The son of the artillery commander and a fox spirit

  It's been a week since the sulfuric acid incident, and that woman's final hysterical scream still seems to linger in his ears. This week, Jiang Zihan's mood has not been high, although he was relieved to have helped Shi Lin's family solve a big problem, although he detested that woman, her last beast-like scream kept echoing in Jiang Zihan's ears, making him very uncomfortable.

  On his way back from the library, he was stopped by a group of elderly women at the entrance of the residential building. The leader of the group was someone he knew, Old Lady Sun from across the hall. Jiang Zhihan greeted her politely, and Old Lady Sun said: "Zhihan, I've seen you grow up since you were little, and I know you're a good kid. I heard you have a good relationship with Director Shi's family, and that day you even rushed forward to stop her from splashing sulfuric acid on Director Shi." Jiang Zhihan roughly knew what she wanted to say, so he calmly replied: "It was the police officer who subdued her, it has nothing to do with me." Old Lady Sun said: "Anyway, she's just temporarily confused. Her family is pitiful, her husband only knows how to drink, and her daughter is often ill. If she really goes to jail, that family will be ruined. Be merciful and ask Director Shi to show leniency." Jiang Zhihan was annoyed: "This matter has nothing to do with what I say or what Director Shi says, it's up to the court to decide. If you have anything to say, go to the court and say it." The elderly women chimed in: "The court is just a place where officials protect each other!" Jiang Zhihan was angry: "Don't you know that if sulfuric acid were splashed on your son's face, would you hope she gets off scot-free?" The elderly women shouted: "How can this child talk like this, it's not auspicious to curse people!" Jiang Zhihan's face turned stern as he loudly said: "You should think about it with a clear conscience. Zhang Jingjing is not diligent at work and relies on making trouble to get promoted. Should she be promoted? If Director Shi were an ordinary leader who feared her tantrums and gave in, would he suffer any losses? No, the ones who would lose are your own children who work hard and don't know how to throw a tantrum. Director Shi is only protecting the interests of diligent workers, and as the only factory-level cadre living in this residential area, this is his fault? Zhang Jingjing's family may be pitiful, but it's not others who ruined her, it's herself. She destroyed herself." After Jiang Zhihan finished speaking, his anger and discomfort seemed to have been vented, and he felt more calm inside.

  Back home, her mother was already cooking. Li Jiao said: "I heard you arguing with the old ladies downstairs. I heard that Zhang Jing's husband took the child to the director's office and knelt down. You don't say, many people came to find me too. It seems that for a time, Zhang Jing became a victim." Jiang Zhihan replied: "As long as we are clear in our conscience, it's all right. Some people can't tell right from wrong, and it's not something we can control."

  After dinner, Lijuan said, "Today, an old classmate of yours came to visit you. We weren't around, so he left a note, which was passed on to me by Old Lady Sun from next door."

  The next evening, after dinner, Jiang Zhihan took the note and went to his elementary school classmate Chen Yimeng's home. Chen Yimeng was in the same class as Jiang Zhihan from elementary school to junior high school, and they had a good relationship. Later, when they went to high school, they were no longer in the same class, and gradually made new friends and entered new circles, so they didn't see each other often. Chen Yimeng's mother was a nurse, and his father was a soldier, seemingly a artillery regiment commander, who was rarely at home. Jiang Zhihan used to visit their home frequently for a period of time, but only saw his father two or three times, with the deepest impression being that he spoke loudly, like thunder, which was probably an occupational habit.

  Jiang Zihan didn't know what this sudden invitation was about, so he didn't bother to think about it. He knocked on the door and entered the house, only to see a sturdy middle-aged man sitting on the sofa in the living room. Although Jiang Zihan didn't quite remember what Chen Yimeng's father looked like, he thought it must be him, so he went forward and greeted him. Chen Yimeng's father was not particularly tall, just average, but very robust, and his waist was straight as he sat on the sofa, indeed having a military bearing.

