Chen Mianmian actually felt that being pregnant by Zhao Lingcheng wasn’t a pleasant surprise, but a shock.
She really needed to seriously consider how to convince her ex-husband to believe the child was his.
Because in the book, their father-daughter reunion relied on a blood type comparison, but right now, Niuniu hadn’t even been born yet.
And before the divorce, the female supporting character had already made a huge scene.
She asked Zhao Hui, “Aunt, the Public Security investigated my whereabouts for the past six months. There’s no problem, right?”
These days, the Quancheng City Public Security Bureau had urgently set up a Special Task Force and investigated Chen Mianmian’s movements.
Zhao Hui laughed and asked, “You went on a blind date with Wei Cuiyun and even went to the hospital to take care of his mother?”
Then she added, “Wei Cuiyun used to be an Anti-bandit Hero, he’s one of our own, and that was after your divorce, so it’s not a big problem.”
Section Chief Wei, full name Wei Cuiyun, was a military transfer cadre.
Before his transfer, he had made a big bust of the Haixi Bandit Gang—he was quite the celebrity.
If it was just a blind date after the divorce, it really wasn’t a big deal.
But actually, he and the female supporting character had met during her marriage; he was the catalyst for her divorce.
That was last September, when the female supporting character graduated from Red and Expert School and was about to start working.
Her family always complained about being poor and asked her for supplies, but Zhao Lingcheng’s labor protection benefits weren’t nearly enough to provide.
So the female supporting character wanted to work at the department store, since there was a constant supply of goods, and she could send things back to her family.
But that job required a recommendation from her husband, and at that time, Zhao Lingcheng had already moved to a different work unit.
It was still Xu Xiaomei who gave her the idea to go complain to the leadership, so the leader called Zhao Lingcheng back home.
After that, the female supporting character diligently cooked, did housework, studied, practiced calligraphy—she was on her best behavior.
The two of them always slept in separate rooms, never interfering in each other’s business.
But one night, Zhao Lingcheng was thirsty and restless, unable to sleep.
He got up to use the bathroom, and when he came back to bed, he found the female supporting character was already naked, lying in his bed.
He knew that if he let his wife work at the store, she’d end up in jail for embezzlement sooner or later.
So, yes, he slept with her, but after pulling up his pants, he denied everything and still refused to write a recommendation letter.
The female supporting character couldn’t do anything about him, so she went to discuss countermeasures with Xu Xiaomei.
For the sake of her younger brothers’ future, Xu Xiaomei was at the hospital taking care of Section Chief Wei’s paralyzed mother at the time.
Though the female supporting character wasn’t educated, she was especially good at taking care of people.
She rolled up her sleeves and cleaned up after Wei’s mother, making the old lady so comfortable she was howling with delight.
Section Chief Wei saw all this and sighed, “Such a good comrade—if only she were my wife.”
He was an Anti-bandit Hero, and the female supporting character liked him too.
Xu Xiaomei saw this and started plotting.
When the female supporting character returned to the Base, the cotton-padded jacket incident happened, and Xu Xiaomei encouraged her to divorce and even created opportunities for her and Section Chief Wei.
Moreover, the female supporting character, who was already pregnant at the time, had her period.
That’s right, in early pregnancy, she had her period!
Normally, she was frugal and used ash from plants as pads.
But because she was angry at Zhao Lingcheng, she used his toilet paper that time, and he was the one who took out the trash, so of course he saw it.
She divorced after having her period—how could anyone believe the child was his?
Chen Mianmian, having handled many cases, calmly analyzed that what the female supporting character had wasn’t a period, but early pregnancy bleeding.
It’s just that she was strong, and Niuniu was tough too, so even though there was bleeding, the pregnancy was not lost.
Unfortunately, the female supporting character had no experience and just thought it was her period.
Now, showing up with a big belly and wanting her ex-husband to accept her, she had to think of a way to convince him.
Once Niuniu was born, they could do a blood type comparison, and then she could return to Quancheng, join the Steel Plant, and start working.
