The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later-Chapter 73 - 72: The Face of the Public Security Bureau

Chapter 73: Chapter 72: The Face of the Public Security Bureau

"Liu Chunming, the new guy will be with you."

A moment later, a low voice replied, "Got it."

Zhang Hongjie showed Xue Xingzhou around, explaining the layout of the place while also taking him to complete his onboarding paperwork.

"Xiao Xue, go back today and get a note approved by the village. Have them stamp it with the village seal, and then we can transfer your grain ration status over."

Zhang Hongjie began to explain Xue Xingzhou’s salary. "In our line of work, everything is based on seniority. Since you just started, you’ll get 26 yuan a month. Your fixed monthly rations are three jin of fine grains, twenty-seven jin of coarse grains, three liang of soybean oil, and one jin of pork. It’s not a lot, but next year, your salary and subsidies will increase a bit. Oh, right, a new batch of police uniforms is coming in a few days. Wait for those and get a new one. You’re so young and handsome; dressing sharply will make you a good face for our Public Security Bureau."

Xue Xingzhou nodded.

After the paperwork was done, Zhang Hongjie told Xue Xingzhou, "Around here, we don’t get many criminal investigation cases throughout the year. What we do get a lot of are civil disputes, which are very tedious. As long as someone calls the police, we have to respond. One last thing: there are some spies taking advantage of loopholes these days. We must be extremely careful. If you spot anything, report it immediately."

Xue Xingzhou nodded with a serious expression, indicating he understood.

After work, Xue Xingzhou rode his bike directly back to Yangjia Gou, heading straight for the village chief’s house.

After Xue Xingzhou explained his reason for visiting, the village chief’s family was stunned into silence for a long while.

"Brother Xingzhou, you’re amazing! Your luck is off the charts! Did you secretly pray for this or something?"

Zhang Cuihua smacked Yang Xiaoxia on the back. "How can you talk like that? Xingzhou, don’t mind her."

Xue Xingzhou smiled and said, "It’s fine."

The village chief looked at Xue Xingzhou with a gratified expression. "Excellent. You’ve brought honor to me, the village chief. Ah, Xingzhou, you really do big things without making a sound. I’ll approve your note and stamp it right away."

"Thank you, Village Chief."

After Xue Xingzhou left, Zhang Cuihua couldn’t help but sigh. "Fortune’s wheel really does turn. Who would have thought? A few years ago, those two Xue children were tormented by Liu Hongxing until they were sallow and emaciated. And now? Girl Yue is married to a factory worker and living in a new house, and Xingzhou has become a policeman. If that couple, Liu Hongxing and Xue Changlin, knew that he’d have such great fortune after they split the family from him so early, they’d probably regret it so much their intestines would turn green."

The village chief sighed. "Xue Changlin is a muddle-headed fool. He didn’t seem like this kind of person when he first arrived. I don’t know how he ended up this way. It’s a pity for those two kids, saddled with a father like that."

When Xue Xingzhou returned and told her the news, Xue Yue was also pleased. "Now you’re eating the state’s grain. Even though it’s not a lot, at least you don’t have to go work in the fields anymore."

He Lang was a temporary worker with only a salary and no transferred grain ration status, so she was genuinely envious.

News of this matter reached the ears of Liu Hongxing and Xue Changlin two days later.

Xue Xingjun jumped around the courtyard excitedly. "My big brother is a policeman! He catches bad guys! PEW PEW PEW!"

Liu Hongxing said through gritted teeth, "I never saw it before, that he had this kind of destiny. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been in such a hurry to split the family."

Then she turned to the silent Xue Changlin and mocked, "Did you hear that? Your son’s a policeman. Tsk. And you, his own father, didn’t even know. You had to hear it from someone else. Looks like he doesn’t respect you at all."

Xue Changlin glanced up at Liu Hongxing, his eyes dark and gloomy. Liu Hongxing froze. When she looked again, Xue Changlin had already lowered his head.

Liu Hongxing shook her head, thinking she must have imagined it.