  "Director Chen also has the straightforwardness of a soldier, and directly stated his intention: 'I retired from the army and transferred to the local government, temporarily working in the Light Industry Bureau. Last week, our bureau formed an investigation team to investigate the implementation of wage increases at the printing factory, as well as some subsequent malicious incidents. We asked Comrade Dispatch and Director Shi about the situation, and they mentioned you. I felt that your name was familiar, and later when I asked Yimeng, I found out that you were his good friend. You're a great young man, not only brave but also calm in crisis - it's a pity you didn't join our army for training. As for Yimeng, the class atmosphere wasn't good in high school, and the teacher was too young. This time when I came back, I managed to get him transferred to another class, which is your current class. I think you're great, and since you were friends before, after school starts, you should take care of each other and help each other out.'"

  Jiang Zhihan naturally nodded in agreement repeatedly.

  "Before you came in a few minutes ago, I just received a call and had to go out for a bit. Yimeng's mom is on duty today, so the two of you can play at home by yourselves."

  Jiang Zhan hurriedly stood up and said "Uncle, goodbye."

  Director Chen walked to the door and turned back to ask: "Are you very familiar with Director Shi's family?"

  "He replied: 'His daughter is my god-sister.'"

  Director Chen hesitated for a moment: "Organizational investigation work, some words cannot be spoken, there is discipline. I think Director Shi has a keen interest in reform, this is worth encouraging, I have put forward my own opinions to the higher-ups, Director Shi should be given more responsibilities."

  Jiang Zhihan nodded slightly, indicating he understood.

  Director Chen smiled and said: "The young man is quite good, very steady at a young age." He closed the door and left.

  Two friends from elementary school days were left, and after a while without seeing each other, they suddenly didn't know what to say when they met again. Chen Yimeng brought out a can of locally produced cola and handed it to Jiang Zihan. After sitting for a while, Jiang Zihan noticed that Chen Yimeng was preoccupied with thoughts and asked

  "What's wrong?"

  Chen Yimeng hesitated and didn't speak.

  "We've been friends for many years. If there's anything you want to say, I'll help if I can. If not, you should know me well enough that I won't go around talking nonsense."

  Chen Yimeng said: "It's mainly been a long time since we last met, and as soon as I opened my mouth, I said something that was really embarrassing."

  Jiang Zhan looked at him and didn't say a word, patiently waiting.

  "Can I borrow 200 yuan from you?"

  Jiang Zhan was somewhat surprised: "I don't have that much money in my hands. But it's not impossible to think of a way. You have to tell me what to do with it." For some reason, he thought of the struggles at the factory over 18 yuan.

  Chén yǐ méng zhī zhī wú wú.

  He finally mustered up the courage to say: "My girlfriend wants an abortion, she says it's 1,000 yuan. I have 800, but I'm still short 200."

  These days, Jiang Zhihan has gotten used to talking to adults as an equal, because he found out that many things he knew, they didn't know; and things he had come into contact with, they had no concept of. But the topic of abortion was not something that 17-year-old Jiang Zhihan could comprehend, his mouth agape, unsure of how to react.

  After more than two minutes, Jiang Zihan finally asked: "You and her, what's going on?"

  Chen Yimeng nodded slightly, looking a bit embarrassed: "Whatever happens, don't let my dad find out, or I'll be lucky if I only lose one leg."

  Two whole minutes passed before Jiang Zihan exclaimed: "Kao, you're really awesome!"

  As they let out this sigh, the two people seemed to have truly regained their old friendship and closeness, exchanging a smile.

  "Are you sure she's pregnant?" Jiang Zhan asked.

  She said she hasn't come for a month, it should be true.

  "Isn't she going to cheat you?"

  Chen Yimeng said: "For money? I don't think so."

  "I don't have 200 yuan, you know my family situation, I don't even have 200 yuan in pocket money for the whole year."

  Chen Yimeng said: "It's okay, I'll find someone else to think of a way, patching up, 200 yuan shouldn't be a big problem. Apart from the money, I'm a bit worried that something might go wrong."

  Jiang Zhan said, "Don't be in a hurry. I'll help you think this over carefully. If it's true, just giving money isn't enough. I've heard that hospitals don't do things casually, and if you go to some unlicensed place, what if something goes wrong? You can't escape the consequences either. And if it's not true, you can't just be cheated out of your money like that."

