Chapter 23

In reality, it was just a pair of old underwear. Even if Chen Meilan had really thrown it into the coal mine, what difference would it make?0But Yan Xishan was a coal mine owner, and mining has always been superstitious in any era.0

When Hu Xiaomei came to the door with money, sincerely asking for forgiveness, Chen Meilan received her at the entrance and just smiled, saying: "Xiaomei, you're my best friend. I don't believe you'd throw underwear on my bed. Don't joke around. It must have been Yan Xishan doing it with those prostitutes. Tell Yan Xishan to come talk to me himself."0

With one sentence, she had directly degraded Hu Xiaomei to the status of a prostitute.0

Of course, coming to someone's door, one couldn't bring just a little money.0

Fortunately, there was newly collected payment in her purse, totaling three thousand yuan. Might as well use it to ward off bad luck.0

Gritting his teeth, Yan Xishan stuffed it all in his pocket.0

Yan Zhao arrived home a few steps ahead of Yan Xishan. As soon as he reached the doorway, the complex aroma of KFC attracted Little Wang, who was playing outside.0

"Dad, what's that?" Little Wang greedily inhaled the fried scent.0

"KFC."0

"What's that? Chicken you gnaw on?" Little Wang asked again.0

Yan Zhao looked at his son and said, "I suppose so."0

The KFC meal voucher was issued by his father's work unit – a family bucket.0

He handed the bag to Chen Meilan and asked briefly, "Xishan is here. Should I handle it?"0

"No need. You must be exhausted. Go rest. I'll take care of it," Chen Meilan said, gently pushing Yan Zhao into the courtyard.0

Her voice was so gentle that it made Yan Zhao's ears go soft.0

Turning back, just as Yan Xishan was about to enter, Chen Meilan glared at him fiercely. He stepped back. She glared again, and he retreated another step.0

Zhaodi had just returned from next door and was about to enter.0

After stepping out of the door, whether intentionally or not, Yan Xishan blocked Zhaodi's way and smiled at the child, "Zhaodi, did you miss daddy?"0

Zhaodi had once nearly had her ribs broken by Yan Xishan when he was smiling just like this, drunk and bleary-eyed.0

His expression triggered terrible memories for the child, reminding her of the night when her father got drunk and violent, pointing at her nose and cursing her for being a money-losing burden, cursing her for not being a son, making him feel ashamed.0

The child froze in place, face pale, her whole body trembling.0

Chen Meilan quickly stepped forward and picked up her daughter, saying softly, "Mommy is already divorced from that man outside. He doesn't dare hit you anymore. We're not afraid, okay?"0

Zhaodi hugged Chen Meilan's neck, burying her head in her mother's embrace, her voice timid: "...Mom, can I never call him dad again?"0

"Of course. You can call him that if you want to, and if you don't want to, you don't have to. It will be the same when you grow up. If you don't want to acknowledge him, you don't have to. He gave you your name, but if you don't like it and have one you prefer, you can choose your own, or mommy can give you a new one. Whatever you want," Chen Meilan said, stroking her daughter's head.0

Zhaodi took a deep breath and suddenly pointed at Yan Zhao in the courtyard, saying, "I want my new dad to give me a new name."0

Chen Meilan: "Silly girl, wouldn't it be better if mommy gave you a name? Mommy has thought of many pretty names like Xinxin, Chenchen, Xuanxuan, as cute as Ningning next door. How about that?"0

Zhaodi unexpectedly pouted and said, "I don't want names like that. They're not nice. My new dad will definitely give me a prettier name."0

"Should I ask him now?" She had to have Yan Zhao give her daughter a new name.0

"Let me ask him," Zhaodi said, looking at Yan Zhao and gathering her courage. "That's my new dad."0

Yan Zhao had brought back a large KFC family bucket. It was particularly bountiful, with popcorn chicken, corn on the cob, and several large pieces of fried chicken. Chen Meilan remembered that the family bucket should have included a large bottle of Coca-Cola.0

She guessed Yan Zhao must have drunk it on the way.0

Not rushing to deal with Yan Xishan, leaving him to wait, Chen Meilan wanted the children to have a good meal of KFC first.0

