Chen Huan Di was dumbfounded, choked speechless.
She’d always helped her mother deal with her little sister since she was a child, and it had been painful.
Burn it?
Too smelly.
Bury it?
The stray dogs would dig it up and carry it around in their mouths.
She hated having daughters, but she’d been lucky—after marriage, she’d given birth to two precious sons.
She didn’t know Zhao Hui, nor did she understand her.
She thought to herself, “There are actually people who want to have daughters? Must be crazy!”
But as a country woman, she was naturally afraid of the military and the police, especially since Zhao Hui was riding in a military vehicle.
Not understanding what was going on, she quietly slipped away.
Zhao Hui called the driver to pack up their luggage and said with a smile, “Tonight, we’re going to stay somewhere with better conditions.”
Wu Jingjing still felt uneasy and asked, “Auntie, can’t you just take Mianmian home with you?”
Zhao Hui had been busy all day, mostly just transferring files and helping Chen Mianmian handle the procedures for accompanying the army.
But there were no privileges in a military industrial base, and matters concerning the Baomi Budui were hard to explain to the public.
So she only said, “There are still some procedures to handle, but don’t worry, Mianmian will be able to join the unit very soon.”
She felt a bit sorry, too, and personally helped Chen Mianmian into the car before explaining, “I specifically transferred your file, and the good news is, because you haven’t transferred your household registration to the base, it’s still there, so it’ll be easier to go back.”
She added, “You’ve been away for almost half a year. The base needs to check your movements, you understand, right?”
Of course, Chen Mianmian understood, since the first time the female supporting character went to the base, she was investigated by the Public Security Bureau for a whole month.
And Zhao Hui’s purity and sincerity surprised Chen Mianmian especially.
It was only human nature—after all, she’d been divorced for half a year and was now pregnant.
It was normal for the man’s family to suspect the child’s bloodline.
Zhao Lingcheng was the only son, and his family wanted a boy even more.
But everything Zhao Hui did made her feel that bringing Niuniu back to the Zhao family was the right choice.
She said, “No rush, as long as I get back before the due date.”
But Zhao Hui insisted, “No, at most three days and we have to go to the base for a full check-up.”
Suddenly, she cried out, “Oh no, quick, to the hospital!”
The driver slammed on the brakes to turn around, but Chen Mianmian said, “Auntie, don’t worry, it’s just the baby kicking.”
Zhao Hui froze. “So it’s the baby, she’s moving?”
Chen Mianmian placed her whole palm on her belly and asked, “Can you feel it? Isn’t it fun?”
Her abdomen squirmed—that was a vigorous and thriving life growing inside her.
Zhao Hui blurted out, “She’s truly a child of the Zhao family, so strong.”
She had read the case files of Chen Jinhui and knew that, in order to force an abortion, he had beaten his own sister until her belly was covered in bruises.
But with five heroic grandfathers watching over her, she finally waited for her aunt to rescue her.
And if the old man ever found out about all this, one could only imagine how excited and overjoyed he’d be.
Trying to get someone into a military industrial base within three days was, of course, not that easy.
Because they belonged to two different units, Zhao Hui had to return to her own workplace and coordinate more paperwork.
The new place she found for Chen Mianmian was the Steel Plant Reception Guesthouse. In the spacious north, it was yet another large compound.
She placed Chen Mianmian’s hand in Qiu Director’s and said, “I’ll leave her in your care.”
Qiu Director still had work for Chen Mianmian to do and agreed readily, “Don’t worry, Comrade, I’ll take good care of her.”
Unlike the State Guesthouse with its mud-brick houses, this was a newly built red-brick Western-style building.
When Chen Mianmian entered the corridor and heard the sound of running water, she stopped in surprise.
“This isn’t a dry latrine?”
Qiu Director understood at once.
“Our toilets flush!”
Chen Mianmian turned and ran off, but after a few steps, she came back, “May I borrow some toilet paper?”
Qiu Director tore off a piece of newspaper and handed it to her, “Go ahead.”
Chen Mianmian really needed to relieve herself, or else even Niuniu would complain her belly smelled too bad.
After finishing, Qiu Director led her to a guest room.
At last, the guest room didn’t have that earthy smell of a kang bed.
Chen Mianmian could finally sleep in a real bed.
She had also finished translating the report and sealed it in an envelope.
Since it was a foreign-language document, Qiu Director didn’t dare read it herself and took it to the leaders for review.
