Chapter 78

No one came out, so Han Shengyi kept knocking on the door. Guo Youmian was lying on the table listening to the radio, which was playing revolutionary songs. As she listened, she rested her head on her arms, and was about to fall asleep when she heard a familiar voice from outside. Guo Youmian sat up in a daze, and before she could react, she heard a series of kicking and stomping sounds coming from her parents' room.

Lifting the curtain, she saw her father hurriedly running out of the house, with his shoes only half on. He quickly picked up his shoes as he ran forward, ran out of the main room and came to the yard. Guo Heizi opened the door and looked outside furtively. Finding that there was no one else outside the door, he quickly pulled Han Shengyi in.

"What are you doing in my house?!"

"Didn't I tell you before that when the time comes to pay, our family will deliver it to you, but if we don't go, you are absolutely not allowed to come over! You live in the cowshed, do you know what others will think of me if they find out that I know someone who lives in the cowshed?"

Guo Youmian was standing in the main room. She originally wanted to go out to greet him, but when she heard Guo Heizi's tone, she stopped in her tracks, took a few steps back, and held onto the door panel. Guo Youmian was a little stunned.

At home, Guo Heizi wasn't exactly friendly with his children, but he never used that tone. Behind their backs, Guo Youmian had heard countless times her mother complain about the cowshed. Her mother had said all sorts of nasty things, but back then, Guo Youmian hadn't felt anything. After all, it was all said behind their backs, and who doesn't have people talking behind their backs? But now, it was different; her father was saying these things right in front of Han Shengyi.

Guo Youmian hid himself behind the curtain, leaving only a crack to eavesdrop on the conversation between the two. Han Shengyi still maintained his normal attitude and did not frown because of Guo Heizi's words.

Han Shengyi: "Director Guo, I'm not looking for you to ask for money for my family."

Guo Heizi glared when he heard this. "You don't even want to ask your own family for money? Whose family do you want to ask for money from? I say, you kid, how can you be so ignorant? If it weren't for me, would you and your grandson have survived until now? Not only are you ungrateful to me, but you're also repaying kindness with hatred and insisting on ruining our family's reputation. Forget about asking others for money, even if you ask for money for yourself, I don't have any. Hurry up and leave. Don't let others see you. If they do, I won't give your family a penny from now on!"

After four years of living in the same village, this was the first time Guo Heizi and Han Shengyi had officially met. Previously, they'd either bumped into each other by chance or caught a glimpse of each other's outline in the dark. Han Shengyi had never known Guo Heizi's personality, but seeing him like this, he wasn't surprised at all.

Pulling up the corners of his mouth, Han Shengyi smiled, "Whether you pay us or not is no longer a big deal to us. I can earn more than that doing hard labor in the city by giving us six or seven yuan a few months. But Director Guo, if you don't pay us, how will you explain it to my uncle if he finds out?"

Guo Heizi instinctively wanted to say that he wouldn't notice at all, but before he could say it, he suddenly realized, "What did you say?"

Han Shengyi: "From the beginning, wasn't he the one who asked you to send money to my family? While sending money, he was also monitoring us, trying to see if we, the old, weak, sick, and disabled, were still alive and kicking. My uncle must have given you a lot of benefits, otherwise you would be so afraid of a person in the cowshed, and you would go to our place every once in a while. It's not worth it."

Guo Heizi was stunned. He thought his surveillance was quite successful. He seldom went there himself. It would take a long time before he would let his children or his workers go there for a walk. But he didn't expect that he had been exposed long ago!

After being stunned for a long time, Guo Heizi finally shut up. He retracted his contemptuous look and looked at Han Shengyi again. This time, his words were not so harsh.

"What on earth do you want to do by coming to my place?"

He wanted to hear first what was going on that made Han Shengyi tell him what he had been holding back for several years.

Finally getting to the point, Han Shengyi raised the corner of his lips and smiled again, "The dam reinforcement will cost 20,000 yuan. I hope Director Guo can pay for it."

