It was just a pair of underwear. Even if it had Hu Xiaoi's na on it, as long as she didn't admit it, how could Chen ilan force her to acknowledge it was hers?
Besides, even if Chen ilan could make Hu Xiaoi admit it was her underwear, what difference would it make? Hu Xiaoi's reputation was already in tatters.
Yan Zhao was about to say sothing when Zhaodi suddenly asked, "Mama, what are you talking about that's so funny?"
These were children who, though they had hos, rarely heard laughter there.
Their parents' mood was a catalyst for their friendship. She had only smiled briefly, but the three little ones had already joined hands.
Little Lang was a foodie and had already slled it: "I know, it's at!"
The children had eaten their fill of lon, and since Chen ilan was going to make noodles that evening, she fried so small crispy pork for them.
It was simple to make, but Zhaodi especially loved it. In her previous life, whenever she went out for hotpot, she always ordered it.
When the crispy pork was served, Chen ilan deliberately gave the first piece to the most awkward child, Little Wang, then a piece to Little Lang, and then made a point of giving one to Yan Zhao. The last piece, which was the largest and crispiest, went to Zhaodi.
"Mama, will you smile like this every day from now on?" Zhaodi asked, picking at the noodles in her bowl.
Chen ilan nodded seriously, "Not just Mama, but Zhaodi, Little Wang, and Little Lang should all smile every day from now on, okay?"
The image of Yan Zhao holding red underwear in one hand and a green hat in the other kept flashing in her mind, but fearing he might get angry, she had to find an excuse to smile.
The children were infected by the mood and burst into laughter.
Only Yan Zhao was left with an ashen face.
...
After dinner, it was ti for bed.
Today, Little Wang had been inseparable from Little Lang, helping him bathe, change clothes, and smoothly tucking them into their kang bed.
But next door, Zhaodi had just started humming, "On the dam, on that bump... who is that..."
Little Lang imdiately turned over and slipped off the kang, running: "Sister Zhaodi, I'm coming!"
Zhaodi hugged Little Lang and stroked his face: "Little chubby brother, you sll like milk."
Zhaodi's face slled even nicer because she had secretly used her mother's face cream, making her skin smooth and fine.
Chen ilan finished her bath and picked up the plastic bag containing the red underwear from the floor.
This underwear had been lying on her kang for several months now, since Yan Xishan and Hu Xiaoi had rolled around on it. Chen ilan had even thrown away the bedding from that ti.
Only this pair of underwear remained.
She certainly didn't want to touch this dirty thing, but if she wanted to get her money back and see Hu Xiaohua brought to justice, she had to use this underwear.
Of course, she couldn't grab it with her bare hands - that would be unlucky. She put plastic bags on both hands before picking up scissors to fish out the underwear.
Two round little heads huddled together, and Zhaodi exclaid, "Mama, this underwear is actually red, it's so pretty! Is it yours?"
Little Lang, lying next to Zhaodi, peeked his head over and surprisingly said, "This is... Pierre Cardin."
It was indeed a pair of Pierre Cardin underwear. In Xiping City, there was even a Pierre Cardin counter in the state-owned departnt store. However, the items were jaw-droppingly expensive - a suit cost six or seven hundred yuan, a belt two or three hundred. Don't be fooled by how small this underwear is; one pair cost no less than 50 yuan.
In an era when the average monthly salary was 300 yuan, most people couldn't afford it. They gave it a nickna: "Pierre Carbutt."
"How do you know it's called Pierre Carbutt?" Chen ilan was cutting the label off the underwear and found Little Lang quite interesting.
Little Lang rested his head on the pillow: "My mommy has so too, soone gave them to her."
Could it be that Yan Zhao had given Zhou Xueqin Pierre Cardin underwear, and the child rembered?
Who would have thought? The man whose ears turned red just from talking to her had once been so romantic.
But just then, there was a sudden cough from outside.
It was Yan Zhao coughing.
Chen ilan quickly said, "We shouldn't say such things casually. From now on, let's not ntion underwear anymore, okay?"
Two innocent little mouths asked in unison, "Why not?"
"Because underwear is a person's most private thing, and talking about it will make others laugh at you." Chen ilan patted Little Lang's soft, chubby little white bottom. "Now let's go to sleep."
This little one had no underwear and was going commando. She'd have to buy him a pair another day.
