Auntie Shi's side had indeed stirred up trouble.
She and her husband, along with their son, went to demand money from the intermediary who had supposedly been helping to secure a job.
That intermediary was a young thug—only a good-for-nothing like Auntie Shi's son would have known the likes of him.
Getting money out of that sort of person was nearly impossible.
So the two sides started arguing. Auntie Shi's husband lost his temper and picked a fight with the man, only to get beaten badly in response.
In the end, the whole family was caught by the patrol team and locked up in the police station.
When Qiao Lanshu woke up the next morning, Auntie Shi was nowhere to be seen.
She stepped out of the house and spotted Qin Yuanzheng holding An'an with one arm while watering the vegetable garden in the yard with the other.
An'an had already been changed into a clean diaper and was clutching a bottle of milk to drink.
The baby loved being held by his father—his father's arms were strong and sturdy, making it very comfortable to lie there drinking milk.
Qiao Lanshu walked to the doorway and stood under the eaves, watching quietly for a while before stepping outside. She looked around and asked curiously, "Brother Zheng, Auntie Shi isn't back yet?"
As soon as Qin Yuanzheng saw her come out, he immediately carried An'an over and said, "You're up? It's windy today—go inside and put on more clothes."
It was already late autumn, and the weather was getting colder. Qin Yuanzheng worried that Qiao Lanshu might catch a chill.
Qiao Lanshu laughed and said, "I'm not cold. I'm wearing a cotton jacket."
Qin Yuanzheng held An'an with one arm and wrapped the other around Qiao Lanshu as the family of three walked back inside. He said, "Auntie Shi’s family had some trouble. This morning, someone from the police station came by and told me that last night, her family got into a conflict with others and a fight broke out. I'll head over in a while to check on it."
It was Deputy Police Director Li Jianlin who had sent word.
Deputy Director Li knew Auntie Shi and was aware she worked as a nanny in Qin Yuanzheng's home.
Worried that the incident might be connected to Qin Yuanzheng, he kindly arranged for someone to deliver the message.
As for whether he went or not, that was up to Qin Yuanzheng himself. After all, a Brigadier Commander like him was hard for common folk to meet. It wasn't really necessary for him to go all the way to the police station just for a nanny—sending one of his adjutants would have been enough.
Qiao Lanshu looked a bit worried. "Auntie Shi is a decent person. There’s no reason she’d start a fight for no cause."
Qin Yuanzheng thought the same, but he would have to go see the details for himself.
Auntie Shi was an excellent nanny, and Qin Yuanzheng was satisfied with her work. Besides, Qiao Lanshu was pregnant now and needed extra care.
So Qin Yuanzheng didn’t want anything to happen to Auntie Shi. This time, he was willing to go in person to ask questions and help resolve her problem.
Breakfast was also made by Qin Yuanzheng—simple pumpkin millet porridge, steamed chive rolls left over from last night, and a plate of pickled sour vegetables.
Recently, Qiao Lanshu had been feeling nauseous and had a poor appetite, so Auntie Shi had pickled some vegetables. They could be eaten raw or used to make stewed sour cabbage; either way, they were spicy, sour, and refreshing.
After finishing their meal, Qin Yuanzheng tidied up the house, had Qiao Lanshu hold An'an and rest at home, locked the door, and drove to the police station.
At the station, Auntie Shi, her husband, and their son had been detained overnight, and none of them had gotten any sleep.
The son, seeing his father's bruised and battered face from the beating, finally realized this time he had done something wrong.
He hung his head and said, "Dad, Mom, maybe we shouldn't take this money."
Auntie Shi kept a cold face and said nothing.
Her husband sighed and said, "Five hundred yuan—do you know how long it took our family to save up five hundred yuan?"
Their son said gloomily, "But there's nothing we can do about him. He's got connections. His cousin is the section chief of the Supply Department—he's got a lot of power. Otherwise, how could he make money by selling jobs?"
"I told you last night: let's forget the money and not go. But you insisted on going. Now look—you got beaten up, and then locked up in the police station. What are we going to do now? Are we going to be sent to labor reform?"
As Auntie Shi listened, she gradually felt something was off. She turned to stare at her son and asked him, "What did you say? His cousin is the section chief of the Supply Department? Are you sure?"
Wasn't the Supply Department's section chief Director Guan?
Did Guan have a cousin who earned money by selling jobs?
Did Qiao Lanshu know? Did Brigade Commander Qin know?
So, when Qin Yuanzheng came to the police station in person to meet Auntie Shi, she told him the whole story in detail.
Of course, she also mentioned that the Supply Department section chief was the scammer's cousin.
Qin Yuanzheng told Auntie Shi not to worry, to stay in the police station for a couple of days, and that he would look into the matter.