Guo Heizi: “…”

The lion's mouth is really too big.

But you don’t even consider your own worth before you dare to say such things to me!

Guo Heizi was so angry that he laughed, "Do you think I'm a sucker?"

Han Shengyi also laughed. "Director Guo, you're certainly not a sucker. You belong to my uncle, a man who is both cautious and intelligent. The fact that he's interested in you shows that you have your own abilities. Whether this position of Director of the Engineering Department was assigned to you by my uncle or you fought for it yourself, you've already been in that position for three years. You even took back some of the few dollars you gave to our family. With such a large project fee, everyone else is greedy. Don't you just take a little bit?"

Han Shengyi turned to look at his family's grand new house. He peered inside. There was a curtain at the door and reflective glass windows, so Han Shengyi couldn't see what was going on inside. However, Guo Youmian subconsciously dodged for a moment. For some reason, she was extremely reluctant to let Han Shengyi see her there.

Han Shengyi just glanced at him casually, then turned his head back to look at Guo Heizi. "Director Guo, your house is well built. I heard from the villagers that you spent a full thousand yuan on it. Your son treats the children in the village to delicious food every day, and your daughter gets a new set of clothes every month. Under such circumstances, you were still able to save so much money to build a house. It's really not easy."

There was something behind his words, and Guo Heizi was no fool; of course he heard it immediately. He looked at Han Shengyi gloomily, "I have money, I spend it however I like. Who do you think you are to meddle in my affairs?!"

Han Shengyi: "That's right, I have no control over it, but I want to ask, Director Guo, does my uncle know that you are so rich?"

At the mention of Han Shengyi's uncle, Han Jibin, Guo Heizi's face froze. Han Shengyi lowered his eyes and continued, "I've said before, my uncle is a very cautious person. He won't do anything if there's even a little danger. He treats himself the same way as his subordinates. What he hates most is disobedient subordinates who cause trouble for him and himself."

As he spoke, Han Shengyi seemed to be lost in reminiscence. He remembered something interesting and said to Guo Heizi with a smile, "When I was a child, he worked with someone. As a result, that person couldn't control his hands. Not only did he take kickbacks, he also arranged for his relatives to be assigned key positions. If this matter was caught, my uncle would be in trouble as well. So when he heard about it, he didn't wait for others to report it. He reported that person first. All the bad things were done by that person, and my uncle had no involvement at all. In the end, that person was thrown into prison and could never get out in his life, while my uncle got promoted and made a fortune. Even the relative who was assigned to a key position later became my uncle's helper."

Guo Heizi felt guilty after hearing this. He was not actually familiar with Han Jibin, but he was the only person Han Jibin could entrust in Qingzhu Village. Since he started working for Han Jibin, Guo Heizi's life could be described as booming. But from the occasional letters he received, he could also tell that Han Jibin was a person who was not easy to mess with. He could pull himself up from an ordinary farmer to where he is now, so naturally he could also push him down again.

Even so, Guo Heizi would never agree to Han Shengyi's words. Twenty thousand yuan, how could he have so much money?

"Don't scare me. Director Han is in the capital. How could he possibly know what's going on here? If you dare tell him, I..."

After a pause of one second, Guo Heizi's expression turned fierce, "I'm going to kill you now!"

Guo Youmian inside was shocked, but Han Shengyi outside remained unchanged. He looked at Guo Heizi calmly, "You dare not."

"Who said I don't dare?!"

Han Shengyi tilted his head, looking at the crabapple trees planted in the Guo family's yard. He analyzed calmly, "I'm not close to my uncle, and he's never liked me much. But during the holidays, he still buys me things and pulls me over to ask about my grades. He wouldn't care if I lived here, even if I had to eat grass roots and sleep on the sand. But if I died, he would definitely ask what happened. If he found out, you'd be dead too."

"fart!"

Guo Heizi didn't care that people outside the door might hear him. He said these two words loudly. There were more unpleasant words to come, but he got stuck as soon as he said these two words.

