Chapter 52: Chapter 52: Divorce Is a Good Solution

Hou Zhengfeng stole another glance at Ling Chengyan and lowered his voice further: “Xiao Li, did your team leader bring this up without going through the proper political review? Her political background is questionable. Her husband made a mistake last year and is still undergoing reeducation at the farm…”

Xiao Li felt his head buzzing, and it took a while to find his voice again. He asked dryly, “So, is there no way?”

It’s not that Xiao Li is that concerned about Ling Chengyan’s affairs; after all, she’s just a ’prospective colleague,’ hardly someone he’s close to. But it was their team leader’s idea to handle this matter. Seeing it almost done, and the person already brought to the personnel department, only to have it fall through? How would their team leader explain it? Their team leader’s reputation in the county would be greatly damaged!

“Well…” Hou Zhengfeng sucked his teeth, looking troubled. After a long while, he grabbed his chin and hesitated: “If you talk about ways, it’s not like there aren’t any…”

“Director Hou, what exactly are these ways, quickly tell me.” Xiao Li urged.

“Well, they are still a married couple… If they divorce, that would break the connection…” Hou Zhengfeng winked at Xiao Li, displaying a knowing look.

Xiao Li looked awkward, glanced at Hou Zhengfeng, then laughed to pass over the awkwardness. Turning back to Ling Chengyan, he said, “Well, it can’t be done today; the person handling the matter didn’t come…”

Ling Chengyan had already observed the two’s actions closely, even catching snippets of their whispered conversation, and obviously knew something had changed. Without further questioning, she nodded obediently, following Xiao Li out of the personnel department.

Once far enough from the personnel department and without a third person around, Ling Chengyan spoke: “It’s because of my child’s father, right?”

With those words, everything became clear; Ling Chengyan had overheard it all.

Xiao Li laughed awkwardly: “Director Hou just mentioned it—divorce and whatnot… This isn’t like years ago when association wasn’t upheld anymore. Don’t worry too much about your situation; we’ll surely find a solution for you.”

There’s nothing else to say; just her shooting skills alone are enough to grab a championship at the district level. And if there’s a provincial competition, winning is almost guaranteed… Imagine this: people might neglect a county champion, but what about a district or provincial champion?

With too much brilliance, those trying to trip you up might quickly pull back!

Leaving the personnel department, Xiao Li’s mind raced quickly, and the more he talked, the more confident he felt, shedding any initial hesitation and growing assured.

Ling Chengyan didn’t take his words too seriously, nodded, and didn’t return to the training ground, merely offering a casual greeting to Xiao Li before riding her bike out of the compound.

Although Shi Tou had found a village woman to breastfeed, he still required formula three to four times a day. A few bags of formula weren’t lasting, and today, she had to open the last one. She needed to find a way to buy more.

Ling Chengyan headed straight to Da Xiong’s house, where only Xiao Xi was home, with the table piled full of cardboard boxes and semi-finished products.

Greeting Ling Chengyan inside, Xiao Xi poured her a cup of water while tidying up the cardboard boxes on the table: “The house is a mess. Don’t mind, Sister Yan…”

Ling Chengyan handed her two pieces of semi-dried beef, saying, “Don’t worry about this now. Has your brother gone to work? Can you find Sanzi and Gou’er?”

Seeing two sizeable chunks of dried meat, Xiao Xi wiped her hands vigorously on her apron before taking it with a smile: “Sister Yan brought so much meat. I’ll stew a piece at lunch and buy some buns…”

Ling Chengyan waved her hand: “I’m not eating lunch here; quickly find those two. I have something to discuss with them.”

Xiao Xi agreed, moving the glued cardboard boxes outside to dry, took off her apron, and hurried out.

Before finishing her water, footsteps sounded outside, as Gou’er rushed in, warmly greeting: “Sister Yan, you’ve come. We heard you’ve become a Three-time Champion, super impressive! Everyone says you’re fiercer than the Double-Gun Granny in the movies!”

Ling Chengyan raised her eyebrows at him, and Gou’er shivered, quickly laughed, “I scolded them right away! Our Sister Yan is young, not an old granny; know how to speak…”

With a strong desire to survive, Gou’er tried to smooth things over, as Sanzi and Xiao Xi also entered, all calling: “Sister Yan.”

Ling Chengyan’s gaze swept over the two, and before she asked, Sanzi and Gou’er hunched their shoulders, confessing on their own: “We’ve been doing odd jobs at the dock, loading and unloading, earning sixty to seventy cents a day. Haven’t done anything else.”

They both finished explaining and turned to look at Xiao Xi, who was bewildered, and only after a reminder from Sanzi did she quickly vouch for them.

Ling Chengyan nodded: “I’ve been busy with competitions recently and have no time to find other jobs. You guys just keep at it.”

Sanzi and Gou’er exchanged a look, finding joy in each other’s eyes: She’s going to take them along!

Ling Chengyan handed over thirty yuan, instructing them to buy more formula and exchange some food coupons.

She needed them for the district competition, possibly.

With the money in hand, Sanzi and Gou’er went out, while Ling Chengyan went for a walk and returned with two wild ducks before they came back.

Da Xiong’s house was near the riverbank; this season was the time migratory birds fly south, and there were many birds at the riverbank.

When Sanzi and Gou’er returned with the formula and saw two wild ducks tied in the courtyard, they were a bit stunned, and their resolve to follow Ling Chengyan grew firmer.

They bought five bags of formula, exchanging ten pounds of provincial food coupons.

Sanzi handed back the food coupons and remaining change, stammering: “Sister Yan, uh, we earned little, so we just pooled together five pounds of food coupons…”

Saying this, he glanced back at Sanzi, and they both scratched their heads, chuckling awkwardly.

Ling Chengyan was slightly surprised, briefly stunned, then took the money and food coupons: “Thank you for your kindness, brothers.”

“Hehe, we can’t help much; just count it as us cheering Sister Yan on to win another championship back at the district!” Gou’er chuckled.

Sanzi smacked him: “Who is Sister Yan? Surely she’ll succeed immediately!”

Gou’er promptly echoed: “Yes, yes, instant success!”

“Borrowing your good wishes!”

With the formula in hand, Ling Chengyan returned to the compound for lunch and joined the afternoon training.

Close to evening, she asked Zhang Hanchao for leave: “Captain Zhang…”

Seeing her arrive, Zhang Hanchao promptly put down his work, inviting her to sit and preparing to pour water.

Ling Chengyan waved her hand: “No need for water, Captain. I’m not thirsty. I’m here to request leave, as I’d like to go home for the night.”

Previously, Zhang Hanchao wasn’t too familiar with Ling Chengyan’s family situation, but after the disturbance by Vice Director Qian and the personnel department, he got a full grasp of her situation.

Her husband imprisoned, having separated to live apart, with only two young children at home, the youngest just over four months old… she’s understandably worried when away from home.

“We understand your situation… uh, running back and forth, will it affect your training and competitions?” Zhang Hanchao wanted to express understanding of her concern for the family but naturally shifted to her work arrangements, steering the conversation.

Ling Chengyan seemed unfazed, smiling: “Rest assured, leader, it won’t affect normal training and competitions.”

This breezy determination was what Zhang Hanchao appreciated most.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep