Chapter 153

"The Moonlight Box" - Yan Zhao had specifically bought tickets to watch this movie at the theater before returning to China, having heard that Yuanyuan was in it.Yuanyuan only made a brief appearance in the film.

The plot was a complete mess, making no sense, and it made Yan Zhao want to punch someone.

But this was exactly what young people loved and celebrated these days - its nonsensical nature and humor.

When Yan Zhao was in Cambodia, he had also seen the scene where White Crystal rode on Destiny Treasure. If it weren't for wanting to check whether Yuanyuan's name was in the credits, he would have left immediately. Yet look at Little Wang and Yuanyuan - they were thoroughly enjoying it.

That's the kind of thing they liked.

While waiting for fate's judgment, Little Wang nervously touched the remote control, and suddenly Destiny Treasure and White Crystal on TV started getting busy, fumbling with belt buckles while trying to kiss each other.

Yuanyuan quickly yanked out the power plug, making the TV screen go black instantly.

"Yan Wangqi?" Yan Zhao called out.

That shout made both Little Wang and Yuanyuan's scalps tingle, but just then, Yan Zhao's pocket started ringing - it was his "Little Smart" phone, a tiny internal communication device used by the public security system.

Yan Zhao holstered his gun, took out the phone, and walked out, presumably the matter wasn't finished, leaving the two kids locked inside.

But could he really keep them contained?

Little Wang quickly climbed out the window, then pointed to his shoulders, gesturing for Yuanyuan to step on them. He helped her escape through the window, letting her run away first. When Yan Zhao returned after his phone call, only Little Wang remained in the room.

"I need to go out for something. Tell your mom I might not be back tonight, Yan Wangqi..." Yan Zhao looked at his son, his eyes narrowing to slits.

With no one else at home, Little Wang took a deep breath, as if gathering courage, and suddenly blurted out: "Dad, Yan Shengnan is my sister, and I understand better than you how to protect her."

Meeting his son's stubborn gaze, Yan Zhao glared fiercely - usually, such a glare would make Little Wang back down, but not this time. He stared back calmly at Yan Zhao, spreading his hands as if to say: Come on, try to break me, let's see who's more stubborn.

There was urgent work to attend to, so Yan Zhao had to leave.

As he closed the door, Yan Zhao couldn't shake the feeling that Little Wang still hadn't given up his mischievous intentions.

Leaving the house, he saw Yuanyuan hiding in the bushes like a little rabbit, watching him. Once he was far enough away, Little Wang jumped out the window, and the two walked together. Yuanyuan suddenly punched Little Wang, who responded with a gentle flick to her forehead - while Yuanyuan hit hard, Little Wang always stayed gentle.

Anyone who's been there would understand what was going on.

What could be done? Even if their household registrations could be separated, their blood relation was too close - marriage would be impossible in the future.

For the sake of the children's future ability to have their own families, Yan Zhao had to separate them.

He had to be the bad guy in this situation.

Meanwhile that day, Chen Meilan encountered something peculiar.

Zhou Xueqin, who had disappeared six months ago after failing to get close to Little Lang, suddenly showed up at the milk powder factory near closing time.

Although they hadn't yet turned a profit, the military-grade August First milk powder had made its mark in the market, with demand exceeding supply. Chen Meilan still focused primarily on product quality, which was crucial for milk powder, and needed someone thoroughly trustworthy to oversee it.

That person was none other than Gao Xiaomei, the daughter-in-law of Army First Commander Cui.

Gao Xiaomei, who had completed a correspondence course in Food Engineering at the Agricultural University, now held a bachelor's degree and was pursuing a master's degree while working. She served as the factory director.

If Xue Mingfang was the soul of 271, then Gao Xiaomei was the pillar of the milk powder factory.

Today, Zhou Xueqin had specifically come to see Gao Xiaomei.

Given Zhou Xueqin's proud nature, one wouldn't expect her to meet acquaintances in her current fallen state.

To Gao Xiaomei, Zhou Xueqin appeared to be in poor condition, wearing flip-flops and a dirty tank top of indiscernible color, her permed hair yellow and tangled.

For someone who used to be so beauty-conscious and proud, her willingness to meet old acquaintances was already quite moving.

However, she didn't seem to lack money, as she immediately presented Gao Xiaomei with a stack of diesel fuel vouchers stamped by a gas station in Xiamen Province.