He suddenly remembered that Han Jibin had called him in the beginning. In addition to asking him to keep an eye on the three members of the Han family, and to report anything unusual, he also told him that if they got sick, he should pay for their treatment first, and he would cover the cost later. And Han Shengyi, the child was young, so he had to keep an eye on him. If he got into a fight, he had to make sure he didn't get killed.

The Han family had been ill, especially Grandpa Han, who had become like Lin Daiyu in the past two years, but Guo Heizi had never given them any money. Not only that, he also asked Han Jibin for a lot of medical expenses. Anyway, Grandpa Han's illness was real, and they would die of old age in Qingzhu Village for the rest of their lives, so he was not afraid of being exposed in the future.

But who would have thought that the old couple of the Han family lived peacefully until now, and Han Shengyi grew up well and was old enough to come and threaten him.

Guo Heizi's face showed a variety of expressions. He wasn't a heinous person to begin with, but he didn't have the guts to kill someone. After gritting his teeth for a long time, he said, "You're quite a righteous man! This dam has nothing to do with you. If you have the guts, pay for it yourself. Ask me for it, but I don't have any! Even if you hollowed out our house, I still wouldn't have that much money!"

Han Shengyi: "I don't have 20,000, but what about 10,000?"

Guo Heizi: "If I had 10,000 yuan, would I still live here?"

It seems that there really is no money. Han Shengyi said, "Then it's eight thousand."

Guo Heizi: “…”

"You think this is a market, with bargaining involved? No, I don't have a penny!"

He was clearly a stingy person, and finally, Han Shengyi's expression changed a little. He stopped smiling and just looked at Guo Heizi steadily. "Do you think I'm talking to you about the market? Human lives are at stake. The dam was built because you were so greedy. I didn't say some things just now because I wanted to save your face. How did this project fall to Qingshi Town? Qingshi Town doesn't need a dam at all. Han Jibin used to be the director of the Water Conservancy Engineering Department, and all of this happened to be his responsibility. Now he's been promoted and transferred to another place, but he still knows people from his past and has his own connections."

"It's Han Jibin's style to grab the last bit of money before being transferred. Chen Dazhu and the others can take as much as they want. The money is allocated to lower-level officials anyway, and Han Jibin has no control over them. But you, you have financial dealings with Han Jibin, and you stole the dam funds. This is something Han Jibin absolutely cannot tolerate. I don't care how much you took. Eight thousand. Send it to the Revolutionary Committee tomorrow. If you don't, I'll call Han Jibin, and then you'll have to pay a lot more than eight thousand."

After he finished speaking, Han Shengyi turned around and left, opening the door to the Guo family's house. No matter how furious Guo Heizi was behind him, he didn't look back. Guo Heizi's hands began to shake with anger, and he slammed the door shut. Guo Heizi returned to the main room and saw his daughter standing at the door. He immediately yelled back, "What are you looking at? Go back to your room!"

Guo Youmian trembled at his yelling, quickly lowered the curtain, and ran back inside. Guo Heizi kept pacing in his room, feeling angry and anxious.

He didn't know whether what Han Shengyi said was true, but judging from his attitude today, he might really call Han Jibin.

Damn it, how did he know Director Han's phone number? Also, didn't Director Han already cut off ties with them? Why was he still willing to contact them!

Guo Heizi definitely couldn't sleep that night, but Han Shengyi was in a good mood. On the way back from the west end of the village, he met Chu Shao, who was walking home quickly with nothing in his hands.

Han Shengyi stopped him and asked him who he sold the bracelet to.

When Chu Shao heard this, he was already numb to Chu Jiujiu's character of telling everything. He shook his head and took out the handkerchief from his arms. There was a round object inside, which should be the bracelet Chu Jiujiu mentioned.

"I didn't sell it. I walked around town and asked a few people, but none of them seemed reliable. If I sell it, I probably won't be able to buy it back. I'd better donate the money from my family and keep the bracelet for her. She might be willing to part with it now, but in a few years, she might not be willing to do so."

