Zhong Mei slept until eleven in the morning. As soon as she woke up, she saw Qiao Lanshu bringing her food.
While sitting at the table eating porridge, she felt as if she were dreaming.
It had been a long time since she lived a life with enough sleep and food.
Qiao Lanshu sat next to her and said, "Brother Zheng said Supervisor Liu has been arrested. He forced himself on many female comrades, and some even got pregnant. The situation is quite severe."
Zhong Mei sneered, "He hasn't been doing this for just a day or two, and no one ever cared. If you hadn't come this time, I'd still be the one getting punished instead of Supervisor Liu."
Zhong Mei couldn't help but marvel at her good luck again.
Although she was all alone with no one to rely on, and her luck had never been great, she had a good friend like Qiao Lanshu, who had a brigade commander for a husband.
She felt that if Qin Yuanzheng's rank wasn't high enough, the garrison troops managing the labor camp might not have even bothered with this matter.
Qiao Lanshu breathed a sigh of relief and told Zhong Mei, "Regardless, this matter has finally come to an end. As long as you're okay, that's what matters. We can't worry about the rest."
In this world, where there is light, there is dark; where there is good, there is bad. They could only look out for themselves and couldn't manage everything else.
With Supervisor Liu arrested and sent for labor reform, the incident of Zhong Mei injuring someone was officially classified.
Zhong Mei was forced into it; she was the victim and wouldn't be punished. Moreover, the management office was going to console the persecuted female comrades.
Qiao Lanshu whispered, "In less than two days, you should be able to leave here. Brother Zheng asked someone to contact the provincial revolutionary committee in Yangcheng to help investigate your past case. As long as they can prove you were innocent and forced to act in self-defense, your case will be overturned."
If she had told Zhong Mei this two days ago, Zhong Mei wouldn't have believed it.
But now, seeing a well-backed man like Supervisor Liu get arrested for labor reform, what was impossible?
As an ordinary person, Zhong Mei finally experienced what it felt like to have a powerful backer!
She said excitedly, "Really? You asked for someone's help? Wouldn't that mean owing them a favor? Will this affect you and your husband?"
Military officers feared owing favors the most, as they were hard to repay.
Qiao Lanshu comforted her, "Don't worry, that person owes Brother Zheng a favor. Plus, he'll probably need Brother Zheng's help later on."
Guan Wenjun had made a significant contribution in the mission to capture spies, so his job arrangement was definitely secured.
However, which department he could enter and what position he could hold still depended on connections and networking.
If he wanted to go to the public security bureau, Qin Yuanzheng could certainly help.
It was already the summer of 1976, and the college entrance exams would resume next year. If he didn't secure his job soon, he'd probably be doomed later.
Hearing Qiao Lanshu say this, Zhong Mei felt relieved.
As long as it didn't affect Qin Yuanzheng.
Although she didn't know much, she understood that military officers had many taboos to avoid.
The people from the management office indeed came to console Zhong Mei. They gave her two extra days off and arranged a planting job for her so she wouldn't have to carry rocks anymore.
Her new job was to grow grain and vegetables.
However, Zhong Mei didn't get to take up her new post, because news from Yangcheng arrived very quickly.
Guan Wenjun acted fast. He contacted the revolutionary committee in Yangcheng, explained the situation, and had people investigate.
In this era, as long as someone was willing and dared to take charge, there was nothing that couldn't be resolved.
A man and a woman went on a blind date, the man got beaten by the woman, and the woman was sent to a labor camp—this case was quite famous locally.
It was quickly found out that the man had acted like a hooligan, and the woman had only fought back in self-defense.
In less than a week, all of Zhong Mei's paperwork was completed.
When she and Qiao Lanshu walked out of the labor camp, she was still in disbelief.
Carrying her worn-out luggage, she said to Qiao Lanshu, "Can I really leave? Is the paperwork really done just like that?"
Qiao Lanshu held her arm. Qin Yuanzheng led the way ahead, accompanied by a man in a military uniform and another in a management uniform. The three men walked in front.
Zhong Mei asked again, "What about my household registration? What should I do with it?"
When she came here for labor reform, her household registration had been transferred to the labor camp. Now that she was leaving, what about it?
Qiao Lanshu whispered, "I was thinking, why don't you go to Longcheng first? Settle down there, find a job, and then slowly figure out a way to transfer your household registration to Longcheng."
Hearing this, Zhong Mei instantly understood what she meant.
If her household registration was transferred back to her hometown, she would have to return there eventually, and she might be forced into an arranged marriage again.
She nodded. "Okay, I'll listen to you! Maybe I can get married in Longcheng and secure my household registration through marriage? That would save a lot of trouble."
