Upon hearing Qiu Jingwen state his name, the old man laughed heartily: "Haha, you still remember me, lad? Quickly, sit down, let Uncle Wang keep a close eye on you."

The old man held Qiu Jingwen's hand, his thin hand trembling with emotion, and his eyes were blurry. As he stared at Qiu Jingwen's face, he said, "Ah Wen, you've suffered so much these years."

"Uncle Wang, I haven't suffered. I'm living a good life."

"That's good. I heard you've been married and settled down for a long time, and you're now the deputy director of production at this military factory?"

"That was the leader's care and promotion for me. Uncle Wang, are you retired now?"

"Oh, not yet, it'll be soon."

Qiu Jingwen was somewhat surprised. At this age, it was a bit unreasonable for him not to have retired yet. However, he didn't press for the reason, whether he had been rehired after retirement or for some other reason.

The others in the meeting room remained silent, as if they didn't exist. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the old man looked at a middle-aged man wearing a Zhongshan suit with a pen in his pocket and said, "Mayor Zhao, could you please leave for a moment? I'd like to have a private talk with my nephew."

"Commander, we'll go out now."

Mayor Zhao responded and stood up. The other accompanying personnel also stood up silently and left the meeting room. Only then did Qiu Jingwen realize just how high-ranking an official Uncle Wang, whom he had known since childhood, was. Even the mayor obeyed him, let alone the person who addressed him as "Chief." After everyone left, Qiu Jingwen joked, "Uncle Wang, how high a rank are you now?"

"Awen, it's all about serving the people."

After saying that, he reached out and grabbed Qiu Jingwen's hand again, and sighed, "Awen, if it weren't for your parents risking their lives to protect me and leave Shanghai, I wouldn't be where I am today. I would have contributed to the liberation cause long ago, just like your parents."

Immediately afterwards, Wang Chen recounted the events of that year to Qiu Jingwen. Due to the betrayal of a traitor, the cloth shop run by Qiu Jingwen's parents, which was actually the location of an underground branch, was surrounded by agents of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. He said, "That winter, I was on a secret mission when I obtained important intelligence about the Huaihai Campaign from your parents. In order to cover my evacuation and send the intelligence out, your parents blocked the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics agents from entering the cloth shop and ultimately fell to the insane guns of the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics---."

At this point, tears welled up in the old man's eyes. He wiped them away and continued, "If your father were still alive, his official rank would be higher than mine."

There were tissues on the conference table. Qiu Jingwen picked up two and handed them to the old man: "Uncle Wang, the comrades from the Municipal Public Security Bureau have already told me about my parents' work for the Party before liberation. I am proud of them."

"Awen, all these years, I've been asking people to look for you and your sister, but because I've been in the army, I haven't had much contact with the local community, and I haven't heard from you. Later, I learned that the organization sent you and your sister to the Jianghuai region, but I never expected that you'd be stuck in this remote mountain village, in this military factory. By the way, where's your sister?"

"My sister and I got separated in the early days after liberation, and we haven't heard from her since."

Qiu Jingwen knew in his heart that his sister should be on the Taiwan Strait, and Chief Wang Chen in front of him should also be unaware of this. He didn't need to tell him, since it involved his sister's safety, and the fewer people who knew, the safer it would be.

"Ah, is that so? After I return to the capital, I will have someone investigate."

The two talked for a long time about their time living in the cloth shop. These memories brought back many of Qiu Jingwen's childhood memories. His parents' kindness and gentleness, as well as all their smiling faces, resurfaced in his mind. These memories brought tears to Qiu Jingwen's eyes, but he did not cry out loud. He was just silently saddened.

"Uncle Wang, do you know how my parents' bodies were disposed of afterward?"

"I don't know either. Later, I returned to the army and continued to fight in various places. Moreover, his father's rank was quite high and was always kept top secret. I inquired about some things in my early years, but unfortunately, I was criticized and struggled against for a period of time and went to a cadre school."

"Ah, Uncle Wang, you were beaten and sent to a cadre school?"

“It wasn’t just that you were criticized and struggled against; you were almost labeled a counter-revolutionary and accused of being a Kuomintang spy.”

When the topic of spies came up, Qiu Jingwen thought of his own identity as a spy and said with a smile, "Uncle Wang, actually, I am----."

He really wanted to tell this leader about his past as a spy, having been recruited into the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics when he was young. Perhaps with Wang Chen's connection, even if the assassination of Liu Han succeeded, it could be downplayed or even ignored. But Wang Chen smiled and said, "Awen, are you trying to tell me that you're also a Kuomintang spy infiltrated on the mainland?"

"Ah, Uncle Wang, do you know about my situation?"

"Of course I know. I learned everything about you through my secretary before I came. I also know that you killed that traitor Liu Han. I also told the local police. You did that to eliminate a traitor for the Party. It's a good thing and you should be commended and rewarded. Don't worry about this."

Qiu Jingwen burst into tears. He grabbed the old man's hand and said repeatedly, "Uncle Wang, thank you for your care."

“I am a soldier, and I am telling the truth. That kind of traitor to the Party should be considered a meritorious service no matter who kills him. He should not be convicted of murder because his betrayal not only sacrificed the lives of your parents, but also the lives of several underground workers, not to mention the loss of several other communication stations destroyed by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics.

Qiu Jingwen finally felt reassured. He believed that with the leader's words, even if Shao Jian and the others suspected that Jiang Yuping had murdered Liu Han, it shouldn't be a big deal.

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