As the vehicle approached, Zhang Guilan’s eyes dimmed first. “It’s the farm truck from the factory.”
Not the jeep.
The vehicle was clearly heading toward their home.
Once it stopped, a lean young man stepped out.
It was Xiao Wang, the driver from the village factory.
“Auntie, Engineer Lin asked me to come back with a message. Staff Officer Gu is already handling the matter, and Brother Xiangyang will be back tomorrow. He told you not to worry at home.”
Xiao Wang’s words immediately eased the hearts of the two women who had been worried all afternoon.
Zhang Guilan hurriedly asked for details.
Xiao Wang wasn’t clear about the specifics, as he hadn’t stayed the whole time. “Auntie, just rest assured! Staff Officer Gu is incredibly capable! Even the county magistrate came to see him personally.”
After seeing Xiao Wang off, Lin Xiaojiao’s anxious heart finally settled a little.
She followed her mother back into the house.
…
It wasn’t until the afternoon of the next day that the familiar Jeep 212 appeared outside the fenced yard.
Lin Xiaojiao rushed out of the yard gate the moment she saw it.
For a moment, it felt surreal.
The imposing Staff Officer Gu now looked nothing more than the driver for the Lin father and son.
His demeanor was far too humble.
As the car came to a stop, chaos ensued.
Lin Xiangyang stepped out of the vehicle, looking like a frostbitten eggplant—dejected and utterly dispirited.
His father, Lin Yunli, also wore a weary expression.
Lin Xianghua was slightly better off, repeatedly thanking Gu Tingzheng.
Gu Tingzheng didn’t get out of the car but nodded to Mother Lin, who had come out to greet him. “He’s fine, just a bit shaken up. Let him rest well for a couple of days.”
The Lin family expressed their gratitude once again.
“It was nothing,” he gently interrupted. “I still have some matters to attend to and need to head out.”
The Lin family reluctantly let him go, feeling somewhat awkward.
But Lin Xiaojiao was the exception.
The weather was hot, and the jeep’s windows were wide open.
Lin Xiaojiao leaned against the car window, her big eyes fixed on the man. There were faint dark circles under his eyes.
“Something wrong?” the man raised his chin slightly.
“Uncle Gu, thank you. And… we’ll wait for you to come back for dinner tonight.”
Lin Xiaojiao smiled sweetly, stepped back, and waved at the man.
“Hmm.” Gu Tingzheng curved his lips, nodded, stepped on the gas, and turned the steering wheel.
…
In the main room of the fenced yard, Lin Xiangyang was eating the pig trotter noodles Zhang Guilan had brought to ward off bad luck while undergoing a “three-party interrogation.”
Lin Yunli was earnestly lecturing him.
“…I told you to study hard, but you wouldn’t listen! Now look what happened—you almost ended up in jail! Tell me…”
Lin Xiangyang looked up from his noodles and muttered, “I was just unlucky, caught at the wrong time. If I’d been in a more familiar environment, I would’ve gotten away long ago…”
“Shut your mouth!” Lin Xianghua’s face turned livid with anger. “You still don’t know when to stop! Do you think getting you out was easy?! If it weren’t for Uncle Gu, do you think you’d have come back unscathed? Next time, not even the heavens could save you!”
Lin Yunli glanced at his eldest son and sighed. “Xianghua is right. Xiangyang, you’ve really caused a huge mess this time. Speculation and profiteering is no minor crime. We owe a huge favor to someone now. While you were in detention, unaware, Staff Officer Gu spent an entire night pulling strings to get you out.”
“Dad, what exactly happened?” Lin Xiaojiao understood that the situation must have been difficult, but from her father’s words, it seemed Gu Tingzheng’s efforts were far more than just a “small favor”…
“When I followed Uncle Gu to the detention center yesterday, Dad couldn’t even see a single person outside.” Lin Xianghua thought of everything that had happened over the past day and night, then glared fiercely at his younger brother.
“It was only after Uncle Gu pulled some strings that we got to see him. Now you can eat just fine, and your mouth is tough again! What about that pathetic look you had yesterday?!”
