Chapter 23: It is illegal to destroy a military marriage!

Song Chunfeng frowned, “You don’t intend to break us up, do you?” “Dad, interfering with a military marriage is illegal!” Song Tongzhou’s face was darker than the bottom of a pot. This accusation was difficult to counter.

 A thought suddenly struck him, and he paused before saying, “Last night’s incident might be related to that Su girl!” “I suspect that because I disagreed with your marriage, she secretly drugged my alcohol.” Ye Hong was right; he might have drunk alcohol laced with pig-breeding medicine, something only found in the countryside, and Su Nan was the only country person in their family.

 “Dad!” “You need evidence to say that.” “Unless you have evidence, no one will believe your guess!” Song Chunfeng said, turning to leave. His father’s actions were deeply disappointing. Fortunately, his position allowed his family to join the army; otherwise, leaving Su Nan behind would be unfair to her.

 Su Nan approached, “Are you alright?” Song Chunfeng usually didn’t show his emotions, but his face showed a slight displeasure; he was clearly furious. Seeing Su Nan, he changed his expression, “I’m fine.” “Xiaonuan, don’t worry about my dad, if anything happens, come to me, okay?” He was worried Song Tongzhou would make things difficult for Su Nan; he didn’t want her to suffer. “Okay, don’t be angry.”

 “Mm.” The aunties in the courtyard helped clean up, and Song Chunfeng took Su Nan to a nearby park for a walk. They walked side-by-side, enjoying the breeze, feeling content even without speaking. Li Tiantian hid behind a tree and spied on them for a while before angrily leaving. She had important things to do.

 She’d heard something from her mother today—there was progress on the job front. Song Tongzhou’s textile factory’s propaganda department was hiring, but only one person.  Song Tongzhou intended to give the position to Song Chunxiao first, then find opportunities for Li Tiantian later. If she had the chance to marry Song Chunfeng, she would willingly give up this opportunity to Song Chunxiao.

But now, Song Chunfeng and Su Nan were unlikely to divorce, and the neighborhood committee might urge her to go to the countryside soon. She knew she couldn’t endure hardship; finding a job in the city and then looking for a husband was her plan. So she would definitely compete for the propaganda department job.

To eliminate problems from the start, she and her mother came up with a plan: secretly register Song Chunxiao to go to the countryside. Even if Song Tongzhou later found out that she had secretly taken the job exam, he would have to accept it and use his connections to get her the propaganda job.  Li Tiantian, preoccupied, didn’t notice everyone cleaning up the banquet when she returned to the compound. 

It was a time when missing a meal was a significant event. “Oh!” “Tiantian, why are you back so late?” Chen Xiulan asked pointedly, with an expression of gleeful anticipation. Li Tiantian’s face fell; she didn’t want to hear anyone ask about her mother’s stitches! The ridicule she received at the hospital today was more than she’d experienced in the past decade. She rolled her eyes, “Mind your own business!”

 Chen Xiulan retorted, “You were at the hospital with your shameless mother getting stitches, weren’t you?” “We all know, no need for you to say it!” “We just don’t know how many stitches your mother got…” Chen Xiulan was genuinely curious; she’d asked around all day but got no specific answer.

 “Ah!” Li Tiantian shoved Chen Xiulan hard and hurried back to the Song family. “You dead girl, you dare push me?” Chen Xiulan was about to charge after her, but her husband stopped her. “You just ate their food; can’t you hold your tongue for once?” Chen Xiulan was furious, “She pushed me first!”

“Alright, she’s not sensible, just forgive her this time.” Whenever Chen Xiulan argued with her family, Nie Dongming would say this.  His attempts to placate her only made her angrier. “Why should I forgive her?” “She hasn’t apologized yet!” Nie Dongming said simply, “What’s an apology worth?” “Harmony brings wealth, don’t you want to get rich?” Chen Xiulan immediately fell silent, “Humph,” she said, and left without looking back. Yao Ying praised while washing dishes, “Chen Xiulan is brilliant.”

 “She deliberately angered Li Tiantian and then pretended to be angry and leave, so she didn’t have to help with the work.” Wu Guifang looked at Chen Xiulan’s back, “No, I think she was genuinely angry.” “She was so angry she wasn’t watching where she was going; she almost fell!” The women looked at Chen Xiulan, seeing her slam the gate shut with considerable force. “She seems genuinely angry…” “Li Tiantian is also impressive; she managed to anger Chen Xiulan.” Yao Ying exclaimed.

Chen Xiulan, while seemingly hot-tempered, rarely got truly angry. She usually smiled at her neighbors while subtly gathering gossip. Sometimes, Yao Ying suspected Chen Xiulan amused herself this way. Unbeknownst to them, Chen Xiulan cried when she got home. Tears fell on her clothes, and she didn’t even bother to wipe them. It was always like this! As if she were made of wood, incapable of anger or sadness! She was angry at her husband; he didn’t understand or care about her feelings.

… Li Tiantian returned to the Song family and saw Song Tongzhou’s door open, but he wasn’t there.  After listening for a while, she heard the sound of showering and guessed Song Tongzhou was bathing. Hesitating, she tiptoed into his room, slightly opening the door, and began searching for the household registration book.

According to Ye Hong, Song Tongzhou usually kept it under the bed. She reached under the bed, feeling around; besides two tickets, there was nothing! Her mother wouldn’t lie to her. Li Tiantian felt again, but still couldn’t find it.

Footsteps were heard outside. Li Tiantian quickly withdrew her hand, quickly opening the door to see Song Chunxiao entering with Song Qingdai. “What were you doing in my dad’s room?” Song Chunxiao loudly asked. “My mom asked me to take something to the hospital, but I couldn’t find it. I’ll ask Uncle later…” Li Tiantian casually made up a lie.