The Divorced Wife of the Richest Man is Reborn

Chapter 136

Hu Xiaohua had never been to the Military Commission's General Office before.

Just after finishing his testimony and stepping out of the First Commander's office, where all the leaders of the Army General Command were gathered.

Liu Peng was also there, currently reporting to the leaders about the items he received from Yan Jun and the bribery situation, speaking haltingly. At over forty, almost fifty years old, his voice carried a sob.

"At the time, Yan Jun wanted to give the items to Wang Gebi himself, but he didn't dare, so he asked me to pass them on. He went to America, living a life of paradise, while I, who dedicated my life to the army, what have I gained?" he said.

Yan Peiheng replied, "Yan Jun will be arrested as soon as he lands."

"His son is in the military in America..." Liu Peng added.

But another person interrupted him, saying, "According to our intelligence, Yan Mike was admitted to West Point but only stayed for a month before taking a leave of absence due to illness. This time, he will return with Yan Jun and Gu Xiao."

So not only Gu Xiao and Yan Jun, but Mike would also be coming back.

"Then arrest them all upon landing," Yan Peiheng reiterated.

The intelligence officer hesitated, "It's said that Yan Mike attempted suicide three times in a row, his mental state is extremely unstable, which is why he was dismissed from West Point."

Hu Xiaohua was shocked. He had seen Mike when he was younger, then known as Yan Lu, a particularly handsome boy. Going to America, he should have been living in paradise, serving in the military there, how glorious and impressive, yet he had attempted suicide, and not just once but three times?

At that moment, Yan Peiheng said, "Don't talk about Yan Jun or Mike, those are my family matters. I have already taken them to military law, the military tribunal will give everyone the final answer. But Commander Liu has crossed the policy red line and must be publicly punished."

The top leader of the army, Chao Commander, wanted to persuade Yan Peiheng to let the matter rest, saying, "Yan Laozong, after all, Commander Liu has been to Korea, cooperated with you in Qinghai, fought on the same battlefield. And now, with the large-scale demobilization and the changes in national policy, the situation is not very stable. Publicizing this matter now would give capital countries a handle."

In essence, although Commander Liu had crossed the policy red line, to publicize it would affect the army's credibility among the people, which would not be good for the entire army.

Yan Peiheng then asked Chao Commander, "Chao Laozong, at what age did you and your wife end your long-distance marriage? And what position is your son currently in?"

Chao Commander replied, "My wife and I were together at 47, and my son has been transferred to work in a steel mill, where the efficiency is poor, and he is currently undergoing layoff procedures."

Yan Peiheng nodded and said, "You know, both my sons have been transferred. My wife and I were separated for life, never meeting until death. Since we have both made the same sacrifices, you can choose not to demand, but I must demand. My bottom line is that Commander Liu must retire without any position, and Liu Peng must also be expelled."

"How about this, we don't publicize Yan Jun's case, and give Commander Liu a chance to ease into retirement, let him take a secondary position for a couple of years first, so we can all be more harmonious," Chao Commander suggested.

Yan Peiheng immediately retorted, "If you do that, I won't care about our decades-long friendship. I will continue to report this matter upwards."

"We're all old, why go through this trouble? Can't you just retire peacefully?" Chao Commander raised his voice.

Yan Peiheng countered, "You may be old, but I am not. I still consider myself a young man, full of ambition and aspirations. If over a million soldiers have been demobilized, and if the military tribunal finds me guilty, even I should be demobilized. This cut must be made, I don't mind taking the knife myself or being stabbed by it. This is about national honor, the mission on the shoulders of our generation, the sense of responsibility for the nation. Regarding the policy red line, I cannot back down."

Immediately, Chao Commander's face grew increasingly grim.

Reporting further up would reach national-level leaders.

And Yan Peiheng's call for severe punishment would not be limited to Commander Liu alone.

Once Commander Liu was dealt with, reporting it upwards would surely enrage the leaders, leading to another major purge and overhaul within the army.

Chao Commander, ten years older than Yan Peiheng, truly lacked the energy for such a fight.

Mutual glances, decades of friendship, like brothers.

But Yan Peiheng's character was such that, in Qinghai, Commander Liu was merely his commander, while he was the general commander. Now, Commander Liu was his superior, all because of his straightforward, self-sacrificing nature that would hurt himself to harm the enemy.

