Chapter 25: Meeting to Discuss Exchanging Remnath Cloth

“What? Li Zhiqing really had their relatives transport defective fabric from home?”

“Just now, Captain Zhang Jun said that’s what Li Zhiqing’s uncle said.”

“So that means we can exchange fabric with Li Zhiqing and give our families new clothes?”

“That’s right. Captain Zhang Jun said Li Zhiqing’s uncle brought a batch of fabric from home, so it should be a lot.”

Captain Zhang Jun looked out at the murmuring team members and shouted, “Stop talking.”

The team members heard the shout and fell silent.

“Li Zhiqing’s uncle said that exchanging fabric is okay, but this fabric will be given to families who haven’t bullied Li Zhiqing.”

Captain Zhang Jun looked at his team members, who were all avoiding eye contact, and added, “Li Zhiqing’s uncle also said that if no one wants to exchange fabric, he’ll take it all back and exchange it in the neighboring brigade.”

“That’s not fair, Captain. This fabric belongs to our brigade, and we can’t just take it back and give it to others.”

A sharp-tongued old woman yelled out, drawing everyone’s attention.

Captain Zhang Jun was taken aback by her bold statement and coldly retorted, “So, according to your logic, people who bully Li Zhiqing can just get the fabric for free?”

The old woman was caught off guard, and as she looked at the other team members, she quickly shook her head and said, “No, Captain. I wasn’t thinking that.”

Captain Zhang Jun was furious and shouted, “Regardless of what you were thinking, if you don’t want to exchange fabric, don’t just take it for free. Otherwise, you’re asking for trouble.”

The team members were embarrassed, and many looked down, feeling ashamed. They all thought exchanging fabric was a fair idea, but now someone wanted to take advantage of the situation.

One middle-aged woman spoke out, her voice loud and clear, “Captain, we all agree to exchange fabric with Li Zhiqing. If anyone has the idea of taking it for free, please drop it. Or else, be prepared for us to treat you with no mercy.”

The team members heard this and some looked glum, while others ignored the comment and started discussing what they could exchange for the defective fabric.

Ultimately, the majority voted to leave out families who had bullied Li Zhiqing and exchange the fabric with Li Zhiqing.

“That’s settled. You all decide what to exchange for the fabric, and I won’t interfere. Dismissed.”

Captain Zhang Jun finished speaking, then quickly left the meeting room, heading home to consult with his wife on what to exchange for the fabric.

Meanwhile, Chen Dong had been secretly listening to the meeting and returned to the educated youth point, his face smiling.

However, he soon encountered today’s Feng Xiaoming, who was chatting with his niece in the corner. Chen Dong’s niece was laughing, and he kept a close eye on them, thinking that these two days might be a good opportunity to observe them and find out if Feng Xiaoming was a good match for his niece.

“Uncle Chen, you’re back. Are you hungry? I’ll go make some food for you,” his niece, Xiao Ling, said as she turned to Feng Xiaoming and told him to come eat with them that night before heading to the kitchen.

“Uncle Chen, I’m from the capital,” Feng Xiaoming replied politely.

As soon as he heard that Feng Xiaoming was from the capital, Chen Dong’s interest was piqued, and he asked, “Oh? Are you from the capital too? My Xiao Ling is from the capital. I have many friends in Kyoto. Do you know where your family lives? Do your parents work? Maybe I know them.”

Feng Xiaoming hesitated for a moment before revealing the truth: “My father and mother work in the military area, and our home is in a large courtyard in the compound.”

“Um…”

When Chen Dong heard the word “military region,” he immediately closed his mouth and stopped asking questions.

What a joke; if both parents worked in the military region and lived in an official compound, they weren’t ordinary soldiers. 

If he continued to pry without knowing his place, he might end up losing his niece.

“Uncle Chen, I have a favor to ask of you,” Feng Xiaoming said upon noticing Chen Dong’s silence.

Chen Dong quickly responded, “Sure, just say it. If I can help, I certainly will.”

“It’s like this: I’ve pickled quite a bit of wild game and I’d like you to help me carry it back when you return. Would that be okay?” Feng Xiaoming intended to mail it back but realized Chen Dong was driving, which would be faster.

Chen Dong waved his hand with a smile and replied, “Oh, it’s just that? No problem. Just give it to me when I leave, but make sure you send a letter home first. Otherwise, I won’t be able to get into the military region.”

“Okay, thank you, Uncle Chen,” Feng Xiaoming replied politely.

“You’re welcome.” After Chen Dong finished speaking, he saw Xiao Ling bringing out dishes and hurried to help her.

Feng Xiaoming followed suit and helped as well.

However, by the time they sat down for dinner, there were more people: Chen Dong, Xiao Ling, Hu Yingying, Feng Xiaoming, and Zhu Liyan.

The group sat at the door, eating and chatting, making the backyard very lively.

Yet, there’s always someone who comes to ruin the atmosphere during a good time.

Liu Lan, who attended the brigade’s meeting, wanted to see who had come from the capital driving a truck.

Suppressing her hunger, she made her way to the backyard and saw Chen Dong. She hurried over and greeted him with a smile: “Uncle Chen, it’s you! What a surprise to see you here; it’s really nice!”

“Um…”

When Chen Dong heard someone calling him, he looked up and saw a woman he didn’t recognize. He turned to Xiao Ling, seeking to understand who she was.

Seeing that Chen Dong didn’t recognize her, Liu Lan introduced herself: “Uncle Chen, I’m Liu Lan, the daughter of Liu Dazhi from the textile mill.”

“The same Liu Lan who went down to the countryside and envied our Xiao Lin, secretly signing her up to go down to the countryside?” 

Upon realizing who she was, Chen Dong directly addressed her without hesitation.

“Pfft… you all eat, you all eat.” Hu Yingying couldn’t help but laugh at what Chen Dong said, but when she noticed everyone looking at her, she quickly added.

“Uncle Chen, I didn’t mean to do that. I already apologized to Xiao Lin; why are you all still holding onto that?” Liu Lan said, noticing that everyone was laughing at her, feeling quite wronged.

Hearing such shameless words, Chen Dong sarcastically replied, “Little girl, listen to yourself. You said you apologized; if apologies were effective, I could beat you up and then apologize. Would you forgive me?”

“Alright, Uncle Chen, let’s not bother with unimportant people. Let’s eat before it gets cold!” 

Xiao Ling saw that Chen Dong was getting a bit angry and quickly interrupted their conversation to focus on eating.

“Xiao Ling, is Uncle Chen saying all this because you’re stirring things up between us?” Liu Lan, feeling jealous because of Xiao Ling’s close relationship with Chen Dong and her own poor treatment, couldn’t hold it in.

“Little girl, don’t blame everything on Xiao Lin. If you hadn’t introduced yourself just now, I wouldn’t even know who you were.”