Zhong Mei never used to have any thoughts about marriage.
Because of her childhood experiences, she felt that men were no good.
But after spending a week with Qiao Lanshu and her husband, she suddenly felt that some men were actually quite nice; the key was to choose carefully.
If she could find a capable man with a job, she could solve not only her household registration issue but also her housing and employment problems.
After all, many state-owned factories employed family members. If she could enter a factory as a family worker, wouldn't that be perfect?
Even her future children could grow up, attend kindergarten, and study in the factory's compound.
That way, they would be much happier than she was as a child.
She didn't want her children to suffer the same hardships she did when she was young.
Thinking of this, Zhong Mei immediately said, "I've made up my mind! I'm going to Longcheng to find a man with a job and start a family."
Lowering her voice, she asked Qiao Lanshu, "Am I asking for too much? With my conditions, will it be hard to find someone?"
Men in the city with decent jobs were quite picky when looking for a partner.
She had no household registration, no job, and no support from her maiden family.
Plus, she had been in a labor camp. She felt that she would either have to marry into a rural village or find a man who also worked as a temporary laborer.
If that was the case, she felt it would be better not to marry at all and just live alone.
Qiao Lanshu comforted her in a low voice, "Fate is determined by heaven. Who knows, there might just be a man destined for you. Look at me when I first went to Longcheng—I was engaged to someone else, I had no job, and I wasn't a local. But didn't I still find Brother Zheng? That's fate, and you will have yours too."
Hearing her say this, Zhong Mei felt hopeful again.
She tidied her dry hair and said with a hint of frustration, "You're different. You're so beautiful. Even back in school, many male classmates liked you."
Zhong Mei and Qiao Lanshu grew up together. Qiao Lanshu had always been beautiful, and all the boys around them liked her, but no one liked Zhong Mei.
Of course, Zhong Mei wasn't jealous of Qiao Lanshu; she wasn't that petty.
She was too busy working odd jobs to earn her food money to even think about such things.
Qiao Lanshu then said, "Don't sell yourself short, you're very pretty too."
It was just that long periods of exhaustion had made her very thin, and the sun had tanned her skin. Coupled with malnutrition, her hair had turned slightly yellow.
Qiao Lanshu squeezed Zhong Mei's fingers, looking at the tiny scars on her rough hands, and added, "Come rest and recuperate at my house first. In less than two months, you'll be gorgeous."
Zhong Mei lowered her voice and said, "Me, staying at your house? Is that really appropriate? What about him?"
As she spoke, Zhong Mei gestured with her eyes toward Qin Yuanzheng, who was up ahead.
Qiao Lanshu lowered her voice and whispered, "I'll talk it over with him and have him stay at the mining area's military dorms. He'll agree."
Qiao Lanshu was lying; Qin Yuanzheng would never agree.
So, Qiao Lanshu figured that once they got back, she would satisfy Qin Yuanzheng thoroughly, and then, while in his arms, use a mix of coercion and coaxing to kick him out to the military dorms.
She knew Qin Yuanzheng very well. He might look intimidating normally, but he was incredibly easy to coax in bed and always had a soft spot for her.
Zhong Mei couldn't shake the feeling that Qin Yuanzheng wasn't that easy to negotiate with.
But right now, she had truly hit a dead end and could only rely on Qiao Lanshu.
Otherwise, she had nowhere else to go.
After chatting with those two comrades for a while, Qin Yuanzheng patted their shoulders one by one and bid them farewell.
Then, Qin Yuanzheng led Qiao Lanshu and Zhong Mei along the mountain path to the outside. His car was still parked under a large tree by the fork in the road.
Qin Yuanzheng brushed the fallen leaves off the roof of the car and said, "Let's go, get in."
So, Qiao Lanshu and Zhong Mei both got into the back seat together.
Qin Yuanzheng: ...
Qin Yuanzheng shot Qiao Lanshu a glance but said nothing. He opened the driver's side door and silently drove the car out.
Zhong Mei felt that Qin Yuanzheng seemed a bit unhappy.
She lowered her voice and said to Qiao Lanshu in their local dialect, "Your man doesn't seem very happy. Does he always have such a dark face?"
She then added, "He's so fierce. Are all men in high positions like this?"
It seemed that marrying a military officer wasn't all that great; only someone with a soft personality like Qiao Lanshu could be a good match.
If it were her, she wouldn't be able to stand someone giving her attitude every day.
They would probably end up fighting.
Qiao Lanshu chuckled softly and said, "He's not usually like this. I guess he's just being a bit serious because he has to drive."
As she spoke, both of them sneakily peeked at Qin Yuanzheng.
Qin Yuanzheng: ...
