In the next two days, most of the time was spent running around due to the incident with my brother a few days ago. Wu Ming was removed from his position for abusing power. Captain Zhang was transferred to a labor camp in their province.
According to Han Yi, Captain Zhang lost an arm. Lin Wan didnât know how it happened, but anyway, that night Ai Yi and Brother came back very late.
As for that Mr. Xu who initially caused trouble at their store and his nephew, well, they are no longer seen at the Industrial and Commercial Bureau.
Xiao Gu, after recuperating for more than half a month, has almost fully recovered. Mom asked him to rest for a few more days, but he couldnât sit still and returned to work the day after discharge.
Their store reopened, and the night market business is even more booming than before.
Aunt Jin and Zhang Shuhuaâs store also officially opened. On the opening day, Uncle Hu and Dad went to cut the ribbon for them.
"How is it, my bread isnât bad, right?"
Zhang Shuhua looked at Lin Wanâs family of three, especially Little Star, whose small hands were tightly grasping a large loaf of bread they were eagerly munching on.
Before Lin Wan and Han Yi could answer, Little Star nodded emphatically, "Pa Pa."
This made everyone laugh heartily, as now Little Star would only say those two words to anyone and in any situation.
"Little Star is still the best," Zhang Shuhua teased her a couple of times.
"Shuhua, you can make quite a few varieties. The taste is quite good."
"To bake with this flavor, Aunt Jin, Uncle Jin, and I experimented for several days. Every day we had to deal with that clay oven; it was really hard to control the fire at first. Luckily, we gradually got the hang of it."
"This thing is not like a machine where you can control it easily. You must harmonize well with it."
"Indeed, but recently itâs been hot, so I havenât made much. Iâm pricing a large loaf of bread at one yuan. Today itâs half price, fifty or sixty cents for one. In a week, Iâll return it to the original price. By then, who knows if the business will be good or not."
"Take it step by step, the amount made today will sell out anyway, itâs not that little," Lin Wan looked at the bread displayed in front of Zhang Shuhua, estimating about four or five types, possibly dozens in total.
"Today, though, Aunt Jinâs business is great; wife cakes, mung bean cakes, red bean cakes â I used my plan with Uncle Jin and Aunt Jin. They went half-price as well."
Uncle Jinâs pastries werenât expensive to begin with, and with the half-price offer, many came for the cheaper prices.
Normally six or eight cents, now you could buy a pound for three or four cents. For half a day, neither Uncle Jin nor Aunt Jin could rest, but now Xiao Gu is over there helping. They can manage it.
To insulate the clay oven, Lin Wan made it with two layers. Looking at the outer layer, it seems thick, but inside thereâs another layer, which is the actual oven.
Although itâs somewhat hot in summer, itâs still bearable. There are two ceiling fans newly popular this year on the roomâs ceiling.
In the guest area, there are also two floor fans blowing continuously.
Seeing how well Aunt Jin, Uncle Jin, and Shuhuaâs store is doing, and as there was no conflict between them, Lin Wan was happy for them too.
Brother has now returned to work at his original unit. The incidents at Ye Qingâs unit are well-known among their leaders, who also knew about Lin Yinghuiâs grievances in the statistical department. The unit leaders expressed their sympathies and told him to work hard. They assured him that such incidents wouldnât occur again in the future.
The issues on Brotherâs side seemed resolved. But on Saoziâs side, things were troublesome these past two days.
After being educated, Mu Guomin and Li Suolan found out Lin Guozhiâs current address through Mu Qingâs eldest uncle. They brought gifts every day to apologize, insisting on recognizing them as in-laws.
They spoke about how the two kids were already married and about discussing plans for their wedding.
After recognizing Li Suolan, Liang Hongmei had an argument with her in their courtyard. If it werenât for worrying about her daughter-in-law being put in a difficult position, she would have ripped Li Suolan apart long ago.
Lin Guozhi couldnât stay outside for long; he had to return to the army. Lin Guozhiâs idea was to keep them at bay for a while. The two kids were married; even if they didnât interact with the Mu Family, it wouldnât work, as after all, the daughter-in-law is their daughter â thatâs an undeniable fact.
"Mom, youâre now part of the military family. Tomorrow youâll join Dad at the department. So are you nervous?" thought Lin Wan as she remembered every time Mom went to the department, she would always nag incessantly, and now it seemed as if it were her turn.