Gao Xiaomei's brother ran a small electric wheel processing factory in Xiamen, and diesel fuel was in severe shortage nationwide. At a glance, those fuel vouchers were worth 200,000 yuan at market price.

Zhou Xueqin offered to transfer these vouchers for just 30,000 yuan, with an unusual request.

She only wanted to exchange the money for a job - specifically, as a cleaner at the military shooting range.

Currently, Cui Zixiang was in charge of military personnel matters, and arranging for a cleaning lady at the shooting range would be simple.

With these fuel vouchers, Gao Xiaomei's brother could generate 800,000 yuan in profit.

Zhou Xueqin explicitly stated that while she wasn't doing well, she had no ill intentions. She explained that when people are successful, they only think about enjoyment, but when they fall on hard times, they especially miss their children. She had no other requests - she just wanted to spend time with her son through this cleaning job.

Ordinary people, as their status rises with the tide, gain power that brings easy money.

And money is the root of what drives everyone crazy.

However, as a university graduate with an educated background and her father-in-law in such an important position, Gao Xiaomei struggled internally while looking at the potential 800,000 yuan profit. She decided to temporarily accept the vouchers and hand them over to Chen Meilan, then told her everything about Zhou Xueqin's situation.

As a mother herself, Gao Xiaomei was moved by Zhou Xueqin's maternal love.

But she couldn't accept the vouchers - after all, selling something worth 200,000 for 30,000 was clearly problematic.

Giving the vouchers to Chen Meilan, Gao Xiaomei said, "Boss, there have been rumors that Zhou Xueqin owes loan sharks money and is in a desperate situation now. Could you consider how to handle this? If she's being pursued by loan sharks, maybe we should help her?"

Regardless of whether the vouchers were legitimate, Gao Xiaomei left it to Chen Meilan to investigate.

But as a mother herself, she felt Chen Meilan should understand and fulfill Zhou Xueqin's wish to see and reconnect with her child.

Chen Meilan just smiled without saying anything.

In fact, regarding the loan shark situation, Zhou Xueqin and Lu Jingyu had actually gotten lucky and resolved it safely.

The mastermind behind Lu Jingyu's high-interest loan was Hu Baiye.

Normally, someone like Hu Baiye wouldn't let Lu Jingyu off the hook.

However, due to the international waste material case, Wang Xudong had fallen, and Hu Baiye had been detained by Fujian police.

His entire company was nearly all arrested, and the loan shark operation fell apart.

Because of this, Zhou Xueqin and Lu Jingyu's loan crisis had been resolved. They had borrowed 8 million yuan, which they had already spent, but now, due to Hu Baiye's arrest, they didn't need to repay a single cent and could cleanly take possession of two buildings.

So, if Zhou Xueqin's crisis was resolved and she no longer needed to use Little Lang, why was she still persistently seeking opportunities to spend time with him, willing to pay 30,000 yuan for the chance?

Hearing Gao Xiaomei describe her pitiful state, could it really be genuine maternal love?

As a child, the worst thing is to encounter parents like Zhou Xueqin.

They don't raise you when you're young, but once you've grown up and they've fallen on hard times, they come clinging to you, using love as leverage to make you support them.

It was like a reversed life - what Little Lang was facing now was exactly what Yuanyuan had faced in her previous life.

But let's set that aside for now.

Currently, because Yan Peiheng was getting old and Chen Meilan's family had moved out, the Military Commission had assigned a housekeeper for Yan Peiheng - a retired nurse from Suzhou who was an excellent cook.

Although the family lived in the Little Red Building, whenever Yan Peiheng got off work early, he would invite everyone back for dinner every few days.

The children never liked to go, and since Yuanyuan and Little Wang could cook for themselves now, Yan Peiheng couldn't convince them to come. So he would call Chen Meilan to summon the children.

Chen Meilan had to return home and order the children to go upstairs for dinner.

As soon as she entered the house, she saw Little Lang in the kitchen, while Little Wang and Yuanyuan were nowhere to be seen, and the bedroom was quiet. Little Lang practiced shooting every day, his grip on the gun getting stronger, often causing him to lift his arms with difficulty. At the moment, he was kneading dough, but his shoulders hurt, so he had to take breaks. Seeing Chen Meilan enter, he quickly said, "Mom, quietly, don't disturb, my brother is tutoring my sister."

