Chapter 11: The Braids

By the time they arrived home, it was already nighttime.

Chen Yufeng thought, based on her dream, that she would be living in the same building as Qi Cailing.

After all, in the story, the stark contrast between her and Qi Cailing was largely due to them living in the same building.

But in reality, they didn’t live in an apartment building. Instead, they were in a series of small courtyard houses, with low walls that allowed a clear view of each courtyard. Each courtyard had a small whitewashed house and a little garden.

On the first night, they naturally had to unload their things. Wang Guoguo had practically emptied out their entire house—bringing jars of chili sauce, fermented bean paste, preserved mushrooms, rice, flour, and all sorts of other goods that filled the trunk to the brim. Even a silk quilt was secretly stuffed in while Chen Yufeng wasn’t paying attention.

While Han Chao was busy moving the luggage, Chen Yufeng took the two girls to explore the rooms.

“Mom, look! There are three pillows on the big bed,” Tiantian exclaimed, tugging on Chen Yufeng’s arm. Then she pulled her to another room, which had a smaller bed with only one pillow. She whispered, “Mom, Dad sleeps alone.”

Mimi was also quite satisfied, nodding approvingly as she looked around, “Mom, I think this dad is pretty good.”

Realizing that they wanted to sleep with their mom and that Han Chao chose to sleep alone, Tiantian and Mimi finally began to accept their father.

All the furnishings in the house were provided by the military district—faded, army-green bed sheets, pillowcases, and towels that were probably left behind by the previous occupants. In the military district, housing was fixed, and people moved in and out as they were reassigned.

Amid the dim evening light, a voice came from the neighboring courtyard, “Could it be that the wife of Battalion Commander Han has arrived?”

Tiantian immediately ran outside and greeted, “Hello, Auntie!”

“Well, hello there, little girl! Oh my, aren’t you the sweetest thing?” The woman introduced herself, “I’m Bao Xiaofang, the wife of Zhao Fangzheng from the 3rd Battalion.”

“Hello, Auntie Bao,” Tiantian replied.

Just then, Mimi also came out. Upon seeing her, Bao Xiaofang exclaimed, “Wow, Battalion Commander Han really hit the jackpot with a son and a daughter!”

“I’m not a boy! I’m a girl!” Mimi said, standing defiantly with her hands on her hips.

Bao Xiaofang finally realized her mistake and laughed, “This little girl sure is spirited!”

At that moment, Chen Yufeng also came out. Seeing her, Bao Xiaofang said, “You must be Yufeng! You know, your parents have already come looking for you a few times.”

“Mom, did Grandma come to the capital too?” Tiantian and Mimi asked excitedly.

Chen Yufeng quickly told her daughters, “That’s not your grandma. This auntie is mistaken. Go play now, girls.”

The “mother” Bao Xiaofang mentioned wasn’t Zhou Yafang, but Chen Fanshi’s current wife, Zhang Yanli.

Zhang Yanli’s first husband was a high-ranking military officer who had passed away due to illness. She used to work at the military district’s special supply store but went into business after marrying Chen Fanshi.

Now, the two of them managed a large wholesale market owned by the military district.

Zhang Yanli not only posed as Chen Yufeng’s biological mother, but she also sought her out as soon as she arrived in the capital, and there was a reason for that.

According to the story, they had donated the antiques to the military district.

It was also mentioned that the reason they were able to secure the contract for the market was because of the donation.

Chen Yufeng kept this information to herself, determined to get to the bottom of it.

But she knew that careless words could cause trouble, so she calmly corrected Bao Xiaofang, “Sister-in-law, my mother’s name is Zhou Yafang, and she lives back in my hometown, Guihua Town. No other woman is related to me.”

“But Zhang Yanli herself said that she’s your mother,” Bao Xiaofang responded, clearly puzzled.

Just then, another neighbor joined in, “You must be Yufeng. I’m Wu Qin. My husband, Wang Shuya, works with Han Chao.”

After observing Chen Yufeng for a moment, Wu Qin commented, “You’re nothing like what Zhang Yanli described. You look so fashionable and sophisticated.”

Before Chen Yufeng had even arrived, Zhang Yanli had visited several times. Each time, she would bring clothes and mention how her daughter from the countryside was rustic and plain. She would even show off the clothes to the neighbors, claiming they were for her daughter.

Not only did she flaunt the clothes to the neighbors, but she also visited the wives of the military leaders, using the opportunity to boast and build a good reputation for herself.

Chen Yufeng had just arrived, and she was determined not to let people think of her as dowdy.

This was precisely why she had gone shopping for new clothes, gotten a perm, and dressed herself and her daughters nicely.

She believed that as long as she presented herself well, the rumors would naturally fall apart.

After returning inside, the two neighbors continued chatting enthusiastically. Because it was hard to talk across the courtyard, and Wu Qin was pregnant, Bao Xiaofang went over to her house. As soon as she entered, she asked, “Han Chao just got back from the battlefield, right? Since your husband works with him, do you know what his temper is like? I heard he has a terrible temper.”

Han Chao had returned from the battlefield three months ago.

It was now 1990, and the country, having faced enormous pressure from a major military downsizing, hadn’t recruited any new soldiers in three years. Only this year had they resumed large-scale recruitment.

Han Chao was in charge of the recruitment, so he had been constantly traveling for the past three months.

This led to the fact that even his colleagues didn’t really understand his character, let alone their wives.

However, Sister-in-law Bao had vaguely heard some rumors—supposedly, Han Chao was notorious on the battlefield for his ruthless and deadly strikes.