"Kids this grown and youâre still teasing your mom, like a child. Donât worry, as long as I follow my husband to the department household, thereâs nothing to be nervous about. Without me at home, nobody will cook for you guys in the future."
"Donât worry, thereâs nothing to worry about for our family. My brother has my sister-in-law now. You and Dad enjoy your coupleâs world more. No need to worry about us."
Lin Wanâs words caused Lin Guozhi and his wife to smile wryly. Lin Guozhi didnât expect that his daughter was such a clever one; she was never this mischievous as a child.
"Xiao Yi has recovered almost completely, so why not come with us to the department? That way, Little Star can come with us too; your mom wonât feel lonely over there," Lin Guozhi, who had been at home these days, was practically holding Little Star, his little granddaughter, every day.
Itâs often said that grandparents love their grandchildren more, as if they aim to compensate Little Star with the love they didnât give to their own children before.
Dadâs doting almost made Han Yi and me unable to bear it. Little Star would deliberately tug on his ear, and not only would he not get angry, he wouldnât even scold her when she intentionally peed on him.
Thankfully there is Mom; Mom doesnât spoil the child. Otherwise, if both did, we wouldnât dare leave the child under Grandpa and Grandmaâs care. "Dad, Xiao Yi is now attending military school. During this period, heâs on break, and we havenât returned home for half a year; it must have gathered a lot of dust. So we wonât go. Moreover, Han Yi has to go to the military district hospital for check-ups every week. Itâs too troublesome to go."
"Dad, Mom, donât let Lin Wan go. If they go to the military district, then Iâll be left alone at home?"
"Exactly, Brother Ah Zhi just left, and soon Saozi should return to the department. Brother will become a solitary person again."
"Donât forget, you are also a military family member now. Alas, itâs a pity, I donât yet have the qualifications to follow the military," Mu Qing remarked on the side, rolling her eyes at Lin Yinghui, teasing him.
This made Lin Yinghui let out a helpless chuckle.
"You all stay at home then. With Dad and I leaving these days, Li Suolan wonât bother you anymore. They donât know Lin Wanâs place. They also donât know about your little courtyard. In a few days, when they see no one, they should head back. Qingqing, donât let what we did with regard to your parents upset you too much. Itâs just that your mom went too far."
"Mom, Iâve already made myself clear to them: we have nothing to do with each other from now on. From now on, Iâm just the daughter-in-law of the Lin Family, and have nothing to do with the Mu Family. Do whatever you think is right, donât worry about my feelings," Mu Qing was so disappointed in her parents that she was completely exhausted by it all.
"Silly child, you canât just cut off with your biological parents like that. Letâs take a breather on this issue. As for the wedding, when you take your next vacation, letâs hold a proper one here. You and the young couple should discuss it, too."
"Mom, we understand," Lin Yinghui took Mu Qingâs hand silently soothing her.
Liang Hongmei followed Lin Guozhi to the armyâs residential courtyard. After ten years, her motherâs happiness had finally come.
Yesterday, even godfather called, saying Dad got lucky to marry a woman like Mom.
Dad said he wandered around like he was dreaming, only to come back to find his wife had raised the kids to be exceptional. And wife waited for him all those years.
"Old Lin, this time you really owe me. If it werenât for me, even a moment later, who knows if your own son wouldâve been able to meet him. And you said Langchi was involved in this, or was it because of that Han Yi kid; Iâm confused. What exactly is going on?"
"Old Mei, itâd be best for you to ask your elder brother. He can give you the answer."
When Dad learned the ins and outs of this, and about Han Yiâs background, he was shocked. He hadnât expected his son-in-law to have such a compelling story; it was even more tumultuous than his own.
He had met that Mei Shuping before, during his contacts with him, he didnât seem to be the kind of person capable of doing such things.
Maybe it was because of the limited interactions, but nevertheless, during his youth, he behaved quite irresponsibly, doing things unbefitting of a man, especially when he was in the army.
Han Yiâs mom was the same; if she had been braver back then and reported Mei Shuping directly to the military district, there probably wouldnât be a person named Mei Shuping in the department anymore.
Really, sometimes, things donât proceed as smoothly as imagined!