Qin Yuanzheng drove expressionlessly, listening to the two of them whispering in their local dialect. He had no idea what they were talking about and couldn't understand a single word.
He sighed silently in his heart.
After driving the car into the city, Qin Yuanzheng returned the vehicle.
He then took the two of them to the train station and bought two soft sleeper tickets and one hard sleeper ticket.
As a military officer, he could buy soft sleeper tickets for himself and his family members, but since Zhong Mei wasn't family, she couldn't get a soft sleeper ticket.
Therefore, for the return trip, Qin Yuanzheng arranged for the two of them to stay in the soft sleeper cabin. Once he saw that the two opposite berths were occupied by an elderly couple, he felt reassured and went to the hard sleeper cabin himself.
Zhong Mei felt a bit embarrassed about this.
But she had to admit, her impression of Qin Yuanzheng had improved.
She now felt that Qin Yuanzheng was actually a really good guy.
After all, Qin Yuanzheng could have easily made her go to the hard sleeper, but he didn't.
After taking the train for over a dozen hours, they finally made it back to Longcheng.
At this time of year, it was already sweltering in Yangcheng, but it was still quite cool here in Longcheng.
After the sun went down, it was even a bit chilly.
A guard was already waiting at the train station entrance in a car.
Auntie Shi had also already taken the baby back home.
So the three of them didn't go to Yang Wenyan's place and instead headed straight back to the military residential compound.
Zhong Mei looked around the compound, her eyes filled with curiosity.
After all, it was her first time visiting a legendary military compound, and it looked quite impressive.
The two guards at the gate were carrying rifles, looking absolutely imposing.
Seeing this, she almost wanted to marry a soldier too, but she was very clear-headed. She knew her own conditions weren't great, and it was impossible for her to climb high enough to marry an officer.
It would be better to see if she could find a local Longcheng man, at least to solve her household registration issue first.
Once she got out of the car, Qiao Lanshu didn't even pay attention to Qin Yuanzheng. She just grabbed Zhong Mei's arm and ran eagerly toward the house, saying as she ran, "Zhong Mei, hurry up and come with me to see my baby."
Zhong Mei knew Qiao Lanshu had given birth to a son and was also very happy. The two of them rushed excitedly up to the second floor.
Qin Yuanzheng carried Zhong Mei's backpack and followed behind them, expressionless.
He actually missed the little rascal at home very much too, but being ignored by his wife made him feel quite miserable.
Auntie Shi knew they were coming back today and would be having dinner, so she had steamed buns early on, made wild shepherd's purse dumplings, and cooked sweet potato porridge.
By the time they returned, Auntie Shi was holding the baby and feeding him milk.
Qiao Lanshu introduced Auntie Shi and Zhong Mei to each other, then quickly went to change out of her dirty clothes. After washing her hands, she hurried over and took the baby into her arms. An'an was almost three months old and was growing cuter by the day.
His little face was chubby, he had double eyelids, his skin was very fair, and he even had dimples when he smiled.
Zhong Mei leaned in to look and whispered, "An'an looks like you, so beautiful."
An'an seemed to know that his mommy was back. As soon as he was in Qiao Lanshu's arms, he started giggling, waved his two little hands, and then grabbed a strand of Qiao Lanshu's hair, refusing to let go for dear life.
Holding the baby bottle, Qiao Lanshu said softly, "You haven't seen Mommy for seven or eight days. Did An'an miss Mommy?"
Whether An'an understood or not, he just held onto her hair and laughed. He looked exactly like a miniature version of Qiao Lanshu.
An'an was clearly delighted. He clung to Qiao Lanshu without letting go, waving his arms and kicking his little legs joyfully.
Qin Yuanzheng walked over, held down his two legs with one hand, and pretended to be fierce as he said, "Don't kick Mommy."
An'an smelled Qin Yuanzheng's scent, wrinkled his nose, and seemed to make a look of disgust before snuggling closer into his mommy's embrace.
Qin Yuanzheng: ...
Auntie Shi stood to the side holding a small towel, wiping the drool from the corner of An'an's mouth. She coughed softly and said to Qin Yuanzheng, "Um, Chief Qin, it's been a long and tiring journey back. How about you go take a shower first? I just boiled some hot water."
Qin Yuanzheng: ...
Qin Yuanzheng sniffed himself and realized he did indeed reek of sweat.
It couldn't be helped. The hard sleeper on the train was very crowded and hot, with people constantly jostling around. Even he thought he smelled bad.
He had no choice but to say, "Alright then, I'll go take a shower first."
The little brat was going to grow up into a stinky boy himself one day, yet here he was, actually having the nerve to think his old man stank.