"Studying upstairs?" Chen Meilan asked.

She could hear a buzzing sound of static electricity in her bedroom.

"In your bedroom, some questions need to be watched on TV," Little Lang whispered.

Chen Meilan could guess with her buttocks that the two older ones were definitely up to no good.

But the older children didn't play with the younger ones, and those two always liked to ditch Little Lang when they were up to mischief.

Poor Little Lang always thought they were studying hard.

At such a young age, to avoid disturbing the older ones' studies, he, like Yan Zhao, took on all the household chores.

Chen Meilan took over the dough from Little Lang, kneaded it clean in a few strokes, smeared it with oil, wrapped it in plastic, and put it in the fridge. She planned to mix some meat filling later and bake it into meat pies for breakfast the next morning.

Then, she gave Little Lang a knowing look and led him to the garden, indicating he should look through the window to see what his brother and sister were really doing.

The first-floor window was open. Yuanyuan was holding rice crackers in one hand and seaweed bamboo shoots in the other, sitting cross-legged on the windowsill, with a bottle of Wahaha on her lap, eating happily while watching TV, laughing so hard she almost fell over.

On the colorful TV screen, Zhu Yin was lively and mischievous, her round eyes and mouth strikingly similar to Yuanyuan's as she watched the TV.

Little Lang, who had done half a day's worth of chores, truly believed his brother and sister were studying. Seeing them watch TV happily, he opened his mouth in shock and heartache: "Mom, they're secretly watching videos, not including me."

Chen Meilan gave Little Lang an understanding look and suddenly slapped the window: "Yan Shengnan, Yan Wangqi, come on, let's go to your grandfather's for dinner."

The two in the bedroom had just been scolded by Yan Zhao and shouldn't have been watching.

But the movie was just too interesting. After watching "A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box," how could they not watch "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella"? At this moment, it was showing the scene where the monk sang 'only you,' which was too captivating for the kids to stop. The sudden slapping of the window by their mom startled Yuanyuan so much that she almost fell off the windowsill.

Unlike their dad, their mom, besides giving them a stern look and telling them to include Little Lang next time, didn't scold them.

You know, "A Chinese Odyssey" was a banned film specifically mentioned by the school principal, yet Chen Meilan not only didn't restrict the children like other parents but even let Little Lang join in and watch.

How good their mom was, Little Lang didn't need to say much.

Alright, after calling out the two older ones, it was time to go upstairs for dinner.

Before the children went upstairs, Chen Meilan needed to call Yan Zhao to discuss the oil vouchers Zhou Xueqin had given. The stamps on the oil vouchers were from a private gas station, and gasoline, in any era, belonged to state-owned enterprises. Therefore, the 200,000 yuan worth of oil vouchers were illegally obtained smuggled oil from a black oil factory.

Smuggled oil, like international waste, was all smuggled goods.

Gao Xiaomei thought these oil vouchers were bought by Zhou Xueqin to give to her, but Chen Meilan knew Zhou Xueqin better.

She believed that Zhou Xueqin, after escaping the pursuit of loan sharks, had gotten involved in the smuggling of black oil, which was in the same category as international waste. Otherwise, if she were really that destitute, how could she give away 30,000 yuan worth of oil vouchers so casually?

Black oil, unlike international waste, was currently explicitly prohibited from being sold and could lead to arrest.

But policies would soon be introduced, and importing black oil would be punishable by law.

Once Zhou Xueqin really got involved, if she were caught and convicted in the future, it would leave a stain on Little Wang and Little Lang's records.

The Little Smart phone was just being piloted in the country, and the signal wasn't very good, failing to connect several times.

When Chen Meilan asked Little Wang, she found out that Yan Zhao had gone on another business trip.

He didn't come back that night, nor the next day.

As for Zhou Xueqin, Chen Meilan informed Gao Xiaomei to delay things a bit.

Little Lang was now 13 years old, and due to his exceptional shooting skills, Yan Peiheng had submitted his file, and he might be specially recruited into the military academy as soon as he turned 15. If Zhou Xueqin got into trouble because of the oil, the previous seven or eight years of training for the child would be in vain.

He wouldn't be able to join the special forces.

This time, since Zhou Xueqin had shown up, she couldn't let her escape. Yan Zhao had to solve this problem once and for all. If Zhou Xueqin was really destitute, Chen Meilan wouldn't mind giving her some financial help, but she couldn't continue to drag the children down.

