Chapter 195: with translation of chapter title

The black tiger-headed Mercedes glided smoothly through the narrow hutong, drawing sideways glances from neighbors along the way. A car of this caliber appearing in an ordinary courtyard neighborhood was simply too conspicuous. Several old grandfathers stopped what they were doing, holding their smoke pipe sticks and pointing and commenting.

"I say, Old Zhang, whose car is this? So impressive!"

"I don't know, anyway it's not from our hutong. Look at that license plate, Guangdong province, a foreign company's car!"

"Second Brother, the entrance to our hutong is too narrow; this car can't get in, can it?" Lu Qingjun leaned against the car window looking out, saying worriedly.

"It's fine, just park outside." Lu Qingshan looked at the approaching gate, a warm feeling surging in his heart.

The car had just come to a stop at the hutong entrance when the courtyard's main gate creaked open. Wang Guilan, wearing an apron, rushed out with a worried face, followed by a middle-aged woman in her forties.

"Qing Shan! Qingjun!" Wang Guilan instantly recognized her two sons stepping out of the car, her eyes reddening at once. "You're finally back! My heart has been hanging all these days!"

"Mom!" Lu Qingshan strode forward and tightly embraced his mother. Wang Guilan's body was thinner than in his memory, but the embrace remained as warm as ever.

"You've lost weight, all of you have!" Wang Guilan wiped her tears while sizing up her two sons. "Haven't you been eating properly out there? Look at your complexion, all tanned! And these clothes—why are you dressed so formally?"

The onlooking neighbors, seeing this, all began to whisper among themselves.

"Oh dear, isn't this the Lu family's second and fourth sons?"

"That's the Qing Shan who does business, right? What a grand spectacle!"

"Look at those attendants, each standing ramrod straight, like soldiers."

Lu Qingjun also stepped forward to act coquettish: "Mom, we've missed you to death! I dream of your braised pork!"

"This kid, all he knows is to eat!" Wang Guilan laughed through tears, "Hurry inside, I'll start cooking right away!"

"Mom, is this Aunt Wang?" Lu Qingshan looked at the middle-aged woman behind him.

"Oh, yes yes!" Wang Guilan hurriedly introduced, "This is Wang Cuiying, who came specially to help around the house. Cuiying, these are the Qing Shan and Qingjun I told you about."

Wang Cuiying quickly wiped her hands and said respectfully: "Mr. Lu, hello! The old lady has been thinking of you every day, saying you're doing big business outside—how impressive!"

At that moment, A Qiang and the other three bodyguards also stepped out of the car, the four of them in matching black suits, tall and straight, with sharp eyes, standing like four iron towers behind Lu Qingshan, an intangible fierce aura making the noisy hutong fall silent for a moment.

These four wore identical black suits, their waists straight, their gait bearing the marks of military training.

"Good heavens, what background do they have?"

"They don't look like businessmen, more like..."

"Good heavens, could these few be... bodyguards?" a neighbor muttered quietly.

"Mom, these are friends I met on Hong Kong Island, protecting us on the road." Lu Qingshan briefly introduced, "A Qiang, you all come in too; we'll eat together at home tonight."

"Good, good, good! The more the merrier!" Wang Guilan hurriedly greeted them, though inside she kept wondering, "This isn't just friends; this aura is more intimidating than the guards of those high-ranking officials in the compound."

The aunties in the hutong exchanged glances, the fire of gossip in their hearts blazing fiercely.

The group marched grandly into the courtyard.

Lu Qingshan surveyed the familiar courtyard, his heart filled with myriad emotions. Still the same old gray-tiled, blue-brick courtyard, the same old locust tree, the same sky-well in the center.

It was just tidier than before, even the ground's blue bricks polished to a shine.

"Qing Shan brother! Qingjun brother!" a clear voice came from the room; little sister Lu Xiaoyu rushed out like a gust of wind and flung herself into Lu Qingshan's arms.

"Xiaoyu!" Lu Qingshan lifted his sister and spun her around. "You've grown taller! You're almost a young lady now!"

"I'm only eighteen! Still early!" Lu Xiaoyu retorted, blushing. "But you guys, you don't even know how much you miss home while you're out there! Second brother, fourth brother, you look so sharp in those clothes—more handsome than TV actors!"

"Miss! Of course I miss!" Lu Qingjun thumped his chest. "I keep telling second brother, Mom's cooking is the most fragrant; no big restaurant outside can compare!"

Just then, second sister Lu Fang also walked out of the room.

She was much steadier than Lu Xiaoyu, but the joy in her eyes could not be hidden; only when she saw the unfamiliar faces in the courtyard did a flicker of doubt cross her gaze.

"Second sister!" Lu Qingshan stepped forward and hugged Lu Fang. "When did you get back?"

"I just arrived yesterday. Hearing you were coming back, I hurried back especially." Lu Fang said with a smile, "Qing Shan, you've really changed since you went out."

Wang Guilan bustled about while nonstop speaking: "Qing Shan, you've been out there so long—what exactly have you been doing? My heart's never at ease. And why have you hired so many people? Could you have gotten into trouble out there?"

