AYLS – Chapter 116

Instructor Chen didn’t go to work. He went straight to his superior to request leave—he needed to buy train tickets for his parents. While he was there, he also inquired about Sun Qiao’s situation, saying that if there were no further issues, he would take her back as well. Better not leave her here to cause trouble.

Commander Wang looked at him and sighed, telling him not to burden himself too much. He knew Instructor Chen was a good comrade.

Only then did he bring up his family matters. “Have you talked things through with your parents?”

“Reporting, sir—I want to buy the tickets first and then talk to them. This matter isn’t up for discussion. I don’t want to cause trouble for the army.”

Commander Wang nodded. “The New Year is coming anyway. It’s good to let them go home. As for Comrade Sun Qiao, the investigation is complete—she didn’t have any particularly bad intentions. She just wanted to find herself a good partner but ended up choosing wrong for a moment. And originally, the person she set her sights on was you.”

That sentence stunned Instructor Chen so much he almost froze.

“No way… I’m not even that good.”

“Exactly. Which is why, the moment she saw Comrade Zhang Tuo, she immediately changed direction.”

Instructor Chen felt even more guilty toward Zhang Tuo. It felt like he had unintentionally diverted a disaster onto him.

So when he left, he made sure to bring Sun Qiao out as well.

Although Sun Qiao had caused trouble here, she was still a clean, poor commoner who had simply gone astray for a moment. The army gave her ideological education and then released her, but she was no longer allowed to come back.

When Instructor Chen escorted her out, he wished he could stay as far away as possible. He didn’t even want to look at her.

He dropped her off at her own home and immediately left.

As for whatever uproar would happen afterward at her place—that wasn’t his concern.

That afternoon, Instructor Chen returned earlier than usual. After the family finished dinner early, he told his parents to pack their belongings; he planned to send them home in the next couple of days.

Mother Chen was unhappy. “What are you doing? Are you seriously driving us away?”

Li Ermei rolled her eyes. “After such a big incident, the army already told her to get lost. And you still don’t want to leave? Do you want to get arrested?”

Father and Mother Chen actually wanted to go back too—but their goal hadn’t been achieved yet.

Mother Chen immediately started wiping her tears. She said she didn’t want to stay here either, nor did she want to cause trouble for her son. It was just that life back home was really difficult. So many mouths to feed, they could barely keep the pot boiling…

In the past, Instructor Chen would have felt distressed. Even if he had nothing to eat, he would still find a way to send things home. But now—he no longer had that mindset.

When someone who has been stuck in a dead-end suddenly has an epiphany, that change in perspective can be drastic.

He didn’t regret what he had done before. He considered it repayment of gratitude. And from now on, he would no longer feel burdened.

Instructor Chen took out all the remittance receipts he had saved over the years—a thick stack. Luckily, he had always been someone who organized his belongings neatly; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to produce them.

Borrowing an abacus, he calculated each one.

Finally, he arrived at the total. From his university days when he received just a few yuan a month, to his early years in the army earning ten or twenty yuan, to now when his hardship post allowances had increased—he had sent home a total of 1,728 yuan.

What did that mean?

At this time in the countryside, an adult man earned 30 cents a day. That was 9 yuan a month, 108 yuan a year.

And that was only if he could work every day and the harvest was good.

The money Instructor Chen had given to his family was equivalent to a rural man handing over his entire wages—without eating or spending a single cent—for sixteen years. And that didn’t even include the military ration tickets, special supplies, or nutritional supplements he had sent back after becoming an officer.

All of that money was what he and Ermie had saved by tightening their belts, scraping it out bit by bit.

Based on how long the Instructor CChen family had supported Instructor Chen until he was sixteen, it was more than enough. After all, back then he certainly didn’t need even six yuan a month.

Of course, parental love and the cost of raising a child couldn’t be measured with money. The reason he calculated these numbers was to tell his parents that he had already given plenty of money to the family over the years—he wasn’t some unfilial son unwilling to spend. Plenty of families in the village didn’t even have this kind of income, yet they still lived just fine.

Mother Chen and Father Chen felt their hearts pounding from the amount he listed. Li Ermei just felt her heart being carved out.

She had never done the math before; now that she looked at it, it was so much money.

Heavens… so much money… Her heart ached so badly she felt like dying. She was so angry her stomach even felt uncomfortable.

“Dad, Mom, what I owed my brothers these past years—I’ve paid it back. We can’t spend our whole lives repaying debts, right? I’m also your son, and I have my own family now. I can’t live my life without money.”

Mother Chen said, “How can you calculate it like that? Without them, you wouldn’t have gone to school at all.”

Father Chen snorted angrily.

At this moment, Instructor Chen had fully thought things through. “I know. So from now on, if any of my brothers’ kids get into junior high or high school, I’ll pay their tuition and schooling costs. All the way until they graduate.”

Li Ermei had initially felt irritated hearing this, but after thinking about it—those kids at home were so dumb, how could they possibly pass school anyway?—she stopped worrying.

Mother Chen wanted to continue arguing, but Instructor Chen didn’t give her the chance.

He was just that stubborn. Once he got set on something, nothing could change his mind. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have kept sending money home for so many years even while being afraid of Ermie.

“No matter what you say—whether you scold me or blame me—I’ll take it. From now on, ten yuan a month for your living expenses. Think of it as me fulfilling my duty as a son.”

Mother and Father Chen looked as if they had been struck by lightning. This—this was too little.

“Old Third, you’re too heartless.”

Mother Chen wiped her tears.

