After figuring out what scheme the Jiang family was hiding, Jiang Li changed direction the moment she left the hospital and headed straight for the Grain Management Bureau.
Besides handling important business, she also wanted to exchange the ration coupons she had brought with her.
In those days, privately exchanging ration coupons was illegal and had to go through the Grain Management Bureau. The exchange rate from local ration coupons to national ration coupons was 2:1. However, there was another issue: without a valid reason, the Grain Bureau prohibited ration coupon exchanges.
To exchange them, she also needed a letter of introduction from her work unit.
Once she arrived, Jiang Li first went to the Political Affairs Office.
The moment she entered, she saw a young woman with neatly cropped short hair organizing documents. The woman’s eyes immediately lit up when she saw Jiang Li.
“Xiao Li!”
The woman was named Su Siyu. She and Jiang Li had been classmates at grain school. Later, Jiang Li had been assigned to the grain quality inspection department, while Su Siyu ended up in political affairs.
Jiang Li also found the person in her memories, and her willow-leaf eyes curved into a smile.
“Siyu.”
Su Siyu wore a neatly pressed blue work uniform, with the edge of a white shirt collar peeking out underneath. Her small face featured a pair of dark round eyes. The moment she saw Jiang Li, she tightly grabbed her hand and refused to let go, only releasing it after dragging her into a corner to sit down.
Su Siyu already knew something about the recent mess surrounding the Jiang family, especially the news that Jiang Li had attempted suicide. She’d been distracted at work all day because of it.
Now that she saw Jiang Li safe and sound, Su Siyu finally relaxed and pulled her into a seat. But the moment she heard Xiang Zhou and Jiang Xiaoxiao were together, her delicate brows practically twisted into knots and she burst into furious cursing.
“That Jiang Xiaoxiao! The switched-at-birth incident clearly wasn’t your fault, so why is she taking it out on you? Getting together with Xiang Zhou—wasn’t that obviously to steal your boyfriend on purpose? Who would believe it wasn’t revenge?”
“And Xiang Zhou must have something wrong with his brain! Dumping you for a lump of coal—if that’s not blindness, what is it?!”
Hearing Jiang Xiaoxiao compared to a lump of coal, Jiang Li couldn’t help laughing.
“Well, it’s good we already broke up. Otherwise I’d still be stressing over how to bring it up myself.”
The comparison might’ve been exaggerated, but Jiang Xiaoxiao really was very dark-skinned.
Still, Jiang Li had traveled to tropical islands in her previous life, and while locals there could get tan, they usually weren’t as dark as Jiang Xiaoxiao. Her complexion was probably not just due to the harsh island sun. The Jiang family itself didn’t have particularly fair skin, so Jiang Xiaoxiao had likely inherited that trait genetically. Combined with the stronger ultraviolet rays on the island, she tanned more easily than most people.
Su Siyu carefully observed Jiang Li, assuming she was forcing herself to smile.
“Xiao Li, Xiang Zhou’s no good. You absolutely can’t keep thinking about him. Now that you don’t even have a job anymore, what are you going to do? Get married? Surely you’re not actually planning to go to the island?”
Thinking about Jiang Li’s current circumstances, Su Siyu couldn’t help sighing sympathetically.
Everyone who had known them over the years had seen how much the Jiang family once doted on Jiang Li. Then suddenly one day, her biological parents became foster parents, her status in the family dropped to the very bottom, she had to tread carefully in daily life, and even her boyfriend was stolen by the Jiang family’s real daughter. No wonder Jiang Li had once thought of ending her life.
“Since you’re already old enough anyway, why not go on blind dates and get married?” Su Siyu’s mind worked as fast as a motor. Her round black eyes spun excitedly as an idea immediately came to her. Leaning close, she whispered, “I have a distant cousin who just graduated from a worker-peasant-soldier university and got assigned to the Transportation Bureau. His conditions are really good. If you’re interested, I can ask my mom to bring it up.”
“No!” Jiang Li hurriedly pressed down the overexcited Su Siyu, glancing helplessly at the curious looks coming from the office. “I don’t want to get married yet.”
“You don’t want to get married? Then what are you going to do?” Su Siyu asked anxiously. “You don’t know this, but ever since Jiang Xiaoxiao took over your position, she’s gotten along amazingly with everyone in the department. She claims she studied medicine under island doctors for two years and knows how to take pulses. Right now, her desk is the liveliest spot in the whole Grain Bureau. People keep going to her nonstop to ask for health advice.”
