Chapter 80.2

Early the next morning, Lan Hui came to find Jiang Nian and dragged her off to the literacy class. Seeing Lan Hui so enthusiastic, Jiang Nian couldn’t refuse. He Yue came out at that time, and Lan Hui took her away together.

He Yue: …

She was just out for a visit.

As they reached the stairs, they saw Guan Lu going upstairs. It was Jiang Nian’s first time seeing Guan Lu, dressed in a shirt and trousers, hair draped over her shoulders, naturally beautiful with a softness that made her seem delicate and in need of protection, evoking pity and tenderness.

Jiang Nian only knew that Deputy Commander Luo was older than Guan Lu, and seeing them together today, they didn’t look like a couple at all.

Deputy Commander Luo was really robbing the cradle.

“I’m back.”

Lan Hui smiled at everyone she met, not offending anyone or competing.

Guan Lu had an old-fashioned single-shoulder bag on her shoulder. She nodded to Lan Hui and glanced at Jiang Nian and He Yue before looking away and heading back.

Her voice was gentle and pleasant, somewhat similar to her impatient tone from last night.

Thinking back, Jiang Nian recalled that Guan Lu and Deputy Commander Luo had argued last night because Luo Xiaoyue had entered their room without her permission. They argued in the hallway for ten minutes, with Guan Lu emphasizing that Luo Xiaoyue must promise not to enter their room without permission.

Family matters are the hardest to resolve, torn between wife and daughter. If Deputy Commander Luo doesn’t handle it well, both sides might end up unhappy.

As Jiang Nian and the others reached the ground floor, they met Tian Mai coming out. She was with Ning Xiu and Ning Qian. Lan Hui asked, “Are you still going to the literacy class?”

Tian Mai replied, “Yes, why not? I hate staying at home and seeing my mother-in-law makes me sick. It’s better to take the kids out for a stroll.”

At this time, most children were already in school, but Ning Xiu and Ning Qian were not.

Jiang Nian asked He Yue in a low voice and He Yue snorted and whispered, “The old lady thinks girls studying are useless. They’ll marry into another family when they grow up. She says the money saved from studying should be deliberately used as a dowry. She adamantly refuses to let Xiu’er and Qian’er go to school. Every time the two go to school, the old lady causes a scene. After too many incidents, Deputy Commander Ning is embarrassed and just lets the two children stay at home.”

Jiang Nian: …

Jiang Nian frowned. She found the old lady’s traditional views detestable.

There were quite a few military wives at the literacy class. Jiang Nian and He Yue sat together. He Yue turned to see Jiang Nian earnestly writing. Today’s lesson was a poem to memorize and write down. Jiang Nian’s handwriting was much better than before, though not neat, it was legible and much improved.

Looking at her own messy writing, He Yue commented, “Your handwriting looks really nice.”

Jiang Nian: ???

Jiang Nian was surprised. Seriously?

Are you kidding?

She looked at her deliberately crooked and ugly handwriting, unable to bear it, then glanced at He Yue’s notebook.

Jiang Nian: …

Jiang Nian realized that compared to He Yue’s, hers did indeed look much better.

Lan Hui heard He Yue’s remark, stretched her neck to look over, and smiled. “Jiang Nian, you’re making progress.”

Jiang Nian smiled. “Practice every day, and you’ll slowly get better.”

He Yue said, “I can’t do it.”

Lan Hui glared at her unkindly. “The teacher is lecturing, and you’re fidgeting around. It’s a miracle if you can learn anything.”

Her scolding was reminiscent of Commander He’s.

He Yue sighed.

Ning Xiu and Ning Qian sat quietly next to Tian Mai. Tian Mai couldn’t focus either, dozing off as soon as the teacher started talking. Ning Qian, on the other hand, took diligent notes. When the teacher spoke, Ning Qian wrote it down below, while Ning Xiu kept her head down, lost in her own world.

Suddenly, in the quiet hall, a loud voice rang out. “Ning Xiu, how dare you steal my money! The Ning family really raised a white-eyed wolf! “

Old Mrs. Wu’s voice was loud, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze outside the auditorium.

Old Mrs. Wu stormed in with a black face, pointing at Ning Xiu and scolding, “I was wondering what you were doing behind my back last night. It turns out you stole my three yuan.That money was hard-earned by me, saved up bit by bit. Give me back my three yuan! The Ning family is already losing money raising you two sisters. How dare you steal money? How shameless can you be, eating and drinking our money!”

She kept emphasizing “losing money,” and Jiang Nian frowned.

Ning Qian was scared stiff when old Mrs. Wu approached, quickly closing her notebook and holding Ning Xiu’s trembling hand without saying a word. Ning Xiu kept crying, and Tian Mai shook her head continuously without saying a word.

