Chapter 89

After Lin Qiangsheng returned to the house, he stared at the over 2,000 fake US dollars for a while, then put them in a plastic bag.

He didn't think too much about it; in that situation, his main concern was to protect the families of the delegation members and avoid attracting the attention of the mall security. If things got worse and the mall called the police, it would complicate matters and affect the entire visit!

The delegation meeting lasted until 5 PM, and the leaders were shocked to hear that fake US dollars had been brought out of the country.

Team leader Gong and deputy team leader Song Hui, among others, came to Lin Qiangsheng's room.

Song Hui held Lin Qiangsheng's hands with both of his, smiling broadly, and said, "Comrade! This time, we owe it all to you! I never expected that we would make such a big mistake, bringing so many fake US dollars out of the country! If this caused an international dispute, our visit would have been seriously affected!"

Team leader Gong nodded repeatedly, looking at Lin Qiangsheng with relief and gratitude.

After hearing this, the two leaders were truly frightened. They were grateful that Lin Qiangsheng had handled the situation promptly and brought the families back directly!

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "I was also drenched in cold sweat at the time, afraid that the cashier would call the security. Fortunately, she didn't!"

Team leader Gong nodded repeatedly, shaking Lin Qiangsheng's hand up and down, and said gratefully, "Rest assured! The province will definitely give you a proper response; you shouldn't have to bear the cost and the trouble!"

Song Hui nodded and said, "Right! Comrade, bring those fake US dollars to us for safekeeping! We must handle this seriously and notify the province to investigate the source of these fake US dollars!"

Lin Qiangsheng thought for a moment. He originally intended to find a secluded place and burn the money. But Song Hui was right; they needed to trace the source of the fake US dollars. This was definitely not an isolated incident; there must be more fake US dollars in the province.

Lin Qiangsheng handed the money to Song Hui and the others.

Zhou Jianjiang also came over, gripping Lin Qiangsheng's hand, his eyes filled with excitement. He opened his mouth and said, "I'll pay you back that money right away."

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Senior Zhou, I heard you graduated from H University. We are alumni! I am a first-year student at H University, your junior!"

Zhou Jianjiang, who had initially been a bit hostile towards Lin Qiangsheng, felt a sense of relief and gratitude. After all, 1,000 US dollars was a significant amount, representing the savings of a lifetime of frugality. He said, "Oh? Then I'll recognize you as my junior! I must thank you! I am very grateful! I will definitely find a way to pay you back as soon as possible!" He shook Lin Qiangsheng's hand vigorously. Zhou Jianjiang planned to go back to his room and tell his wife to return the money to Lin Qiangsheng.

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Senior Zhou, you don't need to worry! The US dollars I exchanged, you don't need to be concerned about. You can pay me back whenever you have the money. It's not easy to travel abroad, and it's important to buy the big appliances! I don't plan to buy anything this time."

Zhou Jianjiang said hesitantly, "But, your parents?"

Lin Qiangsheng whispered, "At home, I did some small business, and that money is mine!"

Zhou Jianjiang said, "Oh, I see. You're really capable, junior! I'm not as good as you! Let's not be so formal; you can call me by my name! Since you're my junior, I'll call you Qiangsheng! When we get back, I'll introduce you to some alumni from our university, and we can get together sometime!"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said, "Sure, sure! Thanks, Senior Jianjiang!"

Zhou Jianjiang glanced at Lin Xiangrong and Xu Hongmei, nodded gratefully, and walked out of the room with a smile.

After seeing everyone off, Lin Qiangsheng clapped his hands and said, "Looks like I did a good job! More friends mean more paths, fewer enemies mean fewer obstacles!"

Lin Xiangrong stared at his son in shock, and Xu Hongmei tugged at her husband's arm. Lin Xiangrong came to his senses, coughed, and said, "Qiangsheng, your mother and I need to have a serious talk with you!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and sat on the bed, saying, "Mom, Dad, what do you want to talk about?"

Lin Xiangrong looked at Xu Hongmei, and they both sat on the sofa. Lin Xiangsheng asked, "Qiangsheng, how much money did you bring this time?"

Lin Qiangsheng smiled and said to his parents, "A total of 250,000."

Lin Xiangsheng and Xu Hongmei were shocked and stared at their son for a long time, speechless.

Xu Hongmei, coming to her senses, asked in surprise, "250,000 RMB? When did you earn so much money! My goodness!"

Lin Qiangsheng shook his head and said, "It's US dollars! And a few thousand Hong Kong dollars!"

Lin Xiangsheng also stood up, shocked, and said, "What?! 250,000 US dollars!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded and took out a suitcase from the bedside table, opened it, and took out a HSBC bankbook, showing the numbers to his parents.

Lin Xiangsheng and Xu Hongmei stared at the small bankbook, counting the zeros after 25, and were speechless with shock.

After a long time, Lin Xiangsheng pointed at Lin Qiangsheng and said, "You! Where did you get so much money! It's not 250,000 RMB, it's 250,000 US dollars! Your mother and I worked hard all our lives and couldn't earn that much!"

Xu Hongmei, covering her rapidly beating heart, said with difficulty, "How much did we exchange at the finance bureau! 100 US dollars cost us 160 RMB! Your father couldn't find any connections, so I had to ask around at the health bureau to exchange another 200 US dollars, which cost us nearly 400 RMB! Your father and I spent our entire life savings to get US dollars!"

Lin Qiangsheng nodded heavily and said, "I never thought our family was so rich!"

Lin Xiangsheng, suddenly angry, said, "You little brat! What do you mean so rich? Look at what's on your bankbook! How dare you mock your parents!"

Lin Qiangsheng quickly dodged the cushion his father threw and said, "No, no! I mean our family is rich!"

Xu Hongmei sighed and said, "If it weren't for the government's back pay, we wouldn't even have 400 RMB!" She looked at her son's bankbook again, not knowing what to say.

Lin Xiangsheng grunted a few times, took a few deep breaths, and asked Lin Qiangsheng, "Is this the money you earned from selling fabric and watches? 250,000 US dollars, how much is that in RMB? Is this real? It's all in foreign language!"

Xu Hongmei was stunned and quickly said, "Right! Son, check it quickly!"

Lin Qiangsheng said, "How could it be fake? I deposited it in HSBC and used it today!"

Lin Xiangsheng grunted and said, "Are foreign banks that reliable?!"

Lin Qiangsheng rolled his eyes and said softly, "They are more reliable than domestic banks, at least!"

Lin Xiangsheng and Xu Hongmei wanted to say more but looked at each other and helplessly shook their heads.

Lin Xiangsheng said to Lin Qiangsheng, "Your affairs, your mother and I can't manage anymore. You decide for yourself! What you did today was right, helping the families out of a difficult situation, and it deserves praise!"

Lin Qiangsheng chuckled and waved his hand, saying, "I mainly wanted to prevent the situation from escalating and affecting the delegation's visit!"

He then asked his father, "Dad, what did you discuss today?"

Lin Xiangsheng leaned back on the sofa and said, "Mainly, we were told to keep our eyes open during the visit and learn from the advanced experiences of foreigners. We also discussed potential cooperation projects with foreign parties."

He then sighed and said, "Sigh! Seeing their airport and city construction, we are really far behind!"

Xu Hongmei then told her husband about the scenes she saw in the store today, describing the magnificent mall as if it were a dream.

Lin Xiangsheng was amazed and also yearned for the well-stocked and diverse foreign department stores. People who had experienced a time of scarcity found it hard to understand what it meant to have an abundance of goods.

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