A Grain Bureau employee who understood medicine—that was definitely something novel.
Jiang Xiaoxiao examined people for free and offered free health recommendations. In no time at all, she had won over most of the Grain Bureau’s staff.
And if even the bureau was like this, the Jiang family would be even worse.
At this point, there was probably no place left for Jiang Li in the Jiang household. If she stayed any longer, she’d probably be devoured completely.
“I actually came to you because of this. There’s something I need your help with.”
As she spoke, Jiang Li leaned closer and quietly whispered a few things.
“What?!” Su Siyu’s eyes widened in shock. “You want to go to the island? And you need a letter of introduction?!”
“Keep your voice down.” Jiang Li quickly wrapped an arm around Su Siyu’s neck when she noticed curious glances from around the office.
“My god, that place isn’t fit for humans to live in! Absolutely not! Supplies on the island depend entirely on ships bringing them over. They have nothing there.” Su Siyu desperately tried to change Jiang Li’s mind. “I have a relative…”
Glancing around the office suspiciously to make sure no one was paying attention, she lowered her voice.
“He got sent to the island for reform after making mistakes. The letters he mailed home sounded miserable. He had to go out fishing with local villagers and carry heavy seafood loads onto boats. Don’t do anything impulsive.”
In Su Siyu’s eyes, Beicheng was still the capital city. No matter how bad things got here, it was better than life on the island. Even if the Jiang family no longer wanted Jiang Li, couldn’t she just marry someone instead?
But Jiang Li thought completely differently.
As far as she knew, Jiang Xiaoxiao’s foster father had died years ago after being swept away by a huge wave while fishing at sea. Her foster mother had struggled to raise three children alone. But right around the time Jiang Xiaoxiao headed north, the woman had died from illness without receiving timely medical treatment.
Now, only two children remained on the island—one eleven years old and the other only three.
Jiang Xiaoxiao might abandon them, but Jiang Li couldn’t.
Unable to persuade her, Su Siyu finally respected Jiang Li’s decision. She personally accompanied her to get the letter of introduction approved by leadership, then helped her exchange the national ration coupons.
After everything was finished, Jiang Li stood at the entrance of the Grain Management Bureau preparing to leave when she suddenly remembered something. Turning around, she asked:
“Siyu, do you know who was selected for the worker-peasant-soldier university spots?”
The moment she asked, she remembered that the matter was confidential. Worker-peasant-soldier student selection was extremely strict. Before the final list came out, even station directors at the Grain Bureau didn’t know the names.
“Forget it, Siyu. I’ll think of another way.”
But Su Siyu grabbed her arm and smiled.
“My uncle knows the list. There’s no need to ask anyone else—I can tell you directly.”
“At the time, there were six names on the list. My cousin ranked fourth. The leaders reviewed your work performance and conduct, then approved the final spot for you. My cousin even said she was completely convinced—losing to you wasn’t embarrassing at all.”
Everyone in the Grain Bureau knew how dedicated Jiang Li was. No grain or oil products that passed through her inspections had ever had any problems.
When the final student recommendation officially went to Jiang Li, Su Siyu’s uncle had even told both her and her cousin to work harder and learn from Comrade Jiang Li, hoping next year their family might also receive a recommendation slot.
Tilting her head thoughtfully, Jiang Li asked, “Which department does your cousin work in? Could I meet her?”
“You could, but…” Su Siyu looked troubled. “She went to Liaocheng on a grain inspection business trip. She probably won’t be back for another two days.”
“No rush. As long as I can meet her eventually.”
Thinking about the identity theft, Jiang Li’s brows furrowed.
The Jiang family had deep roots throughout the Grain Bureau after decades of influence. Their network was complicated and interconnected. If she rashly submitted a report to the bureau, the complaint letter would probably be intercepted by Jiang family allies before it ever reached the director.
That was also why everyone in the Grain Bureau knew “Jiang Li” had effectively become someone else, yet nobody dared say anything.
Fortunately, though, it wasn’t a huge problem.
A report submitted by her might never get out—but one submitted by someone else could.
There should still be about a week before the new worker-peasant-soldier university term began.
As long as the impersonation was exposed in time, everything could still be corrected.
Elsewhere, a jeep slowly stopped beside a park lined with shady trees.
Two people stepped out.