In her previous life, the first time she took the children to eat KFC, Lu Dabao and Erniu each hoarded a pile, wolfing it down, while Zhaodi ate only three french fries the whole time, constantly saying "Mom, I'm not hungry, you eat, you eat," but then stole half a half-eaten burger and some chicken bones that hadn't been picked clean from the neighboring table. She took them home and hid under the covers to eat them secretly.0 seaʀᴄh thё Nôvel(F)ire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Lu Dabao smelled it and tattled, which made her so angry that she beat Zhaodi. She stayed up all night washing the bedsheets, inwardly blaming Zhaodi for her poverty-stricken ways and bad habits, but never once considering why the child had to steal food.0

Now she understood. It wasn't that Zhaodi didn't like to eat; she wanted to save it for her mother to eat.0

This was the first time Zhaodi had eaten KFC in this life, and she was determined not to make the same mistake again.0

She had to let the children eat happily.0

She gave Little Lang and Zhaodi each an ear of corn to gnaw on directly. Buttered, tender corn on the cob – the little ones frowned at the first bite, but once they tasted the flavor, they gnawed away like little wolf cubs.0

The french fries had gone soggy. If she steamed them, they would turn to mush, and steamed chicken nuggets wouldn't taste good either.0

So she simply poured half a pot of vegetable oil, first reheating the fries, then frying the chicken pieces one by one, using low heat to slowly crisp up the skin.0

Including this time, this was already the third refrying. She fried and scooped them out, giving them to the children to eat.0

Normally, children eating KFC for the first time would have bottomless stomachs, able to eat endlessly, but Little Wang only ate one piece and refused to eat more, politely urging Chen Meilan to eat instead.0

As for himself, he put all the chicken bones that Little Lang hadn't finished gnawing clean into his pocket. Chen Meilan clearly saw this but pretended not to notice.0

However, as she scooped out the last piece of fried chicken from the pot, she shook her head and deliberately said, "I don't like eating this stuff. Little Wang, can you help me eat it?"0

Little Wang was pleasantly surprised and accepted the chicken nugget.0

"Mom, the fries are so delicious," Zhaodi said, holding up her greasy fingers while still gnawing on a chicken leg, eating with great relish. "I ate the most."0

Chen Meilan kissed her daughter's soft cheek and said, "In the future, when mom earns more money, I'll buy you lots more."0

"Once is enough. Too much would be a waste of money," Zhaodi quickly said.0

Chen Meilan observed carefully and saw that after Little Wang got the last piece of fried chicken, he took out several chicken bones from his pocket and quietly threw them into the trash can.0

Unfortunately, in her previous life, she never managed to break Zhaodi of this habit.0

Yan Xishan had been waiting outside the whole time, smoking until cigarette butts littered the ground.0

Seeing Chen Meilan come out, he immediately approached her: "Meilan, my ancestor... I know I wronged you back then with Hu Xiaomei..."0

"Yan Xishan, I never cared about your affair because in my eyes, you're not even human. But Hu Xiaohua must be sentenced for theft. If you dare to provide false testimony for him, I'll throw that underwear into your coal mine immediately," Chen Meilan said sternly.0

With Chen Meilan's temperament, if she dared to say it, she would do it.0

What else could Yan Xishan do at this point? He nodded vigorously, saying, "Alright, alright, I'll do whatever you say, okay?"0

Seeing Chen Meilan about to speak again, Yan Xishan slapped down the remaining three thousand yuan: "We used to be husband and wife. You should know better than anyone that I was able to start my business entirely thanks to Qi Dongmei. I've drunk so much bad alcohol and entertained so many people outside that I've ruined my liver. So my money has nothing to do with you. I'm giving you three thousand yuan – that's the biggest concession I can make."0

He was afraid Chen Meilan would try to extort more money.0

Chen Meilan took the money and immediately threw it at Yan Xishan's head: "What's mine is mine, and I don't want a cent of yours. Just remember in the future, don't come looking for us if you fall on hard times."0

"Me? Fall on hard times? Meilan, what are you thinking?"0

Yan Xishan was amused by his ex-wife's absurd idea. In a few years, he would be a millionaire, the richest man in Xiping City.0

Never mind that Zhaodi ignored him now. When he had lots of money in the future, he could just wave a few big bills at her, and wouldn't she cry and call him daddy?0

Yan Xishan was a kind of fierce character. In the previous life, he went to prison because of a coal mine flood and collapse, but after getting out, he made a comeback. However, his liver was ruined by drinking. Just when his career was starting to pick up again, he got liver cancer.0

