Chapter 020 It's Not Easy
Jiang Nan already knew which courtyard the projectionist lived in. She'd heard it from the saleswomen she'd been chatting with the other night when she was moving watermelons. The woman in the khaki shirt didn't even live far from the projectionist's house.
The projectionist is called Nian Weiguo, 24 years old. He took over his father's job. He's not young anymore, and should have gotten married long ago. These days, people generally marry young, with a wedding ceremony generally considered a marriage, and then registering their marriage when they reach the legal age. Some don't even register at all, if it weren't for their children's schooling, so they can continue living like this. It's rare to find someone this old and still unmarried.
But Nian Weiguo's situation was different. He was a projectionist, often traveling to the countryside or the oil fields to show films. Each trip was filled with lucrative opportunities, and he also had ambiguous relationships with young widows and older women. It wasn't that he had no shortage of these things, so he didn't want to get married. Fortunately, he didn't marry, otherwise, when the young widows started making trouble, he would have been fired.
His family was a single-person household, and their living conditions weren't particularly good. Instead of a tube-shaped building, they were assigned a fiberglass house. It was the kind of place workers at the oil fields used to live in, resembling shipping containers at the docks. These were worn out and discarded, then allocated to workers and their families. Don't underestimate the shabby look; with a little renovation, it could be a very nice house.
In his previous life, Jiang Nan had lived in a house like this as a child. Its tin walls and roof gave it a somewhat dreamy feel. However, it was sweltering in the summer and poorly kept warm in the winter. After only two years, he moved to a bungalow.
Jiang Nan searched carefully. She only knew the general location, not the exact location of Nian Weiguo's home, nor had she ever seen the young widow. So, when she reached the living area, she hid behind a large tree, pretending to be tired and seeking shade. She instructed the system, "Scan everyone you meet and find the young widow as quickly as possible."
[Okay, host.] The system was very obedient and did not let go of any man or woman who passed by.
Jiang Nan's arrival was unfortunate. After breakfast, everyone had gone grocery shopping, so the living quarters weren't crowded. A system scan revealed no young widow, but rather Nian Weiguo's aunt and a group of elderly women, sitting and chatting under the shade of a tree.
[Host, I've scanned Nian Weiguo's aunt and learned that the young widow's surname is Liang, and her name is Liang Chunhua. She's from the Shan'aozi Brigade, six years older than Nian Weiguo, and is thirty years old this year. She has a son, and when she remarried, he was left behind at her ex-husband's house. She's the only one in the family, and she doesn't seem to be a clean person either. She's been having affairs with several of the older men in the brigade, and she's a bit of a slut. Oh, that's what Nian Weiguo's aunt said, not me.]
Jiang Nan rolled his eyes. "Xiao Tong, do you know that explaining is covering up? You know a lot."
[Hey, host, our system's programmer dad is quite interesting. Therefore, our Justice Melon-eating Alliance system is also the cutest system.]
Everyone was chatting to pass the time. Not long after, people who were buying groceries came back one after another and the system began to scan silently.
"Host, that woman in a gray plaid top, black trousers, and a large braid is the young widow Liang Chunhua." The system spoke excitedly, "She's a spy, host. Strictly speaking, her mother is the true spy, one of the Japanese who stayed behind to explore China's resources. When the Japanese retreated, these people remained hidden without being exposed. Her mother was in the intelligence department back then and received special training. Now that she's older, she's raised her daughter to continue serving the Japanese."
Jiang Nan cursed in his heart and continued to let the system scan more secrets of Liang Chunhua.
[Host, the main system has issued a mission. Capture the hidden spy and you will receive a reward of 2,000 Chigua coins.]
Jiang Nan chuckled twice, and was one step closer to upgrading his space!
Each of them stayed for a while before hurried back home.
When she got home, Jiang Nan glanced at the living room clock. It was already eleven o'clock. She wiped her sweat off her face and wondered when more watermelons would be available. She had already eaten the three she had last time, but the weather was still so hot. How could three watermelons be enough for a whole summer?
