Chapter 47
In reality, this moment was still before the start of the main story. Theoretically, Qiao Wei should not have known what happened at this time.
However, this era was not like the future where people could casually date and divorce; this was an era where sleeping with a few extra people could get you executed for “hooliganism.”
Even for ordinary cadres, issues regarding lifestyle and conduct were taken very seriously, let alone for Regimental Commander Zhao, who was a soldier.
If he dared to commit such a mistake, he would have been removed from his position long ago. He might even have been directly discharged and sent away.
But Regimental Commander Zhao, as the uncle of the original female lead, Lin Xixi, and an important supporting character, could be said to have been present throughout the entire story.
His work remained steady and stable, with no signs of being affected at all.
It was evident that the matter Sister Yang mentioned could not be true.
Qiao Wei’s attitude soothed Sister Yang, and Sister Yang’s emotions also stabilized: “Right, right, my Old Zhao is not that kind of person! Right, he isn’t.”
She had panicked for a moment, walking home with staggering steps and a bewildered heart, only to find her husband’s niece at home taking care of the two little ones.
She couldn’t face the children in such a state, and in her panic, she thought of Qiao Wei, fleeing to her in desperation like a sick person seeking any doctor.
She had come to the right place.
“It must be nonsense,” Qiao Wei said. “Who said it?”
“I, I…” Sister Yang said, “I was standing with my back to them. I heard them mention Old Zhao’s name, and I lost my composure. I was afraid they would see me, so I, I just ran away…”
“The more people gossip behind others’ backs like this, the more likely it is to be fake,” Qiao Wei said, patting her back gently. “Don’t panic. Since you trust Brother Zhao, why not communicate with him tonight?”
“Sister-in-law, this is a matter of conduct; it’s not just a private matter between the two of you. This concerns Brother Zhao’s future.”
“You must tell him about this.”
The slight hesitation Sister Yang originally had was awakened by her words.
Her entire family relied on Regimental Commander Zhao alone. His future was more important than anything else.
“I understand! When he gets back, I will talk to him.”
Sister Yang was actually a very steady person under normal circumstances.
But she was the typical long-suffering wife who had endured hardships; now that her husband had become an official, she was deep down worried about the saying “a man who rises in status often changes his wife.”
This matter happened to touch her weak spot, which was why she had panicked for a moment.
Now that she had calmed down, she noticed the woven basket by Qiao Wei’s feet, still empty.
“Oh my, were you going to buy groceries?” She felt embarrassed.
Because Qiao Wei had left very late, and was then delayed by Sister Yang, if she went now, there would likely only be rotten vegetable leaves left. The meat, for sure, would be gone.
Sister Yang directly took things out of her own vegetable basket, pulling out both vegetables and meat: “Here, take them, take them!”
Qiao Wei hurriedly stopped her: “I don’t need this much; there are only a few people in my family. There is still some meat at home.”
She only kept a few vegetables, enough for the evening meal. She was too lazy to cook for lunch anyway; it was perfect, she would just go eat at the Residential Compound.
She saw Sister Yang out the door.
She swapped the woven basket for a bucket and took Yan Xiang to pick up half a bucket of pebbles.
She didn’t overexert herself; she just went once in the morning and once in the afternoon whenever she had time.
Relaxed and leisurely, taking her time.
At noon, the mother and son went to the Residential Compound Cafeteria to eat.
After waking up from her nap, she went to the tailor shop in Craft Alley. The clothes and pants were finished and ready to be picked up.
There was a small partition in the tailor shop for trying on clothes, and Qiao Wei went in to try them on.
The top was indigo, and the bottom was the original color. Both pieces were loose and draped well, comfortable and natural.
The top was flat-cut, and the folds of the sleeves gave people a sense of relaxation just by looking at them.
The pants were even more comfortable, catching the breeze as she walked.
Homespun cloth was not a very smooth fabric; looking closely, there were some fine, tiny lint balls on the surface. When the fabric touched the skin, there was a slightly rough, frictional sensation.
What Qiao Wei liked was precisely this frictional sensation.
Moreover, it was absorbent and breathable, much more comfortable than synthetic fabrics.
“Tsk.” The Old Tailor remained the same, tucking his chin and looking at people with his eyes rolled up from bottom to top: “They will say: ‘Clothes for an old woman from the countryside.'”
Qiao Wei was looking in the mirror, and hearing this, she turned around and asked: “Then what about in your eyes?”
The Old Tailor was very dismissive: “What haven’t I seen?”
In the past, clothing was diverse and full of different styles, unlike now where there were only shirts, Lenin suits, and dresses.
A hero with no place to display their talents.
“You are a person who has seen the world,” Qiao Wei smiled.
The Old Tailor shook his head and sighed.
Qiao Wei twirled her hair and asked: “Let me ask you something, am I also not allowed to get a perm?”
The Old Tailor lifted his eyelids: “Do you have a referral letter?”
Qiao Wei: “…”
Although she knew that before the first generation of ID cards appeared, a referral letter was equivalent to proof of identity and was needed for everything when going out. But she never expected that even getting a perm required one?
The Old Tailor looked down on her: “Without a referral letter, what are you perming your hair for?”
“Only comrades performing in art troupes, or comrades from the unit’s labor union who are participating in art performances, have special needs due to work reasons, and the unit will issue you a referral letter to let you get a perm.”
“How can you just get one whenever you want.”
Fine.
Qiao Wei changed out of the clothes and asked again: “Then do you make shoes here?”
“That’s out of my line,” the Old Tailor said. “You have to go find a shoemaker.”
