People like Cai Xiaoyu don't compromise themselves.
She stood at the door for a while, and when no one came out, she gave up.
If she had the determination to stand there all night, she probably wouldn't have been kicked out.
However, she came again the next day.
Qi Chengyan was to rejoin his unit today and could no longer stay at home with Cheng You.
Only Cheng You and the children were at home.
To leave a door open for Song Qinglan, the main door was not locked.
Cai Xiaoyu pushed the door open directly, without calling out, and walked in.
Cheng You had recovered for half a month. She had gained some weight, her skin was fair and tender, and her complexion looked particularly good.
The only downside was that she had no milk, so Lele had to be fed formula.
It wasn't that she thought formula feeding was bad, but she had never experienced the feeling of breastfeeding and wanted to try.
Cai Xiaoyu's eyes were filled with jealousy. Regardless of anything else, Cheng You was indeed beautiful.
"Don't you knock?" Cheng You saw her enter and put the child down.
Cai Xiaoyu said righteously, "You didn't close the door yourselves."
Cheng You ignored her and patted the little dumpling, coaxing her to sleep.
"If you're here to plead, there's no need. With your father's ability, he'll always be able to buy a house outside, so he doesn't necessarily have to live in the military compound."
Cai Xiaoyu knew that, of course, but her father had his own reasons for choosing to live here.
Now, because of what she had done, her family had been driven out, and Cai Tiangui had almost disowned her.
"Do you have to be so ruthless?" Cai Xiaoyu looked at her hatefully.
Cheng You said calmly, "I didn't interfere in this matter. If you want to plead, it's useless to look for me."
Most likely, it was Qi Shengwen who made the move, to be so impolite as to drive them out directly.
Cai Xiaoyu was choked with anger, "You didn't interfere, but it's because of you!"
Cheng You looked confused, thinking her train of thought was indeed unusual.
"Why would it be because of me? Isn't it because of you? You have no idea about my family's situation. Why did you bring the widow Lin in for no reason? Frankly, you thought this would cause trouble for me, just to satisfy your vile and shameless jealousy. Since the incident, you haven't said a word of apology, nor have you reflected on yourself, and yet you want to shift the blame?"
Cheng You now knew that Cai Xiaoyu wasn't brainless, she lacked morals and principles.
No matter how wrong things were, it would never be her own fault.
Every word Cheng You said struck Cai Xiaoyu to the core.
She was jealous of Cheng You, jealous of her career, her studies, her beauty, and even of having an excellent man like Qi Chengyan.
Her jealousy led to comparison.
When she couldn't compete, she had bad intentions.
But she didn't want to admit it. She believed her heart wasn't that ugly.
"Cai Xiaoyu, I won't say anything more. You probably won't listen anyway. Today, you've only been kicked out of the military compound. Tomorrow, I can make sure you can't even get into the University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Do you want to try?"
"How dare you!" Cai Xiaoyu's voice suddenly became sharp.
Cheng You leaned against the head of the bed and said coldly, "Whether I dare or not, you can try."
Before Cai Xiaoyu could speak, she heard Song Qinglan's voice, "Cheng You, who is here?"
Cai Xiaoyu's expression turned panicked. Song Qinglan had come to her house two days ago and severely scolded her.
Those words, without a single curse, easily shattered her self-esteem.
Even now, she still felt a sense of fear towards Song Qinglan.
"Oh, Cai Xiaoyu, what are you doing here? You're not here to deliver gifts, are you?" Song Qinglan's eyes turned cold when she saw her.
Cai Xiaoyu lowered her head guiltily, more out of fear.
"I'm leaving, I'm leaving now."
Song Qinglan snorted coldly and ignored her, instead saying to Cheng You, "Why are you wasting your breath on someone like her?"
She glanced at Lele in the swaddle. More than half a month had passed, and she had visibly grown.
"Such a beautiful little girl, I wonder who she'll end up with."
Cheng You smiled, thinking it was too early to consider that now.
She was still just a little ball of dough who knew nothing.
By the end of December, Cheng You had finished her confinement.
She could finally take a good bath and scrub herself from head to toe.
Because of the special circumstances, she had still taken leave from school, only needing to return for the final exams.
She couldn't take the child far, so she basically just walked around the neighborhood with her.
Song Qinglan found someone to make a small stroller, placed the child on it, and pushed her around, letting her get some sun.
Her favorite thing now was to push the little dumpling out to chat with people and brag about how cute her granddaughter was.
With her help, Cheng You's burden was greatly reduced, and she even had time to visit the medicinal garden.
Qiu Laoda was more responsible than Pan Yunping and managed the medicinal garden very well.
He didn't become arrogant; even though he had reached his current position in one step, he remained very steady.
With him in charge, Cheng You was more willing to delegate tasks.
Qiu's third son had attended high school but didn't get into college.
Cheng You asked Han Shaohua to teach him and also to sort out the accounts for the medicinal garden.
During this time, she also encountered Pan Yunping.
Since Cai Tiangui's business failed, he had become unemployed.
He had tried several jobs, but none lasted more than a few days.
Having been a director before, he was unwilling to be subordinate to others.
Moreover, the jobs outside didn't offer the same benefits and treatment as Cheng You.
Every time he thought about this, he regretted falling out with Cheng You immensely.
After struggling outside for a while, he couldn't help but swallow his pride and reappear at the medicinal garden.
He didn't come alone; he brought along the workers he had taken with him before.
He only hoped that Cheng You would soften her heart.
As Cheng You walked out, she saw him standing at the entrance with those people, braving the cold wind.
It was clearly a tactic to elicit sympathy.
"Director Pan, long time no see. I hope you've been well." She greeted Pan Yunping as usual.
Pan Yunping felt uncomfortable being mocked by her, with no way to express his suffering.
"Boss, please don't make fun of me."
Cheng You smiled, "What do you mean? You went to get rich with Boss Cai, what am I making fun of you for?"
Pan Yunping wiped his burning face. Cheng You's words were like a soft knife, almost tearing off his skin.
"Boss Cai's business failed, you know that."
Cheng You feigned realization, "So that's how it is. I was wondering why you had time to visit. Then I won't keep you for tea. Please help yourselves."
Seeing that she was about to get into the car, Pan Yunping quickly stepped forward to stop her.
"Boss, I came to tell you something."
Cheng You glanced at him, "Director Pan, if you have something to say, just say it."
Pan Yunping stammered, "Boss Cai's business failed, and we have nowhere to go. We'd like you to take us in."