Chapter 22

“Gu Qingchuan, what happened to you? Did Grandma kick you out?” Jiang Ci asked curiously as she arrived home after work, seeing Gu Qingchuan squatting at the entrance of her yard with two large bags of clothes and bedding. “What kind of terrible thing did you do to make Grandma this angry?”

She took out her keys to unlock the door. “Aren’t you planning to sleep here tonight?”

Gu Qingchuan remained silent.

“I’m still going to Jiang Dasheng’s place tonight. I cleared my room for Xie Tingyu, so I’ll just put my stuff here now.”

Jiang Ci frowned at the thought of why Gu Qingchuan had to vacate his room for Xie Tingyu. Then, she considered that Grandma Miao’s bedroom had a bed only 1.5 meters wide. If Xie Tingyu squeezed in with them, it could very well make the Xiao Tingxiang catch a cold. That younger sister would probably stay until she got married and would not leave anytime soon.

“Storing your stuff here is fine, but you can’t always stay at Jiang Dasheng’s place, right?”

“I won’t be there for long,” Gu Qingchuan replied, his thoughts drifting to the arranged marriage, causing him to hesitate. “Xiao Ci…”

Jiang Ci had already brought one bag into the house. Hearing his voice, she turned and asked, “What’s wrong? Just say it. Why are you stuttering?”

Gu Qingchuan’s heart raced as he took a deep breath. “Today, Grandma went to propose. Your grandfather, Aunt Wan, and Uncle Cui all agreed, and the wedding date is set for the twelfth day of the first month…”

Jiang Ci was surprised. Grandma Miao was surprisingly quick in her actions. She bounced over to Gu Qingchuan, wrapped her arms around his waist, and smiled up at him. “Gu Qingchuan, I have no objections. So you won’t be avoiding me anymore, right? I think you don’t need to go to Jiang Dasheng’s place; I have two spare rooms here. Why don’t you just sleep here?”

“It’s not appropriate,” Gu Qingchuan said, beads of sweat forming in his palms as he pulled her hands down, his face slightly flushed. “Let’s… let’s wait until after we get married to live together.”

Seeing how nervous he was, Jiang Ci smiled gently and jumped up to peck him on the lips. “That’s fine. It’s only two months anyway.”

Gu Qingchuan’s back stiffened at her kiss. Despite the cool weather, he felt a rush of heat in his chest. Before long, his back was damp with sweat. The room felt stuffy, and he needed to go out for some fresh air. “Uncle Cui wants us to come over. Let’s go.”

“Okay.” This time, Jiang Ci didn’t let go of him, holding onto his hand all the way, their fingers intertwined. Gu Qingchuan silently tightened his grip on her.

—o—o—o—

“Uncle Cui, you wanted to see me?” Gu Qingchuan stood in Cui Pingzhou’s study, feeling unusually awkward for a young man. He was here to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage, unsure of what difficulties his future father-in-law might present.

His grandmother had gone to propose, and although the other party had agreed, Gu Qingchuan knew it wouldn’t be that simple.

Cui Pingzhou’s eyes held a deep meaning as he smiled and said, “Let’s sit down and talk.”

“Do you want to finally shake off the landlord label on your family?” Cui Pingzhou looked at the young man across from him. “Even though the policy has come down, many people still want to suppress your family’s report or even obstruct it.”

Gu Qingchuan had already considered this and knew there would be obstacles. He asked, “Uncle Cui, do you have a good solution?”

Cui Pingzhou pulled out a stack of documents from his desk and pushed them toward Gu Qingchuan. “If you can make a contribution to the G family and earn the title of heroic citizen, then no one will dare to question your family when it comes time to lift the landlord label. What do you say? Are you willing to give it a shot?”

He smiled. “If you succeed, in two months, the pressure weighing on you regarding the land issues will be lifted, and you can bring Xiao Ci home as your bride.”

The conditions were enticing, causing Gu Qingchuan’s blood to boil.

