RIRW – Chapter 129

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Li Wenchang was stunned. His personal issue? What personal issue did he have?

“Could it be that they made a mistake? I’ve always had a decent and upright conduct, and I just returned from the farm. What kind of personal problem could I possibly have?”

Director Zhou frowned. “Have you forgotten the people who came to stir up trouble today? Those women were from the slaughterhouse. The leadership there reported that Comrade Guo Caiping had an improper relationship with you before her divorce. If this is confirmed, it’ll have a very bad impact. As a government official, your personal conduct is very important.”

Li Wenchang hurriedly said, “Guo Caiping and I… we were husband and wife!”

He and Caiping were married—how could it be called an improper relationship?

Director Zhou resisted rolling his eyes. “Comrade Li Wenchang, have you forgotten that you and Comrade Guo Caiping divorced earlier? She has since remarried and has a family of her own. If she had inappropriate contact with you before divorcing again, that counts as an improper relationship.”

A boom sounded in Li Wenchang’s head, like an explosion.

He had never regarded Caiping as an outsider. Even after knowing she had remarried, it hadn’t registered in his mind. He never even considered this issue.

Yes, having contact with Caiping before she divorced… wasn’t that seducing a married woman?

Director Zhou saw how dazed and stunned Li Wenchang looked and thought he hadn’t changed a bit—still suited to being a bookish pedant, always muddleheaded.

“Comrade Li Wenchang, you should go back for now. Once the matter has been investigated, we’ll inform you of the next steps.”

Li Wenchang didn’t even know how he left the Education Bureau. All he knew was that when he looked back, it felt like the gates of the Education Bureau had already closed behind him.

The day he first entered that gate, he had now been driven out of it.

Meanwhile, over at the slaughterhouse, Liu Cuicui and her group were making a scene in the manager’s office.

Though they had hit Guo Caiping and taken some money today, that was merely compensation. Guo Caiping had yet to face proper punishment. Liu Cuicui especially needed to prove her innocence.

Manager Jiang, his head full of bandages, looked at the group of women in front of him with both frustration and gloom. The moment he made a call to the Education Bureau, these women had already stirred up a storm. The comrades from the Education Bureau told him that it had been an earthshaking commotion. There had even been physical altercations.

Even the higher-ups had been alarmed.

How were these women so capable of causing such chaos?

Liu Cuicui said firmly, “I must prove my innocence in this matter. I can’t live with this kind of reputation. If it were in the old days, I’d have been dragged out and denounced as a homewrecker already. How am I supposed to live like this? How is my daughter supposed to live?”

“That’s right, this matter can’t just be let go,” echoed the other women who had received money.

Liu Cuicui continued, “Since Guo Caiping dared to make accusations, I want her to spell it out—when exactly did she see me and Su Yidao getting involved? Let her explain clearly. If she can’t explain it, then it’s slander! I’ll report her to the Public Security Bureau!”

Manager Jiang rubbed his forehead. “This matter is still under investigation. Don’t worry, I’ve already reached a consensus with the comrades at the Education Bureau. After getting their address, we’ll arrange for the Public Security to investigate on site.”

“When will that be?” Liu Cuicui pressed relentlessly.

“This weekend! We’re all busy these days, so I and a few other leaders will free up time over the weekend to visit Guo Caiping,” Manager Jiang replied. He wanted to get to the bottom of this himself.

With Manager Jiang’s answer, the group finally left the office.

Just as they exited, they saw Su Yidao rushing over, his face and body still smeared with blood and dirt.

Seeing Liu Cuicui, he looked a bit embarrassed and turned to the other women. “I heard you went to see Caiping today? Was that letter really written by her?”

Su Yidao had been busy all day. By the time he heard the news, the women had already gone and come back, so he came over immediately.

Liu Cuicui didn’t want to speak to him, turning her head to one side. One of the women replied, “Of course. She admitted it herself. Su Yidao, you’ve been cuckolded and didn’t even know it. She’s been planning to remarry all along. Her ex has money, a whole wad of cash. She’s been planning to leave you, and now she’s throwing mud at you and Cuicui on her way out.”

Su Yidao’s face turned a dull green, his lips moved slightly. “Caiping… Caiping wouldn’t do something like that, would she?”

He and Guo Caiping had been married for more than ten years. Their relationship had always been good. Caiping kept the household running smoothly and had even borne him a son. Their family had been living well—so why did she want to leave now?

