Chapter 89 Celebration

Chapter 89 Celebration

Hearing that Jing Ji had made a safe exit, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

With the loss of both Jing Ji and Yang Liu, their group's operations would inevitably need adjustments.

Ms. Guan had originally planned to promote Cui Yuan to replace Yang Liu, but now she hesitated.

She asked Zhao Zhiao, "Just now we talked about Cui Yuan. Do you think we should keep an eye on him a bit longer?"

Zhao Zhiao replied, "Jing Ji recruited and handled Cui Yuan. Now that Jing Ji has left Hong Kong, we can't confirm how much Cui Yuan knew about us before. This mission solely involved hijacking a ship and didn't touch on Long Jing. So how did Cui Yuan know Long Jing's identity? Did Jing Ji inform him? Otherwise, why was he tailing Long Jing and showing up in the monitoring room? Though we can't confirm if he's compromised, we should still be cautious."

At this point, caution was indeed necessary. Ms. Guan nodded, "Cui Yuan submitted an application to join the party. I'll have him wait a little longer, using the excuse that Jing Ji, who introduced him, can't sign for him temporarily."

Zhao Zhiao agreed, "Yes, let him wait. After all, Cui Yuan's background is as a Nationalist spy, which is too sensitive. Get Guang Touli to tell him to wait. Though we're desperate for talent, we shouldn't act hastily."

"Alright. Then who do you think should take over Yang Liu's duties?"

Zhao Zhiao thought for a moment, "Liang Yue might work. She's currently operating under the alias Qian Zhenzhen, working as a nurse in a hospital and also as Zhao Lixiang's rehabilitation trainer. When Zhao Lixiang returns home, Liang Yue will come regularly for his rehabilitation training, making it easy for her to move in and out of here."

Ms. Guan agreed, "Then we'll have Liang Yue take over Yang Liu's duties. The four people from Yang Liu's side will now be managed by Liang Yue. Cui Yuan will be contacted by Guang Touli."

"It's decided then."

After sitting down, Zhao Zhiao added, "I'll arrange to retrieve Yang Liu's body as a relative and have it cremated at the funeral home. I'll handle the police. This is Hong Kong, not Nationalist territory, so the Secret Service Bureau can't interfere."

Their greatest asset and stroke of luck was having a Hong Kong tycoon as their backer.

Luckily, we had you and Yufan on our side," Ms. Guan expressed her gratitude. "Without you two, we might've been wiped out entirely and couldn't have completed such a daunting task. By the way, Yufan, how did you explain this to Lin Fifth Master?"

Lin Yufan, who had been silent until now, finally spoke, "I didn't go into details, just said that Zhi Ao needed it for business competition. He paid two thugs to snatch Second Young Master Li for over ten minutes, and the thugs fled before the police arrived. Other than successfully luring Third Young Master Li away from the airport, there was no fallout."

"That's good."

It was late, well past eleven at night. After Ms. Guan left, Lin Yufan and Zhao Zhiao had some food before resting.

The next morning, they learned from the radio that not just three planes carrying important supplies had flown to Tianjin the previous night.

A total of twelve defected pilots had participated in the uprising, flying twelve planes resolutely towards Tianjin and Beijing.

This caused a huge sensation in the military, political, and civilian circles.

Only then did Lin Yufan realize that this was the famous Two Airlines Uprising.

In her previous life, the Two Airlines Uprising had occurred in December. Perhaps her appearance had changed the timeline, prompting the uprising to be completed earlier.

*

The next day, Lin Yufan went to the newspaper office for a regular meeting.

After the meeting, Wang Muxun came to her office.

"President..."

Lin Yufan was looking at a manuscript. She looked up, "Wang Muxun, I was just about to look for you. Thank you for calling me last night."

Wang Muxun obviously hadn't rested well. He looked exhausted, his face paler than usual.

"I don't want to live there anymore. I want to move back to Sister Hong's place; it's more convenient for work."

Lin Yufan looked at Wang Muxun, feeling something was off, "What happened?"

Wang Muxun whispered, "Last night really freaked me out."

In these turbulent times, it shouldn’t be such a big deal for a grown man like Wang Muxun to see a man with a gun rushing into an alley.

Unless he saw something even more horrifying.

Lin Yufan had a hunch and asked softly, "Did you follow them?"

"I followed them and saw them killing people like slicing through tofu—it totally freaked me out. I didn’t expect the bearded guy to die; in my dreams, he was doing just fine..." Wang Muxun suddenly realized he'd slipped up and quickly covered, "In my dreams, he was doing just fine. Who would’ve thought this time... he’d just killed an opponent when another guy rushed in. He even pleaded with the guy to save him, but they just pulled out a gun and blasted him."

So Wang Muxun had seen the whole thing go down—Yang Liu and Long Jing being killed.

Lin Yufan couldn’t help but ask, "Where’d you hide?"

