Reborn in 1966

Chapter 443 Apology

Du Kunpeng's secretary had been with him for many years and was older than Du Qianqian. Du Qianqian always called him "Brother Wu". Du Qianqian first called out "Brother Wu" and then said, "It's okay, there are police officers here. I didn't expect Comrade Zhou Qiang to go to the police station and invite the police officers. This has saved me a lot of trouble."

Secretary Wu is a very shrewd person. As soon as she saw Zhou Qiang, she knew that this kid was going to take advantage of her again. She guessed that he hadn't managed to get anything and had called the police. Zhou Qiang recognized Secretary Wu, and when he saw her coming, his heart started to pound. When he heard Secretary Wu talking to Du Qianqian, and remembered that Du Qianqian had introduced herself as surnamed Du, even if he was a bit slow-witted, he would know whose child Du Qianqian was. His face changed instantly, and he said to Du Qianqian, "Oh, so it's Sister Du! I've only heard your name, but I've never met you in person. Oh, it's all a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."

Secretary Wu was worried that Du Qianqian and Pei Yin would suffer losses here, but it seems they didn't. Officer Chen, on the other hand, greeted Secretary Wu and left with his men. Secretary Wu then said to Officer Chen, "I'll come find you for drinks tonight."

Pei Yin breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Secretary Wu arrive. She picked up her things and pulled Du Qianqian into the car. Zhou Qiang was still apologizing to Du Qianqian, but Pei Yin ignored him and closed the car door. After Secretary Wu got in, the car turned around and drove back.

Secretary Wu turned around and said, "Qianqian, what did you do to offend Zhou Qiang?"

Du Qianqian said, "He's just looking for trouble. By the way, first a woman started arguing with us. When she couldn't win, she called Zhou Qiang over. When Zhou Qiang came over, he tried to pull Pei Yin away, but Pei Yin threw him to the ground. Zhou Qiang tried to hit her again, but Pei Yin kicked him to the ground again." Secretary Wu looked at Pei Yin with some surprise. This girl looked so gentle and weak; she didn't seem like someone who was so strong.

Since it was afternoon, Pei Yin started preparing dinner as soon as she got home. It was already the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, and New Year's Eve was just a few days away. Pei Yin was very busy every day. Although the housekeeping had already cleaned up, there was still a lot of food to prepare for the New Year. Du Kunpeng had distributed some chicken, duck, fish, and meat, which Pei Yin had taken out and prepared by frying, boiling, and cooking. Then she started steaming buns, flower rolls, and sugar dumplings, as well as some pretty-looking noodles. Du Kunpeng told Pei Yin not to overwork herself, but Pei Yin said she liked doing these things. Du Kunpeng felt that since Pei Yin was alone here, she could do whatever she wanted. When Pei Yin got home today, the dough she had prepared in the morning had risen. This time, she was going to steam two batches of small noodles. Pei Yin had soaked the golden thread dates early and steamed a few date mountains to give to Du Kunpeng's old boss and Secretary Wu. After all, it's the New Year, and everyone should be happy and lively.

Du Qianqian received a call as soon as she got home and went to the hospital. Pei Yin steamed two large pots at home by herself. There were no large pots here, and two large aluminum pots were not as much as one large pot. Because she was thinking of giving them away, Pei Yin made them very carefully. When Du Kunpeng returned home, he was greeted by the aroma of wheat flour in the whole house and the exquisite dates on the tablecloth and curtain.

Pei Yin had steamed quite a few noodles these past few days. There was a water vat in the yard, and the noodles, once cooled, were put into the vat to freeze solid. Du Kunpeng felt that as long as Pei Yin was happy, anything was fine. It had been so many days since the wedding, and Ming Jun hadn't even called. His pampered daughter was being mistreated here. Thinking of this, Du Kunpeng sighed, put down his handbag, changed his shoes, and went to the dining room.

Pei Yin had just finished steaming the last batch of jujube fritters when she saw Du Kunpeng return. She smiled and said, "Dad, look at my steamed jujube fritters, aren't they good?"

Du Kunpeng had lived in Xiping for many years and knew that people there would steam jujube mountains and bean buns for the New Year. The jujube mountains looked beautiful and tasted delicious. Pei Yin's dough was very elastic, and it didn't deform much after steaming. You could see small red dates on the white dough, and smell the sweet date aroma mixed with the dough, which made you feel hungry.

Du Kunpeng said, "Great, really great, tastes great too. Dad hasn't had this in years."

Pei-Yin said, "If Dad thinks it's good, then it's good. Dad, let's send some to Grandpa Song later, and also to Brother Wu. It's the New Year, let's all have some fun."

Upon hearing this, Du Kunpeng paused for a moment, then felt a pang of sadness. Over the years, apart from his wife Sun Yuelan helping him manage his relationships, someone was finally helping him with this. Don't underestimate this small, inconspicuous gift; it's precisely because it was made by himself that it carries such deep meaning.

