Chapter 17: Steamed Buns (Part 1)

Mrs. Wu, seeing Chen Yufeng come out, quickly asked, “Yufeng, what’s going on here? Director Zhang is getting old. Isn’t it inappropriate for your husband to treat her like this?”

Another woman added, “We’re all neighbors. We should get along peacefully. If this continues, we’ll have to call the security office.”

No matter what the issue was, it could be discussed. Arguments were understandable. But tying someone up with a belt? That was too much. If the security office got involved, the entire family quarters would hear about it, and in the end, it would be Han Chao and Chen Yufeng who would be embarrassed.

Zhang Yanli, seeing that it was Chen Yufeng who had come out, stopped struggling. Raising her bound hands, she said, “Yufeng, look at this! Han Chao dares to tie up even me, his elder. If you ever make him mad, he’ll beat you to death one day.”

Her words didn’t scare Chen Yufeng, but they did make the gathered military wives gasp.

“Yufeng, has Han Chao ever hit you?” Mrs. Wu asked urgently.

Another woman added, “If he dares lay a hand on you, we’ll report it to the security office immediately. Let them issue a public notice and criticize him.”

“Even if he’s a decorated soldier with battlefield honors, hitting people is unacceptable,” another wife declared. “Yufeng, you can’t cover for him just because you’re afraid of military punishment. This isn’t a small matter—it could lead to serious consequences.”

Chen Yufeng had come out to untie Zhang Yanli, but upon hearing their concerns, she realized they had misunderstood Han Chao. Naturally, she had to clarify.

“Sisters, I don’t even know this ‘Director Zhang,’ yet she keeps claiming to be my biological mother. The moment she arrived, she said she had a buyer lined up and wanted to sell my daughter so I could try for a son. My husband was outraged—that’s why he tied her up.”

The military wives erupted into shocked murmurs.

Chen Yufeng had just arrived from the countryside and might not fully understand the policies. But Zhang Yanli? Her ex-husband had been a division-level officer. Her sister, Zhang Yanqin, worked in the logistics department of the division headquarters. And Zhang Yanli herself still received financial support from her ex-husband’s pension—she was an old-school military wife.

Yet she was involved in child trafficking?

The crowd fell silent. For something as heinous as child trafficking, not spitting in Zhang Yanli’s face was already considered restraint.

Chen Yufeng continued, “My husband has already reported this to the political department. What he did was certainly inappropriate, but sisters, isn’t human trafficking far worse? Let Zhang Yanli discuss it with the political officers. What do you all think?”

The belt was fastened tightly, looped around the door latch. Han Chao had the strength to buckle it in place, but Chen Yufeng didn’t have the force to undo it.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yanli, who had been shouting insults at Han Chao moments ago, suddenly froze when she heard the mention of the political department. “What did you say? When did Han Chao report this to the political department?”

“He just called them. They said someone would be here shortly,” Chen Yufeng replied, taking a deep breath before tugging hard on the belt, finally managing to undo it.

The moment the belt came loose, Zhang Yanli collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud.

“Why don’t we go inside and wait?” Chen Yufeng asked, reaching out to help her up.

But as soon as she lifted Zhang Yanli, the woman suddenly slumped back down with a dramatic swoosh.

“Comrade Zhang Yanli, don’t just sit on the ground. Let’s go inside and wait,” Chen Yufeng said again.

Just then, a military jeep approached from outside, pulling up to Han Chao’s house and honking a few times. The gathered military wives quickly stepped aside as a security officer stepped out and opened the door for someone.

A stout, silver-haired officer with four stars on his shoulders emerged from the vehicle.

A division-level leader.

The moment the military wives saw him, they instinctively stepped back. Even Chen Yufeng was startled.

No one had expected that Han Chao’s one phone call would summon such a high-ranking officer.

As for Zhang Yanli—there was no exaggeration—at that moment, she was nearly scared out of her wits.

She had been careless.

This was a time when the one-child policy was strictly enforced. Many families had only one child, and if that child had an accident, they couldn’t immediately have another one. The approval process for a second child took at least three years.

Family planning policies were directly tied to public employment. No matter how powerful a leader was, if they were caught violating birth control policies, they would be dismissed on the spot. Many government employees had lost their stable jobs simply because they had an extra child and were forced into the private sector.

The military took family planning even more seriously. Resources were limited, and positions were few. The last three-year military downsizing had discharged countless soldiers, many of whom had been on the battlefield and earned honors. Yet with a single order, they were sent home, their allowances reduced to a pittance, and many left unemployed.

If the remaining personnel failed to follow discipline and broke regulations, how could those who had been transferred out not feel resentful or accept it willingly?

That’s why the military district had a strict stance on unauthorized births and unregistered children—once discovered, they would be dealt with seriously.

Zhang Yanli had assumed that Han Chao, having just returned, was unfamiliar with these policies and had only tied her up out of anger.

Just moments ago, she had been planning to spread rumors about his violent tendencies and ensure that his reputation was ruined across the entire military district. But unexpectedly, he was well-versed in policy and had directly summoned Minister Wang, the third-in-command of the Political Department.

Fortunately, she had connections within the military district and knew Minister Wang personally.

At this point, Zhang Yanli no longer wanted to escalate the situation. Instead, she intended to downplay it. She immediately shook her wrists, stood up with a smile, and said, “Minister Wang, Han Chao really doesn’t know any better. It’s just a minor issue—why did he have to trouble you to come all this way?”

