Chapter 68: Cleverly going to a big city, isn't it a good life...
As a military wife, confidentiality is ingrained in my mind.
He Chengze smiled and said, "There's nothing I can't tell you." He added, "After a while, this will be reported in the newspapers. By then, not only the people of the province, but the entire country will know about it."
He said with a hint of regret, "It's just that the report probably won't state that you were the one who discovered it. After all, you're a military wife, and your identity is somewhat sensitive."
The most important thing is that I am worried that 'Su Yan' has other accomplices. If they find out that it was Jiang Xueyi who ruined their plans, they might think of revenge, which would be bad.
Jiang Xueyi was eager to get the name, so she quickly urged, "Then tell me about that female spy."
He Chengze smiled and said, "She calls herself 'Su Yan', but her real name is Susan."
Jiang Xueyi sighed. "Susan, it sounds like an English name. Is she American?"
During the days that He Chengze was away, she also looked up a lot of information, and found that the country that uses Fahrenheit is the United States.
He Chengze shook his head. "No, after interrogation, it turned out that she and her accomplice, the one who sent her the lotus root, were all Vietnamese. They only used Fahrenheit because they had spent some time in the United States and were working as intelligence spies there."
Jiang Xueyi exclaimed: "It turned out to be a Vietnamese monkey!"
Vietnamese monkeys is a derogatory term for Vietnamese people. Jiang Xueyi has no good feelings towards Vietnam. They claim to be the strongest military force in Southeast Asia and the third most powerful military power in the world, but the means they used when fighting against our army were extremely despicable.
For example, let the women hold the swaddling clothes to stop the People's Liberation Army and ask for help, but in fact take advantage of the people's unpreparedness, take out the grenade from the fake swaddling clothes and throw it into the crowd... These are what He Chengze told her.
After hearing it so many times, I naturally don’t have a good impression of those people.
Recently, they have had frequent frictions with our country on the border... There may be a war, no wonder they sent spies here.
He Chengze continued, "We intercepted the lotus root boat carrying Susan's accomplices and discovered that they had been using lotus roots to transmit messages. What's worse, some of the lotus roots had been hollowed out and stuffed with gun parts and bullets."
When he said this, his face became serious. Fortunately, Jiang Xueyi discovered it early and they caught the spy in time. Otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Jiang Xueyi sighed and said, "These spies are quite clever. Hiding a bullet in a lotus root? I'm surprised they figured that out." She then asked, "Is there a bullet hidden in a lotus root hole?"
He Chengze laughed and said, "How is that possible?" He gestured, "A bullet that big will fit in the lotus root hole. They hollowed out the lotus root, sealed it, and stuffed the bullet in, then glued it shut."
He said, "Among the soldiers who went to arrest people, there was one whose family had been digging lotus roots for generations. When he picked up the lotus root, he felt that the weight was not right. When he opened it, he found something."
Jiang Xueyi sighed, "It would be great if we could seize it in time."
He Chengze smiled and said, "Yes, but who would have thought that the female spy would be hiding in the vegetable market."
But on second thought, the vegetable market has a large flow of people and is very suitable for hiding. Moreover, it is the closest place to buy vegetables to the military camp, and many military wives will go there. The spies cannot sneak into the military camp, so they can hide in the vegetable market and learn a lot of inadvertent information from the military wives and officers who come to buy vegetables.
He Chengze said, "You've made a great contribution this time. Political Commissar Zhang has agreed to reward you with an imported refrigerator bought with overseas Chinese remittance coupons!"
"Really?" Jiang Xueyi's eyes lit up. "Political Commissar Zhang really said that?"
He Chengze smiled and said, "Of course." He added, "Commissar Zhang has a fellow countryman who is a returned overseas Chinese. It wouldn't be difficult for him to get the Overseas Chinese Remittance Vouchers, but it will probably take another month to get them."
Jiang Xueyi was so happy that she had wanted a refrigerator for a long time.
Refrigerators are so great! They can make cold drinks and popsicles. You don’t have to put ice watermelon in cold water for half a day. Most importantly, you can put vegetables in the refrigerator without worrying about them going bad.