But just as Chen Mianmian was enthusiastically making plans, her lower abdomen started to squirm again.
She knew maternal love was just hormones at work, but when she pressed her hand there, she could clearly feel the little hand of her child slip into her palm, moving nervously.
Niuniu hadn’t been born yet, but just thinking about being separated in the future made Chen Mianmian feel so sad.
Jing Jing Wu thought their meeting was just a chance encounter between classmates, but unexpectedly, the other party came back with a heavy gift.
She refused, “You’re pregnant, keep it for yourself. I don’t want it.”
Chen Mianmian stuffed the milk powder cake into her arms and sniffed, “Xu Xiaomei arranged for you to clean the dry toilets, didn’t she?”
Jing Jing Wu smelled like feces—she’d clearly been assigned to clean up the latrines.
She didn’t care, “It’s just a little dirty trick. I’m a Martyr’s Child—they can’t expel me.”
The main reason was that Director Jiang and Xu Xiaomei were working together in secret to make things hard for Jing Jing Wu.
Chen Mianmian held her hand and said, “If you could get transferred to the Steel Plant, you wouldn’t have to be afraid of them anymore, right?”
If Jing Jing Wu hadn’t lifted the cover of the cesspit, they wouldn’t have caught Xu Cigang.
But he still had two brothers, and Xu Xiaomei wasn’t easy to deal with either.
Chen Mianmian was worried she’d suffer in silence.
If she could get her transferred to the Steel Plant, she wouldn’t have to worry about anything.
But getting into the Steel Plant was a step up—
Jing Jing Wu sighed, “A good workplace like the Steel Plant, people like us can’t get in.”
Chen Mianmian couldn’t either, so she turned to Zhao Hui, “Aunt, could you help?”
The trouble Zhao Hui was facing was actually still Xu Xiaomei’s two brothers, who were both militiamen.
Because the Zhao family had several relatives in Quancheng Labor Reform Farm.
Even though the central government kept issuing documents urging militiamen to treat Rightists well, once someone was sent to the farm, their fate was uncertain.
People’s abilities are limited, and Zhao Hui couldn’t help her relatives—she could only let them fend for themselves.
She felt sad but didn’t show it.
She instructed the driver, “Let’s go back to the Steel Plant again.”
She also said to Jing Jing Wu, “I can’t guarantee anything, but I can try.”
Jing Jing Wu was so happy she kept bowing, “Then I’ll thank you in advance, Aunt.”
She ran after the car and told Chen Mianmian, “When the baby’s born, I want to be the godmother.”
They still had to make another trip to the Steel Plant to talk to Qiu Director about Jing Jing Wu’s job before heading to the Military Industrial Base.
On the road out of town, the driver suddenly braked hard, and Chen Mianmian actually saw Wang Ximei.
That’s right, the woman cursed with the Curse of Bearing Daughters, who’d given birth to eight girls in a row.
She wasn’t actually that old, only fifty-six, but because she was afraid of pain and didn’t dare let her feet out, she was still a foot-bound old lady.
Right at the door of the Credit Union, she and Chen Huan Di were tearing into Xu Xiaomei.
It looked like they’d confirmed that the passbook had been reported lost and was invalid, and that Xu Xiaomei had embezzled all the money.
You see, after her two daughters got married, Wang Ximei always used headaches and fevers as an excuse to ask her daughters for money and food, but when she got home, she gave it all to Chen Jinhui for his expenses.
She’d already given enough, but her daughter-in-law still stole her private stash—how could Wang Ximei not be angry?
And her daughter had given her life-saving medicine, only for her to steal it and give it to her own mother?
A daughter-pleaser up against a son-protector—magic versus magic, the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were about to bring down the sky.
To go to the Base as a civilian, you had to take a special train.
The train station was also separate, directly under military jurisdiction, and not open to the public.
All the bedding, backpacks, and basins were carried by Zhao Hui—
Chen Mianmian only had to take care of herself.
Even the train attendants were military personnel—especially attentive, always bustling about.
