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墨書 Inktalez
At six o'clock on a winter afternoon, it was already completely dark. The village was quiet, occasionally interrupted by the sound of a dog barking. The sound of knocking on the door echoed particularly loudly in the stillness of the night, and soon a rough voice shouted from the yard, "Who is it?"
Accompanying the shout were footsteps that grew closer. The front door opened, and a beam of light fell on Zhang Qiu's face. As Zhang Qiu shielded his eyes, the flashlight was already lowered. When Zhang Qiu opened his eyes, he saw surprise and panic on the man's face. The man was so shocked that he couldn't speak, his gaze darting between Zhang Qiu and Lucia.
Zhang Qiu almost blurted out "Uncle," but at the last moment he simply nodded and said, "I came to see Jiang Xue; this is our mutual friend, Lucia."
"Hello," Lucia greeted in her not-so-fluent Chinese.
"Good, good," the man still hadn't recovered from his surprise, staring blankly at Zhang Qiu and Lucia, instinctively stepping aside. Aunt He, perhaps noticing that he had not returned to the house for a while, walked to the doorway and asked, "What's wrong? Who's here?"
"Auntie, it's me, Zhang Qiu," Zhang Qiu replied to the light coming from the living room, barely able to make out a figure standing there.
"Zhang Qiu!" Auntie exclaimed. "Xue'er, Ya'er, come out quickly; Zhang Qiu is back!"
Upon hearing Jiang Xue's scream from inside the house, Zhang Qiu immediately saw a figure running out. Even in the dark, Zhang Qiu recognized it was Jiang Xue. He shoved what he was holding into the hands of the man standing beside him and rushed towards Jiang Xue, wrapping her in his arms. Tears streamed down Jiang Xue's face as she cried and pounded on Zhang Qiu's chest, saying, "You've been gone so long; do you know how worried I was about you?"
Zhang Qiu held Jiang Xue tightly with a silly smile, gently stroking her hair and softly saying, "Alright, alright, Xue'er, don't cry. Look, I'm back safe and sound."
"Hmph!" Jiang Xue clung to Zhang Qiu and buried her head against his chest.
Under the night sky, Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue were unabashedly affectionate with each other, completely ignoring the elders nearby. Lucia watched with envy and smiled quietly, silently wishing them well; they were the most loving couple she had ever seen.
"Alright, alright, come over for dinner," Aunt He said with satisfaction as she watched the two children while secretly wiping away a tear.
Jiang Xue lifted her head and asked, "Have you eaten?"
"No," Zhang Qiu shook his head.
Jiang Xue took Zhang Qiu's hand and led him toward the house. Zhang Qiu laughed and said, "Wait a minute; there's still one more person."
"Oh right." Jiang Xue shook her head and laughed. "I got too excited and forgot about Tao Ya. Tao Ya, come meet your Brother Qiu... Lucia?" As Jiang Xue turned around, she noticed a familiar figure and hesitated before stepping forward to confirm. "Lucia!" Jiang Xue exclaimed in surprise as she ran over to embrace Lucia.
"Jiang Xue, I'm really happy to see you again."
Jiang Xue and Lucia embraced tightly, while Zhang Qiu smiled and walked up to Tao Ya, saying, "Thank you for taking care of your sister-in-law."
"It's no trouble, Brother Qiu. Sister Xue has been really good to me."
Tao Ya spoke softly, revealing a charming and lovely smile. Zhang Qiu noticed that during his time away, Tao Ya's personality had changed somewhat compared to before.
"Kids, it's winter, hurry up and come inside," Aunt He said once more.
Once inside, Aunt He went to move the large round table placed against the wall. Zhang Qiu stepped in to help and set it up in the center of the living room. Aunt He brought the dishes to the round table and took off her apron while saying, "Wait a moment, I'll go stir-fry a few more dishes."
"Auntie, no need to rush. I brought Peking duck from the capital this time; let's have that for dinner tonight," Zhang Qiu said as he took the duck from the man's hands and placed it on the stove beside him. Lucia did the same when she saw it. Zhang Qiu picked up a bag and handed it to Jiang Xue with a smile, saying, "You can plate it up and bring it over; my hands are dirty, so I'll wash them first."
Jiang Xue took the duck to prepare it while Zhang Qiu and Lucia went to wash their hands. On the table was a plate of stir-fried cauliflower with meat and a plate of tomato and egg, looking untouched. Zhang Qiu guessed they were just about to eat when he and Lucia arrived, timing it quite well.
Jiang Xue arranged the sliced duck meat, lotus leaf pancakes, and dipping sauce on the table. Aunt He enthusiastically helped everyone serve themselves while saying, "Eat up, eat up."
During dinner, they inevitably talked about Zhang Qiu's life in Africa. At this moment, reminiscing felt light and carefree. Although Zhang Qiu tried hard to avoid mentioning the scary parts, Jiang Xue still gasped in surprise at what she heard. For parts that were vague from Zhang Qiu's account, Jiang Xue would verify with Lucia; after all, they were speaking in English, which Aunt He couldn't understand. To Zhang Qiu's dismay, Lucia revealed all the dangers he encountered in Africa while occasionally winking at him.
