That afternoon, Su Jin had made a trip home early to drop off the pig feed. After that came market research and supply runs. It was only as dusk fell that he finally returned home, thoroughly exhausted.
He took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and knocked on the door to Fu Qingdai's home.
Fu Hu answered the door. The moment he saw Su Jin, a broad smile broke across his face, and he gestured him inside.
"Director Li, please come in! Have you eaten? Perfect timing, the food just finished cooking."
Su Jin smiled. "I really shouldn't be imposing like this, Lao Fu."
After a hearty meal and plenty of drinks, the two sat down on the sofa.
Su Jin picked his teeth while Zhang Wan served two cups of hot tea before heading back to busy herself in the kitchen.
Fu Qingdai had already gone into her bedroom to do homework.
With half a cup of hot tea in his belly, Su Jin shifted his posture and looked at Fu Hu. "Lao Fu, I looked into the job situation for you."
"Oh?" Fu Hu hunched forward slightly, leaning in toward Su Jin.
After pausing to collect his thoughts, Su Jin cleared his throat, took another sip of tea, and said, "This matter of yours is a bit more troublesome than I expected."
"That..."
"Now, don't worry," Su Jin held up a hand to stop him. "When I say troublesome, I mean troublesome for you. For me, it's trivial."
"Ah..." Fu Hu relaxed and continued listening closely.
"Here's the situation. There is indeed an opening at the bureau. But as you know, good positions never stay open for long, and our National Intervention Bureau is no different. Right now, I'm contending for the deputy director position, so I can't openly handle this for you with my own hands. Therefore, you'll need to cooperate with me on this job matter, though it might cost you a bit..."
In the kitchen, Zhang Wan, who was washing dishes, suddenly pricked up her ears and leaned back slightly.
"Just say the word, Director Li. How should I cooperate?" Fu Hu immediately asked.
"The director of our National Intervention Bureau is named Zhang Zhao, and he has a son. The kid isn't young anymore—older than your daughter—and loves playing with weapons and martial gear. My subordinates are being watched, and the director is surrounded by my rival's people. So, I plan to use his son as a breakthrough point. It just so happens that I can take care of your matter through him at the same time, locking down your position in advance."
"I met that kid once, and I know he likes archery, but our director didn't dare let him mess around with it before. Now that he's older, he's grown wilder, and it's the perfect time for him to play with weapons!"
"You need to help me prepare three powerful bows. They must be compound bows: fifty pounds, seventy pounds, and ninety pounds. Pair each bow with as many arrows as possible—make sure they have the best penetration, the hunting kind. Also get whatever archery accessories they have, like laser sights and rapid-fire attachments. But remember this above all: buy each model of bow in a different color, and do the same with the arrows."
"What, what, what?!" Hearing all this, Fu Hu was startled. "Three bows with arrows, and they have to have maximum penetration? Are we going to war with someone? Besides, I can't even draw a ninety-pound bow these days. Is that really necessary, Director Li?"
"Tsk, come on..." Su Jin tilted his head dismissively, then snapped back. "Lao Fu, not to criticize you, but even though you're older than me, you're still far behind when it comes to these matters."
"I obviously can't give him all those things. After you buy them, don't I need to pick and choose? You usually don't put thought into kids, and you don't put thought into job hunting—do you think giving gifts is that simple?"
"Why did I tell you to buy different colors, and so many of them? I can't exactly go buy archery equipment in person, can I? You make comprehensive preparations, and after you bring them back, I'll match them up. This is psychology, let me tell you... Keep the receipts. Once I've picked what I need, you just return the rest, and we're all set."
Zhang Wan's expression in the kitchen softened, and she stood back up straight.
"Ah... Hiss, ah... Psychology! Following you really is an education, Director!" Fu Hu exclaimed in admiration.
Taking another sip of tea, Su Jin continued, "I've explained your matter; now let's talk about mine. Although going through the director's son is a good angle and makes your issue easy to handle, I've been out of the country for too long, so I don't have a crystal-clear grasp of the situation. I only have a seventy percent certainty. The remaining thirty percent depends on you."
Fu Hu's expression gradually grew solemn.
Although he had served in the military, he had only been a common soldier, and now he was an ordinary civilian.
To be swept up into a struggle for power and status—it was impossible not to worry.
"No need to be nervous. Your task is actually very simple. Every time I go abroad on a mission, I leave behind two trusted aides and establish multiple secret channels of contact beforehand. You will go to the solar power supply store in Erdaowan and buy me a solar panel, a storage battery, a controller, and an inverter."
"Once you buy those items, it won't be long before my subordinates find out. They'll understand my intentions and my situation. Leave everything else to me, and you can just wait comfortably to start your job!"
"Solar panels? How much does that cost, Director?" Fu Hu had just lifted his teacup, but hurriedly set it back down.
After a moment's contemplation, Su Jin said, "Someone there will have the entire set prepared for you. Altogether, it'll run around fourteen thousand."
"Fourteen thousand!" Fu Hu's eyes went wide. "That's too much, Director! On top of buying bows and arrows... my family doesn't have that kind of..."
"What's the rush?! Once you've bought the items, keep the receipts safe. In a couple of days, you can return them just the same. Those items are merely my signal to my subordinates; there can't be the slightest mistake. Don't ask too many details about the rest." Su Jin tapped on the table, feeling rather helpless inside.
He had looked into solar power that afternoon... The photovoltaic industry in this world was quite underdeveloped and absurdly expensive—costly beyond reason.
However, he had already made arrangements in advance and confirmed they could be returned, so he figured Fu Hu wouldn't refuse.
Sure enough, Fu Hu set his teacup down firmly and asked directly, "Then Director, when would be a good time for me to buy them?"
"Tomorrow. The day after tomorrow at the very latest. You must buy everything on the list. Just this one hurdle, and after that, both of us can rest easy."
"Understood. I'll take a day off tomorrow and get it all done for you."
Su Jin smiled and reached out to pat Fu Hu's arm.
"No need to be nervous, Lao Fu. Everything follows a natural course... That wraps up our talk. I'll go check on Qingdai."
"Right, right, right. Sorry to trouble you, Director Li." Fu Hu hurried to his feet and escorted Su Jin to the door of Fu Qingdai's room.
Opening the door, Fu Qingdai was dressed in plain white pajamas, sitting at her desk and lazily flipping through an exercise workbook, her tender, slender calves swinging back and forth.
Seeing her father appear with Su Jin, her flustered gaze swept across them before instantly dropping down.
"Qingdai, listen carefully to what your Uncle Li teaches you! Take it to heart, you hear!" Fu Hu instructed before pulling the door shut.
The moment the door closed, Fu Qingdai nimbly stood up and sat obediently by the edge of the bed.
Su Jin took in the girl's bedroom. It was filled with various small plush toys, and a faint fragrance floated in the air.
He strode over, sat down in the chair facing Fu Qingdai, and asked in a low voice, "Is the soundproofing in this room decent?"
"Mm... If we keep our voices down, they won't hear," Fu Qingdai whispered in reply.
"Where's the money? How much did you steal today? Hand it over." Su Jin held out his hand.
Fu Qingdai fumbled under the mattress for a moment, then pulled out a fistful of crumpled small bills and placed them in his palm.
When Su Jin looked closely, his face darkened with immense displeasure!
Chapter 18