"I was crouched outside the window. After I called you last night, I thought I’d sneak a peek, but before I got there, I heard gunshots from inside. I rushed over and saw the bearded guy take out a middle-aged man, and he was all bloodied up himself. The guy who showed up later must’ve been his enemy—he called the bearded guy out for betraying him and took him out without a second thought."

Enemy?

Lin Yufan slightly frowned: "The guy who killed Long Jing said he’d betrayed him? What’d they say?"

Wang Muxun recalled seriously: "The bearded guy pleaded with the guy who came in to save him, and the guy who came in retorted, 'Why should I save you? For selling me out?' Then he took the bearded guy out."

The guy who came in and killed Long Jing had to be Cui Yuan.

Did Long Jing betray Cui Yuan? When? Where?

Lin Yufan quickly called Zhao Zhiao and filled him in on what Wang Muxun had seen. Zhao Zhiao had someone bring over a photo of Cui Yuan, and Wang Muxun confirmed it was him who killed the bearded guy.

Once they had this info, Zhao Zhiao and Ms. Guan were even less likely to trust Cui Yuan easily, but to avoid arousing his suspicion, they still kept him on as usual.

*

Zhao Jingxiu was admitted to the law program at Hong Kong University and will start in September.

Although Zhao Zhiao had pulled some strings behind the scenes, she still had to pass the basic cultural courses to be admitted, so it was also due to her own efforts.

Today, Zhao Lixiang was discharged from the hospital and returned home, so the Zhao family garden was bustling with activity.

Lin Yufan got up and handed the manuscript she wrote yesterday to Tie Long, asking him to send it out by registered mail.

This was a long novel she wrote under the pen name Gu Pingan for *Splendor*, titled *Beiping Story*, which had been serialized for two issues and was quite popular.

With nothing else to do, she lay on the chaise lounge reading an English book on childcare.

The radio was on as usual, playing opera followed by news.

The broadcast was covering the liberation of Changsha and Fuzhou.

The footsteps of liberation were getting closer to Hong Kong, and the radio hosts were no longer as calm as before.

Although the local news media regularly blasted the Nationalist Party and cursed Chiang, it was mainly out of frustration with their incompetence and lack of progress.

Media heavily influenced by Western capital still largely portrayed the Communist Party as a monster, equating liberation with communism, which made all property owners feel insecure.

Some even worried whether the People's Liberation Army would take the opportunity to reclaim Hong Kong while liberating the south.

The British government recently deployed a large number of warships and troops from elsewhere, stationed off the Pearl River estuary and along the Shenzhen River.

Gui Xiang, who was tidying up the cabinet nearby, worried, "Will there be a fight here then?"

No one wants war; bullets and cannons don't have eyes, what if they land on you?

Lin Yufan comforted her, "No, there won't be any fighting here. Even if there is, there's no need to worry. The People's Liberation Army doesn’t harm civilians."

Seeing her mistress so calm, Gui Xiang also felt reassured, "That's true. After all, unlike the Japanese army, our own Chinese army, at the very least, won't bomb civilians indiscriminately."

As they were chatting, Zhao Jingxiu came up to find Lin Yufan.

After getting into college, Zhao Jingxiu relaxed and put on a little weight. She stood at the door with a big smile, "Feel like playing mahjong?"

Lin Yufan, who hadn't played mahjong for several days, felt the itch, "Who's playing?"

"The same four of you, I'll bet on a horse," Zhao Jingxiu was clever. She always lost when playing mahjong, so she chose to bet on a horse instead, which might win her some money.

Lin Yufan set down her book and told Gui Xiang to grab the money bag, then went downstairs to play mahjong.

In the mahjong room, Lin Yufan played mahjong with her fifth sister-in-law and two of the concubines, while Zhao Jingxiu bet on a horse.

In the first round, after everyone took their tiles, Zhao Jingxiu drew the last tile. She had bet on Dai Ruyin.

She quietly sat behind Lin Yufan.

Chen Dandan asked Zhao Jingxiu, "Where’s your mom? Why isn’t she around?"

Zhao Jingxiu replied, "She went to the hospital with Aunt and Cousin Kang Nian to get Second Brother."

Geng Dongping sighed, "Second Young Master has lost a lot of weight. He should take care of himself when he gets back."

Chen Dandan spoke more directly, "I think it’ll be tough to recover. He was hurt by that woman, Ms. Ji, and the psychological burden must be heavy. You need a relaxed mind to gain weight. With such a burden, it's hard not to lose weight."

Lin Yufan didn't comment. She saw her fifth sister-in-law play a 'one of bamboo' and put down two tiles, "Pong."

Then she played a 'five of bamboo.'

"Five of bamboo? I’ll take that! I win!" Dai Ruyin laughed as she put down her tiles.

Zhao Jingxiu jumped up happily, "Wow, I win too. I bet on Fifth Sister-in-law to win! Pay up!"

