Chapter 10 – An Minglang

The return train ride was incredibly lively.

The train tickets were purchased by Qin Lie through a contact. They were soft sleeper tickets, and the four of them happened to occupy one compartment.

Qi Beizheng was even more talkative than Ping’an. As long as either of them initiated a topic, the two of them would chat non-stop the entire day. Neither was willing to let the conversation drop for even a moment!

Qin Lie silently pondered who on earth had brought up Qi Beizheng—how was someone this talkative allowed to remain like this?

His own son was also a bit too noisy. So noisy, in fact, that he could now understand why his late father-in-law once tried to get Minghua drunk.

An Minghua lay on the upper bunk, eyes closed, her consciousness entering the space.

She was strolling through an empty grand marketplace.

The market was massive. It was precisely because of this that she hadn’t stocked up on daily necessities, rice, flour, grains, or oils in Guangcheng—everything was available here in the market.

Past the bookstall where she had once been stabbed to death in the novel, was the general goods area. On both sides of the road were stalls selling pots and pans, hoes and rakes, brooms and bamboo baskets, seeds, shoe repairs, and key duplication…

Past the general goods section was the snack area: lamb soup with fried flatbread, deep-fried dough sticks with tofu pudding, fried chicken and skewers, meat buns… even cookware was on sale. If An Minghua wanted to, she could use the equipment there to continue cooking.

The meat and seafood vendors were adjacent, vegetables and fruits faced each other across the road, and rice, flour, grains, and oil were next to the “everything for two yuan” section. Pastries, candies, and miscellaneous goods faced off in friendly rivalry.

The clothing area took up a huge space. Next to it were the fabric and synthetic leather stalls. In modern times, people bought fabric to make bedsheets, while artificial leather was usually taken home to cover heated brick beds.

Across from the fabric stalls were cotton vendors and cotton fluffing services. A bit farther on were stalls selling shoes and undergarments.

Interspersed among them were vendors selling New Year’s cakes, sugar-roasted chestnuts, and candied hawthorns… The more An Minghua wandered, the more confident she felt—everything needed for daily life could be found here. It was even more complete than a Supply and Marketing Cooperative!

“Dear passengers, dear passengers, we have arrived at our next stop. This train has now reached its final destination…”

An Minghua vaguely heard the announcement and withdrew her consciousness from the space.

Qi Beiguo let out a dramatic sigh: “Finally here. Brother Qin, Sister An, where are you two headed?”

“Going to the guesthouse first to settle down.”

Qin Lie had never felt like he had no place to stay in the provincial capital. After all, he had grown up in the An family home. Even Grandfather Qin would stay with the An family whenever he came back to the provincial capital—he never even considered buying his own place.

Back when he married An Minghua, he never had thoughts like “it’s inappropriate to live with the in-laws.” But now that the old An residence had been confiscated, coming back really did feel somewhat inconvenient.

“Yo, I thought this was where our paths would part, didn’t expect we’d still be traveling together. Little Ping’an, are you happy?”

“Happy, Uncle Beiguo! The guesthouse has freshly baked mini cakes, they’re super tasty! You have to try them.”

An Minghua glanced at Qin Lie. This personality of Ping’an—recommending food to everyone he met—definitely did not come from her!

With the introduction letter in hand, they booked a room at the guesthouse. As soon as the family of three dropped off their luggage, they headed out. “Let’s go find Second Brother first.”

An Minglang was cleaning toilets at his workplace.

When they found him, the young man who used to always wear a Zhongshan suit and carried himself with striking elegance was now dressed in a dull, gray outfit, head down, busily working.

“Little Uncle.”

“Aiyo! Look who’s back—gotten chubbier, little Ping’an!”

An Minglang looked up, his eyes bright and spirited. He first looked toward An Minghua and saw her standing there with a healthy flush on her cheeks.