Of course, Hu Xiaomei didn't take care of him. In the end, it was Zhaodi who secretly took care of him in his final days. Liver cancer – it cost Zhaodi a lot of money. Moreover, Lu Jingyu was indifferent towards Zhaodi, and Yan Xishan was that kind of person, so Zhaodi lost all hope for marriage. Even in her thirties, she refused to get married, wanting to be an old maid.0

This caused Chen Meilan to worry about her daughter's marriage prospects until the day she died, unable to close her eyes in peace.0

Chen Meilan's disgust for Yan Xishan was one thing, but she hated him even more for dragging down Zhaodi.0

If it were possible, she truly wished she could stuff Zhaodi back into her womb and give birth to her again. Even if a beggar were to be Zhaodi's father, it would be better than Yan Xishan.0

However, saying these things was useless. What Chen Meilan needed to do now was to teach Zhaodi to be more cold-hearted. To teach her that even if Yan Xishan were to die in front of her, she should be able to walk around him.0

Just as they were talking about Zhaodi, a clear and sweet voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard: "The night at the naval port is so quiet, the waves rock the warship, young sailors rest their heads on the waves, sweet smiles appear on their faces in their dreams..."0

While singing, Zhaodi was also dancing. In the courtyard, three men—two small and one big—were all watching her.0

Yan Xishan, who was supposed to be asking for underwear, was also stunned.0

The little girl dancing, her two small braids swinging, her little bottom wiggling, her white dress like an umbrella, was much cuter than the two smelly boys from Yan Zhao's family next door.0

It was strange. Even though Zhaodi used to spend every day with him, Yan Xishan had never found her as adorable as she was today. He had always been a rascal since childhood, looked down upon by others.0

Under the family planning policy, having a son was a great opportunity for a man to turn his life around. But his first child was a daughter, which he found embarrassing, and he had never even given Zhaodi a second glance.0

After finishing her dance, she raised her head and asked Yan Zhao with a hopeful face: "I just learned this today, do you think I sang well?"0

Yan Xishan was stunned again. This girl always avoided him like a mouse avoiding a cat, how could she be so friendly with Yan Zhao?0

But given Yan Zhao's personality, would he even bother to respond to a little girl?0

Yan Xishan didn't think so, so he lit a cigarette, intrigued. He wanted to see Zhaodi get snubbed by her new dad.0

But Yan Zhao clapped his hands twice and actually said, "Very good."0

He hadn't eaten yet, so he turned and went to the kitchen to make some noodles for himself.0

Yan Xishan remembered that Yan Zhao wasn't this type of person. He had always been stubborn as a mule, how could he possibly speak so calmly to a little girl?0

Looking back, he saw Chen Meilan's eyes full of pride as she looked at Zhaodi, her face beaming with happiness.0

As a fellow man, he couldn't help but add, "Meilan, I did you wrong back then, but you should also reflect on yourself. With that nasty temper of yours..."0

"Get lost, the further the better," Chen Meilan turned to go inside.0

"Yan Zhao just has a little bit of power, does he have money? And he's just pretending to be like that now," Yan Xishan called out again.0

He wasn't even afraid of Yan Zhao hearing him.0

The Jindong Road Police Station wasn't an easy job. The chiefs came and went like flowing water, none lasting long. Even if Yan Zhao managed to stay longer, sticking to his official job, he couldn't even earn enough for an air conditioner in a year. Pathetic.0

Oh right, there was also Hu Xiaomei's underwear, she still hadn't given it to him.0

Before Yan Xishan could ask, Chen Meilan came back again: "Xiaomei's underwear! I can only promise you that I won't throw it into the coal mine, but if you want to take it away, unless you wear it on your head and walk all the way out of Yanguan Village, don't even think about it."0

Hearing this, Yan Xishan was furious: "Meilan, can't we be less extreme? Yes, you married an inspector, but what about Zhaodi's future education? Doesn't she want to go to a good school? If she wants to transfer to a good school, the transfer fee is at least 5,000 yuan. Are you going to ask me for that?"0

"Get lost!" Chen Meilan shouted again, closing the courtyard gate.0

Yan Xishan kicked the gate, just about to enter when he looked up and saw a dark figure in front of him. Green shirt, uniform pants, dark face, cold eyes - Yan Zhao was standing at the gate, staring at him coldly.0

"Captain Yan, want a smoke?" Yan Xishan's demeanor changed in an instant, bowing and scraping.0

