Chapter Forty-Three Overseas Relations
"What's wrong? You seem unhappy?" Su Xiangdong asked, taking the things from her hands.
"Meng Xi is so annoying, she keeps following me. Has she found out something?"
"Honey, do you really enjoy doing this?"
"Um."
"Then you should switch times with her, do it during her work hours. If she reports you, take a break. Hit and run."
She stood up happily, "That's a great idea."
Seeing her happy made him happy too. If she wanted to do it, let her do it; he and his aunt could handle the housework. Besides, according to the information he'd received, things might really develop as she predicted. If she liked freedom, then she could do it herself. What was this talk of a secure job? He was the family's safety net; he was the one to fall back on.
"Do whatever you like. The three kids are all grown up now. We don't spend any of the family's money anymore; I earn enough to cover our family's expenses."
He Yi and He Xu were doing their homework in the outer room when they heard their parents talking and peeked in. He Xu spoke first: "Mom, don't worry about it. After I start working, I'll send you money every month on time."
He Yi nodded in agreement with her brother, "Me too. If the market is opened up, Mom, I'll do it with you."
Tangtang is still young and hasn't decided what she wants to do in the future, but she supports her mother. "Mom, don't be afraid. Even if you lose your job, the three of us will still support you."
Shu Yao was both amused and exasperated, unsure of what to say. She was happy; her children had grown up and were still so close to her. The twins looked much like they did in her previous life, but were even more confident and cheerful.
Meng Xi was curious about where her money came from, and after following her for a few days, she discovered that their work hours were different. She was leaving work when Shu Yao was going to work, making it impossible to follow her anymore. She could only angrily let go. Having lived through all these years, she didn't dare report it without seeing it with her own eyes, fearing she would get into trouble.
Meng Xi has become more timid, which is a good thing for Shu Yao, saving her a lot of trouble. Every day after work, she goes about her own business, and when she gets home, there are ready-made meals and her clothes are washed and prepared by her husband.
Meng Xi was struggling, and other thoughts began to surface again. She hadn't been in contact with the man for many years, but now the more she thought about it, the more resentful she felt. Why? He wouldn't raise his child. She worked herself to the bone alone, and the child was still disobedient.
The next day, she ambushed Wu Erhu at his usual route. Startled, the man quickly dismounted from his bicycle. "What are you doing?"
"Yinyin is sick, I really have no choice..." She raised her hand to wipe away her tears, looking like she was enduring it all for her daughter.
"How much money do I need?" He had vaguely heard that Sun Yaozu seemed to have some health problems. So this girl was most likely his, and he still had some compassion as a father.
"It's over a hundred."
The man reached into his pocket and found he had less than ten yuan in total. "That's all I have."
Meng Xi didn't mind the small amount and accepted the money. "Could you please help me think of another way? I'm a woman with a child all alone..."
"Okay, I'll think of something." He felt bad seeing the other person crying so pitifully.
A fire revealed to them that neither of them was capable of sharing hardship. Yet now they're entangled again, ostensibly for the sake of their child.
Meng Xi wanted to extract money from the man, but there was no news for several days. She knew in her heart that they were all paid, and she would have to wait until the next paycheck. Unhappy at not getting any money, she went home and threw the bag on the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Mom, what are you doing?"
"Go away, little kid, don't ask such nonsense."
Since it's so hard to get sex from a man, then she'll have to rely on herself. Shu Yao is probably running a small business; why can't she? But where does Shu Yao get all that stuff from?
She inquired and learned that the supply and marketing cooperative sourced its goods from various places, but they had letters of introduction from their respective organizations. She didn't have that; where was she supposed to get the goods?
"Where do you think Shu Yao's goods come from? Did Su Xiangdong use his position for personal gain and get them for her from the factory?"
Shuyin was startled by her mother. "Mom, you saw those goods?"
"No. But if it weren't for her speculation, how could her family have lived so well?"
"That's because she has a husband. He Xin's father is the secretary of the grain station, the top leader. His salary is higher than that of ordinary workers, so of course she lives a good life."
"more than."
She thought about making steamed buns at home and selling them, but after only a few days she was too tired to continue. Fortunately, she hadn't invested much, so she had to give up.
If you're afraid of being tired and taking risks, then it's best not to do anything at all. Holding onto a secure job is the most stable option, and you'll likely be laid off in the 1990s.
In her past life, Shu Yao knew exactly when her textile factory was acquired by a foreign company. In this life, she has pondered many times how to revitalize it if she were to take it over.
