Chapter 46

Li Yan was a few steps behind Bai Hongmei. When she saw Bai Hongmei standing at the door of Shen Xiao’s house, she slipped and almost fell into the gutter.

“Bai Hongmei! What are you doing at Captain Shen’s doorstep?”

“Look at how many people are watching outside. Come home with me.”

Li Yan’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she didn’t care about other people’s eyes at this moment. She covered Bai Hongmei with her clothes and wanted to take her home.

Bai Hongmei didn’t know whether she was out of her mind or what, when she heard Li Yan say that someone was watching the fun, she looked around and saw many people looking at her and pointing at her.

She struggled to push Li Yan away, raised her head with a stubborn look, “I won’t go back with you. You said we were relatives and you would take care of us on behalf of Yan Da. It’s only been a few days and you already despise me. I got up late because I couldn’t sleep well during pregnancy, but I didn’t really skip meals for the children. Do you really have to say that to me…”

If someone who doesn’t know the situation hears this, they will really think that Li Yan, the sister-in-law, is not caring for her. She made a pregnant woman so angry that she ran out in a vest and shorts.

Li Yan’s face turned pale, and she wanted to reach out and tear Bai Hongmei’s mouth to pieces. Why did she like to confuse right and wrong so much?

But she couldn’t argue with Bai Hongmei. Past experience told her that the more she talked to Bai Hongmei, the longer she would have to perform. Relying on her own knowledge and Wei Yanda’s support, she was always right in whatever she did.

She could risk her dignity and confront Bai Hongmei in the street, but Old Hao would not do that. The military leaders did not care about the process, they only cared about the impact.

We must be patient, careful and persistent when dealing with the masses, let alone the families of soldiers?

When Li Yan thought about how it was her kindness that led her to take Li Yan home, she wanted to slap herself in the face.

“Okay, okay, it’s all my fault.”

“I am uneducated, I am sorry for you.”

“Hongmei, listen to your sister-in-law and come home with me. If you catch a cold, what will happen to the children?”

Bai Hongmei sobbed as she glanced at the door of Shen Xiao’s house, then helped Li Yan go home with an unwilling look on her face.

It doesn’t matter that Qiao Baozhu missed such a wonderful scene, because there will always be kind-hearted people who will come and tell her about it.

Here, Shen Xiao drove into the city and headed straight for Huaguang Department Store according to the address provided by Qiao Baozhu.

Qiao Changhai works at the Huaguang Repair Shop on the first floor of the department store.

Shen Xiao parked the jeep directly in front of the repair shop. After getting out of the car, he opened the trunk and took out cigarettes and alcohol.

The staff at the repair shop saw an officer coming in carrying something and greeted him with a smile.

“Hello, PLA comrade! How may I help you?”

Qiao Baozhu was standing next to Shen Xiao. She couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows when she saw that it was Manager Xie who came up to greet them.

Manager Xie was famous for her high standards. Because the repair shop only repaired large items such as bicycles, watches, clocks, and radios, the customers who came here were all from higher social classes. If she occasionally met ordinary people, she would be so arrogant that her nose would be raised to the sky.

Today, I saw Shen Xiao walking in with two bottles of Wuliangye and two packs of high-end cigarettes, and I mistakenly thought he was a big shot from the military region.

“Hello comrade, we are here to look for someone.”

Shen Xiao looked at Manager Xie and nodded lightly.

Manager Xie smiled unchanged: “Are you looking for our senior repairman Master Shen? He’s in the back. I’ll go get him right away.”

Before she could finish, she saw the young woman next to the officer walking towards the corner.

He walked to the counter in the corner and shouted to the person inside: “Dad! Shen Xiao and I are here to pick you up from get off work.”

The staff in the repair shop looked at each other in confusion. Manager Xie looked at Shen Xiao in disbelief, then at Qiao Baozhu.

At this time, a short and thin figure slowly emerged from the corner and said with a gentle smile: “Why did you bring my son-in-law here, kid?”

“This is where my dad works. His boss and colleagues are watching.”

Qiao Changhai’s voice was not loud, but everyone in the store could hear the joy in his words.

“Oh, it’s almost time to get off work at noon, no one will say anything.”

At this time, Manager Xie reacted and rushed to Qiao Changhai’s side.

He smiled heartily: “Old Qiao, is this your daughter’s pearl?”

Manager Xie looked Qiao Baozhu up and down, and exclaimed exaggeratedly: “Girls really change a lot when they grow up. Baozhu is so beautiful now. Oh my, I recognized her.”

Other colleagues in the store also responded with a smile, “That’s right, in my memory, Baozhu was only in junior high school. In the blink of an eye, Baozhu has grown up so much.”

“Baozhu, I thought you went to the countryside, but it turns out you got married.”

Qiao Changhai’s honest face was flushed, and he laughed twice: “Comrades, please be quiet for a moment. I will introduce you guys.”

“This is my daughter Baozhu. She went to the countryside after graduating from high school. The PLA comrade behind is Baozhu’s husband. A few days ago, I asked for leave to go back to my hometown to do some work. I went to see my daughter off to get married.”

After Qiao Changhai finished speaking, Manager Xie complained angrily, “Old Qiao, you are really good.”

“You didn’t even tell anyone about your daughter’s marriage. Do you still consider us as revolutionary comrades in the same trench?”

“That’s right, Old Joe. You’re really tight-lipped. We’ve been together for five or six years, but you didn’t even tell me that your daughter was getting married. Are you afraid that I’ll ask you for wedding candy?”

When Shen Xiao heard this, he immediately lowered his head and took the bag from Qiao Baozhu’s hand. He took out a pack of kraft paper and took out the candies inside.

While distributing candies to colleagues in the store, he spoke up for Qiao Changhai: “I’m sorry, everyone. The nature of my job is special, so I can’t give Baozhu a lively wedding.”

“My father-in-law is very supportive of my work and didn’t want to cause me any trouble, so he didn’t inform everyone. Although there’s no banquet, there is still wedding candy.”

No one had intended to embarrass Qiao Changhai; they were just surprised to see that his son-in-law was an officer.

Seeing Shen Xiao defending his father-in-law’s face, no one dared to say anything else. After a few flattering words, Manager Xie announced on the spot that Qiao Changhai would be given half a day off, allowing him to go home to accompany his daughter and son-in-law.

Amid the envious expressions of many of his colleagues, Qiao Changhai got into his son-in-law’s jeep with a smile.

Seeing the jeep disappear at the door, the repair shop suddenly became quiet as if no one was there.

Someone silently said, “I didn’t expect that Qiao Lame would have a turn for the better.”

“Hey, don’t call him Cripple Qiao San’er anymore. Here comes the person who supports the old cripple.”

Who among those present is not a shrewd person?

Qiao Baozhu brought Shen Xiao to pick up Qiao Changhai in a high-profile manner, wasn’t it just to give him face?

From then on, no one in the store dared to bully him anymore.