Most people in the family residential area knew about the Ning family’s affairs and didn’t have a good opinion of old Mrs. Wu. She strongly favored boys over girls, believing that any daughter born in her family was a waste of money and should have been drowned in a chamber pot at birth.

Tian Mai stood up angrily and shouted back, “When did Xiu’er steal your money? Don’t talk nonsense!”

Old Mrs. Wu glared at Tian Mai with a dark face, clearly very angry. Pointing at Ning Xiu, she said, “She took my shoes before I went to bed last night. I had hidden three yuan in the insole, and it was gone this morning. If it wasn’t her, then who was it? Could it be Ning Qian?” 

Then she pointed at Ning Qian again, “Did you sisters collude to steal my money?”

“We didn’t!”

Ning Qian immediately retorted angrily.

Old Mrs. Wu’s anger surged when she heard this. Pointing at Ning Qian, she said to Tian Mai, “Look at the worthless girl you’re raising! Daring to talk back to me and being so fierce! She’s already like this at such a young age—what will she be like when she grows up? I’m telling you, I’m going to make a big deal out of this. I’ll go to Kuang Sheng’s regiment and report this to the security department. Ning Xiu stole my money and got a bad character and needs to be locked up!”

Ning Xiu sobbed uncontrollably, repeatedly saying, “I didn’t steal.”

Ning Qian, bolder, tightly held Ning Xiu’s hand, glaring angrily at old Mrs. Wu. Tian Mai’s temper flared, “Fine, go ahead and make a scene! Go to the Third Regiment and make a big fuss. Let everyone in the Third Regiment know what an annoying old woman Deputy Commander Ning’s mother is. If Xiu’er says she didn’t steal, then she didn’t steal. Even if you call the police, even if the police come, she didn’t steal!”

The auditorium was empty to begin with, and the voices of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were echoing loudly inside.

Currently, the commander of the Third Regiment is Lu Yu. Every year in the army, they evaluate which unit is an excellent group. Just as in the previous regiment, Commander Song managed the Second Regiment. Due to Liu Qiang’s matter, the Second Regiment’s year-end bonuses and subsidies were not provided. Commander Song was also criticized for that incident.

Jiang Nian didn’t want Lu Yu to get involved in such matters again.

Seeing old Mrs. Wu persisting, Jiang Nian questioned coldly, “You said you lost three yuan. I want to ask, how many cents were there in these three yuan?”

Tian Mai reacted to this, following up with, “Yes, tell us!”

Old Mrs. Wu was already angry. When she heard this, she looked at Jiang Nian and her expression became even uglier. 

She didn’t like Jiang Nian at first glance. There was no one from the bride’s family at the wedding, and when she saw that Jiang Nian was helping Ning Xiu, she suddenly became furious and spoke without thinking, “How would I remember the exact amount? Anyway, Ning Xiu stole my money. This is our Ning family’s matter. It has nothing to do with you. Mind your own business.”

“But if you make a fuss in the regiment, then it concerns me!” Jiang Nian’s gaze turned ice-cold, her tone firm. “I am the wife of Commander Lu. If you make a scene in the regiment, it will affect my husband. How can I not say a few words? Moreover, for any military wife, even if they have good intentions, they all want to clarify things. What if it’s a misunderstanding or something? Then wouldn’t it be unfair to accuse this child, Ning Xiu? Today, the military wives are all here. Let’s clarify this matter face to face.”

She casually praised the military wives present, and some military wives who were just watching the drama without intending to get involved started to speak up, asking old Mrs. Wu to explain the matter clearly and not to rush to put the blame on Ning Xiu.

Tian Mai looked at Jiang Nian with gratitude. Ning Xiu and Ning Qian also looked at her. Ning Xiu’s eyes were bloodshot from crying.

The more old Mrs. Wu looked at Jiang Nian, the more displeased she became. Impatiently, she said, “So what if you’re the regiment commander’s wife? What are you going to do? Do you want to bully me using the identity of the regiment commander’s wife? Let me tell you, I will go to the leaders above and complain that you are bullying me, an old lady, using the identity of the regiment commander’s wife!”

Jiang Nian ignored old Mrs. Wu’s unreasonable behavior. “All the military wives present are watching. How did I bully you? But Aunt Wu, every word out of your mouth is cursing your own granddaughter. How can we women be considered burdens? We give birth to and raise children. How many heroes are not born from women’s bellies? While men fight on the front lines, we women manage everything at home, holding up half the sky!”