As she turned off the light, she heard heavy footsteps outside. Yan Zhao had left.
anwhile, in the next room, as soon as Yan Zhao entered, he imdiately poured himself half a basin of water, took out so soap, and started washing his hands. Feeling it wasn't enough after one wash, he washed again, and again, several tis, before finally shaking his hands and getting into bed.
"Dad, I think Auntie Chen is not bad. She doesn't seem to hit people," Little Wang said sincerely.
"Call her Mom," Yan Zhao said in a low voice.
"I don't want to. At most, I'll call her stepmother..." Little Wang's voice suddenly trailed off because from next door ca Zhaodi's soft singing: "In this world, only mothers are good. Children with mothers are like treasures..."
"Sing more, sing more, I want to hear more," ca Little Lang's sweet voice.
"Dad, why don't you sing a song for too?" Little Wang turned back, feeling dejected with tears in his eyes.
Yan Zhao raised his hand. Little Wang thought he was going to keep the beat for singing and looked at him expectantly.
With a click, he turned off the light.
In the darkness, father and son silently listened to the rrint next door, staring at each other.
Little Wang had just moved, wanting to turn over, when Yan Zhao imdiately asked solicitously, "Do you want to get up and do so push-ups? I'll do them with you."
"Snore, snore, I'm already fast asleep," Little Wang said, though his eyes were brimming with hot tears and he felt like crying.
But he was sleeping very soundly, already snoring.
...
Early the next morning, Zhaodi half-opened her eyes in her sleep and touched her face: "Mama, your skin is so white and soft."
In her previous life, Zhaodi had left ho after finishing primary school, insisting on living in a boarding school. Every ti she ca back, she would say most often: "Mom, why have you aged again?"
Having personally raised a female pop star and a business tycoon, of course she had aged.
Just for Zhaodi's comnt about her white skin, Chen ilan took out that brand new white dress and put it on herself.
Yu Xi costics were indeed good. When she was in the countryside, her face had been burned by the sun, but after applying them for just a few days, her skin tone had already beco much fairer.
As she bent over to wash her face and brush her teeth at the faucet, Yan Zhao also got up.
It seed that soldiers never got fat, and their physiques were always particularly graceful, with long lines and full of strength.
Chen ilan, having lived two lifetis, was an old auntie now and should have been without desires.
But she couldn't help but keep glancing at Yan Zhao's physique, her heart racing.
After finishing his ablutions, Yan Zhao put on his green-flashing peaked cap and spoke in a tone as if instructing his subordinates: "I have to go on a business trip today and probably won't be back until tomorrow night. Hu Xiaohua has a 48-hour detention period. I'll interrogate him when I get back. Don't act impulsively, understand?"
Chen ilan smiled, "Be careful on the road."
She wanted to say, when you co back, you'll probably see Hu Xiaoi and Yan Xishan crying and kneeling at our door, begging to spare them.
Hopefully, it won't shock your eyeballs off.
Of course, Yan Zhao's thod was the normal procedure. After all, the police weren't thugs. Hu Xiaohua could secretly hit people with bricks from behind, hitting whoever he wanted, but the police couldn't forcibly press people's heads down. They had to act according to the law and evidence.
What she wanted was to make Hu Xiaohua suffer the consequences of his actions and be brought to justice, to rot in jail.
For this, she didn't mind using any unconventional ans.
Holding the elastic band cut from the underwear, which still had the Pierre Cardin label on it, Chen ilan put it in an envelope and headed out, going straight to the post office.
...
Another day passed in the blink of an eye.
Today, the Dongfang Group's grand hall was showing "Red Sorghum."
People never tired of seeing Shen Baopeng's bare upper body and Gong Li's little belly band.
They also never tired of hearing the song "Sister, Be Brave and March On."
The tickets had all been bought, but Qi Dongi and Hu Xiaoi didn't go to watch. They were cornering Yan Xishan, currently discussing how to resolve the Hu Xiaohua incident.
Hu Xiaoi's reputation was already in tatters. The leaders at the city education bureau wouldn't even accept Yan Xishan's gifts and wanted to directly expel Hu Xiaoi from the education system.
Hu Xiaohua had also been locked up for stealing money, so of course they had to agree on a story to get him out.
It was truly a case of when it rains, it pours. Qi Dongi had cried until she had no more tears.
Fortunately, Yan Xishan agreed to coordinate their testimonies to get Hu Xiaohua out, so at least he wouldn't go to prison.