It was said to take a month, but in fact the refrigerator was used faster than expected, in less than half a month.
Early on Sunday morning, two workers in blue work clothes came to the door carrying a refrigerator.
"Is this Deputy Brigade Commander He's home?" asked one of the taller ones.
"Yes, you are here to deliver a refrigerator." Jiang Xueyi's eyes swept over the refrigerator behind them, very enthusiastic.
Hearing the word 'refrigerator', the two masters looked at each other and said, "This is it."
The shorter one asked, "Where are you going to put the refrigerator?"
Jiang Xueyi led them into the kitchen and pointed to a circle drawn with chalk on the floor: "Put it here."
She and He Chengze had already agreed that it would be best to put the refrigerator in the kitchen.
"Okay." The two masters responded, and moved the refrigerator "hey whoosh hey whoosh" and placed it in the drawn circle.
The tall master wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It's installed." He added, "It's really not easy in this hot weather."
"That's right, thank you for your hard work, both masters." Jiang Xueyi continued, "This refrigerator is really heavy, it must be 80 kilograms, otherwise it wouldn't take two people to lift it."
Jiang Xueyi added, "You guys take a break. I'll get you some mung bean soup."
The two chefs drank mung bean soup and said, "This is the instruction manual. You can read it, right? Do you want us to explain it to you?"
Jiang Xueyi took the instruction manual and said with a smile, "I can read it."
Seeing that she really picked up the instruction manual and read it at a glance, the two masters looked at each other and thought, well, this is a literate person, so they felt relieved.
After drinking the mung bean soup, the two masters continued to connect the wires.
Jiang Xueyi saw them wrapping the wires three times with tape and couldn't help asking, "Are you wrapping the wires so tightly to prevent leakage?"
"You're knowledgeable." He also knew about the leakage. The tall technician praised him, "The refrigerator has a high power consumption, and the connector must be tightly wrapped, otherwise it will easily trip due to unstable voltage in the summer."
He plugged the refrigerator into the socket. With a click, the indicator light on the side of the refrigerator came on. "Hear this sound, the compressor has started, and it can be used normally."
The little bun came running over, put his ear to the refrigerator and listened, then widened his eyes and said, "It can breathe!"
"This is cooling," the short chef explained to the little bun with a smile. "There's...some chemical in here that turns hot air into cold air, just like your breath turns into frost in winter."
The two masters left the military compound dormitory, pushing a flatbed cart and chatting as they walked.
"Did you see that? There are soldiers standing guard at the gate."
"I've seen it. It's truly magnificent, and the people who live there are quite impressive too," the short chef remarked. "Look at the hostess, she's wearing an open-necked dress, looking like a cadre. No wonder she can read and understand the manual. She's also so generous as to treat us to mung bean soup."
"How else can I afford a refrigerator..."
Jiang Xueyi didn't know that the two installation masters who came to her house were talking about her behind her back.
She happily opened the refrigerator, looked at it again and again, and was thinking about going back to the market to find a carpenter to make a set of molds for popsicles so that she would have popsicles to eat in the summer.
As soon as He Chengze returned home, he saw the dark green refrigerator in the kitchen.
Jiang Xueyi and her son, Xiao Baozi, were standing in front of the refrigerator, playing an open-and-close game.
Jiang Xueyi opened the refrigerator door.
Little Bun: "Wooooow! It's so cold!"
Jiang Xueyi closed the refrigerator door again.
Continue to open. Little Bun: "So cool! So cool!"
He Chengze leaned against the door frame and said happily, "You guys are not afraid of the air conditioning running out if you play like this."
The little bun came running over and pointed at the refrigerator and said to He Chengze, "Dad! This thing is cooler than an electric fan!"
He Chengze picked him up and said, "It's not an electric fan, it's an electric fan."
Jiang Xueyi came over and said with a smile, "Next time we go to the market, I'll ask a carpenter to make some popsicle molds. I'll put sugared boiled water or mung bean soup in them, freeze them for a while, and then we'll have popsicles to eat."
Just imagine that after dinner, the family takes out popsicles from the refrigerator and licks them. It feels very comfortable.
He Chengze smiled and said, "You can also use milk to make milk popsicles."
