Chapter 28

Qiao Baozhu saw off several military dependents, carried a piece of pork, and took her mother Bao Huihua to the next yard to borrow a dining table and bowls and chopsticks.

Aunt Qian smiled and said a few polite words, then took the pork with a smile on her face.

Coming out of the Qian family next door, Qiao Baozhu saw Qiao Changhai coming back from outside holding the jar.

“Dad, where did you get a pickle jar?”

Qiao Changhai held a cigarette between his lips and patted the jar with a smile.

“Someone sent me a bucket of duck eggs! I saw the guests off and went to the service center to buy a jar and a few pounds of coarse salt. I’ll ask your mother to pickle the eggs later.”

After entering the house, Qiao Changhai asked his wife to pickle duck eggs, while he took Qiao Baozhu to the yard to talk.

Qiao Changhai pointed at every corner of the yard and nodded repeatedly with satisfaction. Qiao Baozhu listened, and it seemed that he had something else to say.

“Dad, if you have anything to say, just say it.”

Qiao Baozhu felt exhausted listening to the roundabout hints.

“well……”

Qiao Changhai took a puff of his cigarette, exhaled a puff of smoke, and then let out a long sigh.

He had just bought a jar of pickles and deliberately walked around to the other side of the family compound. If he saw someone chatting on the side of the road, he would go over and ask for the address.

When others asked him what he did, Qiao Changhai said he was delivering pickled vegetable jars. The delivery address was written on a piece of paper, but he lost it after drinking a little liquor.

Qiao Changhai had a plain and honest round face and walked with a limp. He said he couldn’t remember the buyer’s address, and those people didn’t think it was suspicious.

“I just remember that she was a lesbian who dressed quite fashionably and beautifully. When we met, I recognized her. But when I asked her to tell me her last name, I couldn’t remember it at all.”

Everyone started discussing which female comrade in the family compound was dressed most fashionably.

After much discussion, someone brought up Bai Hongmei.

When it comes to the famous Bai Hongmei in the family compound, everyone is very interested in gossiping. They all talk about the scandal between Bai Hongmei and Shen Xiao, as if they had seen it with their own eyes.

After listening to the gossip of this group of people, Qiao Changhai slowly returned to his daughter’s home.

“Is that all you want to tell me?”

Qiao Baozhu smiled disapprovingly: “When you were not back, those family members also told me about her situation.”

“The husband lost his life because he blocked a bullet for Shen Xiao. It is only right for Shen Xiao to take care of his wife and children. As for what others say, I don’t care.”

Qiao Baozhu thought her adoptive father was worried about her marriage, and didn’t want him to worry, so she quickly tried to persuade him.

“I just want to tell you this. In the future, you should avoid those people who gossip about their wives. They only know how to spread rumors.”

“Although I haven’t met Shen Xiao yet, I think this kid should have good character.”

Qiao Baozhu raised her eyebrows and teased her old father with a smile.

“Dad, when did you become so capable that you can tell fortunes from a distance?”

Qiao Changhai rolled his eyes at his daughter and said, “Go away, little bitch, you dare to make fun of your father?”

He took another puff of his cigarette and pointed to the small courtyard in front of him.

“I asked around. The family that lives here has several children and raises pigs, chickens and ducks. The couple is not very capable and they built this yard in a very untidy way.”

“Look at the yard now. It’s well maintained. You can tell at a glance that the fences around the vegetable garden were newly built a few days ago. Each willow branch is in line.”

“Look at your feet again.”

Qiao Baozhu lowered her head and looked at the vegetable garden carefully, but there was nothing special.

Qiao Changhai pulled out a willow branch from his trouser pocket and placed it in the middle of the ridge to measure.

“See? The distance between the ridges is exactly the same.”

“And the firewood pile. Each piece of firewood was chopped into the same size. When they were stacked together, the horizontal and vertical dimensions were the same as if they were measured with a ruler.”

Qiao Baozhu disagreed: “Isn’t that what soldiers do? Everything has to be done in a neat and tidy way, even the quilt has to be folded into a tofu block.”

Qiao Changhai shook his head: “That’s the rule in the army. I’ve been around the family compound, and I’ve never seen anyone’s firewood stacked in a grid-like pattern.”

“My child, remember, if you want to understand a person, you can’t just listen to him, you have to judge him by what he does. Don’t listen to what he says, but look at what he does.”

“Shen Xiao is a person who has very high demands on himself, as can be seen from his habits of doing things.”

“How could such a person be involved with a widow?”

Qiao Baozhu deeply agreed with her adoptive father’s words.

Shen Xiao quickly went on a blind date and found someone to marry, making it clear that he didn’t want to have a relationship with Bai Hongmei beyond gratitude.

Bai Hongmei refused to give up, otherwise she wouldn’t have run over and yelled like an idiot.

There was just one thing that Qiao Baozhu couldn’t figure out.

Although Qiao Xifeng was stupid and willful, she would not openly beat a pregnant woman or even cause her to have a miscarriage.

What on earth happened that made Qiao Xifeng go crazy enough to beat someone into having a miscarriage?

A terrible thought flashed through Qiao Baozhu’s mind.

What if all this was a trap set up deliberately by Bai Hongmei?

She remembered that in her previous life, Qiao Xifeng was angry for the whole day because Shen Xiao did not come to pick her up. After having dinner at her mother’s house, she was half coaxed and half escorted by her family to the family compound.

Under such circumstances, these family members might not come to visit today. Even if they did, Qiao Xifeng would think they were deliberately coming to see a joke, given her personality.

So it was impossible for Qiao Xifeng to know that Bai Hongmei was pregnant.

Bai Hongmei deliberately kidnapped Shen Xiao who had just returned home. Qiao Xifeng was furious and ran to fight with him, causing her to have a miscarriage.

Not to mention that Wei Yanda was Shen Xiao’s benefactor, the baby in Bai Hongmei’s belly was a martyr’s posthumous child. Qiao Xifeng beat her to abort, which was indeed extremely bad.

No wonder, Shen Xiao was obviously the youngest officer in the Corps, but ended up being transferred to a new farm to open up wasteland.

No wonder Qiao Xifeng hated Bai Hongmei so much, but dared not say anything about Shen Xiao supporting her children.

Bai Hongmei, on the other hand, was unwilling to sacrifice her child in exchange for Shen Xiao’s lifetime of guilt and support.

When Qiao Baozhu thought of this, she couldn’t help rubbing her arms with a chill.

If what she inferred was true, then Bai Hongmei was really cruel, Shen Xiao was really miserable, and Qiao Xifeng was really stupid.

“I understand, Dad. I won’t believe those words. Although my intentions for this marriage are not pure, if Shen Xiao is a good person, I am still willing to work hard to maintain this marriage.”

After the father and daughter finished their conversation, Bao Huihua had already put the duck eggs into the jar.

Qiao Changhai looked at the sky and said reluctantly, “It’s getting late. Your mother and I will go back now.”

Qiao Baozhu quickly pulled her adoptive father’s arm and said pitifully, “What time is it? There are no buses back to the city anymore.”

“Your mother and I will go back to visit your grandparents and stay overnight with them.”

Qiao Baozhu held onto her adoptive father’s arm and refused to let go: “It’s not certain when Shen Xiao will come back. I don’t dare to live here by myself.”

“Can you stay with me for a few days and wait for Shen Xiao to come back before leaving?”