Seeing that Su Yidao still didn’t believe it, Liu Cuicui couldn’t take it anymore. She pointed at him and said, “You were just blind to have found a woman like that! She’s already living the good life with her ex-husband, and you’re still thinking about her. She’s staying right inside the provincial university—you can go look for her yourself. Ask her yourself.”

With a snort, she turned and left with the rest of the group.

One of the aunties who had come along tried to advise Su Yidao, “Yidao, open your eyes, will you? She’s truly found someone else, that’s why she ran off. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have remarried so quickly. We even asked the old man at the university gate. He said that family had just come back from the farm, and ever since they returned, Guo Caiping often visits. Every time she goes, she brings lots of nice things. She’s been using your money to please another man.”

“Caiping… how could Caiping treat me like this?” Su Yidao’s eyes turned red, his hands trembled as he covered his face.

“Why? Because you’re just a pig slaughterer, and he’s a government official.”

The auntie twisted her waist as she walked away, getting ready to count her money at home. They each got a few dozen yuan from today’s incident.

“Wuuu… Caiping, how could your heart be so cruel—”

Su Yidao cried out loudly.

The others were so startled they thought he had gone crazy.

But thinking about it, maybe it made sense to go mad. His wife had cheated with another man, and even falsely accused someone during the divorce. Any man would be driven to fury just imagining it.

At this moment, Li Wenchang was also on the verge of exploding. When he returned home and Guo Caiping learned that his job had been suspended, she immediately started complaining, urging him to talk to his superiors and smooth things over.

Say nice things? The leadership had already made their position very clear. If he went to beg them now, he’d only be humiliating himself!

And who was responsible for all of this?

He sat in the living room, staring at Guo Caiping. “Caiping, just tell me the truth—did you really do it? Did you frame someone just to get a divorce?”

Guo Caiping bit her lip secretly. Things had come this far, and denying it again would be pointless. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her eyes red and swollen, and said, “Yes, I had my suspicions but wasn’t sure when I wrote the letter. But I acted in haste because of you. You said you wanted to remarry me… I just wanted us to get back together sooner. Wenchang, I did it all for you. For our family to reunite!”

Hearing her admit it, Li Wenchang rubbed his face with both hands.

His mind was a chaotic mess.

Seeing him like this, Guo Caiping walked over and crouched beside him. “Wenchang, I did it all for our family. I was wrong—I shouldn’t have written the letter without confirming things. I was wrong. Please don’t blame me. I’ve already been punished—just look at my face, it’s been beaten like this…”

Li Wenchang leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes in pain. Caiping did it for him… He bore some of the responsibility too.

Though his heart ached, he knew this wasn’t the most pressing issue right now. The key problem was his job. If the slaughterhouse continued to investigate and press charges, he could be dragged down with it.

He gripped Guo Caiping’s shoulders. “Caiping, the slaughterhouse is still investigating. If this comes out, what will we do? My job at the Education Bureau will really be over. You could even end up in prison.”

Hearing this, Guo Caiping knew he had decided not to hold her actions against her. She let out a breath of relief. She knew Li Wenchang was always soft-hearted. “It’s fine. As long as I don’t admit it, it’ll be fine. Besides, I just made a mistake. At most, I just reported the wrong person.”

But Li Wenchang didn’t think it would be that simple. He had a bad feeling that more trouble was coming.

“Dandan had such a good mood today—she even ate an extra bowl of rice,” Grandma said during dinner, noticing that Zuo Dan had a much better appetite and mood than usual.

Zuo Dan smiled and replied, “That’s because Grandma’s cooking is so delicious.”

Grandma beamed with joy at the compliment and asked what else Dandan wanted to eat.

“I’ll eat whatever Grandma makes. I’m not picky.”

“You’ve got a good baby this time—not fussy at all. Some babies make their mothers change dishes every day,” Grandma said with a smile.

Zuo Dan nodded repeatedly. She agreed—her baby was well-behaved and never caused a fuss.

After dinner, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming went into the room.

Zuo Dan recounted everything that had happened at the provincial slaughterhouse to Shen Yiming. “I really didn’t expect them to stir up so much drama. Tsk tsk, it was incredible. I’m planning to visit Grandpa and Grandma this weekend.” She wanted to see the results of the commotion firsthand. If things hadn’t escalated enough, she’d throw in more fuel to the fire. She was determined to crush Guo Caiping so thoroughly that she’d never have a chance to rise again—never live a good life.

Shen Yiming was staring at her belly. Upon hearing this, he said, “I’ve got something going on this weekend, so I can’t go with you. Be careful, okay?”

