Chapter 98

Huaixian Steel Factory Dormitory

Mister and Mrs. Lu received a package from the Jinling Military District.

The package was small and felt like it contained books.

Lu Daming opened the package and found five comic books inside.

Mrs. Lu wondered, “Why would the second son and his wife send us comic books? Could it be for Xiao Zhen?”

Mr. Lu examined the comic books and said, “Probably not. All five books are the same. If they were buying them, they wouldn’t buy all the same ones.”

Just then, Lu Zhen came over and, seeing the comic books in his grandparents’ hands, shouted excitedly.

“Grandma, Grandpa, are these for me?”

Grandma Lu quickly lifted the books higher and said, “Don’t ruin them. Your second uncle and aunt sent these, and we don’t know if they’re for you yet.”

She wanted to avoid trouble in case the books weren’t for Xiao Zhen and he damaged them.

“Oh,” Mr. Lu found a letter under the books, “there’s a letter here.”

The elderly couple put on their reading glasses to read the letter.

While they were distracted, Lu Zhen wiped his hands on his clothes and carefully flipped through the comic books.

When he reached the title page, he saw the author’s name: Shi Tingyu.

He was in the first grade and recognized the words for “Shi Tingyu.”

If he remembered correctly, his grandparents had mentioned that his second aunt’s name was Shi Tingyu.

He remembered this unfamiliar aunt’s name because it was different from most people’s names.

Nowadays, people are often named things like Daniu, Erniu, Dayan, Eryan, or Ping, Cui, Feng, like his mother, Qin Ping, and his grandmother, Chen Qiaofeng.

When he first heard his second aunt’s name, he thought it was very nice.

Meanwhile, Mister and Mrs. Lu learned from the letter that their daughter-in-law had authored the books, filling them with pride.

Seeing Lu Zhen reading, they didn’t stop him this time and just said, “These books were illustrated by your second aunt. You should cherish them.”

Without looking up, Lu Zhen replied, “I know, Grandma.”

He intended to show off the books to his friends.

Mister and Mrs. Lu didn’t stop Lu Zhen from taking one of the books. They carefully wrapped the remaining books in plastic and stored them in the cabinet.

They initially thought of giving one to their in-laws next time they visited the village but reconsidered, worried that their current situation might make owning a comic book seem inappropriate.

Back home, Lu Zhen proudly showed the comic book to his parents.

When Qin Ping learned that the comic book was illustrated by Shi Tingyu, she was stunned.

Was her sister-in-law that impressive?

Her background was already quite remarkable, and now she could publish books, making Qin Ping feel a bit inferior.

She wondered how she could minimize the gap between herself and her sister-in-law if they returned home for the New Year.

Unaware of her sister-in-law’s feelings, Shi Tingyu was listening to Lu Weiguo talk about Wei Jian’s situation.

Wei Jian had been captured for almost a month, and now, in November, he had finally started talking.

When he sensed he might be exposed, he didn’t return to the research institute but instead tried to flee with some items from a contact point.

The contact point he revealed was the house where the military dogs had found the clues.

Normally, no one stayed there, and messages were placed there in advance.

As someone from the research institute, Wei Jian was closely watched, and using equipment like a radio transmitter would have been too risky, potentially giving him away.

He planned to escape to the United States and abandon his identity as a secret agent for the Nationalist Party in order to fully cooperate with the Americans. But his plan was ruined by Lu Weiguo.

He hadn’t had the chance to transmit the information about Shi Tingyu’s portrait.

The small-time leader they had captured was a spy for the Nationalist Party, who had planned to abandon his identity for his own safety.

In his rush, Wei Jian only managed to grab money and essentials, failing to pass on the information.

When asked why he chose to abandon the Nationalist Party instead of the Americans, Wei Jian explained that with no safe haven left in China for the Nationalist Party, life had become increasingly difficult for their operatives.

Initially, Wei Jian accepted the olive branch from America purely for personal gain, naturally gravitating towards whichever side offered him the most benefits.

If he could successfully escape to America, his good days would begin.

Many people at that time believed that “the moon is rounder abroad.” To them, America represented a developed and wealthy nation.

Shi Tingyu didn’t know how to describe Wei Jian. He was someone who prioritized personal gain above all else and lacked any principles.

She asked Lu Weiguo, “Do you think he might be the one who reported my parents?”

Lu Weiguo thought about the peculiarities surrounding the Shi family’s house when they captured Wei Jian and replied, “I’ll have someone investigate further. Do you know if your parents had any significant research findings?”

Shi Tingyu didn’t know. When she had crossed over to this time, her parents had already been reported, but the military district’s leadership had suppressed it.

Moreover, the original owner’s memories didn’t seem to contain this information.

Thinking about her parents, Shi Tingyu said, “They are both patriotic individuals with strong convictions. Even if they had research findings, they wouldn’t have easily disclosed them to me.”

Reflecting on his elegant yet resolute father-in-law and his gentle yet firm mother-in-law, Lu Weiguo thought his wife’s reasoning made sense.

They would have to wait until the New Year to ask her parents about it.

The fact that the floorboards of the Shi family’s house had been pried up indicated the enemy’s level of interest.

If they couldn’t find anything for a long time, he feared for the safety of his parents-in-law.

He just hoped that these twisted times would end soon, allowing for their rehabilitation so things could be settled.

Just as Lu Weiguo was thinking about when Shi Tingyu’s parents could return, the November 3rd issue of “People’s Daily” published information about the “Counterattack Against Rightist Reversal” campaign, which had gained momentum due to the increasing number of reversals by the end of the year.

This campaign caused further domestic turmoil.

Shi Tingyu knew that the counterattack against the rightist reversal would last until the following spring, but Lu Weiguo didn’t. He tried to comfort her, repeatedly assuring that the Lu family would take good care of her parents.

His words moved Shi Tingyu, leaving her both touched and unsure of how to explain things.

To cheer her up, Lu Weiguo took her to the city’s department store during his break to buy clothes for her parents for the winter.

Seeing this, Shi Tingyu also bought outfits for Mister and Mrs. Lu.

Regarding his married eldest brother’s family, Lu Weiguo said there was no need to buy for them since they were already independent.

However, Shi Tingyu decided to buy a new outfit for Lu Zhen, a wool scarf for her eldest sister-in-law, and a pair of leather shoes for her eldest brother.