  "Alright, alright," Chen Yimeng said happily. He was a rough guy who didn't think much, and it was better if he didn't think too much about these things. Finally, he added, "My dad says you're very capable. I believe in you."

  Jiang Zhihan was so angry and helpless that he couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

  Sitting in Chen Yimeng's home, Jiang Zihan deliberated for a long time and finally got some clues. He instructed Chen Yimeng and then left his house.

  The next morning, Jiang Zihan went to find Old Man Yang and chatted with him in the house for half a day. Then he made a phone call to Chen Yimeng and gave him some instructions.

  At 9:30 in the morning, Chen Yimeng waited for his girlfriend Qu Yingmei at his own door. Qu Yingmei was quite tall and wore a short skirt that few people in Zhongzhou wore at the time, with the skirt just above her knees. Although it couldn't compare to the ultra-short skirts that became popular later, it was still a sexy outfit for that time. She wore 2-inch high heels, lipstick, and had colorful nail polish on both her fingernails and toenails. In fact, Qu Yingmei was only about ten months older than Jiang Zihan, and her age difference with Chen Yimeng was even smaller. But in this outfit, she looked at least three years more mature than the two of them. After graduating from junior high school, Qu Yingmei went to a financial vocational school, and this year was already her second year.

  Chen Yimeng said: "I now have 800 yuan in my hand, a friend promised to help me make up the remaining 200 yuan, and I'll go pick it up this morning." Qu Yingmei didn't suspect anything and happily agreed. Qu Yingmei was familiar with Chen Yimeng's personality, which had inherited his father's straightforwardness but not his cleverness, and he was rough around the edges, without much guile. This was actually one of the reasons why Qu Yingmei initially chose to be with him. Another reason was that Chen Yimeng was tall and handsome, with a strong resemblance to a famous Hong Kong singer named Guo.

  The two took a bus and arrived at the place specified by Jiang Zhihan. Qu Yingmei looked around at the courtyard and the surrounding plants, and said to Chen Yimeng: "Your friend's family lives here? They're really rich." The two walked up and knocked on the door, but no one answered. With a gentle push, they found it was slightly ajar. Chen Yimeng led the way in, with Qu Yingmei following behind. After passing through the courtyard, they came to the main house at the front, where the door was also slightly ajar. The two walked in and asked softly: "Is anyone here?" Suddenly, an old man appeared from behind a screen, his hair white but his face looking quite young. Chen Yimeng remembered Jiang Zhihan's words and didn't speak. The old man looked Qu Yingmei up and down and said: "You seem to have a lot of excess fire, let me take your pulse." Qu Yingmei was a street-smart girl who had grown up on the streets, and she initially wanted to blurt out: "What makes you think you can take my pulse?" But there was a kind of authority in the old man's calm demeanor, and besides, she had indeed been feeling a lot of excess fire lately. So she stretched out her hand involuntarily. The old man took her pulse, closed his eyes, and felt it for about a minute. Then he said: "You need to clear some heat, just drink some simple white chrysanthemum tea." Before she could respond, the old man said: "You two are here looking for Zhihan, right? He's in the side house, I'll go call him." With that, he pushed open the door and went out to the side house, where he spoke with Jiang Zhihan for a couple of sentences.

  After a while, Jiang Zhihan pushed the door and came in, inviting the two to sit down. He took a glance at Qu Yingmei and thought to himself, "I didn't expect Chen Yimeng to like mature women." Looking at this situation, Chen Yimeng can't handle this girl.

  Qu Yingmei smiled and said: "Your home is very elegant."

  "My home is a single apartment, two bedrooms and one living room. This is my friend's grandfather's house."

  Chen Yimeng was surprised: "Why did you call us here?"

  Jiang Zhan said, "I borrowed money from him. I promised to sweep his yard for a year, once a week, and he paid me 200 yuan at once." He took out a stack of 10-yuan RMB bills and handed them to Chen Yimeng's hands.

  Chen Yimeng heard this and felt embarrassed, saying: "I'd better go borrow from someone else."