Dinner was at the Steel Plant cafeteria—just a nearly oil-less stew of potatoes and cabbage, with coarse sorghum as the staple, barely hulled and so rough it scratched the throat.
Chen Mianmian found it hard to eat, but then she heard a child outside the window say, “There’s meat! It smells so good!”
She looked out and saw a woman swallowing hard and saying to her son, “Be good, eat my portion, too.”
After picking at her food for a long time, Chen Mianmian finally found a tiny piece of meat, popped it in her mouth, and it really was delicious.
Right now, ordinary factory workers all ate this kind of food.
The Minbing Team got slightly better meals, as they could scrimp on the prisoners’ food.
The best meals went to those with confidential numbers, but you had to be selected by ability—most people couldn’t get in.
The richest food, the most plentiful oil, all belonged to those who controlled the logistics lifeline—the Railway System.
That’s why Xu Xiaomei schemed so hard to get her brothers into the Railway System.
After sleeping on a soft straw mat, Chen Mianmian slept soundly until dawn.
She washed her hair with hot water, wiped herself down, and finally felt clean again.
As she was sitting on the bed brushing her hair, Qiu Director knocked on the window, “Comrade Chen, time to get up!”
It was already April.
The woolen coat was too hot, so Chen Mianmian left it unbuttoned.
The female supporting character had a head of jet-black, glossy long hair, still damp, so she simply let it hang loose.
Qiu Director stared in awe, “No wonder you could marry into a leader’s family. The more I look at you, the prettier you are.”
She took her to the Mechanized Headquarters, up the stairs, and into the Party Secretary’s office.
As soon as Chen Mianmian entered, a middle-aged man came to shake her hand, “The translation is excellent.”
He added, “I heard you’re a Red Specialization kid. Your translation is better than those university professors.”
Qiu Director introduced her, “Our Yan General has been praising you all morning.”
At first, she hadn’t quite believed in Chen Mianmian, since everyone knew what kind of level the Red Specialized School was.
But when the leader read the document and praised it endlessly, she accepted that Chen Mianmian was a top student.
She added, “If you weren’t busy having a baby, you could work at our factory full-time.”
Yan General looked at her belly and said, “I heard you’re going to accompany the army. If not, I’d appoint you as my secretary!”
Having a child was just a process; Chen Mianmian still needed to work.
Since she couldn’t promise anything for now, she only said, “If there’s any work, please arrange it for me. I’m free these days anyway. Please don’t hesitate, give me a chance to contribute to the country’s development.”
Not only was her translation good, she spoke well too.
Yan General was so excited he slapped the table, “There’s plenty of work! With your dedication, I won’t treat you unfairly!”
So, while waiting for Zhao Hui, Chen Mianmian landed a temporary job.
Qiu Director was surprised—every time Chen Mianmian translated a document, Yan General would praise her.
The Steel Plant’s official staffing was tight, but he specially instructed: as long as Chen Mianmian was willing, she’d get a formal position.
Because English was considered “reactionary,” Qiu Director hadn’t dared look at the manuscript, but how good could a Red Specialized School student’s translation be for the leadership to praise her so highly?
She couldn’t figure it out, but she became even more polite to Chen Mianmian.
The Steel Plant became a backup plan.
If she couldn’t find a better job, Chen Mianmian would work there.
Of course, her translation skills were actually quite average.
What mattered was her ability to read her clients.
In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.
As agreed, Zhao Hui was coming to pick her up.
Just then, Qiu Director gave her four yuan in cash and two yuan in grain coupons as payment.
Chen Mianmian bought two jin of cake at the Steel Plant store and five big bags of local specialty—rich, cheap yak milk powder.
She gave Wu Jingjing and Guli each a bag of milk powder and a jin of cake as thanks, keeping three big bags for herself.
Ever since she transmigrated, she’d eaten nothing but coarse grains—hard to swallow.
She remembered the base mostly served coarse grains too, so she prepared more milk powder for herself.
Zhao Hui was punctual.
Early in the morning, the military jeep drove right into the yard.
Qiu Director packed up personally and helped move the bedding, but Chen Mianmian, watching the gate, felt uneasy.
The whole “falling into the water to force marriage” was actually Xu Xiaomei’s scheme, and she’d managed to get five hundred yuan out of it.
But now, with both her husband and his younger brother in jail, and Chen Mianmian about to leave Quancheng, could she take it lying down?
