Because of the dynamite explosion on West Street in Longcheng, Qin Yuanzheng and Zhao Jiannong both went to the headquarters building for a meeting.
All military units and construction sites were thoroughly checked, but no dynamite was reported missing.
This made the problem even more serious.
Because it meant that certain people in the city possessed an unknown quantity of explosives.
Moreover, the use of these explosives was beyond their control.
If they dared to bomb West Street today, they might bomb other streets tomorrow.
The danger level was simply too high. All surrounding military districts and troops had to raise their alert levels and begin patrolling their respective jurisdictions until the culprits were caught.
After the meeting, Qin Yuanzheng and Zhao Jiannong walked out with several people from other battalions. Everyone wore stern and solemn expressions.
Zhao Jiannong said in a low voice, "It seems our side here in Longcheng has been infiltrated as well."
Another battalion commander frowned and said, "Of all times for an explosion, it had to happen right when the inspection team came down. Who knows, they might be trying to turn Longcheng upside down."
Longcheng was a major coal-mining hub. Troops were stationed here to mine coal and build roads, and the neighboring city even had plans to construct an airport in the next few years.
If such an important city were infiltrated and its leading cadres replaced by their people, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Zhao Jiannong added, "The main issue is that we currently have no clues. We don't even know how the perpetrators managed to bury the dynamite on West Street. According to nearby residents, they didn't hear any commotion day or night, nor had they made any enemies."
In short, it was utterly baffling. West Street wasn't an important street, and leaders rarely passed through there.
Qin Yuanzheng remained silent for a long time, listening to their discussion, before finally speaking up. "Or perhaps it's because West Street has fewer people, and military personnel rarely go there, making it an easy target. They might just be intentionally causing a stir to force the inspection team from above to launch an investigation."
Zhao Jiannong quickly asked, "Will they strike West Street again next?"
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head. "West Street has already drawn attention, and the militia will step up their patrols. They probably won't go there again."
Zhao Jiannong asked, "Then where do you think they'll go next?"
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head again. "It's hard to say."
The group fell into a brief silence. Although patrols had been strengthened throughout the city...
...if the enemy really wanted to cause a disturbance, it would still be very difficult to prevent.
The men parted ways with heavy hearts.
They each had to return to their units to arrange their work, and Qin Yuanzheng also had to keep a close eye on the time to pick up his wife from work.
Especially under such special circumstances, he felt it was absolutely necessary to escort Qiao Lanshu to and from work.
Otherwise, he simply wouldn't have peace of mind.
When work ended in the afternoon, Wang Xue and Deng Weijun came looking for Qiao Lanshu to take her to Yang Wenyan's house for dinner.
Wang Xue was carrying some sheep offal and radishes, while Deng Weijun was holding some flour.
Since they were going to dine at Yang Wenyan's house, it wouldn't be polite to show up empty-handed, so they had all bought some things in advance.
Qiao Lanshu was a bit surprised to see them. "Sister, Weijun, what brings you two here?"
As she spoke, she checked the main door of the warehouse and locked the door to the small cabin as well.
Deng Weijun looked a bit embarrassed by the question. He stood aside, scratching his head, waiting for Wang Xue to explain.
Wang Xue glanced at him and said to Qiao Lanshu with a smile, "What else could it be? It's about Haitang and Weijun, of course. Originally, this matter was supposed to wait until the New Year, when Weijun would visit Haitang's home to meet her parents before discussing it..."
At this point, Wang Xue sighed. She rested a hand on Qiao Lanshu's arm, and the two walked out side by side.
Deng Weijun followed behind them, carrying his items.
He used to be quite talkative and didn't pay much attention to the physical distance between men and women.
However, he had been thoroughly spooked by the big-character poster incident from last time. Now, whenever they were outside, he didn't dare get too close to Qiao Lanshu, nor did he dare speak too much.
Hearing Wang Xue's words, Qiao Lanshu asked in a low voice, "What's wrong? Did something major happen suddenly?"
Feeling a bit upset, Wang Xue sighed and whispered, "Sometimes I think I've really dragged Weijun into a mess. Haitang's parents are truly awful people."
Wang Haitang was Wang Xue's cousin, and Haitang's father was Wang Xue's biological uncle.
Despite such a close blood relation, Wang Xue had never liked Haitang's parents.
She said to Qiao Lanshu, "Originally, Haitang and Weijun were getting along quite well. Weijun's family background is also good. Even though his parents live in a village, both he and his sister hold urban household registrations. His brother-in-law is a factory director, and he himself has a formal job. With such great conditions, you'd think Haitang's parents would be satisfied, right? But guess what?"
