Chen Yang stopped abruptly, listening intently.
During his conversation with Han Xuehua earlier that day, Chen Yang sensed a subtle worry beneath her cheerful demeanor. Although she hid it well, Chen Yang had still noticed it keenly.
Chen Yang gently pushed open his mother's bedroom door a crack and peered inside. Under the dim light of the lamp, Han Xuehua clutched a finely crafted black box, tears streaming down her face. From Chen Yang's angle, he could see her back trembling uncontrollably; she was clearly deeply emotional.
Han Xuehua choked back sobs as she murmured to herself:
"Dad, your daughter has missed you so much. I want to see you again..."
As she spoke, Han Xuehua collapsed onto the table, sobbing, but she deliberately kept her voice low, perhaps afraid of disturbing Chen Yang.
Dad? A surge of emotion welled up within Chen Yang.
Because in Chen Yang's memory, he had never seen any relatives from Han Xuehua's maternal family. When he was little, he had asked why everyone else had grandparents, uncles, and aunts, but he didn't. Each time, Han Xuehua would give him a somber look and brush him off, sometimes even getting inexplicably angry.
Later, as Chen Yang grew older, he assumed it was because his mother's family was no longer around, and to avoid triggering painful memories for Han Xuehua, he gradually stopped asking.
But today, Han Xuehua's words clearly indicated that at least her father was still alive. So what could have caused the father and daughter to have no contact for over twenty years? Chen Yang's mind raced; he felt he had a clue, but he couldn't quite grasp it.
Just then, Han Xuehua took a deep breath, wiped away her tears, and then solemnly opened the small black box. She rummaged through it, picked up an item, stood up, and walked towards the door.
Chen Yang quickly pulled his head back and ran back to his room.
Chen Yang quickly sat up on the edge of the bed, pulled the covers over himself, and picked up his phone, pretending to play a game. Just then, Han Xuehua knocked and came in. Chen Yang put down his phone, glanced at Han Xuehua, and noticed her eyes were still a little red, but he pretended not to notice and casually asked,
"Mom, you're still up so late? Is there something you need?"
Han Xuehua looked at Chen Yang affectionately and said,
"Yangyang, Mom has something for you!"
She handed the item to Chen Yang, who was sitting on the bed. Chen Yang looked closely and saw a women's wristwatch with a rather retro style. Seeing the somewhat old-fashioned watch, Chen Yang's eyes involuntarily narrowed, but he quickly smiled nonchalantly and said,
"Mom! Why are you giving me a women's watch in the middle of the night? I can't wear it! Besides, I have a watch!"
He then raised his hand and waved the cheap digital watch on his wrist. Han Xuehua gave Chen Yang a reproachful glare and said,
"This watch isn't for you! It's a gift from Mom to her future daughter-in-law!"
Her words followed, and she shoved the watch into Chen Yang's hand, adding with a hint of concern, "Yangyang, this watch means a lot to Mom. You can't just give it away casually! Remember, unless it's someone you've chosen as your life partner, you absolutely cannot give it away, understand?"
Chen Yang fiddled with the watch in his hand... Without looking up, he said,
"So much trouble! You should just keep it! Anyway, I'll definitely bring my future wife home for you to vet. Wouldn't it be better if you gave it to her yourself?"
Han Xuehua glanced at Chen Yang and said,
"Why are you so picky, kid? Just take it! Make sure you keep it safe and don't lose it! I'm going back to sleep."
With that, Han Xuehua walked towards the door, sighing inwardly: Yangyang has been with me all these years, he's really suffered! If he lived in the family, how could he not even recognize the value of this watch…
As soon as Han Xuehua left, Chen Yang jumped out of bed, tiptoed over and locked the door, then eagerly went to the lamp to examine the unassuming watch closely. His expression was quite serious, a stark contrast to his previous nonchalant demeanor.
At this moment, Chen Yang's heart was surging. In the light of the lamp, he could see it clearly.
Presented before Chen Yang was a classic Patek Philippe ladies' watch.
In his previous life, watch appreciation was a mandatory course for key members of Chen Yang's family, and his mentor was directly from the Stern family, the owners of Patek Philippe.
Therefore, when Han Xuehua presented the watch, Chen Yang immediately recognized it as a Patek Philippe Calata series timepiece. This ultra-thin watch, produced in the early 1980s, perfectly blended a precious mechanical movement, an exquisite rose gold case, and a meticulously engraved white guilloché lacquered dial.
Although two or three decades had passed, the watch still radiated an aura of nobility. Back then, Patek Philippe didn't have dedicated stores in China, so it was likely brought back from abroad. This watch was worth over 300,000 RMB at the time; today, a classic Patek Philippe watch in such excellent condition, combined with its collector's value, would fetch an immeasurable price.
