Chapter 113

Qiao Wei didn’t know that while she, Yan Lei, and the district leaders went to discuss the Xiahekou matter with the military district leaders, in the county government compound, a few people mentioned her name.

“This Qiao Wei is quite slippery!” someone said angrily.

It was standing committee member Guan, the standing committee member who had clashed with Secretary Meng. He felt very unhappy about today’s meeting.

Of course, Secretary Meng wouldn’t make a comeback, but today’s meeting left standing committee member Guan feeling extremely dissatisfied.

Originally, this should have been a meeting that left him feeling refreshed and invigorated, a meeting that lifted spirits and inspired everyone, a meeting where he could rally the crowd with a single call.

But it was all ruined by that Qiao Wei.

She was challenging his authority!

“Zengyue, does she have any weaknesses?” he asked. “Any handles we can use against her? You work in the same office as her, do you know anything?”

“None,” Huang Zengyue replied without hesitation. “She has no issues with her work, no mistakes, and no other handles.”

“But she wrote so many articles before…” Standing Committee Member Guan, the standing committee member, interjected.

“Not a single one had any problems,” Huang Zengyue continued, shattering his illusions. “She’s very careful with her words. You can’t find fault with them.”

He had noticed this a long time ago.

When people read her articles, it was easy to get emotional. That was because of her excellent writing.

But when Huang Zengyue read them, he did so with a critical eye. And then he was surprised to find that Qiao Wei, despite her young age, was so careful with her words. He wagered that she meticulously reviewed every article before submitting it to her superiors, ensuring there was no risk.

Huang Zengyue’s initial liking for Qiao Wei stemmed from her prudence hidden beneath her passionate words.

This resonated with his own style, giving him a sense of camaraderie.

“She doesn’t see eye to eye with us,” Standing Committee Member Guan said decisively.

Today, during the meeting, he could sense it in her eyes. Secretary Meng had fallen, yet she wasn’t panicked or fearful. She even dared to contradict the leadership. Her words seemed to say one thing but actually said nothing.

While others were simply following the trend, she was the one who irritated Standing Committee Member Guan the most.

“We must get rid of her,” he said. “The office is something we must control.”

In theory, it would be easy to get rid of someone at this point.

But Huang Zengyue calmly reminded him, “She’s a military spouse.”

Standing Committee Member Guan’s excited emotions were instantly dampened.

Yes, she was a military spouse. There weren’t many military families in the county, and she was the first and most highly regarded one. She was also a benchmark figure in the minds of the military district leaders.

She couldn’t be easily dealt with.

But when someone turns malicious, they always have ideas. Soon, Standing Committee Member Guan thought of a solution. “We’ll turn her into a fallen woman!”

“If she becomes a fallen woman, her husband won’t want her anymore, and they’ll definitely get divorced!”

Through this method, they could strip her of her military spouse status, depriving her of the protection of the military district and of men.

Huang Zengyue’s fingers, holding a cigarette, paused, and he lifted his eyelids to look at this despicable man.

Just as Standing Committee Member Guan thought, “This idea is fantastic,” Huang Zengyue said coldly, “If you really do that… Her husband might not want her, but…”

He said, “But it doesn’t mean her husband will let you off. Using such means against a military spouse, the military district won’t let you off either. Otherwise, won’t military spouses become the weak point of the army? Can people just bully them as they please? Which military district leader here is just loafing around?”

At this time, the military was a force that had truly seen bloodshed and killed enemies. The leadership of the military was full of vigor, and their style of work was tough and resolute.

They really didn’t dare to provoke them locally.

Moreover, for a man, the hatred of insulting his wife was almost as deep as the hatred of killing his father.

Standing Committee Member Guan couldn’t help but feel apprehensive.

This Qiao Wei was really hard to deal with,Standing Committee Member Guan thought bitterly.

Huang Zengyue said, “Just transfer her to another position.”

Standing Committee Member Guan recalled how Qiao Wei had dashed his expectations for the day and said bitterly, “Make her clean the manure!”

But it was just talk. As the spouse of a military officer, Qiao Wei could never be assigned such a position.

Qiao Wei was unaware of the malice directed towards her, thanks to Huang Zengyue standing up for her.

She actually wanted a job transfer herself. With Secretary Meng falling, the county would only become more chaotic in the future.

Qiao Wei didn’t want to get caught up in that chaos. On her way home in the car, she was actually considering whether to find a way to return to Xiahekou.

But seeing the young men and women in green military uniforms with red armbands when she got off the car brought her back to reality – there was no sanctuary at this time.

But she still wanted to do her best to protect the small town.

“Crackdown,” she suggested to Captain Pan, “It’s good to purge the revolutionary ranks of traitors, but it’s unacceptable for opportunists to exploit the situation and harm social order. Have you heard about Captain Zhao’s daughter’s incident? This kind of thing must not happen around the military district again.”

Captain Zhao’s daughter Yingzi was thirteen years old and already blossoming into a young woman.

That day, when she went to the field as usual to learn farming, she had a bit of a stomach ache and spent a little longer in the outhouse. Everyone else had left, and as she walked back, it was starting to get dark. She encountered two or three young men. Whether they were students or not, nowadays everyone wore military uniforms and didn’t really go to school, spending their days roaming the streets.

The young men took advantage of the darkness and had malicious intentions.

But Yingzi was not one to be trifled with. She had learned a few moves from Captain Zhao and used half a brick to scare one of them off. All three of them ran away in fear.

However, it was dark, and she couldn’t see their faces clearly. Captain Zhao later came out with some people to chase after them, but they couldn’t catch them, which left him hopping mad.

