Chapter 79 : Each of them is a true hero

Song Shiwei knew that Wang Zhenzhu was looking down on others and that a dog couldn’t spit out ivory.  

“How did I become a freeloader? Which eye of yours saw me eating and drinking for free? Did I take a scallion or a piece of ginger from your restaurant? With your attitude, if this weren’t a state-owned restaurant, it would have closed down long ago!”  

“You!”  

Wang Zhenzhu was so furious that her liver ached.  

She was already extremely jealous and angry, and now was the perfect time to vent.  

“How can a country woman like you afford to eat in a state-owned restaurant and order so many dishes? You just want to take advantage of your cooking skills to eat and drink at our restaurant and leave without paying! I’m telling you, I’ve seen plenty of people like you! Your husband is a soldier, and you bring your children to a state-owned restaurant to eat for free. What a disgrace to the soldiers!”  

No matter how harsh her words had been before, Song Shiwei had endured them. But she couldn’t tolerate insults against her husband and the soldiers!  

“You’re full of crap!!”  

Song Shiwei was truly enraged, and her voice was quite loud. There were already many people in the restaurant, and when they heard the argument, they all turned to look.  

“If you keep spewing nonsense, do you believe I won’t tear your mouth apart? I just asked if you wanted seafood abalone, and you said no. But Director Sun wanted it, so he gave you two kilograms of food coupons and let me use your kitchen to cook a dish. Fine, the dish is ready, and I ordered some food for my family what’s the problem? You keep nagging me as if I’m not paying. Why are you insulting me?”  

“And another thing!! How dare you insult the soldiers! Do you think you can make up stories about them? Without soldiers protecting this country, would you have the peaceful life you enjoy today? They sacrifice their lives for the country and leave their families behind for the sake of others. What, now you won’t even let them eat at a state-owned restaurant? Are state-owned restaurants not meant for soldiers?”  

“If that’s the case, then I don’t care about this state-owned restaurant! If everyone treats soldiers like you do, who would be willing to defend the country? Why would they risk their lives for people like you!!”  

“Well said!!”  

Song Shiwei turned her head and saw that the man who had been eating at the same table as Sun Zeyan and the others had silently stood behind her, looking at her deeply.  

There was admiration and guilt in his eyes.  

Gu Changrong never expected that in such a small state-owned restaurant, he would hear someone treat soldiers and their families with such disrespect. It truly made him sad!  

Had these ordinary people forgotten what kind of disaster the country had just survived?  

Who was defending this land and the peace of the nation?  

Ordinary people hadn’t even begun to live a prosperous life, yet they were already looking down on soldiers? They despised the families of soldiers?  

Was this an isolated case, or had they failed in their ideological work?  

Wang Zhenzhu hadn’t expected that her words to Song Shiwei would be heard by such high-ranking officials.  

She had only been targeting Song Shiwei out of jealousy, she hadn’t meant to look down on soldiers.  

“I-I didn’t mean that, Boss, I just, I just…”  

But she couldn’t explain herself.  

Sun Zeyan was also visibly angry. “What’s wrong with you? I bought the seafood for this female comrade, gave you food coupons, and asked her to help cook it. Why are you always targeting her? And I just saw that she only ordered a few dishes. How do you know she can’t pay? You’re just making sarcastic remarks!”  

“Even if a man is just a private soldier, he is still worthy of respect! I don’t know if you’re married or what your husband does, but would you be willing to let him serve in the army? Military families have already sacrificed too much for the country, society, and the people. If you can’t respect them, fine, but how dare you mock and insult them?”  

The onlookers began to speak up as well.  

“That’s right! Soldiers belong to the people! They protect our country for us, they are our family!”  

“Exactly! Who do you think you are, looking down on soldiers?”  

“You’re just a waitress, an ordinary worker. So what? Is that something to be proud of? Without soldiers protecting the country, would you even have a job? You should experience the war-torn era yourself!”  

“Forget it, I won’t eat here anymore. I lost my appetite after meeting someone like this! Let’s go!”  

“Let’s go! I won’t come back here again!”  

“What kind of state-owned restaurant is this? They look down on soldiers and their families! What a disgrace!”  

—-  

Manager Zhou, who had been busy in the kitchen, heard the commotion and came out to check. He heard the angry voices and saw that people were leaving, all swearing never to return. He panicked immediately!  

Especially when he spotted Gu Changrong’s grim face in the crowd, his own face turned pale, and sweat dripped from his forehead.  

“What’s going on? What’s going on? Don’t leave, everyone, don’t leave! You’re all our regular customers, why are you doing this?”  

One of the customers kindly reminded him, “Manager Zhou, your restaurant has a waitress who looks down on soldiers and their families. We can’t afford to eat here!”  

Wang Zhenzhu was completely terrified now. She really didn’t understand how things had escalated like this. She had only been jealous of Song Shiwei and made a few sarcastic remarks…  

Xiao Zhang, who was only about two years older than Song Shiwei, was so furious that his eyes turned red. Before leaving, he had promised his leader that he would ensure his sister-in-law’s safety.  

Yet here she was, being bullied in a state-owned restaurant, mistaken for a freeloader, and ridiculed by others.  

He felt utterly miserable.  

“How can you say such things? What right do you have to insult my sister-in-law? I’m just a messenger for our leader. No soldier has ever taken a single needle or thread from the people, nor has anyone eaten for free! Right now, our leader is leading troops to Yushan to rescue people, and here you are, bullying his wife and child! I… I… If all common people were like you, how could we defend our country? What about the soldiers who have already sacrificed their lives?!”  

As he spoke, he seemed to recall his fallen comrades, and tears welled up uncontrollably.  

For a moment, everyone looked at him and Song Shiwei with deep respect in their eyes.  

Even Wang Zhenzhu hadn’t expected that Song Shiwei was actually the wife of the army chief! But why would she be selling fish?  

“Is the wife of a military chief so poor that she has to catch seafood and sell it for money?”  

Hearing Xiao Zhang’s words, Song Shiwei felt a sharp pain in her heart. She didn’t know how Tingyue and the others were doing. Had the children been rescued safely? Were there any casualties? Were they all okay?  

When she heard Wang Zhenzhu’s ridiculous question, her gaze instantly turned sharp.  

“What kind of life do you think soldiers live? Do you think they enjoy luxury and comfort? Wake up naturally every morning without worries? Let me tell you, they live in remote, barren areas! They don’t have enough food or warm clothing, yet they train every day in the freezing cold and scorching heat!”  

“They stand firm on every inch of our motherland and use their blood and flesh to forge our peaceful lives! Without them, how could we live and work in peace today? Every soldier is worthy of our respect! Every single one of them is a true hero!”