Seeing that her team leader had taken over Rong Chaobei's duties, Aheng gave a warning gesture to her teammates, who were disguised as vendors, and then prepared to wander around.
"Sister Heng." A soft, expectant voice sounded behind her.
As soon as Aheng turned her head, she saw a tall young man standing behind her, looking at her with a mixture of joy and nervousness.
"Who are you?" Aheng asked, somewhat puzzled.
"I... I'm Xiao Liu." The handsome young man with a baby face smiled at her.
Ah Heng was stunned for a moment, then went up and punched him hard in the chest: "Damn! You're Bao'er?! How did you grow so tall? You used to be as small as a chick!"
Xiao Liu's nickname is Bao'er. He used to be very small, even shorter than Aheng by more than half a head.
She sighed deeply, gesturing with her hands to show the height difference between them: "It's been three years since we last met, and you're now half a head taller than me! Did you eat pig feed to grow this taller?"
Xiao Liu was punched hard, his expression contorted. He clutched his chest and said through the pain, "I didn't eat pig feed... I was only sixteen back then, I hadn't fully grown yet!"
Aheng patted him on the shoulder excitedly: "That's right, you studied radio back then. If there hadn't been a shortage of technical soldiers, you wouldn't have been able to get into the brigade with your small frame. What are you doing now!"
Xiao Liu coughed and said, "I transferred to a civilian job this year and I'm working at the police station now."
Ah Heng sighed with emotion, "Everyone's retired now. Come on, Bao'er, I'll treat you to something delicious!"
Hearing her call him "Bao," Xiao Liu's honey-colored face inexplicably flushed slightly. She coughed lightly and said, "Back when we were stationed in the wild, I accidentally fell into a ditch and almost died. You carried me out of the ditch, so of course I have to pay you. My mother said that she can never repay the life-saving grace..."
"Hey, don't miss out! What's the difference between picking up something and picking up something else? It's no fun being so polite with us!" Ah Heng laughed heartily, one hand in his pocket, the other around his shoulder, as they strolled casually toward the food stall.
...
Ning Yuan received a call from Secretary Qiu the next day.
On the phone, Secretary Qiu was very polite: "Ning Yuan, the old leader thinks it's not very convenient to talk in the compound. The old leader has a tea party tomorrow afternoon, and after the tea party, he would like to invite you to have lunch at the restaurant. Is that convenient?"
Ning Yuan didn't hesitate: "Okay."
What could she possibly be afraid of?
Secretary Qiu: "Then I'll drive over to pick you up tomorrow afternoon?"
Ning Yuan: "No problem."
She glanced at the calendar on the wall. Rong Zhaonan had been too busy to come home these past two days, and her own mother seemed quite busy too, as she was here as a representative of the Hong Kong government to report on the project.
Since his biological father returned, Ou Minglang has once again been forced by his father to do odd jobs as free labor.
Now, she is the most idle person around.
Ning Yuan hung up the phone and was about to go upstairs to continue working on her market research report when the phone suddenly rang again.
"My dear daughter, Mommy finished her business today and went shopping this afternoon. I saw some jewelry that would suit you perfectly at the foreign trade mall, and you can even buy it with US dollars!" Mrs. Ning said happily on the other end of the phone.
Ning Yuan replied listlessly, "Ah...is that really necessary?!"
Her biological mother in Shanghai has always been dedicated to taking her on shopping sprees as a wealthy socialite.
However, she is usually very busy in Shanghai and doesn't have much time to spend with her mother.
Moreover, every time I see her mother spending money and using foreign trade vouchers, I feel an urge to snatch that money from her shopping spree and use it for investment and expanded production.
"Alright, it's settled. I'll pick you up this afternoon. After we're done shopping, we'll have dinner together tonight!" Madam Ning hung up the phone firmly.
If Ning Yuan hadn't been unable to leave the country and had gone to the Hong Kong government, she would definitely have bought her daughter a complete outfit from head to toe.
Ning Yuan had no choice; her mother was also stubborn.
When the car arrived to pick her up, Ning Yuan thought for a moment before leaving and took out the watch and ring that Rong Zhaonan had given her. Wearing these wouldn't be too conspicuous at the foreign trade mall.
She needs to let her mother know that she's not without things to wear, and that she's not really interested in shopping.
Madam Ning frowned as she watched her daughter get into the car wearing a slightly worn white dress. "I'll buy you two new outfits at the Friendship Department Store later."
Ning Yuan reluctantly closed the car door: "Mom, really, it's not necessary!"
Madam Ning's gaze suddenly fell on her hand, and she raised an eyebrow slightly: "The watch on your hand..."
Ning Yuan immediately reached out her hand: "Hey, I don't need anything to wear! Don't buy anything!"
Madam Ning looked at the antique Patek Philippe on her wrist and felt it looked familiar: "I feel like I've seen this watch somewhere before."
She gently touched the watch face, then her gaze suddenly fixed on Ning Yuan's ring, her pupils instantly shrinking: "Where did you get this ring!"
Ning Yuan was taken aback and glanced at her ring: "Mom, do you recognize this ring?"
Madam Ning's hand trembled slightly: "You... let me see inside the ring."
Ning Yuan took off the ring and handed it over curiously: "What's so special about this ring?"
To mainland Chinese, it is an expensive and gorgeous antique ring—a top-grade Colombian emerald of more than three carats with a butterfly wing effect, surrounded by four rose-cut, unheated, glassy pigeon blood rubies of more than one carat and small diamonds.
The knowledge about these gemstones was taught to her by Grandma Xia along with her knowledge of antiques.
However, for Madam Ning, this item should not be considered rare, since the gemstone's carat weight is not large.
Madam Ning stared blankly at the cursive inscription "B&E" on her arm ring for a long time, her expression strange: "Have you heard the story of King Edward VIII abdicating to become the Duke of Windsor just to marry Wallis Simpson?"
Ning Yuan was taken aback: "I've heard of it. He loves beauty more than power. It's shocking."
Madam Ning sighed softly: "Many people may have seen in the newspapers that Edward VIII gave Wallis Simpson a wedding ring of nearly twenty carats of emerald, and that Wallis Simpson often wore this wedding ring, but many people don't know that..."
She paused for a moment: "The first gift Edward VIII gave to Mrs. Simpson as a token of their love was a small, exquisite, and gorgeous antique ring. The cursive letter 'B' on it is the initial of Mrs. Simpson's given name, Bella, and the letter 'E' is the initial of Edward VIII's English name."
Ning Yuan was stunned: "Ah, how could this stuff leak out? Mrs. Simpson is still alive..."
Madam Ning said softly, "It's a long story, but I once had a close friend who received this ring and cherished it like a treasure."
Her expression was complex, filled with emotion: "It was all because of the legendary love story between Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson—'I would rather spend the rest of my life with you than cherish the vast empire,' something she envied but could never have."
Ning Yuan stared blankly at the antique ring in her palm.
Rong Zhaonan's mother must have had quite a few rings. What did it mean that he chose to give her this particular ring? Did he know the meaning behind it?
The vast land is nothing to me, I only wish to spend the rest of my life with you...
Before she could think further, Madam Ning grabbed her hand and asked urgently, "My dear girl, where did you get this ring?"
Ning Yuan looked at the ring and hesitated before saying, "This was given to me by Rong Zhaonan. He said it was left to him by his mother."
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