He was a steel blade, only to be broken, never bent.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Hu Xiaohua, outside, was bored, standing loosely and crookedly.

But suddenly hearing Yan Peiheng cough violently, he straightened up immediately.

Somehow, he felt he should stand taller, his chest should be held higher because of Grandpa Yan Peiheng. Because when it came to honor, honor, and responsibility, Hu Xiaohua would think it was all bullshit.

But Yan Peiheng was his distant relative, and Hu Xiaohua had seen his life. Except for not returning to the capital when Su Wen died, causing gossip in the village, Grandpa Yan was impeccable in public matters.

Since Yan Peiheng was so tough, Hu Xiaohua couldn't be too weak.

He decided that from today on, he would be like Xue Mingfang, Wang Meng, Yan Peiheng, and Yan Zhao, a person with honor and responsibility.

From today on, he would be a new Hu Xiaohua.

And in the meeting room, whether to cut Commander Liu and conduct a full military discipline overhaul.

Or to let the matter rest, everyone finishing their term peacefully, had yet to be decided.

...

As for Chen Meilan, she didn't plan to cook dinner today, wanting to take the kids out to try the newly opened McDonald's.

Nowadays, units often issue KFC or McDonald's coupons as benefits.

Although she could be generous when buying a computer for Little Wang, 271 hadn't reached the stage of dividends yet. And if Chen Meilan guessed correctly, Grandpa Yan was so eager for her to come to the capital because he disapproved of Zhang Xiangming's actions and wanted her to take over Food Factory 81.

The scope of operations was expanding, money becoming just numbers on paper.

But the days when Chen Meilan imagined having a dividend of hundreds of thousands or even millions, where she could lie down and make money without working, were getting further and further away.

Last year, her total income was only 200,000, and household expenses were high, money flowing like water. Areas that needed saving had to be saved, and conveniences that needed to be taken had to be taken.

So in the afternoon, she didn't cook, waiting for Yan Peiheng to come back and take out his benefit coupons to take the kids out for a meal.

Of course, the severity of Liu Peng's situation could be seen from the reactions of the leaders in this building.

Just as Yan Zhao returned, Chen Meilan opened the door to see Aunt Cui and Auntie Xi sitting in the corridor, chatting, their faces not looking too good.

These two aunts didn't talk much with Chen Meilan.

But they had formed an extraordinary friendship with Yan Zhao due to his good impression on them last time.

"Yan Zhao, your Uncle Cui and Uncle Xu were urgently called to the Military Commission for a meeting, do you know what's going on?" Auntie Xi asked first.

In the summer, the corridor was cooler than indoors. These two aunts were used to chatting here, their stools placed in fixed positions. Worried that Yan Zhao wouldn't sit, Aunt Cui quickly fetched a small stool from home, patting it and saying, "Come, sit down, let's talk properly."

Yan Zhao had just reported in, but judging from Yan Peiheng's character, he would definitely use this incident as a trigger for a full military discipline overhaul.

But for the two aunts, comfort was still necessary, so he said, "The problem shouldn't be too big, at most, Liu Peng will be internally criticized."

"I heard your Uncle Cui say they're going to investigate the dairy factory," Aunt Cui added.

In the style of the Chinese people, some issues are not taken seriously, and people just watch and criticize, but when a leader takes the lead and investigates seriously, Food Factory 81 is full of holes. Not to mention the short-weight milk powder currently on the shelves of various stores, the quality of the new milk powder is also problematic when checked. The certificates were obtained through irregular procedures, which makes the situation even more serious.

"Fortunately, your daughter-in-law Mei was smart enough to withdraw," Auntie Xi said.

Aunt Cui quickly praised her daughter-in-law: "For the milk powder factory, she bought so many books and even signed up for classes. She kept talking about how Zhang Xiangming might not be able to handle it, and look, something happened, didn't it?"

"So, people... Hey, Yan Zhao, wait, let's chat a bit longer," the old ladies' gossip was long and tedious, and Yan Zhao couldn't help but want to leave, but the two old ladies didn't want him to go.

"I need to go home and cook. How about you come to my place for dinner tonight?" Yan Zhao replied.