Liu Hongxing paused for a moment, then said, "No, the more I think about it, the more I feel like Xue Xingzhou tricked me before. He made his situation sound so dire, but now it looks like there’s nothing wrong with him at all. He’s even eating the state’s grain! No, this family can’t be split. I have to go find him."

Liu Hongxing went to knock on the door next door, but found the main gate locked. Furious, she kicked the gate and went back.

How could Xue Xingzhou know that by simply finding a job, he had once again stirred up trouble with Liu Hongxing?

One day, on his way back from work, Xue Xingzhou unexpectedly ran into He Ze, who was also riding a bicycle.

He Ze also caught a glimpse of Xue Xingzhou. He glanced at his bicycle, then rode away quickly with a smug look.

Xue Xingzhou raised an eyebrow, his tongue pressing against his back molars.

That afternoon, the entire village knew that He Ze had bought a bicycle.

The very next day, Gao Cuiyun came out holding her two-month-old baby.

Xue Yue had been dragged out by Li Gaihua today, who said that pregnant women should walk around more to ensure an easy birth later.

Xue Yue hadn’t seen Gao Cuiyun in a long time either. Gao Cuiyun had lost a lot of weight, and her complexion was somewhat pale. She didn’t look at all like someone who had just finished her month of post-partum confinement.

"Cuiyun, this must be your third child, right? He looks just like He Ze."

Gao Cuiyun smiled and nodded. "Yes."

Someone else asked Gao Cuiyun, "I heard your He Ze bought a bicycle. How much was it? Must have been expensive."

Gao Cuiyun lifted her chin slightly. "Of course. Over a hundred yuan."

"That much money? I guess we can only look. Cuiyun, you’re so fortunate. Your man must have earned a lot of money for you, buying a bicycle over a hundred yuan just like that."

Gao Cuiyun smiled without saying anything, but anyone could see the pride on her face.

Standing with Xue Yue, Li Gaihua whispered to her, "Your sister-in-law here clearly came out just to show off to people. But why does her complexion look so bad to me?"

Xue Yue frowned slightly as she looked at Gao Cuiyun, but said nothing.

Gao Cuiyun saw Xue Yue too and gave her a smug little toss of her head. Xue Yue was a bit speechless.

Gao Cuiyun only stood on the street holding her baby for a short while before her legs felt too weak to continue, so she hurried back home.

The first thing she did when she got home was put the baby on the kang bed, then she leaned against the edge, gasping for breath.

Ever since giving birth to her third child, Gao Cuiyun had been bleeding down below continuously. She had been bleeding for as long as the baby had been alive.

The baby was born at home, and the delivery had not gone smoothly.

Lately, she would feel out of breath and her legs would become incredibly weak after doing almost anything, so she spent all day lying on the kang bed.

Mrs. He was still helping her with the cooking.

At noon, Mrs. He came in to bring her a meal and saw her lying in bed again.

She scolded angrily, "I’m telling you, you just had a baby, you’re not crippled! Lying in bed all day, look at your face—it never sees the sun, it’s as pale as a ghost’s. You’ve been in confinement for two months now. Look around, which daughter-in-law is like you? We’ve already split the household. It’s good enough that I’ve served you during your confinement. Are you planning to have an old woman like me serve your whole family forever? Let me tell you, after today, I’m done. I won’t be helping you anymore starting tomorrow. The baby is almost two months old. You can do things yourself."

How could Mrs. He have known that Gao Cuiyun had even gone out that morning? She was really pushing herself, all to show off the bicycle their family had bought.

Mrs. He had seen Gao Cuiyun’s bloody pants before, but she hadn’t thought much of it. They were both women, so it wasn’t considered strange.

Gao Cuiyun was too embarrassed to tell Mrs. He. She had mentioned it to He Ze several times, but he just told her not to make a big deal out of it, saying it was normal for women to bleed after childbirth.

Gao Cuiyun had given birth to two children before, but this time was clearly abnormal.

Gao Cuiyun hesitated for a few seconds before finally confessing to Mrs. He, "Mom, it’s not that I don’t want to do it, I really don’t have the strength. My period hasn’t stopped. It’s been two months."

Hearing this, Mrs. He took another, closer look at Gao Cuiyun’s face and shuddered in alarm.