It was a week later that she finally completed the procedures and obtained her Chinese visa. During those days, apart from checking in at various locations around downtown Los Angeles every day, Lu Chuyu did nothing but shop frantically. Since she was returning to China under the pretext of searching for relatives, gifts were naturally indispensable. Of course, the most important reason was: sudden wealth for the formerly poor.
Lu Chuyu was an ordinary person, so naturally she couldn't escape such worldly temptations.
In addition, her daily check-in rewards were quite generous. The most valuable was a luxury mansion in Beverly Hills worth three million US dollars, followed by two haute couture gowns and several pieces of jewelry.
After packing everything up, she had filled four large suitcases.
The baggage fees alone were a considerable expense—fortunately, she wasn't short on money these days.
The investment company in Las Vegas had already been registered. Following Lu Chuyu's instructions, Amelia had rented an 80-square-meter office space on the Las Vegas Strip and was in the middle of simple renovations. Lu Chuyu had also transferred another 20,000 US dollars to Amelia as reserve funds. Although the company was still just an empty shell for now, it would come in handy when she returned to China to invest in building factories.
September 19, 1979
After days of travel, Lu Chuyu finally returned to China.
Fortunately, staff from the Northern City Overseas Chinese Affairs Office were there to receive her; otherwise, she wouldn't have known how to get her suitcases out of the airport.
Before getting off the plane, Lu Chuyu had deliberately gone to the restroom to change into a white Chanel sleeveless fitted long dress. Beneath the lapel was a decorative bow tie featuring a white camellia paired with a black bow. A row of gold metal buttons glinted in the sunlight, and around her waist was a slim white leather belt studded with pearls.
She wore three layers of pearl necklaces stacked around her neck, exaggerated double-C metal earrings on her ears, and black-and-white high heels on her feet.
Paired with her voluminous wavy hair, this outfit made her an eye-catching focal point the moment she appeared at the Northern City airport, where everything else was still in the "three old colors." One had to understand that most Chinese people at this time still wore "dacron" fabric when going out. Occasionally, some successful individuals would wear ill-fitting gray suits. Someone dressed like Lu Chuyu could be said to stand out like a crane among chickens.
Add to that her distinctly Western features—in 1979, even in Northern City, China's capital, a "foreign devil woman" was still quite a rare sight.
It was no exaggeration to say that everyone who saw Lu Chuyu along the way contributed at least 1 Emotion Point to her.
"What is that foreign devil woman wearing? How scandalous and indecent."
"Oh my, look at her lips—redder than the Spring Festival couplets on my door."
"What do you know? That's called lipstick. They sell it at the Friendship Store."
"Keep staring, kid, and you'll find yourself in trouble with a woman like that."
"Mommy, that big sister is so pretty."
Watching the Emotion Points on her system panel continuously increase, Lu Chuyu's lips curled into a slight smile. After exchanging pleasantries with the staff member from the Northern City Overseas Chinese Affairs Office who was receiving her, she cooperated with the office's procedures, first going to obtain the stamped documentation—commonly known as an introduction letter—before heading to the Northern City Grand Hotel to check in.
Along the way, through the introduction of Zhou Ran, the Northern City Overseas Chinese Affairs Office staff member, she learned that Nanhu City, despite being a provincial capital at this time, had no airport. The train ride from Northern City to Nanhu would take over thirty hours.
Even with her passport and the introduction letter from the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, allowing her to purchase a soft sleeper ticket, the journey would still be quite grueling—not to mention she had so much luggage.
"Since I've returned to China alone to search for relatives, having so many belongings is quite inconvenient. I wonder if it would be possible to privately hire a few staff members to accompany me to Nanhu."
Speaking Chinese with a deliberately awkward accent, Lu Chuyu found it rather straining on her throat.
Zhou Ran, the Northern City Overseas Chinese Affairs Office staff member receiving her, looked somewhat troubled. Although private economic activity had been permitted since February of this year, private employment was still explicitly prohibited. Zhou Ran patiently explained China's current policies to Lu Chuyu in detail.
