Chapter 635: Old Friends Meet, Years of Deep Affection

Man Yatou saw the person running out of the room, and her feet seemed to be nailed to the ground; she stood there, stunned.

It had been five years. Not only had her mother not aged, but she actually looked a few years younger.

"Mother—"

She only managed to call out this one word before tears gushed out, unstoppable.

Liu Ying also froze in place, staring blankly at the young woman before her.

When she left, she was still a scrawny little girl, short and dressed in dowdy clothes. Now, the person standing before her had delicate features and an air of confidence about her; she almost didn't dare to recognize her.

She walked forward slowly, raised her hand, and tremblingly touched Man Yatou's face.

As her rough palm pressed against her daughter's smooth skin, tears welled up instantly.

"It really is my Man Yatou... If I had run into you on the street, Mother truly wouldn't have dared to recognize you."

Man Yatou smiled, but as she smiled, her eyes turned red again: "Mother, we haven't seen each other for five years. You haven't aged; you've actually gotten younger!"

"Nonsense, Mother even has white hair now. If I didn't age, wouldn't I be an old demoness?"

He Yuzhu and Liu Sanman stopped talking at the same time and looked over together.

Liu Ying let go of her daughter, turned around, saw He Yuzhu, and her eyes turned red again.

She hurried over a few steps, her knees bending as she prepared to kneel.

"Benefactor He, thank you!"

He Yuzhu was quick, grabbing her arm to support her: "Auntie, you can't do this. Man Yatou is a capable child; she is now the Director of the Computer Laboratory and a Cadre of some standing. This is all due to her own hard work."

Liu Ying was stunned, looking at Man Yatou in disbelief; she cried and laughed at the same time, her face covered in tears.

Liu Sanman hurriedly greeted them: "Come inside and sit. I'll have the second sister make a late-night snack. She is our family's Logistics Director now."

Man Yatou followed her mother into the kitchen and got busy with Liu Erman.

Liu Sanman invited He Yuzhu into the living room and poured him a cup of hot tea.

He Yuzhu took a sip of the tea, looked up, and asked: "How is your Food Factory doing now?"

Liu Sanman sat down opposite him, his expression becoming more serious: "Canned fruit exports are doing okay, and the sales channels haven't been cut off. But as for the biscuits and pastries, they basically aren't moving."

"Oh? What happened?"

Liu Sanman sighed: "In the past few years, grain was tight domestically, so we couldn't spare these things for export, and the overseas market was slowly taken over by others. Now that we want to squeeze back in, their paths are already locked up; it's difficult."

He Yuzhu nodded: "Take it slow, no rush. Right now, the country's grain supply isn't exactly abundant, so it's good enough to keep the canned goods stable." He paused, "Speaking of which, these past few years, it's been thanks to you helping to coordinate grain; Secretary Liu has thanked you quite a bit."

Liu Sanman waved his hand and smiled: "Hi, isn't that all thanks to you and Liushi Trading Company? On our own, how could we have held up this operation?"

"How is the factory you're building over at the Songliao Oilfield coming along?"

"That side is the best. With Deputy Director Lv Hong looking after things, the workers have money in their hands." Liu Sanman's eyes brightened when he said this, "We recently started construction at the Shandong Oilfield as well."

He Yuzhu also smiled: "Not bad. In the future, you can also develop toward Si Jiu Cheng and build a factory there."

Just as they were talking, the late-night snack was brought out.

Liu Ying arranged it herself: the cured meat was sliced neatly, the small wontons were steaming, and a plate of Spicy Crayfish was piled up red. The dishes weren't complex, but they were prepared with care.

He Yuzhu looked at the table and felt at ease.

This family, compared to before, had truly found a new way of life.

Liu Ying picked up her wine glass, her eyes turning red again: "Little Factory Director He, I am a rural woman and don't know how to say polite things, but our family being able to have today is all thanks to you. I toast this glass to you."

He Yuzhu stood up hurriedly, holding his glass with both hands: "Auntie, saying it like that makes us strangers. We are like one family now, why say such things?"