Playing along, Qiao Lanshu asked softly, "What happened? Are her parents dissatisfied with Weijun and refusing to let them date?"
Wang Xue scoffed coldly and said indignantly, "Not exactly. But they demanded a bride price of five hundred yuan from Weijun, saying they wouldn't accept a single cent less!"
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
When Qiao Lanshu married Qin Yuanzheng, they didn't seem to have discussed a bride price at all. She didn't even know what the standard bride price was for marriages around here.
Wang Xue said quietly, "In this day and age, how much is a person's monthly wage? When city folks get married, the bride price is usually fifty or a hundred yuan. Then there's the three spinning items and one ticking item—if you can afford it, you buy them; if not, providing thirty-six legs of furniture is fine too. Like when I got married, my family only asked for a fifty-yuan bride price and a sewing machine."
A sewing machine wasn't cheap; a single one could cost one or two hundred yuan.
But sewing machines were bought for the new small family. Nowadays, supply and marketing cooperatives rarely sold ready-made clothes. Everyone just bought fabric to take home and made their own clothes to wear.
Having a sewing machine at home made mending and sewing much more convenient.
Wang Xue cursed as she spoke, "Who ever heard of such black-hearted parents? Demanding a five-hundred-yuan bride price from Weijun right off the bat! They haven't even met Weijun; they just wrote a letter to Haitang and me, telling us to ask Weijun for the money. They said if he has the bride price, they can discuss marriage, and if not, the deal is off. They are flat-out selling their daughter! They don't care about her at all."
Hearing this, Qiao Lanshu also felt troubled.
She glanced back at Deng Weijun, who just smiled at her without saying a word.
Deng Weijun was probably worrying about it too, likely still weighing whether he should marry this girl or not.
It wasn't that he didn't have feelings for her, but encountering such parents-in-law meant that no matter how deep his feelings were, he had to think twice.
Qiao Lanshu fell silent as well, not knowing what to say.
After a while, she finally asked, "What does my cousin-in-law say?"
Wang Xue: "Deng Xiaozhen discussed it with me, and I went to ask Haitang. Haitang said she doesn't want a bride price; she has decided to follow Weijun. Now, let's all go have a meal together to bear witness for the two of them. They will go get their marriage certificate in a few days. Haitang said she will only contact her maiden family after they are married and have a child."
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
To think that the usually cowardly Wang Haitang could have such resolve—it truly made her see the girl in a whole new light.
Wang Haitang's parents were farmers in the village. They also had a son at home, who was their absolute treasure.
The son didn't earn any work points in the village and was gluttonous and lazy all day long.
When his parents went with the production team for agricultural work, he would lie at home, making up excuses about this or that hurting. In short, he just wanted to avoid labor and didn't want to work.
Seeing that he was getting older, it was about time for him to find a wife.
But his family hadn't managed to secure a wife for him yet.
Anyway, everyone in the same village knew what kind of character he had, so no one was willing to marry him.
His parents could only look for someone from another village.
If girls from other villages were to marry out, they would definitely demand a high bride price; otherwise, what would be in it for them?
Qiao Lanshu said in a low voice, "As long as they have thought it through, it's fine. I'm just worried there will be trouble later."
Wang Xue sneered, "Don't worry. Household registration is strictly managed now. My uncle and aunt have never even been to the city. Even if they came, they wouldn't be able to find their way. As long as we don't tell them the address, what can they do?"
Wang Xue continued, "What we've discussed now is that the two kids think highly of each other and both want to get married. So, as their older sisters, we'll help them settle the engagement in advance. Haitang won't go back for the New Year either; she'll just say she has to be on duty at the train station.
By the time next New Year rolls around, they might even have a child. If she wants to keep hiding it, she can just keep saying she's on duty. Anyway, as long as she sends her wages back, my uncle doesn't really want Haitang to go home for the New Year. Haitang hasn't been back for the New Year for two years now, and they didn't miss her."
If Haitang went home for the New Year, she wouldn't even have a place to sleep and would have to sleep on the floor.
Her father even complained that her coming home wasted food and wouldn't let her eat at home.
Wang Xue sighed as she spoke.
They could only worry more about their own younger siblings. What other way was there?
The three of them chatted as they walked out of the food factory. Qin Yuanzheng hadn't arrived yet, so Wang Xue and Deng Weijun waited with Qiao Lanshu for a few minutes.
Not long after, Deng Weijun suddenly jogged over to Qiao Lanshu and lowered his voice, "Sister-in-law, I think I saw Liu Weidong!"