"No, no, go cook," Aunt Cui said.

Gossip is like this: as long as the fire doesn't burn on oneself, everyone likes to watch. But now, the upstairs is quiet, and no one knows how Commander Liu's family is doing. The military committee meeting is also unknown, and everyone is curious.

Entering the house, Yan Zhao indeed knew where his father kept his valuable items.

Opening the drawer in the study, he found a stack of McDonald's and KFC vouchers, but unfortunately, the old man didn't eat much, and many of them had expired.

"Let's go, take the kids out to eat," he said.

"What about Dad? How will he eat?" Chen Meilan asked.

This was a rare moment of warmth for Chen Meilan from Yan Zhao. He said, "I'll soak the rice and cook some porridge for him, with a few cold dishes. He's been in a bad mood today, so he needs something light."

Tonight, the military committee meeting might not end until late.

Jim was used to eating at McDonald's and found it strange why they would go out for fast food.

Little Wang thought the burgers at McDonald's weren't as good as KFC's and didn't want to eat his, giving it to Little Lang.

As for Little Lang, he could eat anything, even if it was just a stool dipped in sauce. He ate three burgers and still wasn't satisfied, lifting his shirt and patting his little belly, asking Chen Meilan, "Mom, do you think my little belly is bulging?"

If Chen Meilan said no, he would finish the remaining half of Yuanyuan's burger.

Chen Meilan quickly took the remaining half from Yuanyuan and gave it to Yan Zhao, telling Little Lang, "Your belly isn't bulging, but remember, you didn't practice boxing or hit the sandbag today. Eating too much will make it hard for you to sleep tonight."

Yan Zhao didn't eat burgers and was wondering what to do with it.

Little Lang thought for a moment and took it from his dad: "I'll go for a run tonight, two laps will burn it off."

So, he still had to eat that half!

Coming out of McDonald's, they found a computer store right across the street.

In the future, there would be specialized computer streets, but now, computer stores were also in bustling Wangfujing. Many people looked, but few ordered, as in this era, a house in the capital cost only about 50,000 yuan, and spending 20,000 yuan on a computer was rare.

Chen Meilan hadn't mentioned to Yan Zhao about buying a computer for Little Wang.

Yan Zhao was willing to learn new things and wanted Little Wang and Little Lang to learn too.

But money was the biggest issue.

Chen Meilan was afraid that Yan Zhao would refuse due to the cost.

She didn't want to hurt his pride but also needed to buy the computer. Chen Meilan always believed that couples shouldn't argue, so she was thinking about how to discuss this with Yan Zhao.

As soon as Little Wang entered the store, he started chatting enthusiastically with a kid about his age.

Jim had a computer at home in the U.S. and knew how to operate it. He used the store's demo machine to show Little Lang and Yuanyuan how to play with the computer. On the 486 computer screen, pressing F8 plus another key would make a little mouse run around, which was incredibly fun. Little Lang and Yuanyuan immediately gathered around: "Jim, you're so amazing."

Jim was proud: "I can also play Minesweeper. Do you want to see?"

"Minesweeper, teach me," Little Lang said.

Jim quickly opened the computer game and played happily with Little Lang and Yuanyuan.

Yan Zhao watched for a while, then said to Chen Meilan, "The crime rate arising from this will be high in the future." As a public security officer specializing in criminal law, he could see potential crimes in everything.

"How about this, let's buy one for Little Wang's room, and you and I can learn too," Chen Meilan suggested.

Yan Zhao frowned but surprisingly agreed: "Let's buy one. Our annual bonus is two thousand, and the Party School in the capital is preparing to compile a 'Comprehensive Criminal Law,' inviting me to contribute some cases and my opinions on prosecution and sentencing. They'll pay five thousand for that..." He was thinking about how to gather the money.

"Plus some of Little Wang's money," Chen Meilan added, "The rent from the wholesale market over the past three years has accumulated to sixty thousand, which is Little Wang's money."

"Buy it!" Yan Zhao said decisively.

This was good; Chen Meilan was still thinking about how to persuade Yan Zhao, but he had already gone to order the computer.

But people couldn't carry tens of thousands of yuan with them when going out, and the computer also needed time to be configured.

So they ordered today, and the store would deliver it in a few days.