Hearing the words, Jiang Xueyi's eyes lit up: "Did you order milk for Xiao Baozi?"
"Yeah, I passed by the milk station and ordered it." He Chengze tapped the little bun's nose, "You'd be happy if you had milk to drink."
The little bun smiled and said, "Happy." He tilted his head and asked, "What is milk?"
He is now in a stage where his desire to explore is the strongest, and he likes to ask why when he encounters something.
I was pestering the installation master just now and almost confused him with my questions.
He Chengze: "Um...it's the milk produced by cows."
Before the little guy could ask the next question, he immediately changed the subject and said to Jiang Xueyi, "Would you like to treat us to a meal in a couple of days?"
"Treat us?" Jiang Xueyi was stunned.
He Chengze said, "Yes, the discovery of the spy has been reported in the newspaper. Although your name is not mentioned in the report, anyone with a discerning eye will know it's you, Jiang's wife."
Jiang Xueyi had also read the newspaper. The report praised her highly, and she even thought that He Chengze had bribed the reporter.
He Chengze smiled and said, "Today at the military camp, Lao Zhao and the others asked me when I was going to treat everyone to a meal."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "It's time to treat everyone. Otherwise, it would be too much to say. How about next Sunday? Everyone should be free." She added, "Then I'll go find the carpenter in the next two days and ask him to make molds for popsicles. Then we can treat everyone to a meal and have popsicles to eat."
He Chengze said: "Why don't I go."
"No need." Jiang Xueyi smiled, "I'm riding a bicycle, it's convenient."
The next day was Monday. Jiang Xueyi made an appointment with He Chengze in advance and asked him to pick up Xiao Baozi after work, while she went to find a familiar carpenter to make a mold.
This carpenter was the one who made the pastry mold for her last time.
The first time is new, the second time is familiar.
With just a few pointers from Jiang Xueyi, the carpenter knew what kind of mold she wanted.
The carpenter smiled and said, "Leave it to me."
Unfortunately, it is not very popular to use rubber as molds now, but the effect is similar if made of wood and painted, and Jiang Xueyi is very satisfied.
She chatted with the carpenter for a while before riding her bike home.
As soon as she arrived at the gate of the military compound dormitory, she was stopped by someone who called her, "Secretary Jiang!"
Jiang Xueyi was stunned for a moment. She looked over and saw an unexpected person. She said in surprise, "Hao Fang!"
She quickly got off her bike and went to meet him: "Why are you here?"
Hao Fang cut her hair short and wore a blue work suit, looking very capable.
His complexion was no longer as pale and thin as before. His cheeks were plump and rosy. It seemed that he had a very comfortable time in Shanghai.
Jiang Xueyi looked behind her and asked, "Where's Shugen? Didn't he come back with you?"
Hao Fang smiled and said, "My second aunt is ill, so I took some leave to come back and see her." She paused and said, "During the most difficult time for Shugen and I, it was my second aunt who helped us mother and son. We should never forget our roots. Since she is ill, I naturally have to come back to see her."
No wonder, Jiang Xueyi saw her carrying large and small bags filled with malted milk, apples... and some nutritional supplements for the patients.
Jiang Xueyi said, "Let's stop chatting here. It's dinner time now. Come home with me and eat."
Hao Fang shook her head: "I've only taken two days off, and I have to go back early tomorrow morning."
Jiang Xueyi paused: "Then why did you come to see me?"
Hao Fang smiled sheepishly: "I came back not only to see my second aunt, but also to... see my ex-husband, Zhao Laosi."
When she talked about Zhao Laosi, she seemed to be gritting her teeth.
After working in the Shanghai Stock Exchange for some time, she has become much more cheerful and generous. If it were in the past, she would not have said the word "ex-husband" so directly.
Hao Fang smiled bitterly, "Shugen... He still has nightmares in the middle of the night and wakes up in a fright. He'll jump out of bed, cover his head with the quilt, and say, 'Stop hitting me, stop hitting me.' Listening to that, my heart aches." She gritted her teeth and said, "I came back just to see how that bitch is doing now, having left us mother and son."
To be honest, she still has some shadows about Zhao Laosi.