Earlier, when Commander Xu had arrived, Chen Yufeng had noticed how respectful he was towards Han Chao. The same was true for Minister Wang.

Since he was a senior leader and had graying hair, Chen Yufeng was a bit nervous, fearing that he might be harsh.

But to her surprise, Minister Wang was quite amiable. After greeting Zhang Yanli, he even nodded at her with a smile.

However, since he was here to handle the situation, he naturally had to hear what Han Chao had to say first.

“Han Chao, you just reported over the phone that someone violated family planning policies. What exactly happened?” he asked.

Han Chao saluted before responding, “Sir, Zhang Yanli told me that Qin Xiong from our regiment secretly had two children and even sold one of them. My wife and my children can testify to this. But of course, the final judgment should be based on your investigation.”

Minister Wang turned to Zhang Yanli and said, “Yanli, you are part of this military district. You wouldn’t really be involved in something like this, would you?”

At this moment, Zhang Yanli was eager to clear herself of any involvement and even push the blame onto someone else. She said, “Minister Wang, I only heard about this incident, but I have absolutely nothing to do with it. If Director Qin had a daughter and didn’t want to raise her, instead choosing to give her away, that’s truly despicable. I was actually planning to report this to you myself.”

“So you didn’t take any money?” Minister Wang asked, looking directly into her eyes.

Zhang Yanli raised one hand and swore, “I swear on my son Yuhuang—if I ever took a single cent, may he be hit by a car the next time he steps outside and meet a terrible fate.”

Taking money would make it a criminal offense, but if she hadn’t, then it wouldn’t be.

Her son, whom she had with Chen Fanshi, was named Chen Yuhuang. Swearing on his life showed that she truly had not accepted any money.

Minister Wang looked around at the gathered military wives and said, “Ladies, violating family planning policies and secretly having children might seem like a minor issue to you, but in the military district, this is a major offense. Once such cases are discovered, we will investigate immediately and handle them strictly. If Comrade Qin Xiong really violated the policy by having extra children in secret, he will be dismissed on the spot. Do you all understand?”

Why had just one phone call from Han Chao been enough to summon a minister?

Because while unauthorized births might seem like a small issue, in the military district, it was a red-line offense. This was an example of using a powerful deterrent to make sure military families understood the gravity of the situation.

“You can count on us! We would never have unauthorized births,” Chen Yufeng said as she pulled Mimi into her arms.

By logic, Zhang Yanli should have been frightened, but she wasn’t. Instead, she raised her voice even more passionately than Chen Yufeng. She declared, “Unauthorized births are a serious issue! I’ll go to the Political Department right now and report everything I know about Qin Xiong’s violations. I urge the organization to thoroughly investigate and punish him!”

Mimi suddenly gasped and ran away.

Meanwhile, the military wives all turned to look at Chen Yufeng, their eyes seeming to say: “So, based on this, Zhang Yanli probably wasn’t involved in sending children away or human trafficking, right? Look at how fervently she’s denouncing Qin Xiong.”

Chen Yufeng recalled reading in the book that Zhang Yanli was an expert at adapting to the situation, saying whatever suited the moment. Watching how effortlessly she shifted all the blame onto Qin Xiong, Chen Yufeng couldn’t help but admire her high emotional intelligence.

However, she had only one goal today—to reassure Mimi.

She wanted Mimi to know that she would never give her away. Now that her goal was achieved, she no longer cared about anything else.

Just as Minister Wang was about to leave, he suddenly sniffed the air and asked, “What’s that smell? It’s rich and fragrant.”

Fragrant?

Chen Yufeng had been steaming some buns, and they were probably getting overcooked.

She hurriedly ran back to the kitchen, lifted the lid, and saw that the water had dried up. The baozi’s outer shells had turned a golden brown.

Luckily, they weren’t burned.

Since there was a guest, following rural hospitality customs, it was necessary to offer them something, whether they accepted it or not.

By this time, Minister Wang and Zhang Yanli were about to leave. Chen Yufeng brought out the plate of baozi and said, “Minister, have a steamed bun before you go.”

Zhang Yanli found this absolutely ridiculous.

Chen Yufeng clearly didn’t understand urban etiquette—how could a ministerial-level leader possibly eat her homemade steamed buns?

“Yufeng, you really are clueless. Minister Wang is here on official business. How could he possibly eat your steamed bun? You need to learn proper etiquette from me in the future, got it?” she said.

Had she not said that, Minister Wang likely wouldn’t have eaten one. But now that she had, he felt it would be impolite to refuse. He paused, took one, and even gestured to his orderly, “You should try one too.”

They each took a steamed bun. Since they already had them in hand, they had to take a bite.

As Minister Wang walked away, he bit into his steamed bun, then suddenly stopped. “Why is this baozi so flaky?”

The skin melted in his mouth, the filling was rich and slightly crumbly, with roasted meat mixed with crispy pork lard and scallions. It was both soft and incredibly fragrant.

Just one bite made Minister Wang exclaim in delight—it was unbelievably delicious.

“This is called ‘Po Su Baozi,’ a Yunnan specialty,” Chen Yufeng explained.

“Delicious!” Minister Wang said, grabbing another. Then, thinking it wouldn’t be enough, he took one more.