Han Shengyi thought to herself that she was reluctant to do so now, but she was just pretending to be willing to do so.

Han Shengyi smiled softly and said, "No need. By tomorrow, Section Chief Feng and the others should be able to get enough money."

Chu Shaogang put the bracelet back. Upon hearing this, he looked at Han Shengyi in surprise: "How did you know?"

Han Shengyi looked at him and said, "I guessed."

Chu Shao: “…”

Guess your head.

Although he complained in his heart, Chu Shao said nothing in reality. He kept looking at Han Shengyi suspiciously, always feeling that he was not joking and that he must have done something.

Han Shengyi is not Chu Jiujiu, who talks without restraint and is always talking nonsense. What he says is what he means. If he is not sure, he will not speak at all. But the problem is, Han Shengyi is just a little kid, what can he do?

Although he is only half a year older than Han Shengyi, Chu Shao has always firmly believed that Han Shengyi is just a little brat, just like Chu Jiujiu, who deserves to be punished.

…

When the two returned to the Chu family, they learned that their bracelets had not been sold. Chu Jiujiu was a little happy, but also a little anxious. Han Shengyi repeated what he had said to Chu Jiujiu. Wen Xiuwei was listening beside them. Upon hearing this, they both looked at Han Shengyi strangely.

But no matter what others thought, Han Shengyi always had a gentle smile on his face and didn't say a word. Seeing him like this, everyone gave up and gave up. Trying to get words out of Han Shengyi was like asking Chu Shao to sing. It was impossible.

The next day, Chu Jiujiu and Chu Shao went to the town again. They didn't sell the bracelet, so they took four hundred yuan with them. This was already a huge sum of money, but Chu Jiujiu still felt it was a bit too little.

Who would have thought that when they arrived at the Revolutionary Committee, Director Yang was in high spirits. When he heard that two children had come to give them money, Director Yang waved his hand and refused them.

"No need! This morning, the guard found a large stone at the door with two piles of money underneath. The accountant just counted them and it's over 6,000 yuan in total. Adding to the money we raised before, although it's not yet 20,000, we can already start construction. Good boy, take the money back. Now that we have the bulk, we can slowly add the smaller amounts and we'll eventually get enough. Come home quickly."

Chu Jiujiu's eyes widened. She asked Director Yang, "Who gave you so much money?"

Director Yang chuckled. "I don't know. They didn't leave their names. But I have an idea of who they were. It was just those few people. Seeing Chen Dazhu in trouble, they felt uneasy too. Well, now that the money has been returned, I won't bother with them."

Director Yang's words were quite high-sounding. It wasn't that he didn't care, but he had no evidence, so he couldn't care less. The real account books were gone, and the accountants were each responsible for a portion. No one knew how much the total amount was. Moreover, Chen Dazhu was too arbitrary. He insisted on distributing the money himself, so he was the only one who knew who had taken the money.

But in all these days, he only gave out Xu Changhe, three people in the accounting office, and several people on the construction site. He never mentioned Guo Heizi's name, and he didn't mention Director Han either.

Chen Dazhu knew that Guo Heizi was Han Jibin's man, and he always fantasized that Han Jibin would come to save him, so he kept these two people in his heart, waiting for the day when they would repay him for their kindness.

Chen Dazhu was imprisoned, completely unaware of what was happening outside, and naturally, his brother, Chen Sanzhu, had vanished completely, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. Han Jibin only learned of the incident after word reached the capital. During the crackdown period, and with someone on the key list taking the matter very seriously, Han Jibin was completely overwhelmed. Forget saving Chen Dazhu; he was now the one who wished him dead the most.

Chu Jiujiu and the others returned home, where Han Shengyi and Wen Xiuwei were waiting for them. Before Chu Shao could say anything, Chu Jiujiu had already jumped in front of Han Shengyi and kept asking who had paid the more than 6,000 yuan. In front of everyone, Han Shengyi kept interrupting and was unwilling to tell the truth. He acted as if he had nothing to do with the matter, although no one present believed what he said.