"What are you thinking about?" Su Xiangdong asked as soon as he came in, seeing her standing there in a daze. She had said she was quitting before, but now she's started selling things again. His wife's mind was full of strange and unpredictable things.
"Thinking about what industry I should work in. Should I develop sales, set up a sales outlet, or go into manufacturing?"
Su Xiangdong felt like he had absorbed something huge all at once, and it took him a while to digest it. "Wife, I admire your ambition, I really admire you."
Su Xiangdong works in the grain, oil, and non-staple food industry, a crucial part of the market economy. He's certainly noticed the changes and can vaguely guess some future developments. But he lacks foresight and is uncertain about many things.
"I was just saying it first."
"The country is currently working to revitalize the economy, and the future is indeed promising. If you want to expand your small jewelry business, you'd better go to the south. As for sourcing, once you have a sufficient supply, you won't have to worry about money not coming your way."
Shu Yao nodded; of course she understood this principle. From now until the 1990s, it was a period of scarcity, and there was basically no unsellable goods.
"I'm taking a few days off to go to the south."
"Huh?" Su Xiangdong didn't expect his wife to be so proactive. She had just said that the South was developing faster, and now she wanted to go there.
"Honey, there are a lot of pickpockets on the train. And the South is still developing, it's quite chaotic. What if you, a single woman, are targeted by bad guys?"
Seeing his wife frown after he finished speaking, he felt a pang of guilt. He knew that doing all this would tire her out, and he was even more worried about her going south alone. But he just couldn't bear to see her unhappy; every time she frowned, he thought of ways to make her feel better.
"Okay, I'll arrange a large truck for you to pick up the goods. Our first stop will be Shanghai, with the food delivery truck."
Shu Yao smiled, and seeing that no one was in the room, she reached out and hugged his neck. "Aren't you afraid people will say you're abusing your position for personal gain?"
She's over forty this year, and no matter how well she takes care of herself, she's still past her prime. Although she still has her charm, couples at this age usually lose the initial spark, and it's generally like touching your left hand with your right—you don't feel anything anymore.
But they were different. In his eyes, his wife was still as beautiful as ever. He counted down the days she spent away from him during those ten years, and because of their separation, he cherished their time together even more.
For him, love wasn't a fleeting novelty, but rather like fine wine, growing richer and more mellow with time. Being so close to his wife, he was instantly captivated. He kissed her smooth cheek, his eyes filled with intoxication.
“It’s no big deal. You’re a family member, and family members are entitled to this privilege.”
If we're talking about someone with extensive business experience, Su Xiangdong is definitely a top contender. Having run a grain, oil, and non-staple food business for years, he's not only traveled all over the country, but he's also explored a significant portion of it on foot. He's incredibly experienced when it comes to business trips.
Anyone pampered like that would be overjoyed. Shu Yao smiled happily, letting him kiss her again and again. After a brief exchange between the couple, she finally revealed her decision.
"Train shipping may forgo a small portion of the profit, but the safety should be guaranteed."
Su Xiangdong naturally agreed. As long as his wife wanted to do it and there weren't any major safety risks, he would support her. He sewed several pockets onto her body to carry money and gave her repeated instructions.
"No matter what happens, your safety is the first priority. Losing money is not a big deal. Never do anything unsafe for money. For example, don't fight someone alone or chase after a thief. Don't do things like that."
Shu Yao nodded: "You're so long-winded. I understand, I'll definitely be careful."
She had experience from her past life, but she still didn't dare to let her guard down. She remained extremely vigilant the entire way. When she arrived at the back factory gate, there was a huge crowd of people picking up goods; you had to squeeze through to get a number.
She was always gentle, but her business acumen from her past life had honed her skills. Carrying a large sack, she rushed into the factory outlet as soon as it opened. She'd been waiting at the front for ages; at this point, she didn't care about being ladylike—getting the goods was the priority.
Hair clips, scarves, hairbands, handkerchiefs, hair ties—all sorts of styles and colors—she bought everything she liked. She had a lot of money with her, and after buying all that, she went to another factory and bought a huge pile of socks by weight.
She checked in several large sacks of luggage, while carrying only a small woven bag for herself. Her clothes were old and patched; she had heard from someone in her previous life that wearing such clothes on the train during this period could reduce a lot of trouble.
Sure enough, she returned to the provincial capital without incident. The train continued its journey, clanging and clattering. She exited the station and headed to the baggage handling area, where her husband had already arranged a tricycle to wait for her.
