Chapter 56 Chapter 56 Going South
ah?
What nonsense is he spouting?
Loin straightened her hair, making the ends more voluminous so they wouldn't bunch up.
Xia Mingjiang changed the subject: "It's alright, it's alright. Grandpa Qin, it's getting late, shouldn't we eat?"
Old Qin looked at him with a "What did you say?" expression.
"My daughter and I have prepared the meal. You two can go back to where you came from."
"Let's go, girl, I'll show you some local food!"
Luo Yin smiled and agreed, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Hey you, let me try some too. What's this delicious dish?" he said, pulling Hosen along with him.
Hosen didn't even flinch. "I'm not going!"
"Let's go, let's go. There's nothing to eat if we go back now."
"Don't you want to ask about anything else?"
"You know what, that girl really did have a heroic air about her at first glance. No wonder she's a daughter of the grasslands!"
Hosen unconsciously followed behind, his words echoing in his ears, his mind replaying the scene from just now.
Approaching the living room of the back building, five dishes and a soup were already laid out on the solid wood round table.
Old Qin sat in the main seat and kept introducing things to Luo Yin, telling her not to be shy.
"Hehe, so much delicious food! We came here today, thanks to you, Xiao Luo, we're so lucky to have such good food."
Old Qin tacitly allowed them to sit. Next to Luo Yin was the chattering Xia Ge, and opposite her was the silent Captain Huo.
"Alright, let's eat!"
Luo Yin enjoyed delicious food again and felt very satisfied.
I listened to Xia Ge share what else there was to eat in that alley, and how the pastries there were the crispiest and most fragrant.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Aunt Liu skillfully finished up the meal, and the others dispersed before she could even touch anything.
Seeing the three children staring at each other, the old man shooed them out for a walk to eat.
He himself took a stroll in the yard.
"You young people, have a chat, don't go too far, you'll need to rest later."
Seeing that the old man didn't care, Xia Mingjiang silently nudged her with his eyes, "Hey, how did your elders get to know Grandpa Qin? The old man takes such good care of you."
Luo Yin walked quickly with her hands on her hips, moving her arms and legs.
"I don't know, oh no, I haven't contacted home yet. It's all Old Man Chen's fault for putting me on the train."
Xia, intrigued, exclaimed, "Oh, Old Chen is so amazing! Do you want to make a phone call? There's a phone inside the house."
Luo Yin glanced at the sky. "Never mind, no one will answer if I call now. I need to think about it!"
She was weighing who to call and how to let her family know in time; but she couldn't explain it clearly over the phone in a short time, and her family would worry even more.
"Brother Xia, how many days would it take to send a letter from here?"
Xia Mingjiang thought for a moment, "If it's fast, it'll take about three days. If it goes down to your house, it'll take another day." He looked at her with curiosity. "Do you want to write a letter? I can help."
Luo Yin neither agreed nor refused.
"By the way, you've come back from outside again." She steered the conversation towards them.
Xia Mingjiang finally had a topic to talk about, and he couldn't stop himself from having so many things to say. So he picked and chose to tell the bizarre things that happened during the operation.
Luo Yinmu was dumbfounded, never expecting that they had experienced such a bizarre event.
"So now all those villagers have been arrested, and the whole village were tomb raiders?"
"That's right. I heard he's a gangster. He ran there a few years ago, thinking he was going to avoid trouble, but who knew he'd start doing it again, even more successful than before." He sighed and said helplessly, "I heard he sold several bronze artifacts. You know, if you sell even one of those things, it's a matter of losing your head."
Luo Yin nodded knowingly, "Yes, that's really impressive."
"That's right. Don't be fooled by how things are going internationally right now. Foreigners are keeping an eye on us, especially since antiques and cultural relics have been selling like hotcakes these past two years. Porcelain, ancient paintings, and other collectibles—anything of value can fetch hundreds of thousands or even millions of US dollars."
Luo Yin thought to herself, "Of course! There's a lot of gold buried near my house."
"At last year's Caltex auction, do you know how much a bead with a diameter of no more than 30 millimeters sold for?"
Luo Yin's eyes flickered slightly, a hint of guilt in her expression.
Huo Sen noticed her avoidance, frowned and looked at Xia Mingjiang, but didn't see anything.
How much?
"3.7 million US dollars!!"
Luo Yin was so shocked that she didn't know what to say, her eyes glazed over.
That's worth tens of millions of RMB.
"Tsk tsk, shocked, aren't you? Excited, aren't you!" Xia Mingjiang shook his head. "I felt the same way when I heard it. This bead broke records back then, becoming the most expensive bead in the last ten years. But some people like it and will spend money to collect it. You can just listen to it and forget about it."
"I haven't even asked you why you're here yet. Aren't you still in school?"
Xia's personality, which she developed from her profession and family background, has become one that enjoys chatting with people.
With his quiet friend sitting next to him, he took every opportunity to chatter on and on.
"Take a day off and come out to have some fun!"
She noticed that the two people opposite her were looking at her with some surprise.
Luo Yin chuckled to herself, having successfully fooled him.
"It's getting late, I want to go and rest. Let's talk again next time." She yawned a few times, waved her hand, and walked back.
Old Qin gestured for her to go and rest, and told them to go home early as well.
Time flew by, and when they saw Old Man Chen again, it was already after lunch the next day.
Luo Yin had rested well, but he looked exhausted and was still dozing off.
"You really didn't sleep?"
Old Qin looked at him with disapproval, "You're already so old, why are you still making such a fuss!"
Blind Chen groggily opened his eyes. "No, no, I just dozed off for a bit and finished up." He turned to look at her. "Girl, what's your decision?"
Seeing that both of them were looking at her, Luo Yin was undecided.
