After hearing what Yin Xiaoman said, Old Hua showed a puzzled expression on his face, as if there was something he couldn't figure out.
But this expression flashed by so quickly that others didn't see it clearly.
On the way back, Ning Gong asked tentatively: "What were you thinking about while eating just now? Why were you so focused?"
Mr. Hua smiled and said, "I was thinking that it would be best if you could replace your assistant as soon as possible."
With just one sentence, the relaxed expression on Ning Gong's face disappeared without a trace in an instant.
"You think I don't want to change?"
He smiled bitterly and said, "That Liu Chuang, he said he was my assistant, but he couldn't handle the business, and he didn't care about my life. He was not active in anything except running fast when he could take advantage of something.
But can I change it? He has a good family background and strong ideas. He said he was here to be my assistant, but in fact, he was just a supervisor..."
"Be careful with your words!"
Elder Hua quickly interrupted him and glared at him sternly: "How old are you? Why are you still so careless when you speak?!"
An embarrassed expression suddenly appeared on Ning Gong's face.
"I'm just telling you this. Besides, there's no one around here." He lowered his voice and muttered softly.
"Walls have ears!" Old Hua scolded in a low voice.
After saying that, he took the initiative to end the topic: "Okay, stop talking, I'll think of a way later. The development of a new ship is about to begin, and assistants are very important. If they are not used properly, it will delay the work."
Hearing him say this, Ning Gong suddenly became happy: "Brother, I'm counting on you. If you can replace him, it would be really Amitabha."
Seeing that he was so happy that he started talking nonsense, Mr. Hua reached out and patted him on the back, and couldn't help laughing too.
The two of them talked as they returned to the guesthouse and went into their respective rooms.
When he was finally the only one left in the room, Mr. Hua finally let down all his guard and a dazed expression appeared on his face.
He and Ning Gong did not tell the truth just now. In fact, ever since he saw the wooden plaque around Yin Xiaoman's neck, he could not put anything else on his mind.
That brand kept flashing in front of my eyes.
He was very familiar with that thing, having looked at the same one for decades.
It was not until his wife died that he took it off her neck with his own hands and locked it in a box.
So, even if he was just looking at it from a distance, he would definitely not make a mistake. The badge on Yin Xiaoman's neck was exactly the same as the one on his wife.
He was even sure that they were all taken from the same piece of wood!
The wooden plaque my wife had was brought from her parents' home when we got married.
He once asked her, with so many pearls, gems, necklaces and pendants in the house, why did she wear something else but a wooden plaque every day?
The wooden sign was not only ugly, but also looked like something worthless. It was not even made of good wood. It was just made of the most common camphor wood.
But his wife told her that this was the most precious of all her dowry because it came from their father's hands.
It is said that at the beginning of the war, his father made four wooden plaques with his own hands and gave one to each of his brothers and sisters. They say that they keep each other in mind, so that if they have to separate one day in the future, they will have a proof of recognition.
Mr. Hua still remembers how beautifully his wife smiled when she said this.
She said coquettishly that her father was thinking too much and was simply worrying about nothing.
Given the Jiang family's background, how could they have so many difficulties?
They were still young at that time and could not understand the old man's painstaking efforts to prepare for a rainy day.
It wasn't long before the war broke out in full swing, and the First World War lasted for so many years.
Let alone the Jiang family, how many large families across the country have been forced to fall apart, and how many families have been separated?
At that time, he and his wife had gone abroad to study, and because of the war they could not return home.
After trying every possible means, he was able to bring only his wife's older brother Jiang Shaohai out, but he never heard from her younger brother or sister again.
Ten years ago, his wife died of illness. Before she died, what bothered her most was that she had not been able to find her younger siblings and that she had not fulfilled her responsibilities as an eldest sister.
Therefore, after receiving the call from the country, he chose to return home without hesitation.
Serving the country is an obligation, but fulfilling his wife's last wish is also Mr. Hua's pursuit in the second half of his life.
The moment he saw the wooden sign, Mr. Hua could even confirm that Yin Xiaoman was a descendant of the Jiang family. But after asking her several questions in succession, he became confused again.
Because the family situation that the girl described had absolutely nothing in common with the Jiang family.
From place of origin, to experience, to the age of parents... everything is different.
And from her eyes, Mr. Hua could also tell that Yin Xiaoman did not deliberately conceal anything, and what she said should be true.
There must be something wrong here, but what exactly is the problem?
Mr. Hua doesn’t know.
So he could only try his best to hide his thoughts and wait for an opportunity to investigate slowly.
Thinking of this, his heart was filled with excitement! My eye sockets are a little moist.
