guys thought it was embarrassing and wouldn't let me. Now I can leave, right?"
Zhu Xinghua faces dismissal if he returns. His wife is unemployed. His son is unfaithful, but he still has a job. He can't let his daughter-in-law continue to cause trouble, otherwise the whole family will be left with nothing.
"Divorce, divorce." Zhu Xinghua said weakly, "I tried to stop you last time, but I won't stop you now. Divorce."
Chang Xiaoqing hugged her daughter, lowered her head and kissed her: "You have my last name, I will definitely take good care of you."
Qingmei pursed her lips and smiled faintly. This was the best destination.
Back in the single room, everyone looked emotional.
Zhao Xiaoxing sat on a chair at the end of the bed and said, "Old ideas are deadly. If I had left earlier, things wouldn't have turned out like this."
Recalling her own experience, Xiaoyan said with sympathy: "Marriage is not like signing a contract to sell yourself. An unreasonable marriage is oppression and exploitation."
Xiaojuan listened silently again.
Things have developed to this point, and the melon is basically eaten.
"There are many happy marriages. Don't be afraid of marriage, but know how to choose." Qingmei's two marriages gave her two different lives, which made her feel so emotional.
Halfway through eating the wontons, Qingmei suddenly remembered that she had a child!
Looking towards the bed, Gu Qingzhou was already holding the child who had just woken up and patting his butt.
Seeing that she hadn't adapted to her mother's identity yet, he stretched out his big hand and rubbed her head: "Eat yours, I'm here."
Zhao Xiaoxing said, "What name should I give my nephew? Calling him "baby" all the time isn't good either."
Gu Qingzhou learned his lesson and didn't dare to say anything more. His eyes fell on Qingmei's face.
Qingmei said, "You need a full name and a nickname."
Gu Qingzhou said: "What nickname should a boy have? What's his full name and what's his nickname?"
Qingmei suddenly understood and said, "Zhou Zhou?"
"No." Gu Qingzhou stopped talking immediately.
Zhao Wuhe clapped his hands and said, "Erzhou, Gu Erzhou is his nickname."
Qingmei continued, "Then Brother Gu, Gu Chongshan...could he be called Gu Dashan?"
Zhao Wuhe said cheerfully, "That's absolutely right."
Qingmei laughed so hard that her shoulders trembled. "What a nice name! Dashan and Erzhou, they go well together."
Gu Qingzhou came over and pinched her ear and said, "Please give us brothers some face in front of your little sister."
Qingmei looked over and saw the three of them laughing together on the sofa. So, of course, the name "Erzhou" would appear when the crickets were chirping behind her.
In order to change the subject, Gu Qingzhou cold-bloodedly shifted his target to his two-day-old son: "Look at how many names I have, choose one?"
Qingmei said, "Do you want to ask our dad?" She knew that many elderly people were obsessed with naming their offspring.
Zhao Wuhe said, "Ask him what he is doing. Just remember to give his grandson red envelopes during festivals. Don't interfere with other matters. Just do your own thing."
Qingmei was relieved now and looked carefully at the name that Gu Qingzhou handed over. Finally, she decided on a name called Gu Dazhao.
Gu Qingzhou whispered in his ear, "If you are successful, you will benefit the world. If you are brilliant, you will be sunny and bright, and your life will be full of light. I hope our son will be elegant and full of inner happiness. This name embodies both inner and outer virtues, and means pursuing the righteousness and vision of facing the sun."
After he finished explaining, Qingmei felt that this name was much better than "Zhaomei" and "Panpan".
Qingmei whispered, "Did you ask someone to look at it?"
Gu Qingzhou said with understanding: "I've looked up all the names here. Bao Mi's father used to do this, but later he retired. He said that all of them are good, especially Gu Dazhao, who is open-minded, gentle, and not oppressive."
Qingmei thought about it and couldn't think of a more suitable name than this, so she announced to everyone that her son would be called Gu Dazhao from now on.
Zhao Xiaoxing and Xiaoyan muttered, "Isn't this still 'Zhao Mo'?"
Xiaoyan covered her mouth: "Don't talk nonsense, my brother-in-law is not that kind of person."
His full name is Gu Dazhao, and his nickname is naturally Zhaozhao.
Zhao Wuhe came over to look at her grandson. With the right name, they looked more like a family. "Gu Zhaozhao, hello, little darling."
Qingmei also looked happy, with cute dimples on her face.
As if she was satisfied with the name, Gu Zhaozhao babbled, waved her arms, and then giggled. The already beautiful child was now even more lovable.