Chen Dandan glanced and was slightly unhappy about having to pay two points, "Fifth Sister-in-law Lin, your tiles are so good, why go for such a small win?"

Dai Ruyin was a contented person, "A small win is still a win. I might not have been able to get a pure hand."

Everyone paid Dai Ruyin and Zhao Jingxiu. Geng Dongping complimented, "Fifth Sister-in-law Lin, your Haicheng dialect is so sweet and pleasant."

"Oh," Dai Ruyin felt embarrassed by the praise, "We can't help but have accents when we speak."

"Accents are nice. Madam also speaks softly, but her Mandarin is more standard." Geng Dongping flattered both of them at once.

Lin Yufan, who was being flattered, smiled without speaking.

Dai Ruyin spoke for her, "Yufan's mother is from old Beijing. Her Mandarin is definitely the most standard."

As they played mahjong and chatted, Dai Ruyin had a good start but kept losing money afterward.

Lin Yuwu had recently negotiated with Desheng Real Estate and Hong Kong Airport for compensation of two shops. One of the shops Lin Yufan gave to Dai Ruyin, who was now in a very good mood.

With such a considerate and generous sister-in-law looking out for her, losing money didn't matter, and she still laughed happily.

Around noon, Zhao Lixiang returned, and with him came Liang Yue.

As a rehabilitation therapist, Liang Yue would basically come every day from now on to give Zhao Lixiang rehabilitation training.

To make it easier for wheelchairs to get in and out, the steps of the big villa were redesigned.

Ms. Guan assigned two male attendants to look after Zhao Lixiang’s daily needs.

Everyone gathered at the door to greet him. Zhao Lixiang had shed thirty to forty pounds, looking so gaunt his chest nearly met his back.

He was mortified and uncomfortable, sitting in the wheelchair with his head bowed, silent.

Lin Yufan and Liang Yue shared a knowing smile. Lin Yufan welcomed her, saying, "Miss Qian, we’ll be relying on you from here on out."

Liang Yue smiled and replied, "Mrs. Zhao, you’re too generous. It’s my duty—it’s what I’m here for."

Wang Junyao sincerely thanked Liang Yue, "Thankfully, with Miss Qian’s help, we wouldn’t have known when our Lixiang would be able to sit up again."

She’d even prepared a lavish gift for Liang Yue, insisting she take it.

Gui Xiang, sharp-eyed and always in the know, waited until after lunch when the crowd had thinned out. She then quietly told Lin Yufan, "I overheard one of Hui Lan’s maids saying the eldest lady’s taken a shine to Nurse Qian, and the second young master listens to her too."

Lin Yufan had just gotten up from her nap. She looked in the mirror and, upon hearing Gui Xiang’s words, felt somewhat speechless. "Stop spreading gossip. Miss Qian is a professional nurse we’ve hired, not some nanny for the second young master. Don’t tarnish her reputation."

Gui Xiang said, "Oh," and then added, "But what if it happens?"

Haven’t there been plenty of cases where people’ve turned their lives around and climbed the social ladder?

Lin Yufan asked, "Didn’t you hear what I just said?"

"Understood." Gui Xiang smiled and chose to remain silent.

After waking up, Lin Yufan didn’t see Zhao Zhiao and couldn’t help but ask, "Where’s Zhi Ao? Did he go out?"

Gui Xiang replied, "The son-in-law’s in the study."

Lin Yufan went to the study to find Zhao Zhiao, and coincidentally, Ms. Guan was also looking for him.

Lately, there’s been no movement on any front. They had doubts about whether the late Long Jing was really the Eagle, and whether Cui Yuan’s loyalty was genuine. With no new assignments, their approach was simple—if the enemy stays still, so do we.

Everything was under close watch, behind the scenes.

Ms. Guan told Zhao Zhiao, "Liang Yue’s code name’s been set—it’s ‘Bauhinia.’"

The underground party used code names to avoid being overheard, which could put their lives in danger.

Zhao Zhiao nodded, "Bauhinia… got it."

Ms. Guan added, "There’s more good news—the founding ceremony’s set for October 1st in Beiping. There might be public reports about it in the next couple of days."

This was a great event!

Previously, there had been various news about the preparations for the "People’s Republic of China," and today it was finally confirmed.

The new China was about to arrive. Zhao Zhiao was slightly excited and said happily, "We’ve got to raise a glass tonight to celebrate."

Lin Yufan suddenly realized that although she hadn’t changed much with the establishment of the new China, she had still contributed in some way. She smiled and said, "Perfect timing—tonight we’re celebrating Jingxiu getting into university, and the family’s got wine ready."

They could openly raise their glasses to celebrate!

Zhao Zhiao suddenly asked Ms. Guan, "What’s the next arrangement for Geng Dongping and Chen Dandan?"

Ms. Guan replied, "I’ve already asked for orders on whether to send them to Beiping. We’re just waiting to hear back from the organization."