Chapter 57

The moment Yin Xiaoman saw Cui Yan standing at the bow of the boat, she could hardly believe her eyes!

She hadn’t expected that after just half a year apart, Sister Cui had actually lost so much weight!

She was still wearing the same clothes she and Yin Xiaoman had made together during their time at Vanguard Camp.

The clothes still fit Yin Xiaoman perfectly now, but on Cui Yan, they looked several sizes larger.

It wasn’t just the weight loss—her whole spirit seemed to have been drained by someone. She looked completely lifeless, as if she had aged several years.

Looking at her, Yin Xiaoman’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Cui Yan had no idea about the emotions stirring inside Yin Xiaoman. After seeing their family, she and her two children were clearly overjoyed.

Standing on the boat, Cui Yan began waving enthusiastically, a wide smile spreading across her face, and even the wrinkles on it seemed to soften.

As for Da Bao and Erniu, when they saw Qiangzi and Huzi, they were stunned at first, unable to believe their eyes. But once they were sure, they completely lost it!

Shouting and crying out, they rushed toward the boat before it had even come to a full stop.

If Dami hadn’t grabbed Erniu just in time, she probably would have fallen straight onto the boat.

Because they had come so suddenly, the base hadn’t even had time to prepare a place for them to stay. Fortunately, there were still many empty spots in that row of dormitories, so Qi Feng’s family was placed next to the one where Elder Hua and the others lived.

They were only separated from the Shen family by a single corridor.

After more than half a year, Qiangzi and Huzi had both grown nearly a head taller and now looked like proper big kids.

At first, the two were a bit reserved, but with Da Bao and Erniu chattering endlessly at their side, they quickly relaxed.

It wasn’t long before the little ones couldn’t sit still anymore, their heads practically poking out of the courtyard in curiosity.

“Dami, take your little brother and sister to the back hill for a bit. Each of you grab a pancake, and make sure they don’t run off.”

Yin Xiaoman, seeing the eagerness on their faces, waved her hand and gave Dami an instruction.

Ever since that time he had been properly disciplined by Yin Xiaoman, Dami had become much more sensible than before and was no longer as stubborn. He could tell that his aunt wanted to have a talk with the newly arrived Aunt Cui, so he agreed readily.

Just before heading out, Dami thoughtfully put straw hats on all the little ones.

At that moment, Qi Feng had already gone with Shen Qingyun to report to the base, leaving only Cui Yan and Yin Xiaoman at home.

Yin Xiaoman couldn’t hold back anymore—she grabbed Cui Yan’s hand and said: “Sister-in-law, from now on let our two families eat together. I swear I’ll feed all of you back to a healthy weight!”

When Yin Xiaoman grabbed her hand, Cui Yan had thought she was going to say something serious.

But she never expected that kind of line to come out of her mouth.

She was stunned for a second, then burst out laughing.

She reached out and gave Yin Xiaoman a fond slap on the back. “You’re saying that because you saw the wrinkles on my face, aren’t you? This is age, girl! You can’t just eat your way back to smooth skin! I’m already thirty this year—you think we all stay young and tender like you forever?”

Yin Xiaoman understood that Sister Cui was deliberately brushing off the real topic. She didn’t want to dive into depressing talk the moment they reunited.

And wasn’t she feeling the same way?

She really wanted to tell Cui Yan how bad she felt inside, that she knew her own actions had dragged Cui Yan’s entire family into trouble.

But she couldn’t say it. Even if she did, Sister Cui wouldn’t admit it.

This kind of gratitude could only be kept in her heart, and slowly repaid over time.

The two of them went about tidying up the place while chatting about whatever everyday things they could bring up.

But all their shared experiences were from Vanguard Camp, and they knew the same group of people. Naturally, the conversation circled around until it landed on Lin Hui.

“You know about Lin Hui and Liu Chang getting married, right?” Sister Cui asked.

Yin Xiaoman nodded. “Yeah, Liu Chang told us as soon as he got here.”

Hearing that, Cui Yan paused, then chuckled. “Oh right, I totally forgot Liu Chang was transferred to the island too. Makes sense—if he’s here, of course he’d talk about it.”

Then she gave Yin Xiaoman a playful wink, set down what she was holding, and pulled her over to sit by the bed. Her tone suddenly held a rare flicker of excitement.

“But Liu Chang doesn’t know what happened to those two after that. I’m telling you—it got real juicy!”

As soon as she heard there was more to that story, Yin Xiaoman perked right up. Honestly, she had disliked those two before, but she couldn’t say she hated them.

After all, Lin Hui might have looked like she won with that big-character poster, but she paid a price for it.

On the surface, it seemed like she was just transferred from the Organization Department to the Public Relations Department, but anyone who knew the inside scoop could tell—what was she doing in the Organization Department before?

She had been in charge of receptions, accompanying high-level officials, and handling communications between the group and its sub-units.

That kind of job might have looked low-key on the surface, but in reality, it was a position with real substance.

It offered frequent chances to appear in front of leaders at all levels—any minor achievement could quickly catch someone’s eye.

Staying in that position and working diligently for a few years meant one’s chances of promotion were exponentially higher than others’.