Thinking of how Yuanyuan was dragged down by Yan Xishan in her previous life and how Little Lang would suffer the same fate, Chen Meilan couldn't help but get angry.

This couldn't be told to Little Lang, but it could be told to Little Wang.

Chen Meilan told Little Wang the whole story and asked him to be vigilant. If he met Zhou Xueqin, he must inform her. This wasn't Chen Meilan being petty or deliberately picking on Zhou Xueqin, but for Little Lang's future.

You know, Zhou Xueqin, although she had been on the wrong path before, hadn't committed any crimes.

If she got involved in the black oil business, it would be equivalent to committing a crime.

If Little Wang really sympathized with his birth mother, he couldn't hide it when they met in the future. He had to tell his dad, which was truly in his birth mother's best interest.

Poor Yan Wangqi, today he had packed "A Chinese Odyssey" and was about to send it to the post office to mail it to John and Jim, so they could experience the nonsense culture of our country. Upon hearing that his mom was harassing Little Lang again, the 'only you' he was humming in his throat suddenly got stuck.

The child's two slender hands neatly packed the video tape, and at the moment of packing it, he tied a bow, gently pressed his hands on the video tape box, and looked up with a smile: "Don't worry, Mom. Even if she doesn't look for me, as long as she's in the capital, I'll find a way to find her. I'll also help you find out what she's up to."

Regardless of whether Zhou Xueqin would look for him or not, Little Wang decided to take the initiative to find Zhou Xueqin.

He wanted to find his birth mother, Zhou Xueqin, and he would do what he said.

It was already summer vacation, and it was the hottest time in the capital.

Yuanyuan had to go to practice the piano, and at the moment, she and Little Lang were still glued to the TV, reluctant to turn away.

The TV was showing Zhao Lirong, singing: "In spring, flowers bloom at fourteen-five, on the sixth of June, watch the grain show..." This was the most popular sketch this year, and it was replayed on TV every day. Anyone who saw it couldn't bear to leave.

And anyone who watched it laughed, except for poor Yan Wangqi, who couldn't laugh when he heard that his birth mother was up to no good, even involved in black oil.

But he wouldn't slack off on his work.

It was too hot to drink hot water, so Little Lang and Yuanyuan's water bottles were chilled in the fridge. He took out the water bottles, wiped them clean with a towel, put Little Lang's in his backpack, and hung Yuanyuan's around his own neck.

After tidying up, he said, "Yan Shengnan, do you still want me to take you to practice the piano? Let's go now."

Yuanyuan finally turned away reluctantly, went out the door, and there was a shiny little electric scooter waiting.

This was the tool Little Wang used to take Yuanyuan to practice the piano every day.

The three children squeezed onto the electric scooter, first dropping off Little Lang at the shooting range, then taking Yuanyuan, and Little Wang rode off on the electric scooter.

Chen Meilan went out, saw the scorching sun, opened an umbrella, and walked to work.

Yan Zhao returned on the third night. Of course, as soon as he got home, he called Chen Meilan to tell her that he had gone to Fujian for a few days to gather evidence and had been busy. Now, he was on his way home.

This brings us to the issue of international waste.

Although the source has been curbed, the most worrying thing has still happened.

A large batch of nuclear waste was found among the international waste.

The person who took over didn't know what it was, touched it with bare hands, and buried it along the coast, just shallowly buried in a village. It had been half a year since then, until in the village where the waste was buried, more than a dozen people were diagnosed with cancer at the same time, and many others experienced unexplained bleeding and coughing up blood. People realized something was wrong and reported it to the public security bureau for on-site investigation.

This is a very troubling matter. Nuclear waste, smuggled in, those unscrupulous merchants were paid a few thousand yuan, but now the state has to spend hundreds of thousands to bury it.

But that's not the most troubling part. What's even more troubling is that a large batch of black diesel contaminated with radiation, transported in along with the nuclear waste, has already disappeared without a trace.

Anyone who uses this radioactive black diesel will get sick!

Yan Zhao went to Fujian for this very reason.

However, this is part of his work and not something he discusses with Chen Meilan.

What he wanted to talk to Chen Meilan about was still the matter of Wang Qi, Feng Ha, and those few kids.

