Chapter 154 The Three-Three Formation Has Its Traditions Too

Yet Shen Cuiyue was indeed a capable assistant.

Hearing Rang Weidong's musings: "Since ancient times, people have had to make the rounds in yamen and imperial courts. We have quite a few business dealings with the capital, and letting the connections we've already established go cold and wither would be a waste. So someone definitely needs to do this."

Rang Weidong opened his mouth, but stopped himself.

The masked girl looking at him seemed to know what he was about to say: "I can stay in the capital to handle these social affairs, but unless you intend to keep me here as a kept mistress, I still want to follow you and roam around everywhere."

A slim and graceful figure flashed through Rang Weidong's mind, and he shook his head to brush it away: "That's not what I meant."

Shen Cuiyue continued along her own train of thought: "So if we open a spicy hotpot shop here and make it a bit more refined, it can count as a specialty dish. Add some other cold-cut delicacies, and it will still outperform northern cuisine. At the very least, they're all drinking snacks, perfect for socializing and gathering."

To avoid being overheard by the people standing before and behind them, the two naturally stood quite close together.

Rang Weidong leaned back slightly against the wall: "Weren't we invited to dinner with everyone tonight? A small restaurant in the alleyway. I heard they've only been allowed to open in the past few years. The roots of their courtyard walls were quietly dug up by people calling them the vanguard of capitalist restoration, and who knows, maybe they buried military ordnance in the courtyard to collude with foreigners."

As the third sister of the Shen family—whose household might genuinely have buried military ordnance and wanted a restoration—she widened her eyes: "There's even stuff like this?"

Rang Weidong felt amused just remembering it: "The restaurant owner said that at night, the couple presses their thighs against the wall at home and practices half-squats. That was a posture commonly used during the struggle sessions of previous years, just in case they get dragged away for public criticism one day, practicing at home in advance... Sounds like a cross-talk routine."

Shen Cuiyue was basically leaning against his chest now, slowly whispering: "It's... probably true, though. Big Sister said she had been struggled against."

Feeling a slight tremor, Rang Weidong pushed her away: "Your psychological resilience is subpar. You really can't cut it doing this in Pingjing."

The eyes above the mask broke into a smile: "Right!"

Then she pondered: "When we get back, I'll have Xiao Xiao get things started first. Her eye corners tilt up; at a glance, you can tell she loves bustle, and the hint of spring at the corners of her mouth shows she's someone who cannot bear loneliness."

Rang Weidong clicked his tongue repeatedly: "Stop using your feudal dross to scheme against people!"

Shen Cuiyue pondered to herself: "You just worry about the big picture, Master; I'll handle these trivial matters."

With someone whispering gossip to pass the time, waiting in line wasn't so hard to endure. Rang Weidong was a bit astonished: "I used to hate standing in line the most, which is why I'd rather buy a plane ticket than squat at the railway station."

Having experienced the material abundance of forty years later, along with a plethora of choices and what-you-see-is-what-you-get, the veteran security guard, even when occasionally going out, resolutely refused to queue. Back when they were swabbing throats for tests, he would specifically pick the dead of night when nobody was around.

Having already slipped into the mindset of an HR Director, the masked girl remarked offhandedly: "What's the big deal? Just assign someone specifically to do this in the future. Leave it to me."

Well, that would be fantastic.

As it turned out, the queue lasted until almost eleven o'clock. Fortunately, Shen Cuiyue was confident; the new telephone in the sanitary napkin factory's office building—the newly installed phone on the second floor of the school-run factory—would have someone on night duty.

Just hearing the ringtone on the other end echo a few extra times was enough for her to frown and sneer: "Are they slacking off just because I'm not around? If I catch them again, they can clear out and get lost!"

She made it look as though she had deliberately come to check attendance this late.

Rang Weidong leaned against the exterior of the enclosed telephone booth, helping her call out one phone number after another. Having spent hours waiting in line, she naturally had to make a whole string of long-distance calls.

Toward the end, Shen San poked her head in: "I already called the office at the troop station's guesthouse; nobody answered. Give the number at home a ring."

Rang Weidong checked the time, noting another half-hour had passed: "Forget it, it's too late; they're all asleep."

Shen Cuiyue shook her head: "You have to call. The women at home are worried. No matter how late it is, you have to call so they can rest easy."

Thinking about it, Rang Weidong realized she had a point and asked the counter for the number.

However, Shen Cuiyue didn't go outside; she bent over the shelf holding the telephone and began writing and recording something, playfully pointing the tip of her pen at the receiver resting nearby.