Not only Shugen, but even she would occasionally recall the days when she was beaten and kicked by Zhao Laosi.
She really wanted to see how Zhao Laosi was doing, but she didn't dare go alone, so she thought of Jiang Xueyi.
Jiang Xueyi understood Hao Fang. She patted the back seat of the car and said with a smile, "Come on up, I'll go with you." She added, "But first, let me make it clear that you have to treat me to dinner. I'm still hungry."
Hao Fang felt relieved: "Of course, even if you didn't tell me, I would definitely treat you to this meal."
Her gratitude to Jiang Xueyi could not be repaid with just a meal.
Jiang Xueyi left a message for the soldier on guard, asking him to tell He Chengze that she would be back later today.
Afterwards, he took Hao Fang to Shuibei Commune.
On the way, she asked Hao Fang: "How are you doing in Shanghai?"
Hao Fang smiled and said, "It's pretty good. After arriving in Shanghai, my former coworker found me a job at a textile factory. Now, I can earn 24 yuan a month."
She already had experience working in a textile factory, and when she arrived at a large textile factory in Shanghai, she quickly got the hang of things and her salary doubled.
Jiang Xueyi asked again: "What about your mother and Shugen? Is your mother in good health?"
Hao Fang: "Shanghai has good medical facilities. My coworker took her to a large hospital for an illness that couldn't be cured here. She was cured in less than half a year. My mother has fully recovered now. Shugen is also studying there and has made many friends. Every time he comes home, he happily tells me about what happened at school."
It was not until she arrived in Shanghai and worked in a large textile factory that she realized that women had another way of living.
When you get your salary, you don’t have to give it to your man and let him spend it on eating and gambling.
Instead, you can keep it for yourself and buy hair ornaments, gadgets, skirts, or anything else you want.
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "It's good."
Hao Fang: "Yeah, it's pretty good."
Her face was filled with a smile of rebirth.
When we arrived at Shuibei Commune, we first went to Hao Fang's second uncle's house to visit her second aunt.
Second aunt's wife was lying in the dark room when she suddenly saw a beam of light shining in.
When Hao Fang saw her second aunt, tears immediately flowed down her face: "Second aunt, I'm Xiaofang, I'm here to see you."
Second Auntie's eyes were already a little blurry. She reached out and touched Hao Fang's face, muttering, "I recognize your voice. You are Xiaofang, Xiaofang..."
Hao Fang choked up a little and said, "I'm working in a big city now, earning a good salary every month. My mother and Shugen have been living a good life with me. Second aunt, I brought you a lot of nutritional supplements. You must recover quickly."
Second Aunt's wife curled her lips and smiled, "Okay, it's right to leave that Zhao Laosi. Your second uncle used to tell me every day that a divorced woman like you, with children and mother, couldn't have a good life. Look, now you've gone to the big city and are living a good life."
Second uncle squatted by the doorstep, smoking a cigarette: "Hey, I didn't say that."
He looked at Hao Fang, his eyes moving around her blue work clothes, and changed the topic: "What I mean is that people with ability can live well anywhere. Fangzi, you have made great progress."
Second uncle asked again: "Who is this?"
Hao Fang said, "This is Secretary Jiang from the Women's Federation. She came back with me to see you." She paused, "By the way, Second Uncle, that jerk Zhao Laosi... How is he doing now?"
The second uncle tilted his pipe to the ground and said, "He, he got married." He added, "Not long after divorcing you, he married a new wife."
When talking about this matter, my second uncle sighed endlessly.
Hao Fang and Zhao Laosi are the first couple in Shuibei Commune to divorce in many years.
At that time, when the team leader and the leaders of the commune learned that Hao Fang wanted to divorce, they took turns to go to her house to persuade her, but Hao Fang was determined to divorce. When they asked her urgently, she rolled up her sleeves and showed them the scars on her hands.
Zhao Laosi didn't know what was wrong with him. He looked scared and when asked, he said he agreed to the divorce.
Both parties agree, so what can we do? Just get divorced.
After the divorce, people in the commune started gossiping all kinds of things.
Some people say: "Although Zhao Laosi usually drinks too much and likes to make moves, every man beats his woman."