This matter was being monitored by Liu Jingjing and Qi Zheng for him. Today, Qi Zheng was out on business, so Liu Jingjing came to report to Yan Zhao. Recently, Liu Jingjing has been seeing and talking to Chen Meilan a lot. Her father pushed her to learn the art of conversation through Chen Meilan.

And this art, she planned to apply it to Yan Zhao.

Recently, because Qi Zheng never proposed to her, she wanted Yan Zhao to put some pressure on Qi Zheng to make him propose. After finishing the case, she tried to ask Yan Zhao in a roundabout way, "Uncle Yan, how do you think I compare to Sister Meilan?"

This was like walking into a trap.

Yan Zhao's gaze was fixed on the factory gate as he said three words, "You're far behind."

Liu Jingjing was furious. She thought Yan Zhao would at least say they were about the same. If he did, she could say, "You value Qi Zheng so much, and I'm not that different from Sister Meilan. Why don't you talk to him and get him to propose to me?" This way, she would have praised Chen Meilan, making Yan Zhao happy, and also pressured Qi Zheng.

But this stern, bad uncle, this living King Yan, just wouldn't play along.

The tricks she learned from Chen Meilan didn't work on him at all.

Just then, Chen Meilan came out of her unit. Liu Jingjing secretly rolled her eyes at Yan Zhao and waved to Chen Meilan before leaving.

Yan Zhao and Liu Jingjing had already discussed the case.

Knowing that Chen Meilan was anxious about the case of those kids, Yan Zhao took the umbrella from her hand and held it for her as they walked and started talking.

It turned out that Wang Qi and Feng Ha and those few kids were not just potential criminals as Chen Meilan had deduced.

They had already committed a crime.

Recently, there was an incident where a girl in an art school was preparing to hang herself late at night. Her dorm mates saved her and reported the case. Upon inspection by the school, it was discovered that this 17-year-old girl was pregnant.

She was only 17 and had no boyfriend. Normally, she should have been staying in the dormitory. How could she be pregnant?

According to her, her only contact with boys was with Wang Qi and Feng Ha, who had threatened her to go out and watch a video, and that was it.

The girl herself confessed that she saw it was a lewd video and wanted to leave, but suddenly felt extremely sleepy and fell asleep. When she woke up, her clothes were intact, so she didn't think much of it.

It wasn't until she recently found out she was pregnant that she realized she might have been raped at that time.

When Qi Zheng asked about the place where they watched the video, it was the same video hall he had investigated, which proved that the girl was raped by Wang Qi and Feng Ha there.

Normally, if the girl was willing to testify, the police could arrest and prosecute Wang Qi and Feng Ha.

But the difficulty now is that the girl and her parents, who initially said they would consider it, as the victims, probably feared damage to their daughter's reputation, left the Public Security Bureau quietly and returned to their hometown.

In other words, to protect their daughter's reputation, they decided to swallow the fact that she was violated.

And thus, they endured in silence.

If it was intentional rape or gang rape, even if under 16 years old, they should be sentenced.

But this kind of case is most afraid of the victim's parents not cooperating.

If they don't sue or appear in court, without witnesses, what can the police do?

So, Qi Zheng has already gone to the girl's hometown to do the family's ideological work.

Yan Zhao is currently waiting, hoping Qi Zheng can persuade the girl to testify.

After discussing the case, Yan Zhao asked, "What do you want to eat tonight? I'll make it for you."

Chen Meilan wanted something cool on such a hot day. She wanted liangfen (a type of jelly made from starch), but not bean powder, but potato starch, and it had to be hand-rolled by Yan Zhao, with lots of vinegar to make it fragrant. However, in the capital, potato starch isn't popular, so Chen Meilan could only mention it.

Yan Zhao paused, "There's a place that really has hand-rolled noodles. If you want to eat, I'll drive you there now."

Where in the capital would there be potato starch?

But when Yan Zhao mentioned the specific place, Chen Meilan realized it probably existed. seaʀᴄh thё ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Now, every prefecture-level city has a "Zhujing Office" in the capital, which is a restaurant specializing in local home-style dishes. It's also a gathering place for local leaders and businesspeople in the capital.

All ingredients are brought from the local area, and the chefs are as well.

No matter where you are from, when you get to the Beijing Office, you'll definitely find the flavor you like.

But Chen Meilan thought of the children and hesitated, "Forget it, the kids..."