After ordering, it was time to go home.

Yan Zhao suddenly turned around and saw Little Wang excitedly talking to a boy slightly shorter than him. It was evening, and the light wasn't good, so he couldn't see who the boy was, but Yan Zhao didn't recognize him, not a familiar face.

He frowned for a long time before asking Chen Meilan, "Why did Little Wang suddenly change again today?"

With one hand on his hip and the other pointing, his former arrogance and pride returned in an instant, talking and laughing, and constantly calling out "buddy."

Chen Meilan knew why Little Wang was happy and didn't say much, just called out, "Yan Wangqi, let's go home."

"Buddy, give me your contact information, I'll find you another day," Little Wang said to the other child.

The boy gave Little Wang a business card, acting like an adult with a small leather bag, and waved goodbye.

"Who is that? Do you know him?" Yan Zhao asked.

Little Wang immediately became obedient in front of his dad: "I don't know him, but we got along well. He said he has a twenty-thousand-yuan business deal he wants to cooperate with me on. After the exams, I want to invite him to dinner and discuss the cooperation!"

Yan Zhao looked at Chen Meilan, almost saying outright: a scammer.

Chen Meilan chuckled: "Little Wang doesn't have money, at most he'll be scammed out of a meal. Let the kid have fun."

Scams were so widespread.

Kids under 1.6 meters tall talked about twenty-thousand-yuan business deals.

And covering the Pacific or blowing up the Himalayas were also popular big business opportunities.

This era was characterized by scammers, big talkers.

The capital at night was more lively than during the day, especially in Wangfujing, full of small stalls. Little Lang saw some stalls with air rifle games, some giving toys, others giving money.

How could he miss such an opportunity?

So he played through them all, winning a Doraemon doll for himself, a Russian nesting doll for Yuanyuan, and a new deck of cards for Little Wang and Jim. By the time they got home, it was past 11 p.m.

Getting out of the taxi at the compound gate, they saw Secretary Mao with two doctors in white coats, looking around.

Seeing Yan Zhao, Secretary Mao immediately explained, "The meeting hasn't ended yet. The leader felt uncomfortable in his chest during the meeting, so I came back early. I was going to call the doctors to the military committee office, but he said to wait at the gate; Commander Yan should be here soon."

"It's so late; can the old man endure it?" Chen Meilan asked.

Secretary Mao smiled and said, "Our country has many diplomatic relations to establish with other countries this year. We've already established relations with eight countries in the first half of the year. With each diplomatic relationship, the military needs to conduct exercises, making it an especially heavy task. It's perfectly normal for the commander to work overtime until this hour."

High-level work is never easy, and the higher up you go, the more exhausting it becomes.

It was already eleven-thirty at night, and Yan Peiheng still hadn't left work - this was a common occurrence for him.

Yan Zhao sighed softly and said, "Meilan, you all wait here. I'll go upstairs to make some porridge."

People understand each other through their interactions. If they hadn't lived together, Yan Zhao would never have known how demanding his father's work was. Although he still harbored resentment towards Yan Peiheng, at least he was now willing to make a bowl of porridge for the old man.

Chen Meilan thought that if Su Wen's spirit was watching from heaven, she would probably be happy to see father and son getting along.

After all, what mother doesn't wish for her sons to live well?

"They're here," Secretary Mao suddenly announced.

Three Leopard vehicles arrived silently in the dark night.

Being an excellent chief secretary, Secretary Mao knew exactly how to handle situations. He opened the car door first to welcome Commander Liu, asking softly, "How are you feeling? I've called for a doctor to examine you all."

The doctor was actually called only for Yan Peiheng, but it was diplomatic to phrase it that way.

Commander Liu was even older than Yan Peiheng and in poorer health. Fortunately, he had gone with Liu Peng today. After a round of meetings where he was criticized throughout, Liu Peng, worried about the old man's health, had already called for a doctor who was in the car.

Waving his hand, he said, "Go check on Old Yan, I'm fine."

Although they had been banging tables and arguing fiercely during the meeting, they were all high-ranking officials with decades of history together. Moreover, they lived in the same building. Once outside the conference room, all seven or eight of them maintained polite civility.

Yan Peiheng even stayed a step behind, supporting Commander Liu's hand.

