Chapter 73

Chapter 73

By the time Feng Xia returned laden with bags again, the comrade at the co-op who'd been watching her stuff was totally numb. How much stuff had this girl bought? Man, she sure spends like water!

Feng Xia borrowed a pair of scissors and cut a large piece from the roll of blue cotton cloth, planning to send it to Zhang Ling to make her some clothes. and two pieces of yellow fabric—one for Feng Jinlian, one for Feng Jingui, a few hair ties for them, three tins of clam oil balm, two pairs of shoes, and another large bag of candy. She carried these to the post office across from the cooperative and mailed them back home. Mailing things from the city to the countryside was cheap, and they would arrive around the day after tomorrow.

The rest was for herself, including some for the elderly professors, and a portion for Old Lady Wu. All sorts of odds and ends filled a large bag, which rendered Lin Feihu, there to pick her up, totally speechless.

Lin Feihu's baby face scrunched up in a frown and said, "Why'd you buy so much junk? You're still young. You should save your money for later, maybe buy a house in the city."

Feng Xia looked at him appreciatively, surprised that Lin Feihu had such foresight. She nodded and said flatly, "The country will definitely allocate me a house in the future, so don't worry. As for you, you should buy a house first if you have the money. Money loses value fast, but property doesn't."

Lin Feihu thought about it. What Feng Xia said made sense. With her skills, the country was happy to support her. Although he didn't understand what she meant about money losing value, he knew that following the words of a smart person wouldn't lead him astray. He secretly resolved to buy a house soon and move his mother and sister to the city, where he could feel more at ease.

Many years later, Lin Feihu, now holding several properties, would be immensely grateful to Feng Xia. Good thing he'd latched onto her gravy train!

The two of them finished the training and went back, had no idea what a storm the electric baton had stirred up in Antai City.

Chen Mu was a demobilized soldier assigned as a captain in the city's armed forces department. After their leader returned from a meeting, he brought back three electric shock batons. With limited supply and high demand, it was natural for the captains to get priority.

Fortunately, Chen Mu passed the assessment. He had studied for a few years and was currently attending night school. At this moment, that's when his advantage really shone through.

Actually, Chen Mu still found it hard to believe that such a small device could have so much power. But he didn't have time to think about it. He had just received a report: two criminal gangs were fighting on the outskirts of the city, causing a big disturbance. The leadership had ordered Chen Mu to take his men and quickly intervene.

Every time these criminal gangs clashed, there were many casualties, and sometimes even deaths. The higher-ups were at their wit's end. The gang members had guns and numerical superiority. The armed forces were undermanned, making it easy to fail in an arrest and even be killed instead. Chen Mu's heart tightened, but his face remained impassive as he led his men to the scene.

Someone had already spotted the armed forces' vehicle. The criminals understood the principle that "a dragon is no match for a snake in its own lair" and dared not confront the armed forces head-on. They scattered like the tide receding, except for one man, half his body stained with blood, holding a knife against a young girl's neck, his expression wild.

Chen Mu dared not provoke him. He voluntarily removed his gun from his waist and threw it to the ground, offering to swap himself for the hostage. The criminal was persuaded by Chen Mu and agreed to the exchange, but he made Chen Mu strip off his shirt. Chen Mu agreed, stone-faced. Suddenly, the thug's eagle eyes spotted the bulge in Chen Mu's pocket. He shouted angrily, "What the hell have you got in there? Take it out, or I'll kill her!"

Chen Mu raised one hand high while slowly pulling out the "toy" with the other. His voice was low: "A toy I bought for my son."

The criminal saw the crude "little toy" and dismissed it with contempt. He had Chen Mu's hands tied and then proceeded with the exchange. The moment the knife was pressed against Chen Mu's neck, the electric shock baton touched the criminal's arm. The second setting kicked in instantly, and the thug crumpled to the ground with a thud. The crisis was resolved.

"Huff, huff, huff."

A cut was inevitably made on Chen Mu's neck—just a shallow cut that barely broke the skin, beading with a speck of blood. It was a very minor injury.

This usually stern man now had a smile on his lips, radiant as the morning sun.

Once the electric shock batons were distributed, various departments received numerous reports of success. This thing was a real crime-buster. With them, subduing criminals became much easier.

Wan Fulin held the reports from various localities and laughed heartily: "Good, good, truly good! Our lives are definitely gonna keep getting better." He picked up a piece of red bean cake, soft and fragrant with the dense aroma of red beans, and chewed it, finding it right up his alley—especially since Feng Xia gave it to him—made it taste even better.

The electric shock baton stirred up a storm, but life for Feng Xia was still peaceful and quiet. As she read through materials, she wondered whether the package she had sent had reached the Feng family.

Indeed, the Feng family back in Daba Village had indeed gotten a package. Zhang Ling had brought it back from the town, and it was addressed to her. Receiving a package in the countryside was a rare event, so a crowd gathered, eager to see what had been sent.

When they opened it, the first thing they saw was a piece of paper with a few lines of writing. Feng Jinlian and her sister had recently learned a number of characters with Wu Hongxia, and they stumbled through reading it aloud.

"Aunt and Sis Jinlian and Sis Jingui, I got you some stuff, including fabric. Make yourselves some clothes to wear."

As soon as she finished reading, the surrounding people broke out in exclamations. It was actually from Feng Xia!

They opened the package to find a roll of fine blue cotton cloth, two pieces of bright yellow fabric—so soft to the touch—two pairs of shoes, which were trendy sneakers, several red hair ties, and a bag of candy. Feng Jinlian and Feng Jingui couldn't take their eyes off the yellow fabric; it was something no girl could resist.

The villagers looked on with envy, wishing Feng Xia were their own daughter. A newlywed woman who didn't understand asked why she was sending things to her aunt instead of her own mother, and someone pulled her aside and filled her in.

"Geez, how could she be so mean to her own daughter! No wonder the girl doesn't care about her own parents."

The astonished praise from others cut like sharp knives into Li Meihua's heart. She glared venomously at Zhang Ling and her daughters, then went back to her room with a face like thunder.

Time passed leisurely. Lately, Feng Xia had developed a fondness for sweet-and-sour dishes. Old Lady Wu doted on her and tried various recipes, feeding Feng Xia until her face grew rounder, her cheeks plump with baby fat, making her utterly adorable.

Then Wan Fulin received a temporary transfer request from the Kyoto Research Institute, sincerely inviting Comrade Feng Xia to come to the institute. Their latest project involved batteries, and having seen Feng Xia’s innovation in the battery of the electric shock baton, they believed she would be a great help to their research. They wanted to invite Feng Xia to Kyoto to participate in their experiment and share in the achievements.

Wan Fulin stared into the boundless void for a long time, then sighed. Kyoto... Sigh, Feng Xia had no choice but to go.