Five thousand yuan! That would an at least three months in a labor camp. With all the people Hu Xiaohua had offended, he'd likely be beaten to death in there.
Just then, Hu Xiaoi's stepfather Fan Xiang returned ho, looking displeased as he entered.
Yan Xishan's coal mine was entirely obtained through Fan Xiang's connections. These past few days, the rumors about Hu Xiaoi had been spreading like wildfire. Qi Dongi didn't dare to even breathe loudly in front of her husband.
Hu Xiaoi also stood up nervously, "Uncle Fan, shall I pour you so tea?"
With a loud thud, Fan Xiang threw sothing into Qi Dongi's lap. "This is utterly embarrassing. How did the elastic from Xiaoi's underwear end up being mailed to by Yan Xishan's ex-wife? And sent to my office, no less."
It was mortifying. Fan Xiang had opened the letter in his office, with others present. Inside was a strip of elastic from won's underwear, bearing a Pierre Cardin label - clearly from a woman's branded undergarnt.
What would those who saw it say?
The elastic from Hu Xiaoi's underwear?
Sent directly to her stepfather's office by Chen ilan?
Yan Xishan nearly jumped up, but Hu Xiaoi grabbed the elastic and imdiately said, "Dad, Chen ilan is slandering . How can a simple strip of elastic prove it's from my underwear?"
Yan Xishan sat back down.
He rembered now. Once when Chen ilan had gone back to her parents' ho, Hu Xiaoi had insisted on trying out what it felt like to do it on his kang bed. They ended up being caught by Chen Jianjun, and Hu Xiaoi had fled bare-bottod.
But he couldn't reveal that. How could a strip of elastic prove the underwear was Hu Xiaoi's?
Of course, he had to side with Hu Xiaoi: "Dad, things have gotten a bit heated between and Xiaoi lately. You're a man, you must understand. My ex-wife is a jealous type. She didn't know about this when we divorced, so she's bitter. She's deliberately trying to embarrass us. I'll buy you two bottles of good liquor tomorrow to drink with you and calm you down. Don't take her seriously."
Fan Xiang had to give face to Yan Xishan. After all, they were partners. Coal was black gold, bringing in endless money. The annual "gifts" Yan Xishan gave him were substantial.
Since Yan Xishan was adamantly saying Chen ilan was causing trouble on purpose, Fan Xiang believed him.
This matter didn't really concern him much anyway.
He tossed the letter to Yan Xishan, saying, "Here's the letter. Read it yourself and handle the situation."
As Yan Xishan took the letter, he was thinking it was just about a pair of underwear. How ridiculous. What could she do with that? Chen ilan must be upset and trying to make a scene.
But after just glancing at the letter for two seconds, his hands began to shake.
He pulled Hu Xiaoi up and headed out the door, straight to his own ho.
But as soon as they entered his house, Yan Xishan suddenly turned and slapped Hu Xiaoi hard across the face.
The stinging pain made Hu Xiaoi imdiately cover her cheek. "Brother Shan, what are you doing?"
What was he doing?
In the letter, Chen ilan had written: The label was cut off, but she still had the underwear. A red, slutty pair of panties with Yan Xishan's sen stains and Hu Xiaoi's vaginal discharge on it. If Yan Xishan didn't co get it himself, she'd throw it into the coal mine in the western suburbs.
Holding the letter with trembling hands like he had Parkinson's, Yan Xishan was dumbfounded. How did Chen ilan co up with this?
The coal mine was off-limits to won. And red underwear was considered an evil on.
It was already considered unlucky if a woman went near the mine entrance. They had to make offerings to the earth god and mountain god every ti they opened a new shaft. n especially couldn't bring anything related to won down into the mine. If Chen ilan really threw those slutty red panties in there, his mine could cave in, flood, or worse - people could die.
This wasn't just superstition. It was every coal boss's worst nightmare.
Just a slap?
Yan Xishan felt like killing Hu Xiaoi.
She had really been asking for trouble back then. They had plenty of houses, but she just had to tease him in Yanguan Village, saying she wanted to try what it felt like to do it on his kang bed. They got caught in the act by Chen Jianjun, and she ran off without even her underwear. It had been so long ago that she'd forgotten all about it herself.
Yan Xishan violently threw the elastic at Hu Xiaoi's head and pointed at her nose: "You go get those slutty panties yourself. If you can't get them back, I'll beat you to death! I don't care if Hu Xiaohua goes to jail or not anymore."