By the light of the desk lamp, Chen Yang carefully examined the classic timepiece in his hand, a true work of art. The exquisite Patek Philippe logo on the lacquered dial reaffirmed his belief that this was indeed a genuine article, not some counterfeit sold at a street stall.
But the inscription below the logo caught Chen Yang's eye even more.
"xh.h, 1982"
The meaning of these letters and numbers wasn't hard to guess: the watch's production year and… the initials of Han Xuehua's name in pinyin!
And the only way a Patek Philippe could have such an inscription was that this watch was custom-made by Patek Philippe, specifically for his mother, Han Xuehua.
For a moment, Chen Yang's mind went blank. On one hand, there was the image of a housewife bent over weeding the vegetable garden, beads of sweat glistening on her face; on the other, the exquisitely crafted, understatedly luxurious Patek Philippe watch.
Chen Yang simply couldn't reconcile these two images. Han Xuehua's image in Chen Yang's mind grew increasingly mysterious…
With this doubt in mind, Chen Yang began racking his brains to recall, realizing that Han Xuehua was indeed different from ordinary peasant women.
Even in her most impoverished times, Han Xuehua always dressed neatly and appropriately. Although her clothes were ordinary, they possessed an indescribable air about them, the same air Chen Yang had sensed in his aunts and uncles in his previous life. In Chen Yang's words, this was called aristocratic bearing; such an air couldn't be cultivated without two or three generations of family tradition.
Although Chen Yang seemed to have found some clues, he couldn't grasp that fleeting inspiration. He scratched his head, thinking for a long time, but remained completely baffled.
It seemed he still had to rely on that mysterious black box! Chen Yang sighed deeply, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, unable to sleep.
This night was destined to be a sleepless one for many.
Songping Municipal Party Secretary Qu Xiaobo and the leaders of Nanpu County Party Committee and Government were all filled with unease. At noon, Fang Hongda left without informing anyone, accompanied only by his secretary and guards. Lu Jin mobilized the entire county's police force to search for him, but to no avail. The secretary returned leisurely more than an hour later.
No reports of Fang Hongda's arrival were received from any unit during this time. Upon his return, Fang Hongda merely nodded nonchalantly to the officials waiting in the county hall before heading straight back to Building No. 1. At the afternoon's unveiling ceremony, Fang Hongda remained calm, even praising the work of Songping City and Nanpu County to a considerable extent during his speech.
Where had Fang Hongda been for over an hour? Did Nanpu have some major problem that warranted the secretary's personal intervention?
They couldn't possibly imagine that Fang Hongda had gone out so quietly to meet a peasant woman from the outskirts of the county. Even if someone told them, they probably wouldn't believe it.
Meanwhile, the room of Han Wenhai, the newly appointed deputy secretary of the county party committee, was filled with smoke. He had just received a call from Beijing; his father, Han Lingfei, told him that his grandfather, a founding father of the People's Republic of China, was in increasingly poor health and his condition was quite critical; he might not even make it past the new year.
Han Wenhai understood his family's decision to send him to a lower-level position at this time. His grandfather's life was nearing its end, and the family was undoubtedly making arrangements in various fields to prepare for potential future challenges.
Of course, this challenge might not be as severe as imagined. After all, his grandmother was still quite healthy. She and his grandfather were a well-known "red couple," and although not as famous as him, she had still entered the ranks of party and state leaders before retirement. As long as her health didn't deteriorate significantly, those forces coveting the Han family would be wary.
However, Han Wenhai never expected to be assigned to a post in the Southeast Province. In his view, going to southern Jiangsu would have been the best choice, and even to avoid suspicion, he should have been placed in a province where the Han family had significant influence. Why was he specifically sent to the Southeast Province, which the Fang family absolutely controlled?
Han Wenhai had asked his father about this, but Han Lingfei was vague, only telling him to focus on his work after arriving, saying that the family's arrangement had a deeper meaning and that he would be informed when the time came.
However, Han Wenhai learned through his own channels that this transfer was entirely his father Han Lingfei's personal decision. He had overruled the objections at a family meeting and gone to great lengths to persuade his uncles and brothers.
Why was that?
Han Wenhai frowned deeply. ...
The next day, Han Xuehua got up very early. She changed into her blue coarse cloth clothes for work, and as she passed Chen Yang's house, she quietly opened the door and peeked in. Seeing her son sleeping soundly in bed, she gently closed the door again, grabbed her vegetable basket, and headed straight for the vegetable garden by the door, intending to dig up some sweet potatoes to make sweet potato porridge for Chen Yang, his favorite drink from childhood.
As soon as Han Xuehua left, Chen Yang, who had been sound asleep, suddenly sat up in bed, hastily put on his clothes, went to Han Xuehua's door, opened it, and slipped inside.