Rang Weidong closed the door and picked it up. Instantly, the quiet space seemed to travel back along the telephone wire to an equally quiet home, where he could even faintly hear the television sound from the neighbor, Fengchu, deliberately turned up loud.

Sure enough, after ringing only twice, Dong Xueying's slightly sleep-laden voice came through: "Weidong?"

The veteran security guard immediately launched into anti-fraud awareness: "You have to ask who's calling first, otherwise people will know your husband's name is Weidong and it'll make it easier for them to scam you later."

Believing he was subtly mocking her, the female scammer secretly curled her lip and took off her mask.

Not yet ready to play along, Dong Xueying just chuckled softly and asked: "Why so late? Are you very busy?"

***

Rang Weidong explained how crowded the queue was over here. Before he could finish, he heard another voice squeeze in right beside the phone: "Brother-in-law? Where are you? Why is it so late?"

Dong Xueying simply handed the phone to her younger sister: "You take it..."

Dong Xueqing stepped up to the plate without hesitation. Rang Weidong laughed and scolded her to get lost: "Give it to your sister, I need to talk about official business!"

Heaven and earth as witness, Shen Cuiyue had never crossed paths with Dong Xueqing. The shock of having her heartstrings violently shaken caused her to freeze mid-bend as she tried to write her notes, eager to eavesdrop more.

As a result, the telecommunications major invented a way to share the earpiece by pressing it against her sister's mouth, listening in and then whispering back translations.

Dong Xueying also chimed in with a giggle: "Right, I'll go tell your parents tomorrow. How about we pick them up for a trip to Pingjing?"

Rang Weidong instantly felt it was a good idea, casually mentioning the progress of the supply and marketing cooperative and the branch factory over here before leaving the phone number: "Depending on how the talk with the film studio goes tomorrow regarding the photo exhibition, I'll head back as soon as I wrap things up."

His wife replied leisurely: "No rush, everything is fine at home. If you're not too busy, call home every day—we've been thinking of you. Xiaoqing has been sleeping with us."

He could hear the younger sister causing a ruckus in the background: "We all miss you, we all miss you! Little Butterfly misses you too, she was crawling around looking for you tonight!"

A smile inevitably surfaced on Rang Weidong's face: "Mm, I miss you too..."

Fengchu's noisy antics abruptly vanished...

Rang Weidong didn't yet realize those words had reached Fengchu's ears. Eh, when did Third Sister Shen press her ear against his chest with eyes shining brightly?

This situation was getting too chaotic. Hearing Dong Xueying's muffled giggles through the receiver, he couldn't keep chatting: "Alright, alright, I'll call again tomorrow. Tell that rascal to put the kid to bed early!"

Then, inexplicably, he heard Fengchu indignantly shouting: "Who are you calling a rascal!"

The Crouching Dragon burst out laughing.

After hanging up the phone, Rang Weidong remained puzzled: Did the rotary phone at home have a speakerphone function?

Seeing the receiver hung up, Shen Cuiyue cooed huskily: "Brother-in-law..."

Resonant, lingering, and full of countless entanglements.

Rang Weidong laughed and pushed her away: "Cut it out!"

He stepped out to settle the bill. Third Sister Shen, her cheeks flushed, straightened her blazer dress before following him out. The fellow who walked in right after them had a look of utter astonishment that practically screamed, *You guys really know how to have fun!*

Yet Shen Cuiyue's smile never faded: "I'll arrange for someone to queue up for you in advance tomorrow."

Rang Weidong felt an urge to kick her, though having weights on his legs was reason enough to hold back.

He stepped out, opened the car door, and headed back to the alleyway.

Mao finally spoke up from behind the driver's seat: "There are so many pickpockets around here. *Bai peng* and *gouzi* are everywhere, and I even spotted one who looks like he runs solo river-robberies."

The driver could only guess the first term was slang for Mao's peers, but the front passenger seat already reached out to rap her younger brother on the forehead: "You're not allowed to use those terms outside. Oh, you need to explain it clearly to Brother so he doesn't have to rack his brains."

Stone took over the explanation: "There are quite a few bag-snatchers. Cops, scouts, and informants are around too, and there's probably a lone-wolf robber. I was the one who spotted him."

The city's largest airport ticket office was right next to the post and telecommunications building.

Coupled with the fact that the airport shuttle buses dropped passengers off right here upon arrival, and travelers boarded from here to leave...

In an era where private cars were rarer than phoenix feathers and taking a taxi from the airport cost a astronomical sum,

one could easily imagine how many fat sheep frequented this place.