  Qū Yìng Méi stood beside him, smiling and saying: "This is what iron brothers are like, Yǐ Mēng, I've never seen you have an iron brother like this before."

  Jiang Zhan looked at Qu Yingmei and said, "Money is an external thing. Good friends have to lend it when they need it. However, before I give you this 1,000 yuan in Yimeng, can I ask a question?"

  Qu Mei has already sensed that Jiang Zihan is not ordinary. Generally, boys of his age would feel embarrassed to look at her and yet steal a few glances. But Jiang Zihan walked into the room and looked directly at her with a calm and serene expression. Qu Mei was quite proud of her appearance, plus she dressed sexily, in this era, she was exceptional, and when walking on the street, the rate of people turning their heads to look at her was not 100%, but at least 95%.

  Qū Yìng Méi blinked her eyes intentionally and made a charming expression: "Ask away."

  "What are you going to do with this 1000 yuan?"

  Qū yìng méi chuí xià yǎn lián, zuò chū yī gè hài jiǔ de biǎo qíng, ránhòu yòu zhēng dà le yǎnjīng, shuǐ wāng wāng de kàn zhe jiāng zhī hán, màn màn de shuō: "Yǒu mēi hé nǐ shuō ma? Bù xiǎo xīn, huái yùn le."

  Jiang Zihan was made uncomfortable by her seductive expression, after all, he was still young and had never been close to a girl before. For the first time, there was a beauty so close, and a fragrance wafted into his nose, his little heart skipped two beats. He collected his thoughts and calmly said: "But you're not pregnant."

  Qu Yingmei burst out laughing, with a crisp and clear laughter like a wind chime: "Do you understand this?"

  Jiang Zhihan was unmoved: "My friend's grandfather is a famous Chinese medicine doctor, he has absolute confidence." Yang Lao Yezi wasn't some kind of famous Chinese medicine doctor, but when it came to feeling the pulse and determining pregnancy, he still had confidence.

  Qu Yingmei looked at him and paused for a moment: "Was all of this designed by you guys to trick me?"

  Jiang Zhihan said: "There's no design, just to help you solve the problem. Now it's very dangerous to have an abortion at those underground clinics outside, it may be life-threatening. Today I also helped contact a good friend's mother, she is the head nurse of obstetrics and gynecology. Generally in hospitals, if you're under age, you need your parents' signature to have an abortion, she agreed to open a back door for me. The time has already been arranged. We can go now, let the Western doctor re-examine, if it's really necessary, maybe we can do the surgery right away."

  Qu Yingmei stared at him, Jiang Zihan looked back at her very sincerely.

  Qū Yìng Méi withdrew her seductive posture and thought for a moment before saying: "Alright, I'm not pregnant."

  She turned her head and looked at Chen Yimeng with deep feeling: "It's not that I want to cheat you out of your money, but it's really a good friend. My brother is the owner of a billiard room, he got into a fight and hurt someone, now he's collecting money everywhere to get through this difficult time."

  "Why don't you tell the truth?"

  Qū Yìng Méi glared at him: "I still don't know you, to be honest, if you can even manage to squeeze out 200 yuan for me, that's already the best."

  "Alright, I, Qu Mei, have also been implicated in a fake pregnancy scam." She stood up and was about to leave.

  Chen Yimeng hesitated for a moment and said, "Take it."

  Qu Yingmei turned around and looked at him for about 2 seconds, then tilted her head to take a glance at Jiang Zihan. Jiang Zihan remained silent.

  Qu Yingmei took the money and looked at Jiang Zihan: "Don't advise your brother?"

  Jiang Zihan replied, "I believe him, and he believes you. What can I say?"

  Qu Yue Mei burst out laughing, looking very happy, and walked over to hug Chen Yimeng's arm, saying: "You're a pretty interesting guy, I'll treat you to lunch today, thanks for lending me money."

  Jiang Zhan said: "I won't go, I have something else to do."

  Qu Yingmei looked at Chen Yimeng, and Chen Yimeng said: "Brother, give me some face, let's have lunch together, it won't delay much time."

  Jiang Zhan's heart secretly sighed, Brother, you are really being eaten to death.

