Chapter 102: Letter from the Big Brother

Upon learning it was a letter from the Boss, Chen Xianglan couldn't even mind the cabbage, adjusting her apron as she walked into the house, muttering.

"San'er, quickly read it to Mom; what did your big brother say in his letter? Oh heavens, today has worn me out; I'm going inside first."

Lu Cheng walked over, reached out and gave Lin Qingyan a gentle tug on the head: "Don't be impatient."

Lin Qingyan forced a smile: "I'm fine, I'm used to it; quickly read the letter to Mom, don't keep her waiting, I'll take the cabbage down."

What she most wants now is a reply from Qin Bobo, but the mailbox at the Hu Tong Entrance was just fed this morning; there's no way a reply could arrive so quickly.

In the Main Hall, Lu Cheng opened the envelope, smoothed the letter with both hands, and began reading: "Dear little brother Lu Cheng, my most outstanding good brother…"

Thirsty beyond measure, Chen Xianglan was weighing the Thermos Flask to pour tea when she suddenly turned her body toward him: "Don't add words arbitrarily; that sentence doesn't exist!"

Lu Cheng helplessly said: "Dear Mom and Dad, dog Ying Ying…"

Chen Xianglan tapped him: "You added words again! Read properly; no extra words, no missing words—annoying."

"Dear Mom and Dad, Ying Ying, everything here is fine… Hey, not Mom, why am I not in here?"

Chen Xianglan glared: "You're going to drive me crazy; hand it over, I'll read it myself."

"I read, I read… Mom and Dad, are you both healthy? The weather is cooling, Capital City has a lot of meltwater, you must be extra careful…"

The preceding lines were just the big brother's usual concern for Mom and Dad—old, familiar talk; basically every letter contains such words, and Lu Cheng's ears have grown calloused from hearing them.

But it can't stop Mom and Dad from missing the big brother; even these repetitive words make them happy and content.

"Your big brother's side has nothing going on, so I'm relieved; later, when you reply to him, tell him everything at home is fine, so he needn't worry… By the way, your big brother said his work at the Commune has become stable now?"

"Yes, Mom, my big brother has now entered work at the Commune, eating communal meals; life is much better than before, you needn't worry."

When they were in Yushu Gou, Lu Cheng left a letter; he didn't tell his big brother in advance what it contained, mainly because he feared his big brother hadn't formally entered the Commune yet and couldn't deal with that Qi Baoguo.

In fact, the letter's content, leveraging the information gap from his previous life, preemptively exposed Qi Baoguo's falsified accounts in the village-run enterprise, thereby lending his big brother a helping hand.

As for how he learned it, Lu Cheng merely wrote in the letter that he heard it from the local Railway Branch director; anyway, that's not the point.

The big brother saw the letter, and within two days of going to the Commune, reported the matter to the Commune's deputy director Tian Fuguang; the revolutionary committee took it very seriously.

Lu Cheng had already clarified in the letter that a surprise inspection was necessary to prevent Qi Baoguo and the accountant from noticing, then to level the accounts so that they would end up with nothing.

Fortunately, the big brother followed that plan; under Tian Fuguang's authorization, he set up a special investigation team, and because he knew the situation of the Yushu Gou Big Team, he served as its leader and conducted a surprise inspection of the team.

Qi Baoguo was unprepared; together with the accountant, he was immediately isolated for interrogation.

At first Qi Baoguo remained defiant, clinging to the accounts and refusing to speak; the big brother Lu Feng then targeted the accountant.

Since they were all in the same Big Team, Lu Feng was aware of the accountant's family matters; the accountant had a sick mother who needed money for treatment, which is why she colluded with Qi Baoguo.

Lu Feng used this as a breakthrough, promising the accountant that if she disclosed how Qi Baoguo fabricated the accounts, the Big Team secretary Qi Baoguo would be unable to act.

Later, the Commune would appoint someone else as the Big Team secretary; Lu Feng promised to tell the team that the money for the accountant's mother's treatment would be provided by the team.

The accountant was moved to tears on the spot and immediately spilled everything.