Others said: "That's right, Hao Fang is a little too pampered. After the divorce, what good can she expect? The next one she finds might be worse than Zhao Laosi."
During that time, Hao Fang's relatives from her mother's side, including her second uncle and aunt, did not dare to go out, because there was a divorced woman in the family.
Now Hao Fang came to the door wearing a blue work suit. She was dressed in a capable manner and looked like a female worker. She was also carrying so many nutritional supplements in her hands. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she had become rich.
The second uncle said with a smile: "Zhao Laosi, you've remarried a new wife who is strong and plump. Hehehe...you can see for yourselves."
Hao Fang and Jiang Xueyi exchanged a glance, and Hao Fang left the nutritional supplements behind: "Well, Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I'm leaving first. You must remember to take these nutritional supplements. If you have any problems, remember to write to me."
"Hey." Second uncle looked at the nutritional supplements on the table and his smile widened a little.
After leaving her second uncle's house, Hao Fang said to Jiang Xueyi with a wry smile, "Before I went to Shanghai, I came to my second uncle's house, but he didn't welcome me so much. He looked down on me because I was a divorced woman and I thought it was unlucky."
Jiang Xueyi smiled and said, "Once you have made progress, everyone around you will greet you with a smile."
Hao Fang thought about it and felt that what he said made sense. She smiled and said, "Yes, I must work harder and do my job well so that everyone around me will smile at me."
The closer she got to Zhao Laosi's house, her former residence, the more hesitant Hao Fang became.
Although the expression on her face did not change and she was still talking and laughing with Jiang Xueyi, her eyes were full of fear.
Every step she took reminded her of the days when she was beaten and kicked.
Hao Fang stood outside the yard, looking at the earthen wall, and suddenly remembered that once, she didn't know what she did wrong, and Zhao Laosi pressed her head and banged it against the wall, deliberately letting passers-by see it.
"We're here." Hao Fang's voice was a little tense, but she tried to smile.
Jiang Xueyi held her hand and said, "You are no longer the same as before." She added, "Not only you, but also Shugen and your mother. You are all different now."
She paused and said, "If it really doesn't work, we can just not go."
Hao Fang said, "I have to go." She smoothed her hair. "For more than a year, I have thought about him every day. The older sister at the factory told me that the best way is to face the past and untie the knot myself. I came back this time just to see how he is doing."
She took a deep breath, raised her legs and walked in.
In the yard, Zhao Laosi was squatting by the wall basking in the sun, with a tattered straw hat on his face, and his exposed arms were so thin that only bones were left.
"Zhao Laosi!" A shout suddenly came from the mud house, and a burly woman came out. She kicked Zhao Laosi and said, "Hurry up and light the fire and cook. I'm hungry."
Zhao Laosi staggered after being kicked by her, and quickly stood up, saying with an apologetic smile: "Hey, I'll go right away, I'll go right away, don't be angry."
As he said this, he picked up the axe and started chopping wood.
Jiang Xueyi noticed that his foot was a little lame.
Second uncle came over at some point, smoking his pipe and laughing, "Not long after you left, Fangzi, he got in a fight and broke his leg. No one took care of him, and after he healed, his leg became like this."
Jiang Xueyi asked again: "What about his wife?"
Second uncle: "The new daughter-in-law who just married into our family three months ago is well-known in the surrounding area for being a fierce and aggressive woman. She will hit people if she disagrees with you."
Jiang Xueyi: "Is Zhao Laosi willing too?"
Second Uncle laughed and said, "Of course she wouldn't want to. Who else but her would be willing to marry Zhao Laosi, a divorced man?" He added, "They often fight at home. This is known to the whole commune. Zhao Laosi has a limp and didn't recover from his illness. His wife doesn't like his lack of money and often makes advances on him. Now, Zhao Laosi must have been beaten into submission. He doesn't dare to say anything against his wife."
He glanced at Hao Fang and shook his head: "I don't want a good wife who works hard and serves tea and water, but I want a shrew instead. Tsk tsk tsk tsk..."
Hao Fang looked at Zhao Laosi's staggering back, and as she laughed, she began to cry.
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