Jiang Xue listened with her heart racing and quietly reached under the table to Zhang Qiu's leg. Zhang Qiu thought this was bad; sure enough, Jiang Xue applied pressure with her hand and began pinching him slightly. He had to pretend like nothing was happening. Fortunately, Lucia quickly followed up with how much Zhang Qiu missed Jiang Xue in Africa, causing Jiang Xue to release her grip with a huff and start rubbing the spot she had just pinched.
Zhang Qiu looked at Jiang Xue with a grin and took out a medal he had brought back from his pocket, handing it to her with a smile. "This is your gift; it's made of pure gold."
Jiang Xue received it but pushed it back when she heard "pure gold." "This is too precious; I can't accept it."
"Just keep it safe for me," Zhang Qiu said as he grabbed Jiang Xue's hand and pressed the medal into her palm. "This was personally awarded by Prince Banan as thanks for my contributions to the independence movement of Tanzania Kingdom—oh no, it's a Republic now."
"This is something you risked your life for; I will definitely keep it safe," Jiang Xue replied as she held the medal tightly against her chest with both hands.
"How could you be so frightening? The ones truly risking their lives are the brave soldiers and civilians who participate in the battles," Zhang Qiu couldn't help but think again of the honest Uncle Agari.
"And what about you? Haven't you also faced life-threatening dangers?"
Jiang Xue looked directly at Zhang Qiu, who, in front of everyone, reached out his hand and gently stroked Jiang Xue's head, smiling as he said, "This freedom medal holds great significance; it encapsulates my journey in Africa. We haven't been together during this time, so I’m giving it to you. In the future, I'll slowly share my stories from Africa with you."
"Okay!" Jiang Xue nodded solemnly.
Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue's conversation left Aunt He, Stepfather, and the innocent Tao Ya stunned, but Zhang Qiu and Jiang Xue didn't notice. Zhang Qiu smiled at Jiang Xue and said, "This time I came back, I threw away a lot of money."
"You threw money?"
"Yes, threw money!" Zhang Qiu nodded, estimating the value of Xueqiu San. "I think it's probably in the tens of billions or even hundreds of billions." Zhang Qiu guessed as high as he could; after all, Xueqiu San was such a miraculous drug.
"Tens of billions!" Jiang Xue's chopsticks froze in mid-air as she stared wide-eyed at Zhang Qiu. "Did you rob a bank? Even robbing a bank wouldn't yield that much money."
"Rest assured, am I really that unreliable?" Zhang Qiu laughed and explained to Jiang Xue, "It's like this: I once mentioned that someone was interested in the jade pendant. Do you remember?"
"I remember; it was a professor from the capital."
"Exactly! In fact, I returned six days ago. During these six days, I handed the jade pendant over to the professor for research. Before agreeing to collaborate, I considered it carefully. The power of the jade pendant is incredibly magical; it can be used to save lives but must never be used to harm others. Therefore, it can only be used for medical research. Within just five hours, they developed a drug. I'm not clear on the specifics, but this drug can delay cellular aging and has a series of other effects that I don't remember very well. To put it this way: an elderly official who had been bedridden for a long time was able to get out of bed and walk after taking the medicine."
"This... is this scientific?" Jiang Xue was stunned.
"The existence of the jade pendant—scientific?"
"Well, this is simply... I don't know how to describe it." Jiang Xue knew that Zhang Qiu wouldn't lie to her, but his description sounded just like the Elixir of Immortality that countless emperors had desperately sought after. Could such a thing really exist?
"A hundred years ago, no one would have believed that instant communication could occur between one side of the Earth and the other. Science is always advancing forward, and humanity is constantly progressing. Just because we can't understand some things doesn't mean they don't exist."
"Brother Qiu, this feels like science fiction," Tao Ya sighed from the side.
"It really does."
"Then, what does this have to do with throwing money?" Jiang Xue asked.
"The patent for this drug belongs to me. Just think about it, something that everyone needs—how much would the patent fees be? I might be missing out on billions; it would be a staggering amount. However, I voluntarily want to share the patent. This drug benefits humanity, so let it have a greater impact. I made this decision without consulting you; do you support me in this?"
"Of course, I support whatever decision you make. This is a good thing for the country and the people!"
"You're just going to give up that much money?" The man who had been listening quietly finally couldn't help but exclaim. In his view, Zhang Qiu was at least his son-in-law, and Zhang Qiu's decision undoubtedly left him feeling disappointed, losing the chance to become a billionaire father-in-law.
"Kids have their own ideas; why are you meddling?" Aunt He gently pushed the man and then smiled at Zhang Qiu, saying, "Although I don't quite understand, I also think what you're doing is right."
"Thank you, Auntie," Zhang Qiu replied with a smile and a nod.
As Aunt He pushed the man, Zhang Qiu was deeply attracted by her actions, curious about what would happen next. In Aunt He's eyes, Zhang Qiu caught a glimpse of reproach mixed with tenderness. When he saw that the man was not angry at all but instead chuckling, a heavy stone that had been hanging in Zhang Qiu's heart suddenly fell away. Watching the current state of the man and Aunt He, Zhang Qiu couldn't contain his happiness. Their well-being was good for Jiang Xue.
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