Chronicle of the 70s
Chapter 135: Grandma’s monthly ticket with 510 additional - s

Chapter 135: Grandma’s monthly ticket with 510 additional Chapters

For a moment, the living room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, until the man named Xu Xi took a sip of hot water before speaking up, "Mr. Li, aren’t you curious about my visit?"

Li Huai Ren was stunned for a moment, glanced at the man whose expression had changed from before, unsure of his intention, but still asked with effort, "Is Ah Yin okay?" His hands trembled uncontrollably as he spoke, fearing the news of her death.

The man called Xu Xi obviously was very pleased with Li Huai Ren’s reactions and smiled satisfactorily, "Miss Su is in good health and currently living in the United States."

Li Huai Ren felt as if the boulder lodged in his chest had suddenly been released, the relief that she was alright overwhelming him.

Xu Xi, seeing this, seemed even more satisfied, "Miss Su would like to see you."

Li Huai Ren was taken aback, "Meet? How so?"

Xu Xi didn’t directly answer how they would meet, but instead explained his own journey, "Miss Su had wanted to come back to look for you much earlier, but due to the unstable situation in the country, it wasn’t until the domestic policies improved last October that she was able to start looking for you through friends here. It wasn’t until February this year that we got your address. I set out from the United States in mid-February and arrived at your hometown three days ago, only to find out you had left for the capital by car. With no choice, Miss Su contacted her friends again to inquire about your whereabouts, and fortunately, everything went smoothly."

Li Huai Ren didn’t understand why the man was rambling incoherently, frowning in confusion.

Xu Xi just smiled, "Mr. Li, you’re still as temperamental as ever."

Li Huai Ren was even more puzzled, this man was supposed to be a lawyer, yet he was making no sense.

Xu Xi, seeing that his probing had been sufficient, continued, "Miss Su suggests she come to Hong Kong, and you go there too, so that you can meet. You are aware of the difficulties Miss Su would face returning to the country given her past identity."

Suddenly, Li Huai Ren recalled that Ah Yin’s departure was indeed, upon return she might indeed be subject to scrutiny, so he nodded and said, "Alright then, you arrange it. My granddaughter is just about to attend university in the capital, so I will be in the capital for the rest of the year."

Xu Xi nodded, "Alright, I will arrange it immediately."

After saying this, he took out a large kraft paper envelope from his bag, opened it, and took out two items: two letters, which he handed over.

Li Huai Ren took them, glanced at his name on the envelope, and his hands began to tremble with emotion, his eyes suddenly reddening.

Xu Xi looked at him and smiled, "I wonder how I might get in touch with Mr. Li in the future."

Li Huai Ren quickly composed himself and thought for a moment, "We were going to look at houses today, but since you arrived, we didn’t make it. It should take about four or five days to settle the accommodation."

Xu Xi nodded, "Alright." He took a pen and wrote a phone number on a piece of paper.

"This is the number for where I am staying at the moment, I’ll be leaving in a week, but do remember to leave a contact address regardless."

Li Huai Ren nodded and walked Xu Xi to the door.

Upon returning to the living room on the first floor, he sat in a balcony corner and opened one of the envelopes.

The bold handwriting was just like that of the person from those years ago.

"Li Huai Ren, have you been thinking about me? Have you missed me?" As he read the first sentence of the letter, the tears Li Huai Ren had been holding back instantly fell.

As he continued reading, a smile spread across his face.

She must have been born under a lucky star, having successfully fled to Hong Kong and then a few years later, to the United States. Ah Qi was doing well, too.

Suddenly, Li Huai Ren remembered the odd behavior of the lawyer just now, asking him if he had anything to say, as if he wouldn’t reveal the letter or talk about meeting unless Li Huai Ren showed signs of missing Ah Yin.

There were not many words in the letter, but the last sentence read, "Old fellow, I want to meet you." Li Huai Ren thought to himself, Ah Yin, I want to see you too.

After reading it twice, he reluctantly put the letter down and picked up another envelope, which was quite thin. He reached in and pulled out a folded page.

It was a remittance slip.

It was addressed to him, sent directly from the United States. But how did that Xu Xi end up holding it in his hands? Normally, remittance slips go directly to the recipient.

Gazing at the bright twenty thousand US dollars on it, Li Huai Ren smiled and put it back in the envelope, then after wiping away a tear, he called out to his granddaughter, who was peeking around the corner at him, "Come out, no need to sneak around."

Li Xianglu came out from around the corner, giggling. Mr. Li had been silent for a while, making her a bit worried. She knew the lawyer had left when she heard the door, but her grandfather continued to sit quietly around the corner, looking alternately despondent and breaking into laughter, which scared her considerably. Emotional fluctuations are worrisome for the elderly, so she had secretly watched him from the corner without drawing his keen-eyed attention.

Mr. Li handed her the other envelope with the remittance slip. Li Xianglu thought it was a letter and hesitated, but upon opening it, she saw a twenty thousand US dollar remittance slip and exclaimed in surprise, "Granny sent this!"

Li Huai Ren felt a blush creep up his old face at the word ’granny,’ but he rather liked the term.

Unaware of her grandfather’s reaction, Li Xianglu laughed and said, "Grandpa, we don’t have to worry about buying a house now."

Mr. Li nodded and said, "Indeed, we should buy a house soon. Put it away quickly, we’ll go exchange it first, to make the purchase easier."

Li Xianglu remembered that last year, Xi Yunmei had mentioned her mother-in-law received a set amount of Foreign Exchange Vouchers every month.

These Foreign Exchange Vouchers were essentially similar to food tickets and cloth tickets in their use, needing to be paired with RMB to spend, but they were special in that they could be used in select stores offering a lot of imported goods.

Xi Yunmei’s family received them because of their type of work, and another way to get them was through overseas remittances. Now, Li Xianglu’s wish to buy her grandfather a watch would also come true.

Seeing his granddaughter’s eyes narrow with joy, Li Huai Ren’s mood lifted as well, and he called out to Old Man Pang upstairs to help arrange a car. He and his granddaughter were heading out.

Their outing went very smoothly. They first visited the largest China Bank, and the bank staff were momentarily stunned when they asked for the entire sum in cash, but they quickly arranged for the money to be prepared.

Since hundred-yuan notes had not yet been issued, the current exchange rate was one US Dollar to one yuan and ninety-four fen in RMB.

The twenty thousand US dollars were exchanged for 38,800 yuan, the money as large as four bricks. Thankfully, the bank staff offered new notes which seemed to take up less space; Li Xianglu neatly packed the bundles into her handbag, which actually meant placing them into a Storage Ring. She took out a few books as a cover.

The clerk went back inside for a moment and returned with a form for Mr. Li to fill out. After completing it and signing his name, the prepared Foreign Exchange Vouchers, totaling 38,800 yuan, were handed over.

Sitting in the car, Li Xianglu counted the vouchers with the zest of a treasure seeker. Twenty thousand yuan worth, featuring far more exquisite designs than those on food tickets, including various detailed categories such as industrial goods, and even soap coupons. With these, they wouldn’t have to worry about tickets for the year. Well, just for one year, since the vouchers came with an expiration date.

(The issue with the US dollar mentioned in the above Chapters has been corrected.)

ps: And I, Hu Hansan, am back again!