Chapter 39.1

After hearing Yin Xiaoman’s words, Old Hua’s face showed a look of confusion, as though there was something he couldn’t quite understand.

But this expression passed quickly, and no one else noticed it clearly.

On the way back, Engineer Ning cautiously asked: “What were you thinking about during the meal? You seemed so focused?”

Old Hua smiled faintly. “I was thinking, your assistant should really be replaced as soon as possible.”

The light-hearted expression on Engineer Ning’s face vanished instantly. “You think I don’t want to replace?”

He let out a bitter laugh. “That Liu Chuang, he’s supposed to be my assistant, but he can’t handle any of the work. He doesn’t care about my personal life. The only thing he’s quick at is taking advantage of small opportunities. He doesn’t show any enthusiasm for anything else. But can I replace him? He comes from a good background, has strong political views, and while he says he’s here to be my assistant, in reality, he’s more like a supervisor…”

“Jinyan!” Old Hua quickly interrupted him, giving him a stern glare. “How old are you, and you still talk like that?”

Engineer Ning immediately blushed with embarrassment. “I was just talking to you, and besides, there’s no one around.” he muttered, lowering his voice.

“There are ears everywhere!” Old Hua scolded softly.

After that, he ended the conversation and changed the subject. “Alright, enough of that. Let me think of a way. The development of the new ship is about to start. The assistant is important. If they’re not up to the task, it’ll delay the work.”

Hearing this, Engineer Ning was immediately happy. “Old Brother, then it all depends on you. If you can get rid of him, that’ll truly be a blessing.”

Seeing him so happy, even starting to babble, Old Hua patted him on the back and couldn’t help but laugh as well.

As they spoke, they arrived at the guesthouse and went to their respective rooms.

When Old Hua was finally alone in his room, he let down all his guard and his face showed a look of bewilderment.

He had not told Engineer Ning the truth earlier. In fact, from the moment he saw the wooden pendant hanging around Yin Xiaoman’s neck, he couldn’t focus on anything else.

All he could think about was that pendant, constantly swaying before his eyes.

He was too familiar with that thing. He had looked at an identical one for decades.

It wasn’t until his wife passed away that he personally took it off her neck and locked it in a box.

So, even from a distance, he would never make a mistake. The pendant on Yin Xiaoman’s neck was exactly the same as the one his wife had worn.

He was even sure that both pendants were made from the same piece of wood!

His wife’s pendant had been brought from her family when they got married.

He had once asked her, with so many pearls, gemstones, necklaces, and pendants in the family, why did she insist on wearing a wooden pendant every day?

That pendant was neither beautiful nor valuable. It wasn’t even made of fine wood—just the most common camphor wood.

But his wife had told him that this was the most precious item among her dowry, because it was made by their father’s own hands.

She said that at the beginning of the war, her father had personally made four wooden pendants, one for each of the siblings. The idea was to give each person something to remember each other by, so that if they were ever forced to part ways, they would still have something to recognize each other with.

Old Hua still remembered how his wife had smiled when she said that. She had smiled so beautifully.

She had teasingly said that her father worried too much, and that he was just overthinking things.

With the Jiang family’s background, there was no way they would ever face such a situation.

At that time, they were young and could not understand the old man’s foresight.

Not long after, war broke out on a large scale, and it lasted for many years.

Not only the Jiang family, but also many large families across the country were forced to break apart. How many families were torn apart, and how many people lost contact with their relatives?

At that time, he and his wife had already gone abroad to study, and because of the war, they couldn’t even return to the country.

They exhausted every means, and in the end, they managed to get her older brother, Jiang Shaohai, out. But her younger brother and younger sister were never heard from again.

Ten years ago, his wife passed away. Before her death, the thing that troubled her most was that she had not been able to find her sister-in-law, that she had failed to fulfill her duty as the eldest sister.

So, when the country made the call, he chose to return to the country without hesitation.

Serving the country was a duty, but fulfilling his wife’s last wish became Old Hua’s pursuit for the rest of his life.

The moment he saw that wooden pendant, Old Hua was almost certain that Yin Xiaoman was a descendant of the Jiang family. But after asking her several questions, his doubts began to grow.

Because the family situation she described had no resemblance whatsoever to the Jiang family.

From her hometown, to her experiences, to the age of her parents… everything was different.

And from the look in her eyes, Old Hua could tell that Yin Xiaoman wasn’t hiding anything deliberately. What she said should have been the truth.

There was definitely something wrong here, but what exactly was it?

Old Hua didn’t know.

So, he could only desperately conceal his thoughts, waiting for an opportunity to investigate further.

At that moment, he was overwhelmed with emotion, his eyes even a little misty.

Nine years. He had been back for nine years!

And finally, he had found a clue.

But no matter how it turned out, he had finally found it, hadn’t he?

As long as there was a lead, he would get to the bottom of this matter!

Since he had told the elderly couple he would go to the county town and asked them to have lunch at Cui Yan’s house, after sending off Engineer Ning and Old Hua, Yin Xiaoman got busy again.

