Ling Chengyan skillfully held Little Shi Tou and went outside under the tree to let him pee. Upon returning, she got straight to the point: "I’m here to ask you, back when the river work accident happened, what do you know?"
Wang Liansheng was still processing the news of his wife’s enlistnt when she hit him with another bombshell, leaving him dizzy and confused: "What do you an by saying this?"
Ling Chengyan replied calmly: "I joined the military as an exception because I won a prize in the militia competition. When I was in the county, they intentionally wanted to work in the county militia brigade, but Qian Weidong and Hou Zhengfeng stopped it. Later, it was only because the military district requested that I joined... Anyway, that’s not the main issue. The point is, I got word that soone heard the news before the accident and left the construction site under so pretext, avoiding the collapse incident..."
After Ling Chengyan finished speaking, she noticed that Wang Liansheng’s expression had changed to one of calm, devoid of his previous astonishnt.
His initial surprise at her ntioning the river work was more about her bringing it up, not the possibility of human factors in the accident, suggesting Wang Liansheng knew sothing.
He might not know the details, but at the very least understood that he was frad and wronged.
Considering Wang Liansheng’s position before his trouble, and the information Liu San and Gou’er gathered recently, Ling Chengyan went from guessing to deducing and could basically conclude that the unlucky guy before her was just collateral damage, not the real target.
For instance, that original director Chen Wenxuan who was also brought down.
Wang Liansheng fell quiet, and Ling Chengyan didn’t press him further. Seeing that Little Shi Tou was sleepy, she picked up the child and wandered around the room to lull him to sleep. On her way to the door, she called in Xiao Xing from outside.
Wang Liansheng checked the ti and suddenly said, "It’s about ti for lunch."
He then took the thermos and lunchbox and went out.
After finally soothing Shi Tou to sleep and placing him on the bed, Ling Chengyan began organizing the things she brought. She put the food in the low cabinet drawer and the clothes in the closet.
Once she finished tidying up, Wang Liansheng returned with two portions of food and a pot of hot water.
Ling Chengyan ate a bit simply, but Xiao Xing was overjoyed to see her dad, eagerly eating the boiled vegetables and coarse grain pancakes.
After they ate and tidied up the lunchboxes, Xiao Xing half-leaned against the bed, dozing off. Ling Chengyan lifted her onto the bed to sleep with Little Shi Tou.
Wang Liansheng ca back from washing the lunchboxes to find the children asleep and Ling Chengyan sitting on a stool, as if waiting for him on purpose.
He hesitated for a mont as he walked in, then entered, leaving the door ajar with a fist-sized gap.
Ling Chengyan looked up at him, her eyes calm.
Wang Liansheng felt there was no escape. Summoning his courage, he finally spoke out sothing buried in his heart.
After graduating from teachers’ college, he was assigned to work in the county, where he initially received a lot of praise from Qian Weidong. Unexpectedly, later, Chen Wenxuan was transferred from Qing County to take the director’s position, suppressing Qian Weidong, who only beca the deputy director.
Chen Wenxuan had a tough style and opposed the thods of Qian Weidong, who rose through movents. Their conflict escalated quickly, leading to several shouting matches in etings, where on each occasion, Chen Wenxuan firmly subdued him.
"... I wasn’t sensitive enough back then and never dared to think they’d completely disregard the workers’ lives... Later, upon reflection here, I slowly connected the mistakes, the points I didn’t dare to imagine..."
As he spoke, he turned over the straw mat in the bed, extracting a thick envelope from the mat’s layers and handing it to Ling Chengyan: "Take this and give it to Commissioner Wen at the district. As for the rest, don’t inquire or intervene anymore."
Ling Chengyan squeezed the envelope, slowly curling up one side of her lips, glanced at the man, and said no more.
Once the conversation ended, Ling Chengyan checked the ti on her wristwatch, waking up Xiao Xing, while she tied Little Shi Tou to her front with a basket carrier.
"We have to go now, say goodbye to Daddy!"
Still a bit sleepy, Xiao Xing rubbed her eyes, looking at Wang Liansheng: "Daddy, when can you co ho? We’ve moved to the family compound, and Ah Huang is there too. You haven’t seen our new ho yet!"
Holding his daughter, Wang Liansheng tightly pressed his lips, only speaking after a long pause: "Daddy will be ho soon."
"Daddy, no lying! Let’s pinky swear. A pinky swear that lasts a hundred years without change."
The father and daughter linked hands, making a promise. Only then did Xiao Xing reluctantly tug at Wang Liansheng’s sleeve, walking towards the iron gate where he stopped.
Ling Chengyan called for Xiao Xing, holding her hand: "We’re going ho, say goodbye to Daddy."
"Goodbye, Daddy!" Xiao Xing chirped, waving enthusiastically.
Ling Chengyan led Xiao Xing across the iron gate, leaving Wang Liansheng inside. Xiao Xing abruptly turned red-eyed, looking back at her father inside the gate, saying loudly, "Daddy, co ho soon and no turning into a puppy."
She hoped her father would return ho, not wanting him to break his promise, or else he’d beco a puppy.
As she shouted, tears rolled down her cheeks, gradually dissolving into sobbing bursts, her voice choking in cries.
"Wang Liansheng, it’s work ti." Soone called from inside the gate.
Wang Liansheng responded yet seed rooted, standing on the inside, watching his wife, son, and the tearful daughter he couldn’t lift her head, as a stream of tears also unknowingly flowed down his face.
After returning from the farm, Ling Chengyan resud her usual routine, working her shifts and driving without any slacking, overseeing Ma Dajun’s study of security protocols ticulously...
Everything appeared normal, without the slightest anomaly.
Only Xiao Yu noticed that Ling Chengyan started leaving much earlier, from nightly hunting to post-dinner excursions... Yet, she hadn’t brought back any ga for days, and Xiao Yu didn’t know what she was doing.
Fast forward to the lunar October, the cold truly set in, with thick frosts covering roofs and ground at night.
Eventually, Ling Chengyan placed the letter entrusted by Wang Liansheng into a new envelope, addressed it to Commissioner Wen, and posted it. Along with this, she mailed letters to Director Guo and Battalion Chief Zhang Hanchao of Fucheng County.
Afterwards, Xiao Yu noticed that her sister no longer went out after dinner. The following morning, Xiao Yu found two plump wild rabbits in the kitchen.
Having not tasted rabbit at in days, Xiao Xing was particularly thrilled, thinking of the delicious rabbit dishes during morning classes... she just wondered if their mom was out driving and whether the rabbit would be braised in red sauce or yellow stew?
Xiao Yu’s sister was decent at making other als, but lacked significantly in her at stewing skills.
Liu San ca again, bringing two others with him. One slender man called Gou’er, and a tall, robust fellow nad Da Xiong.
The three entered, respectfully addressing Ling as Sister Yan. Around her, they were all quite reserved and polite.
Before they could settle, Da Xiong couldn’t hold back, bood in a muffled voice: "Sister Yan, I’d like to quit the temporary job!"
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