Nine years, he has been back for nine years!
Finally found some clues.
But anyway, he finally found it, didn't he?
As long as there is a clue, he will definitely get to the bottom of this matter!
Because he had told the two elders that he was going to the county town and asked them to have lunch at Cui Yan's house, after seeing off Ning Gong and Hua Lao, Yin Xiaoman got busy again.
She knew that the two old people were particular about their meals, and she also knew that Cui Yan was good in every way except that she was frugal when cooking. She was the kind of person who would never add oil if she could cook with plain water.
Afraid that the two elders would not be able to get used to the food, she decided to prepare the meals at home and send them to them, and they only had to heat them up at noon.
There was still some pork belly left from what Ning Gong brought that day, so she first stir-fried some pork and onions, and then steamed some rice, pumpkin and potatoes.
Then I went to the backyard to pick a few loofahs, peeled them and cut them into sections, added the seasoned garlic and oysters, and washed a large piece of previously marinated conger eel, and steamed them on plates.
Then he took Dabao and Erniu, and went to Cui Yan's house with meat and rice.
Cui Yan was startled to see her family of three walking in with plates and bowls in hand.
After finding out what was going on, I felt a little bit amused and confused.
"Do you look down on your sister-in-law so much? Why do you have to bring your own food when you come to my house for a meal? Are you afraid that I will starve the old couple, or are you afraid that I will starve your daughter and son?"
She said to Yin Xiaoman with a look of reproach on her face.
Yin Xiaoman did not retort, but nodded with an expression of deep agreement.
"Yes, I'm just worried that you'll starve our daughter! Don't worry about the kid, he's very sensible, you can give him anything, our Dabao won't mind.
But our little girl is not like that, she is too delicate! Don't let us cry because of hunger. ”
As he said this, he reached out and pinched Erniu's little face.
Erniu couldn't understand what her mother meant, but she knew she was talking about her.
He quickly joined in the fun and nodded, imitating the others, saying: "Yes, our little girl is very delicate, don't let us cry from hunger!"
That expression, so serious.
The people around couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Although Cui Yan kept complaining, she had to admit in her heart that Yin Xiaoman was really sensible and generous.
Although she kept asking me for help, it was as if she was taking advantage of me.
But they still have everything they need to bring and everything they need to take.
Look at the things people have brought, which one is not for helping improve their own lives?
When Xiaoman caught the conger eel, he couldn't bear to eat it himself, so he pickled it all.
And now, just to ask for help in cooking a meal, he brought such a big piece! This piece should be one third longer, right?
And the meat, although we know it was brought by Engineer Ning, it is pickled with salt, so it can be eaten for many days, right?
But she fried it all!
In the stir-fried meat with onions, there is less onion than meat!
It's obvious that someone has noticed that the two boys are short of meat, so they are looking for an opportunity to satisfy their cravings!
Although Cui Yan didn't mention it, she couldn't help but appreciate the kindness in her heart.
Yin Xiaoman didn't expect that just talking to Cui Yan at her house for a while would actually help her solve the big problem of traveling!
She originally wanted to hitch a ride on the kitchen team's car, but Cui Yan told her that the battalion's bicycles were at home.
There shouldn't be anyone using it today. If she knows how to ride it, she can borrow it.
If she hadn't said it, Yin Xiaoman would never have remembered about the bicycle!
She has never ridden a bicycle, but the original owner knows how to ride one!
When she went to school in the county, she learned from her classmates and always hoped to have the opportunity to own one.
When he heard that his mother wanted to borrow a bicycle, Dabao took the initiative to take the task of going to the battalion headquarters without saying a word.
As a result, it didn't take long before Qi Feng simply pushed the cart back himself.
Only after repeatedly confirming that she could really ride and watching her try it out for a lap did he give the bike to her.
When Yin Xiaoman started riding, he was a little nervous, but fortunately he quickly became proficient.
She rode her bike to the county town, and this time, because she had experience, she went directly to the seafood market.
Although we arrived a little late, we managed to catch up with the last few people as they hadn't finished their journey.
Yin Xiaoman remembered Cui Yan's repeated instructions before, so he did not go into the alley directly. Instead, he found a secluded place, entered the space first and changed his clothes.
He put on an old piece of clothing that Shen Qingyun wore before he joined the army and brought it from Shuanggui Village, and also put on a large wide-brimmed straw hat that was most commonly worn by local fishermen, and then strolled into the alley.
Although the clothes don't fit well, it doesn't attract attention here. After all, people who come here basically cover themselves tightly.
They all looked as if they were afraid of being recognized by others.