However, the words “encrypted” on the folder made his eyes ache. Gu Qingchuan was no fool. With Cui Pingzhou’s status and the presence of such encrypted documents on the desk, the task he was being asked to undertake was certainly not ordinary. “Uncle Cui, is it really appropriate for you to involve me in such an important matter?”

Cui Pingzhou had all sorts of capable people at his disposal. Did he really need a jobless young man who frequented the black market every night?

Was he trying to set a trap for his future son-in-law?

Cui Pingzhou smiled smugly. “It’s no surprise you’re the son-in-law I’ve chosen…”

“Uncle Cui, you said that last time. Just say what you need me to do. I know I have to do this, whether I like it or not. I won’t be pretentious about it.”

Cui Pingzhou appreciated that the young man understood the situation well. He said, “The southern region has already begun piloting reforms and opening up. With the port open, a smuggling gang has become active again. Before liberation, that group hid a batch of cultural relics in the Ten Thousand Mountains of Qinchuan due to the war. They have smuggled some of them to Zhucheng, and you need to find their leader and intercept those relics before they leave the country.”

Gu Qingchuan was taken aback. His future father-in-law was asking him to take on a huge task.

“Why me?” he asked. With his current status, he felt unworthy of such a mission. If he succeeded, he would earn merit, but if he failed, it would only worsen his situation. The cultural relics… Cui Pingzhou was personally responsible for them, so they must be national treasures.

“A year ago, the outsider you fought at the Heishui River market, Xing Lao San, was a member of that gang. He has heard the rumors about your family being landlords. If you take this along to the south…”

Cui Pingzhou slowly unfurled a piece of artwork. “This is the betrothal gift your grandmother sent over today. You will use this painting to pretend you’re looking for buyers in the south. We will arrange for you to ‘coincidentally’ run into Xing Lao San on the way. When he sees this painting, you need to tell him that you have countless even better paintings and cultural relics at home, luring them into your trap and uncovering their hideout along with that batch of relics.”

Gu Qingchuan realized he had all the advantages on his side. He had met Xing Lao San before, and the latter had heard the rumors about Qincheng. Gu Qingchuan’s family possessed a treasure trove of valuable items. If traced back, this painting could be linked to the wealthy Miao merchants from seventy or eighty years ago, making it entirely reasonable for it to appear in Gu Qingchuan’s possession.

Moreover, if he could mention such priceless Tang Dynasty paintings and call them just an ordinary item in his family’s collection, it would undoubtedly attract the attention of the smuggling gang’s leader.

Yet, the danger was real. Gu Qingchuan wasn’t a trained soldier. Cui Pingzhou seemed to be struggling with this decision. “Gu Qingchuan, you can refuse if you want. Just close the file, walk out of this room, and pretend nothing happened.”

Gu Qingchuan hesitated for only a few seconds before flipping through the encrypted documents. He read them slowly, taking several minutes per page. After finishing, he looked up. “Uncle Cui, I’ll take on this mission. Those relics are national treasures of the G family, and we absolutely cannot allow thieves to smuggle them out of the country.”

“Good,” Cui Pingzhou nodded slightly. “Don’t mention this to Xiao Ci. During your time away, I’ll tell her you went south to help me procure a betrothal gift.”

Gu Qingchuan felt the excuse was a bit flimsy. “Uncle Cui, your reasoning seems a bit exaggerated. Will it really convince her?”

“Why wouldn’t it?” Cui Pingzhou laughed. “I, Cui Pingzhou, am going to the south to arrange for some betrothal gifts, which is perfectly normal.”

Gu Qingchuan was left speechless. “Alright then.”

“Are you not going to take this document back to study it?” Cui Pingzhou asked.

“It’s safer to keep something this confidential in my head,” Gu Qingchuan replied, pointing at his head. “I’ve memorized it all.”

“An excellent memory…” Cui Pingzhou teased, “Yet every time you get to the bamboo forest, you get dizzy and need markers to find your way in. I have my doubts about your memory.”

