"Are you okay?" Lin Chuan smiled.
"Surviving a major disaster must be followed by blessings." Luo Guoqing glanced at Lin Chuan, saying, "You didn't even offer a cigarette."
"You don't have cigarettes?" Lin Chuan asked, puzzled, before handing him one.
"Damn, at ho my wife controls tightly," Luo Guoqing said through gritted teeth, "Haven't smoked for half a month, almost suffocated to death, I suspect if this continues, I might quit smoking completely.
"Might as well quit then," Lin Chuan responded.
Luo Guoqing took a deep breath, as he hadn't smoked for a long ti, this puff of smoke made him choke badly.
"How's your investigation going?" Luo Guoqing asked quietly.
"Still nothing new," Lin Chuan replied, "Li Minghua has now joined them."
"You're kidding?" Luo Guoqing was startled, his face darkened, "Damn, that spineless coward, after all the good I did for him."
"Don't misunderstand," Lin Chuan smiled, "He's now an undercover, an informant, and will help us gather information."
"Shit, you should have made things clear." Luo Guoqing glared at Lin Chuan, saying, "Almost made misunderstand him. Anyway, no one else knows about this, right?"
"Apart from you and I, only heaven and earth know," Lin Chuan smiled.
"That's good," Luo Guoqing nodded, saying, "The brothers from the Song family are truly ruthless. If I hadn't protected myself at the crucial mont, I might have already died on the street. Dammit, both are beasts."
The two chatted for a while, and Vice Minister Li then called Luo Guoqing to his office. In the lounge, Lin Chuan was left alone again. Others are either aligned with the Song brothers or neutral, not getting involved on either sides because they know that Lin Chuan and the Song brothers have beco sworn enemies.
Tang Yung didn't co to work today.
Although he didn't know why, Lin Chuan was happy to be on his own. Seeing that Tang Yung was absent, he decided to skip work too, since he was her designated driver and other leaders didn't dare to command him. In the lounge, aside from him and the Song brothers, other drivers were usually very busy, being ordered around by any cadre, either moving heavy items or driving them sowhere.
The city committee is full of leaders, but there are only ten or so drivers in the lounge.
......
Jiangbei City Cetery.
This elegantly tranquil spot is located to the south of Jiangbei City. Driving from the City Committee to Jiangbei City Cetery, one has to cross the East River Bridge, go through farmlands, and finally enter the cetery via a two-lane concrete road.
The cetery, amid shades of green, looks very beautiful and picturesque. Yet, it lies countless resting souls. Scattered individuals are seen worshipping, so sit despondently by their loved ones' tombstones; others stand speaking to gravestones...
Tang Yung, dressed in a black coat, black leather pants, black Chelsea boots with a black hat adorned with two red flowers on top, holds a bouquet of chrysanthemums. In the chilly wind, the flowers tremble.
In this densely packed cetery, Tang Yung found one marker. On it, there's a black and white photo with words beneath painted in gold: The Tomb of My Brother Tang Hao.
Arriving at the tombstone, Tang Yung took off her black hat, her flowing hair fell and fluttered in the wind. She gently bent down and then squatted, placing the fresh flowers in front of the tombstone.
"Tang Hao, sister has co to see you," Tang Yung gently wiped the photo on the tombstone as if she were softly stroking her brother's cheek.
Before she realized, Tang Yung's eyes reddened, tears swirled in her eyes, and soon, crystal clear tears fell like pearls cut loose. Unable to control her emotions, especially today being Tang Hao's birthday—if he were alive, he'd be only twenty-six. Yet, in his twenties, he had sacrificed his life. Tang Yung choked up.
After a long ti, she wiped her tears and spoke softly, "Tang Hao, I'm sorry, I said I wouldn't cry, but I just can't help it."
On the tombstone, the handso and radiant smiling photo continued to smile brightly.
"Do you know? I t soone just like you," Tang Yung crouched and touched the tombstone while speaking softly, "His na is Lin Chuan, he's a very special person like you, though, more formidable than you, able to subdue four ard thugs barehanded, and he even singlehandedly resolved a big problem at the pioneer chemical plant..."
While speaking, Tang Yung's expression seed much happier, even excited when she ntioned sothing delightful.
This was Tang Yung's first radiant smile in front of Tang Hao's grave.
.........
Lin Chuan returned to Changlin Community, first stopping by the factory.
Zhou Kai, the chubby one, was still fixing up things in the factory. You've got to hand it to him, bustling about every day, he has slimd down a bit. Upon seeing Lin Chuan, Zhou Kai hurriedly put down his tools and approached, "Chuan, you're here?"