It's not that Du Qianqian is bad. She went to the countryside at a young age, then went to university, and after graduation, she went to work in a hospital. Her environment has always been very simple, so she doesn't quite understand some of the complexities of life. It's not that my daughter is bad, it's just that Du Kunpeng doesn't want her to get involved in these matters. Pei Yin is different; she's his daughter-in-law, the one who will help his son establish the family in the future. These things should be handled by Pei Yin and Ming Jun. It's not that Du Kunpeng is sexist and doesn't value his daughter; it's because he knows his children's personalities and knows that his daughter isn't good at this, which is why he made this decision.

Looking at Pei Yin, who was looking at him with concern, Du Kunpeng smiled and said, "Great! If your Grandpa Song knew that you made this yourself, he would be very surprised."

As they were talking, the doorbell rang. Pei-Yin was a little surprised that someone would come to her house at this hour. It was almost dinnertime, and she thought it was impolite to come over.

When Pei Yin opened the door, the first thing she saw was Zhou Qiang, whose face was bruised and swollen. Zhou Qiang used to be quite handsome, but now his left eye was black and his mouth was purple. Pei Yin's eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed, "Oh dear, Zhou Qiang, what a mess!" Then she realized that Zhou Qiang had been brought to her house by someone. She quickly looked at the person next to Zhou Qiang and recognized him as one of the people at table number two when Du Kunpeng had treated them to a meal. Because there were so many people, Du Kunpeng hadn't introduced him to everyone, and Pei Yin didn't know his name or what he did. She was still wondering how to greet him when she heard Du Kunpeng say from inside, "Old Zhou, what brings you here?"

This man appears to be Zhou Qiang's father. Upon hearing Du Kunpeng's words, Old Zhou said with a look of shame, "Secretary Du, I've come with my unruly son to apologize."

As the host, and considering that Lao Zhou had helped him a lot with his work, Du Kunpeng didn't ask him to stand at the door. He quickly went to the door and saw Zhou Qiang. He was surprised and said, "Oh dear, Zhou Qiang, what happened?"

Zhou Qiang's father said with shame, "Secretary Du, I have not disciplined my son properly. Alas, I am truly sorry."

Du Kunpeng said, "Come in, come in, let's talk inside."

At Du Kunpeng's level, some things are best left unsaid. However, Du Kunpeng was still very grateful to Lao Zhou, who had been helping him with his work since he arrived. Lao Zhou was honest and had outstanding work ability. His only flaw was that he had a troublesome son. Zhou Qiang was the youngest child in the family and was raised by his grandmother from a young age. He had a rather domineering personality. People like Du Kunpeng had similar experiences in that special era. After Lao Zhou was denounced, he went to a cadre school, and his wife and children were sent to different places. Because his youngest son was too young, and the conditions where his wife was staying were too harsh, the child was sent back to his hometown to be raised by his grandmother.

At the time, Old Zhou's fate was unknown, and Zhou Qiang could be considered the only remaining member of the Zhou family. Although Old Zhou had been overthrown, the south valued family, and the Zhou family always held a significant position within the clan. Therefore, Zhou Qiang didn't suffer much hardship with his grandmother. The ten-year-old boy was still quite naive. Later, when Old Zhou was reinstated, Zhou Qiang went to the place where Old Zhou worked with his grandmother. Because she had to rely on her grandson for survival, the old lady regarded Zhou Qiang as her lifeblood, which is why Zhou Qiang developed an arrogant personality.

When Du Kunpeng saw his partner Lao Zhou's son, he knew that it must be Lao Zhou's son who caused trouble again. Du Qianqian told Secretary Wu not to tell her father about what happened this afternoon. Du Qianqian felt that her father was already very tired from work, and she didn't want to add trouble to him with her own affairs. Besides, she and Pei Yin hadn't done anything wrong.

But why did Lao Zhou bring his child to his house this time? Du Kunpeng never expected that Lao Zhou's son would provoke Pei Yin and be kicked and thrown around by her. Lao Zhou could tell from Du Kunpeng's expression that he didn't know what happened that afternoon. In that case, he would still have some initiative. So he followed Du Kunpeng into the house. When Zhou Qiang saw Pei Yin, his feelings were complicated. So this was Secretary Du's newlywed daughter-in-law. Now everyone in the circle was talking about the young couple. The groom went on a mission at the wedding, and the bride entertained the guests alone. The people who went to the guesthouse for the wedding banquet that day were all the elders of the family. The younger generation had never met her before. Du Qianqian didn't have much contact with the people in the compound. In addition, Lao Zhou lived in a different compound than Du Kunpeng, which was quite far away. So Zhou Qiang didn't recognize Du Qianqian, which led to what happened this afternoon.

Zhou Qiang was filled with regret. How could he have listened to that vixen? How could he have thought of taking advantage of her? Now look what happened—he got beaten up by that young girl outside. When he got home, afraid of causing trouble for his father, he quickly called his father to come home and tell him what had happened. Without saying a word, his father started hitting him, and he only hit his face. Zhou Qiang's mother was over eighty years old. Seeing her eldest grandson being beaten by her son, she cried out in distress. The usually very filial Zhou Qiang didn't listen to his mother's advice this time and continued to beat him. After he finished, he twisted Zhou Qiang's arm, got into his car, and came straight here.