Xu Family

The Xu family has had a tough time these past few years.

But we made it through eventually. The suffering and torment we endured over those years were not in vain.

Upon their return, their status did not decline; on the contrary, it rose by one rank.

Logically, the Xu family should be happy, but right now, the entire Xu family is not happy at all.

Why?

That's all because of Xu Weiwei.

She lost her appetite and couldn't eat or drink because of a man.

All he does is sit in his room and daydream all day; he doesn't even think about going out to work.

Judging from his appearance, it's as if he's making things difficult for himself.

"Knock knock knock!"

Xu Weiwei sat by the window in her room, lost in thought.

Wang Shouren's words, "You like the me of that era, not the real me," left her feeling bewildered. She didn't even know what was wrong with the world, what was real, and what was fake.

She has been staying at home for several days now.

All he does all day is eat and hide in his room, lost in thought.

She wasn't sad or disappointed; she was just in a daze. She simply didn't understand, couldn't figure it out, and couldn't understand it.

"Please come in," Xu Weiwei called out from behind.

Xu's father and Xu Yuanchao pushed open the door and came in.

Seeing Xu Weiwei's somewhat lifeless eyes, Xu's father felt a pang of pain in his heart. Sometimes, he really wanted to go to Wang Shouren, pull out a gun, and fire a burst of bullets at him. How could his perfectly good daughter have turned into this?

"Dad, brother, what brings you here?"

"Dad has come to see you." Mr. Xu sighed, looking at his daughter, some words stuck in his throat.

"Do you really have to have him?" Xu Yuanchao asked impatiently, as he was genuinely worried about Xu Weiwei's health.

Xu Weiwei paused for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't know either, I..."

She didn't know what to say.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "I think I'm getting a little bored with all of this."

Upon hearing this, Xu's father became anxious: "Daughter, you can't think like that! If you think like that, then you're thinking like a dead person!"

When a person has no interest in anything in this world, it means that this person has no attachment to this world.

"Dad, just give it to her!" Xu Yuanchao said anxiously.

This has nothing to do with Wang Shouren. If it really did concern him, he probably would have taken action immediately.

"Give me what?" Xu Weiwei asked.

"Sigh..." Xu's father sighed, took out a file folder from his pocket, and handed it to her: "This is what Wang Shouren wants to do. The higher-ups want someone to go and keep an eye on him, and I've taken on this task. Now it's up to you. After all these years, I suppose you're a little interested in what he's been doing."

"What...did he do that warrants being watched by those above?" Xu Weiwei's eyes lit up. She was always curious about everything concerning Wang Shouren.

“He made many suggestions to his superiors. In fact, he had been in contact with people outside since 1976.”

"People outside?!" Xu Yuanchao immediately realized something was wrong.

"Hmm." Mr. Xu took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. He usually didn't smoke in front of his daughter, but today was special. He felt a little uncomfortable not smoking. "I don't know when he had this idea, but it seems like it's been a long time."

"In the original steel rolling mill, there was a fourth-level engineer named Zhao Wuliang, who was an engineer who had returned from studying abroad. In 1966, he realized that something was wrong and went abroad. Before he left, Wang Shouren asked him to pay attention to the economic and political structure of the West. According to Wang Shouren, if our country wants to develop rapidly, it is ultimately impossible to close itself off from the world."

"It's probably impossible to physically eliminate the enemy, so the West might wage a trade war against us. A trade war is an economic war, and to win this war, we need to understand them."

At this point, Xu's father narrowed his eyes slightly: "He is indeed remarkable. He saw a lot. The 'Patent Law' passed at the beginning of this year was proposed by him." (In the original timeline, the Patent Law was not promulgated until 1985, and even after its promulgation, it was not given much attention, which caused huge losses to our country.)

"Originally, the higher-ups didn't pay much attention to it, but after hearing about the cases he mentioned, and after our own comrades conducted their investigations, the bill was put on the agenda. It's estimated to be in the next two years."

"He also said that if we really want to align with international standards, we'll probably have to play by their rules. That's a very troublesome thing. We need to understand their rules, integrate into them, and prevent them from changing the rules. So, he needs to be the pioneer and find out what's going on. As you know, we at the higher-ups can't do this kind of thing. Only he can do it."

"And to do this kind of thing, you need to have a pair of eyes by his side."

“According to the above, these eyes can be made public. This is both a urging and a warning to him. I thought about it and decided to take on this task. Are you willing to go?” Mr. Xu looked at Xu Weiwei and noticed that his daughter's eyes had become bright and sparkling. Mr. Xu knew then that his daughter was beyond saving.

"I do, I do."

"Xu Weiwei!" Xu's father said sternly, "This trip is not a child's play, nor is it about your love life. It concerns the future of a country. Can you really do it?"

“Yes, you can!” Xu Weiwei’s expression also became serious.

No matter how much she was obsessed with love, she always remembered the Xu family's ancestral precepts.

For this country, I'd sacrifice everything!

“Alright, then I’ll leave this matter to you. You…” At this point, Mr. Xu paused, took another puff of his cigarette, and had a lot to say, but it got stuck in his throat. In the end, he could only say, “Take care of yourself.”

Xu's father went out, leaving Xu Yuanchao alone.

Xu Yuanchao asked with a complicated expression, "He has women, three of them."

"I know." Xu Weiwei looked down at the documents in her hand, without directly answering his question.

"if."

“Brother,” Xu Weiwei interrupted Xu Yuanchao, “this is my own business, I can handle it myself.”

"You..." Xu Yuanchao ultimately didn't say anything harsh. He really didn't want his sister to spend her whole life on Wang Shouren.

but……

"Sigh." All his unspoken words were condensed into a sigh as he walked out of his sister's bedroom.

He saw his elderly father smoking in the corridor. He walked over, took one out of his pocket, and neither of them spoke. They just stared out the window and smoked silently.