Chapter 81

After the Spring Festival, the provincial foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau organized several training sessions for the people who were going abroad for inspection. They vividly introduced the situation in foreign countries, the precautions for going abroad, and safety education.

As Lin Qiangsheng had predicted, the officials from the foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau vividly described the economic prosperity and social development in Europe, America, and Japan. They then talked about how bad the security was abroad, emphasizing that behind the rapid social development and economic prosperity, many ordinary people in foreign countries still lived in dire straits. In the dark and dirty corners of society, the crime rate was extremely high, and the lives of people at the bottom of society were extremely miserable.

Among those attending the classes were high-ranking officials from the province and leaders from various bureaus and units. Even though they had been tested and had firm revolutionary will, the instructors' explanations successfully intimidated everyone. They used a mix of persuasion and scare tactics, truly making the old cadres and comrades look serious and pale.

These lively training sessions made many people, who were initially excited about going abroad, become worried.

"Is it really that chaotic abroad? Are all black people criminals?" Some people whispered during the breaks.

"Of course, foreigners all have guns, and black people are at the bottom of society, naturally lacking education and culture, making them prone to crime!"

"Right! We need to be careful when we go abroad!"

"Hmph, I was a soldier in my youth and participated in the Korean War. These black people are weak! Back then, our army disarmed an entire black regiment of the U.S. Army!"

Lin Xiangrong and Xu Hongmei sat solemnly, flipping through their notes.

Lin Qiangsheng stood with his arms crossed, listening to the discussions, but his mind was elsewhere.

The arsonist caught on New Year's Eve had been sent to the police station. Li Jianchao was detained overnight and confessed everything to the police the next day.

It turned out that after Li Jianchao was expelled from the factory, his personal relations were transferred back to the labor bureau. The labor bureau was also at a loss with such a person. They had already arranged a job for him once, and there were many other unemployed young people waiting. If they arranged another job for him, many people would have complaints.

Thus, Li Jianchao was left hanging. He went to the labor bureau several times to ask about job arrangements, but the labor bureau gave him no response. Gradually, the seeds of hatred in his heart grew larger. He hated the car factory for sending the young workers to the modification factory, he hated the modification factory for not arranging jobs for them, and he hated Lin Qiangsheng for expelling him from the factory.

Li Jianchao's hatred grew so intense that he occasionally wandered around the car factory. A couple of times, he even saw Lin Qiangsheng driving an off-road vehicle and parking it in front of a small store.

After some inquiries, Li Jianchao confirmed that this was Lin Qiangsheng's store. Seeing that Lin Qiangsheng had opened two such stores, he didn't think of reporting it to the government but instead decided to burn them down to vent his anger and feel better.

On New Year's Eve, Li Jianchao left home without a word, got on his bicycle, and carried a small half-bucket of gasoline he had stolen from the modification factory. Taking advantage of the firecracker sounds, he broke the window of the small store and jumped in.

The store had wooden counters and many decorative fabrics hanging on the walls. Pouring gasoline on them, it was easy to set them on fire. Li Jianchao, fearing the fire wouldn't spread enough, also set fire to the surrounding residential storage sheds to divert attention.

The storage sheds were very simple, some made of mud bricks, covered with oil felt paper and straw mats, and built with a few wooden beams. Li Jianchao poured gasoline on them, threw burning rags everywhere, and set fires madly. Afterward, he threw the gasoline can and ran to the opposite side of the road, climbed a tree, and watched the commotion happily. When Lin Qiangsheng came over, he jumped down, planning to hit Lin Qiangsheng with a stick and run away.

The police station reported this major case to the municipal public security bureau. The Bincheng Public Security Bureau sent people to interrogate the criminal. Upon hearing that the criminal had burned a store, they immediately came to investigate the situation.

Lin Qiangsheng, of course, could not escape. Seeing the police in their dark blue uniforms, he reported the situation of his store in detail. There was no point in hiding it, as the police would investigate anyway. Lin Qiangsheng frankly told them and even showed the proof of his affiliation with the car factory.

