Chapter 54

It was Yu Xiangnian who had persistently approached various military leaders to argue his case, which eventually led to the opportunity to hunt the wolves. Moreover, it was Yu Xiangnian who repeatedly reminded him to pay attention to a wolf with a missing ear, which guided him to specifically search for that wolf and ultimately discover the box of gold.

Half of the credit for this accomplishment belonged to Yu Xiangnian.

She had been staying at home for two nights already; he wondered if her foot had gotten any better.

Every night, Xiao Jie kept asking when they would go to bring Yu Xiangnian back home.

Just then, Yu Xiangyang said, “After work today, bring Xiao Jie over to my place for dinner. Let’s celebrate as a family.”

Cheng Jingmo thought, if he went tonight, he would end up sleeping with Yu Xiangnian again.

He decided against it. “I’ll go tomorrow,” Cheng Jingmo said.

He planned to check if Yu Xiangnian’s foot had healed. If it had, he would bring her back home to stop Xiao Jie from constantly asking about her.

Some were happy, while others were not.

Ai Jianguo and Su Mingliang looked gloomily at the award notice.

Initially, the military district wanted to punish Cheng Jingmo, but in the end, he received a commendation from the Southern Theater Command!

Both felt a growing sense of crisis concerning Cheng Jingmo.

Ai Jianguo was more frustrated than Su Mingliang. When the commander proposed the wolf-hunting mission, Ai Jianguo had volunteered to lead it, but the commander assigned it to Cheng Jingmo instead.

Had he led the mission, he would be the one receiving the reward now.

At his age, he had only risen to the position of regiment commander, stuck in a position neither high nor low.

He had hoped to make an effort and get promoted one or two more levels before retiring with honor, but he hadn’t had the chance.

Seeing Cheng Jingmo’s rapid progress, Ai Jianguo feared that in two or three years, Cheng Jingmo would surpass him.

When Cheng Jingmo got home and was cooking in the kitchen, he heard a knock at the door.

By the time he came out, Wu Xiaomin had already entered, carrying a piece of meat about a pound in weight.

“Deputy Commander Cheng, I bought some meat for Xiao Jie.”

Cheng Jingmo’s expression was cold. “Comrade Wu, there’s no need for this. Yu Xiangnian never suspected anyone about that incident. You don’t need to come here every day to probe for information.”

Cheng Jingmo had just realized Wu Xiaomin’s odd behavior over the past few days.

Bringing cakes, bringing meat—before, she hadn’t liked Xiao Jie at all and even suggested sending him away.

Knowing Yu Xiangnian’s fiery temper, if she suspected Wu Xiaomin, Wu Xiaomin wouldn’t have an easy time.

Wu Xiaomin’s face turned pale, her hand trembling as she held the meat. “Deputy Commander Cheng, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

Cheng Jingmo maintained his distant expression. “Take your things back. Don’t come here again. It’s not good for your reputation to keep coming to my house.”

“And stay away from Yu Xiangnian,” he said with a heavy tone.

Wu Xiaomin’s eyes turned red, as if she was about to cry. “Deputy Commander Cheng, I was just concerned about Xiao Jie and came to see him. If you don’t want me to come, I won’t.”

She placed the meat on the cutting board, covered her face, and ran out.

Cheng Jingmo grabbed the meat and quickly caught up with her. “Take the meat with you. We’ll take good care of Xiao Jie.”

Wu Xiaomin’s eyes filled with tears. “Deputy Commander Cheng, we’ve known each other for so long, and now we have to be this clear over a piece of meat? In that case, I’ll pay you back for the rabbit you gave me last time!”

Mentioning the rabbit, Cheng Jingmo recalled Yu Xiangnian’s insistence on that particular rabbit.

Wu Xiaomin continued, “Did Comrade Yu say something to you? She came to the health center a few days ago and said we had a grudge. I don’t even know what I did to offend her!”

Cheng Jingmo’s eyes narrowed, “As long as you haven’t done anything, Yu Xiangnian won’t go out of her way to bother someone without reason.”

In fact, Yu Xiangnian hadn’t mentioned anything to him—it was something he figured out on his own.

That night, worried about Yu Xiangnian, he followed her.

He noticed Wu Xiaomin sneakily trailing Yu Xiangnian from the family compound, all the way to the chemical factory, and then to the black market.

After Yu Xiangnian and her group entered the black market, Wu Xiaomin turned back and left.

Cheng Jingmo pretended to be a shopper and followed them into the black market, watching them from the shadows.

About forty minutes later, the police arrived.

Brother Ping’s people said that place hadn’t been disturbed for years, yet just a day after Yu Xiangnian showed up, the police came.

Connecting this with Wu Xiaomin’s frequent visits over the past two days under various pretexts, Cheng Jingmo suspected that it was Wu Xiaomin who reported them that night and was now trying to gauge Yu Xiangnian’s reaction.

However, what puzzled him was how Yu Xiangnian came to suspect Wu Xiaomin in the first place.

That night, the four of them were busy pushing the cart and didn’t notice anyone following them.

Wu Xiaomin wiped the corner of her eyes, “Deputy Commander Cheng, don’t listen to Yu Xiangnian’s nonsense. She just dislikes me. I didn’t do anything; I don’t even know why she’s targeting me like this.”

Wu Xiaomin had been trying to figure out for days how Yu Xiangnian knew it was her who reported them.

She had followed from behind without being noticed, yet the next day, Yu Xiangnian came to the health center to confront her.

Thankfully, she had strong nerves and wasn’t easily intimidated!

“Has Comrade Yu returned?” Wang Hongxiang entered with two sprigs of cilantro, looking around theatrically. “I heard a woman’s voice and thought Comrade Yu was back.”

“Oh, it’s you, Doctor Wu.” Wang Hongxiang first appeared delighted, then surprised, “Have you been crying?”

“Deputy Commander Cheng, you and Doctor Wu had a relationship before. Even though you’re married, even if Comrade Yu isn’t home, even if it’s just the two of you here, you shouldn’t make her cry!”

Wang Hongxiang’s tone was sarcastic, making Cheng Jingmo’s right eyelid twitch.

“Deputy Commander Cheng didn’t make me cry. I just got something in my eye,” Wu Xiaomin explained with a smile.

“Let me blow it out for you.”

Wang Hongxiang said this and moved to help, pressing one hand on Wu Xiaomin’s head, using her thumb and index finger to force open her eyelid, while holding the two sprigs of cilantro in the remaining fingers. The cilantro swayed and brushed against Wu Xiaomin’s face.

Wang Hongxiang took a deep breath and blew hard, even spitting some saliva into Wu Xiaomin’s eye.

Wu Xiaomin, who initially wasn’t teary, now had tears streaming down her face.

“Is your eye still uncomfortable?”

Wu Xiaomin bit her lower lip and, holding back, said, “It’s fine now.”

Wang Hongxiang remarked, “Good. No one likes having something in their eye, especially Comrade Yu.”

“Speaking of Comrade Yu, she’s really scary! Last time Deputy Commander Cheng caught a rabbit, she chopped off its head with a single stroke of a kitchen knife. So brutal!” Wang Hongxiang said, shivering in mock fear.

Cheng Jingmo: “…”

Making up stories shouldn’t be this outrageous!

Yu Xiangnian wouldn’t even step on a cockroach, let alone kill a rabbit!

Wu Xiaomin could see clearly that Wang Hongxiang had come in to deliberately drive her away.

These military wives were all so nosy!