Reborn in the 70s: Pampered by Regiment Commander
Chapter 84 - 78: Reunion

Chapter 84: Chapter 78: Reunion

"With Eldest maternal aunt and Qiyan testifying, Xue Ligang wouldn’t dare act?" Heaving a deep sigh, Zhao Yulan wiped the corner of her eye, "Your uncle-in-law is just too stubborn. Despite Qiang Junjie sending him a warning, not only did he not flee, but he went to confront Xue Ligang, insisting he couldn’t let Xue Ligang pin false charges on him. Now look what’s happened, your aunt is really going to be serving him chamber pots every day..."

It was a very saddening matter, but Zhao Yulan put it in such a way that it seemed almost humorous. Chuxia tried to hold back her laughter and consoled her, "Mom, uncle-in-law won’t suffer this injustice in vain."

"Hmm, according to Chief Zeng, they will definitely restore his justice..." Zhao Yulan frowned, "How could Eldest maternal aunt do such a cruel thing? Does she even consider herself a part of Old Zhao’s House?"

"If aunt didn’t do it, then Eldest maternal aunt must have been instructed by someone. Actually..." Chuxia paused, "we could roughly guess who did it. Mom, don’t worry, Xue Ligang definitely won’t get away with it this time."

Lin Baohe chimed in, "Chuxia is right, this is the Party’s world, how could they allow someone who doesn’t distinguish right from wrong, to always be above the law?"

Zhao Yulan sighed repeatedly but said nothing.

"Mom..." Chuxia put the chopsticks in her hand, "Eat a little, even if it’s for my sake, Mom, you can’t neglect your own health."

Zhao Yulan nodded, "Mom will eat, Chuxia you eat, too."

The family ate in silence. Chuxia swiftly gathered the dishes and chopsticks. Just as she was about to wash them, Zhao Yulan pulled her aside, "Go keep your dad company."

"Mom, I’m not going to smash the bowls." Chuxia quickly said.

"Go talk to your dad," Zhao Yulan insisted. The remaining bowls were just enough for one per person. If another were smashed, they would have to eat with their hands.

Chuxia stuck her tongue out secretly. When had she ever done housework? As a result, after washing dishes three times, she smashed four bowls. No wonder Zhao Yulan would dare to let her do this chore.

...

Songshui County Hospital.

Looking at Zhang Guojun, who was restrained on the bed, Zhou Hanliang’s face was terrifyingly grim. Zeng Meili and Zhao Guoliang standing behind him were too frightened to even breathe heavily.

"Chief, you must seek justice for our Guojun. Regardless of whether we did it or not, there should be an investigation process. How could they just start beating him to death like that?..." Zhao Yucui sat beside the bed, crying as she pleaded.

"You..." Zhou Hanliang turned and glared at Zeng Meili, but the words that followed shrank back. This incident really couldn’t be blamed on Zeng Meili; she was only there for conscription, who would have thought she’d run into such a disgusting event?

Moreover, Zeng Meili was just a mid-level health official at the military area health department. Investigating and handling cases were not her forte. As for Zhao Guoliang, he was merely a Squad Leader with no experience in these matters.

These two had the misfortune of encountering Lin Xiaohua and Zhao Qiyan...

No matter whether Zhang Guojun did it or not, they should not have beaten someone like this. What kind of era was this, still using torture to extract confessions? Moreover, that was clearly a deadly assault.

Two broken ribs, a contusion and laceration of the spleen, wasn’t this a way of inflicting lethal damage?

"Qiliang, you stay and watch here." Zhou Hanliang reassured Zhao Yucui briefly and then left the hospital with Wang Lei and Zeng Meili, who had come with him.

"Auntie, go lie down for a while. I’ll keep an eye on things here." Since transferring hospitals last night, Zhao Yucui had not slept a wink. Zhao Qiliang, worried she would wear herself out, urged her to rest.

"It’s okay, I want to be here for your uncle. He’ll be anxious if he wakes and can’t see me..." Zhao Yucui sniffled, "Qiliang, Xiaoqing doesn’t know about your uncle’s situation yet, could you go and fetch him? Just in case..."

Zhao Qiliang cut her off, "Auntie, there’s no just in case. Haven’t the doctors said that uncle doesn’t have any life-threatening injuries? He’s not in any danger."

"I’m just worried..."

"Auntie, you’re too tired. Go rest, quickly," Zhao Qiliang pushed Zhao Yucui, "Lack of sleep leads to irrational thoughts. Didn’t your younger sister and her husband say yesterday that they would bring Xiaoqing over first thing today? Maybe by the time you wake up from your nap, they will have arrived, and uncle might be awake too."

"But I don’t want to..." Zhao Yucui suddenly stiffened. Zhao Qiliang looked up to see a man in his mid-forties, fair-complexioned, wearing black-framed glasses and accompanied by two middle-aged men and a woman, standing at the door with a faint, trademark fake smile.

"I came to see how Comrade Guojun is doing." The man smiled at Zhao Yucui and began to step inside.

"Who are you?" Zhao Qiliang asked, puzzled.

The middle-aged man following closely behind explained quickly, "This is Comrade Jiang Yuesheng, the County Party Secretary of Songshui County."

Seeing her former dream lover after more than twenty years left Zhao Yucui stunned silent on the spot. She recognized the man in an instant, but judging by his expression, he no longer seemed to recognize her.