The police looked at his affiliation proof and said they would take it back for study to determine the nature of his small store.

Thinking about this, Lin Qiangsheng frowned and sighed inwardly. It was indeed troublesome for the small store to be exposed at this time!

After the class, the instructor from the foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau said, "The pre-departure training is over. I hope everyone can seriously summarize and understand the content of the course. When you go abroad, don't be lost in the pursuit of material wealth when you see the economic prosperity of foreign countries. Adhere to party discipline, don't blindly envy foreign life, and don't do anything to disgrace the country!..."

The instructor continued, and everyone listened attentively. The course ended, and they were given a serious education. The officials walked out of the classroom with heavy expressions.

"Ah!" Suddenly, a girl's voice was heard softly.

Lin Qiangsheng was walking silently when he suddenly saw a girl's glove fall to the ground. Before she could pick it up, it was stepped on by someone behind her.

Lin Qiangsheng walked over, picked up the glove, and dusted it off before handing it to the girl. The glove was made of pink and yellow yarn.

The girl was named Gong Ya, the granddaughter of Colonel Gong Benyan. She was also on the list for this overseas inspection. Lin Qiangsheng knew her and had inquired about her when he heard she was part of the inspection team.

The girl politely said, "Thank you!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and nodded, "You're welcome!"

Seeing Lin Qiangsheng's politeness and youth, Gong Ya smiled and looked at him a few times. When they reached the door, she asked, "Thank you just now. Are you also going to Europe this time?"

Lin Qiangsheng formally replied, "Yes! Our factory has also sent me to Europe to see their advanced Western technology and learn their management methods!"

Gong Ya had bright, large eyes, an oval face, and red lips. She was 16 or 17 years old. She looked at Lin Qiangsheng in surprise, blinked, and nodded, saying, "You're amazing! I thought you were a family member like me!"

Lin Qiangsheng chuckled, "We're about the same age. I'm Lin Qiangsheng, 16. How about you?"

Gong Ya asked in surprise, "I'm also 16. You're so young to go abroad for inspection?!"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "Yes! Aren't you also young to go abroad?"

Gong Ya blushed and said, "My grandmother was supposed to come, but she gave the opportunity to me! She wanted me to see the world."

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and praised, "You have a great grandmother!"

Gong Ya happily hummed and nodded, "My grandmother is very kind to me!" Just then, she was surprised to see Lin Qiangsheng take out a key, walk to a red car, and easily open the door.

"Get in! I'll give you a ride home," Lin Qiangsheng called to Gong Ya.

Gong Ya stood there in a daze. It wasn't until Lin Qiangsheng started the car and stopped beside her that she came to her senses.

Lin Qiangsheng opened the passenger door and invited Gong Ya to get in.

Once in the car, Gong Ya looked at Lin Qiangsheng in shock and asked, "You have a car?"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed, "Yeah, I saved up for it."

Gong Ya asked curiously, "What does your factory produce?"

Lin Qiangsheng raised his eyebrows and said, "BMW and Bentley, do you know them?"

Gong Ya shook her head and asked, "What are they?"

Lin Qiangsheng laughed, "They are bicycles!"

Gong Ya hugged her schoolbag, thought for a moment, and laughed, "There's no such brand of bicycle, you're tricking me!"

Lin Xiangrong and his wife Xu Hongmei walked to the entrance of the foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau and looked around. The car was already gone.

The two looked at each other, and Lin Xiangrong asked in surprise, "Where's the car? Did our son drive off?"

Xu Hongmei looked around and said, "I saw our son walking with a girl earlier. Maybe they went together?"

Lin Xiangrong laughed, "Hey! This kid, leaving his parents here and taking a girl away!"

Xu Hongmei also laughed and said, "Let's go. I have money. We'll take the bus home."

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