Chapter 515: One Turn May Be a Lifetime

Bang— Lu Cheng closed the car door, a little weary, and leaned back against the seat.

Zheng Changzhang, the co‑pilot, still holding that 30‑ton approval form, happily flipped it back and forth.

"Lu Jingzhang, have you found the handcuffs?"

He got no reply; only when Zheng Changzhang looked over did Lu Cheng come to his senses.

"What?"

Zheng Changzhang was a bit puzzled, "What's up? Why do you look like a daughter‑in‑law being snatched away?"

"I said, have you found the handcuffs?"

"Oh, found them."

Zheng Changzhang sat up straight suddenly: "Lu Jingzhang, tell me, what do you want for lunch? Just say it, it's on me."

Lu Cheng shook his head; his mind was a mess, and the words Lin Qingyan had just said clearly still showed feelings for him.

Not only hadn't they faded with time, they instead gave him a feeling of being unable to let go completely.

But the two clearly had no fate left, because Yu Wanrong looked down on him, the junior police officer, and forcing it would only add needless pain to both sides.

Lu Cheng put his thoughts aside: "Zheng Changzhang, no need to be formal, just have something simple."

Zheng Changzhang, of course, refused.

"Don't be modest, you helped me a huge favor this time, so I have to treat you to a meal…"

"How about this: since you've come to the Northeast, I'll treat you to a fine dish—mushroom stew with Flying Dragon. Even though you're from the Capital City, you've definitely never tasted it."

Lu Cheng had indeed eaten that dish before, but that was in his previous life when he was a youth commune member in Beidahuang.

Back then food was scarce, work wasn't done properly, they barely got any rations, and they mostly ate porridge; the craving for meat reached its peak daily.

Finally, one day, after discussing with a few friends from the youth commune, they went into a mountain, exerted great effort, and finally hit a Flying Dragon with a slingshot.

The so‑called Flying Dragon isn't a dragon at all, but a bird whose scientific name is Flower‑tail Hazelnut Chicken.

It's called Flying Dragon because the bird has the reputation of having dragon‑like meat, proving how delicious its flesh is.

Perhaps they were starving then; the youths not only drank the soup clean but even chewed the bones to pieces.

At that time, they thought it was hunger—since they rarely ate meat, they found it exceptionally tasty.

Later, when they became prosperous and meat varieties were abundant, they no longer lacked meat, yet Lu Cheng often recalled the taste of Flying Dragon and never forgot it all his life.

But later there was no chance to eat it again, because the creature became a protected animal; eating it now would mean stepping on a sewing machine.

So such delicacy becomes rarer with each missed bite.

Lu Cheng was about to start the vehicle when, at that moment, Lao Fang was thrown out directly by the Security Department.

He hit the ground, wincing in pain, teeth gritted.

"Ouch, ouch, it hurts me to death…"

Zheng Changzhang quickly opened the door and helped the person up.

"What's this? Lao Fang, why did someone throw you out?"

Lao Fang, holding his backside, yanked Zheng Changzhang's arm away, his face seething with anger.

"How did I get thrown out? That's all your fault! You really ruined me!"

Zheng Changzhang looked bewildered: "It's not Lao Fang, this is a bit inexplicable; I was being kind to help you, how did I end up helping the wrong way?"

Lao Fang was on the verge of tears: "You still say it's not your fault? Was it you who told me that if I were tougher with Lin Section Chief, we could get more iron ore approved? Was that what you said?"

Zheng Changzhang blinked: "Ah, that was me. What's up? You didn't get it approved?"

"Of course it wasn't approved. Seeing that I was thrown out, I thought you were deliberately lying to me; just now I was thinking that being tougher would almost make me strike someone."

"Ouch, why did I trust you? You really ruined me; this time I've offended Lin Section Chief, and you made a mess of me…"

Listening to Lao Fang's tearful words, Zheng Changzhang was full of doubt.

It made no sense; just now Lu Cheng had gotten it approved that way.

Why didn't it work for Lao Fang?

When Zheng Changzhang looked toward the jeep's cabin, Lu Cheng was lighting a cigarette, casually exhaling a smoke ring.

Zheng Changzhang immediately slapped his forehead and said to Lao Fang.

"I get it. Being tough is fine; the problem is you're too ugly. If you looked like Lu Jingzhang…"

Lao Fang waved his hand impatiently: "Don't spin more lies, you still want to cheat me! No, not only did I offend someone, I was also thrown so badly; tell me how you'll compensate me."

Zheng Changzhang laughed: "Alright, we're about to go eat; come along, it's my treat."

Lao Fang muttered: "That's more like it…"

…

Lu Cheng's meal was truly delicious.

Flying Dragon, bear paw, deer tail, snow frog, Anbi, old‑version three‑fresh…

Through this meal, he also got to see what a whole book of Northeast cuisine and half of the Criminal Law feels like.

Given Lu Cheng's prior legal education, he felt a guilty conscience over the meal, so he quickly took out the Dragon Pendant, got a red rope from the train staff, and hung it around his neck as a personal talisman to ward off evil.

Zheng Changzhang finished his task; after the meal, he didn't linger and boarded the return train straight back to Chuncheng.

Lu Cheng still had to stay here for two more days; this was the first Youth Special Train, and the local Railway Division had hung a banner—"Welcome Knowledgeable Youth Home."

The station was also decked with colorful flags, looking festive and full of a joyous atmosphere.

Of course, people from all over gathered at a youth commune, sharing a kang, having lived together for years, had already become like brothers and sisters.

Now that parting is imminent, it's inevitable to feel reluctant.

The male comrades were fine, lugging big and small bags, patting each other's chests, exchanging a few words of good wishes for the future.

At most they'd give each other a firm hug.

In contrast, the female comrades were far more sentimental.

Holding hands, as if there were endless words of entrustment, they were slow to board the train; when they finally finished speaking and were about to board, tears fell as well.

Inevitably they had to embrace again, holding each other's heads and crying.

These are all friendships, battlefield friendships.

The most heartbreaking are those couples.

Because of various reasons, the man or the woman could only return first, and the remaining side ended up chasing the train, crying and shouting.

"You have to wait for me…"

"I'll wait for you; when I return to Hui Cheng I'll write you a letter, go back…"

"No, let me take one more look…"

Looking at these passionate youths, Lu Cheng seemed to dream back to the previous life in Beidahuang, inevitably feeling moved.

He knows that this turn may be for a lifetime.

Because no matter how good the current promises are, some people after returning to Hui Cheng will, due to this or that realistic reason, quickly choose to marry and have children.

The train whistle sounded.

A green‑skin train pulled away ten years of youth, leaving some people here and taking some people to the other side.

No one knows what the other side is, only that this side cannot be returned to; they remain bewildered.

The people on the Platform were still standing, the train already far away.