He tilted his head back and finished it.

Early the next morning, He Yuzhu began to get busy.

Secretary Liu accompanied him personally to look at land all over the industrial park.

Back when He Yuzhu left, there was still plenty of empty land here.

Now that he had returned, it was almost crowded with various factories.

In the industrial zone, there were new factory buildings everywhere and trucks moving in and out; it was a scene of bustling activity, and He Yuzhu felt a bit dazed.

If things continued to develop like this here, what would it look like in a few decades?

The two drove around several times and finally took a liking to a piece of empty land near the Machine Tool Factory.

He Yuzhu jumped out of the car, looked around, and had a plan in mind.

"Let's go with this spot; it's not too big or too small, just right."

Secretary Liu immediately waved over his accompanying staff: "Fix this spot and hurry up with the paperwork."

He Yuzhu took a stack of blueprints out of his backpack and handed them over: "Leader, I've already drawn the blueprints for the factory building and equipment. You can give them to the infrastructure department and the Machine Tool Factory later."

Secretary Liu took them, flipped through two pages, and nodded: "Done, I'll coordinate it."

With matters here arranged, He Yuzhu felt restless, as if grass were growing in his heart, and he began to worry about Hong Kong.

He found an excuse, saying he needed to go over to handle equipment.

Secretary Liu understood without needing to be told and let him go directly.

In the dead of night, He Yuzhu released his Fishing Boat, which glided silently across the shimmering sea.

He had a legal identity in Hong Kong, so it wouldn't matter even if someone ran into him.

The boat docked, he put the small boat into his space, looked around to see no one, and flashed into the night.

He knew it wasn't easy to contact Liu Rusi, so he headed straight for Zhang Shuying's house tonight.

The window opened with a light push.

He climbed inside, landing without a sound.

The room was quiet, and moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains, landing on the person sleeping soundly on the bed.

Zhang Shuying was lying on her side, and a little boy was sleeping beside her; his features hadn't fully developed yet, but one could already see a resemblance to He Yuzhu.

He Yuzhu stood by the bed for a while and gently pushed her shoulder.

Zhang Shuying opened her eyes in a daze, and upon seeing the person before her, she was completely stunned.

The next second, she sat up abruptly and hugged him tightly; tears gushed out, and her snot and tears smeared all over his chest.

"Don't cry, don't cry..." He Yuzhu patted her back gently, his voice kept very low, afraid of waking the child.

The two of them walked out of the bedroom on tiptoe and closed the door.

Zhang Shuying wiped her eyes, looking him over while crying and laughing, and it took a long while for her to calm down.

"You haven't met our son yet," she said in a soft voice. "Lately, he's been calling for his dad every day. I told him his dad went on a business trip, and he's starting to not believe me anymore."

He Yuzhu asked, "What name did you give him?"

He had known about Zhang Shuying giving birth for a long time; the news had been passed on by Su Qing, who still lived in the same building as Zhang Shuying to this day.

"How have you been these past few years?"

Zhang Shuying leaned on his shoulder: "I've been singing for these few years and could be considered famous. But I always feel that if I keep singing like this, there's nothing new."

He Yuzhu held her and said softly: "Before I leave this time, I'll leave you another batch of songs, enough for you to sing for a few more years."

When he left last time, he had left her almost all the songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan that would become hits from the sixties, seventies, and eighties.

Relying on these songs, Zhang Shuying had swept through the markets of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia over these past few years, becoming incredibly popular.

He Yuzhu asked again: "Do the reporters know about the child?"

Zhang Shuying pursed her lips and smiled, her eyes carrying a hint of craftiness: "After I knew I was pregnant, I told the public I was going into seclusion to record a new album. By the time the album was released and became a hit, everyone went to listen to the songs, and instead, no one paid attention to me."

He Yuzhu nodded and asked again: "Has your mother's side come to harass you?"

Zhang Shuying shook her head, "They haven't dared to come looking for me."

He Yuzhu didn't say anything more, understanding in his heart that it was most likely Jin Hai protecting her.