"Su Xiangdong, you are as reliable as ever."
The man looked distressed and wasn't fooled by her teasing tone. He gave her the water bottle he'd brought, and then proceeded to carry the goods, riding his bike home with her in tow. It was late at night, and there was practically no one around; Meng Xi next door was on the night shift.
"The water's boiled, go wash up first. The rice's still warm, and the dishes are all ready, I'll go cook them."
"good."
After a long, hot bath and some of my favorite food, I finally felt alive again. Too tired to talk much, I lay down on the kang (heated brick bed) and slept soundly until the next morning.
Meng Xi noticed that Shu Yao's family had always maintained such a comfortable life. In autumn, she wore a long-sleeved suit, and her figure swayed like that of a seventeen or eighteen-year-old young woman.
"Those clothes must be expensive, right?" she muttered to Zhou Aili.
"It's definitely not cheap. Judging from the workmanship, it's probably from Shanghai."
"How's your house doing lately? Is it quieter now?"
"Why do you always bring up the things you don't want to talk about?" Zhou Aili rolled her eyes at her. "Didn't you say you wanted to make more money? Did you make any?"
"You..."
They barely exchanged a word before starting to stab each other in the back. Zhou Aili's marriage was strained, but at least they had two children. Her husband, for the sake of the children, was making do with her. Meng Xi, on the other hand, was all alone and hadn't found a suitable partner yet. Moreover, she was focused on making money, but to date, she had no money at all.
"With the reform and opening up, we heard that we needed to attract investment. Now, anyone with overseas connections is highly sought after."
Meng Xi: "What do you mean?"
A few years ago, anyone with overseas connections was doomed. Now that the economy is booming, having overseas connections is back in the spotlight. But you know me, my family doesn't have any overseas connections.
“Sun Yaozu. He ran away abroad back then, maybe he’ll come back.”
Meng Xi's face turned pale instantly, and fear flickered in her eyes. "No way?"
"Who can say for sure?"
Seeing her deathly pale face, Zhou Aili felt quite pleased. "Hmph, you keep stabbing me in the heart every day. No matter how much people say I can't stand by you through thick and thin, I'm still better than you. You were burned alive by your own man. And now you're still living in his house. Let's see what you do when he gets back."
Meng Xi felt uneasy after hearing what she said, and then began to inquire about the situation. The information she received made her even more uneasy; she had personally witnessed people from the investment promotion office going to Shu Yao's house next door.
“Shu Yao, your father was a big boss back in the day. He probably continued to develop his business in this direction after going abroad. Do you know the specific address? Get him in touch. Things are different in China now; the situation will definitely not happen again. Tell them to come back without worry.”
"But I don't have their address, and I don't even know if they're alright now." It's always best to be cautious. She always told others she didn't know, not even whether they were alive or dead. Now that the reform and opening up has begun, her parents will come back to find her. She got lost in this province, and they'll come back here first to look for her.
"I really don't know. Didn't they say where they were going back then?"
"I didn't say. Back then, it was a time of war and chaos, and we just went wherever the wind took us."
The two staff members were somewhat regretful. If they could have made contact, they felt that with the Shu family's resources at that time, they would definitely have done quite well overseas. At the very least, they would have been businessmen, certainly not ordinary people.
The Su family has absolutely no overseas connections; they had investigated this very thoroughly beforehand. After these people left, Shu Yao let out a long sigh of relief.
Su Xiangdong put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Don't be sad. I asked someone to help me find out if your parents are looking for you too."
She nodded silently; her parents were certainly looking for her. However, at this time, there wasn't a large-scale investment boom back to China, and people were quite afraid of the mainland. Because they didn't understand it, they dared not venture in rashly, as foreign media reports about the mainland were mostly negative, many even maliciously smearing it.
Her parents found her three years later through a photo. He Yi looked remarkably like her maternal grandmother; when she wore a cheongsam and styled her hair, she was practically a carbon copy of her grandmother.
"No rush." If possible, she wanted to wait a little longer. Because if she took the initiative to contact them, not only would she be unable to explain to those in China why she had her parents' contact information, but she also didn't know how to explain it to them.
She'd already waited so many years, what was another year or two? Before, she'd only thought a phone call or a letter would suffice, but now that it was happening right before her eyes, she wondered how she was going to explain. She didn't want to tell anyone about her rebirth. She never wanted to bring up the past again; she'd treat it all as a nightmare.