After Qingmei finished entertaining her son, she looked at the clock on the wall and guessed that Director Wang had returned to his office.
As soon as she sat up from the bed, Gu Qingzhou readily brought the slippers to her feet and asked his wife to put them on.
"You wait here, Xiaojuan and I will go. Xiaojuan, shall we go?"
Xiaojuan stood up nervously and said, "Okay."
Gu Qingzhou watched his young wife go to Director Wang to borrow his phone in a proud and confident manner.
As a military dependent, she had passed the political review and was able to make external calls. After Director Wang learned about the situation, he happily lent them his phone and even kindly looked up the phone number for Beihe Medical College, where Xiaojuan had applied.
I called and someone answered quickly. The person on the other end was polite but said they needed to check my household registration information before getting back to me.
They are now waiting in the office. After waiting for more than half an hour without any return call, they returned to the ward to wait for fear of disturbing Director Wang's work.
Xiaojuan was anxious. She grabbed Qingmei's hand and said, "If I pass the exam but someone loses my admission letter, will I still be unable to go to university?"
"I don't think that's possible. Although paper proof is required, the notice was lost by someone, so it's not your fault."
Qingmei comforted her, saying, "I think as long as we have your student information, your exam admission ticket, and your household registration booklet, and some other materials to prove that you took the college entrance examination, there shouldn't be any big problems."
Seeing Xiaojuan still hesitant, Qingmei hugged her and said, "You've come through so many hardships and will be a student at Beihe Medical College. I think if they're a good school, they'll definitely give you a break after hearing your reasons. If they don't give you a chance and refuse you admission, then it's better not to go to such a cold school."
Xiaojuan licked her lips, her throat hoarse and dry from the burning sensation: "You're right."
Zhao Xiaoxing handed her the teacup. Xiaojuan took a sip and said, "What if I don't pass the exam?"
Qingmei asked, "Did the central government send you a notice prohibiting you from taking the college entrance examination next year?"
Xiaojuan laughed and said, "Of course not!"
Qingmei said, "That's all. Liu Bei had to visit Zhuge Liang three times to invite him to his cottage. You're discouraged after taking the exam once. Don't let me look down on you."
Zhao Xiaoxing also said, "That's right. I'm planning on repeating next year. I was lucky. There weren't many applicants this year, so I barely made it in. You're much better than me, so you'll definitely be fine."
While they were talking in the room, Gu Qingzhou called Bao Mi and Xiao Jin over and made arrangements.
Director Wang was also in the office helping them wait for the call.
After all, she is also a lesbian and she really hopes that lesbians can get more learning opportunities.
She gets off work at six every day, but stays a little later if she has surgery. Tonight she doesn't have surgery, so she waits until 7:30.
The phone rang from Director Wang's office. The four girls at the farthest end seemed to have super hearing and rushed towards Director Wang's office.
Director Wang received a call from the medical school, but before he could call anyone, the entrance was already crowded with people.
Qingmei asked anxiously, "How's it going? Did you find your student status? Did you pass the exam?"
Director Wang pointed to the phone and said with a smile, "Why not let Comrade Xiaojuan answer it herself?"
Qingmei vaguely guessed the result from her expression.
Xiaojuan nervously grabbed the phone. The kind voice of the academic affairs teacher came from the other end: "Zhang Juan, your student status is still with our school. I've already discussed your situation with our school leader. She said, 'Which is more important, the admission letter or the student?' Which do you think is more important?"
Xiaojuan's eyes suddenly turned red, and she choked up and said, "Teacher, I think that whether it is in the hearts of the school leaders or in your heart, they will definitely choose students as the most important."
The academic affairs teacher smiled and said, "That's right. School will start in just over a month. Please give me the personal identification documents I mentioned before you come. Also, aren't you a military dependent? You can ask the military to issue you an ID card. That would be even safer."
"Okay, I understand." Xiao Juan remembered these words firmly. After hanging up the phone, she looked at Gu Qingzhou and said, "Captain Gu... I need the army to stamp my identity to prevent someone from impersonating me."
Gu Qingzhou said readily, "Okay, I'll let the HR know tomorrow and handle it on the spot."
Xiaojuan couldn't help herself and rushed into Qingmei's arms and sobbed, "Why? We are family, but you guys can't help me as much as me."
"Think more about happy things now." Qingmei hugged her. While she was happy for her, she also knew what she was going to face.
At the same time, Xiao Jin and Bao Mi grabbed Wu Yongchu and came downstairs.
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