Minister Cui and his group walked behind them.

In the dark night, moths swarmed around the street lamps, repeatedly crashing into the bright lights. Though they knew collision meant death, they couldn't help themselves - it was their life's purpose.

Commander Liu watched the moths and sighed deeply: "Isn't life just like these moths?"

Yan Peiheng replied, "If one lives meaningfully and stays true to oneself, even as a moth, there are no regrets in this life."

Commander Liu nodded, then stopped when he saw Little Lang, "Is this your grandson?"

"Yes, the one I mentioned who's exceptionally good at sniping," Yan Peiheng said.

Commander Liu had probably heard Yan Peiheng mention Little Lang often and expected a young man. He hadn't anticipated seeing a short, chubby child in shorts, with legs like carrots and feet like large fans. Looking at his features, he was only seven or eight years old. The commander nodded and said, "A young hero indeed!"

"Yes, our era has passed," Minister Cui added.

Commander Liu let out a long sigh: "Indeed, our era has passed."

Clearly, after the meeting where Commander Liu had been criticized, his words were full of melancholy.

They had reached the elevator, and Secretary Mao, being observant, noticed Yan Peiheng's expression was still normal. Although there were many people and Chen Meilan should have taken the next elevator, he gave her a gentle push into the current one, gesturing for her to go up first, while he stayed behind with the doctor and children for the next elevator.

At first, Chen Meilan didn't think much of it when entering.

But then she realized how awkward it was - she was the only civilian in an elevator full of seven or eight military officers.

Commander Liu stood next to Chen Meilan and suddenly turned to look at her with somber eyes.

At that moment, Minister Xu spoke up: "Chao Commander was right. We should always maintain vigilance against capitalism. Chen Meilan and Cui Min already have experience with Factories 271 and 291. With them running Food Factory 81, they should be able to do better than Zhang Xiangming."

Chen Meilan had known when she came that the old man wanted her to take over the milk powder factory.

She hadn't expected it to be decided today.

Commander Liu's gaze remained dark, his inner feelings must have been complex.

He probably couldn't understand why Cui Min and Chen Meilan could run businesses so well while his daughter-in-law couldn't.

No, he probably didn't think she couldn't do it, but rather that Yan Peiheng and Minister Cui had joined forces to defeat him.

Father and son exchanged glances, both Liu Peng and Commander Liu giving cold laughs, their eyes full of desolation.

The elevator stopped at the 17th floor where several leaders got off. At the 18th floor, Minister Cui, Minister Xu, and Yan Peiheng were to get off, while Commander Liu and two others would continue to the 19th floor. Before leaving the elevator, Yan Peiheng instructed Liu Peng, "Take good care of your father. The Military Commission wasn't too harsh on you, only requiring you to transfer to civilian work and make your own way. That's already quite lenient. Yan Jun is my son, and he must go to prison, understand?"

So the matter of Liu Peng and his wife bribing Wang Gebi ended with Liu Peng's forced military discharge - this was actually quite a favorable outcome.

"Alright, I will. Uncle Yan, please take care of your health too," Liu Peng said.

In today's meeting, Yan Peiheng had ultimately used his missed final moment with his wife, Yan Jun's detention, and the early transfers of Yan Zhao and Yan Wei to negotiate a clean break with Commander Liu's family. Subsequently, the military would begin thoroughly investigating disciplinary violations under his firm leadership.

Commander Liu accepted his defeat gracefully - after all, who could compare to Yan Peiheng?

He claimed to love his wife, yet chose work over seeing her one last time when she was dying.

He said he loved his sons, but cut them off when necessary and arrested them when required. His iron will and ruthless treatment of his own family allowed him to command respect in the military.

The sharp conflicts and mutual hatred and resentment between them dissolved into these exchanges of "take care."

After leaving the elevator, Minister Cui and Yan Peiheng still needed to discuss several matters, because the Military Commission had assigned Food Factory 81 as a task to Factory 271. But 271 was a clothing factory while 81 was a food factory - they were completely different industries. With Gu Xiao coming soon, they needed to discuss how Chen Meilan would receive him, and whether he would still invest after meeting Chen Meilan.

Moreover, with the Military Commission paying attention, they worried whether Chen Meilan could successfully manage a food factory that was causing so much trouble.

