Chapter 217: Chapter 217: The Phone Bill is Very Expensive

When Xie Changning hung up on her, Han Yuanzhong’s wife was absolutely livid.

She slammed the phone back onto the cradle and silently cursed Xie Changning, then went to find someone who could help her get her son transferred back.

Unfortunately, a transfer to Chuncheng meant Chuncheng called the shots.

If Chuncheng wouldn’t release him, there was nothing they could do.

So, when she was seeing Han Jiu off at the train station, Han Yuanzhong’s wife was crying uncontrollably. "When you get there, you have to take good care of yourself, you hear?"

"I know."

Han Jiu replied dismissively.

From his perspective, going to Chuncheng was actually a good thing. At least he wouldn’t have to do as his father demanded, networking with certain people or getting close to some girl from the Art Troupe...

Thinking about it, Han Jiu was in a rather good mood.

At that thought, he impatiently turned to board the train. "Alright, this is far enough. I’m leaving."

With that, he grabbed his luggage and disappeared into the train car.

Watching her son depart, Han Yuanzhong’s wife broke down, crying uncontrollably.

Listening to her sobs, a flicker of annoyance crossed Han Yuanzhong’s eyes. "That’s enough. Anyone who didn’t know better would think something terrible had happened to him. He’s going to serve, not to his death!"

’Cry, cry, cry. That’s all you know how to do!’

’You’re crying away all his good fortune!’

As the train began to pull away, Han Yuanzhong paid no mind to his weeping wife and turned to leave.

Seeing Han Yuanzhong leave without her, his wife had no choice but to turn and follow. She kept looking back over her shoulder as the train vanished into the distance, finally getting into the car while wiping away her tears.

Han Yuanzhong frowned in displeasure.

"A doting mother makes for a spoiled son!"

"What do you know! I was against him enlisting in the first place! You were the one who insisted he become a soldier, and now he’s being sent away from me. What if they send him to a battlefield?!"

’He could get killed!’

"Who among us hasn’t endured the same!" Han Yuanzhong retorted in a low, harsh voice. "My father, me, my brother, my sister—which of us hasn’t seen a battlefield? Every son of the Han Family is expected to serve!"

"I’m warning you, if you’re still crying when we get home, you can just go back to your parents’ house!"

Han Yuanzhong’s wife couldn’t believe it. Just because she was heartbroken over her son leaving, her husband was threatening to send her back to her parents.

She glared at him. "What’s that supposed to mean? You can’t win against your brother, so you’re taking it out on me, is that it?"

Han Yuanzhong shot her a furious glare.

"Haven’t you been the one crying nonstop? What does this have to do with my brother? I’m just sick of your constant weeping!" ’A grown woman, still crying like that. Just the thought is irritating!’

This wasn’t the first or second time they had argued in the car, and the aide at the wheel was already used to it.

So he kept his eyes fixed forward and just drove.

The car stopped in front of the Han family’s home. Han Yuanzhong’s wife got out in a huff, not sparing him a single word.

As for Han Yuanzhong, he certainly wasn’t going to back down now. "Back to the base!"

"Yes, sir!"

-

Han Jiu arrived in Chuncheng that night. The person who came to pick him up was He Liuzhang’s aide.

Upon arriving in Chuncheng, Han Jiu finally felt a breath of freedom.

’It’s a good thing I won’t be serving under Yue Yihan,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, Dad would be constantly asking Yue Yihan for updates on me, and I wouldn’t have any real freedom at all!’

"You’ve been assigned to the logistics division’s cooking squad..."

On the way back, just as Han Jiu was reveling in his newfound freedom, the aide delivered some terrible news.

He was being sent to farm.

Han Jiu, who had just been basking in his sense of freedom, felt his expression crack.

He stared at the aide in disbelief. "Are you sure you read that right? In my last unit, I was number one in hand-to-hand combat, number one in training drills, I—"

"There’s no mistake. Those were the Brigade Commander’s arrangements."

"..."

Han Jiu didn’t want to accept this assignment, but a soldier must obey orders.

If the Brigade Commander told him to farm, then he had to farm!

His family only found out that Han Jiu had been sent to farm after he had already arrived at his new post.

When she heard the news, Han Yuanzhong’s wife nearly fainted from rage.

Unable to contain her anger, she called Yue Yihan and demanded that he have her son transferred back to a proper unit. Yue Yihan was baffled. "He’s in the military right now. Where do you want him transferred to?"

"To your unit!"

"First of all, I don’t call the shots in the military, and neither do you. So don’t call here again. Phone calls are expensive, and I’m referring to the phone bill for our Chuncheng command."

With that, Yue Yihan, begrudging the cost of such a nonsensical conversation, also hung up.

This left Han Yuanzhong’s wife fuming, endlessly cursing Yue Yihan and Xie Changning at home.

Han Yuanzhong also knew his son had been sent to farm. Unlike his wife, however, he understood that the real purpose of the assignment was to temper his son’s arrogance.

Once he realized this, Han Yuanzhong had no real objection to the arrangement.

However, his wife constantly argued with him about it, making him not even want to go home anymore.

When she saw he wasn’t coming home, his wife went to his base to cause a scene.

This forced him to go home, where he pointed a finger at his wife’s face and roared, "I’m warning you, if you make one more scene, I’m filing for divorce!" His word had been law in their house for years; he wasn’t about to be threatened by his own wife.

Especially not when she’d gone to his base and utterly humiliated him!

Han Yuanzhong’s wife wanted to appeal to the elders, but Han’s parents weren’t in Beijing. With no one to back her up, all she could do was glare at Han Yuanzhong with reddened eyes. "Don’t push me, or I’ll take you down with me!"

"Our son is in the military. Isn’t farming a hell of a lot easier than regular training? Weren’t you afraid he’d be sent to the battlefield? Now he’s not, so what are you still not satisfied with?!"

"Of course I’m not satisfied! What kind of future can he have as a farmer?!"

"What, so you get to have it all your way?"

"I don’t care! If you don’t get him transferred back, I’m going to Chuncheng to find Mom and Dad and have them sort this out!"

"Go! See if they even give you the time of day!"

Han Yuanzhong sank onto the sofa, exhausted. He waved a hand dismissively, gesturing for his wife to go ahead.

If Han Yuanzhong had kept arguing, she would have, too. But the moment that exhausted look appeared on his face, she knew it was a sign he was done playing games.

Han Yuanzhong’s wife finally backed down.

Seeing that she had quieted down, Han Yuanzhong shot her a sidelong glance. "It’s a good thing for the boy to be farming. Don’t make any more trouble. After you’ve completely humiliated me, what do you possibly stand to gain?"

Han Yuanzhong’s wife fell silent.

’It was true. She stood to gain nothing and would only become a laughingstock.’

She remained seated and said in a low voice, "I’m just heartbroken. When has our Jiu ever had to endure such hardship?" ’That was the child she had spoiled since the day he was born!’

’How could she not be heartbroken?’

"He’s my son, too. You think my heart doesn’t ache for him? But Chuncheng’s stance is firm. Once he was transferred... it was out of my hands..." For the first time, Han Yuanzhong felt a pang of regret.

He’d had things his way for so long that he had completely forgotten to account for risk.

’He’d assumed that with his parents there, nothing could go wrong...’

’But now it seemed his parents didn’t hold that much weight with Yue Yihan after all...’