"Call home and tell them to eat at their grandfather's place," Yan Zhao said.

Chen Meilan thought it made sense. On such a hot day, her father-in-law's place does have someone cooking. It's rare that she has something she wants to eat, and they're not short of money or time, so why not go.

A call home, and Yan Zhao drove them to the Beijing Office to eat potato noodles.

It's said that the Beijing Office's hulu tou (a type of pork head meat) is also excellent, and the mantou (steamed bun) is well-made. It's a good chance to have some and satisfy the craving.

The Beijing Office wasn't too far away, in the Xinjiekou Hutong.

How did Yan Zhao know? It was quite coincidental because the place was near the small yellow video hall.

He passed by and saw the sign, Shaanxi Flavor, Hand-Rolled Potato Starch, Gourd Head Steamed Bread.

At that time, he thought that if Chen Meilan wanted to eat her hometown flavor, he would take her there.

When they arrived at Xinjiekou, they couldn't park on the street, so they had to find a parking lot first.

Then the two of them walked in.

Normally, in such a big capital, people wouldn't run into each other unless they were in familiar places.

But Chen Meilan's eyes weren't bad. At the alley entrance, she saw Little Wang riding an electric scooter with Yuanyuan, both heading into the alley.

This alley also functions as a market, selling everything.

Little Wang wore a big sun hat, and Yuanyuan wore one too. Both had small sunglasses, Little Wang's were Zorro-style, with a black circle, and Yuanyuan's had a red circle with a small strawberry, a two-dollar toy.

These two little rascals, they must have left Little Lang behind and were having fun outside.

In such a big capital, they rode an electric scooter and wandered quite far, all the way to Xinjiekou.

"Hey, look," Chen Meilan had to call Yan Zhao, asking him to look.

Unlike Chen Meilan, who would just find it amusing to see the two kids having fun, Yan Zhao wasn't as easy-going.

Little Wang's mischievous intentions seemed never to fade. Yan Zhao was already very angry. He certainly wouldn't think too badly of his son, but it just so happened that not only was the Beijing Office in this alley, but the yellow video hall was too.

Looking at his handsome son, Yan Zhao tried his best not to think the worst.

But he still pulled Chen Meilan's hand, signaling her to walk slower and not disturb the two little rascals.

A brother and sister, a pair of teenagers, riding an electric scooter, eating and wandering, looked both deserving of a beating and happy.

Passing by a pancake shop, Little Wang bought a pancake and let Yuanyuan eat it first while he rode slowly ahead. When Yuanyuan finished half, he stopped and took it to eat himself.

Yuanyuan was about to get angry when Little Wang pointed ahead, and Yuanyuan immediately patted Little Wang's back, "Brother, you're so great."

There was a seller of hawthorn cake ahead, which was also Yuanyuan's favorite. How could she eat more after finishing a sesame seed cake.

Another piece of haw jelly, Yuanyuan ate, and Little Wang rode the scooter, eating half, then handing it to Little Wang.

There were even tastier treats ahead, like chestnut cakes, just a small piece, which used to cost a dollar but had now risen to five dollars. Sure enough, the two kids each got one.

Little Wang and Yuanyuan were ahead, while Yan Zhao and Chen Meilan walked slowly behind, maintaining a tacit understanding.

Chen Meilan felt a slight discomfort in her heart, a discomfort she couldn't quite put into words but was nonetheless present.

She thought Little Wang was too considerate, in contrast to Yan Zhao, who was like a piece of tofu dregs after giving birth to him.

Such feelings shouldn't exist when facing her children, but she just couldn't shake off the discomfort.

"Chestnut cake, should I buy you one too?" Yan Zhao suddenly asked.

Chen Meilan suddenly felt a bit better. She realized that what she wanted was also the carefree feeling of being pampered, just like Yuanyuan, strolling and eating without a care in the world.

"I can't finish a whole piece," Chen Meilan replied.

Yan Zhao said seriously, "How could that be? Every year on your birthday, I buy them, and you always eat three pieces."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw his wife stop, stamp her foot, and glare at him with a mix of reproach and anger.

And Yan Zhao, not knowing what he had done wrong, asked again, "Isn't that right?"

This dog man.

Birthdays are different from ordinary days. Middle-aged women are not little girls; they need to maintain their figure. Eating three pieces of chestnut cake every day, could she still fit into an S-sized dress?