“Not leather shoes, just hand-stitched cloth-soled shoes; I’ll just make the shoe uppers.”
“That’s not my work either; you might as well find an old woman on the street, give her a few taels of food coupons or a few eggs, and she will definitely be happy to make them for you.”
“Hey, why didn’t I think of that method.”
Before leaving, the Old Tailor kindly reminded her: “Don’t let yourself get caught for speculation and profiteering.”
“Understood!” Qiao Wei left with a smile.
In the evening, as soon as Yan Lei returned, he sensed that Qiao Wei didn’t want to deal with him.
Glancing at the child who was still struggling with that sandpit, he followed her into the kitchen and grabbed Qiao Wei’s waist: “What’s wrong? Where did I make you angry?”
Qiao Wei huffed and puffed, slamming the small brush used for cleaning the pot against the stove: “I told you yesterday to be quick, be quick, but it took so long, and I didn’t get up again today.”
“I didn’t go for my morning run, and I didn’t manage to buy groceries either.”
“It’s all your fault!”
Yan Lei laughed; what a small matter.
He said by her ear: “Didn’t I leave you a note? If there’s no time to buy groceries, we’ll go eat at the Cafeteria. If you don’t like the Cafeteria, we’ll go eat out.”
There were also restaurants in town.
Although the service attitude at the State-run Restaurant was terrible, the head chef had real skills.
It was worth a try.
Speaking of “try,” the tip of Yan Lei’s nose caught the scent of Qiao Wei’s body.
She had now switched to using soap pods to wash her hair and body, and the scent was very fresh. Last night, it had made him unable to stop himself.
The sweaty feeling was still etched in his mind.
Just as he was planning how to let the flames of war continue today and fight a protracted war, Qiao Wei turned around and pointed at him with the small brush: “I’m telling you, not today.”
“Today, rest.”
Yan Lei: “…”
Sigh.
After Regimental Commander Zhao returned home, Sister Yang observed him quietly, and the more she looked, the more she believed in Qiao Wei’s judgment.
Her simple-minded fool of a husband didn’t have the capacity for such devious thoughts. Those with foul mouths were just talking nonsense.
In the evening, in the room, Sister Yang calmly told Regimental Commander Zhao about the matter.
Regimental Commander Zhao was even angrier than she was!
Of course Regimental Commander Zhao was angry; having such a big pot of filth dumped on him would affect his career, so who wouldn’t be angry?
He immediately cursed. After cursing, he asked Sister Yang who exactly was talking nonsense.
Sister Yang had been flustered in the morning and hadn’t seen clearly who it was, so now she couldn’t help but feel sheepish: “I, I didn’t see clearly.”
Regimental Commander Zhao: “…”
Regimental Commander Zhao was so angry he rolled his eyes.
“We must find these two people,” he said. “Who the hell is spreading rumors about me? This will affect my work.”
Sister Yang hurriedly nodded: “Right, that’s what Qiao Wei said too.”
“…” Regimental Commander Zhao, “Qiao Wei? How did she know?”
Sister Yang: “…I told her.”
Regimental Commander Zhao rolled his eyes.
Sister Yang was embarrassed and angry: “I was panicked at the time, and the house was full of children; I had to find someone to talk to, didn’t I?”
“Fine, fine, fine, stop talking,” Regimental Commander Zhao said helplessly. “Let’s go, let’s go find Yan.”
It wasn’t a good thing to begin with; the fewer people who knew, the better. And she had gone and shouted it to Yan Lei’s wife.
Sigh.
The couple knocked on the door of The Yan Household, and Qiao Wei opened it: “You’re both here.”
She hurriedly invited the couple in: “Yan Lei, Brother Zhao and Sister-in-law are here.”
From inside, Yan Lei responded.
Regimental Commander Zhao was about to speak, but when he looked up, he saw Yan Lei washing dishes.
Regimental Commander Zhao: “…”
Washing dishes was one thing, but he was smiling so happily. Why be so happy about washing dishes?
Just then, Yan Lei finished washing, wiped his hands clean, and came over to greet them: “Such a big commotion? What’s the matter?”
Putting the trivial matter of washing dishes aside, Regimental Commander Zhao got to the point: “It’s about that matter your wife told Qiao Wei about today?”
Unexpectedly, Qiao Wei smiled: “I didn’t tell him.”
“I thought it wasn’t a good thing. If it’s fake, it’s even more important not to spread it blindly; spreading rumors is fun for a moment, but refuting them is exhausting.”
Regimental Commander Zhao hadn’t been very fond of Qiao Wei over the years. His little comrade-in-arms, whom he had watched grow up, had married a wife who was only pretty but didn’t know how to care for her husband. Old comrades like him had a parental mindset and naturally didn’t look favorably upon Qiao Wei.
Who would have known that today he would discover that Qiao Wei actually had good qualities.
He shot his wife a glare: Look at how tight-lipped she is.
Since they were already here, he told Yan Lei about the matter.
Yan Lei’s face fell on the spot: “This matter, it’s not big, but it’s not small either. But aren’t you currently being evaluated for a promotion? Then it’s not a small matter.”
He asked Sister Yang: “What were their exact words?”
Sister Yang recalled: “…They said Old Zhao was smiling at a newly arrived female soldier like crazy, flirting and carrying on.”
“A newly arrived female soldier?”
Yan Lei and Regimental Commander Zhao looked at each other.
“It couldn’t be…” the two said in unison, “the Division Commander’s daughter?”
“Damn it all!” Regimental Commander Zhao cursed again. “If I didn’t smile nicely, would I dare to pull a long face at the leader’s daughter?”