Watching Lin Xiangyang instantly lower his head to accept the scolding, Lin Xiaojiao’s mind flashed with four words: bloodline suppression.
Exactly!
Pure bloodline suppression! More effective than even father’s discipline.
Lin Xianghua continued, “If it weren’t for Uncle Gu providing a cover story—saying the goods sold were just some mountain produce and local specialties collected from fellow villagers in the countryside, claiming we only earned a small handling fee, purely helping out, doing the villagers a favor—with his inexperienced look, he would’ve spilled everything, including the family’s secrets!”
“Yes, even I thought we should adopt the right attitude and confess for leniency. Turns out we still don’t know as much as city folks.” Lin Yunli also felt a lingering fear.
“Most importantly, Lin Xiangyang, I’m telling you! Don’t mess around anymore! Don’t drag Staff Officer Gu down with you! I saw him use his military officer ID to vouch for you! Even the county magistrate wouldn’t dare release someone easily in such matters.”
Lin Xianghua had been following Gu Tingzheng all last night, and the shock he received was no small thing.
“Uncle Gu personally stepped forward, using his military officer ID and the Gu family’s status to personally guarantee you, saying you’re a junior from his family, absolutely no issues with ideological awareness, just a young, enthusiastic person who made a foolish mistake, and promised to take you back for proper education. Otherwise, did you think you could get out just by writing a letter of guarantee this morning?”
“Do you have any idea that just the label of speculation and profiteering alone would ruin you for life?”
The room fell silent.
He… had done all that?
Lin Xiaojiao felt an inexplicable pang in her heart.
…
That evening, at the Lin family’s dinner table, the atmosphere was strangely tense.
Two items lay on the table.
A bottle of fine liquor and a letter.
Both brought by Gu Tingzheng.
“The liquor is to calm your nerves.” Gu Tingzheng’s tone was gentle. “The letter is to send you off.”
His words were startling.
His gaze swept over the Lin family members before settling once more on Lin Xiangyang, his tone carrying a hint of pressure:
“You’re lively and daring, willing to take risks and fight. But here, it’s useless. It’s easy to cause trouble. This time you were lucky, but what about next time?”
Lin Xiangyang hung his head in shame, feeling utterly humiliated before this man who wasn’t much older than him.
Gu Tingzheng paused before continuing, “Stuck in this countryside, with all your energy and nowhere to channel it, you’ll cause trouble sooner or later. For you, for the Lin family, and even for me as your guarantor, it’s a hidden danger.”
He spoke bluntly, leaving Lin Xiangyang without the courage to argue.
None of the Lin family members spoke up, waiting for Gu Tingzheng to continue.
Only Lin Xiaojiao was somewhat carelessly eating the osmanthus cake the man had incidentally bought for her.
Of course, she was also listening very attentively.
Gu Tingzheng tapped the letter on the table. “The south, Shenzhen—the policies there are different, the environment is much more relaxed than here. Right now, they need people like you who dare to think and act. I have an old comrade there. If you go, he’ll look out for you a bit, but whether you become a dragon or a worm depends on your own abilities.”
“Do you dare to go and make your mark?”
Gu Tingzheng’s sharp gaze fixed on Lin Xiangyang.
You could hear a pin drop at the dining table.
Even Lin Xiaojiao was stunned.
Her heart suddenly skipped a beat!
He stared at Gu Tingzheng in disbelief.
Shenzhen! The Special Economic Zone!
How could he possess such foresight and boldness?!
At a time when most people still clung to their land and secure jobs, he had accurately recognized the immense potential of the south!
And he dared to send his second brother there!
This was no longer just solving a problem.
He was practically the benefactor of his second brother’s entire life!
He was pointing the way to a path of boundless opportunity!
Gu Tingzheng looked at the solemn expressions of everyone present and offered no further explanation.
Without consulting his parents, without hesitation or doubt.
In just a few breaths, Lin Xiangyang made his decision.
He snatched the letter, his eyes slightly reddened as he looked up at Gu Tingzheng.
“I’ll go!”