"How co I find you thinner?" Lin Chuan asked curiously.
"Exactly." Zhou Kai grinned, "I've actually lost about 10 kilos these past two months."
"Not bad, keep it up." Lin Chuan laughed, "Who would've thought fixing cars could shed ten kilos? By the way, how busy has it been at the construction site lately? Those two dump trucks must be pretty tied up, right?"
"Oh, don't even ntion it." Zhou Kai grimaced, "We finished the job a week ago, but then the site boss relocated them to another spot for hauling. I heard it'll go till the end of the year, and they will settle our wages then."
"Really?" Lin Chuan paused, then smiled, "That's good though, right? Doesn't it an you can earn more?"
"Good what." Zhou Kai said helplessly, "It seems good, but the foreman isn't settling the paynts now. Now the n are almost out of money for fuel for the dump trucks."
"Don't you have a few tens of thousands left?" Lin Chuan asked.
"Brother Chuan, prices have risen severely, fuel prices too." Zhou Kai took a deep drag of his cigarette and then said, "It costs hundreds a day just for fuel. That few tens of thousands aren't enough at all, and we also have to fix regular faults, even a simple spare part can cost hundreds to thousands. Plus, your old car needs fixing too. A few tens of thousands really isn't enough."
Lin Chuan thought it over, and it made so sense. Back in the army, those fuel-guzzlers did consu a lot, and dump trucks carrying that much weight each day would certainly burn through fuel. The army had provisions for fuel, but here they had to pay for it themselves. Lin Chuan had overlooked this detail.
"Here's fifty thousand." Lin Chuan pulled out five stacks of bills and handed them to Zhou Kai, then asked, "Is that enough?"
"Chuan, where did you get the money?" Zhou Kai's eyes lit up, "You didn't actually rob the rich to help the poor, did you?"
"Heh heh…" Lin Chuan chuckled, saying, "If you want the money, don't ask too much. So, do you want it or not?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?" Zhou Kai quickly grabbed it, then excitedly said, "This is like tily help. Chuan, you've done so much for the brothers; we are truly grateful to you."
"What nonsense are you talking?" Lin Chuan glanced at a few people and said, "Aren't we all brothers from the sa factory? Why fuss about this? I just don't want us to live too miserably. Nor do I want you guys to turn to cri. Understand?"
"Understood." Zhou Kai nodded.
"Alright, I'm off to the Nuo family now." Lin Chuan stood up, patting the dust off his pants.
"Safe travels, Brother Chuan." Holding the stacks of cash, Zhou Kai eagerly saw Lin Chuan out, watching as he walked towards Changlin Community. Zhou Kai's eyes reddened slightly; Lin Chuan's words just now had deeply moved him. After all, Lin Chuan had given the brothers a total of sixteen thousand and two dump trucks, a generosity not every man could muster. Zhou Kai saluted in the direction Lin Chuan had gone, "Chuan, you'll always be our big brother."
Nuo Xiaoxi's ho was at the northwest corner of the factory area, where the layout of Changlin Factory was sowhat odd. Apart from a large section in the middle constructed of cent buildings, the four corners were all squared brick and tile, even including so shanty dwelling.
Nuo Xiaoxi's ho was a typical shanty dwelling. Although Nuo Xiaoxi's father was a national model worker, because he was upright and not favored by the leaders, he didn't get a good deal when the houses were distributed, only receiving an old tile-roofed house. Later, half of the tile-roof collapsed during a storm, leaving the family with no choice but to rebuild it with wooden fras and cover the top with reeds for rainproofing, thus becoming a true shanty dwelling.
By the ti Lin Chuan arrived at Nuo Xiaoxi's, she was bustling about. The house had only about twenty square ters with one room acting as both the bedroom and living room. The kitchen was a small area outside set up with wooden boards, and as for the restroom, the cursed place had only public toilets. Furthermore, one had to use a flashlight at night when heading to the public toilets, which were terribly filthy to the point no one dared approach.
"Xiao Xi." Lin Chuan called out.
Nuo Xiaoxi hadn't reacted yet, she looked around and when she saw Lin Chuan, she exclaid in surprise, "Brother Lin, is it really you?"
"Yeah." Lin Chuan nodded, and said, "You… you're busy?"
"I'm making dicine for my mom." In her flurry, Nuo Xiaoxi used her grimy little hands to smooth back her hair, leaving a smudge of soot on her forehead.
"I've co to bring you money," Lin Chuan smiled.
"This..." Nuo Xiaoxi got a bit flustered; their ho was indeed not presentable, but except for inviting Lin Chuan inside, she didn't know what else to do, "Brother Lin, then... please co sit inside."
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