Since Cui Min was also a shareholder, Minister Cui had to be concerned as well.

However, before the two old men could start their discussion, they suddenly heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and several women appeared.

Liu Jingjing was leading them.

This girl, when they needed her help, she was busy wanting to go disco dancing and refused to help.

Now she understood the gravity of the situation, and the innocence from earlier that afternoon was gone from her face. She hesitantly called out, "Uncle Yan?"

Yan Peiheng had a soft spot for young girls and was always gentle with them.

"Jingjing, what is it?" he asked.

Liu Jingjing said, "I heard the Military Commission gave Factory 81 to Chen Meilan and my sister Cui Min?"

Yan Peiheng nodded and said, "You're still young, your father is just retiring, and your brother is just transferring to civilian work. It won't affect your life much. It's late, you should go to bed."

Liu Jingjing originally couldn't bring herself to say what came next, but Zhang Xiangming was giving her meaningful looks.

"That's nice, I suppose the military district will gradually belong to the Cui and Yan families now," Liu Jingjing said with a smile. "It's all about making money, all about exploiting military assets. You're just better at it than my brother and sister-in-law."

What kind of talk was this?

Yan Peiheng, already feeling unwell, suddenly clutched his chest.

Chen Meilan had indeed received the factory - a large factory in central Beijing. Even without considering milk powder production, just the location alone, if rented out for thirty years, would bring in significant capital. So she couldn't defend herself.

But she was extremely angry, firstly because the milk powder factory was the most difficult business to run, and secondly because although Commander Liu had been criticized in the meeting and asked to retire, clearly Zhang Xiangming and his wife hadn't realized what they had done wrong, and were still trying to smear others.

At this moment, Yan Zhao came out from his home, holding a spatula and wearing an apron.

Like a super dad, he had been cooking.

"Liu Jingjing?"

"Uncle Black Face?" Liu Jingjing said.

Yan Zhao asked, "I heard you went to technical school, but you're also attending night university, studying business management?"

Liu Jingjing had always preferred dating to studying, so she only attended technical school. After graduating, she worked managing archives at a police station, but now with units increasingly requiring higher education, she was forced to attend night university, studying business management.

"Do you know what the term 'bad money drives out good' means in economics?" Yan Zhao asked again.

"Bad money drives out good," Liu Jingjing seemed to have heard of it, but didn't understand what it meant.

She not only loved romance but also idols and stardom. She liked actors like Chen Daoming, Xu Yajun, and Hong Kong-Taiwan stars like Andy Lau and Chow Yun-fat. She would stare at their postcards during class and never paid attention to the teacher.

"Today, I visited the milk powder market, and almost all the milk powders have issues with weight discrepancies. I also visited the industrial and commercial, quarantine departments, and in the capital, out of five milk powder companies, none of them have their qualifications in order according to policy regulations," Yan Zhao continued, "The quality of the raw milk, the quality of the milk powder, and the production costs are all part of the cost. Others don't have these costs, so they can set the price very low. But if you want to produce quality products, the costs will be high. This afternoon, I chatted with the principal at the Party School, and he said this is called 'bad money drives out good,' a market pathology."

Zhang Xiangming was a vulgar man who couldn't understand and let out a cold laugh, "Yan the big public security, speak in plain language, what does that mean? We don't get it."

"Milk powder is hard to produce, and it won't be profitable within four or five years," Yan Zhao said, "To make money, you have to break the law."

Zhang Xiangming was about to retort, "But I'm making money."

"So you're breaking the law. I'll have Hu Xiaohua file a report, and the capital's public security and industrial and commercial departments will jointly investigate you," Yan Zhao followed up.

"Oh!" Zhang Xiangming clutched his chest with a sharp cry, clapping his hands, "But the government needs money, quarantine needs money, clinical trials need a lot of money, and importing a drying tower also requires..." Halfway through her words, she suddenly realized this was exactly what Yan Zhao had said—to make money is to break the law.

What kind of situation is this? For the first time, she found that business is really damn hard!

Chen Meilan also realized that the country's method of sending people to Party School for further studies is quite good.

Yan Zhao, if he only buries himself in his work for a long time, won't keep up with the development of the economic environment.