Yan Zhao reached out and patted Yan Xishan's shoulder. They were about the same height, and just looking at their faces, Yan Xishan was much more likable than Yan Zhao. It wasn't like people said when they were young, that Yan Xishan always lost in fights. After all, Yan Xishan was five years older than Yan Zhao, so they won and lost about equally.0

But years of drinking and smoking had taken a toll on Yan Xishan's body. Even though he mustered all his strength to resist, Yan Zhao's large hand still made him stagger back and forth when it landed on his shoulder.0

"Tomorrow morning we'll get the marriage certificate, and in the afternoon you come to the police station, we'll transfer the household registration," Yan Zhao said.0

"Okay, okay, sure," Yan Xishan nodded repeatedly.0

The house, was he really going to transfer it to Meilan?0

...0

Among the children in the house, Little Wang was the oldest and most sensible. The younger ones didn't understand their parents' affairs, but Little Wang heard everything, even Chen Meilan telling Yan Xishan to wear Hu Xiaomei's underwear and walk out of Yanguan Village - he heard it all word for word.0

However, Chen Meilan had actually put that red underwear in the trash can, ready to throw it away.0

He was very curious about why Chen Meilan would do this, but he was too embarrassed to ask his dad. Just as Chen Meilan came out to take out the trash, he followed behind her and mustered up the courage to say, "Auntie, I heard you say you wanted Zhaodi's dad to wear a pair of underwear and walk out of the village, but now you're throwing the underwear away. If you just throw it in the garbage dump, they'll find it."0

His dad wasn't even curious about what she was doing, why was this little brat so curious?0

"It's dirty, why shouldn't I throw it away?" Chen Meilan asked in return.0

Little Wang said, "Zhaodi's dad is a bad person, we should keep the underwear to blackmail him, otherwise, he won't give us the house."0

Chen Meilan suddenly turned around: "Call me Mom, and I'll tell you why."0

Little Wang turned and ran away in a flash.0

It was just a pair of trashy underwear, it had been in the house long enough, and now it was time to throw it away.0

After all, she had only used this thing to stir up discord between Yan Xishan and Hu Xiaomei. If she really threw it into the coal mine and caused a water inrush and collapse, killing people, it would be Chen Meilan's sin.0

If she guessed correctly, today, because of this underwear, the rift between Hu Xiaomei and Yan Xishan would continue to widen.0

When Yan Xishan came just now, Hu Xiaomei had also quietly followed behind.0

Although the coal mine belonged to Yan Xishan, it was Hu Xiaomei who was enjoying the money earned. So not getting the underwear back made Hu Xiaomei even angrier.0

And she hated Chen Meilan even more than Yan Xishan did.0

She had just returned to the car when she saw Yan Xishan coming with his head hanging low. She immediately said, "Brother Shan, how about this? You call a few people and have them climb over the wall at night to steal the underwear?"0

Seeing Yan Xishan not responding, she added, "Or you could call a few people to kidnap Zhaodi and force Meilan to hand over the underwear?"0

Yan Xishan turned back, looking at Hu Xiaomei in disbelief.0

"That's your daughter. Even if we kidnap her, even if we get caught by the police, you can say you missed your daughter and wanted to take her to raise her yourself. What's wrong with that?" Hu Xiaomei said again.0

Yan Xishan's face, which resembled the singer Fei Xiang, immediately turned sour.0

In the car, the song "Sister, march on bravely" was still playing, "March on, the road to heaven is nine thousand nine hundred and nine."0

Now, as the country was entering the 1990s, it was also the most chaotic time in society. Kidnapping, extortion, beating people from behind - these things were happening frequently. And because there were no surveillance cameras, especially in the urban-rural fringe areas where there weren't even street lights, the social security situation was very chaotic.0

But Yan Xishan was a smart person. He dared to break the law, but not to commit crimes.0

After all, committing crimes meant serving time, while breaking the law only required paying some fines and accepting punishment.0

Moreover, he had always thought that Hu Xiaomei was a gentle and understanding flower, completely different from the straightforward Chen Meilan.0

But the straightforward Chen Meilan wouldn't think about kidnapping and extortion just because of a small grudge with someone.0

His understanding, gentle, and lovely little white flower was now saying things that made Yan Xishan's heart grow cold.0

Zhaodi was his daughter. Yes, Yan Xishan resented that she wasn't a son, but he also loved his daughter.0

He wasn't a heartless beast who would kidnap his own daughter for the sake of Hu Xiaomei's trashy underwear.0

Was this gentle, kind little white flower now trying to tempt him step by step into committing a crime?0