Just as she was thinking about it, a bicycle shot into the yard—rider: Xu Xiaomei, carrying Chen Huan Di.
Last time, they’d talked about severing ties.
Chen Huan Di didn’t hesitate and threw an envelope at her sister, “Severance Letter!”
She pointed at the gate, “Go bail out Jinhui and Xu’s brother-in-law right now, or our mother will immediately report you.”
Zhao Hui and Qiu Director were both stunned.
Qiu Director rushed to ask, “Report what? Why?”
Chen Huan Di was tongue-tied and looked at Xu Xiaomei.
Xu Xiaomei said, “My mother-in-law can testify that Chen Mianmian stalked officers, framed them, and even stole from them.”
Chen Huan Di added, “Our mother is at the Public Security Bureau. If Mianmian doesn’t go, she’ll report her on the spot.”
Would a mother really slander her pregnant daughter?
Wasn’t she afraid her daughter wouldn’t be able to accompany the army and might end up in jail?
What kind of mother was that?
Did she not care whether her own daughter lived or died?
Zhao Hui and Qiu Director were both dumbfounded.
Xu Xiaomei’s lips curled in mockery, her eyes saying, “What now? You have no choice but to go bail them out, right?”
But Chen Mianmian just smiled and looked at Chen Huan Di, “The money Xiao Mei gave our mother was a bankbook, right? But she reported it lost before giving it to her. The truth can be found at the bank. Also, our mother entrusted her with three hundred yuan of Retirement Pension, which she’s already transferred to herself. And the Baomingyao I gave our mother, she switched out long ago—the real medicine is with her own mother.”
Chen Huan Di was still confused. Xu Xiaomei shrieked, “Chen Mianmian, you’ll never have a good end!”
Chen Huan Di finally got it, “Xiao Mei, you actually took my family’s things to subsidize your own?”
Xu Xiaomei realized it was bad and tried to pedal away.
But Chen Huan Di was strong and yanked her back, “Come with me to the credit union.”
She shouted, “Dare to steal my family’s money for your own, I won’t let you off!”
Amidst the tugging and shouting, she dragged Xu Xiaomei out of the yard.
Zhao Hui finally understood, “Your sister-in-law stole your mother’s money and spent it on her own family.”
Qiu Director said, “She’s draining her in-laws to support her own family. Your mother’s in for a fight now.”
Yes, the female supporting character was a Faithful Younger Sister, and Xu Xiaomei was even more so.
And she had three brothers—she was even crazier than the supporting character.
She was just cleverer and more discreet about it.
If Wang Ximei wanted to report her, Chen Mianmian really had no good way to deal with it.
But what if she discovered that the money her “bloodsucking” daughter had saved was stolen by her daughter-in-law to subsidize her own family?
So dividing them was simple—just expose Xu Xiaomei’s true face.
Wang Ximei needed her daughter to be a Faithful Younger Sister, but she would never allow her daughter-in-law to support her natal family.
The two would tear each other apart, leaving no time for anything else.
Chen Mianmian could finally focus on her pregnancy and giving birth.
Once in the jeep, she took out the Severance Letter Wang Ximei had given her.
It was written by Xu Xiaomei, and just one sentence: Wang Ximei’s future care would be the responsibility of Chen Jinhui and his wife.
It had no legal effect, since supporting one’s parents was the duty of all children, and private contracts were invalid.
But the 500 yuan Bride Price and 200 yuan Divorce Compensation—
Chen Mianmian could use this letter to claim them in the future.
The car sped along.
Zhao Hui smiled and said, “Lingcheng will set off from the desert today and return to the base. We’ll see him tomorrow. I’ve already told his superiors, and the leadership will inform him right away that he’s going to be a father.”
She sighed, “He’s going to be a father. I can’t imagine how surprised he’ll be.”
The younger brother of a Faithful Younger Sister is most likely to marry another Faithful Younger Sister, so every Faithful Younger Sister is backed by a Bloodsucking Team.
As for handling this…
I’ve experienced it myself.
Back then, everyone tacitly wrapped it in red cloth, then several layers of dark blue plastic, and buried it deep.
But dogs always sniffed it out, dug it up, and carried it everywhere.
We were ignorant kids, chasing after the dogs.
The adults would say: “You girls, just a pinch and you die. If your parents are willing to raise you, you should be grateful…”
The red cloth peeking out from the dark blue plastic was the final resting place for many baby girls.
Sorry for scaring everyone—there are red envelopes in the comments.