One of them was a broad-shouldered man wearing a white military uniform. As he stepped out of the vehicle, he raised a hand to press down the brim of his military cap. When he lifted his head, his sharp brows and tightly pressed lips came into view. Beneath the cap, his handsome face carried clean, chiseled lines. The moment he exited the jeep, he drew countless curious glances from passersby.
The other man was slightly shorter, wearing a Zhongshan suit with four pockets. Frost-white streaks had already appeared at his temples. Ignoring the looks from nearby pedestrians, he glanced at the younger man.
“Jingchuan, you visited your brother’s grave?”
The man gave a quiet “Mm.”
Feng Bao opened his mouth as though wanting to scold him, but after a long pause, all that came out was a heavy sigh.
“Didn’t you say you’d wait for me?”
The moment he thought about the Cheng family’s eldest son, his heart clenched painfully.
He had been there during that battle years ago. He still vaguely remembered the blood-covered soldier lying in the commander’s arms saying weakly:
“Brigade Commander… it hurts.”
That had been the best soldier in the entire company.
And just like that, he died defending the island frontier.
“Time waits for no one.” Cheng Jingchuan’s calm answer instantly made the emotional Feng Bao feel even more stifled.
“You…” Political Commissar Feng sighed bitterly. He truly had wanted to visit the Cheng family’s eldest son and pay respects to the old comrades who had once fought beside him. But he genuinely couldn’t spare the time.
This return trip to Beicheng during leave carried an important mission from the organization.
Baisha Island was located in a strategic military zone. Conditions there were harsh and resources scarce. Even ordinary civilians had to take a ferry to the mainland just to see a doctor. A round trip by sea wasted precious time, and many people died before they even reached shore.
To solve this problem, they had repeatedly requested doctors be stationed on the island. But every doctor sent there stayed only briefly before applying to return to the city after completing a one-year assignment.
Not a single truly skilled doctor had stayed long-term.
This time, Feng Bao had returned to Beicheng specifically to pressure the major hospitals into dispatching more doctors to Baisha Island.
“You think I want this?” Feng Bao grumbled. “Those city doctors are all too clever. The moment they hear they’ll have to stay on an island for several years, they start crying about elderly parents and children at home. Nonsense! Who doesn’t have family these days? And some even claim they’re allergic to seafood and would starve to death on the island!”
In just one week of leave, Feng Bao had already visited three major hospitals. His lips were nearly blistered from persuading people, yet not a single doctor had voluntarily submitted an application.
If the organization hadn’t avoided issuing mandatory orders, Feng Bao would’ve happily tied them all up with ropes and dragged them to the island himself instead of patiently persuading them.
“Enough, enough.” Feng Bao waved a hand and shook his head at the silent young man who was impossible to squeeze conversation out of. “I know all about Shen’s situation. You go handle your business. I can deal with the hospital alone.”
He didn’t want to nag too much.
Cheng Jingchuan had spent years stationed on the island and was one of the toughest soldiers around. He only applied for family leave once a year. Even now, the only reason he had come out with Feng Bao was because his childhood friend had gotten into trouble.
“Uncle Feng,” Cheng Jingchuan said steadily, “I—”
“Enough already.” Feng Bao sighed emotionally. “Everyone from the old military compound already knows Shen got into a fight and ended up detained at the police station. You two practically grew up sharing the same pair of split pants. Of course you came back to bail him out.”
Back in the military district courtyard, Cheng Jingchuan had been the ringleader among all the children, while Shen Chuang acted as his right-hand man.
Who could’ve predicted that after the war, Shen Chuang would stay behind while Cheng Jingchuan resolutely enlisted?
That former troublemaker had now become a battle-hardened soldier carrying a cold, imposing aura.
Political Commissar Feng couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
Time truly spared no one.
After a brief silence, Cheng Jingchuan said, “In that case, I’ll head over first.”
“Go ahead.”
Feng Bao waved him off. After the jeep drove away, he slowly wandered beneath the shaded avenue with his hands behind his back.
Spring had already arrived. Small flowers bloomed by the roadside, and once-barren branches were beginning to sprout new leaves.
He had spent nearly his entire life on the island. When had he last carefully admired the spring scenery of Beicheng?
The more he thought about it, the slower he walked, wanting to examine every flower and leaf carefully.
Suddenly, Feng Bao found it difficult to breathe. A crushing pain twisted through his chest. Just as he raised a hand to clutch his heart, dizziness overwhelmed him and he collapsed backward.
“Comrade! Comrade, are you alright?!”
Several people nearby were startled and quickly rushed over to help him lie down.