In that instant, Chen Meilan became angry. She had intended to throw a tantrum at Yan Zhao.

But just then, Yan Zhao suddenly reached out and pushed Chen Meilan into a corner.

With one hand, he pressed her against the wall.

Chen Meilan's heart pounded as she looked up at the man, his dark skin, bulging arms, broad and cool chest, and the expression on his face, which strangely reminded her of a breed of dog, the German Shepherd.

As Yan Zhao pressed closer, Chen Meilan even slowly closed her eyes.

She didn't like keeping dogs, but now she thought, if she had a German Shepherd, she would probably like it.

She thought this dog man might be about to do something extraordinary, like the popular "wall-banging" move among young people, but then she heard him say, "Shh, don't move. That's Zhou Xueqin. Are Little Wang and Yuanyuan here to find Zhou Xueqin?"

At this point, Chen Meilan felt like a Siberian Husky.

"Where? Where is she?" she asked.

Yan Zhao pointed with a gesture, and Chen Meilan saw Zhou Xueqin at the far end of the market, in a narrow alley, wearing flip-flops without heels, carrying a vegetable basket, and shuffling along.

Apparently, she lived here.

Earlier on the way here, Chen Meilan had discussed with Yan Zhao about Zhou Xueqin harassing Little Lang and the oil coupons. At that time, Yan Zhao didn't say much, not knowing what situation she was in now, as she was his ex-wife.

They could only find out after locating her.

But Yan Zhao was too busy to search for Zhou Xueqin in the vast capital.

Yet just moments ago, he suddenly saw Little Wang pull Yuanyuan aside, turning their backs.

Then he saw Zhou Xueqin shuffle past the two children.

Little Wang then locked up his electric scooter, leading Yuanyuan, quietly and slowly, following Zhou Xueqin.

"Has Zhou Xueqin approached Little Wang? He must know Zhou Xueqin's address and came on his own," Yan Zhao asked Chen Meilan again.

Zhou Xueqin was the birth mother, and a birth mother should be the most beloved person to a child.

But no matter how much he loved her, he shouldn't deceive the adults at home. After Chen Meilan had patiently explained the principles to him, he shouldn't secretly contact Zhou Xueqin without informing her.

Yan Zhao thought Little Wang was secretly contacting Zhou Xueqin behind Chen Meilan's back and became angry.

Chen Meilan quickly raised her hand and said, "Little Wang wouldn't secretly contact Zhou Xueqin. I think he's quietly tracking her."

She didn't know how Little Wang found Zhou Xueqin.

But Chen Meilan trusted Little Wang's character. Even if he had deep feelings for Zhou Xueqin, as long as he had promised her, he wouldn't change. Otherwise, he wouldn't have brought Yuanyuan along.

Indeed, Zhou Xueqin turned into a small building, but Little Wang and Yuanyuan didn't follow. They stayed wandering around the vegetable stalls downstairs.

Zhou Xueqin went upstairs for a while and appeared on the balcony of a unit on the second floor.

She already looked quite slovenly downstairs, and after going upstairs, for some reason, she seemed even more dispirited. Slowly walking to the balcony, she lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and glanced down.

One after another, she finished one cigarette and tossed the butt down, then lit another.

It was 1995, and society was not yet very open.

Women smoking, even in places full of streetwalkers, was considered immoral.

People would roll their eyes at such behavior.

So when someone looked up and saw her, they couldn't help but roll their eyes, and the local uncles and aunties would point and criticize, spitting to express their discontent.

Zhou Xueqin seemed to be used to people's disdain and didn't care, smoking three cigarettes in a row before turning back inside.

Not far from downstairs,

Little Wang and Yuanyuan, both wearing large sun hats and small sunglasses, each bought a small milk ice cream and squatted under a big tree to enjoy it.

Chen Meilan and Yan Zhao were watching the two children from a distance.

Little Wang and Yuanyuan were watching Zhou Xueqin, while they were watching the two kids.

Perhaps Little Wang's carefulness and consideration made Yan Zhao feel a sense of crisis, or maybe it suddenly made him understand something. He actually bought Chen Meilan an ice cream for the first time.

He even chatted with the shopkeeper for a while and managed to get Chen Meilan a small stool to sit on.

The couple wanted to see what Little Wang was up to.