Lu Qingshan hadn't yet had a chance to answer when elder brother Lu Qingyuan came in from outside, saw the scene in the courtyard, and froze for a moment.

"Qing Shan, Qingjun, hurry inside!" Lu Qingyuan gestured to the group, "There are a lot of people in the courtyard; if you have anything to say, let's go inside to talk."

"Elder brother! You've worked hard, taking care of all the family affairs."

"What's the point of us brothers talking about this!" Lu Qingyuan patted Lu Qingshan's back, "But you—what exactly have you experienced out there? You wouldn't say at the construction site earlier; surely you should speak now. And these people..."

His gaze fell on A Qiang and the others; his professional sensitivity let him notice that these people were unusual.

Wang Guilan also came over: "Yeah, Qing Shan, where exactly did you go? How did you bring back so many people? I heard the neighbors say you returned in a particularly nice car—how much did that car cost?"

Lu Qingshan was about to speak when the sound of a car engine came from outside the courtyard.

Immediately after, familiar and steady footsteps were heard.

"It's Dad coming back!" Wang Guilan immediately put down her work, "He said he wanted to come home early today, and it looks like he really did!"

The courtyard gate pushed open, and Lu Hua entered wearing a deep blue Mao suit, followed by a young guard.

Seeing the several unfamiliar faces in the courtyard, the guard's hand instinctively moved to his waist; professional instinct put him instantly on alert.

"Dad!" Lu Qingshan stepped forward to meet him.

"Qing Shan!" Lu Hua's face broke into a long‑absent smile as he firmly patted his son's shoulder, "Just coming back is good! Just coming back is good!"

Seeing the guard's move, A Qiang and the others immediately went on alert, their bodies tensing slightly.

The atmosphere in the courtyard instantly grew tense, as if it could explode at any moment.

Wang Guilan and Lu Xiaoyu both sensed something off, and involuntarily stepped back half a step.

"Dad, these are my friends who came back with me from Hong Kong Island." Lu Qingshan hurriedly explained, "A Qiang, this is my father's guard."

Upon hearing Lu Qingshan's explanation, both sides relaxed.

Lu Hua nodded: "They're all our own people, no need to be tense. Xiao Li, go help in the kitchen."

"Yes!" The guard immediately turned and went to the kitchen, and A Qiang and the others followed.

In the living room, the family was finally reunited.

Lu Hua sat in the master's chair, Wang Guilan, Lu Qingyuan, Lu Fang, and Lu Xiaoyu gathered on the sofa, while Lu Qingshan and Lu Qingjun sat opposite them.

"Lu Qingshan, speak up—what exactly happened during this time?" Lu Hua lifted his tea cup, his eyes inquisitive, "I have a premonition that your experience this time won't be simple."

Lu Qingshan organized his words and recounted, from his observations in Shenzhen to the stock‑market turbulence on Hong Kong Island, in a smooth narrative.

He spoke plainly, but to his family it sounded like successive thunderclaps.

When he mentioned short selling the Hong Kong index, gaining hundreds of times profit within days and ultimately achieving total victory, Lu Qingyuan's fists clenched.

"So… exactly how much was earned?" Lu Qingyuan couldn't help but ask first; this was also the question everyone cared most about.

Lu Qingshan lifted his tea cup, gently blew on it, then set it down, looking at each family member's tense yet hopeful face, and calmly uttered a figure: "Not a lot; at most on a single day, we earned eleven hundred million."

"More… how much?" Lu Xiaoyu's mouth formed an "O" shape.

"Bang!" Wang Guilan's tea cup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor; she seemed oblivious, only staring rigidly at her son, lips trembling: "Qing… Qing Shan, are you talking about… Japanese yen?"

Lu Fang and Lu Qingyuan also froze, as if struck by a petrification technique.

"It was Hong Kong dollars." Lu Qingshan calmly added, "According to the current exchange rate, converting to Renminbi, it's just over thirty billion."

Boom!

The living room fell into a death‑like silence, only the ticking of the wall clock striking each person's heart.

Over thirty billion!

This figure already exceeds the limits of their imagination; it's not money, it's an astronomical concept!

Lu Xiaoyu even covered her mouth with her hand, fearing she might shout out.

Lu Hua, however, showed no surprise; he set down his tea cup and slowly began, "Qing Shan, the things you did, I learned about them at the first moment."

"Huh?" This time Lu Qingshan was shocked, and even Lu Qingjun's eyes widened.

"The Comrade from the Hong Kong and Macau Office reported your situation to superiors at the first moment," Lu Hua's eyes flashed with complex emotions, his voice turning serious, "Chen Lao is also very concerned about you, and even specifically sought Minister Lin to learn about your case."

Lu Qingshan felt his heart nearly stop beating.

The Hong Kong and Macau Office report, Chen Lao's concern, Minister Lin… what these names represent, he knows all too well.

"Dad, this…"

Lu Qingshan for a moment didn't know what to say, a fine sweat even beaded on his forehead.

Lu Hua stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the old locust tree in the courtyard: "Qing Shan, your current status is no longer that of an ordinary person. The state's attention to you is far greater than you imagine."