“Go do your thing, I don’t need you to tag along. I’m already being careful. I don’t even need to get my hands dirty with people like that. Oh, right, when you get a chance, call Secretary Zhang and tell him about Su Xue’s family situation.”

“Alright,” Shen Yiming agreed with a smile. He liked Zuo Dan exactly like this. No one could bully her—and if they tried, she’d hit back tenfold.

He looked at Zuo Dan’s belly, which was already starting to show slightly. “Comrade Zuo Dan, I read recently that babies can start absorbing parental education even in the womb. Do you think our child might end up like you?”

Zuo Dan proudly stroked her belly. “What’s wrong with that? At least they won’t get bullied in the future.”

Suddenly, Shen Yiming felt a little worried.

Parenting might be a serious challenge in the future.

Over the weekend, Zuo Dan and Shen Yiming left the house together. Shen Yiming went off on some mysterious errand—who knew what he was up to. Zuo Dan couldn’t be bothered to ask. With her sharp instincts, if Shen Yiming ever dared mess around while she was pregnant, she’d know instantly.

After arriving at the provincial university, she went straight in, planning to visit the Li family. As she passed the entrance, she noticed a tall, burly man standing there with a similarly tall child at his side.

Both were gazing longingly at the university gate, clearly waiting for someone.

Zuo Dan glanced at them but didn’t meddle. She headed straight toward the residential building.

Grandfather Li and Grandmother Li greeted her with cheerful smiles. Grandmother Li said warmly, “Dandan, with your condition, you really shouldn’t go out of your way to visit us.”

Zuo Dan smiled as she placed the fruit she brought on the table. “Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m in great shape. Not affected at all.”

“You’re such a filial child,” Grandmother Li said with a shake of her head and went to the kitchen to pour her a glass of water.

After finishing her drink, Zuo Dan asked, “Grandma, I heard from Yiming’s friends in the Education Bureau that Uncle might be in some trouble?”

Father and Grandmother Li were startled. “What trouble?”

Zuo Dan blinked innocently. “I’m not too sure. Seems like it has something to do with the slaughterhouse. They said Uncle was already involved with Guo Caiping before her divorce. Then apparently, Guo Caiping framed her husband to get a divorce. That person said there was quite an uproar at the slaughterhouse. Yiming heard about it and rushed back to tell me, worried it might just be someone with the same name, so he asked me to come and check. Maybe we could help if needed. But I thought, what are the chances it’s just a coincidence, right? It has to be him, don’t you think?”

Hearing this, Grandfather and Grandmother Li’s expressions turned sour. Thinking back to the past few days, they knew she must be referring to their son, Li Wenchang.

Grandmother Li sighed, “I already suspected something was off. How could it be such a coincidence that right after we came back, Guo Caiping’s husband suddenly had issues and divorced her? I wonder if Wenchang even knows about this. If he does and still wants to remarry Caiping, then he’s truly lost his mind!”

“He’s shameless!” Grandfather Li growled. “They’re no better than animals. Sacrificing another man just to get what they want!”

He was so furious he wanted to slam the table but restrained himself, worried about scaring the child in Zuo Dan’s belly. Instead, he pounded his thigh. “No one try to persuade me otherwise. From now on, Li Wenchang is no son of the Li family. With a son like him, how can I ever face our ancestors again?”

Zuo Dan quickly tried to calm him down. “Please don’t get so upset. I just came to discuss with you whether we should help Uncle. Yiming said he could try to pull some strings if needed.”

“Help with what? Yiming’s already done enough for this family. Help someone like that? People like him shouldn’t be anywhere near education—they’ll only ruin the next generation!”

Grandfather Li roared, then let out a long breath. “Don’t mention that man to me again. Even if he ends up begging on the street, I won’t give him a bite to eat. Ungrateful! Truly ungrateful!”

Though Grandmother Li was the softer one, she too was thoroughly disheartened this time.

What their son had done was unforgivable. He’d turned his back on Dacheng and Xiao Hui’s years of kindness, showed no affection to Dandan, and now had repaid the Su family—who raised their child for over a decade—with betrayal.

How could she have raised such a person?

As the family stewed in anger over Li Wenchang, a noisy commotion erupted outside—along with the sound of a child crying.

“Mom, why did you leave? Why don’t you want me anymore?”

Outside, Su Xiaodao clung tightly to Guo Caiping and refused to let go. Beside them, Su Yidao stood with red eyes, bloodshot and glaring at Guo Caiping and Li Wenchang.