Now that I think about it, she didn’t know anything at the time and just barged in so recklessly, so that should have scared people, right?
Yin Xiaoman's target at this time is still fresh fish and live shrimp.
The incident at the beginning of spring made her discover an opportunity, which was to exchange seafood for food.
No matter how you look at it, this is much more cost-effective than simply buying it with silver.
Although she still had a lot of money, it was always limited. When will days like this end?
What should we do if the silver runs out and we still can’t buy food here?
She doesn’t want to eat frugally, so opening up the source of income becomes a top priority for her.
After a walk around the alley, Yin Xiaoman's gains could be said to be quite good.
She traded ten eggs for twenty sea cucumbers and a pickled rabbit leg for two large flatfish.
Although she knew that she had to keep a low profile in such a place and it was best not to attract attention.
It was enough that she had changed so much.
But later, when I saw a man’s iron bucket filled with more than twenty large prawns, almost as long as a palm, I couldn’t even move my legs!
But this thing should not be cheap, and it cannot be exchanged for a rabbit leg.
She hadn't had time to divide up the sausages, bacon and other things, and they would have been too conspicuous if she had taken them out.
Yin Xiaoman thought about it, gritted his teeth, took out a small bottle of honey that was extremely rare in this era from the space, approached the man and said, "Do you want to exchange it?"
Although only a little bit was exposed through the bamboo basket, when she opened the bottle cap, the golden liquid with a rich sweet fragrance immediately surprised the man!
"Honey! Where did you get it from?"
After he finished speaking, he realized that his question was inappropriate, and quickly made amends: "I want all of this bottle. These shrimps are for you. I have some other things at home, come with me to get them."
Hearing this familiar, slightly childish voice, Yin Xiaoman was stunned for a moment.
The man had been squatting on the ground with his head down, so she didn't notice him at all.
Now as soon as he opened his mouth to speak, she immediately recognized that this was Xiao Tao, with whom she had done business before.
At the same time, when he got closer, Xiao Tao recognized her through the layers of disguise.
"Miss?"
He called out hesitantly, then immediately broke into a big smile.
"Miss, it's you! Come home with me, I have some good stuff at home!"
Having said that, without waiting for Yin Xiaoman to speak, he reached out and grabbed her sleeve affectionately and pulled her towards his home.
Although Yin Xiaoman still had some concerns in her heart, she was so greedy for the prawns that she had no choice but to go back with him.
Maybe because we came early this time, Xiao Tao’s family actually had quite a lot of stock.
In addition to shrimps, he also took out a dozen large abalones and two jellyfish as big as sea bowls.
"Sister, if you come to me directly in the future, I promise that the goods you get will be cheap and good. You have been wandering around in this alley for a long time. Can you find another shrimp like me?"
Xiao Tao is not very old and his voice is still childish, but he tries hard to pretend to be experienced, which looks very incongruous.
But it also makes people less guarded.
Yin Xiaoman couldn't help it, so he took out a candy from his pocket and stuffed it into his hand: "Eat it for fun."
Xiao Tao stopped talking immediately.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside, which scared both of them!
"Who is it?"
Xiao Tao asked loudly.
"I'm your third uncle. Open the door!" A rough male voice came from outside.
Xiao Tao's face changed, and he pushed Yin Xiaoman's shoulder without saying anything: "Sister, go hide in the house for a while, my third uncle is annoying."
Then he pushed her and the seafood into the house.
Soon, the sound of a door opening was heard outside, followed by the man's cursing voice.
"What are you doing taking so long?"
"What else can I do? Mend the fishing nets."
"Who are you kidding? Don't think I don't know. I've heard that you and Yao Wei are doing those speculations! Xiaolin, don't think that your uncle said that. This won't last long. If you get caught, you'll be beheaded!"
"What are you going to chop off? Uncle, don't talk nonsense! I was just fishing on the net, I've never heard of people chopping off heads on the net. Okay, Uncle, if you have nothing else to do, go back. I'm busy!"
"Hey, don't push me! What do you think about what I told you last time? Have you made up your mind? What a good job, it will never come back again. Every day you just hang out at the entrance of the army for a while, and you only get 10 cents a day! 10 cents is enough to buy an egg! Are you going or not? People are waiting for your reply!"
"No, you go if you want to go!"
"Hey, kid, how can you talk to your elders like that? Why are you so ignorant? If you weren't my brother's son, would I let you have this good thing?"
"Don't let it be my turn, will you? Good thing? If it's good, then why don't you let your Da Lin and Er Lin go?"
Xiao Yao was obviously annoyed, and Yin Xiaoman could feel the anger in his voice even from such a distance.