It was even said that those Vietnamese soldiers, despite not knowing much Chinese, had all learned to say the words “Han the Tyrant.”

This nickname spread because he was exceptionally skilled in combat, particularly in close-quarters fighting.

Zhang Yanli had also mentioned before that Han Chao had a terrible temper and had been prone to fighting since childhood.

She speculated that once Chen Yufeng moved in and spent time with him, she would likely suffer beatings.

Zhang Yanli also pointed out another thing—Han Chao’s father was known for frequently beating his wife. And everyone believed that wife-beating was something that could be inherited.

She even said that rural men like Han Chao valued face above all else, especially their sons. Yet Chen Yufeng had only given birth to two daughters and no sons. If Han Chao was dissatisfied, how could he possibly treat Chen Yufeng well?

In rural areas, the obsession with having a son wasn’t limited to ordinary people. Even within the military district, some soldiers from rural backgrounds were rumored to secretly defy the family planning policies, having sons off the record.

So, while Mimi and Tiantian were happily settling into their new home, the neighbors were privately worried about Chen Yufeng’s future.

After some thought, Sister-in-law Wu said, “It shouldn’t be that bad, right? My husband, Wang Shuya, said Han Chao is a decent person.” But then she recalled her husband had also mentioned that among the 80,000 new recruits recently enlisted in the army, many were 17- or 18-year-old young men—full of energy, hot-tempered, reckless, and hard to discipline.

Some were even bold enough to challenge their officers in fights.

And the ones Han Chao was about to take charge of? They were the most unruly, vicious, and aggressive recruits—the top 400 troublemakers selected from the entire military district. Each of them was as fierce as a dragon or tiger, completely disobedient.

The reason the leadership made this decision was simple: Han Chao could fight. No matter how wild and defiant these recruits were, he could beat them into submission.

The two women turned their heads toward Yufeng’s courtyard, where they saw Han Chao squatting by the water faucet under the lamp, washing something.

That thing was pitch black, long, and straight.

Sister-in-law Bao was startled. “Could it be a rope? Is he planning to tie up his wife and beat her at night?”

“I think it looks like a snake,” said the heavily pregnant Sister-in-law Wu, so frightened that she nearly had a contraction.

But when Han Chao hung the object up to dry, the two women exchanged glances in shock.

It wasn’t a rope or a snake—it was a large bundle of women’s hair, black and straight.

After washing the hair, Han Chao took it inside.

Just as the women had said, Han Chao was the commander of the Third Battalion of the Independent Regiment, currently in charge of training the most unruly new recruits in the entire army. However, since the new recruits had only just gathered and training had yet to begin, he had taken the opportunity to return home and pick up Chen Yufeng.

By this time, Chen Yufeng and the two children had already washed up and gone to bed.

Han Chao, after washing the hair that Chen Yufeng had cut off, then took all the new clothes she had bought that day, carefully washed them under the lamp, and hung them up to dry.

Then, he knocked on the master bedroom door and said, “Feng’er, I have to stand night duty tonight. I’ll try to come back tomorrow and take you shopping.”

Although the house had some basic furnishings, the kitchen was still empty, and the bedroom didn’t even have curtains. There was a lot of work to be done to make it feel like home.

Mimi was still awake. Before Chen Yufeng could say anything, she blurted out, “It’s okay if you don’t come back, Dad. We won’t miss you at all!”

“Mimi, he’s your father. From now on, he’ll be living with us forever,” Chen Yufeng quickly corrected her.

Children could be playful, but if they became too unruly, they needed to be taught properly—otherwise, they might end up like the delinquents in those books.

Mimi snorted, “Hmph! I don’t want him. He doesn’t love me, he only loves sons.”

Mimi had her reasons for saying this. Back in town, people like Zhou Yafang and Su Hong would often say, “All men love sons. There isn’t a single one who truly cherishes daughters.”

They had even enthusiastically advised Chen Yufeng: “Don’t worry about not having a household registration. If you give Mimi away, won’t that free up a spot for another child?”

Even the books said that Han Chao only loved sons and didn’t care about daughters.

But Chen Yufeng refused to believe that the “Chen Yufeng” written in those books was actually her.

And because of that, she didn’t want to believe that the “Han Chao” in the books was her husband either.

“Nonsense! Your dad doesn’t love sons—he only loves you and your sister. He will never have another son.” Summoning her courage, Chen Yufeng declared loudly, “Right, Han Chao?”

Whether or not he truly meant it, Han Chao responded in a way that upheld his reputation. He said in a firm voice, “Right!” Then he added, “Han Mi, go to sleep. Stop giving your mother trouble.”

That’s more like it!

Forget about having sons—Chen Yufeng wouldn’t give birth to one, nor would she ever consider giving Mimi away.

And she certainly wouldn’t accept the cheap clothes that Zhang Yanli, who claimed to be her “real mother,” had sent her.

What she really wanted was to find out how Chen Fanshi had managed to give away her mother’s antique collection.

At that moment, Tiantian suddenly woke up. The little girl blinked her eyes open and asked, “Mom, was Dad just calling you?”

“Why aren’t you sleeping?” Chen Yufeng asked as she saw her daughter trying to sit up.

Tiantian, in her soft, childlike voice, replied, “Grandma told me many times that once we move to the capital, we won’t be able to sleep with you anymore. You have to sleep with Dad so you can hurry up and have a little brother.”

Forget about Han Chao’s reaction outside—Chen Yufeng was so embarrassed she could have died on the spot.