But giving him some time to study, he can understand the difficulties the economic environment is facing.

As he said, in the next ten years, the milk powder market, due to the chaos in quarantine and clinical trials, will see low-quality milk powder selling well at low prices, while high-quality milk powder will face the dilemma of having no market and prices that can't be raised.

This is also why Chen Meilan has never been enthusiastic about milk powder.

The market is too difficult to operate, and it's unlikely to be profitable within a few years.

Liu Jingjing didn't understand any of this. After being scolded by the black-faced uncle, she turned to Zhang Xiangming and said, "Annoying, why did you make me say that? Look, this black uncle is scolding me again."

She was going to complain to Chen Meilan, reaching out to pull her, "Sister-in-law, look at the black-faced uncle, he's being mean to me again."

Her nails were long, and with a sudden pull, she scratched Chen Meilan's arm with a tearing sound.

"Ah, it hurts!" Chen Meilan cried out.

Yan Zhao walked over, saw a red mark on Chen Meilan's arm, looked up, and sternly scolded Liu Jingjing, "Right now, go upstairs."

"You're so strange, why are you so gentle with her and mean to me?" Liu Jingjing's mind went blank and she blurted out.

"Just because she's my wife, my beloved, your sister-in-law!" Yan Zhao said sternly.

After a moment of staring at each other, Liu Jingjing finally gave in under Yan Zhao's fierce, unyielding gaze, stomped her feet, and cried as she went upstairs, "Annoying, so annoying!"

Madam Liu and Zhang Xiangming didn't understand the intricacies of this situation. They exchanged a glance, and Madam Liu couldn't be bothered to help her daughter-in-law: "You really are, out of so many military factories, you had to pick one that doesn't make money, causing all this trouble, you've ruined the family!"

Zhang Xiangming also had his own grievances. The other military factories were all in other places, only this one was at home.

This family, trying to do business like others, ended up with Commander Liu cutting everything off, Liu Peng directly retiring from the army, ending up with nothing, and still facing joint law enforcement from public security and industrial and commercial departments.

They exchanged a glance, wanting to cry but having no tears, and went upstairs.

Chen Meilan's family entered the house to find two doctors and Secretary Mao following, with Yan Peiheng standing at the door.

This old man was also quite tired, it was already 12 o'clock at night, not only could he not rest, but he hadn't even had dinner.

Being old, his hair was gray, and because he was wearing thick clothes on a hot day, his back was completely soaked with sweat, and sweat was seeping from his armpits. He was holding a teacup, drinking tea, and when he saw Chen Meilan, he asked, "Is it very difficult to run a milk powder factory?"

Even if it was difficult, she had to comfort the old man.

"It's not too hard, we'll take it one step at a time," Chen Meilan said.

Little Lang smacked his lips, "Mom, can I drink the milk powder you produce?"

"Of course, why do you ask?" Chen Meilan asked.

"Sun Mingming in our class, her mom works at a milk powder factory, she said her mom's milk powder she can't drink, I can't either, it's only for selling to others," Little Lang said seriously.

Although it was a child's words, it reflected the current quality of milk powder.

"Then the milk powder we produce, we'll definitely let you drink it first," Chen Meilan said.

"Can I drink it too?" Yuanyuan asked.

Chen Meilan said, "Of course, by then your second uncle's baby will be born, if the baby wants to drink, we can give it to her, her milk powder is on us, we'll let her drink it during clinical trials, and we'll also pay your Aunt Qi, this is called clinical trials."

"Okay. But mom, I'm so sleepy, I want to go to bed," Yuanyuan said, already closing her eyes and drowsily lying on the bed.

The family chatted, not minding the outsiders.

The two doctors checked Yan Peiheng's heart, wrote a medical record as usual, and then went back to their posts to work.

For Chen Meilan's family, it was just an ordinary chat and laugh.

But as the two doctors entered the elevator, one looked at the other and smiled, "Are you planning to have a child?"

"Soon, my wife is preparing for pregnancy," the other replied.

The first one said, "If your wife doesn't have milk, let her eat from Food Factory 81, their milk powder is safe for their own children."

"I was thinking the same, good milk powder is hard to find," the other one sighed.

The two doctors talked and left the elevator, returning to work.

And the demand for food safety, at present, is just that low!