Just as Qiu Jingwen hung up the phone, it rang again. He recognized the caller ID as Shao Jian's call. Shao Jian was informing Qiu Jingwen of the time and place of the commendation meeting for solving the espionage case. Before hanging up, Shao Jian said, "Actually, the person who killed Liu Han was not you; it must have been someone else."
"Director Shao, do you know who it is?"
"Deputy Factory Director Qiu, what do you say?"
“I know you know.”
"I know you know I know."
"Director Shao, let's not talk about this anymore. Apart from Qiuyang and Qiuyue, my family and I may be going to Beijing."
“I know. Director Chen told you about the situation. I also saw the relevant files about your parents sacrificing their lives to save a leader.”
After hanging up the phone, Qiu Jingwen took out a cigarette and lit it.
Through the window, he gazed at a large line of characters on the production workshop wall: "Grasp revolution, promote production." His gaze then swept across the wall, and another line of characters came into view: "Dig deep tunnels to store grain, prepare for war and famine for the people." Besides these, two chimneys pierced the air, emitting plumes of white smoke that gradually faded and disappeared into the distance.
Having lived in the military factory for over twenty years, Qiu Jingwen felt a pang of reluctance at the thought of leaving with his wife and children. His eyes began to well up with tears, blurring his vision.
Many years later, Qiu Jingwen returned to the Hongqi Factory as the general manager of a state-owned enterprise. In addition to participating in the visits and technical improvement exchange activities organized by the Ministry of Ordnance, he also dined at the home of his in-law, Liang Damin.
At that time, Qiu Yue and Liang Guoping had been transferred to an arms factory in Beijing and had already gotten married and had children. Qiu Yang and Su Xiaowei, on the other hand, were transferred to a military factory in Suzhou and settled down there, living with Su Xiaowei's parents, since Su Xiaowei was the only precious daughter in the Su family.
After the two had eaten and drunk their fill, Liang Damin led his in-laws out for a walk along a nearby country path. At the edge of a wheat field, Liang Damin suddenly brought up the spy incident from back then. He stopped and looked at Qiu Jingwen, saying, "Old Qiu, it's not that I've had a few drinks today, but there's something I still don't understand."
"What is it?"
"Didn't you turn yourself in to Shao Jian back then? You admitted to killing someone and that you were a spy planted by the Bureau of Investigation and Statistics. How come you're still safe and sound? Now you've even become the general manager of a large enterprise and a department-level cadre."
"What's wrong? Do you have a problem with me, or do you want to expose me?"
"That's not the case, our two families are related by marriage."
“Old Liang, after returning to Beijing, I often think about that spy incident and marvel at the cause and effect of many things. To be honest, if Liu Han hadn’t appeared, if that spy case hadn’t happened, the organization wouldn’t have been able to conduct an in-depth investigation into my parents and my past. I wouldn’t have known my parents’ identities, I wouldn’t have met my old leader Wang Chen, and my family wouldn’t have been transferred to Beijing.
As he spoke, Qiu Jingwen recounted some details of what happened back then to Liang Damin. After listening to the story of Qiu Jingwen's parents, Liang Damin exclaimed, "If your parents' underground work back then were written into a spy novel, it would definitely be very interesting."
"Old Liang, to be honest, Qiu Shui is working on this. You've collected a lot of previously unknown information about my parents and are starting to write a novel. You've even come up with a title for it."
Liang Damin quickly asked, "What's your name?"
"What's it called, 'Spy War in Shanghai'?"
"The name is intriguing. However, I think your story with Dr. Jiang at the Red Flag Factory could also be written into a spy novel."
"Well, Qiu Shui also has a plan. I've told my daughter a lot of details, and Qiu Shui has also come up with a title for the novel."
"Oh, can she write them all? What names did she come up with?"
"Qiu Shui said there are two names in reserve: one is called 'The Unluckiest Couple of Spies in History,' and the other is called 'Rookie Agent Couple.' Oh, and there's one more scary name."
"Oh, what's the name? How scary is it?"
"What kind of story is this, 'Agent Couple, We Really Don't Want to Kill Anyone'?!"
Liang Damin burst into laughter, and Qiu Jingwen couldn't stop laughing too.
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