Xie Changning's solemn expression made everyone's hearts pound with suspense.
The anxious man from the Northeast quickly spoke up, "Sister, did we get it or not? You have to tell me!" 'This is killing me!'
Hearing the man's question, a smile appeared on Xie Changning's face.
"We got it. 195 US Dollars. It's a deal!"
"Really!?"
"Really!"
Xie Changning's nod made Minister Yu smile as well. She patted Xie Changning's shoulder. "Comrade Xie, well done!" 'A significant portion of Chuncheng's foreign exchange earnings this year will be thanks to her!'
Xie Changning, infected by the mood of those around her, broke into a smile too.
Having received approval from headquarters, Xie Changning, fearing that delays might bring unforeseen complications, signed the purchase agreement with the Russians.
Once the dust had settled, Minister Yu suggested, "I've already had Xiao Zhao book a private room at the state-run restaurant. No need to rush off, right?" 'The hero of the hour must be rewarded.'
Xie Changning had intended to refuse.
But then her stomach started to RUMBLE, making her say, a little embarrassed, "In that case, it would be rude to refuse."
After the meal, Minister Yu saw Xie Changning and Yue Yihan to their car.
After the two had left, Minister Yu turned to Xiao Zhao, who was standing beside her. 'Did you bring the file I asked for?'
"Yes."
Minister Yu took the file from Xiao Zhao and opened it to the first page, which contained some personal information about Xie Changning.
When she saw Xie Changning's background, Minister Yu frowned instinctively.
「」
Yue Yihan got Xie Changning settled into a guest house.
When they walked in, the person at the guest house desk looked up at them. "Marriage certificate."
Xie Changning was about to say she needed to look for it, but Yue Yihan pulled it right out of his breast pocket and handed it to the female comrade at the desk.
The woman looked from one to the other, then nodded. After registering them, she let them go in.
"You can stay here for tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take you to the base to submit the application to move into the family courtyard." Yue Yihan was dead set on getting Xie Changning into the family courtyard.
At the mention of the family courtyard, Xie Changning's brow furrowed slightly.
"Let's rent a place instead."
Once they were in the room, Xie Changning explained her concerns to Yue Yihan.
Her family background was problematic. Moving into the family courtyard would lead to conflicts with others, and she would be assigned heavier tasks than everyone else. It would be much more comfortable to live outside.
Yue Yihan wanted to keep persuading her.
But on second thought, he realized Xie Changning was right. His wife was pregnant now; she could get hurt if someone pushed or shoved her.
He nodded.
"Alright. I'll go with you to look at houses tomorrow."
"Okay."
Yue Yihan put all of Xie Changning's things away and then returned to his unit.
He came back the next morning, carrying breakfast.
After Xie Changning ate, the two went to look at houses. With Yue Yihan by her side, it was easy enough to find a courtyard house for rent, but Xie Changning found the landlords too materialistic and didn't agree to any.
In the end, they rented the house of a landlord who had just been "sent down."
It was a self-contained courtyard house, and the neighbors on both sides were quiet, low-key people. Xie Changning signed the contract and rented the place.
Now that the courtyard was rented, it needed to be cleaned.
But—
"I'll do it!" Seeing Xie Changning about to start, Yue Yihan instantly snatched the broom from her hand, giving her no chance to help.
Since he was being so proactive, Xie Changning was happy to take it easy.
She glanced around and saw that the small courtyard had all sorts of things, even farming tools. Her eyes lit up.
'I don't have to go to the market to buy these things. As long as I repair these tools, the Spiritual Spring can be unlocked!'
Once the master bedroom was clean, Yue Yihan put Xie Changning's belongings inside and went on to clean the other areas. By the end of the day, he had scrubbed the small courtyard spotless.
Looking at the sparkling clean courtyard, Xie Changning gave Yue Yihan a thumbs-up.
"You're amazing!" 'So fast, and so clean!'
Praised by Xie Changning, Yue Yihan grinned. "It was nothing."
'My wife says I'm amazing. I have to work even harder from now on to win her heart completely!'
Xie Changning, oblivious to his inner thoughts, was completely preoccupied with her dimensional space. She waved her hand, shooing him away. "It's getting late. You should get back to your unit."
Yue Yihan's mood instantly plummeted from cloud nine to the depths of despair.
'What happened to "you're amazing"?'
'Why isn't she letting me stay the night?'
A hundred thoughts raced through his mind, but he didn't dare voice them. He could only look at Xie Changning pitifully. "Can I at least have dinner here before I leave?"
Xie Changning: "..." 'Oops, I forgot we haven't eaten yet and I'm already trying to kick him out!'
Xie Changning felt a pang of guilt.
After all, he had cleaned the entire courtyard and brought them their food. It wasn't right for her to use him and toss him aside.
So she nodded. "Mm."
"Thanks, wife!"
Yue Yihan had a typical Northeastern accent. The way he drew out the word "wife" had a cheerful lilt that sounded endearingly comical.
A slight smile touched Xie Changning's lips; she found it rather amusing.
*
After seeing Yue Yihan off, Xie Changning bolted the courtyard gate, bolted the main door, and returned to her room.
She hadn't had a chance to check on her dimensional space since coming from Shanghai.
Now, she finally had time!
So, Xie Changning walked up to a door and silently chanted a phrase—'I am your father!'
Pushing the door open and entering the space, she saw that all the things she had scavenged from the Xie Family estate in Shanghai were neatly arranged on the ground. The door to the laboratory still displayed the same two tasks she had seen before.
Now that she had tools, Xie Changning left the space to grab them, then returned to repair a hoe.
[Repaired Hoe x1, Shovel x1. Congratulations, space host! You have obtained the right to use the laboratory!]
A small, gray-blue megaphone appeared in front of Xie Changning, trailing a string of text that floated past. Immediately after, the lock on the laboratory door opened with a CLICK.
The lock open, Xie Changning eagerly went to the laboratory and pushed open the door.
What came into view was a dilapidated workbench, various repair parts for an S195 diesel engine, and a worn-out wooden chair.
The laboratory had looked quite large from the outside, but in reality, the unlocked area was less than twenty square meters. She would need to complete more tasks to unlock and upgrade it.
"Repair Diesel Engine x1, obtain Workbench Upgrade Blueprint x1"
It was the same kind of task as the one for the Spiritual Spring.
Xie Changning felt that the task of repairing the diesel engine wasn't too difficult. She could go to a secondhand market tomorrow and scrounge up a bunch of old parts.
「At the same time.」
Inside the Chuncheng Commerce Department.
Minister Yu was on the phone, frowning. "You want Xie Changning to help you repair a boiler? Have you lost your mind? Even if she's from Beijing University, that doesn't change the fact that she has a bad background!"
'If anyone found out, I'd be implicated too!'
"I was on the same train as Sister Changning. She's incredibly talented and knows a lot about machinery. I want to give it a shot!"
On the other end of the line was the man from the Northeast whom Xie Changning had met on the train, Wang Lisheng.
As he spoke, his expression was one of immense frustration.
"Minister, if I had any other choice, I wouldn't be asking her, would I? The United States isn't helping us at all right now. We have this huge order on our hands. Every day we're not working is another day the factory is behind on delivery!"
Minister Yu was silent for a long moment.
"Since you trust her so much, then... let's give it a try!"