Chapter 568
Jiang Yexun’s smile froze on his face, unsure of how to respond.
For the first time, he found himself at a loss for words.
No matter how he answered, his brother-in-law would surely find fault with it.
Fortunately, Su Hongchen seemed to only want to tease him a little and didn’t really expect an answer.
Afterward, Su Xiaoxiao went to a public telephone booth to call her parents, who had been waiting anxiously. After receiving their repeated instructions, she also called Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Wang.
Grandma Wang had prepared a sumptuous lunch and insisted that they come over to eat.
Su Xiaoxiao felt awkward refusing their kindness, but she also knew that the grandparents wanted to spend time with her brother, so she agreed.
As soon as they entered the Zhang family home, Grandma Wang immediately grabbed Su Xiaoxiao’s hand and enthusiastically said, “Xiaoxiao, how about I go with you and Grandpa Zhang to Dai City?”
“No need to go through all that trouble. I’m just newly pregnant, I’m not that fragile yet. And you both are older, it’s not ideal for you to travel like that. I’ll come visit when I can. Besides, my brother is still in Dai City, so we’ll have plenty of chances to meet in the future,” Su Xiaoxiao gently refused with a smile.
Her brother had only recently been promoted to deputy battalion commander, and the next few years, he would probably not be easily transferred.
After all, there were many comrades in the army with achievements, and leadership positions were limited. It wasn’t easy to transfer someone unless absolutely necessary.
Seeing how firm Su Xiaoxiao was, Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Wang could only agree.
After lunch, Su Hongchen didn’t stay long. He immediately took Su Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yexun back to the military district’s guesthouse.
Once everything was packed up, he borrowed a vehicle from the army and, before dinner, drove them to the Dai City military district.
When they arrived and parked in front of his house, the neighbors, hearing the noise, came out.
When they saw it was Su Hongchen, they greeted him warmly.
“Officer Su, are you back from your mission? Who are these two?” someone curiously asked.
“These are my sister and brother-in-law,” Su Hongchen responded briefly.
He didn’t chat with the neighbors for long and led Su Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yexun inside.
The neighbors waited until the door was closed before they began whispering among themselves, “Officer Su isn’t young anymore, and he hasn’t married. Now he’s bringing his sister’s family to live with him in the military district. Who knows what’s on his mind?”
“Exactly! He dotes on his sister so much. The wife he marries will surely have a hard time.”
Su Hongchen had no idea what the neighbors were thinking.
Even if he did, he wouldn’t care about their opinions.
Aunt Guo, who had heard the noise from the room, came out and was stunned when she saw the three of them in the living room.
She immediately became excited, “You’re back but didn’t tell me in advance? I haven’t bought enough food. I should have prepared something nice for you!”
“Aunt, dinner’s fine; I’ll just grab some dishes from the army canteen. But I’ll need you to take extra care of my sister. She’s pregnant now, and she needs more nutrition than before,” Su Hongchen said with a smile.
Aunt Guo’s eyes widened in shock, and she immediately turned to Jiang Yexun with an incredulous stare.
“You little rascal, get over here!” she raised her hand and shakily pointed at her son, her voice stern.
Jiang Yexun sighed quietly to himself and obediently walked over.
He knew it was inevitable.
As soon as he was within range, Aunt Guo slapped him hard across the face.
“Did I raise you to be an ungrateful liar?”
“Xiaoxiao is so young, and you let her get pregnant! Didn’t you promise your in-laws you wouldn’t do this? You’re shameless and a scoundrel. What am I supposed to do now? How can I face your in-laws in the future?”
As she scolded, Aunt Guo continued to slap Jiang Yexun, each slap resounding with force, proving she wasn’t pretending.
Su Xiaoxiao rushed forward to try to stop her, but Aunt Guo quickly withdrew her hand in alarm.
Su Hongchen and Jiang Yexun quickly supported her, fearing she might faint from the shock.
“Xiaoxiao, you’re pregnant now, your body is fragile, you can’t just let things go like this,” Aunt Guo cautioned, clearly worried.
Su Hongchen also nodded in agreement, “Yes, your husband’s tough, a few slaps won’t hurt him. You don’t need to worry so much.”
Su Xiaoxiao’s eyelid twitched involuntarily, and she helplessly glanced at her brother.
Though what he said was true, the way he phrased it was a bit too blunt.
After all, Aunt Guo was Jiang Yexun’s biological mother, and it was hard to hear these things.
There was no choice but to explain, “Actually, Yexun is not entirely to blame. The main issue lies with me…”
But before she could continue, Su Xiaoxiao stopped.