If it hadn’t been for Lin Hui’s close relationship with the deputy regiment commander’s wife, and if the deputy regiment commander hadn’t spoken up for her back then, there’s no way such an opportunity would’ve landed in her lap.

But what happened after? One big-character poster ended up ruining her own career.

Although she was transferred to the Public Relations Department, tasked with liaising with the local revolutionary committee—which sounded quite prestigious—

But what kind of unit was Lin Hui in?

She was in the army, and not just any army—she was in a combat unit!

In that kind of place, people valued real, solid work. That wasn’t somewhere you could get by on tricks and manipulation.

Once her transfer order was announced, everyone understood right away—this woman had clearly been abandoned by the leadership.

A full transfer out or forced retirement was only a matter of a year or so.

So when Shen Qingyun explained all the underlying political currents to her, Yin Xiaoman didn’t feel much toward Lin Hui anymore.

She only thought Lin Hui had brought this on herself—no one else to blame. She had single-handedly ruined her own future.

But when she later found out that Lin Hui had gotten involved with Liu Chang—and that together, they had framed Qi Feng’s entire family as well as Wang Guangming—that former dislike turned into raw, burning hatred.

She truly couldn’t understand how someone could have such a dark heart.

What had Lin Hui been through to make her so twisted, to the point where she would rather throw herself at a filthy old man nearly old enough to be her father, just to commit such vicious acts?!

“You only know Lin Hui married Liu Chang, but you didn’t know Liu Chang already had a son, did you?”

Seeing Yin Xiaoman fall silent, Cui Yan leaned in with a face full of mystery.

Maybe it was because she had finally gotten to something that truly lifted her mood—her expression even regained a bit of its old energy.

“No, I didn’t know. How would I? Other than once sharing a train ride, and that argument we had at the doorstep, I don’t know anything about that man.”

“Hah, don’t say just you—none of us knew him well! It was only when they submitted their marriage application, and the regiment started its background check, that we found out: Liu Chang not only had a twelve-year-old son, he had also been divorced before!”

“Divorced?!” This time, Yin Xiaoman was truly shocked.

Because in her previous life(Ancient Times), divorce was extremely rare. At least in her circles, she had never seen it happen.

“Exactly!”

Cui Yan clicked her tongue. “That Liu Chang really is a piece of work. I heard he originally came from the countryside. It was only because he got into school that he managed to leave the village.”

After graduating, Liu Chang stayed in the city to work. Not long after settling down, he divorced his wife from the countryside, citing “irreconcilable marital issues”—and that was even after their son had already been born.

Wasn’t this just like the classic traitor type straight out of old drama scripts? The kind who climbed the social ladder and forgot all about the people who helped them along the way.

Thinking back on the impression Liu Chang had given her, Yin Xiaoman felt this was exactly the kind of thing he’d do. So she wasn’t even surprised.

“And then?” she asked.

“Then everyone just couldn’t figure out what Lin Hui was after! Whatever it was, she still married him. But as soon as they were under the same roof, it turned into absolute chaos. That boy didn’t respect Lin Hui at all—they were either shouting or fighting every single day.

No matter how capable Lin Hui was, that kid was already twelve. Practically a young man! Word is, he beat her so badly a few times her face was swollen and she couldn’t even walk properly!”

As she said this, a deeply satisfied expression spread across Cui Yan’s face.

Then she continued: “And that’s not even the best part! You won’t believe what happened next!”

“That’s not the best part?!” Yin Xiaoman was stunned.

“Exactly!”

Cui Yan got so excited, she grabbed Yin Xiaoman’s arm. “I’m telling you, what happened after that—if we hadn’t seen it with our own eyes—no one would believe it! You couldn’t even write this kind of stuff in a play. If you did, people would say it was totally made-up nonsense!

Liu Chang had once looked down on his rural wife, right? Thought she was holding him back—and even snatched his son away from her. But guess what? That woman’s older brother turned out to be someone with real influence. He ended up becoming the head of the Provincial Revolutionary Committee! And the very first thing he did after taking office? He settled the score for his little sister.

As for Liu Chang—he was way too good at scheming. If he had just stayed at the Research Institute, maybe things wouldn’t have gone so badly. But no, he went and squeezed his way into the Revolutionary Committee here in their own county—the same system as the woman’s brother! But who was he compared to someone in such a high-ranking position?”

“So what happened then?” Yin Xiaoman was completely hooked now. Her back straightened, eyes bright with anticipation.

She suddenly felt like this one conversation was enough to fill her joy quota for the entire month.

It was just too satisfying to hear!

“Then, not long after the wedding, an official investigation request arrived. It claimed that Liu Chang’s class background was forged. They said his father used to run a private school back in the village—maybe not a full-on landlord, but at the very least, a middle peasant. But all his personnel records listed him as a ‘poor peasant.’”

“What? You can even change that kind of thing?!” Yin Xiaoman was stunned. “How did he have the guts? Did he really think he could keep that under wraps?”

“He wasn’t dumb!” Cui Yan sneered with disdain. “He probably knew his background would catch up with him sooner or later. That’s why he pulled every string to get into the Revolutionary Committee. He thought that once he was inside the system, no one would dare dig too deep.”

“And in the end, it backfired.” Yin Xiaoman added with a grin.