"It's good that you're back...it's good that you're back..."
Lin's mother hugged her son's head tightly, and the three of them burst into tears again at their own doorstep.
"Brother Awang!"
Zhao Daniu, his eyes also red, called out with a simple, honest smile, revealing a set of big white teeth.
Moreover, after more than half a year of training and without food shortages, Zhao Daniu has truly lived up to his name, growing as strong as a calf.
"Big Ox, Chrysanthemum."
Lin Huowang stood up and looked at the two siblings who had suffered so much, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
Zhao Juhua looked at Lin Huowang, her face slightly flushed, and whispered, "Brother Awang...you've been gone for so long...everyone...everyone was very worried about you."
"Alright, alright, stop standing here and starving!"
Lin Shuisheng stepped in to smooth things over, "Awang just got back, let him come inside and rest! Awang's mother, quickly get Awang something hot! Folks, everyone, let's all go home now. Tonight, the whole village will have a feast to welcome Awang back!"
"good!"
The villagers dispersed amidst cheers.
...
Inside the house, the scorching hot kang (heated brick bed) dispelled all the chill.
Lin Huowang drank the steaming ginger soup, while Zhao Daniu and Zhao Juhua sat around with the Lin family mother and her two children, reminiscing about their separation.
Lin's mother held her son's hand, looking him up and down as if afraid of losing a piece of her flesh: "Awang, tell your mother the truth, where have you been for the past six months? What have you been doing? Before, County Magistrate Xiong sent someone to say that you... you went to the south to do something big?"
Lin Huowang looked at his mother's worried eyes, then at his younger sister, Da Niu, and Ju Hua who were looking at him with curiosity. He also planned to have a good talk with them when he came back this time.
After all, the situation is now largely settled, and there's no longer any need to keep Lin Huowang's identity a secret. What difference does it make whether Kobayashi Tenmoku from Hong Kong Island is a Japanese-Chinese or from Northeast China?
Governor Murray MacLehose and HSBC tycoon William Sham had long been tied to the same boat by Lam Fook-wong.
Today, Hong Kong's economy will no longer be controlled by British capital and its "lackeys" as it was in later years, to the point that they obstructed and betrayed all the goodwill shown by the mainland. In the end, our hard-earned money was used to support a pack of silver wolves, unscrupulous businessmen who only knew how to suck the blood of the people of Hong Kong.
"mother."
After considering his words for a moment, Lin Huowang put down his bowl and said seriously, "I...I went to Hong Kong Island with Mengmeng some time ago."
"What?!"
With a loud crash, the bowl in Lin's mother's hand fell directly onto the kang (a heated brick bed).
Her face turned deathly pale in an instant, her lips trembled, and she said in considerable fear, "Hong...Hong Kong Island? Isn't that...isn't that a capitalist place?"
Zhao Daniu and Zhao Juhua were also so frightened that they gasped.
In this era, the words "Hong Kong Island" were synonymous with "enemy agent" and "defection" in the eyes of ordinary people.
"Awang! You...you're 'fleeing'!"
Lin's mother's voice changed, and she grabbed her son's arm, tears streaming down her face. "You child! How could you do such a foolish thing! This will get you arrested... you'll be executed!"
"Mother! Mother! Please calm down!"
Seeing his mother so frightened, Lin Huowang was both amused and annoyed. He had somewhat overlooked the fact that his mother had witnessed many people with "overseas" connections being criticized and denounced. So, fearing that she would be terrified, he quickly grasped her hand and said, "Please let me explain! It's not what you think!"
"Brother! How could you go to Hong Kong Island! It's full of bad people!" Lin Xiaoxue was also frightened and cried.
"I am not 'fleeing'!"
Lin Huowang immediately emphasized his words, saying each one clearly: "I am... permitted by the state!"
"What?" Lin's mother was stunned.
“Mother, if you don’t believe me, you should at least believe County Magistrate Xiong, right? County Magistrate Xiong knows I’m going south. And my trip to Hong Kong Island is… it’s also arranged and assigned to me by the country!”
To put his mother at ease, Lin Huowang could only attribute the matter to a "national mission".
He explained, half-jokingly, "The country needs development now, it needs money, especially foreign money. I was over there helping the country... um, doing business, making money from foreigners. I went there by plane openly and honestly, and I came back openly and honestly, otherwise how could I have come back to take the college entrance exam?"
"Really...really?" Lin's mother still couldn't believe it. "The government...arranged for you to go?"
"Absolutely true." Lin Huowang nodded emphatically.
"call……"
Lin's mother finally breathed a long sigh of relief, patting her chest: "That's good...that's good...you scared me to death...you scared me to death..."
Zhao Daniu and Zhao Juhua were also filled with lingering fear. Then, the way they looked at Lin Huowang changed from admiration to... looking up in awe.
To be assigned by the state to handle important matters in Hong Kong... how high-ranking must that be?
After Lin Huowang's explanation, the atmosphere in the room finally eased.
Looking at the few more strands of white hair at his mother's temples, Lin Huowang felt a pang of sadness: "Mother, has anything happened at home lately? When I left, did I leave enough money and ration coupons?"
"Enough, enough..."
Lin's mother's eyes suddenly darted away, and she stammered, "At home...at home is fine, nothing...nothing's wrong."
Lin Huowang was very perceptive; he could tell something was wrong just by looking at his mother's expression.
Before he could ask any further questions, Lin Xiaoxue couldn't hold back any longer. She suddenly stood up, her face flushed with anger:
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