Chapter 85

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Protagonist:

Jiang Wenyu

When Jiang Wenyu brought Chen Na back to their lodging, Chen Lan was naturally quite surprised.

The former kept her head lowered, not daring to look at her own older sister; the latter's expression carried complex emotions — excitement, joy, and also some puzzlement.

Jiang Wenyu roughly explained the ins and outs, but didn't say too much; everything depended on how Chen Na herself would decide.

The two sisters, whose relationship wasn't too good, talked who knows what in the room afterward; after Jiang Wenyu had fulfilled his responsibility, he walked around here and there, strolling about, and finally looked at the scenery from Lou Xia.

"Now that the person's been found, are you going to leave?" Zhong Beiyue appeared at his side at some unknown time.

Jiang Wenyu nodded. "Right, my business is done too; it's time to go back — the child is still at home."

Zhong Beiyue looked like she wanted to say something but couldn't get it out; in the end she just sighed. "Alright then. I originally wanted to take Chen Lan around a bit more, but let me tell you first — she really has talent in fashion design, sometimes even making me feel inferior… you… you mustn't hinder her from pursuing what she likes."

The words were a bit hard to parse, but Jiang Wenyu understood perfectly; he shrugged and smiled. "No need for you to worry about that — whatever Chen Lan wants to do, I'll support her with all my strength."

Zhong Beiyue suddenly smiled. "Good then."

…

A day passed quickly; Chen Na brought all her luggage here, though there actually wasn't much — just two backpacks.

Zhong Beiyue saw them all the way to the station, and finally reluctantly saw them onto the train. Just before boarding, Zhong Beiyue pulled Chen Lan aside alone to a spot with fewer people.

"After you go back, you must consider carefully." Zhong Beiyue urged.

The crossbody bag Chen Lan wore on her shoulder was bought for her by Zhong Beiyue; inside were Athena Pavilion's information sheets, and some small trinkets Zhong Beiyue had entrusted Chen Lan to bring as little gifts for Wu Miaomiao.

Chen Lan knew she meant well, and smiled. "Got it. If I have that idea, I'll come find you."

Just like that, they boarded the train, and then left Jianghai City.

The massive metropolis gradually receded behind them; they had only stayed in one district for a few days, yet it felt like they'd gone to another world — just how many secrets this enormous city held, no one knew.

This departure wasn't forever. For both Jiang Wenyu and Chen Lan, it was the same.

All along the way Chen Na remained silent; she seemed to still be thinking about how to face her parents, but since she had already set foot on the road home, thinking so much now served no purpose.

Regarding the matter of successfully finding Chen Na, Chen Lan finally set her heart at ease; she didn't know what exactly had happened behind the scenes, and didn't ask Chen Na either — at least the person had been found safe and sound, and that was better than anything.

The long journey home made one feel bored; they could only admire the scenery along the way, quietly, yet full of anticipation, waiting.

…

Dawn broke, the sun rose slowly, slightly dispelling the cold and bringing a breeze that hinted at early spring.

The people of Chema City carried on as usual — those who should work worked, those who should rest rested — only lately Chema City seemed a bit too busy.

On both sides of Chema City's broad main road, many workers erected telephone poles one after another, then climbed up to install electrical equipment that made ordinary people feel extremely curious.

Ten-odd days ago Chema City had already broken ground on this front; seemingly because development was now too fast, besides electrical wires there was also something called telephone lines installed on them.

Although it wasn't yet universal to every household, after the Mayor of Chema City agreed, large-scale construction began — this was preparation for the future popularization of telephones.

"Have to say, our Mayor really has foresight; by my estimate, in less than a year at least half the households should be able to get phones installed."

A man sat by the window, smoking as he spoke.

"Mm, going by the current penetration rate it should be about right; and the Mayor himself said he'd cover part of the installation cost — counts as doing a good deed."

Another man sat on the sofa on the other side; compared to the former, his expression was much more silent, and he spoke without any emotion.

The first speaker turned back and asked curiously, "Hey, by the way, how's that Wu Miaomiao's school coming along? This reconstruction has taken long enough, right? Wasn't it said there were still lots of people helping out?"

The latter nodded. "Soon. Now they've started preparing enrollment procedures; after all, it's Chema City's first proper school — neighboring cities might send their kids over too."

"That's really great! Watching Chema City get better day by day, even us ordinary folks feel quite refreshed at heart."

The latter suddenly brought up serious business and asked, "Jiang Wenyu wanted you to recruit workers here — how's the recruiting going?"

Mentioning this matter, Li Chen instantly wore a worried frown; he didn't even smoke, just stubbed out the cigarette, and sighed. "At first I figured it wouldn't be too hard, but the result… far exceeded my expectations."

He had indeed followed Jiang Wenyu's instructions before leaving to recruit in Chema City and the nearby neighboring cities, but the technical workers in this area were far fewer than he imagined; facts proved not everyone has Jiang Wenyu's superb skills — forget those cutting-edge techniques, even people who understand electrical appliances are rare, let alone technicians.

Precisely because of this, nearly half a month had passed and he hadn't recruited a single person; even after posting all kinds of flyers there were no inquiries; occasionally someone would come but only to ask if they took apprentices…

Li Chen was also very helpless.

"Sigh!"