She couldn’t bring herself to reveal the whole truth. She had dared to act secretly, but admitting it openly was another matter entirely.
Aunt Guo didn’t think too much about it and assumed that Su Xiaoxiao was just trying to defend Jiang Yexun.
“You don’t need to make excuses for this rascal. If he’s made a mistake, then he deserves to be punished,” Aunt Guo said, holding Su Xiaoxiao’s hand with a touch of tenderness.
Then she glared fiercely at Jiang Yexun.
Su Xiaoxiao’s face turned red, and she could only silently look at Jiang Yexun.
Her expression clearly indicated that this was his responsibility, and she felt too embarrassed to take the blame herself.
Jiang Yexun could only laugh helplessly.
After figuring out the situation and realizing that his little sister was well looked after in her in-laws’ house, Su Hongchen couldn’t help but find it amusing.
Aunt Guo waved at Jiang Yexun, “Come with me. I’ll take you to the supply and marketing cooperative in the military. Maybe there are some vegetables left. We can also buy some eggs, flour, noodles, and the like in case Xiaoxiao gets hungry.”
“Brother, please take care of Xiaoxiao for me,” Jiang Yexun said to Su Hongchen.
Su Hongchen glanced at him indifferently, “Xiaoxiao is my sister. I’ll take good care of her without you telling me.”
Jiang Yexun relaxed and followed his mother, grabbing the basket as they went out.
Once they left, Su Hongchen pulled two envelopes out of his pocket and handed them to Su Xiaoxiao.
“Here’s some money and tickets. Take them, and buy whatever you need. The situation with the Peng family is almost over. We’ve caught everyone we could, and those we can’t touch are under surveillance. But at times like this, it’s more dangerous than ever. Stay in the military district and don’t go out. Once I’m done in Beijing, I’ll come back. Don’t worry, by then, everything will be taken care of, and you won’t have to worry about any danger. You’ll be free to go wherever you like.”
“Brother, don’t worry. I won’t go anywhere. But you can keep the money and tickets. You know, Yexun and I have earned a decent amount, we’re not short of money,” Su Xiaoxiao pushed the envelope back to him.
But Su Hongchen’s face turned serious, “You have money, that’s good. But this is for you and my future nephew or niece. You can’t refuse it.”
“Then if you give me all the money and tickets, what will you do?” Su Xiaoxiao asked, worried.
Su Hongchen smiled and ruffled her hair, “I took on a big spy case in Shanghai. The army’s leadership has agreed that I meet the conditions for another promotion. The only problem is that I just got promoted, and there are no positions for battalion commanders. But this case with the Peng family brought even bigger fish to the table, and now it’s pretty much confirmed that I will be promoted. Either to deputy regiment commander, or I’ll be transferred to Beijing.”
The case involving children was major, and it had involved dozens of families.
They uncovered plenty of important details, preventing many issues. Even the Peng family was thoroughly caught.
After merging the two cases, the crucial leads and breakthroughs had come from his sister and brother-in-law.
Since they weren’t part of the military or government, the credit went to him.
“Does your military have positions for deputy regimental commanders, or do you want to go to Beijing?” Su Xiaoxiao blinked, curiously gazing at Su Hongchen.
If anyone else had asked, Su Hongchen wouldn’t have said much. But since it was his sister, he opened up completely.
“Our military does have deputy regimental positions. But between staying here and going to Beijing, I’d prefer to go to Beijing. I heard the army plans to form a special regiment next year, and since the upper-ups like me, I might get to join it.”
Su Hongchen’s voice was filled with longing.
He truly enjoyed being a soldier and wanted to become an outstanding one.
So, with such a good opportunity before him, he had no intention of letting it slip away.
“I think your idea is great, Brother! Since you’ve found something you want to do, go ahead and focus all your efforts on it,” Su Xiaoxiao said, her gaze full of admiration.
She had always known her brother was capable, and it was no wonder that, in both her past life and this life, Peng Jiahui and her family were afraid that her brother would be found by the Zhang family and end up wiping them out.
After all, her children weren’t Zhang family’s biological kids, and they were not only useless but often caused trouble for the Zhang family.
If her brother were really found and returned to them, the three of them would never have a foothold in the Zhang family.
“Yes, I’ll work hard for it. But you and Yexun shouldn’t rush things either. The most important thing is your safety,” Su Hongchen reminded.
Though his sister and Jiang Yexun’s small business was making good money, they were still not in a position to get involved in private trade.
If the money was enough, there was no need to take risks.