Wang Qiuju stiffened slightly after hearing Yun Qiao's words, and a hint of embarrassment and guilt flashed across her face, but she quickly concealed it. She took a deep breath, slowed her tone, and said slowly, "Yun Qiao, it's not that I don't want to tell you, but this matter involves too many things. If I tell you, I'm afraid you will be dragged into danger."
Yun Qiao sneered: "You want to ask me for help, but you don't want to tell me the truth. Even now, you are still trying to deceive me. Chen Anna, if you are really so worried about my safety, you wouldn't come to me for help today."
Wang Qiuju burst into tears and shook her head, explaining, "I... I have my reasons."
"Everyone who does bad things says they have their reasons." Yun Qiao's voice was cold, and he didn't give her any face. "Go away, I can't help you."
Wang Qiuju's face turned pale, and she hurriedly grabbed Yun Qiao's hand. Her voice trembled as she spoke: "Yun Qiao, Yun Qiao, I'm telling you everything. Don't ignore me."
"What we lost this time was a batch of medicine brought from the north, mainly penicillin and insulin. Our job was to pick up the medicine from the border and deliver it to a contact within two days, and that was it. But somehow, the news leaked, and we had just received the goods, but before we could even transport them, they were snatched away by a group of mysterious, masked men."
"This group of people were well-trained and had a clear goal. They snatched the goods and ran away without leaving any trace. Tang Yi and I tried many ways but failed to recover the goods."
"Yun Qiao, I really have no other choice. This batch of goods is all imported medicine, and it's expensive. Even if I and Tang Yi were to sell both of us, we wouldn't be able to raise enough money to buy more. If you are so cruel as not to help me, our family will really be torn apart."
"We grew up together, and can you really bear to watch me and my child being driven to this path of despair?"
Yun Qiao frowned, his eyes filled with suspicion and disbelief as he looked at her. "Chen Anna, are you really that bold? I thought... I thought you were just speculating and profiteering, but... Oh my God, drug smuggling, such a serious matter, and you dare not participate?!!"
"Smuggling is a serious crime! You could be shot if you're not careful! Did you know that?"
"I know I was wrong, and we regretted it a long time ago, but...but once we got on the boat, we, we had no choice..." Wang Qiuju cried, "I know I was wrong, Yunqiao. We really didn't think it would come to this. It was just that the child was sick at that time and the family had no money, so we were obsessed with making a lot of money and improving our family's life. We didn't expect it to turn out like this..."
Yun Qiao took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. She knew that the person standing in front of her was no longer her childhood playmate, but a desperate smuggler.
Nine out of ten smugglers are extremely evil. Even the most humble person will become unrecognizable once he gets involved in this business.
She could no longer use common sense to guess what the person in front of her was thinking.
This man has been engaged in smuggling for four or five years. I don't know how many smuggled goods he has handled. Maybe his hands are stained with blood.
Yun Qiao didn't know why Chen Anna was so sure that she could help her. She was scared when she heard such a thing. How could such a thing happen?
But Yun Qiao didn't dare to show it. Her top priority now was to stabilize Chen Anna and not let her focus on her.
Yun Qiao swallowed hard, trying to maintain a calm expression. "So what are you going to do now? How do you want me to help you?"
Wang Qiuju lowered her head and whispered, "Captain He."
Yun Qiao was stunned for a moment: "What?"
Wang Qiuju closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, saying, "I'll tell my superiors, I'll tell them that as long as Captain He agrees and gives us a lot of leeway, we'll let this matter go."
"Chen Anna, what do you mean?" Yun Qiao's eyes widened, looking at Wang Qiuju in disbelief. "To get out of this, you're dragging my family down with you, right?"
"Yun Qiao, we're really at our wit's end. That batch of goods is worth tens of thousands. Even if we sold our entire family, we wouldn't be able to come up with enough. Right now, we're just asking Captain He to let us know beforehand whenever he goes out on border patrols. It won't have any impact on him."
Wang Qiuju hurriedly grabbed Yun Qiao's hand and said, "Yun Qiao, please believe me. We don't need Captain He to do anything dangerous. We just need to help. This is just a simple task for you, but it can save our entire family's lives and prevent us from being separated. Please, promise me to help. We, your family of four, will never forget the kindness you and your wife have shown us."
"Chen Anna, this is impossible." Yun Qiaoduan shook her hand off and firmly refused, "If you want money, I can lend you some, but you want to drag our family down with you? Absolutely not."
"Go away. I'll pretend I never heard anything like this for the next day."
Wang Qiuju's face was covered in tears. "Yun Qiao, are you really unwilling to help? We grew up together and have such a deep friendship, and you have the heart to watch us separated and die without a second thought?"
"Chen Anna, don't use moral blackmail on me. I can swallow this matter and not report you. I have already done my best." Yun Qiao didn't buy her tricks.
Seeing that Yun Qiao was not willing to give in, Wang Qiuju's face changed. She wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Yun Qiao: "Chen Anna, let's stop here. Words spoken cannot be taken back. The friendship of youth is precious. I don't want to think of you in the future with only your hideous face."
Wang Qiuju still had a conscience. When she heard this, her body stiffened and her heart ached slightly.
She couldn't hold it in any longer, she raised her hands to cover her face and sobbed, "I'm sorry, Yun Qiao... I'm sorry..."
She didn't know how she had gotten to this point. While she was forced by others, her inner greed was also at work...but she couldn't turn back.
Life is like this, like a chessboard. If you make a wrong move, you will lose the whole game.
When Wang Qiuju left, she left behind the net bag of pomegranates she brought with her.
She walked out holding the hands of two children, one on each side, and her slightly hunched back made her look particularly lonely.
Yun Qiao looked at her leaving back, feeling mixed emotions.
Later in her previous life, she never saw Chen Anna again.
In 1977 and 1978, the government began to register and return the properties that had been confiscated or rented out from landlords and capitalists. Only then did my uncle Ye Yuzhang end his labor reform and return to Shanghai from the Great Northern Wilderness. He inherited the Ye family’s confiscated properties, shops, and shares in the privately-owned factory.
But at that time, my aunt Li Baiqiu and my nephew Yunqing were both ill, Kangning also lived far away with his grandparents in Wuhan, and my uncle was seriously ill and no longer had any attachment to the land under his feet. Coincidentally, at that time, the family of Ye's grandmother Liu Zhujun called from overseas, so my uncle Ye Yuzhang sold all his properties in China and left Shanghai without looking back.
Yun Qiao got the villa he lived in when he was a child, and Ye Lin also got a street-facing shop with a courtyard in the city center. The front shop has three floors with a total of nine rooms, and there is also a two-story building in the backyard where people can live. The value of it far exceeds the villa that Yun Qiao got.
In addition, a bungalow, two shops, and all factory shares were left to Corning.
Not only Uncle Ye, but also many families in the alley whose properties were confiscated registered and got back the properties they had handed over.
Only the Chen family's property had never been registered and returned. Tenants lived in the house year after year until the rental housing was abolished and the tenants were evicted. After that, it remained vacant year after year, and no other relatives came forward to claim it.
Yun Qiao didn't know what Chen Anna's ending was in her previous life. Was she alive? Or dead?
But no matter what, Yun Qiao hopes she can live in this life.
The dust of the times, when it falls on a person, is like a mountain that can crush him.
You could say she was soft-hearted or not ideologically aware enough, but Yun Qiao really felt that Chen Anna's crime did not deserve the death penalty.
Yun Qiao turned and went into the house, so he didn't see a petite figure following Chen Anna all the way out of the military uniform factory.
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