"Ms. Harris, please rest assured. Given your special circumstances, I will report to my superiors as soon as possible and do my utmost to resolve your issue."
"Ashlyn Harris is my name in America. My mother gave me a Chinese name—Lu Chuyu. You may address me directly by my Chinese name. And I should call you Comrade Zhou, right? That's the proper form of address in China, isn't it?"
"Very well, Ms. Lu. Thank you for your understanding. I will resolve your issue as quickly as possible."
Zhou Ran breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Since the beginning of this year, she had received quite a few overseas Chinese returning to the country, but someone as approachable and easy to deal with as Lu Chuyu—who didn't look down her nose at others—was truly rare.
After applying to her superiors, Zhou Ran was granted three special hiring quotas. Following Lu Chuyu's requirements, all three individuals recommended were retired military veterans.
"Ms. Lu, these three comrades are the personal staff we've found for you according to your requirements."
Zhou Ran introduced them to Lu Chuyu while handing her a paper document that clearly detailed the information on all three individuals.
Lu Chuyu discreetly observed the two men and one woman before her. Their upright posture made it obvious at a glance that they had come from the military—that kind of bearing couldn't be faked.
Both men had crew cuts, while the woman wore her hair in a neat, short style.
"Hello, please take a moment to introduce yourselves."
"Hello, Ms. Lu. My name is Liu Changxing, 24 years old, from Liujia Village, Zheng County. I was just discharged from the military."
"Hello, Ms. Lu. My name is Han Jianhua, 25 years old, from Sichuan Province. I served with Old Liu as a comrade-in-arms and was discharged this year."
"Hello, Ms. Lu. My name is Sun Yueying, 26 years old, from Ji County. I was discharged three years ago due to injury and transferred to a clerical position at the Public Security Bureau in my hometown. I resigned a month ago for personal reasons."
The document in Lu Chuyu's hands already detailed Sun Yueying's situation. Sun Yueying had sustained an abdominal injury back then, and while it didn't make her completely infertile, it made conception quite difficult. Never mind that it was 1979—even decades later, her condition would still be unacceptable to in-laws who cared about "carrying on the family line."
On top of that, Sun Yueying had married the wrong man. Her ex-husband had claimed verbally that he didn't mind, wasn't in a hurry, and they could take things slow—but after three years of marriage without a child, he put on a performance of "loyalty and filial piety cannot coexist," using the excuse that his mother was old, in poor health, and would die with her eyes open if she couldn't hold a grandson, to go through with the divorce.
Divorce was a major matter in those days, and to make things worse, the man had gone through the divorce procedures in the morning and directly obtained a marriage certificate in the afternoon. Even in that environment, Sun Yueying had a hard time of it, because the prevailing social climate was one that favored men.
Lu Chuyu set down the document and looked at the three of them. "Working by my side will be demanding—you'll need to be available at all times. However, I won't shortchange my own people. Your base salary will be 200 US dollars per month, and I'll cover all your food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Of course, that's just your base salary—good work will earn you bonuses.
Liu Changxing and Han Jianhua, your primary responsibility will be protecting my safety, so night shifts will be involved. You two can work out the rotation schedule between yourselves. Night shifts come with a stipend of 10 US dollars per shift.
I need your absolute loyalty. To put it plainly, if I encounter danger, you need to stand in front of me and take the blow. However, in China, I trust that such a situation shouldn't arise.
But I'll say this upfront, and consider it a reassurance: if you're injured protecting me, I'll cover your medical treatment. If you're disabled, I'll support you for life. And if you die, I'll give your family a one-time compensation of 200,000 US dollars."
Never mind Liu Changxing, Han Jianhua, and Sun Yueying themselves—even Zhou Ran, standing off to the side, involuntarily sucked in a breath when she heard 200,000 US dollars.
That was 200,000 US dollars! Converted to Chinese currency, that was 320,000 yuan!
Her monthly salary was only 37 yuan. She couldn't earn that much in her entire lifetime—no, her entire family combined couldn't earn that much in several lifetimes.
