NOVPUB
Chapter 597: 587 Chapter Convalescing Period
With Shen Yunfang, that alluring carrot dangling in front of him, Li Hongjun, the stubborn donkey, certainly took some time to heal his injuries properly. Maybe it was because he was fed too much "Essence of Life," but Li Hongjun’s condition improved remarkably. By September, before Yunfang went back to work, this stubborn donkey, Li Hongjun, was already eating meat.
Yunfang’s internship was still pretty relaxed; she could come home on time every day to pick up the kids and cook and do laundry for their dad. Although Hongjun couldn’t do much and spent most of his time lying in bed or wandering around the house, having him at home made a real difference to everyone’s spirits.
Before, when Yunfang would pick up the kids from school every evening, Manman and Pangpang would immediately start talking about what had happened at the daycare. Now, as soon as they saw her, their first question was about what dad was doing at home. Hongjun, the irresponsible father, saw his status at home shoot up.
In the months that Li Hongjun was recovering at home, several significant things also happened to the family.
Firstly, comrade Ma Liguo finally settled on several properties. After discussing the details with Shen Yunfang, they went out together for a few days, and eventually purchased four properties at prices ranging from over two thousand to more than four thousand, one for each family.
However, the cost of these properties was much higher than when she first bought hers—prices had more than doubled in just over two years. Ma Liguo realized immediately that the situation was serious. The hesitant approach of the past wouldn’t work anymore. If they liked a house, they had to act without hesitation, or the price could rise substantially in a few months.
The highest-priced property they bought this time was an apartment, not a courtyard house. The cheapest courtyard houses were already selling for over eight thousand, which was an even greater increase than regular houses.
Even so, Yunfang didn’t find any suitable courtyard house; therefore, she had to settle for an apartment as well.
After everyone bought a property, Li Dajie and Dashuan’s families had some money left over at Yunfang’s place. Yunfang handed it all to Ma Liguo, telling him to keep an eye out and see if there was another good deal to snag—if they were short on money, she could help cover the initial costs.
Now, Ma Liguo was fully focused on property. It wasn’t easy to find sellers at that time, and like them, wanting to buy several properties at once meant you couldn’t just stick to one community. So, Ma Liguo spent all his spare time house hunting, scouring the nearby buildings, then branching out further, as long as it was within the Capital area.
Of course, when he went out on weekends, he’d bring his wife along. Her police uniform cleared quite a few obstacles and solved more than a few problems for him.
The second big event took place at the end of September when the comrades who had shared the field hospital ward with Li Hongjun came to visit him. Five young men came, all calling Yunfang "sister-in-law" as soon as they saw her. Yunfang certainly couldn’t let her man lose face. Besides, she had hosted Hongjun’s comrades before and organized such gatherings, so she warmly entertained them that evening.
She prepared a lavish table with twelve dishes, six meat and six vegetarian, with plenty of white rice to go around, and, of course, enough liquor for everyone.
At the dinner table, these young men started off joking and laughing, but after the third round of drinks, some began to wipe away tears. 𝘯𝑜𝑣𝑝𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
It turned out that these young men were all members of Li Hongjun’s squad, going through hell and back with their captain on the battlefield and completing many difficult tasks. This time, their squad suffered heavy injuries due to ***. Most were wounded by bomb shrapnel, and despite timely medical treatment, the location of the injuries meant that many were left with lifelong disabilities. Because of their physical conditions, the five of them would be leaving the army forever, and their visit this time was to see their captain before returning home for their reassignment.
Li Hongjun fell silent for a while before asking about their reassignment back home. Everyone reported that, being war heroes, they were assigned to quite good units. In the end, Li Hongjun could only encourage them to work hard and told them to write to him if they ever encountered any difficulties.
That night, the six men got completely drunk. The next day at noon, Shen Yunfang helped Li Hongjun to personally see their comrades off on the train.
The third matter occurred in October when a letter for help was received from Ma Huilan, the wife of Li Hongjun’s comrade Chen Jing.
Chen Jing, who was always an honest man who did not flatter or fawn, suffered constant ostracization at the TV factory, having his work post shifted time and again. But even so, he somehow got in someone’s way, and so a week prior, he had been framed for embezzlement, the charge being that a TV went missing from the warehouse. The management conducted a cursory investigation, but since someone wanted to frame him, they had certainly prepared evidence accordingly. Chen Jing, having no way to defend himself, ended up with the blame. Considering the issue of reputation, the unit decided not to pursue Chen Jing’s legal responsibility, but they fired him.
Although Chen Jing was honest, he knew whether he had embezzled or not, and it frustrated him deeply that he had been ousted in such a disgraceful manner. Most importantly, his salary was the source of livelihood for his whole family, old and young; without his job, what would they do? The house belonged to the unit, so his family had nowhere to live. Furthermore, his neighbors all knew he had been fired for stealing a TV from the unit. From then on, his whole family was labeled as thieves, which would affect his children’s future employment or marriage prospects.
In a fit of anger, Chen Jing beat up the person who had framed him. It wasn’t a covert, sackcloth-covered assault, but an open, public beating with his fists. The injured party couldn’t let it slide regardless of the reason. Assault was assault, and so Chen Jing was taken into police custody, while the injured party was admitted to the hospital, refusing to come out and demanding a compensation of five hundred yuan or else they would see to it that Chen Jing rotted in jail.
Ma Huilan, a woman at her wit’s end, couldn’t find anyone to help nor had the money to compensate, so she finally thought of writing to Li Hongjun and his wife for assistance.
Upon reading the letter, Shen Yunfang and Li Hongjun were livid. They knew exactly what kind of person Chen Jing was; he would never stoop to petty theft. It was clear someone was out to get him, and they annoyed that he had foolishly fallen into their trap.
Li Hongjun’s wounds had largely healed, so after getting his household affairs in order, he took the train the very next day to where Chen Jing was. After arriving, he didn’t directly go to the hospitalized victim, but instead went to the local military unit and had them negotiate with the police station, eventually getting Chen Jing released.
Of course, regardless of the circumstances, Chen Jing had publically beaten someone who was still in the hospital, so compensating the medical expenses was inevitable. After numerous negotiations, the person who had been making big claims in the hospital realized that Chen Jing was released and that Li Hongjun had connections, and so they weren’t as insistent. After all, they had their own skeletons in the closet. Therefore, both sides stepped back, and Li Hongjun compensated two hundred yuan to settle the matter privately.
