Chapter 16: Scaring Those People Away
The entire Red Flag Commune was thrown into chaos by their antics, and everyone was afraid of them.
Who wouldn’t be afraid? Being watched all day by a few mad dogs raised under the placenta—anyone would be scared.
Liang Wu didn’t expect that when they came out to cause trouble late at night, they would run into soldiers—and judging by the air, it was an officer.
Ye Ting stood at the entrance of the health clinic, his tall and imposing figure radiating authority.
Before Ye Ting could speak, Liang Wu and the others’ legs went weak, and they all backed away.
Chen Damei hadn’t fully grasped the situation. Seeing Liang Wu and the others stop advancing, she started yelling in a bad temper, “Liang Wu, why aren’t you moving? Fang Xiaoying and that wretched mother of hers are inside!”
“Watch your foul mouth and keep it clean. If you keep babbling nonsense, I’ll slap you hard,” Su Mu snapped.
He had endured enough. Hearing Chen Damei still cursing his sister and niece, he could no longer hold back.
Chen Damei didn’t expect anyone to dare retort when she was with Liang Wu. She felt utterly offended.
“You lowlife, do you even know who you’re cursing? Why don’t you go find out who I am?”
Su Qiao had just put Fang Xiaoying to sleep when she heard the shouting outside. Recognizing Su Mu's voice, she asked Fang Xiaofeng to watch her sister, then went out to see what was happening.
She came out just in time to hear Chen Damei making a ruckus.
“See that? This is my man, the one with the red armband. Let me tell you, my man is with the Red Flag Commune—you’re someone you can’t afford to mess with.”
“Heh, blowing hot air without a care. Look at this guy—tall and slick. Any pretty girl could have him. How could he possibly go for someone like you, a big blockhead who can’t even tell her head from her backside?”
“Pfft!” Liang Wu led the laughter.
He thought to himself, this lady actually has a nice voice.
The rest of the hangers-on laughed uproariously. They already looked down on Chen Damei but dared not say so openly—after all, their boss Liang had unusual tastes.
Today, someone was putting Chen Damei down, and since Liang seemed amused, they had to support the mood.
The mocking laughter utterly enraged Chen Damei. With a fierce yell, she charged forward, ready to fight the foul-mouthed woman.
But in the darkness, she didn’t watch her step. There were three steps ahead; she missed the first one and tripped, crashing hard onto the steps.
“Ow.”
“Just looking at it hurts. It’s not even New Year yet—what kind of blessing is that?”
“Pfft!”
Liang Wu laughed again, showing several gleaming white teeth.
Chen Damei was stunned that the infuriating woman kept making sarcastic remarks, but the pain in her body dulled her strength to curse back.
Under the faint light, Su Qiao clicked her tongue in exasperation. “With a face like that, looking like whole wheat bread, if you stayed at home quietly, you wouldn’t be suffering like this.”
---
Chen Damei: ...
“Hurts, doesn’t it?”
Chen Damei was furious. “Liang Wu, help me get rid of that old hag.”
Liang Wu: With these two soldiers here, they won’t be able to get in and cause trouble tonight. He signaled to his men, “Let’s head back for now.”
“Boss Liang, a thousand yuan is at stake.”
“They can’t leave just yet. We’ll come back tomorrow night.”
“Alright.”
“Let’s go.”
“Liang Wu!” Chen Damei was surprised Liang left her behind and just walked off. She had no choice but to pick herself up from the steps and hobble after them.
Watching their backs disappear into the distance, Su Qiao and Ye Ting exchanged a glance, relieved they had decided to leave early the next morning.
Su Mu was even more anxious. “Sis, why don’t we leave now?”
“It’s still dark.”
“We don’t fear the dark. I’m just worried those guys might come back acting crazy. This is their turf, and if a fight breaks out, we’ll be the ones blamed and suffer.”
Su Mu wasn’t afraid for himself but worried for his sister and niece, since they were women.
Ye Ting understood Su Mu’s concerns and told the young soldier driving, “Xiao Xia, take Comrade Su Mu and Comrade Fang Xiaofeng to the Shanshi train station first, then come back to pick us up.”
“Commander?”
“Quick and safe.”
“Captain Ye, wouldn’t it be better to take my sister and Xiaoying first?”
“This is my call.”
“I…”
“Su Mu, listen to Ye Ting. You two go to the train station first.”
“Mom?”
“Xiaofeng is going with Uncle.”
“Alright, I’ll go with Uncle.” Knowing his mother’s strength, Fang Xiaofeng understood that staying behind would only cause trouble, so he grabbed his uncle’s hand and got into the car.
After Su Mu and Xiaofeng left with the young soldier, Su Qiao began slowly packing.
---
There wasn’t much to pack. Fang Xiaoying had brought almost nothing, so Su Qiao just had two bags—a large shoulder bag and a travel bag.
Canned goods and lunch boxes went inside, and that was about it.
The hallway was quiet. Ye Ting sat on a bench with his eyes closed, resting. Sending Su Mu and the others to the train station first was wise. That way, when dawn came and they set off, they wouldn’t have to worry about them.
Su Qiao couldn’t sleep either. Her mind wandered through the supermarket.
Looking at the fresh meats, she thought about going back to nourish Xiaoying properly.
Then there were the fruits and various dairy products. She worried about how to feed them to the two children.
Sigh! In these times, even having things can be a source of worry.
Bored, Su Qiao wandered to the fruit section, picked up a mangosteen, peeled it, and popped it into her mouth. She thought to herself, “It’s good now. These things belong to her; she can eat as much as she wants.”
After finishing one mangosteen, she grabbed another and walked along the employee passage.
She spotted the security room and, through the glass window, saw what looked like electric batons hanging on the wall inside.
These were valuable. Su Qiao went in and took four electric batons, placing them within easy reach for whenever she might need them.
Just knowing her personal safety was somewhat guaranteed made her step lighter by two inches.
Heh, that’s capital.
Delighted, Su Qiao left the security room and continued along the staff passage until a large metal door blocked her path. A key hung on the door.
Curious, Su Qiao pushed the door open.
What she saw made her ecstatic. She hadn’t expected it to be a warehouse filled with many unopened goods.
“Absolutely wonderful.” After briefly surveying the warehouse goods, she happily backed out.
She hadn’t been to the other floors yet, but just the supermarket and warehouse items on this floor would last her a lifetime.
The more Su Qiao thought about it, the happier she felt. She kept walking down the employee passage until a pitch-black iron gate stood before her.
Su Qiao guessed that behind this gate was the street, but by normal logic, she couldn’t get out.
If she couldn’t get out, so be it!
She had so many good things here—in this era of scarcity, she enjoyed a life even more carefree than those high-ranking officials. What more could she want?