Only then did he shift his gaze to Qin Lie, giving him a once-over from head to toe. “Not bad. All limbs intact. Our Hua Hua doesn’t need to remarry after all.”

Ever since learning of Qin Muhan’s little scheme, Qin Lie had become particularly sensitive to the word “remarry.”

“Second Brother wanting your sister to marry again—you’ll never live to see that day.”

An Minglang didn’t get angry. He just let out a sneering laugh. “You brat. If you make Hua Hua worry like that again, just try it and see what happens.”

“Let’s go. I’m done with my shift. Let’s find a place to talk.”

They turned into an alley. At the mouth of the alley, by the gate of a small courtyard, sat a young man weaving rattan baskets. When he saw An Minglang arrive, he immediately stood up and limped over, hurriedly gathering up the rattan strips.

“Brother Lang is here!”

As the group entered the courtyard, the young man closed the gate halfway and sat himself within the doorway. He resumed weaving the basket half-heartedly, but his eyes remained vigilant, listening for any movement outside.

“This place was something I bought years ago.” said An Minglang. “Ah Zhong has always lived here to watch over the house. Now, everyone on the outside just thinks this place belongs to Ah Zhong.”

An Minglang held Ping’an in his arms and led An Minghua and Qin Lie into the east wing.

“You don’t need to worry about Mom and Dad.” he said.

Once inside, he took a bag of beef jerky from the cabinet and handed it to Ping’an for him to gnaw on.

“Back then, Dad got caught up in suspicion because of Uncle Lu. People were questioning Uncle Lu’s purity, saying he had overly close ties with Dad, who was labeled a capitalist.”

An Minghua understood exactly who he meant by “Uncle Lu.”

Back when her father, An Tingbai, was a prominent red capitalist, the person initially tasked with contacting him was Uncle Lu—Lu Qiaosheng. After the liberation, Lu Qiaosheng was reassigned to a regional government post, starting off with a rather high rank.

The smooth progress of the public-private partnership in the provincial capital back then owed much to the mutual understanding between An Tingbai and Lu Qiaosheng.

“But they couldn’t get anything out of Mom and Dad.” An Minglang continued. “So they searched our house—”

He smiled broadly at An Minghua, his lips curling with satisfaction.

“Not only did they find nothing incriminating, they discovered that although we were capitalists, we lived a frugal life. They even found receipts showing Dad’s donations to support the rear lines.

Because of that, more people started speaking up. Uncle Lu’s situation is now much clearer, and Mom and Dad should be released soon. But given our background, we’ve already discussed it—we’ll voluntarily apply for reallocation once they’re out.”

Both An Minghua and Qin Lie understood—this was the wisest choice.

Qin Lie thought for a moment. “There’s a reclamation farm in Lehe City, adjacent to Hengshi. It’s right on the border between the two cities.”

“That’s the place I was looking at too!” An Minglang grinned and turned to An Minghua. “You just focus on living your life with Qin Lie. Mom, Dad, and I will follow you there. We won’t let you be too far from us. If you miss us, just come home anytime.”

“Alright, that’s all for now. I’ve got to get back.” An Minglang stood up and pulled out a cloth bundle from the cabinet, tossing it to Qin Lie.

“It’s just one old ginseng root. You’re in this sorry state—hurry up and recover, so you can take proper care of my sister!”

“You two don’t need to worry about things on our end anymore. If there’s nothing else you need to handle in the provincial capital, then hurry up and go settle your own household.” An Minglang waved them off. “Once we’ve gotten things sorted here, we’ll write to you!”

“Brother… you’re not going to ask me anything?” An Minghua pursed her lips and asked.

“Ask what?” Though An Minglang’s words were addressed to An Minghua, his deeply meaningful gaze turned toward Qin Lie.

“Hua Hua having skills is a good thing. As for how she got them or who taught her—no one needs to dig that deep.”

“But.” he added with a smirk: “that Rolex of mine—you better keep it in the safest place. Don’t let it get found!”