After being pestered by Chu Jiujiu with questions for two days, Han Shengyi sat in the bamboo forest and briefly recounted the incident while enjoying the cool breeze when there was no one else around.

Including the relationship between Guo Heizi and their family, who Han Jibin is, and what he has been secretly observing over the years.

Chu Jiujiu's jaw dropped when she heard this. Important figures always appear in books and TV dramas, but in real life, Chu Jiujiu didn't know any of them. The same plot as in the TV drama happened to Uncle Han Shengyi, which Chu Jiujiu found unbelievable.

After thinking for a long time, she could only say one sentence, "Your uncle is really amazing."

Speaking of him, Han Shengyi sneered, "Of course, in our entire Han family, he is the only one who can do this."

Seeing that Han Shengyi was in a bad mood, Chu Jiujiu blinked and tried to comfort him, "When the forest is big, there are all kinds of birds. When the family tree is long, all kinds of bugs will come out. Your family is like your uncle, and my family... my family has many people like him. Well, my... my third uncle and step-grandmother, they kicked my grandfather out of the house to protect themselves. Good people are all the same, but bad people are all colorful. There's nothing we can do. We can only get used to it."

Chu Jiujiu is becoming more and more adept at changing names. Even at home, she rarely calls Chu Shao Grandpa anymore. Maybe in another year or two, she will be able to completely integrate into the role of Chu Jiujiu, who was born in 1960.

Han Shengyi didn't respond to Chu Jiujiu's words of comfort. He turned his head and told her something else: "Don't tell my grandparents what I told you today. They don't know. They still think my uncle is a very upright person."

Chu Jiujiu nodded repeatedly, "I understand. I won't tell anyone. I won't even tell Chu Shao."

Chu Jiujiu is a bit thick-skinned, but there is one good thing about her: she will never go back on her word. Han Shengyi felt a little more relaxed. He lay back and leaned against the thick bamboo. The bamboo was not as strong as a big tree. When he leaned over, the bamboo leaves collided with each other, rustling. It was a bit noisy, but also a bit quiet.

The bamboo forest was humid, and Chu Jiujiu huddled herself in a ball, avoiding anything green. Once, while she was there, she encountered the legendary venomous snake, the Pit Viper. Although she escaped being touched, she was still terrified. She loved the quiet and coolness of the bamboo forest, but was afraid of snakes, so she could only stay vigilant while enjoying the cool air inside.

Han Shengyi closed his eyes and rested quietly. Normally, Chu Jiujiu would not disturb him at this time. After all, Han Shengyi was much more tired than her. Not only did he have to study, but he also had to take care of the vegetable garden and find time to work in the commune. These were nothing. What shocked Chu Jiujiu the most was that even though he was so busy, he could still accompany her out to play for a while every day.

Chu Jiujiu felt sorry for him, and when she saw him close his eyes, she said nothing. But today, she couldn't do that. She had just learned such explosive news, and if she didn't ask some questions, she would feel suffocated.

"Brother Shengyi, I think you're pretty amazing. How did you know Guo Heizi was suspicious? I've lived with you for a year, but I never noticed he was spying on you."

Han Shengyi closed his eyes and answered, "He's very careful. I think my uncle taught him that. If I hadn't seen his original name in the commune, I wouldn't have noticed this."

Chu Jiujiu was surprised, "Guo Heizi isn't just called Guo Heizi, he has a real name?"

Han Shengyi half-opened his eyes and looked at his slightly tanned arms. "Well, his name is Guo Degang, which is similar to the name of someone I met in the capital. They must be distant relatives."

Chu Jiujiu opened her small kettle and took a sip. When she heard the name, she almost choked to death.

Han Shengyi straightened up when he heard her violent coughing and patted her on the back. As soon as Chu Jiujiu recovered, she turned her head and asked Han Shengyi, "Guo Degang?"