Instructor Chen felt uncomfortable, but he still held firm. That was just how he was—single-minded. Once he made a decision, it was nearly impossible to change.

If it weren’t for everything that had happened recently, helping him understand and think things through, he might never have been able to change his long-held beliefs.

“If you keep making a scene, keep crying, I still won’t change. I’ve already bought the tickets. Pack your things—two days from now I’ll send you off to catch the bus.”

“I’m not going back! I’m not!” Mother Chen finally dropped all pretense and started acting shameless. She felt like this trip had been completely wasted.

Father Chen’s face was red with anger.

Instructor Chen said, “This is the army, not back home. If Comrade Zhang Tuo hadn’t been generous and let it go, Sun Qiao wouldn’t even have been released.”

Sun Qiao shivered. She still remembered the agony of being locked in that little dark room.

She had honestly thought she’d never get out. Now she didn’t dare make trouble again.

Mother and Father Chen were startled as well. Though they were furious, they didn’t dare go too far.

They had always thought their son listened too well, too obediently, that they could keep controlling him. Now that he suddenly changed, they realized that their way of handling him no longer worked.

Their son’s wings had grown hard—they couldn’t control him anymore.

“You’re too cruel, too cruel,” Mother Chen cried in grievance.

Li Ermei stood to the side, gloating, then looked at her man with satisfaction and admiration.

Old Chen was still the man she married—stubborn like an ox, opinionated, not the soft and spineless type. She had completely forgotten that, back then, that stubbornness had often been directed at her, making her feel loathed and unwanted.

The next morning, Li Ermei excitedly told Lin Qiao and the others that they should come eat at her place this week. They had to celebrate Old Chen finally becoming a sensible man.

Lin Qiao was delighted. “Hotpot! I’ll have Gu Huayuan go buy meat.”

Su Weizhen said, “Then I’ll buy a duck and make an old-duck soup. Haven’t had good soup in a long time.”

Hearing “old-duck soup,” both Lin Qiao and Li Ermei swallowed their saliva.

On the day Father Chen, Mother Chen, and Sun Qiao left, everyone in the compound felt a wave of relief. After all, who had relatives daring enough to act like that?

When Lin Qiao went home, she couldn’t help telling Gu Huayuan about it. She said that if he ever encountered something similar, he absolutely couldn’t let anyone get leverage on him, and if someone grabbed his sleeve, she would just cut it off and make him walk around with his arm exposed in the middle of winter.

Gu Huayuan actually felt flattered, though he pretended not to care. “Oh? And who was it that said liking someone wasn’t a big deal? Didn’t you say we should be generous?”

“You have to be generous—I don’t!” Lin Qiao declared domineeringly.

Gu Huayuan: “…”

Lin Qiao mentioned the gathering at Li Ermei’s house and asked whether they should invite Zhang Tuo.

Gu Huayuan said, “Forget it. Zhang Tuo avoids Old Chen like the plague right now. He definitely won’t go.”

“Oh, then I’ll tell Li Yan later. She asked me to check.”

“She asked you herself?” Gu Huayuan asked.

“Yeah. Maybe she’s still a little awkward, but she’s more proactive than before.” Lin Qiao sighed, “Does marriage really need love? Actually, the way we are is pretty good. Getting along is what matters.”

Gu Huayuan: “…Are we not that?”

“What?” she asked.

“Love. Love.” Gu Huayuan muttered awkwardly, his voice stiff.

Hearing that, Lin Qiao immediately felt displeased. She snorted, “Who knows. But you clearly don’t love me enough.”

Otherwise, their “progress bar” wouldn’t be moving so slowly—obviously he didn’t love her deep enough.

Hearing this, Gu Huayuan inexplicably felt relieved. So Comrade Xiao Qiao thought he didn’t love her enough.

He picked up his bowl, pretending to eat casually. “Didn’t you say it yourself? Marriage doesn’t necessarily need love. As long as we get along, it’s fine. No need to worry about those details.”

“…” Lin Qiao instantly felt the urge to bite her tongue.

Honestly— even Instructor Chen had made progress, yet Gu Huayuan was still so fond of bullying her.

Gu Huayuan, feeling pleased with himself, went out for a stroll after dinner and stopped by to look for his buddy, Zhang Tuo.

Zhang Tuo was still the same as always.

Gu Huayuan even pretended to advise him to open up a bit. Then he shared some good news, like how his own wife had mentioned that Li Yan actually asked whether he wanted to join them for dinner.

Zhang Tuo said, “Impossible. No way.”

“It’s true. What would my wife gain from lying to you?”

Zhang Tuo had felt a flicker of joy, but the moment he remembered Li Yan’s attitude the last time they met, all hope vanished.

“I’m not going. I don’t want to go. Nothing good ever comes out of meeting her anyway. Forget it. It is what it is. No matter how you live, it’s a lifetime anyway.”

Gu Huayuan said, “Fine, I’ll turn her down for you.”

The next day at work, Lin Qiao passed along Zhang Tuo’s refusal to Li Yan.

Of course, the excuse she gave was that he didn’t want to see Old Chen.

Li Ermie was like: “…” She thought for a moment. “How about I kick Old Chen out of the house?”

“No need. This works fine,” Li Yan said, then went straight back to work.

Li Ermie asked, “Xiao Qiao, what’s going on with that couple? Isn’t it strange for a husband and wife to live like this?”

Lin Qiao replied, “This is what they call ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder.’ Maybe they just like the sense of space. Keeps the love fresh forever.”

Li Ermie: “…” Although she found it unbelievable, it somehow sounded reasonable. Seeing Old Chen every day was pretty annoying.