At the General Hospital of the Military Region, Qin Xiangxiang was holding a patient's file, preparing to file it in the archives.

As she passed through the lobby, she saw a familiar figure from behind.

"Jia Laosan?"

The other person froze, then turned around.

"Head Nurse Qin, did you call me?"

Qin Xiangxiang stepped forward and asked gently, "Are you here for a follow-up check-up?"

"How are you? Has your wound healed?"

Jia Laosan lowered his head and said in a muffled voice, "I've recovered. Thank you for your concern, Head Nurse Qin."

Qin Xiangxiang sighed, "Once you've recovered, be a good person."

She hesitated for a moment, then asked with concern, "What is your relationship with those two comrades who came to see you last time?"

"I've seen them come to see you several times."

Jia Laosan paused for a moment, then looked up and stared into Qin Xiangxiang's eyes. After a long while, he said, "Oh, you mean those two? They're just ordinary colleagues!"

Qin Xiangxiang felt a chill run down her spine as Jia Laosan stared at her, which only made her more certain that this man was no good.

She said earnestly, "Don't follow in the footsteps of those two bad comrades!"

"I don't know if you've heard the news, but these two bad comrades have been sentenced to death by firing squad!"

"I heard it was a robbery..."

"Right, right, do you think you can do something this shady? You might have lost your life because of a momentary lapse in judgment."

"What did my older sister do to offend them? Is it possible that she's an old lady with a huge sum of money living alone and that's bothering them? It's made my sister afraid to go home for half a month."

"Only now that the verdict has been handed down do I dare to go back."

"You mustn't follow their example. After you recover, you must become a useful member of society, someone who lives up to the expectations of the Party and the people, understand?"

Jia Laosan glanced at Qin Xiangxiang thoughtfully, then forced a smile of agreement. "They were indeed wrong. When you do something wrong, you should be punished."

"Nurse Qin, is that lady you mentioned alright?"

"Luckily, she was quick-witted and tricked those two villains into going to the military compound to rob the finance office. Those two villains weren't very bright, and they actually believed her."

"You know, they brought this on themselves. If they did something bad outside, they'd probably only get a jail sentence. Even if they go for more than ten years, at least they'd still be alive. But they came to the military compound with knives. Do you think that's going to end well?"

"This compound is full of senior non-commissioned officers and cadres, all important officials of the country."

"It's good that you're an honest person. You must never follow their example, or you could be in serious trouble."

Jia Laosan thanked Qin Xiangxiang with a simple and honest expression, but when he turned around, the smile on his face vanished completely, and his eyes were filled with coldness, as if they were filled with ice.

That's right, if you do something wrong, you should be punished!

Behind him, Qin Xiangxiang also wore a meaningful expression.

She's good at judging people; this Jia Laosan is much more ruthless than the previous two.

She did nothing, but simply spoke up for Li Yueniang and advised her patients to be good people.

Even if you argue to the bitter end, or even go to court, it won't affect her in the slightest.

After leaving the hospital, Jia Laosan leaned against the wall, lit a cigarette, and slowly smoked it.

He muttered to himself, "No. 7 Liuhuai Lane, right?"

"Heh~"

He threw the cigarette butt on the ground and crushed it out. Then, Jia Laosan turned and headed towards the old town, where there was the largest black market in the northern suburbs of Beijing. He needed to prepare some things there.

After some effort, they found an axe, a dagger, a seven- or eight-meter-long hemp rope, a large black cloth mask, and two large burlap sacks on the black market.

After finding a place to rest for a while, and seeing that it was getting dark, Jia Laosan slowly headed towards Liuhuai Lane.

Li Yueniang has been in a great mood these past few days. Yesterday, she deposited the money, and seeing the rapidly increasing savings in her passbook made her even happier.

She made herself a simple bowl of egg noodles for dinner. After finishing and tidying up, she turned on the desk lamp, took out paper and pen, and wrote letters to Su Qingci and Su Changqing.

She had moved to the compound before, and their letters were sent to Liuhuai Lane. She only saw them in the mailbox at the door yesterday.

Judging from the date, the letter was sent more than 20 days ago.

If we don't get a reply soon, they're probably going to start to get anxious.

When Li Yueniang was young, she learned to read from Su Yi, and she had no problem replying to simple letters and reading.

I laid out the letter paper and started writing quickly, beginning with a simple greeting and then telling the other person that everything was fine at home.

She even wrote down the exact same things that had happened recently twice and told them to the two of them. She wasn't the kind of elder who would keep everything to herself for fear of worrying the younger generation.

Finally, they reassured both sides that the situation seemed better this year than last year.

While in the compound, she gossiped with the other family members and learned that several families who had been implicated had been exonerated.

She told Su Changqing and Su Qingci to stay put for now. She would keep an eye on the situation in the capital, and if things stabilized, she would try to bring everyone back.

The two replies were quickly written. They were put into envelopes one by one, and the recipient's information was written on them. A few grains of leftover rice were taken out of the pot, stamped, and carefully placed aside.

I checked the time; it was almost eight o'clock.

Li Yueniang always went to bed early. After washing up, she turned off the light and went to bed.

Across the alley, in a dimly lit crevice, Jia Laosan looked at the extinguished light and took a big gulp of wine.

He then gently placed the empty bottle on the stone platform beside him.

He took out a mask and carefully put it on before standing up, carrying the sack in his hand, and silently heading towards the small courtyard across the street like a ghost in the night.

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