Han Shengyi was puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Chu Jiujiu: "...Wait a moment, I'll do the math."

Guo Heizi must be in his thirties at least. After calculating his age, Chu Jiujiu confirmed that he was not the same person she had seen on TV. She wanted to laugh, but she couldn't explain it. So, she silently suppressed her laughter and then calmly commented, "It's a good name."

Han Shengyi: “…”

The names of this era are all similar. Many people are called Deshui, Deli, etc. Chu Jiujiu may think this name is good, but Han Shengyi hates it very much.

After a moment's silence, Han Shengyi leaned back against the bamboo and closed his eyes again. This time, Chu Jiujiu's attention was all on how funny Guo Heizi's name was. She sat there entertaining herself. Time slowly settled in the bamboo forest, and the surroundings became quiet. Not long after, Han Shengyi really fell asleep.

——

As soon as the dam reinforcement work began, everyone could see how slow the previous project had been. With about a hundred PLA soldiers, plus local workers working overtime, the dam looked much better every day. Halfway through the reinforcement, a minor incident occurred in the town. It wasn't a big deal because Er Mazi, who had broken into the Chu family and then escaped, was apprehended. It wasn't a small matter because his capture brought up an old incident.

After Er Mazi ran away, he ran directly to the mountain. He didn't dare to go down the mountain, so he just wandered around there every day. The mountain where he wandered was not a place that people from Qingzhu Village usually went to. However, there were special cases.

Chen Yuanxue is the crazy woman in the village. Ever since she drank the Qingxin Tea sent by Chu Jiujiu, the effect was really good. When she woke up the next day, she was much more sober and no longer crazy. The old branch secretary pays attention to science. To be honest, he doesn't think that the cup of Qingxin Tea has such a big effect. Instead, he thinks that it was Chu Jiujiu's sudden appearance that stimulated her and reminded her of her daughter. It was like fighting poison with poison, and then she became better.

Although she was no longer crazy, Chen Yuanxue's condition was still far from normal. She sat at the door every day, constantly looking out. After returning to her room, she became quiet and lifeless. The most comforting thing was that she could now talk to people. The old branch secretary kept talking to her, and finally she opened up a little. She said she wanted to go back to the place where the accident happened.

The old branch secretary initially disagreed, fearing she would relapse into her previous state. Later, his second son persuaded him, saying that since Chu Jiujiu had cured his sister, perhaps a visit to the scene of the accident would completely heal her. The old branch secretary had no other choice but to take a gamble. However, they didn't realize that a visit wouldn't cure Chen Yuanxue's illness, but it could catch the person who had harmed them.

Er Mazi was hanging around on that mountain. Chen Yuanxue hadn't left the village in years. She saw him from afar and was stunned for a moment before she screamed wildly. She pointed at him and called him a bandit. The old branch secretary wasn't with Chen Yuanxue, but his second son and two buddies were there. When they heard what was going on, they didn't care about anything else and just grabbed Er Mazi.

Chen Yuanxue was stimulated and went crazy again for a while, but she soon recovered and became more and more lucid, even speaking coherently.

She looked at Ermazi with hatred, and said with absolute certainty that he was one of the bandits. Ermazi was terrified. He never thought that after so many years, Chen Yuanxue could still recognize him even after going crazy. After being taken back to Qingzhu Village, under the onlookers of the villagers, Ermazi had no choice but to tell the story of what happened.

He wasn't in the same group as the bandits; they were just acquaintances. The bandits asked him about the terrain and where they could strike, and he told them everything for a few bucks. Xu Jie, who was close to him at the time, pointed out the road Chen Yuanxue's family would pass by. He said there was a very wealthy family who always came back to visit their parents during the holidays. If they could rob them, they would definitely get rich.

At that time, Ermazi and Xu Jie were not very old. They thought these people were robbers, but they didn't know they dared to kill people. As for Xu Jie, the reason why he said that was not for money, but because Chen Yuanxue's daughter Cuicui was very beautiful. He wanted to take Cuicui away in the chaos and play with her for a while.