It wasn’t until they got on the train and Zhao Hui changed into her uniform that Chen Mianmian realized—she was actually an Air Force Colonel!
She had specially requested a soft sleeper, so as soon as they boarded, Chen Mianmian could lie down and rest.
Zhao Hui even got her special soybean milk reserved for officers’ families, telling her to drink and rest.
As the train started moving, first there was the Salt-Alkali Pasture.
It was the end of April, and the Qilian Mountains were still covered in white snow, but the Gobi already had tender green Artemisia grass.
Sheep, mirrored against the clouds at the horizon, were grazing on the sparse wild grass.
Zhao Hui suddenly said, “Both Lingcheng and I have our work set—when it comes to daily life, we can’t help you much. The Base doesn’t allow hiring nannies. Mianmian, you’re so outstanding, but you have to become a full-time mom. I’m really sorry.”
The Gobi seemed endless, and the sky was gloomy, but as Chen Mianmian gently stroked her belly, she suddenly felt enlightened.
Before she transmigrated, she was a woman who had saved up eight figures.
She knew better than anyone—there are always people who can make money in any era; it’s all about ability.
If she worked at the Steel Plant and did some side gigs, couldn’t she hire a nanny to help with the baby?
Niuniu was a prodigy, and her dad had no time—if she left her to others, what if she got mistreated again?
Maybe she should just have the baby at the Base and take care of Niuniu herself.
She was the child’s mother—if she didn’t love Niuniu, who else would?
Magically, as she thought of this, she felt fetal movement again.
It was as if Niuniu, finally sure her mom wouldn’t abandon her, was dancing in her belly.
The hormones made Chen Mianmian a little crazy, but she had decided—Niuniu would only recognize her dad, but she’d be raised by her.
She had always been gloomy, but after making this decision, her mood suddenly improved.
Even though the female supporting character had lived at the Base,
for Chen Mianmian, this was still a brand new world.
Strictly speaking, it was a desert oasis, a small city with clean roads lined with tall poplars—just looking at it lifted your spirits.
After getting off the train, they had to immediately take a minibus to the hospital to see the Doctor.
The doctor had been specially contacted by Zhao Hui—the most experienced Gu Doctor here.
Although Chen Mianmian refused, the doctor still thoroughly examined her with a manual check.
Taking off the gloves, Gu Doctor said, “Breech position, placenta previa.”
Zhao Hui was quite experienced: “Placenta previa is most likely to cause a difficult labor.”
Gu Doctor tossed the gloves: “Cesarean section, then.”
Chen Mianmian thought, fine, a C-section hurts less—sounds good to her.
But Zhao Hui’s eyes turned red: “My second sister-in-law died from a C-section with complications, and the child wasn’t saved either.”
Gu Doctor said, “Your second sister-in-law was in the war, a field hospital. The rescue measures and equipment can’t compare to now. Don’t worry, Zhao Colonel. Although a C-section is indeed risky, our medical conditions are the same as the Capital’s.”
Zhao Hui nodded, but added, “Make a note in advance—if there’s danger, save the mother first.”
Gu Doctor smiled, “You’re overthinking it. We’re not at that stage yet.”
Zhao Hui held Chen Mianmian’s hand, “If Lingcheng dares treat you badly, I’ll beat him to death!”
She had experienced death after a C-section and had a psychological shadow, which is why she was so emotional.
But in this era, a C-section itself was a gamble with life and death.
Chen Mianmian was gambling her life for the Zhao family—if Zhao Lingcheng dared treat her badly, Zhao Hui would never accept it.
Of course, the Gobi had an end.
Its end was an endless desert.
Beneath the gentle undulations of the desert hills, by the emerald green waters, Zhao Lingcheng, who had received the order to withdraw, bundled the wireless radio, binoculars, antenna, and other equipment onto his motorcycle, preparing to return.
Straddling his motorcycle, he glanced back—blue sky, green water, golden sands in the sunset.
Between heaven and earth, there was only him and the buzzing of the wireless radio.
He so enjoyed being single—and working.
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