Chapter 46: Provocation

After sending Lin Wei off, Chen Wenfang returned home and immediately heard Feng Ying ask, “What happened?”

Chen Wenfang sighed and sat down next to Feng Ying, saying, “Back in June, Xiao Hu from our hospital pharmacy left with her husband when he transferred out. The pharmacy was short-staffed, so I went to the Military Family Placement Office to ask around. Xiao Wu said there was no one suitable. Xiao He, who was nearby, casually mentioned that a new military wife had come to register her household, and she might be a match. He suggested I check next door. The situation was urgent, so I went to ask.”

“The new military wife was Lin Wei?” Feng Ying was a smart woman. She understood right away but was puzzled. “Then why doesn’t she have a job now? She meets the requirements, right?”

“She does. I even talked it through with her. But then another military wife filed a complaint with the Placement Office, saying Lin Wei hadn’t registered her household yet and had already secured a job, which didn’t follow the proper process,” Chen Wenfang said lightly. “The next day, Director Luo from the Placement Office came to see me, said the process was wrong, and told me to find someone else.”

Feng Ying frowned slightly. She’d never heard of any formal procedures at the Placement Office, but since they weren’t from the same department, she didn’t press the issue. She only said, “When things are urgent, flexibility is needed. Couldn’t they just complete the formalities afterward?”

“That’s what I said too, but Director Luo insisted it wasn’t acceptable. She said if the other military wives found out, it would make her job difficult. I got a bit upset and said I’d call Deputy County Chief Gao to have someone else sent to fill the job. With no other choice, Director Luo arranged for Comrade Deng Xiangyun to take the position.”

Feng Ying had heard about the conflict that happened when Zhou Jianhai filed a complaint with the military, so she was aware of the bad blood between them. Hearing this, she felt something was off and asked, “Luo Shuzhi doesn’t like Lin Wei?”

Chen Wenfang didn’t try to cover for Luo Shuzhi. “It’s not that she dislikes Lin Wei—she dislikes Lin Wei’s husband, Zong Shao. Luo Shuzhi has a niece, you know?”

“The girl who used to work at the health clinic?” Feng Ying recalled.

Before the military hospital was established, there had only been one health clinic outside the base, with just a couple of doctors and a handful of nurses. Of course, Feng Ying remembered Luo Yun.

Chen Wenfang nodded. “That’s the one. Luo Shuzhi tried to match her niece with Zong Shao, but he turned her down.” She was tactful enough not to mention that Luo Shuzhi liked Zong Shao herself and that’s why she tried to match them.

Feng Ying’s frown deepened. “So you think she was acting out of personal interest?”

Chen Wenfang said, “If you ask me that directly, then I can’t say for certain. After all, by the book, Lin Wei’s case didn’t exactly follow standard procedures.”

That’s what she said, but in truth, she was nearly sure it was personal. Otherwise, knowing Luo Shuzhi’s character, why else would she send Deng Xiangyun to the hospital?

Still, no matter how close she was to Feng Ying personally, she had to be cautious on this matter and not speak too bluntly.

Feng Ying understood her well. Just from the tone of her voice, she knew what Chen Wenfang really thought. But she wasn’t someone to jump to conclusions, so she didn’t rush to condemn Luo Shuzhi. She just said seriously, “Tomorrow I’ll go to the Placement Office and talk to them about arranging a trial class for Comrade Lin Wei.”

…

As soon as she got home, Lin Wei heard Zong Shao ask, “What did Director Chen want to talk to you about?”

Lin Wei poured herself a glass of water and drank a large gulp. She’d been a bit nervous at Chen Wenfang’s place and hadn’t dared to drink too much water—she was quite thirsty now.

Once her throat wasn’t so dry, she replied, “It was about a job.”

Zong Shao raised an eyebrow. “What kind of job?”

“At the military district elementary school. Two teachers were hospitalized in a row, and they’re short-staffed. They want me to substitute for a few months.” Lin Wei briefly explained the situation.

“You’ve never been a teacher before. Why would they come to you?”

Lin Wei guessed, “Probably Director Chen recommended me. She knows I’ve been teaching Mingming and the others to read.”

“Teaching Mingming and the others is different from teaching a class,” Zong Shao said, then added, “I just think it’s a bit of a gamble for them, since you’ve never taught students.”

Lin Wei nodded. “I think it’s a gamble too.”

Zong Shao laughed. “Still, who knows? You seem pretty organized when teaching Mingming. As long as you’re not nervous in front of the class, you should do fine.” He then asked when she’d be starting.

“It’s not confirmed yet. Principal Feng wanted me to do a trial class tomorrow, but I didn’t agree. I asked her to report it to the Placement Office first,” Lin Wei said, pausing. “Let’s see how that goes.”

Zong Shao thought for a moment. “If Principal Feng handles it, it should be fine.”

“You sure?” Lin Wei gave him a sideways look.

Zong Shao was cautious for once. “As long as nothing unexpected happens.”

Lin Wei asked, “What kind of unexpected thing are you thinking about?”

Zong Shao thought deeply and shook his head. “Normally, there shouldn’t be any.”

“Oh,” Lin Wei responded, then reconsidered. “So basically, you’re saying you’re almost certain?”

“Well, yes, but nothing in life is absolute.”

Looking at Zong Shao’s serious face, Lin Wei suddenly thought of the phrase “nonsense literature” and couldn’t help but chuckle.

Zong Shao looked puzzled. “What’s funny?”

Lin Wei shook her head, trying not to laugh. “Nothing, I just thought of a phrase: ‘nonsense literature.’ Do you know what that means?”