"Wasn't it you who insisted on doing it that way back then? Did I ever force you? Why do I get blad for everything?" Hu Xiaoi cried.
Yan Xishan was so angry he lost all composure: "Because you're a slut, because your pants co off too easily, because you're just a whore."
Hu Xiaoi wailed loudly: "Yan Xishan, if you dare hit again, don't expect my uncle Fan to help you anymore."
Yan Xishan let out a cold laugh: "I've grown my own wings long ago. Fan Xiang is nothing. As long as I'm willing to spend money, even his son will be my dog!"
Why did he suck up to Fan Xiang? Besides Dongfang Group's business, Fan Xiang's son was also a big shot in the public security bureau. But setting aside family ties, money could still keep their relationship rock solid.
"Yan Xishan, you shaless bastard! You ungrateful swine!" Hu Xiaoi shrieked.
Still want to forge fake evidence for Hu Xiaohua?
This pair of adulterers was about to turn on each other.
...
anwhile, Yan Zhao had just gotten off the train.
A Volkswagen Santana was waiting outside the station. Little Liu, the driver from the bureau, was there to pick up Yan Zhao.
Yan Zhao had just returned from the capital, where he attended a special eting on the crackdown and rectification campaign.
In his left hand was a large paper box with red and white stripes. He was also carrying a large bottle of so dark liquid.
Little Liu hurried over to take the bottle, and reached for the box too: "Here, Captain Yan, let carry that."
Yan Zhao handed the bottle to Little Liu but put the box in the car himself. "I'm going to make a call from the payphone, then we'll head straight to my place." This ant he wouldn't be going to the bureau.
Little Liu looked at the bottle, which said "Coca-Cola" on it. He'd seen Coke ads before, always showing small glass bottles. He'd never seen this kind of large plastic bottle before. It had a red plastic cap that seed like it could be twisted off by hand, unlike the tal caps on other bottles.
He thought, I'll just twist it open to take a look and sll it, without drinking any. No one should notice, right?
But with a pop, as soon as he opened it, the cola inside instantly turned to foam and ca gushing out.
The stuff just kept bubbling up more and more, spilling all over the ground. What a waste - this was Coca-Cola! Even a small bottle cost 40 cents.
Little Liu's mind went blank, and he put his mouth to the bottle. Glug glug glug, the bubbles rushed into his mouth and sprayed out his nose.
Fortunately, the cola stopped foaming. Little Liu finally breathed a sigh of relief. But sothing felt off behind him. He turned around to see Yan Zhao standing not far away, hands behind his back, eyes dark as water, watching him.
"Let's go," said Yan Zhao.
He was in a hurry to get ho, of course because of Hu Xiaohua's situation.
By rights, he should be the one interrogating Hu Xiaohua at the police station. But he had a feeling Chen ilan was going to cause so trouble with those panties today.
He wasn't afraid of her causing trouble. He was afraid she might suffer for it.
After all, Yan Xishan was surprisingly clever, and Hu Xiaoi was no pushover either.
The whole way, he kept urging Little Liu to drive faster.
Little Liu spent the entire trip thinking about how to explain the cola incident, but the boss's expression was so grim he didn't dare open his mouth.
By the ti they reached the village entrance, he had finally worked up the courage. Just as he was about to speak, Yan Zhao said, "Stop the car."
The boss stared out the window, his expression even darker.
Couldn't he just pay for that bottle of cola?
...
Another car was parked by the roadside - a flashy red Xiali. In this era, it was the most eye-catching splash of red in all of Xiping City. The latest pop music was blaring from inside: "Little sister, boldly walk forward, walk forward, don't look back..."
Yan Xishan, with his big perd hair, was still wearing that water-red shirt. True to his nickna "Little Fei Xiang", he was leaning against the car, his face clouded with worry, puffing away on a cigarette.
Hu Xiaoi, in a loud floral blouse and high-waisted skirt, her perd hair coated in a layer of gel, tottered out of the village on high heels, her bottom swaying side to side.
"Did you get your underwear back?" Yan Xishan asked Hu Xiaoi.
Hu Xiaoi held 5000 yuan in one hand and Chen ilan's stocks and so gold jewelry in the other. She dejectedly handed them over to Yan Xishan: "She said she'd only give them to you."
"You really fucked things up." Yan Xishan threw his cigarette butt on the ground.
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