For Qiao Wei, this incident was a ready-made reason.

“I propose that the district government’s armed forces and the military district form a joint public security team to crack down severely on criminal activities, working hand in hand to strengthen public security management in the areas around the military district.

Crack down on crime, maintain public order.

This was just the surface reason she gave. In reality, everyone in the room understood what she wanted – she wanted military control.

This would definitely be advantageous to the military district. Captain Pan nodded, “Okay.”

Back home, Qiao Wei recounted many details of the day to Yan Lei.

“I’ve always regarded him as a revolutionary comrade who would face these things together with me,” she said.

That was the most painful part for her.

Betrayal.

Yan Lei comfortingly patted her back.

Qiao Wei is an optimistic and proactive person. She is always able to adjust and control her emotions well.

Yan Lei rarely sees her so unhappy.

This indicates that Huang Zengyue really disappointed her.

Qiao Wei vented her emotions and then regained her composure. She said, “I want to go back to the district.”

Yan Lei naturally agreed. The district is full of familiar faces, and it’s safer than dealing with the military region or the county.

But he frowned, “Who is in charge in the county now?”

Counting Secretary Meng, three of the county’s standing committee members have fallen.

“The leadership of the Organization Department is still there. I’ll go talk to them,” Qiao Wei said.

But the next day, the leader of the Organization Department refused Qiao Wei, saying, “Not now. Qiao Wei, it’s not about giving you face. All personnel matters are frozen now. No one can come in or go out.”

Qiao Wei asked, “Who’s really in charge now?”

The leader of the Organization Department said, “The old structure is now completely suspended. The new revolutionary committee is being established. If you want to transfer, you’ll have to wait. Hey, let’s not talk about this now. Let’s go, let’s go to the auditorium together.”

Even if Qiao Wei didn’t give the standing committee what he wanted yesterday, it didn’t stop Secretary Meng from being convicted.

This time, Qiao Wei sat quietly in the audience seats until the end.

After the meeting, when she returned to the office, Secretary Meng’s office had already been cleared out, and people were moving things in.

Qiao Wei stopped someone and asked, “Who’s moving in here?”

The other person replied, “Who else could it be?”

Naturally, it was the standing committee member. He’s now the leader of the revolutionary committee, which was set up immediately. He’ll be the head, representing the revolutionary cadre.

Qiao Wei disliked his hypocrisy; he used to bow to Secretary Meng.

Huang Zengyue suddenly came to find her.

“Take a few days off with your family, come back when things settle down a bit,” he advised her, “These days are turbulent; don’t get yourself in trouble by being headstrong. They’re already thinking of coming after you.”

Qiao Wei asked sharply, “How do they plan to come after me? I’m a military affiliate!”

“You’re a female comrade,” Huang Zengyue said, “The reputation of bad female comrades is the easiest to tarnish.”

His insinuation made Joey’s spine suddenly cold.

Huang Zengyue noticed and comforted her, “I’ve intercepted it.”

Qiao Wei took a deep breath.

Now, although things are still chaotic and the structure is not yet determined, Huang Zengyue will undoubtedly become the one with real power.

“Zengyue, I want to transfer back to the district,” she said, “I want to go back to the broadcasting station.”

But Huang Zengyue didn’t agree with her; he just said, “Let’s talk about it later. Take a few days’ rest first.”

After a moment of silence, Joey sincerely said, “Zengyue… thank you.”

Huang Zengyue nodded and left.

Qiao Wei didn’t eat lunch and went home with Xiang Xiang.

On the street, she saw orderly queues heading towards the district committee compound.

Someone recognized her and stopped to greet her, “Sis! Why are you coming back at this time?”

Qiao Wei asked, “What’s going on?”

In fact, she guessed.

Sure enough, the other person said, “There was a meeting this morning, and the district committee formed a joint security team.”

“Indeed, it’s the military. There’s not so much redundant and useless paperwork, the efficiency is extremely high. The suggestions I gave yesterday, the whole team has already acted upon them today.”

Qiao Wei let out a long sigh of relief. “That’s great.”

At this moment, in her startled state, this brought her immense comfort.

Returning to her own doorstep, seeing the slogan outside the courtyard wall, “I don’t provoke others, but if provoked, I’ll retaliate,” which had been exposed to wind and rain for over a year, had faded somewhat.

“I should find someone to repaint these slogans,” Qiao Wei thought.

These slogans now gave her a sense of security.

The familiar adobe walls of her home gave her a sense of security.

Qiao Wei had only been home for less than an hour when she heard the sound of tires rubbing against the ground.

At this moment, this sound was incredibly stimulating.

Fortunately, Yan Lei’s voice immediately followed, “Qiao Wei! Qiao Wei!”

Qiao Wei went to unlock the latch on the courtyard door, and Yan Lei entered.

He was in military uniform, his brow furrowed. “Are you okay?”

It was so good for him to be by her side at this moment! Qiao Wei hugged him tightly, pressing her face against his chest.

Yan Lei held her tightly. “Qiao Wei?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Qiao Wei said, calming down. “Why are you back?”

“They called me from the district committee on the way, said they saw you. So, I rushed back to see.” Yan Lei said.

The situation is chaotic, can’t be careless. Qiao Wei suddenly returned in broad daylight, there must be something wrong. Yan Lei’s subordinates realized this and immediately called him upon reaching the government courtyard.

Yan Lei looked Qiao Wei up and down. “What’s wrong?”

Qiao Wei told him about what Huang Zengyue said.

Someone attempted, or at least once attempted, to harm Qiao Wei using such despicable means.

Yan Lei hadn’t shown this stern expression in front of her for a long time.

There was anger in his eyes.