Starting with vegetable greenhouses in 1988

Chapter 84 No difference
Li Zhe lost patience and demanded, "Just tell me what's going on?"

"This is a letter my aunt wrote to my mother before she passed away. It had been kept at the bottom of a box for a long time, and I found it a few days ago."

Li Zhe then carefully examined the envelope. "Are you looking for your aunt?"

“Yes, so many years have passed. I haven’t heard from my mother at all, and I don’t know where they are. This has become a heartache for my father. He has always hoped to see my mother and sister again.” Wang Jianjun pointed to the envelope. “My aunt’s address is on this. If we can find my aunt, maybe we can get in touch with my mother.”

Li Zhe glanced at the address on the envelope, "No. 14, Caochang Street Hutong?"

"Then what's there to hesitate about? Let's go look for it. It would be great if we could find it, but even if we can't, we've done our best."

Wang Jianjun had been in Beijing for some time and had been thinking about this matter. Every time he wanted to go, he would get scared when the time came. "Okay, then come with me."

Li Zhe patted Jinzi's head and said, "We're going out for a bit. You stay here and take good care of the house. We'll bring you something delicious when we get back, okay?"

"Woof woof!" Jinzi seemed to understand and wagged its tail and barked.

Wang Jianjun smiled, "Having this little thing makes the room feel more lively."

The two brothers were already familiar with the area, so they rode their bicycles and donkeys towards Caochang Street. Caochang Street Alley wasn't far from there; it only took about 10 minutes to get there.

Wang Jianjun dismounted from the donkey and pushed it forward, feeling increasingly uneasy.

Li Zhe walked ahead with a calm expression and asked an old man passing by, "Grandpa, where is No. 14 Caochang Street?"

The old man pointed to a fork in the road on the right, "Go straight and make two turns, and you'll see a doorway; that's it."

The two followed the direction the old man pointed and indeed came to the entrance of a large courtyard. Li Zhe peeked inside and saw that it was just like any other large, chaotic courtyard.

The two brothers parked their bicycles at the gate and entered the yard one after the other.

An old woman carrying large pliers, exchanging coal briquettes, spotted the two of them. "Hey, who are you looking for?"

"We're looking for Wu Fanghua."

The old woman paused for a moment, then looked the two of them up and down. "Who are you to her?"

Wang Jianjun stammered, "I...that's my aunt."

"Wu Fanghua moved away a long time ago and no longer lives here."

Wang Jianjun was somewhat disappointed. "Then do you know where to move to?"

"Aren't you relatives? Why are you asking me? Why didn't your mother come?"

Wang Jianjun didn't know how to answer, "We haven't been in touch for a while. I've come to Beijing now, and I just wanted to see her."

"Then how can you prove that Wu Fanghua is your aunt?"

"I have a letter here, written by my aunt to my mother."

The old lady took the letter and glanced at it. "Then I'll take you there. It's been a while since I've seen Fanghua."

Wang Jianjun was a little excited, "That's great, you know where my aunt is!"

"You've come to the right person. Others might not know." The old lady was also a quick-witted person. After tidying up a bit, she followed the two out of the yard.

Li Zhe asked, "What is your surname, ma'am?"

"No need for your surname to be Wang."

Wang Jianjun pushed his donkey over, saying, "Aunt Wang, please get on, I'll ride you there."

Aunt Wang took a step back. "That won't do. My old arms and legs can't take your ride." "Oh! I misspoke. Get on the bike and I'll carry you."

"That's more like it. Be careful. If you shake me to pieces, you'll be sorry."

"No, please show me the way." Wang Jianjun's tone was filled with excitement.

Li Zhe was also quite gratified. In his previous life, he hadn't come to the capital to do business, and his cousin probably wouldn't have had the chance to find his aunt. If his aunt and maternal aunt were still in contact, perhaps it could make up for his uncle's regret in his previous life.

"Turn right here! Move to the side, don't hit anyone!" Aunt Wang directed from her back on the donkey. The three of them soon arrived near Jianguomen.

Li Zhe thought the area looked familiar; he must have been here before. He walked a little further and came across a gray brick house with the national emblem hanging on it.

"How did I end up here? This is really weird." Since he was already here, he wasn't intimidated. He also asked if his temporary residence permit had been processed yet.

Aunt Wang pointed to the yard in front, "Just ride in there and you'll arrive."

Wang Jianjun wasn't stupid; he immediately stopped the car. "Isn't that the police station, Aunt Wang?"

"What's this, the police station? Do you still want to see your aunt? If so, come in with me." Aunt Wang got out of the car nimbly, took out a red armband from her pocket and put it on her arm, then grabbed Wang Jianjun's arm.

Wang Jianjun quickly explained, "Auntie, you've misunderstood. We're good people."

"Listen to this, how novel! Who claims to be a good person?" Aunt Wang shouted, tilting her head back. "Sister Wu Fanghua went abroad many years ago. Even if her children come back, they'll still be overseas Chinese. Do you two look like overseas Chinese at all? Tell me, how did you find that letter?"

"You've really misunderstood. That letter wasn't found! My mother went abroad, but I didn't leave!"

Aunt Wang said, "Don't give me that! I've seen plenty of people like you. Come inside with me, and I promise I'll help you find your aunt."

A policewoman approached and said, "Aunt Wang, didn't you just hand over a vagrant yesterday? Why are you here again today?"

"Hey Officer Bai! You've come at the right time. I've arrested two swindlers who are pretending to be relatives of your Chief Wei. Are you going to do anything about it?"

Bai Xiaoyan glanced at Li Zhe and Wang Jianjun. "It's you? Aren't you Ji Hongbin's tenant? How did you get involved with our director?"

Li Zhe said, "Officer Bai, there's a huge misunderstanding. This is my cousin. My brother and I were sincerely visiting our elders when this old lady tricked us into coming to the police station and insisted that we were swindlers."

"Ha! So it's my fault now? You're not that old, but you've got quite a sharp tongue." She turned to Bai Xiaoyan and said, "Officer Bai, Chief Wei and I are old neighbors, I know his family situation best. His wife's sister went abroad a long time ago and hasn't come back for many years."

These two country bumpkins are pretending to be returned overseas Chinese. Should I take them to the police station?

Bai Xiaoyan stared at Li Zhe and Wang Jianjun, "What do you two say?"

“We’re here to visit relatives, we’ve never said we’re overseas Chinese.” Li Zhe pointed to his head and lowered his voice, “This old lady is getting old and confused, please don’t take it seriously.”

Bai Xiaoyan asked, "What evidence do you have that you're related to our director?"

Li Zhe denied it again, saying, "I only came to the police station once to apply for a temporary residence permit. How would I know your station chief? If I knew your station chief, would I need to trouble you?"

Wang Jianjun pulled out the letter. "Officer Bai, take a look at this letter. It has my relative's address on it; it's 14 Caochang Street."

Bai Xiaoyan took the envelope, glanced at it, and said to Aunt Wang beside her, "Aunt Wang, this envelope doesn't look fake."

"I can't read either!"

"Why don't you find someone who can read to look at it? This isn't a vegetable market; you can't just keep sending people here every day."

"Hey, aren't I afraid they'll run away? Besides, isn't he looking for a relative? If they really are your director's relatives, it's not wrong for me to bring them here."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoyan thought, "Wow, that makes a lot of sense: fake relatives will be sent straight to the police station, and if they are really relatives of the station chief, it doesn't make a difference."

(End of this chapter)