Chapter 102: The Pretty Military Wife of the Seventies 25

Zhan Hongjun’s work unit had been finalized right within the Beijing area, which meant Su Huandan didn’t need to return to her original unit to serve.

Regarding the job transfer for logistics personnel, Father Zhan reached out to a few old contacts and got everything handled efficiently.

It was decided she could simply serve within a military unit in Beijing as well.

After completing her three years of advanced studies, Su Huandan made a trip back to her original unit to settle her affairs, primarily to bring back the couple’s personal belongings.

On her first day back at the unit, she learned that Liu Zhanyuan and Xu Chunxia had divorced.

Xu Chunxia had initiated the divorce with a very firm attitude, suing Liu Zhanyuan on the grounds of domestic violence and the physical abuse of both her and the children.

The scars on her and her eldest son were shocking to behold.

This time, no one could protect Liu Zhanyuan. Xu Chunxia didn’t even go through military channels; she went directly to the Women’s Federation and the police to report him.

The two had completely divorced a month ago, and all three children were awarded to Xu Chunxia. It was heard that Xu Chunxia had taken the children back to Beijing.

As for Liu Zhanyuan, he was currently suspended from duty.

Restoration to his original rank was impossible. If he wanted to remain in the military, a demotion was certain, and he would be sent to the border to the most grueling locations. Would Liu Zhanyuan be willing to accept that?

He certainly wasn’t. To him, being sent to the border was equivalent to exile.

When Su Huandan finished settling her affairs and boarded the train back to Beijing with her transfer orders, she discovered she was on the same train as Liu Zhanyuan, and even in the same compartment.

It disgusted Su Huandan to no end.

Liu Zhanyuan, however, felt a secret sense of excitement. Both of them were in upper berths, sleeping head-to-head.

In recent years, the more Liu Zhanyuan thought about it, the more he regretted everything. Before Su Huandan divorced him, his family had been thriving. His own promotion at the time of the divorce hadn’t actually had much to do with his father; it was his own good luck, having performed a meritorious service that met the promotion criteria. Back then, he had been full of high spirits.

But ever since Su Huandan initiated the divorce, both he and his family had gone downhill, tumbling all the way down without being able to climb back up.

Liu Zhanyuan often thought that if he hadn’t had so many stray thoughts back then, hadn’t been thinking about finding someone better after a divorce, and had instead dragged his feet and refused to divorce, would they have lived a good life together? Especially if he had realized Su Huandan’s worth when he returned to Beijing for his studies after his promotion.

Su Huandan: …

Keep dreaming; you can have anything you want in your dreams!

The journey was incredibly awkward for Su Huandan. Liu Zhanyuan didn’t speak to her or do anything untoward, but he kept staring at her, occasionally offering a gentle smile. It was hard to say whether it was more creepy or disgusting.

She finally endured until the train reached the station. Seeing her father-in-law’s guard waiting to pick her up, Su Huandan grabbed her luggage and hurried away. Once she was in the car and it had driven far off, that chilly, skin-crawling sensation finally dissipated.

The whole journey had been a miserable experience for her.

After finishing the matters at her old unit, Su Huandan went to report for duty at her new unit.

The unit was located in the suburbs. She applied for a dormitory and returned once a week to see her son.

Sister-in-law Zhan was now working at the Department of Animal Husbandry. Her workplace was a bit far from the Military Compound, making it inconvenient to commute daily, so she had also applied for a dormitory and returned once a week.

Mother Zhan spent her days looking after her two grandchildren, living a quite leisurely life.

Two years later, Su Huandan, who had never taken leave from her unit, took leave twice in a row.

The first time was at the beginning of the year when Grandma Wang passed away; Su Huandan had to go back to handle the funeral arrangements.

The second time was at the end of the year when Chubby Grandma also passed away; Su Huandan again took leave to return for the funeral.

Both grandmas left their houses to Su Huandan.

If this had been a few years earlier, when there were no property deeds, it would have been impossible to leave them to her.

To the two grandmas, Su Huandan was someone they had watched grow up, and they had raised her like their own granddaughter, so leaving the houses to her was their final wish. However, to the four sisters-in-law in the front yard, this matter was somewhat uncomfortable.

As their children grew older, wouldn’t they need houses when they got married in the future?

When the houses officially came into Su Huandan’s possession, the four sisters-in-law, who hadn’t realized the property issue before, began to treat Su Huandan, the beneficiary, with less warmth than before.

Interests move the heart, and jealousy sometimes arises inexplicably. What can one do?

Su Huandan wasn’t foolish enough to give away the houses she had received. The three houses in the backyard remained as they were, with the doors unlocked; anyone who wanted to use them could do so.

This gesture indeed caused the four sisters-in-law to clear their heads quickly.

They realized that the houses were given by the two old ladies, not something Su Huandan had asked for. Therefore, no matter how uncomfortable they felt, it had little to do with Su Huandan, and there was no need to be so petty.

By the turn of the year, the relationship between the four sisters-in-law and Su Huandan became harmonious again.

But it wasn’t quite the same as before.

If it wasn’t the same, then so be it. Even relatives can become strangers over time, let alone neighbors.

In the eighties, the scale of Individual Business Owners^[1] was not yet large, and they mostly ran small trades. At that time, there was a popular saying: “If a young lady wants to experience life and earn a reputation for hard work, she should hurry up and find an Individual Business Owner to marry.”

In the early days, Individual Business Owners were actually not well-regarded.

It was only after people discovered that these business owners were getting rich that their views began to change.

Mother Zhan, wearing her reading glasses, looked at a report in the newspaper and said to her two daughters-in-law, “Being an individual business owner isn’t a guaranteed way to make money. The risks are high, and more people lose money than make it. It’s still more stable to have a formal job.”

Mother Zhan’s view and attitude toward individual businesses were actually the mainstream social attitude.

However, Sister-in-law Zhan felt that earning such a small salary every month was boring. Her heart was actually burning with the desire to become an Individual Business Owner.

“I ran into Xu Chunxia two days ago. She’s changed so much I almost didn’t recognize her. She’s selling pancakes and tea eggs over by Wangfujing^[2]. She didn’t see me, so I watched her do business for a while. It felt like she was making quite a bit.” Sister-in-law Zhan had seen the piles of cash and felt it was very profitable; her heart was racing.

It wasn’t just because she saw Xu Chunxia selling tea eggs and felt envious; the colleagues at her workplace were all buzzing about Individual Business Owners.

One would say: My brother-in-law didn’t have a formal job before, but now he’s selling roasted sweet potatoes, and he earns more in a day than I do in a month.

Another woman spoke up, “My sister-in-law is the same. She didn’t have a job before and just spent her days cleaning and washing at home. Since I have a job, I used to just give her a bit of money for living expenses and that was that. But now? She gets up in the middle of the night to cook porridge and steam buns, then rushes to the station early in the morning to sell them. In just seven or eight days, she earned back a full month’s salary. Now, my mother-in-law can’t stand the sight of me. She looks down on me for earning too little.”

Listening to these conversations day after day, how could Sister-in-law Zhan not have thoughts of her own?

She pondered the fact that her current job had hit a dead end with little room for growth. If the family were to truly prosper, it would depend on the two Zhan brothers. Therefore, she wanted to take a risk and try her luck in the business world. If she could bring home large sums of money, wouldn’t her own value increase as well?

No one had ever told her that her value was low; it was simply a thought she had developed herself.

However, starting a private business from scratch was incredibly exhausting. Could Sister-in-law Zhan truly endure such hardship?