The 24-hour, bustling telephone and telegraph building was constantly crowded with people coming and going.

With so many gypsy cab drivers lurking around, it was only natural that all sorts of shady characters mixed in here.

Even with the city gate tower right next door, it didn't affect the various watchful gazes lingering in the area.

Curious, Rang Weidong wondered how these two managed to spot them.

***

Shen Cuiyue understood it all: "A thief spots his own kind with a single glance. People in the know can tell just by looking; ordinary folks only look at what they're searching for, whereas someone about to make a move is always watching others. Plus, keeping their hands hovering around pockets and bags—since Mao knows how to adjust his gaze like that, he's no amateur."

Stone added: "The law enforcement guys also dart their eyes around looking at people, but their eyes have needles in them—that piercing kind of intensity. On the other hand, informants and spotters are easy to confuse, but that lone operator not only had needles in his eyes, he also kept his hands folded across his waist, looking tense no matter where he glanced. He's carrying something at his waist."

Rang Weidong decided he would observe more tomorrow when he came to make his phone call.

Upon returning to the Feiyan Sanitary Napkin Factory, the college students were still chatting in the office, but the moment they saw the two walk in, they hurriedly snuffed out their cigarettes.

Shen Cuiyue didn't go in; she led the two younger brothers off to rest first.

Rang Weidong stayed behind to brief everyone on the progress: the first four sanitary napkin machines and raw materials would arrive first, which would subsequently require seventy to eighty, nearly a hundred, packaging workers. Of course, printing and packaging could be done right here in Pingjing; the imported production line was merely for show to put up a facade, though the disinfection procedures and clean spaces could be utilized. They also needed to figure out how to expand certain areas.

Everyone immediately divided and claimed these tasks, aiming to have everything ready during the roughly one-week shipping period.

With a resounding acknowledgment of their orders, they excitedly went off to sleep.

The four-hundred-square-meter single-story house stretched out in a long row of more than ten rooms, neatly and brightly arranged into a manager's office, sales department, finance department, and the like. Anticipating inspections, even the guardroom had slogans hanging on the walls.

Ironically, the innermost dormitories consisted of only two rooms that could sleep fewer than ten people.

Presumably, a modern production line didn't require that many workers, so they had simply been split into men's and women's quarters. That afternoon, He Yuemei had already brought over pre-purchased bedsheets, quilts, and bamboo sleeping mats. The two little rascals had also squeezed into the women's dormitory, and nobody felt anything was amiss.

However, Third Sister Shen came out at the very end to check things out, laying out bedding for Rang Weidong on the artificial leather sofa in the manager's office: "Right now, you need to keep a bit of distance from them. Don't go crashing and sleeping in restaurants like you used to. It's different now."

Not quite understanding, Rang Weidong simply complied, saving himself the trouble.

As it turned out, early the next morning, the tractor driver not only hauled a full truckload of companions, but quite a few college students rode their bicycles over on their own.

Word was that the peripheral sales team from the Steel Institute and the Geology Institute had received telephone notifications and all rushed to the factory to pitch in. Furthermore, once classes let out in the afternoon, the majority were expected to arrive—amounting to over a hundred people.

In that case, Ge Zhihong and Meng Hongfei were left behind to lead the operations in this factory area.

Two vehicles set out for the Sunshine Daily office outside Qianmen.

Yet, unfolding the map, it was just a few kilometers from one end of the street to the other.

By ten o'clock that morning, Jin Zhuoqun still hadn't checked in, and the contact at the newspaper office said the film factory over a hundred kilometers away had already arrived.

They had no choice but to depart.

Carefully, everyone unmounted the "Feiyan" sign from the wall and placed it in the jeep.

Shen Cuiyue came over carrying her artificial leather handbag, which had a long slash across it crudely mended with two pieces of packing tape.

The two little rascals had already put on red armbands in the guardroom with deadpan seriousness, starting their shift as sentries.

Stone even saluted the two departing cars, giving off a strong vibe of a monkey dressed in a king's robes.

Yet, the moment Shen Cuiyue got into the car, she started chatting with Xiao Xiao about how to utilize those two rooms by the guardroom to set up a small tavern that could double as a cafeteria.

Clearly, she was saying it deliberately for Rang Weidong to hear.

The driver glanced sideways at the long gash on the bag resting on her thigh, which had merely been taped over, and decided he needed to buy a new bag later.

This was simply too shabby.

Of course, his wife needed one too... and he might as well pick one up for the sister-in-law while he was at it.