When the bandits took action, the two of them were watching excitedly on the side. When they saw the bandits pierce the man's stomach, they realized that things had gotten serious. They hurried downstairs. It was at this time that Chen Yuanxue saw Ermazi.

There is no need to tell you how angry the people in Qingzhu Village were. Ermazi was beaten in Qingzhu Village by Chen Yuanxue's brother. When he was sent to the town, one of his legs was out of control and no one sympathized with him. When he arrived in the town, Director Yang learned about this. He was already very angry, and he had finally gotten the Revolutionary Committee to listen to him. As a new official, he had three big things to do. This fire started a little late, but it was still very hot.

Ermazi was sent to a labor camp, and all his belongings and house were compensated to Chen Yuanxue. As for Xu Jie, he was sent to a labor camp before, but was later brought back because of an accident. Now he is imprisoned in the town’s prison. Director Yang didn’t care whether his injuries were healed or not, and directly sentenced him to death.

At this time, the death penalty didn't require any review; it could be sentenced today and carried out tomorrow. Xu Jie's mother cried and wailed, but there was nothing she could do. Just as she had taken her son's body away, she received the news that Xu Changhe had died of an inflamed wound in prison. She blacked out, and passed out.

Both men in the family died. Xu Jie's third sister and youngest sister looked at each other, but saw happiness in each other's eyes.

Good death.

After they die, no one will treat them as servants anymore, and they will be the ones in charge of this family from now on.

…

Director Yang had long since seized the money Xu Changhe had embezzled, but he didn't finally find Chen Dazhu's money until July. This old fox had hidden his money in someone else's ancestral grave! Director Yang's men were clever. They decided to visit Chen Dazhu's ancestral grave to see if it was hidden there. When they got there, they found theirs to be in good condition. However, the grave of a family surnamed Sun nearby showed signs of having been disturbed.

When they dug it up, they saw that all the money was hidden there. As for the bones inside, they were thrown aside by the wicked Chen Dazhu and mixed with the mud.

The money was found, and Director Yang dutifully handed it over. In July, the dam was officially closed, with no further problems. The higher-ups also received a substantial grant, which delighted everyone. Director Yang was even credited with a merit. Chai Yaozu, on the other hand, had no merits or faults, and after the dam was completed, he stepped down as chief engineer. In the words of Section Chief Feng, he refused to do anything else anyone asked him to do except draw blueprints.

Director Yang had made contributions, but Nie Bai and the others certainly had even greater contributions. After returning to the army, Nie Bai was awarded a second-class merit, and it was estimated that the next promotion was not far away. Nie Bai did not want to be the only one to benefit, so he told his superiors how Chu Liqiang was strategizing. However, after listening to it, the superiors did nothing but praise him. Nie Bai had no choice but to tell everyone he met, spreading Chu Liqiang's abilities. He thought, what if, if everyone knew, the superiors would change their minds.

He didn't know that the leaders had already made their own decisions. Chu Liqiang had a very good foundation. He had been the political commissar of a combat unit. He had strong experience, skills, and theories. In addition, he was also the favorite disciple of the local military district commander. Since he came to the troops here, except for the first two months when he was rather depressed, everyone has witnessed his enthusiasm and ability since then.

So, one day in July, Chu Liqiang was called into the office by the commander, who took out a secret document and gave it to Chu Liqiang, asking him to think about it himself.

"Three years. Every day of these three years will be incredibly difficult. But, after all, we in the People's Liberation Army weren't meant to enjoy life. During these three years, you can't go out, you can't leave. Even if something terrible happens, even an earthquake, you have to stay inside. I know you're probably very worried about your father and your children. I can't guarantee I'll take good care of your family, but the army won't skimp on material things. Besides, if you take on this mission, you'll be at the rank of regimental commander. After three years, if you do well, who knows, maybe we can even be on equal terms."

The commander said this as a joke, but when Chu Liqiang saw the big word "confidential" on the document, he really became interested.