Chapter 36: Midnight Talk

Hearing his name mentioned, Lu Cheng leaned his head forward and asked, "Team Captain Zhou, is there a mission? I will definitely cooperate fully, resolutely crack down on criminals, and never let…"

"Alright, alright!" Zhou Weihua hurriedly cut him off; such slogans are tolerable when Director Tang shouts them, but he didn't want to hear them.

"Indeed there is a mission. Director Tang not only didn't punish you, he also holds you in high regard, and wants you to represent our Xizhimen Train Police, cooperating with Beijing Station to capture an enemy spy."

"Enemy spy? What enemy spy?"

"This is a Confidential Mission; the details will become clear when you arrive at Beijing Station."

Lu Cheng nodded, "Understood. I won't ask what's to be asked, and I won't ask what's not to be asked."

Zhou Weihua shook his head, "Ask what's appropriate, don't ask what's not appropriate.

In short, representing our Train Police this time, you must not embarrass us and make Beijing Station look down on us; you must obey the rules, follow the arrangements, and remember not to act rashly.

"Don't worry, Team Captain Zhou, I will definitely not embarrass you."

Seeing Lu Cheng answer so promptly, Zhou Weihua still couldn't feel at ease; after all, Lu Cheng is a person personally selected by Director Tang.

"Alright, you go home and sleep quickly; after a day of hustle, I'm almost dead tired."

Zhou Weihua tidied the bedding.

Lu Cheng glanced outside and said, "Team Captain Zhou, it's already late night, my family has gone to bed early; how about I squeeze in here with you?"

Zhou Weihua turned his head, "Squeeze in here? No, this is a single bed; how could two people sleep on it?"

"Sleeping on your side, that might work."

"Side sleeping? Two grown men, what a joke!"

"Then, then open a Guesthouse for me; I've achieved such a great feat, staying at a Guesthouse isn't too much, right?"

"What? Stay at a Guesthouse? I also want to stay at a Guesthouse, go, go, quickly go home."

Zhou Weihua's mind went blank, and a snore followed immediately.

At this hour there were no buses, Lu Cheng borrowed a duty officer's bicycle from the unit, and gazing at the dense night outside, he was momentarily lost in thought.

"Home? Which home?"

After a little over an hour, the bicycle stopped at Yu'er Hutong.

Of course, staying at the Separate Courtyard, clean.

Lu Cheng knocked on the door for a long time, shivering from the cold.

Lin Qingyan finally was woken by the noise, wrapped in a cotton jacket, stood at the doorway and shouted, "Who's here this late?"

"Qing Yanjie, it's me."

"Lu Cheng? How come you…"

Lin Qingyan originally wanted to ask, "Why are you here again," but seeing that it was already late night, she couldn't send him away; besides, he was already her man, so coming home was normal.

"Why are you coming back only at this hour?"

"I had an extra shift, Qing Yanjie, open the door quickly, I'm freezing to death."

Lin Qingyan opened the door, and seeing Lu Cheng shivering at the entrance, said, "Come in quickly, I'll prepare some foot‑washing water to warm you up."

Lin Qingyan filled the foot‑washing basin with a bit of cold water, then poured hot water from a thermos, bustling back and forth to bring the basin to him, looking just like a caring young wife.

Lu Cheng took off his shoes, leaving only cloth socks; to remove these cotton socks, he first had to untie the two cords tied around his calves.

There's no way; without those two straps holding, they can't stay on for long, they'd slide down to the soles.

He took off the toe‑exposing socks and casually placed them at the foot of the bed.

He thought that once he got his salary, which would be a hefty sum, he would buy a pair of nylon‑cotton socks costing four‑five yuan a pair.

Unlike later times, now cotton fabrics are cheaper than synthetic fibers.

Lu Cheng placed his feet into the basin, tapped his soles a few times; the water was quite hot, just right for a foot soak.

Looking at Lin Qingyan, who had been woken in the middle of the night, she was only wearing a pair of cloth shoes, no socks, her rounded ankles exposed.

"Cold feet? How about we soak together?"

Lin Qingyan shook her head slightly, "I don't need it, it's late, there's nothing else, I'll go to sleep first."

Lu Cheng grabbed her arm, "Don't be in a hurry; after I finish washing my feet, let's sit and chat for a while. It's been a day since we met; have you missed me?"

Lu Cheng's blunt words made Lin Qingyan lower her head, not knowing how to answer.

Saying she missed him might be a stretch, but throughout the day, Lu Cheng truly kept appearing in her mind.

"What did you eat tonight?" Lu Cheng gritted his teeth, plunged both feet straight into the hot water, and said, "Sss, ugh."

"Millet noodle wotou."

"What about noon?"

"Millet noodle wotou."

Lu Cheng looked up, "Then there's no need to say it; the morning was also millet noodle wotou! I gave you money, why didn't you buy some standard flour to eat?"

Lu Cheng's tone carried displeasure, and Lin Qingyan felt a bit nervous.

"I know your family treats me well, but I can't earn money right now; being able to eat mixed noodles already makes me fully satisfied."

"Now that you're married to me, eating wotou every day, people would think I'm mistreating you."

"No, really not."

Lin Qingyan quickly shook her head; she had never thought that way, and her gratitude hadn't even had time to surface.

"I'm going to the Street Office today to inquire about a job; if I can find one, I won't have to keep spending your money."

"Didn't find one, right?"

As Lin Qingyan nodded, Lu Cheng, in a commanding tone, said, "From now on, if anything comes up, you must not go begging the Street Office again, or I'll beat you."

Originally, the Street Office was already displeased because Lin Qingyan's attempt to join the countryside team had failed, so how could they possibly offer her a job?

His woman wasn't even at the point of having to beg for help.

Lin Qingyan knew that Lu Cheng spoke like that, which sounded uncomfortable, but his intention was ultimately for her good.

"But I can't keep idling like this forever."

Indeed, arranging work now is too difficult; every Street Office is targeting families with many children, trying to persuade them to go down to the countryside for labor.

In this situation, in a few years a massive wave of Educated Youth will return to the city, making things even tougher; at that time Capital City will have 400,000 Unemployed Youth.

Where can we get so many positions?

To settle these people, every agency and unit has to hire large numbers of Temporary Workers; the Street Office sets up various collective units, such as barbershops, tailoring shops, knife‑sharpening shops, bicycle‑repair shops, and so on.

Often one person's work is done by three people, and two people's meals are eaten by five.

Otherwise these idle Unemployed Youth either loiter or get into fights, which is extremely harmful to social stability.

"Don't rush about work; I'll think of a way."

Lin Qingyan, without hope, said, "What method could you possibly have?"

"What? Still don't trust your man?"

"I—I'm not meaning that..."

The West Wing Room fell quiet for a moment; Lin Qingyan had been waiting to pour out the foot‑washing water, but Lu Cheng suddenly said, "Why aren't you going to sleep yet, waiting to warm my bedding for me?"

"I don't want to." Lin Qingyan hurried away as if fleeing.

Back in the bedroom, the bedding was already icy, but somehow Lin Qingyan felt very warm inside.