Deputy Director Li overheard all this and quickly asked Qin Yuanzheng, "Brigade Commander Qin, was this really done with Section Chief Guan's... I mean, Section Chief Guan's approval? Is he really making money this way?"
No way—back then, Guan Wenjun took on all kinds of missions to get that job, even risking his life escorting Han Wenlin to Long City.
How long had he been in the position now? Hadn't even reached two months yet, had he?
Was he already making money by selling jobs?
Qin Yuanzheng walked to the entrance of the police station, remained silent for a couple of seconds, then said, "It's unlikely. Section Chief Guan is newly married, and the couple is still in the honeymoon phase—he probably doesn't have time for this."
And during his earlier time at the Revolutionary Committee, it would have been even more impossible.
So the most likely possibility could only be the former Supply Department section chief, Zheng Weigong.
After Han Wenlin arrived safely in Long City and officially registered at the police station, Zheng Weigong fled with his sister.
The fact that Han Wenlin still hadn't caught him showed just how good they were at hiding—they had probably planned multiple escape routes long ago.
Thinking of this, Qin Yuanzheng asked Li Jianlin, "What background does that guy who sells jobs have?"
Li Jianlin replied, "He's just a local street punk—loafs around all day, gets into fights, hangs out drinking and playing with a bunch of shady friends... Come to think of it, I had people look into him. He has made a lot of money selling jobs. Before this, all the jobs he arranged worked out, and no one came back to cause trouble."
In other words, the jobs he arranged before were reliable—expensive, sure, but they actually got people in.
But now it was different. Why?
It must be because Zheng Weigong and his sister had fled, and without their backing, he couldn't find good jobs anymore.
Qin Yuanzheng thought that since Han Wenlin had been unable to track down Zheng Weigong and his sister, maybe they could start with this guy.
Thinking of this, Qin Yuanzheng said to Li Jianlin, "You should quickly send a telegram to Han Wenlin and ask him to come back with his men. It's very likely that Zheng Weigong hasn't escaped. He probably is still hiding in Longcheng or in the neighboring Wencheng. Let Han Wenlin start the investigation from this young man."
Han Wenlin had chased after the suspect based on certain clues before. However, now it seemed that Zheng Weigong might have spread false information.
Everyone had been deceived by him, and he might be hiding somewhere in the vicinity at this moment.
Qin Yuanzheng inclined to the idea that Zheng Weigong was hiding in the neighboring Wencheng.
Otherwise, this loafer wouldn't be selling jobs in Wencheng. According to the investigation, he used to sell jobs on construction sites in Longcheng. The prices were not low, ranging from 300 to 500 yuan.
After arranging this matter, Qin Yuanzheng told Li Jianlin to release Auntie Shi and her family of three.
When Auntie Shi's son saw Qin Yuanzheng, he didn't dare to say a word. He didn't even dare to look up at Qin Yuanzheng.
Because Qin Yuanzheng was staring at him with a serious look, which scared him half to death. He kept hiding behind Auntie Shi and didn't dare to show his face.
Qin Yuanzheng really had never seen such a good - for - nothing young man.
He saw that Auntie Shi and her husband had not only lost 500 yuan for this son, but also the old man, being of advanced age, had been beaten up. It was really pitiful.
Having become a parent really made a difference.
In the past, when he saw such things, he wouldn't have much empathy, but now?
He thought of his own son, An'an.
If An'an grew up to be as good - for - nothing in the future, Qiao Lanshu didn't know how much trouble she would have to take.
Auntie Shi and her husband thanked Qin Yuanzheng profusely. Auntie Shi said, "Chief Qin, you've really gone out of your way for us. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know what to do."
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. "Ma'am, you're welcome. After all, you're the nanny of my family. When something happens, of course I'll help. As for the 500 yuan, I'll try my best to get it back for you. But you don't have to be in a hurry. This matter won't be resolved quickly. You just wait for the news at home."
Since Qin Yuanzheng had said so, Auntie Shi naturally trusted him.
If Qin Yuanzheng said he could get the money back, he definitely could.
Auntie Shi's eyes were red with gratitude. "Thank you, thank you, Chief."
Qin Yuanzheng glanced at Auntie Shi's son again and decided to give her a hand. He said, "I can make a call for you at the Wencheng Airport and let your son go there for a try. But in the beginning, he'll surely have to start from the basics, like carrying bricks. Can he do it?"
As Qin Yuanzheng spoke, he stared sternly at Auntie Shi's son.
Auntie Shi and her husband turned to look at their son.
Auntie Shi was a bit anxious. What a good opportunity this was! With Qin Yuanzheng making the call himself, there was no need to mention the future prospects.
Not to mention anything else, the people at the construction site wouldn't bully her son.
