Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

At the county train station, the white smoke from the green trains turned half the sky gray.

A military green Jiefang truck was parked on the side of the square, and the tailgate of the truck bed was lowered with a loud "bang".

"Get out of the car! And get out of there quickly!"

The guard sergeant, with a stern face, held three stiff cardboard train tickets in his hand and stuffed them into Wang Guifen's hand like trash.

"These are tickets that the group leader bought for you out of his own pocket. They're for the 3:20 PM train, which goes directly to your hometown commune."

The commander said this was the last time he'd done all he could; if anyone dared to set foot in this area again, they would be treated as a vagrant!

Wang Guifen was pulled off the truck bed by two soldiers who held her arms. Her legs were still weak as soon as her feet touched the ground, and she almost knelt down.

Meng Jingui and Meng Jianjun weren't much better off, especially Meng Jianjun, who still reeked of pig manure, fermenting under the blazing sun, causing passersby to cover their noses and walk around him.

"Go! Get out of here!" The squad leader didn't even glance at them, jumped into the passenger seat, and patted the door.

The truck sputtered away, belching black smoke, its taillights radiating a sense of resolute determination.

Watching the military vehicle disappear from sight, Wang Guifen's face, which had been ashen, suddenly changed. She spat a mouthful of bloody saliva onto the ground.

"Pah! What is that?!"

Meng Jianjun plopped down on the steps, looking at the train ticket in his hand with a worried expression.

"Mother, are we really going back?"

"Go back my ass!"

Wang Guifen snatched the three train tickets, and with her rough hands, as rough as tree bark, she tore them apart with force. With a few "rip" sounds, the perfectly good tickets became scraps of paper, which she then tossed into the wind.

"Mom! What are you doing! Those are tickets!" Meng Jingui panicked and reached out to grab the fluttering piece of paper.

"You good-for-nothing!" Wang Guifen slapped him on the forehead.

"Going back is a dead end! Everyone in the village knows we came here to enjoy a good life. If we slink back like this, we'll be drowned in their spittle!"

Wang Guifen's triangular eyes narrowed into slits, gleaming with a sinister green light. She touched the black-and-white photograph in her inner pocket; it was her last trump card.

"Let's go, we won't go far, we'll settle down in this county town. I refuse to believe that Gu Changfeng is made of iron! Even if he's a man of iron, he'll turn to water when he sees a pretty girl!"

She remembered clearly that her distant cousin's daughter, Wang Chunhua, helped wash dishes in the kitchen of the state-run restaurant in this county town.

This girl is ambitious and quite pretty. She's determined to marry a cadre and become an official's wife. Isn't she just a ready-made pawn?

"You guys go ahead, my legs aren't working well, so I'll head back first. The kids are waiting for me at home."

Meng Jingui picked up the train tickets from the ground and pieced them back together.

He originally wanted to come with his mother to enjoy a better life with his elder brother, but he was met with a cold shoulder.

He and his mother can continue to make trouble, but he has a child at home, and with this unfortunate limp, he can't afford any more trouble.

Wang Guifen rolled her eyes at him: "Go ahead, go ahead! Don't blame me for favoring your brother later."

……

The back door of the state-run restaurant in the county town.

A smell of swill mixed with cooking fumes wafted out. A young woman wearing a floral blouse and with two thick braids was splashing a basin of dishwater into the alley.

The girl was indeed quite pretty, with an oval face and big eyes, but her gaze was restless, darting around, revealing a shrewd and calculating nature.

"Chunhua!" Wang Guifen shouted at the top of her lungs as she stood at the entrance of the alley.

Wang Chunhua was taken aback. She looked up and saw Wang Guifen and the other two, all filthy and looking like refugees. Her brows immediately furrowed, and a hint of disgust flashed in her eyes. But she quickly concealed it, put the basin on the ground, and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Oh, isn't this my aunt? What happened to her?"

Wang Guifen didn't have time for pleasantries. She pulled her into a corner and whispered mysteriously, "Chunhua, your aunt has brought you immense wealth and fortune. Do you want it?"

Wang Chunhua pursed her lips, clearly disbelieving: "Aunt, you're already in such a sorry state, how could you possibly give me something as valuable as wealth? You don't mean you want to borrow money, do you? I don't have any money. My monthly salary of eighteen yuan and fifty cents isn't even enough to buy face cream."