"What good job? Squat at the entrance of the army and count how many people and cars go in and out every day? See how many strangers there are and whether there are any old men? This is the job you, as an uncle, find for your nephew. Do you think I'm stupid? You're asking me to be a special agent! This is a capital crime!"
"Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense are you talking about? Counting cars and people is a special service? You, a kid, don't dare to talk nonsense! That's money, it's money!"
"I won't make money! Uncle, are you done yet? If you say that again, I'll go to the neighborhood committee and sue you!"
"You dare!"
"If you don't leave, I will!"
…
Soon there was another sound of pushing and shoving outside, and it was obvious that Xiao Yao was pushing that person outside.
At this moment, Yin Xiaoman was so shocked by what the two people had just said that his whole body turned cold!
spy!
Now, she has been in the military camp for nearly half a year. She is no longer the time when she knew nothing. She naturally knows the seriousness of the matter.
If what Xiao Yao's uncle said is true, we must report it to the camp immediately!
"Sister, are you scared? Hey, I'm telling you, don't be afraid. My third uncle is a coward. He doesn't dare to tell on me. Don't worry, I'm safe here..."
"Xiao Yao, I have to go back. I have to do something somewhere else." Yin Xiaoman quickly interrupted him.
A trace of regret flashed across Xiao Yao's eyes, but he still nodded: "Okay, I'll take you out then."
This time, Yin Xiaoman still asked him to take him and his things to the same secluded place as last time. After he left, I quickly put the things into the space and then rode my bike to the post office.
She rode her bike very fast, and after sending the letter, she didn't waste even a minute and immediately rode back to the camp.
By the time she arrived at the camp, the people at home hadn't even finished their lunch.
"Brother Qi, I have something to ask you, please come out for a moment."
She strode into Cui Yan's house, without even having time to greet everyone, she spoke to Qi Feng who was also looking at her with a smile at the dinner table.
"Okay." Qi Feng was obviously stunned, but he quickly put down his chopsticks and followed her out of the kitchen.
Standing in the yard, Yin Xiaoman did not hide anything and told him exactly what he had heard today.
She even ignored Cui Yan's repeated instructions that this matter should not be told to her husband.
When Qi Feng first heard that Yin Xiaoman dared to secretly go to the black market without anyone's knowledge, his face turned black.
Although she tried hard to avoid it, as an instructor who was in charge of the soldiers' ideological work all year round, how could Qi Feng not hear the shadow of his own wife in this?
Otherwise, how could she, a little girl from another place, know which direction the door to the black market opened?
Just when he was unhappy and wanted to teach this ignorant little girl a lesson on behalf of his brother, Yin Xiaoman's next words surprised him!
"Are you sure you heard it right?" His face immediately became serious and a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
"Sure. Brother Qi, do you think those people are the same group as the ones who bombed the factory?"
Yin Xiaoman kept thinking about it on the way, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that this was a possibility.
Putting aside other things, what's the point of counting the old men coming in and out of the military camp?
This is obviously looking for Ning Gong and Hua Lao!
Thinking of this, Yin Xiaoman shuddered.
Without her saying anything, Qi Feng knew the seriousness of the matter.
He knew much more than Yin Xiaoman, so he naturally understood that things were not as simple as she thought.
Now that their regiment has secured the right to trial the new ship, Shen Qingyun is going to participate in the training for the new boat.
This kind of thing happening at this time is targeting the two elders on the one hand, but more importantly, these people are likely coming for the new ship!
If this is true, then Yin Xiaoman has made a great contribution by making this trip today!
Thinking of this, Qi Feng looked at her meaningfully.
He didn't even eat, and after asking for Xiao Yao's detailed address, he said, "Stay in the camp for the next few days, and none of you are allowed to go out!"
Without even having time to go back to the house and say hello, he rode the two bicycles quickly towards the outside of the camp.
Yin Xiaoman went into the kitchen by herself. Everyone in the room looked at her curiously, obviously wondering what she had said to Qi Feng that made him so panicked that he ran away without even finishing his meal?
Yin Xiaoman finally finished reporting the matter, and he could finally put his mind at ease after being worried all the way.
It was not until then that she felt her legs and feet were weak, the clothes on her back were all soaked with sweat, and she was so tired that she could hardly take a step.
She didn't care about the gazes of the crowd and sat down on the stool Cui Yan had brought for her without saying a word. She grabbed a jar of water and gulped it down.
After a long pause, he finally spoke: "Brother Qi said that none of us can leave the camp without his notification these days."
As for other things, she naturally didn't dare to say a word without Qi Feng's permission.
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