Had his father-in-law sent someone to follow him? Gu Qingchuan was already feeling crazy, breaking into a cold sweat. “You even know about me raising a few chickens and ducks in the mountains? Please don’t report me.”

“What is there that I don’t know? Are these just the little things you’ve been doing at the Heishui River market? I can’t be bothered with you,” Cui Pingzhou feigned seriousness. “Fortunately, soon they will allow private businesses. As long as you handle this task well, it will all be wiped clean.”

Outside the study, Jiang Ci held up a small gilded brocade box and said, “Mom, why is there no key for this box?” She shook it but didn’t hear anything inside. “Shouldn’t we pry it open and take a look?”

“Absolutely not,” said Director Lu of the Qincheng Museum, rushing forward to stop her. He wore reading glasses on the bridge of his nose and carefully lifted the small box with his hands gloved in nylon.

“Girl, look at the style of this lock; it’s from the Republic of China era. However, the gilded patterns on the box are from the Wei and Jin dynasties. This indicates that the box was opened over a hundred years ago and must contain extremely valuable cultural relics, which is why the owner used such a delicate chain lock to preserve it.”

Jiang Ci felt helpless. In the eyes of the old director, these were priceless cultural relics. She had already discussed with Gu Qingchuan and Dad Cui that apart from the pair of jade bracelets and golden pearls, the other two items—the painting and this gilded box—would be donated to the Qincheng Museum. However, they requested that the museum keep the donor’s name confidential and that it could only be displayed three years later.

The old director was so excited to see these two national treasures that he didn’t know how to express his feelings. He agreed immediately to their requests and, upon learning that Cui Pingzhou needed the painting for a few days, he was pained, making numerous reminders to ensure it was not damaged.

Gu Qingchuan pushed Cui Pingzhou out, and Jiang Ci looked up at the tall young man, her lips pressed together in a happy smile. It felt like a dream; her marriage to Gu Qingchuan was finally settled.

She turned to Director Lu and said, “Director Lu, you can take these two cultural relics back with you tonight.”

The old director was about to speak but recalled that Cui Pingzhou had mentioned not to tell the two ladies about borrowing the painting. He said, “Although you want to remain anonymous with the donation, I still need to prepare a donation certificate for you. In a few days, I will come back with the certificate and some staff. It would be best if Political Commissar Cui could send his men to escort us; these are national treasures, and we cannot afford any mishaps.”

Jiang Ci thought to herself that it was peacetime now; surely no one would be bold enough to rob cultural relics on the road, but it was better to be cautious.

After the old director left, Cui Pingzhou feigned a relaxed demeanor and said, “Xiao Ci, I asked Gu Qingchuan to go to the south to buy some big items for the wedding. It will probably take about half a month.”

Big items? Who was he trying to fool? Jiang Ci felt a little uneasy. “Dad Cui, are you really sending Gu Qingchuan to the south to purchase the betrothal gifts? You’re not joking, are you?” Was it really necessary?

“Qincheng has everything. Are you suggesting that Gu Qingchuan has something else to do there?” She didn’t believe the excuse about buying betrothal gifts at all.

Gu Qingchuan wore an expression that suggested he had been found out and said to Cui Pingzhou, “Uncle Cui, I told you that this excuse wouldn’t fool Xiao Ci. I’ll explain it to her on the way back.”

Cui Pingzhou nodded, “Take your time with your explanation.” This girl was not easy to deceive; he could hide things from Lin Wan, but Jiang Ci would likely see through it.

The two returned to Jiang Ci’s small courtyard. She pushed Gu Qingchuan into the main room, and under the glow of the 25-watt incandescent bulb, she looked at him with eyes that sparkled with curiosity. “You tell me, what did Dad Cui ask you to do?”

Gu Qingchuan sighed as he faced the girl’s relentless questioning and briefly relayed what Cui Pingzhou had told him in the study.

 

—o—o—o—

Schedule of Updates: 2 Chapters every Monday

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