Zhao Yucui stood there woodenly, listening as Jiang Yuesheng asked the doctor some perfunctory questions. "Auntie..." Gently tugged by Zhao Guoliang, Zhao Yucui snapped back to reality, only to find Jiang Yuesheng smiling kindly at her.

"Comrade Yucui, you have worked hard."

"Jiang Yuesheng, it’s been twenty years, do you still recognize me?" Zhao Yucui couldn’t control herself and blurted out what she was thinking.

Staring at Zhao Yucui and furrowing his brows in thought for a while, Jiang Yuesheng’s face showed confusion, "You are?"

"Zhao Yucui."

Jiang Yuesheng was still completely baffled.

"Zhao Yulan’s sister."

"Oh, oh, oh..." Jiang Yuesheng’s voice grew slightly warmer, "So it’s you. Haven’t seen you in so many years, I didn’t recognize you, hehe, I didn’t expect you to be Comrade National Army’s wife. Comrade National Army is a good comrade, I believe, he certainly wouldn’t do such a thing, Comrade Yucui doesn’t have to worry..."

A string of official talk and a face plastered with a fake smile, Jiang Yuesheng was bobbing in front of Zhao Yucui’s eyes. Suddenly, she felt the irony. She had hated her younger sister for twenty years, all because of a man who couldn’t even remember her.

What a joke!

It turned out that she had been deceiving herself all along. Whether her sister was around or not, Jiang Yuesheng would never have liked her. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have failed to recognize her upon hearing her name.

She was truly a fool!

When her parents told her that in the past, she never believed them. She always thought her parents were biased towards her little sister, deliberately speaking in her favor, but in reality, she was the one who had been living in her delusions.

Seeing Zhao Yucui in a daze, Jiang Yuesheng’s eyes flickered slightly. He wasn’t completely without an impression of this woman, but how could he, the county party secretary, admit to knowing her in front of all these people?

If it weren’t for Zhao Yulan’s trip to the county, where she had mentioned her name and got beaten by his wife Che Xiaoli, causing an uproar, he wouldn’t have admitted to knowing Zhao Yulan just now.

However, over the years, the once inconspicuous Zhao Yucui had become more attractive than Zhao Yulan. Her figure, her demeanor... He wasn’t a man who had never seen women, but a woman who had been ardently devoted to him for twenty years was something to feel somewhat smug about inside.

"Comrade Yucui, if you have any difficulties, just come to me in the county. When I was sent to the countryside back in the day, you all helped me a lot. Now, it’s time for me to repay you." Jiang Yuesheng spoke and handed Zhao Yucui a slip of paper.

Feeling a finger poke in the palm of her hand, Zhao Yucui’s face flushed. She lowered her head to hide it, humming in agreement twice, then fell silent—her heart, which had been calm, was in disorder again!

"Aunt, is he the one who caused the discord between you and your younger sister?" After sending Jiang Yuesheng away, Zhao Qiliang couldn’t help but ask.

"Mhm." Zhao Yucui nodded, her heart suddenly calming down. Yes, this was the man who had caused the rift between her and her sister. But now, twenty years later, whether he remembered her or not, he still didn’t dare admit to knowing her and the shameful acts he committed in secret were enough to prove that he wasn’t a decent man.

What a joke that she, at her age, was still so agitated by him. Perhaps, this is the unforgettable nature of first love, or is it that the unattainable is always the most desired?

It was just past eleven in the morning when Lin Baohe and Zhao Yulan arrived at the Songshui County Hospital with Lin Chuxia and Zhang Xiaoqing.

Seeing his old man injured like that, Zhang Xiaoqing’s eyes were red as he clenched his fists tightly, "Xue Ligang, I fuck your grandmother!"

"Xiaoqing!" Zhao Yucui shouted in reproach, then pulled her son into a tight hug, burying her head in his neck and started sobbing softly.

While everyone was distracted, Zhao Qiliang tugged at Chuxia’s sleeve.

"Big brother, what’s up?" Chuxia asked, puzzled, as she followed him outside. Her emotions were still in turmoil; although she had been told by her parents how seriously her second uncle was injured, seeing it with her own eyes was still hard to accept.

"Did you let your grandparents know?"

"No!" Chuxia shook her head, "Otherwise, how could it just be us coming? I was worried it would trouble Grandma and Grandpa too much. I didn’t even dare to inform my eldest uncle and aunt. But I reckon it won’t take long for the news to spread."

Zhao Qiliang sighed, "If we wait a few more days for your second uncle to be up and about, it won’t matter, but if they come now and see him like this, I’m afraid they won’t be able to take it. By the way..."

"Big brother, just say it." Seeing Zhao Qiliang hesitating and looking as if he had more to say but was holding back, Chuxia prompted him.

"You know why your second aunt and your aunt don’t get along, right?" Zhao Qiliang asked tentatively.

"I know." Chuxia nodded.

"He just came by..." Zhao Qiliang went on to explain the whole incident of Jiang Yuesheng’s visit in detail to Chuxia, "... I’m worried that if he comes again and your aunt runs into him, Chuxia, later on, ask your aunt and your uncle to take you home."

"Okay." Chuxia agreed with a nod. To avoid seeing that disgusting man and prevent stirring up her mother’s painful memories, she had no problem playing the role of an oblivious child.

After all, she had never been a considerate child. It was only because Zhao Yulan and Lin Baohe were so good to her that she forced herself to be considerate.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yucui’s attitude towards Zhao Yulan had indeed changed compared to before. It was obvious that her newfound closeness to her sister came from the heart, not like yesterday, when it was borne out of necessity.

(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)