  Qū Yìng Méi stuck to Chén Yǐ Mèng, using that coquettish voice from Hong Kong dramas, saying: "Old public, do you know what I like most about you? It's that you're down-to-earth and don't have a bad heart, unlike some of your friends who are short but have big hearts, three out of ten sentences are fake, and one word is taken as two words." Chén Yǐ Mèng looked at Jiāng Zhī Hán awkwardly, using his eyes to signal to Jiāng Zhī Hán not to take it seriously.

  Found a small restaurant, three people sat down and ordered beef noodles.

  Qiu Yingmei asked Jiang Zihan: "Do you have a girlfriend?"

  Jiang's face fell.

  "What's taking so long?"

  Chen Yimeng clasped his hands together and bowed twice towards the cold river, meaning "Brother, you have to be more tolerant."

  Jiang Zihan rolled her eyes: "There is no..."

  Qū Yìng Méi didn't let him off: "What type do you like? Pure and innocent? Sensual? Gentle? The older sister type?"

  Jiang Zihan said: "It's quiet."

  Qu Yingmei would never concede in a quarrel, but suddenly she leaned in, mysterious and secretive: "I'll ask you a question, and you must answer honestly."

  Jiang Zhan looked at her.

  "Are you a virgin?"

  Jiang Zihan was defeated this time, a sexy and beautiful girl asked him face to face in a distance of several tens of centimeters from him, which exceeded his ultimate imagination. His face turned red suddenly.

  "Hahaha, hahahaha," Qu Yingmei burst out laughing: "Asking this question makes you blush, you must be a virgin. The most virginal of all virgins. Hahahahaha." Qu Yingmei's voice was several degrees higher, plus her sexy and beautiful tone, the people at several tables nearby turned their heads to look over. Jiang Zihan's face became even redder.

  Chen Yimeng looked at Jiang Zihan with some tension, afraid that he would turn his face, but seeing his increasingly red face, he finally couldn't help but laugh strangely along with him. These two heartless and ruthless men and women, Jiang Zihan thought to himself, he was a bit embarrassed, but not angry, and deep down, he had a few points of flirtatious feelings with the beauty.

  After dinner, Chen Yimeng went to the bathroom. Qu Yingmei walked over and sat down on the stool next to Jiang Zihan, saying: "You're too calculating, but you still have a good temperament, so I approve of our family's Yimeng being friends with you." Jiang Zihan thought to himself, when I was six years old and knew Chen Yimeng, you didn't even know where he was. Qu Yingmei continued: "As for the 200 yuan in here, since it was your contribution, I should still thank you." Jiang Zihan shook his head: "I gave it to Yimeng, if you want to thank someone, just thank him, no need to acknowledge my kindness."

  Qū Yìng Méi suddenly leaned in and asked Qián Zhī Hán: "Have you kissed a girl?"

  Jiang Zhi Han thought she was using her old tricks again and calmly said: "No."

  Qū Yìng Méi leaned over and pecked a kiss on his cheek.

  Jiang Zhi's face turned red again with a loud noise in his head.

  "Hey, don't get any weird ideas, I just wanted to thank you. Originally, I thought of giving you a kiss as a way of saying thanks, but since it's like this, let's leave your first kiss for your first love instead."

  Today's Jiang Zihan, initially planned meticulously and had the upper hand everywhere, but later was constantly toyed with by this woman, couldn't help but feel a few points of annoyance. Just as he was about to speak, Qu Yingmei said: "There's lipstick on your face, hurry up and wipe it off, don't let Yimeng misunderstand."

  Jiang Zhi's face turned cold and awkward as he hastily wiped his face with his hands.

  At this time, Chen Yimeng walked out and saw Jiang Zihan's angry face and Qu Yingmei's complacent appearance. He frowned at Qu Yingmei and said, "Don't go too far."

  "Hey, hubby, I wouldn't dare, just joking around. You guys tricked me for a whole morning, now it's my turn to get a little revenge. Tonight is Chu Chu's birthday, will you go with me?"

  Jiang Zihan cursed in her heart and sighed, "Who's deceiving who after all? With just a flick of an eye, the truth is turned upside down. What a formidable fox spirit indeed."