Moreover, the accountant was willing to spill everything because she trusted Lu Feng to keep his word, after all, he was now a member of the Commune.

Those falsified accounts all passed through the accountant's hands, so there was nothing more to learn; with the accountant's testimony, Qi Baoguo could no longer deny it.

The final outcome was only to sit in a jail cell.

Thus, it also indirectly rescued several female Educated Youth.

Lu Cheng looked at the letter, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.

Another happy development was that his big brother Lu Feng achieved a great merit in this incident, eliminating a parasite for the Commune; after resolving the Qi Baoguo case, the investigation team was not disbanded immediately.

Lu Feng suggested that incidents like this were certainly not isolated cases; under Tian Fuguang's authorization, the investigation team spent less than a day and uncovered two more egregious cases of public loss and private gain in other Big Teams, arresting over a dozen people.

During this investigation, Lu Feng's outstanding performance made Tian Fuguang realize that merely having a comrade draft documents was a waste of talent.

To maintain constant deterrence, Tian Fuguang convened a meeting and resolved that the investigation team would not be disbanded, with Lu Feng continuing as team leader; the team's duty was to supervise and inspect these Big Teams.

Lu Cheng knew this was similar to a later-era Discipline Inspection Commission.

Because of various current conditions, the disciplinary inspection unit had been temporarily abolished, but it would be reinstated in about two years.

It is estimated that by then, his big brother Lu Feng would likely enter the Discipline Inspection Committee directly.

It seems in this life, big brother Lu Feng is set to pursue a different official career path.

It is now the end of 1975; compared with the previous life, the big brother's starting point is already very high, and his future prospects are incalculable.

The last sentence of the letter read: Lu Cheng, thank you; the big brother was valued by the Commune from the start, all thanks to your help.

"Why are you spacing out? What else did your big brother say?" Chen Xianglan couldn't help urging.

"Oh, nothing else; Qing'er already wished Grandfather and Grandmother a Happy New Year in advance."

Chen Xianglan, still happy, asked: "Did your big brother mention whether he'll return for the New Year this year?"

"He didn't say that; I'll write him later to ask. However, in his letter he mentioned that my little niece woke up the next day looking for me; she couldn't find me, cried all day, and her eyes were swollen from crying."

Chen Xianglan clapped her hands: "Oh dear, look, look—she's still closer to us here."

"Of course, you are her biological grandmother."

Chen Xianglan suddenly turned her head, and Lu Cheng felt a chill in his heart.

"What's wrong, Mom?"

"You and Qing Yan have been married for a while now; when do you plan to have children?"

Lu Cheng guessed it was about this and replied: "I'm just starting work; it's the critical period for my career advancement. Matters of love and children would only slow my promotion; in another two years, a man should prioritize his career."

Chen Xianglan rolled her eyes: "You always have excuses; I'm not urging you, I'm urging your big brother, okay!"

"Hey, you urging my big brother is fine, you just don't know—my sister-in-law has a big butt, so it's easy to have children, right? So you urging my big brother…"

Seeing Chen Xianglan just staring without speaking, Lu Cheng hurriedly stood up: "Then what? I'll go help unload the cabbage."

In the courtyard outside, Lu Cheng took the cabbage and piled it in the corner: "Qing Yanjie, I'll take it; you rest a while."

"It's fine, I'm not tired; what did Mom just say?" Lin Qingyan passed another cabbage over.

"Nothing much, just that the big brother's letter mentioned Qing'er, which sparked thoughts about urging us to have children again."

Lin Qingyan paused while holding the cabbage: "Then how did you say it?"

"What can I say? Just prioritize work. You don't need to worry; if Mom pushes, she'll push me, not you."

Lin Qingyan lowered her head; she knew hiding this from Chen Xianglan was wrong, but because of her parents' situation, she didn't know how to untangle this mess.

Lu Cheng understood her conflicted feelings, took the cabbage and said, "Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything. If the neighbors start gossiping, I'll just say it's because I'm infertile!"

Lin Qingyan lifted her head, her eyes flashing with tears, full of disbelief.