When the heat finally died down, she began to consider the system scan results. While the young widow and her daughter were spies, she needed evidence. She couldn't just walk up and accuse them of being spies, right? Besides, the young widow was just a nobody; her mother was the more important one, the one who deserved to be apprehended. If they apprehended the young widow, they'd alert the real spies, allowing them to escape. That would be a loss.
But the young widow's mother was cautious and had never told her daughter who her superior was or how she passed on information. It seemed she would have to go to the Shan'aozi Brigade and meet this person in person. What excuse could she have for going?
Jiang Nan fell into deep thought, unable to come up with a solution for a long time. It would definitely not be a good idea to rush over there. He was a spy, a spy from an enemy country, and his actions were extremely cunning. If she rushed over there, it would definitely arouse suspicion.
This is not an easy matter to handle.
She sighed. As expected, it was not easy to enter the public security system out of thin air, even in the 1960s when there was no national examination.
"Is anyone home in Room 401?" A strange voice rang out from outside the door. Jiang Nan hurriedly opened the door and saw the postman standing there: "Hello, there's a letter from Comrade Chen Jinhua. Are you Comrade Chen Jinhua?"
"No, Chen Jinhua is my mother."
"Then let Comrade Chen Jinhua go to the post office this afternoon and pick up the mail herself. Also, there will be a phone call for Comrade Chen at 2 p.m. Please go to the post office on time to answer it."
"Phone?" Jiang Nan was surprised. Could it be her grandfather who could make a phone call these days? Didn't the old man always write letters? Why was he making a phone call?
"Yes, phone number." The postman handed a list to Jiang Nan and left quickly without saying much.
Jiang Nan looked at the sender on the list and found that it was indeed a letter from her grandfather. The old man usually wrote once every two weeks. The two places were not far away, so it could be delivered in one day, which was considered fast.
She put the note on the table and continued to look sad.
"Look at you, why are you sighing at such a young age? You've sighed away all your good luck." Jiang Mancheng pushed open the door and joked when he saw his daughter looking sad.
"Dad, Mom." Jiang Nan yelled, and when he saw the door was closed, he whispered, "This is not going to be easy."
"Nonsense, this is a spy, you think it's that easy!" Jiang Mancheng rolled his eyes and put his briefcase on the table. God knows, he is just an archives clerk, why would he need a briefcase? But Jiang Mancheng didn't. As a trendsetter of the times, how could he be without the black briefcase that is a must-have for veteran cadres?
"Okay, don't worry about it yet. Let your dad cook first, and we can discuss it together when we eat. It will be fine." Chen Jinhua stroked her daughter's short hair and showed her the vegetables they bought today. "Look, we have artificial meat today. Let's stir-fry some green peppers and artificial meat."
Artificial meat is actually made from soybeans. It's firmer than dried tofu, has a meaty texture, and is shaped like water chestnuts from the south. Stir-fried with green peppers and scallions, it tastes quite good in this meat-scarce era. Whenever the supply and marketing cooperatives receive a shipment, it's always snapped up.
"My colleagues in the department helped me get this." Chen Jinhua handed two taels of artificial meat to Jiang Mancheng and said, "Look, what else do you want to eat?"
"Okay, you two just wait." Jiang Mancheng tied on his apron and started to make lunch for the day. Immediately, the sound of ping-pong could be heard in the corridor.
"Hey, Lao Jiang, you're really good. You actually managed to grab the artificial meat."
Lin Bing smelled the fragrance and turned directly from the corridor. He reached out to grab a piece from the pot, but was slapped away by Jiang Mancheng: "You can talk, but you can't touch it. What have you been doing? Why are you back so late?"
"Look at how stingy you are." Lin Bing snorted, showing off the bag in his hand. "See, my buddy bought one too. Half a catty, much more than your two ounces."
As he spoke, he raised his chin, turned around, knocked on Grandma Fang's door, and shouted, "Sister Qiao Lian, I brought you some artificial meat, open the door quickly."
