Ms. Cai, who enjoys fitness, indeed developed an interest in mainland China because of kung fu.
However, because Chen Rou's muscles were far inferior to hers, she still had doubts about whether Chen Rou was skilled in martial arts.
However, because they shared common interests, Ms. Cai talked to Chen Rou about her parents' experiences back then during the meal. Of course, from the perspective of the mainland, it should be said that it was not a glorious experience.
Because her parents were both highly accomplished academics, they applied for academic exchange in the 1950s when Hong Kong and the mainland still had exchanges, and came to Hong Kong with academic subsidies from the mainland government.
Then they sold the family fortune they had brought with them and used the subsidy to buy plane tickets to the United States.
From the perspective of Ms. Cai's parents, it was the wisest decision of their lives, and in order to gain social sympathy, they deliberately exaggerated certain things.
For example, Ms. Cai said that her parents were landlords and had been persecuted, which was the infamous "fighting the landlord".
But when Chen Rou casually asked about the year they left, she knew that her parents were lying. After all, Chen Rou knew more about the modern history of her country than anyone else. When Miss Cai's parents left, there was no Dou Dizhu (a card game) yet.
Moreover, when the couple went to Hong Kong, the currency had not yet been reformed.
If Chen Rou remembered correctly, the highest salary people earned was only a few dozen dollars, but Cai's parents had a subsidy of several thousand dollars, which, when converted into Hong Kong dollars, was just enough to buy three plane tickets to the other side of the ocean, so it was a considerable sum of money.
Not all parents will tell their children about their life experiences fairly and objectively. Some even like to exaggerate and embellish their suffering in order to gain their children's sympathy. Miss Cai is a girl who was educated in that way.
She recounted vividly, "My mommy was once whipped all over with barbed vines by those evil people until she was covered in wounds, but she bravely endured it and escaped with my brother."
Without knowing the full picture, she refrained from commenting; Chen Rou simply listened without offering any objective opinions.
But Nie Han felt sorry for her: "Wow, then your mommy must have a lot of scars, right?"
Ms. Cai paused for a moment before saying, "No, American medical care saved her; she has no scars."
Actually, her first thought was that her mother had no scars.
Furthermore, she didn't believe her mother would lie, so she attributed the credit to the United States and its excellent healthcare.
It just so happens that Nie Han has a tendency to form keloids. After her scalp was broken by pirates in the Philippines, there has been keloid growth on her scalp. The growth is extremely itchy and affects hair growth, which is very bothersome to her. So she said, "Miss Cai, please ask your mother to introduce me to a doctor. I need to get my scars treated."
Ms. Cai readily agreed: "I'll contact them for you as soon as I get back to my room."
She remained skeptical of Chen Rou's physical abilities and her claim of knowing kung fu. Her reason for not wanting to go to the mainland was not new; like Nie Rong before her, she feared that she might easily encounter bandits or something similar. So she steered the conversation toward Chen Rou, saying, "If we encounter danger on the mainland, Mrs. Nie, are you sure your kung fu can save and protect us?"
If Nie Han hadn't been afraid of being scolded by her uncle and hadn't resorted to clinging to Nie Han's coattails, Chen Rou wouldn't have come out to have dinner with this girl.
She patiently explained, "Miss Cai, there are no bandits on the mainland."
Miss Cai nodded, glanced back at the bodyguard who had come with her today, Ram, who was Latino, and frowned again: "Miss Nie said that he would not be going with us, but I still hope that he can come with us."
Because of business needs, Nie Zhao has recently made two trips to mainland China. The second time, he brought a Russian bodyguard with him.
Because after Gui Tou Chang was gone, his biggest threat disappeared, and the mainland was a place where even someone like Gui Tou Chang wouldn't dare to act recklessly, so no bodyguards were arranged, simply because the mainland was very safe.
Nie Han was afraid that she wouldn't be able to complete the task her uncle had assigned her and would be subjected to his contemptuous gaze again, so she looked at Chen Rou and whispered, "Xi Niang, how about... letting Ram come with us?"
In everything we do, we should not look at what people say, but at what they do.
Chen Rou was eager to start a bodyguard company, but Nie Zhao's words transferred all the people she could recruit to the Hong Kong-based military. For now, she only had one thing to do: give birth to that little baby.
She was too lazy to put much effort into things that weren't important.
However, Mr. Cai had been fishing for Ms. Nie for a long time, and Ms. Cai had come all the way from overseas. The original plan was to tour Hong Kong and the mainland. As a guest, she should just follow the arrangements. So why was she so uneasy?
Lunch was over, and she was going upstairs to rest. Chen Rou also planned to visit Li Xia on the way. When they reached the elevator, Chen Rou suddenly thought of something and blurted out, "Miss Cai, what you've been worried about isn't the bandits, but the mainland government, the officials, like the police, right?"
Nie Han was completely confused, but immediately turned to look at Miss Cai.
Ms. Cai chuckled awkwardly, but denied it: "I'm American, I have a green card."
Her face immediately fell, and she said, "Okay, forget it. I won't go to the mainland. Thank you for your hospitality. Tomorrow morning, I will go straight to Tokyo. I will explain to my brother."
Nie Han was completely dumbfounded, wondering what was going on.
Why did Xi Niang react that way, and why did Miss Cai react so strongly?
Although Chen Rou was strong-willed, she always appeared gentle. She said softly, "Your parents asked you to come here because they heard that those who went abroad back then were all on a secret arrest list, and that they would be arrested as soon as they crossed the border into the mainland, right?"
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