Chapter 99

Qiao Wei waited for six or seven days before taking the receipt for the photos during lunch break to collect the pictures.

The photo studio actually displayed their family portraits of the three of them in the shop window. Not only that, but they also exhibited individual photos of each of them.

It seemed they had become free models for the photo studio.

But in this era, there was no way to assert their rights.

As a state-owned photo studio, displaying their photos was giving them face.

People in this era might even feel happy and proud about it. Yan Lei had quite a smug look when he heard about it.

He was very happy.

However, the photos were indeed well taken. All three of them had happy smiles on their faces.

The family portrait portrayed them as a happy and contented family.

When the photo studio staff saw her, they even said, “It’s you! Have you seen them in the shop window?”

They seemed quite proud of themselves.

There was a clear “be happy for us” vibe.

The times, the peculiarities of the times, Qiao Wei couldn’t help but laugh and cry, she could only tell herself this way.

When she brought the photos home, Yan Lei was indeed very satisfied.

That day, he took down the large frame on the wall.

At this time, every household had such a large frame that could hold many photos and hang on the wall.

By the time Qiao Wei finished drinking water, Yan Lei had already finished rearranging and was rehanging the frame.

Qiao Wei glanced at it and was slightly stunned, “What about the old photos?”

Qiao Wei’s photos.

Yan Lei rehung the frame back on the wall, “I covered them with the new photos.”

He paused for a moment and added, “The new photos look good.”

After hanging it up, he stepped back to admire it, not turning around.

Qiao Wei stood behind him, looking at his back, but didn’t say anything.

Both the Lu family and Captain Li had given their consent, and the marriage between Lu Manman and Captain Li was set.

Lu Manman came from an upright family background, and she herself worked for the town government, so there were no issues whatsoever.

Captain Li directly submitted the marriage application. His company commander, Captain Yan, and the political commissar all signed it, and the two of them obtained their marriage certificate using the introduction letter provided by their units.

Although they were young, with Captain Yan guiding on one side and Lu Manman’s father overseeing on the other, everything proceeded quietly without any fuss.

Yan Lei went to take care of the house-hunting for Captain Li.

In mid-October, the weather started to cool down.

Yan Lei told Qiao Wei, “The verdict has been reached.”

Qiao Wei didn’t say anything, just looked at him.

Yan Lei said, “The evidence is conclusive, and the current law is to execute him by firing squad.”

Qiao Wei’s heart tightened for a moment.

In the end, her understanding of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait was different from that of the people of this era. In the future, propaganda emphasized the blood ties and the unity of the Chinese nation, with various policies aimed at Taiwan.

But in this era, over there was… the enemy.

Yan Lei was a little worried about her and rubbed the back of her neck, “Are you okay?”

Qiao Wei said, “I feel a bit uncomfortable.”

Yan Lei sighed. Qiao Wei liked to make clothes and cushions, and several times she mentioned “that interesting old tailor” to him.

They could be considered acquaintances. People were emotional beings.

Women’s emotions were even more tender.

Yan Lei hugged her tightly, comforting her in a low voice, and cautioned her, “Just tell me about these feelings. Don’t tell anyone else.”

Feeling upset over a spy was definitely politically incorrect.

“I know, you can rest assured,” Qiao Wei nodded.

At this time, the merger of work was basically completed, and the county government of Yongming was rebranded as Bocheng.

The towns of Qingshan and Xiahekou also changed their signs and became Qingshan District and Xiahekou District of Bocheng.

The secretaries and mayors of the towns became secretaries and mayors of the districts.

But the people were still the same people.

The next day, when she arrived at the office, Secretary Meng also approached Qiao Wei and said, “The results have come out over there. Fix up the manuscript and send it to the city.”

Qiao Wei wrote the final fate of the spy into the manuscript and submitted it to Secretary Meng.

Secretary Meng took a look and asked, “Do you still need to use a pseudonym?”

The report said, “A child named Qiangqiang (pseudonym) noticed something wrong after watching a movie and remembered…”

Qiao Wei said, “People here are too curious. Once they know who it is, they might all go and take a look. And some people might say weird things.”

It was a mother’s protection for her child. Secretary Meng understood, “True. Let it be like this.”

This report caused a sensation as soon as it was published. Because the new movie was already very popular due to its suspenseful storyline. Who would have thought that the events in the movie were happening in real life, and someone had managed to expose a real spy around them after watching it.

Still just a child.

This is even more dramatic than the movie! It’s so captivating!

The newspaper even included a photo of the old tailor, with his hands tied behind his back, a wooden sign hanging around his neck, with the words “executed by firing squad”.

It was a photo of the execution.

Qiao Wei remained silent for a long time, gently placing the newspaper back on the shelf.

The spy was executed, and the informant captain discharged from the army. Before others could even react, Captain Li had already moved in.

The furniture for cadres was provided by the unit, according to their rank. There were a few pieces of furniture added by the previous owner, a captain. Since Captain Li was only a lieutenant, there was an excess of furniture. The logistics personnel turned a blind eye and didn’t bother reclaiming them.

Although Captain Li and Lu Manman had obtained their marriage certificate, they hadn’t held a wedding ceremony yet and still interacted like they were courting.