"I still have to go to school, and I'm afraid it's too late here..."
"Hey, you can study anytime. You can study outside too. They're all undergraduates and graduate students; any one of them could easily fill your gap."
"This job will last at least three years. During these three years, you will not only get paid but also be able to travel around. Don't you want to give it a try? If you don't like it later, you can get paid to go back to school. At your age, you can do anything. Don't limit yourself. The leaders have said that young people have unlimited potential and great prospects."
Old Qin hadn't said a word until he heard this, and he understood the gist of it.
He glanced at Chen Suanzi, then at Luo Yin, who exuded a heroic and spirited air.
"Girl, this is a big deal, so you have to make the decision yourself. Listen to what your Grandpa Chen said, and you also need to explain it clearly to your family."
Luo Yin had to admit that she was attracted to him.
She didn't know that deep down she actually loved adventure; her life had always been peaceful and uneventful, which she thought was her life.
But this time, she was in a good mood, excited and nervous!
"Thank you, Grandpa Qin and Grandpa Chen. I will think about it carefully."
Chen Suanzi added, "Don't worry, all the benefits and treatment will be top-notch. If you think it over, you'll have another chance to go back. I'll talk to your Ani in person."
Luo Yin's eyes lit up; the second half of the sentence clearly appealed to her.
"My father..."
“You little devil, your father and second brother are doing very well. I’ve roughly calculated that this is a sign of things turning around, so it looks like this trip will go very smoothly.”
Luo Yin thanked her sincerely again, "That's great, I can finally rest assured."
"Grandpa Chen, I agree." She smiled contentedly. "Then I'll have to trouble you to tell my family."
"Hmph, that's a small matter!"
"Hehe." She spread her hands. "Could you please give me the travel allowance for this business trip?"
"Look, look, Lao Qin, did you see that? This girl's got a sharp mind." He rummaged through his pockets, found some bills, counted them, and gave them to her.
"This is all for now, I'll give it to you when I have more."
Luo Yin looked at the scattered few cents piled up in one place and slowly sorted them out as she spoke.
"You don't have much here, do you? Maybe I shouldn't go?" She suspected that the salary was just an exaggeration.
Blind Chen blushed a little, as he had spent quite a bit of his money. "Alright, you're like a mythical creature, always ready to make money. I'll take you somewhere later, and you can earn your own money with your skills."
Old Qin glared at him, "Don't lead her astray, or I'll never forgive you." "Also, since the girl has agreed, the work arrangements need to be made properly. Sign the contracts as required, and make sure everything is agreed upon in advance so there won't be any problems later."
Before evening, she was taken to a small building in the afternoon.
After making their way to the innermost part, she was asked to pick out what she considered to be cultural relics from a pile of items. Luo Yin followed her instructions completely, followed by several more checks and selections, before successfully entering the innermost part.
I knocked and went in; it was a small conference room.
Several people were sitting on either side of the conference room, and Luo Yin immediately recognized a few of them.
Old Xia, Brother Xia, Old Chen, and Captain Huo.
"Alright, the last comrade has arrived. Now that everyone is here, let's have a brief meeting!"
Old Xia, sitting in the main seat, nodded amicably and headed straight for the main picture.
Luo Yin took her seat formally for the first time, and subsequently signed several confidentiality clauses and agreements. The senior colleague who was assisting her specifically emphasized the criminal liability and penalties for leaking information. It would not only implicate her personally, but also harm her family, leaving a stain on their reputation for generations.
The "Four-Pointed Star Project" unfolded on an ordinary, unremarkable day.
Loin embarked on the career he would dedicate the next few decades to, thus beginning a new field and a new journey!
The planned return to the grasslands was canceled. This was because the higher-ups wanted to conduct military training for this group to ensure the smooth operation of the next three years.
Luo Yin had no choice but to write several thick letters and ask them to take them over, while also calling her elder brother to tell him what had happened.
Hada was very surprised to hear this, but he couldn't find out anything more.
Luo Yin told him that there was news, and because of her special circumstances, the higher-ups said that they would make arrangements for her family.
Old Qin then said it was safe, the government's intervention would definitely be a sure thing.
Luo Yin looked at them, puzzled.
“This is a special mission for you. You are young and it’s a classified operation, so your family will definitely be worried. But they will explain things to you and visit your family regularly.”
Luo Yin was overjoyed, "Really?"
Xia nodded, "Of course, they can also send the benefits and subsidies over."
"Okay, can we split it in half?" She thought about the salary subsidy that Old Man Chen had mentioned, and it seemed quite generous.
“No problem, but Xiao Luo, we’re in big trouble.” He leaned on the stone table. “I heard that Old Huo is coming in person tomorrow.”
"I can picture it all; I crawled away."
Luo Yin swallowed hard. "Is it serious?"
You'll find out.
"One, two, one, one, two, one, keep formation."
“Everyone, keep up! Is that all the strength you have? You won’t even be able to keep up when we try to escape.”
Hosen followed beside him, his face growing colder with each passing moment.
"You haven't even started carrying any weights yet, and you haven't even finished the ten kilometers. Don't stop, keep running."
Heavy breathing filled the air in the squad. Luo Yin was covered in sweat from running, but she gritted her teeth and persevered.
"If you can't swim, at least you should be able to float. Everyone, dive down as the teacher taught you." Huo Sen stood next to Comrade Yang; he was the first to learn to dive.
They even did a special screening within the team, keeping only the final eight.
Luo Yin and Xia Xia were among them. It was the first time Luo Yin had used the device, and she was more curious than happy. However, after soaking in the water for more than ten hours for several days in a row, she felt weak.
The two-week intensive training was essentially a cramming session to give them a lesson.
On October 26, 1976, 25 people boarded a train heading south.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