Jiang Nian’s words echoed the sentiments of many military wives. Many of these households, more or less, favored sons over daughters. Some families, in order to have sons, deliberately gave their daughters names like “Zhao Di^[1]bringing brothers” , just to attract boys. 

This outdated thinking harmed generations of women, to the extent that in some families, boys themselves felt their status was higher than their sisters’, just like the elderly, who considered girls to be burdens.

Some military wives began to echo Jiang Nian’s words, refuting old Mrs. Wu.

“When did Commander Lu’s wife bully you? Why didn’t we see that?”

“That’s right, how can you, an old lady, lie with your eyes open?”

“Aren’t you a woman too? You keep calling your granddaughter a burden, but aren’t you also a burden?”

“How can someone this old speak so obnoxiously?”

They exchanged words back and forth, with so much spit flying that it seemed like it could drown Old Mrs. Wu. Her face was as dark as could be, and her eyes seemed like they could shoot fire. Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Nian said, “Aunt Wu, I genuinely want to help you find the money. You say you’ve lost three yuan—can you tell me the exact amount, down to the cents? If we really find it on Ning Xiu, we can match it up, right?”

Ning Xiu cried out, “I didn’t take it.”

She kept repeating this one sentence over and over again, and Tian Mai said to her, “Mom believes you didn’t take it.”

Old Mrs. Wu said, “It’s just three yuan.”

Jiang Nian asked, “Exactly three yuan?”

Old Mrs. Wu impatiently said, “How can I remember so clearly? Anyway, it’s just three yuan!”

The military wives were now in a difficult position. Everyone looked at Ning Xiu. They couldn’t search the child’s pockets in front of so many people, right? 

Old Mrs. Wu said again, “I’ve searched everywhere at home. If the money isn’t on Ning Xiu, then she must have hidden it somewhere else.”

In short, she insisted Ning Xiu take it.

Ning Xiu trembled all over, especially with everyone’s eyes in the auditorium focused on her. She felt as if she were naked, being watched and criticized. She kept her head down and could only cry.

Lan Hui frowned tightly and said to Jiang Nian, “This old lady is very difficult to deal with. This matter is not easy to handle. Commander Lu is not here. We should get Political Commissar Gu to come over.”

He Yue also said, “I’ll go find Deputy Commander Ning.”

Jiang Nian looked at old Mrs. Wu and asked, “Do you wear the shoes with the hidden money every day?”

Old Mrs. Wu was taken aback, “Of course I do, where else would I put them if not on my feet?”

Jiang Nian smiled coldly, “Since the money is hidden in the shoe soles and you wear them every day, you’d definitely check if the money is still there at night. And you said before that the money was saved bit by bit, how could it be exactly three yuan?”

Seeing old Mrs. Wu about to speak, Jiang Nian cut her off, “If you claim that you exchanged it to get exactly three yuan, then tell us how and where you did it. We’ll ask the security department to investigate. If it turns out to be true, it proves your point. If not, it means you’re lying. Aunt Wu, falsely accusing someone of theft can lead to severe consequences, including having to write a self-critique and being reprimanded.”

Old Mrs. Wu hadn’t thought it through in such detail. Hearing Jiang Nian’s logical reasoning, she panicked. She insisted, “It’s in small change. I don’t know the exact amount, but it added up to three yuan.”

Jiang Nian gave a cold smile and asked, “So, is it in large bills or small change?”

Old Mrs. Wu stubbornly replied, “Small change!”

Jiang Nian glanced at Tian Mai and shifted her tone, “You said it was exactly three yuan, then changed to say it was in small change, and you’re sure Ning Xiu stole it?”

This statement made Tian Mai realize, “You never lost any money. You just don’t like our Xiu’er. Last time, you hit Xiu’er with a stick, scaring her so much that she ran off at the market. We searched all night to find her. Ning Sheng scolded you, and now you want to take it out on Xiu’er. Today, in front of everyone, you tried to ruin her reputation!”

Before old Mrs. Wu could respond, Tian Mai continued, “You don’t even know if your money was in large bills or small change, yet you accuse Xiu’er of stealing it? I could say I lost some money, including change and bills, and accuse you. Did you steal it?”

Old Mrs. Wu was furious, “You’re talking nonsense! Who saw me steal your money?”

Tian Mai said, “I saw it. You stole eight yuan and seventy-four cents from me, along with two pounds of grain coupons and two feet of cloth coupons.”

Old Mrs. Wu was speechless.

Dealing with such a rogue requires a rogue method. Reasoning is pointless.

The military wives present had figured out that old Mrs. Wu was just spiteful and vindictive, trying to ruin her granddaughter’s reputation. Such a person deserved to be struck by lightning.

In the end, the issue didn’t escalate further, and old Mrs. Wu left in a huff.