What was wrong with carrying bricks? Auntie Shi thought there was nothing wrong with it. So what if it was hard and tiring?
Who didn't have a hard and tiring job?
To her surprise, her son was still hesitating!
Because he simply didn't want to carry bricks!
If he had wanted to carry bricks, the 500 - yuan job he bought would have been a brick - carrying job. He could have just stayed and done it then, so why did he come back?
Seeing that her son didn't want to go, Auntie Shi was so angry that she reached out and hit him. She scolded him in a low voice, "Hurry up and thank Brigade Commander Qin! He's willing to give you this face and help you out, and you're being so picky!"
The son whispered, "Mom, I don't want to carry bricks..."
Auntie Shi was so angry that she hit her son several more times, this time putting all her strength into it, making a thumping sound on his back.
Qin Yuanzheng said sternly to them, "Then it's settled. Three days later, you'll report to the construction site of Wencheng Airport."
Then he added a reminder, "Since I've already made arrangements, you must go. Otherwise, I'll have you tied up and taken there."
Qin Yuanzheng looked at Auntie Shi's son and continued, "Don't think about slacking off. Work hard there. Do you understand?"
Auntie Shi's son felt goose - bumps all over his body under Qin Yuanzheng's stare and instinctively nodded.
Only then did Qin Yuanzheng let him go and turned to leave.
He still had to go to the mining area. He had already wasted too much time here today.
Auntie Shi's son was on the verge of crying.
He suspected that he was being threatened. If he didn't go to the construction site to carry bricks, he thought the military people would tie him to a tractor and drive him around the site three times.
However, no matter how reluctant he was, he didn't dare not to go at this point.
He couldn't really let the military people tie him up and take him to the construction site. How embarrassing would that be?
He still had his pride.
So, on the morning of the third day, Auntie Shi's husband personally sent his son to the construction site of the Wencheng Airport project to work as a laborer carrying bricks.
The commander of the engineering corps in charge of this airport project was Zhao Jiannong.
Zhao Jiannong had received instructions from Qin Yuanzheng, so he told the supervisor to keep a close eye on Auntie Shi's son and make sure he carried bricks for two months.
If he could persevere and still wanted to stay, they would consider transferring him to another position and making him a full - time worker.
If he couldn't hold on and made a fuss to run away, he would be sent to the pig farm to take care of pigs.
Such a lazy and spineless person needed to be taught a good lesson, lest he just stayed at home all day and caused trouble for his parents.
...
Auntie Shi didn't know all these details. She only knew that Qin Yuanzheng had helped to make arrangements at the airport.
With Brigade Commander Qin's promise, her son was sure to have a bright future at the airport!
At the very least, he would definitely become a full - time worker. Auntie Shi just hoped that her son would be sensible, endure hardships, and work hard, and not mess up this great opportunity.
After Auntie Shi's matter was settled, a few days later, Han Wenlin finally returned with his men.
Then he rushed to Wencheng for an investigation. Soon, he found Zheng Weigong who was hiding in Wencheng.
Han Wenlin had some experience in dealing with spies. He was worried that Zheng Weigong was hiding in Wencheng to sabotage the construction site of the airport.
Among the surrounding cities, the most important places were the mining area under Qin Yuanzheng's management and the airport project in Wencheng under Zhao Jiannong's management.
So, Han Wenlin brought some military dogs and joined forces with Zhao Jiannong. They actually found explosives buried underground around the construction site!
And they also found Zheng Weigong hiding in a resident's house in Wencheng.
This case caused a great stir. Han Wenlin had just taken office and had made great contributions.
By the time everything was settled and the dust had settled, three months had passed, and it was already the twelfth lunar month.
The Spring Festival was approaching.
Another year had gone by.
Qiao Lanshu's belly was getting bigger and bigger, and Niuwa had grown a year older. He was as strong as a young calf.
Qiao Lanshu bought new cloth and cotton and asked Huang Erling to make new Spring Festival clothes for Niuwa and An'an.
While Niuwa was trying on new clothes in the room, Qin Yuanzheng pushed open the door, stood at the entrance, and said to him, "Niuwa, come out quickly. Your dad is here to pick you up and go home for the Spring Festival."
Niuwa had just put on the new cotton-padded jacket. It was black, which was stain-resistant, and thickly stuffed with cotton. Wearing it, he looked like a little round ball.
Hearing this, his face changed. Pretending to be stupid, he asked, "Dad? Aren't you my dad? I'm definitely going to celebrate the Spring Festival here. Right, Mother Qiao?"
Qiao Lanshu was holding An'an in her arms and looking at Qin Yuanzheng.
Qin Yuanzheng turned around, looked at Han Wenlin standing behind him, and said, "You've heard it, right? It's really not that I don't want to send him back. It's just that he himself doesn't want to leave."