She was prepared to wait, but to her utter surprise, someone came looking for her with the photos shortly afterward.
"Your name is Shu Yao, right? Do you recognize the person in this photo?"
Her hands trembled slightly as she held the photo. How could she not be overwhelmed with emotion to see her mother again? Although she knew her parents were healthy and the family was doing well, how could she not miss her blood relatives?
Why, why so much earlier?
"It's my mother."
The man's face immediately lit up with joy. "I knew they looked so alike, and their names match perfectly too."
The man was someone her parents had asked on the mainland to help them find their relatives, promising an exceptionally high reward. This was their first stop, because this was where she had gone missing. Although it wasn't the provincial capital, the general outline of the province had already been established.
"Comrade Shu Yao, your parents are abroad and asked us on the mainland to find you. Your parents and brother miss you very much, and they cried uncontrollably on the phone when they talked about you."
She got lost here, and her age, name, and appearance all matched. She was twelve years old when she went missing, and her memories of home were also perfect. The man was absolutely certain that this was the person they were looking for.
The provincial telegraph office didn't even have international calling service; to make a call abroad, you had to go to the capital. "You can write a letter first, and we'll mail it to them for you. Or you can go to the capital and apply to make an international call. These days, everyone's seeking connections overseas, so these kinds of calls are easy to apply for."
"Let's write a letter first."
"Alright."
The man gave her one night, agreeing to come and collect the letter the next morning. That evening, sitting at her desk, her mind was in turmoil, a thousand words swirling in her heart, yet when she put pen to paper, she didn't know where to begin.
"Wife," Su Xiangdong sat down beside her and gently patted her shoulder. She was too nervous, feeling apprehensive about returning home. "Your parents-in-law must be very worried about you. They should be back soon, and we'll see each other again very soon."
"Um."
A thousand words remained unwritten, ultimately transformed into a simple piece of writing. She told her parents about her life over the years, omitting the unpleasant details and assuring them that she was doing well. All three children were grown up and would be provided with jobs after graduating from university. They were all very understanding and, upon hearing about their grandparents, eagerly awaited their return.
Leaving aside how excited her parents and brother were upon receiving the letter, she planned to spend three years building up her strength so that things would look better when her parents and brother returned, and they wouldn't be too heartbroken.
The Su family's courtyard was actually very well preserved. The main house had three rooms where the couple lived, and the east wing was their son's bedroom. The two daughters lived in the east wing, which was separate from their aunt and had plenty of room. Originally, it was said that they could also live in the outer rooms of the main house, but none of the three children wanted to. It was an unspoken agreement among the family to leave all the rooms in the main house to the couple.
In mainland China today, owning a small, independent courtyard like this in a provincial capital is considered very fortunate; many people would envy it. Many families of three are crammed into cramped tenement buildings, living in rooms of just over ten square meters. Theirs is already considered quite spacious.
But that's for ordinary people. Given her parents' upbringing and their development abroad, such a house would definitely be the same as in her previous life, and she would be crying uncontrollably while holding her.
Perhaps she wouldn't come back during this period; maybe she could send her some money, and they could keep in touch afterward. She thought this while lying on the kang that night, but the next day she went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought a lot of cloth.
Curtains changed, sheets changed, tablecloth changed. All the comforters were taken apart and washed, and brand new duvet covers were made. After all that work on the fabrics, the room looks much newer.
"How about we repaint the walls?" Su Xiangdong didn't need his wife to explain; he naturally guessed why. He'd been helping with these things at home these past few days, and since they didn't have enough cloth ration coupons, they could only use the main room for now. The walls of the main room had been painted several years ago and were now quite worn.
"Won't it be too much trouble?" She can't paint the walls herself; she'll need to find someone to help.
“No trouble at all. I’ll find two craftsmen and have Dalin come over to help. We can move the furniture out and paint the house in one day.”
"Okay, let's paint it then."
Zhou Dalin brought two colleagues from his team with him. Several grown men moved all the furniture out of the house. After the painting was finished, they moved it all back in. They stayed for dinner that evening, and only after everyone else had left did they quietly inquire about the situation.
"Brother-in-law, why the sudden major renovation?"
Su Xiangdong replied, "Your sister's parents have been found, and they might come back. We're just thinking of tidying things up to make things look better."
"You've found your parents, sister?" Zhou Dalin was overjoyed, truly happy for Shu Yao. "That's wonderful. Let me know if they come, and I'll help entertain them."
"OK."
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