Sun Qiaolian opened the door, leaned against it, gave Lin Bing a glare, and said in a delicate voice, "Why are you shouting? I'm coming out right now."
Lin Bing's eyes lit up with pride as he handed one of the bags to Sun Qiaolian and said, "Your family made lunch early today, and you're eating it already? This artificial meat will go bad if you eat it tonight."
"Hey, soldier, who are you to give things to others? You are a grown man and a grown woman, and you have the nerve to do it, while we are too embarrassed to watch." Old Lady Liu was usually sarcastic. Her family didn't buy any artificial meat today, and she was in a bad mood. She asked Jiang Mancheng kindly, but this guy refused to give it to her. He didn't know how to respect the elderly and love the young. Now there was another shameless person. She was so annoyed that she said with a fierce "Puh" sound, "Shameless vixen, bitch, little whore and pervert who will go to hell after death to have her tongue pulled out."
"What are you talking about, you old hag?" Lin Bing was instantly displeased and shouted, "Who am I bringing something for that bothers you? Why are you complaining here? You're an old woman, so I'm not going to argue with you, but you're getting ahead of me! What? It's not right to argue with an old woman like you for bullying us young people, right? You're such a mean old witch to your daughter-in-law, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!"
"What did you say, you little bastard!" Old Lady Liu threw away the spatula and glared at Lin Bing fiercely. "I think you're going to get your comeuppance! Your own father is disabled, and instead of saving money to buy medicine, you're entangled with those widows. You're a fool with a confused mind. Sooner or later, you'll be sucked dry by those poisonous widows!"
"Soldier, go home." Uncle Lin appeared at the door, leaning on a cane and looking sullen. He had been a frontline oil worker, but now, after an accident that resulted in the amputation of his left leg, he usually stayed home. His towering stature practically blocked the entire doorway, making him look incredibly imposing.
Although Lin Bing was a bit confused and usually treated his father badly, he was actually a little afraid of the old man. He snorted and glanced at Sun Qiaolian, who took the opportunity to wink at Lin Bing and lowered her head shyly: "Soldier, you should go back soon. Uncle Lin is waiting anxiously."
The anger in Lin Bing's eyes instantly turned to pride. He knew that Sun Qiaolian loved him immensely. Which woman upstairs didn't love him? She didn't even bother to hide it in front of so many people. He walked home proudly and arrogantly.
Old Lady Liu started cursing again. Even though there were no audiences, the words she used were all different and she cursed in all kinds of ways.
Jiang Mancheng didn't turn around. Just the sound of their flirting was disgusting enough, and mixed with Old Lady Liu's scolding, it was busier than a vegetable market. He hurriedly brought the pot into the house, shook off the goose bumps on his body, and then began to serve the food.
A plate of scrambled eggs with green onions, a plate of artificial meat with green peppers, and a white flour bun for each person, the three of them quickly sat down at the dining table.
Despite the delicious food, Jiang Nan was listless. She told her parents the results of the morning scan. When Chen Jinhua heard that it was a spy left behind by the Japanese, she slammed the table and said, "Catch him, no matter how dangerous he is. We can't keep him alive."
"And there's a 2,000 melon-eating coins reward. We only have 1,000 left, and we can upgrade our space." Jiang Nan said excitedly, "Then we'll have our own space."
Jiang Mancheng nodded with satisfaction and pondered for a moment before speaking cautiously, "I remember the exploration team from the Shan'aozi Brigade hasn't left yet. Jinhua, do you know anyone on that team? Are there any of your father's students or apprentices?"
Shan'aozi Brigade was the lucky village that had discovered oil earlier. Just a few days ago, when Jiang Mancheng returned to the village, the villagers asked him about it. The compensation for the work had also arrived, which was quite enviable.
Chen Jinhua calmed down, thought seriously for a while, and said, "There's a brother who's my father's apprentice, so he's not really my father's apprentice. He's the leader of the exploration team, so what's wrong with that?"
"Great, what's the disciple's name? Has Xiaonan seen him?" Jiang Mancheng asked.
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