She knew the elderly couple had particular tastes when it came to food, and she also knew that Cui Yan was a good person, except when it came to cooking. Cui Yan tended to be frugal, the kind of person who would use plain water to cook something instead of adding oil.

Worried they might not be able to adapt to that, she decided to prepare the meal at her own home and just have it reheated at Cui Yan’s place at lunchtime.

There were some leftover pork belly that Engineer Ning had brought earlier, so she first stir-fried some onion with the pork. Then she steamed two kinds of rice, along with pumpkin and potatoes.

Next, she went to the backyard to pick a few loofahs, peeled and cut them into pieces, adding them to a mixture of seasoned garlic and oyster sauce. She also went to wash a large portion of previously marinated sea eel, which she separately steamed on plates.

Afterward, she took Da Bao and Erniu, carrying the meat and rice, and headed to Cui Yan’s house.

When Cui Yan saw the three of them entering, carrying plates and bowls, she was taken aback.

After getting to the bottom of what had happened, Cui Yan couldn’t help but laugh and shake her head.

“Is that how you look down on your sister-in-law? What’s this, you bring your own food when you come to my house for a meal? Are you worried I’ll starve your elders, or are you afraid I’ll starve your daughter and son?”

She said with a teasing expression to Yin Xiaoman.

Yin Xiaoman didn’t retort, but instead nodded earnestly as if she fully agreed.

“Yes, I’m really worried you’ll starve our daughter! The boy doesn’t need to worry, he’s sensible. Whatever you give him, Da Bao won’t mind.

But our little girl can’t handle it, she’s a bit spoiled! Don’t let us starve her to tears.”

As she spoke, she reached out and pinched Erniu’s little face.

Erniu didn’t quite understand what her mother meant but knew she was talking about her.

She quickly joined in the fun, nodding along and mimicking her mother by saying: “Yes, our little girl is spoiled, don’t let us starve her to tears!”

Her expression was serious and earnest.

Everyone around couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

Although Cui Yan had been grumbling, deep down she couldn’t help but admit that Yin Xiaoman was thoughtful and generous.

Even though Yin Xiaoman kept saying “please help me.” as if she were taking advantage of her, Cui Yan had to admit that she didn’t take any less than what was rightfully hers.

Looking at all the things Yin Xiaoman had brought, wasn’t each one aimed at improving their lives?

That sea eel—Xiaoman had been reluctant to eat it herself when they caught it, so she had preserved it all.

And now, just to make a meal for them, she brought over such a large chunk! This piece was about a third of the original size, right?

As for the meat, though Cui Yan knew it had been brought by Engineer Ning, if it was salted, wouldn’t it last for many days?

But she stir-fried it all in one go!

In the stir-fried onions with meat, there was even more meat than onions!

It was clear that Yin Xiaoman had noticed that her two boys were lacking in meat and had taken the opportunity to satisfy their cravings!

Although Cui Yan didn’t say anything, she couldn’t help but appreciate the gesture in her heart.

Yin Xiaoman hadn’t expected that just a few words at Cui Yan’s house would solve a major problem for her travel plans!

She had originally planned to hitch a ride with the Kitchen Unit’s car, but Cui Yan told her that the camp’s bicycle was at home.

There probably wouldn’t be anyone using it today, and if she could ride, she was welcome to borrow it.

Had Cui Yan not mentioned it, Yin Xiaoman would never have thought about the bicycle!

She had never ridden a bike herself, but the original owner could!

When she had gone to the county for school, she had learned from her classmates and had always hoped for an opportunity to own one herself.

When Da Bao heard that his mother was borrowing a bicycle, he immediately volunteered to go to the camp to pick it up.

Before long, Qi Feng personally pushed the bicycle back.

After confirming that she could really ride it and watching her try it out for a full lap, he finally handed it over to her.

At first, Yin Xiaoman was a little nervous about riding, but fortunately, she soon became more skilled.

She rode the bike to the county, and this time, with her new experience, she headed straight for the seafood market.

Though she arrived a bit late, she managed to catch the tail end, just before everyone had completely left.

Yin Xiaoman remembered Cui Yan’s repeated instructions and didn’t just walk straight into the alley. Instead, she found a quiet spot first and changed her outfit in the space.

She put on an old military uniform that Shen Qingyun had worn before joining the army, which she had brought from Shuanggui Village, and also wore a wide-brimmed straw hat, the kind that local fishermen commonly wore. Only then did she stroll into the alley.

Although the clothes didn’t fit perfectly, they didn’t attract attention here. After all, most people who came to this place covered themselves up tightly.

Everyone seemed to be trying their best to avoid being recognized.

Looking back now, she realized that back then, when she knew nothing, she had rushed in so recklessly, which must have startled the person.

At that moment, Yin Xiaoman’s goal was still fresh fish and live shrimp.

The incident with the beginning of spring had helped her find an opportunity, which was to exchange seafood for food.

No matter how you looked at it, this was far more economical than simply using silver to buy things.

Although she still had quite a bit of silver, it was always limited. How long could she continue like this?

What if the silver ran out, and they still couldn’t even buy grain? What would she do then?

Since she didn’t want to spend too much, she knew opening up new sources of income had become a priority.