This phrase appeared in the original story’s epilogue. The female lead’s granddaughter was an online personality who loved scrolling short videos and would laugh out loud watching them. The female lead once saw her laughing and asked what was so funny. The granddaughter showed her the video, but the female lead couldn’t understand what was so amusing.

In the end, the female lead sighed—she just couldn’t figure out young people these days.

When Lin Wei first saw this joke, she also felt she couldn’t understand the youth of the future. But now, she vaguely understood the meaning behind it.

Zong Shao didn’t get it, though. He frowned and asked, “What is that?”

Lin Wei explained, “It basically means two people talk like they’re having a great conversation, but actually, they’re not saying anything of substance—like what we just did. That’s why it’s called ‘nonsense literature.’”

Zong Shao looked serious. “I don’t think what we just said was nonsense.”

“Huh?” Lin Wei was stunned.

“You think it was?”

Lin Wei had a strong survival instinct and shook her head quickly. “No, I just suddenly thought of that phrase.” Then she added, “Besides, the term actually means that even though the content isn’t very meaningful, the people involved enjoy the conversation and like talking to each other. That’s all.” She nodded for emphasis.

Zong Shao said, “Got it.”

Later that night, he sat down with Lin Wei to study nonsense literature in depth.

…

Because she was thinking about the substitute teacher job, the next day after morning reading, once it was time for the Placement Office to open, Feng Ying instructed her students to study on their own and headed out.

When she arrived at the Placement Office, Feng Ying didn’t go straight to Luo Shuzhi. Instead, she first went to the Job Assignment Office and spoke to Officer Wu about the need for a temporary substitute teacher.

“A temporary substitute teacher?” Officer Wu had never heard of hiring temporary workers at the Placement Office.

Feng Ying nodded. “Is there a problem?”

Officer Wu replied tactfully, “Not a problem exactly, but it might be tricky to arrange.”

The way they assigned jobs to military wives followed a strict order. If someone ahead in line accepted a temporary position, and then a permanent one opened up, that permanent job would go to the next person in line. Officer Wu figured few military wives would want to take a short-term position and risk losing out on a long-term one.

“That’s none of your concern,” Feng Ying said bluntly. “I’ve already spoken with Comrade Lin Wei. Just get the process going on your end and notify her to come in for a trial lesson this afternoon.”

Wu, the officer, showed a look of surprise: “Are you talking about Comrade Lin Wei who just joined the military this year?”

“Is there a second Lin Wei in our family area?” Feng Ying asked in return.

Wu quickly shook his head: “No, but… how do you know her?”

Feng Ying didn’t hide it, saying: “She was recommended to me by Director Chen. Is there a problem?”

“No,” Wu shook his head again, hesitating, “But I may need to check with Director Luo first and see how she arranges it.”

Feng Ying’s expression remained indifferent: “Alright, you go ask her. She should be in her office, right?”

“She is. Please wait a moment,” Wu said as he stood up, signaling to Officer He beside him. He immediately smiled and asked, “Principal Feng, would you prefer tea or plain water?”

Feng Ying replied, “Just a glass of plain water is fine.”

Officer He stood up, poured a glass of cold boiled water, and placed it in front of Feng Ying, saying, “Please wait a little longer, Officer Wu will be back soon.”

Feng Ying responded with a slight hum: “You don’t need to worry about me, just do your own work.”

Officer He acknowledged her and sat back at his desk.

In the Director’s office, seeing Luo Shuzhi’s darkened expression, Wu’s voice grew quieter with each passing moment, until he almost didn’t dare speak anymore.

Although Luo Shuzhi had previously delayed Lin Wei’s work because of the paperwork, in the military family settlement office, things weren’t always rigidly done according to process. There had been instances in the past where the employing unit and the military spouse would make arrangements, and then the military family settlement office would be notified afterward.

In fact, the reason Luo Shuzhi had delayed Lin Wei was because her household registration hadn’t been processed. If her registration had been completed back then, the situation would have been different.

Now that Lin Wei no longer had concerns about her household registration, she could take the trial class, confirm her intention to teach at the military district elementary school, and then come to the military family settlement office for registration and file transfer.

There was no need to go around in such a large circle and have them notify Lin Wei to take the trial class.

What was this?

This was Lin Wei’s provocation!

And then there was Principal Feng. When hiring teachers in the past, she didn’t first consult with the military spouse and then register them at the military family settlement office. If a candidate hadn’t been confirmed, they would directly come to the office to register, letting them arrange the trial class.

Since she had gone through such a roundabout process, it was clear that she had learned about Lin Wei’s past situation and had some thoughts about Director Luo’s previous actions.

If Feng Ying had been just an ordinary elementary school principal, even if she had issues with Director Luo, Wu wouldn’t have thought much of it. But Feng Ying wasn’t ordinary; her husband was the commander of the Sanlin Base.

With this in mind, Wu cautiously asked: “Director, what should we do now?” After not hearing Luo Shuzhi speak, he hesitated for a moment and then reminded her, “Principal Feng is still waiting in our office. She seems to be in a hurry. She asked me to notify Lin Wei to go to school for the trial class this afternoon.”

Upon hearing this, a trace of coldness passed over Luo Shuzhi’s face: “She went to complain to Feng Ying already. If I stop her now, it will look like I’m making things difficult for a new military spouse.”

“So, what do you mean?” Wu asked.

“If she wants to go teach, then let her go,” Luo Shuzhi sneered. “Lin Wei is too naive, thinking a temporary worker is worth all this scheming.”

Let her go.

When the two teachers who were hospitalized at the military district elementary school return to their posts, she’d like to see what kind of outcome Lin Wei, a substitute teacher, could have. Apart from being kicked out, what else could happen to her!