The Lu family was also preparing dowry, sewing several large quilts.

Captain Li had a carpenter repair the furniture in the house and repainted them.

At this time, conditions were such that they couldn’t afford all new furniture provided by the government. However, after refurbishing and repainting them, they looked almost new and quite decent.

They also purchased a few new items. Soft furnishings such as towel racks and various kitchenware were all new. The new thermos, basin, and spittoon were all printed with the character “double happiness”.

They bought five or six new outfits for Lu Manman, showing great generosity. Although they hadn’t held the wedding yet, Captain Li gave Lu Manman twenty yuan and cloth vouchers for the month. “I’ll give you twenty yuan every month from now on. The cloth vouchers are all for you to use.”

He also quietly told her, “Once we move in, all the money I save will be under your management.”

He took the opportunity to hold Lu Manman’s hand.

Although they had obtained their marriage certificate, they hadn’t held the wedding yet, giving them a sense of sneaky excitement. Lu Manman blushed but didn’t pull her hand back, allowing him to hold it.

Sweet and warm.

Yan Lei indeed received another Third-Class Merit Medal for this matter. He also received a bonus after the commendation meeting.

The report of the old tailor immediately sparked a wave of excitement. Tickets for the movie “Secret Blueprint” became especially difficult to buy, as they were often booked by units. Various units organized collective viewings for their employees, and afterwards, they were required to write reviews for evaluation and competition.

The movie was made to promote anti-espionage efforts, and its immediate impact was astonishing.

In late October, the People’s Daily also published the story, publicly praising the child named “Qiangqiang”. The influence of the incident began to spread nationwide.

Primary and secondary schools across the country started a trend of learning from “Qiangqiang” children.

Children would often peek around corners on the streets and alleys, or eavesdrop under neighbors’ walls, hoping to emulate “Qiangqiang” and make it into the newspapers. This led many couples to occasionally open their windows to see if there were any children lurking under their windows, to prevent them from hearing things they shouldn’t.

Qiao Wei didn’t like this atmosphere. As someone from the future who valued privacy, she couldn’t stand being spied on.

Fortunately, their courtyard walls were quite high, and being in a military family area made things much better.

But the residents of the town were overwhelmed.

However, at this time, it wasn’t the future, and the country had only been founded for a little over a decade, so there were indeed many spies.

Without even mentioning how many spies were uncovered nationwide, just in the town of Xiahekou, they actually caught a second spy.

This man was in his forties, having left as a young man and returned as an adult. Although his parents had passed away, he was already married with children and had some relatives in the town and the countryside.

No one could have guessed he was a spy.

He was reported by his own child.

The child occasionally heard “tick-tock, tick-tock” sounds at night. The movie projectionist had come to town to show “Secret Blueprint”, and coupled with the waves of anti-espionage propaganda in the town, the child became suspicious.

With fervor, the child reported his own father.

One catch after another.

As a military settlement area, Xiahekou Town had indeed attracted the attention of the enemy.

During this time, most of the covert enemy spies caught nationwide were found around military buildings, military areas, or near ports.

The enemy’s hostility towards us never died.

This was when the importance of propaganda was truly evident. Because of a movie, the nation’s vigilance against espionage reached unprecedented heights. Many enemies lurking among the people were exposed.

Of course, many remained undiscovered and dared not make any rash moves, choosing to stay hidden even deeper.

This problem persisted into the future.

Among all the children, the most notable was, of course, “Qiangqiang”.

Several newspapers called to inquire about “Qiangqiang”, hoping to interview this child.

There weren’t many people who knew who “Qiangqiang” was, all of them kept their mouths shut.

Secretary Meng, being aware of Qiao Wei’s protective attitude towards children, didn’t immediately agree but instead asked for her opinion.

“Secretary, your grandson also attends kindergarten. What would you do if it were him?” Qiao Wei asked.

Secretary Meng replied, “This matter needs to be considered from both macro and micro perspectives.”

Qiao Wei continued, “He’s still young. Excessive praise could mislead his understanding of the situation. As someone with children at home, you must know what children are like. If he cleans a room, and you praise him too much, he’ll want to clean the entire street.”

“On a macro level, achieving results by mobilizing the masses to expose spies is inevitable. But for an individual acting independently, discovering enemy spies is purely accidental. This randomness cannot be replicated.”

“I don’t want my child to be wrongly influenced, living every day in suspicion and being watched by people around him.”

Secretary Meng rejected all the requests from the newspapers.

But one day, he told Qiao Wei, “Don’t bring the child here for the next few days.”

The journalists were quite skilled, and eventually, someone managed to inquire about “Qiangqiang’s” identity and planned to directly come to the county committee’s kindergarten for an interview.

Fortunately, with Secretary Meng’s advance notice, Qiao Wei had kept Yan Xiang at Sister Yang’s place for a few days, causing the journalists to come up empty-handed and leave disappointed.

Sister Yang didn’t quite understand. She thought it was a glorious thing, so why not let the child appear in the newspaper? This was clearly something that could be recorded in the family history.

But she stopped saying anything after another spy in the town was reported and executed by his own biological child.

She just sighed.

After all this time, the street finally found a young new tailor.

The tailor shop reopened for business.