Wang Xue's ears perked up, and she immediately asked, "Liu Weidong? Which Liu Weidong? The one who came to make trouble at the food factory before?"
Deng Weijun nodded, pointing to an alley opposite the food factory, and said to the two of them, "I just saw him passing by over there, limping along. He looked quite comical."
Dragon City was only so big. Walking on the streets, one would often run into acquaintances.
Not to mention, Liu Weidong was someone Deng Weijun was specifically keeping an eye on.
Wang Xue sneered, "His leg is crippled, so what is he doing out? Didn't they say he just got out of the police station? It hasn't been long, and he's out wandering again?"
Deng Weijun whispered, "Sister, Sister-in-law, should I quietly follow him and see where he's going?"
He just felt that Liu Weidong wasn't up to anything good.
Although Qin Yuanzheng said he would find someone to keep an eye on Liu Weidong.
But a bombing had just occurred in the city, and Qiao Lanshu didn't know if Qin Yuanzheng had arranged for someone to come over.
So, she whispered, "How about we all go over and take a look?"
She also wanted to know what Liu Weidong was doing out at this time.
After all, it was the dead of winter. It had even snowed a little today, it got dark early, and it was cold outside.
Besides workers going to their shifts, who else would want to go out?
Wouldn't it be better to lie on the heated brick bed at home, crack sunflower seeds, and chat with family?
Wang Xue also thought about the fact that they were going to Factory Manager Yang Wenyan's house for dinner later. She was afraid that if Deng Weijun went alone, it would be hard to meet up later.
She said, "Alright, let's go together, and then we'll head to Factory Manager Yang's house together."
Qiao Lanshu figured they would just go look for a bit, which would probably only delay them by about ten minutes. Coming back to find Qin Yuanzheng later would be fine.
Qin Yuanzheng was probably too busy today and wouldn't arrive that early.
The three of them teamed up and ran toward the alley Liu Weidong had walked down.
It was just past five-thirty in the afternoon, not yet six. The sun had long since set, and the sky was already getting dark.
The alley Liu Weidong took was quite remote, and rarely did anyone walk through it.
There was hardly anyone around. Occasionally someone would pass by, but no one paid any attention to Liu Weidong.
Liu Weidong was wearing a cotton hat with ear flaps and a thick black padded jacket. With his hands tucked into his pockets, he limped down the street.
He usually drove out, but now, his car had been confiscated by Liu Zhengxing. His leg hurt too much to ride a bicycle, so he could only walk.
Delivering one order today and another the day after tomorrow. One order could earn a hundred yuan, which was equivalent to an ordinary worker's salary for three months.
After wandering around, Liu Weidong actually arrived at the entrance of the train station.
There were quite a few people around the train station, so Qiao Lanshu and the other two didn't have to be sneaky anymore.
The three of them stood across from the train station, watching Liu Weidong talk to a tightly bundled-up man at the entrance.
Afterward, the two of them walked side by side into a certain small alley.
Deng Weijun wanted to keep following, but Wang Xue pulled him back. Wang Xue whispered, "We can't go any further. If we do, they'll spot us."
Qiao Lanshu stared at Deng Weijun along the way; she kept feeling like there was something in Deng Weijun's pocket.
People here liked to walk with their hands tucked into their sleeves.
This was mainly to save fabric. Many padded jackets didn't have pockets, and even if they did, the pockets weren't padded with cotton. They were just a thin layer of cloth, which was quite cold.
Hiding one's hands in the sleeves was much warmer.
But Liu Weidong had kept his hands in his pockets the entire way just now.
What was in his pockets?
Why did that man look so excited when he saw Liu Weidong just now?
Wang Xue pulled back the anxious Deng Weijun and the curious Qiao Lanshu.
As she walked back, she said, "Enough, we really can't go any further. It'll be a disaster if we're discovered. Liu Weidong has strong backing; we absolutely must not clash with him head-on."
Qiao Lanshu naturally knew this, so she silently followed Wang Xue back.
Deng Weijun then said, "Sister, I'm going to pick up Haitang. You and Sister-in-law head back. We'll meet at my cousin's house later."
Wang Xue nodded. "Alright, go ahead. I'll walk Xiao Qiao back first."
Saying that, Wang Xue turned to Qiao Lanshu, "Your Regiment Commander Qin should have arrived at the factory gates by now. Hurry back and find him, otherwise, if he doesn't see you, he'll probably start worrying about you again."
Everyone in the food factory already knew just how much Qin Yuanzheng cared about his wife.
Qiao Lanshu was eager to tell Qin Yuanzheng about Liu Weidong, so feeling a bit anxious, she jogged back to the food factory with Wang Xue.
