Chapter 184: Number One's Affirmation

At 2:15 in the early morning, the telephone in the bedroom suddenly rang with a shrill bell.

"Ding-ling-ling—"

Xiang Fei jolted awake and bounced up from the bed, nearly knocking Zhou Huimin to the floor.

"Ouch!" Zhou Huimin rubbed her arm, "Who is it in the middle of the night?"

Xiang Fei fumbled to grab the phone: "Hello?"

"Ah Fei! It's me!" Han Shanping's excited voice came from the other end of the line, "The meeting just ended, and Number One Leader mentioned you!"

Xiang Fei instantly woke up, jumping out of bed barefoot: "Uncle Han? You said... Number One Leader?"

Zhou Huimin also sat up straight immediately, all sleepiness gone.

Han Shanping's voice trembled slightly with excitement: "My leader told me that at tonight's meeting, Number One Leader looked at the report materials for 'The Battle at Lake Changjin' and said—"

He deliberately paused, imitating Number One Leader's distinctive tone:

"This young man named Xiang Fei is a good comrade, indeed. I heard that in the past, to promote Huaxia, he offended the Xiangjiang government of that time, didn't he?"

"Click!"

The phone in Xiang Fei's hand dropped straight onto the floor.

Zhou Huimin quickly picked it up: "Uncle Han? Are you still there?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Han Shanping laughed, "Is this kid so happy he's gone silly?"

Xiang Fei snatched the phone back, his voice trembling: "Uncle Han... Number One Leader... really said that? Word for word? Every single word is the original?"

"Absolutely true!" Han Shanping stated firmly, "All the leaders nodded in agreement!"

Xiang Fei suddenly started spinning in place: "My heavens... my heavens..."

Zhou Huimin looked at her husband with concern: "Ah Fei, are you okay?"

Xiang Fei didn't hear her at all, firing questions at the phone like a machine gun:

"What expression did Number One Leader have when saying this?"

"Did he say it with a smile?"

"How was the tone?"

"Did he emphasize any particular word?"

Han Shanping was at a loss between laughter and tears: "You kid... by the way, 'The Battle at Lake Changjin' is going to be released on the mainland."

Xiang Fei waved his hand: "What's a release compared to this! Uncle Han, tell me the details quickly!"

After hanging up the phone, Xiang Fei bounced around the bedroom like a spring man.

"Ah Min! Did you hear? Number One Leader called me a 'good comrade'!"

"He even mentioned the time I offended the British Hong Kong government before!"

"This is the highest level of affirmation!"

Zhou Huimin smiled gently: "I heard, I heard it all."

Xiang Fei suddenly threw himself onto the bed, picked up his wife, and spun her around: "I'm going to call Brother Long!"

Zhou Huimin gasped: "It's 3 AM right now!"

"Right, right, right..." Xiang Fei put his wife down, then remembered something, "No, I have to write it down!"

He rushed to the desk and solemnly wrote:

"Early morning of July 3, 1997, Number One Leader called me a 'good comrade'..."

As dawn was just breaking, Xiang Fei began his "journey of sharing good news."

The first call was to Leslie Cheung: "Brother! Number One Leader praised me as a 'good comrade'! Word for word!"

The sound of a teacup being knocked over came from the other end of the line: "What?! Wait a moment... let me get a pen to write this down..."

The second call was to Xiang Qiang: "Uncle! Number One Leader remembers the time I stood up to the British Hong Kong government back then!"

Xiang Qiang laughed heartily on the other end of the line: "Good kid! I didn't spoil you for nothing!"

When making the third call to Jackie Chan, Xiang Fei specifically cleared his throat:

"Brother Long, there's a small matter I want to tell you..."

"What small matter?"

"Number One Leader said I am a good comrade..."

"What?! Wait! I'm coming to your place immediately!"

At 10 AM, Han Shanping's phone call came again.

"Ah Fei, don't just focus on being happy." His tone suddenly turned serious, "The Leader also instructed that preparations must be made to give you a heavy responsibility."

Xiang Fei immediately stood straight: "Please rest assured, Organization!"

"'The Battle at Lake Changjin' is scheduled for release in the mainland on August 1st, on Army Day."