"You little brat, how can you be so easily swayed!"

Wang Guifen looked around to make sure no one was watching before leaning close to Wang Chunhua's ear and uttering the name through gritted teeth: "Do you know Gu Changfeng?"

"Gu Changfeng?" Wang Chunhua's eyes lit up instantly, and her breathing quickened. "The youngest regimental commander? I heard he looks like a movie star and lives in the military compound?"

In the surrounding villages, Gu Changfeng was the dream of every unmarried girl. He was powerful, handsome, and rumored to receive a high stipend.

"Yes! That's him!" Wang Guifen slapped her thigh.

"He's my eldest son! Although he's not my biological son, he's legally his. I can set you up with that connection right now!"

Wang Chunhua was tempted, but then she looked at Wang Guifen suspiciously: "Since he's your son, why aren't you enjoying a life of luxury in the military region? Why are you coming to this back alley to find me?"

"Oh, don't even mention it!" Wang Guifen had already prepared a lie, and it came out as soon as she opened her mouth.

"It's all because of that Lin Wanrou! That barren, yellow-faced woman, who wouldn't let go of Changfeng and even stirred up trouble between us, driving us out."

Changfeng is a filial son, but given his position, he can't easily confront his wife. He told me privately that he's long disliked Lin Wanrou and wants to replace her with someone younger, prettier, and more caring.

As Wang Guifen spoke, she observed Wang Chunhua's expression. Seeing the greedy glint in the girl's eyes, she knew there was a chance.

"Chunhua, look at you, so pretty and beautiful, what a waste of your talent to be washing dishes in the kitchen! And what is Lin Wanrou? She's just a country bumpkin who can't read much."

"If you marry Changfeng, you'll be the regimental commander's wife! You'll ride in jeeps, live in a grand compound, and live the high life. Who would dare not look up to you?"

These words perfectly struck at Wang Chunhua's Achilles' heel.

Her hands became rough from washing dishes at the restaurant, and she was driven mad with jealousy every day as she watched those officials come and go, eating meat and drinking alcohol.

"Aunt, are you serious?" Wang Chunhua swallowed hard, her hands gripping the hem of her clothes tightly. "But...but she's already married and has children..."

"You can get divorced even if you're married! And the kids are a money pit, just give them away!" Wang Guifen's face revealed a ruthless glint.

"Once you become his woman, seduce him, and give him a healthy baby boy, what's Lin Wanrou compared to that? You won't even need to chase her away; Gu Changfeng will divorce her himself!"

Wang Chunhua's heart was pounding, and she could already picture herself wearing a Lenin suit and leather shoes, bossing everyone around in the military compound.

"Then... what should I do? I rarely see someone like Commander Gu."

"You don't need to worry about that." Wang Guifen smiled sinisterly, her smile, combined with her wrinkled face, made her look like a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Changfeng comes to the county's armed forces department on odd-numbered days, sometimes even staying overnight at the county guesthouse. We just need to seize the opportunity..."

She took out the only two yuan she had left from her pocket and stuffed it into Wang Chunhua's hand.

"Go and buy some of those drugs. The kind you use for breeding pigs, or to make people so sleepy they're completely drowsy. Any kind of drug will do, as long as it makes people confused and obedient."

Wang Chunhua was startled; the money in her hand felt hot to the touch. "Drug her? That's illegal!"

"Fortune favors the bold!" Wang Guifen grabbed her wrist with a frighteningly strong grip.

"Do you want to wash dishes for the rest of your life? Or do you want to be an official's wife? If it happens tonight, Gu Changfeng will dare to deny it for the sake of his reputation and future."

"Then you just need to insist that he was drunk and forced you, and he won't be able to explain himself even if he has a hundred mouths!"

Meng Jianjun, who was listening nearby, swallowed hard and interjected, "Cousin, just listen to your mother. When you become the regimental commander's wife, you should also help your cousin out. We're all in this together."

Wang Chunhua bit her lower lip, her expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

The wind blew through the alley, swirling up the rotten vegetable leaves on the ground.

After a long while, Wang Chunhua suddenly raised her head, the hesitation in her eyes completely gone, replaced by a gambler's madness.

"Okay! I'll go buy it! I know where to buy that kind of dirty medicine!"