After about half an hour, Little Wang suddenly reached out, pressed down Yuanyuan's hat, and then his own.

Being a public security officer, Yan Zhao was alert. He suddenly bent down, turned around, and blocked Chen Meilan.

In fact, Chen Meilan had already seen. She saw Lu Dabao in a T-shirt so dirty it was hard to tell the color, leading Wang Qi, who looked like a skinny monkey, and Feng Ha, who was round and white, into the alley.

If it were just these three kids, Chen Meilan wouldn't have been so shocked.

But then she saw Lu Jingyu following behind the children, one hand carrying a big watermelon, the other holding a big mesh bag filled with various ice creams.

It seemed that Feng Ha and Wang Qi were honored guests of the Lu Jingyu family.

Lu Dabao was very enthusiastic towards them, and Lu Jingyu also did his best to entertain, chatting and laughing all the way, bringing the children upstairs.

At this point, Yan Zhao could already vaguely confirm something.

He just needed to verify it.

He didn't move, watching from afar as Little Wang pressed down his hat, stood up, and then turned to the other end of the alley.

The other end of the alley was a narrow passage only wide enough for one person.

Yan Zhao had once entered this alley to catch Wang Qi and Feng Ha, who were taking a little girl to watch pornographic videos.

They had escaped through that narrow passage.

Yan Zhao now guessed that the pornographic video hall should be run by Lu Jingyu and his son.

He still waited. After about three minutes, his pager rang.

Looking at the phone number, it was a public phone.

Yan Zhao picked up and said "Hello," and it was Little Wang on the other end.

The child first asked, "Dad, have you returned to the capital?"

Yan Zhao replied, "Yes, I'm back."

Little Wang continued, "Recently, she's been to my mom's unit. I heard my mom say she might be involved in some illegal activities. I don't think we can sit idly by, so I went to Lu Dabao's old school to inquire and found out where Lu Dabao is living now. Then, guess what, Dad, I found her."

So, Zhou Xueqin was still deliberately avoiding Little Wang and Yan Zhao.

In the capital, finding someone who was deliberately hiding and using a false name was not easy.

But Little Wang had his ways.

Although Lu Jingyu and Zhou Xueqin had divorced, they had originally done so for a high-interest loan. Now that the crisis had been resolved, they might reunite for the sake of their interests.

And indeed, through Lu Dabao, Little Wang managed to find Zhou Xueqin.

On the phone, Little Wang was still saying, "I've been following them for two days now, Dad. Guess what? I found out that Lu Jingyu runs a video hall, and Wang Qi and Feng Ha are regular customers here. Just now, they sneaked in through the back door again."

This explained why Liu Jingjing and Qi Zheng weren't noticed when they were tailing them.

As soon as Yan Zhao entered the alley, Wang Qi and Feng Ha could sense it and slip away.

Because the video hall was actually run by Lu Jingyu.

Downstairs, they played pornographic videos and engaged in the vile act of drugging and raping young girls. On the second-floor balcony, either Lu Jingyu or Lu Dabao would keep watch. If they saw someone familiar like Yan Zhao, they would notify the gang, and those hooligans would naturally run away.

Yan Zhao held the phone, still silent.

Little Wang continued, "Dad, when I came yesterday, I noticed a strange smell on Wang Qi. That smell, I once smelled on Feng Yu, remember? Feng Yu was later found to be smoking marijuana."

Aliali: 6722db2f2f514816a8103045

After a pause, the little guy added, "I think Wang Qi is using drugs."

Yan Zhao sincerely wanted to say that if Yan Wangqi didn't get obsessed with making money, he would be an exceptionally excellent detective.

In just three days, if he was willing, he could find the hideouts of Zhou Xueqin, Lu Jingyu, and others in the capital.

And just by passing by, he could tell if someone was using drugs based on their smell.

"I just observed, Wang Qi is having a drug craving. He should be about to use drugs. Dad, here's an address. Bring some people to arrest them. I'm currently blocking the small path they might use to escape," Little Wang said again.

So, even though they couldn't arrest Wang Qi and Feng Ha for rape yet.

But being caught using drugs could still put them behind bars for now.

As for Lu Jingyu, did he really used to be a tycoon?

From being unable to pay off high-interest loans to running a small pornographic video hall and harboring drug users.

Yan Zhao felt that he was even less upright than Yan Xishan.