Indeed, the sugar-coated bullets of capitalism were hard to resist. She was almost tempted to quit her cushy government job and work for Ms. Lu. Even without the overtime pay and bonuses Ms. Lu mentioned, the 200 US dollars per month alone would match what she earned in a year.
"Please rest assured, Ms. Lu. As long as it doesn't violate Chinese laws and regulations, my life belongs to you," Liu Changxing declared.
Han Jianhua and Sun Yueying quickly nodded in agreement, pledging their loyalty as well.
A monthly salary of 200 US dollars meant 2,400 US dollars a year—converted to Chinese currency, that was 37,440 yuan, equivalent to nearly ten years of wages for a state-owned factory worker.
And the best part was that it could all be saved, since Ms. Lu covered food, clothing, housing, and transportation. It was like a pie falling from the sky—no, a golden pie.
Liu Changxing was tempted to send a telegram back to his father, telling him to go check the back mountain. Landing this job must mean his ancestors' graves were emitting green smoke—he just hoped they hadn't burned out by now.
Lu Chuyu nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Zhou Ran. She pulled a pre-prepared kraft paper envelope from her handbag and handed it to her. "Comrade Zhou, I've really put you through a lot of trouble running around these past couple of days."
Zhou Ran didn't dare accept it and quickly waved her hands. "I couldn't possibly. Ms. Lu, this isn't customary in China—it would be a violation of regulations."
Seeing that Zhou Ran genuinely didn't want to accept it—or rather, didn't dare—Lu Chuyu naturally didn't press her further. "My mother used to say that the Chinese people are the most honest and sincere. Then let me owe you a favor instead. If you ever need anything from me, just say the word—as long as it's within my power."
"You're too kind, Ms. Lu. If there's nothing else, I won't keep you. Feel free to call me anytime at the North City Overseas Chinese Affairs Office if you need anything."
Lu Chuyu nodded slightly. After Zhou Ran left, she turned to look at Liu Changxing and the other two, then handed the kraft paper envelope she had prepared for Zhou Ran to Sun Yueying. "Here are 500 foreign exchange certificates. Take the two of them to the Friendship Store and get yourselves some proper outfits. My requirement is well-fitted suits and leather shoes—and that includes you. Working by my side, you must dress appropriately."
"Understood, boss."
After Sun Yueying and the other two left Lu Chuyu's room, they all let out a sigh of relief almost simultaneously. Everything felt unreal, like they were in a dream—a beautiful dream they never wanted to wake from.
How could such good fortune have fallen into their laps?
"Sister Sun, you're really bold. If you hadn't grabbed it so quickly, I almost would have declined just now. Things at the Friendship Store must be so expensive—how could I wear clothes from there? And a suit, no less. Those are for big bosses." Han Jianhua said in a low voice.
Liu Changxing beside him nodded in full agreement.
"Did you both hear what the boss just said? We're the ones working by her side now. Dressing poorly would embarrass her. Even if we don't fully understand, we have to obey. Like Changxing said—as long as the boss doesn't do anything to harm our country, our lives belong to her."
"Right. From now on, if the boss says west, I'll never say east."
"I originally thought all foreigners were hard to please—capitalists who oppress the people. I thought being a personal attendant would be like being a hired thug for a landlord in the old society. Good thing Old Liu talked me into coming to see for myself before deciding. I never expected our boss to be this kind. Old Liu, I owe you one for this."
"Our boss isn't a foreigner, though. She has Chinese blood flowing through her veins, so of course she's different."
.
Lu Chuyu looked at Liu Changxing and the other two, now dressed in their new outfits, and nodded with satisfaction. "Fine clothes make the man"—the old saying from their ancestors couldn't be wrong.
Looking at them now, they had a bit of a 007 vibe to them. They'd definitely turn heads if she brought them out.
Lu Chuyu turned her gaze to Sun Yueying, who was also in a suit, looking sharp and spirited.
Lu Chuyu nodded approvingly. "Get yourself ready. Take my identification and book train tickets to Nanhu for tomorrow."
"Understood, boss."