Chapter 365: Chapter 364: The Unsettling Uncle
Gu’er was also a bit surprised by Vice Secretary Yuan’s words. She really hadn’t expected that the very impressive-looking Director Chen had actually come to investigate on his own, without any authorization. ’Isn’t he afraid of being exposed?’
’Then again,’ she thought, ’if we hadn’t happened to know Vice Secretary Yuan, how would we ever have found out that Director Chen didn’t have the proper authorization? If he had actually found some dirt on Dad, he could have just gone back, filed his report, and sorted out the paperwork afterward. It wouldn’t have been too late.’
Gu’er was a little indignant, but there was nothing she could do. Vice Secretary Yuan had already promised to give her father a proper explanation, so she couldn’t press the matter any further.
"What about Director You?"
Gu’er despised that You Erbaihua. The man was a constant troublemaker, a real menace.
"Don’t you worry. He doesn’t work for the people; he frames officials. We will investigate. If the allegations are true, he will naturally face the punishment he deserves."
Vice Secretary Yuan wasn’t trying to cover for him. He also felt this You Erbaihua was truly contemptible. ’His official career is probably over.’ As for whether there would be a more severe punishment, that would require an investigation.
Hearing Vice Secretary Yuan say this, Gu’er nodded. She felt that this You Erbaihua would likely be punished. She exchanged a few more words with Vice Secretary Yuan, then saw someone approach him. The person said something about heading down for an inspection, that it was time, and asked if the Vice Secretary was ready to leave.
It seemed Vice Secretary Yuan was quite busy, so Gu’er and Sun Jiaming, taking the hint, said their goodbyes.
As they were leaving, Vice Secretary Yuan mentioned that if he had time, he would come for a visit once the nursing home was completed. He said he still had fond feelings for that village.
Gu’er told him he was welcome. After leaving the government building, she and Sun Jiaming took a deep breath.
Today’s visit hadn’t been fruitless. At the very least, they now knew Director Chen was acting on his own, and it wasn’t that the provincial authorities had a problem with Lin Shan.
"How about we go back tomorrow? We could spend a day relaxing here?"
Sun Jiaming asked. He felt that Gu’er was under a lot of pressure sometimes, and it pained him. He wanted her to be able to relax.
"Sure. There’s nothing urgent to do back home anyway. Where should we go?"
Gu’er asked Sun Jiaming.
"How about Sun Island? I’ve heard it’s pretty famous. Let’s go check it out."
Seeing Gu’er agree, Sun Jiaming relaxed as well. They were usually with other people, so moments when it was just the two of them were rare. Today, they could finally have some time to themselves.
"Okay, let’s go to Sun Island."
Gu’er nodded. She had never been there in her past life. And though she had come to Harbin many times in this life, she had never visited the island either; she was always busy with errands.
They took a car over. In those days, Sun Island didn’t charge an entrance fee, but you had to take a ferry to get there. The fare was one yuan per person.
Of course, Gu’er and Sun Jiaming didn’t mind the one-yuan ferry fare now.
When they arrived and got off the boat, they took a walk around. Gu’er wasn’t particularly amazed. Why? There was just a beach, some willow trees, and a sense of natural, unadorned, rustic scenery. She didn’t see much else, but the air was nice and fresh.
"Let’s sit for a bit."
Sun Jiaming pointed to the beach.
Gu’er nodded, and the two of them sat down. There weren’t many people on the island. There wasn’t much to do, and you had to pay for the ferry, so not many locals came.
Plus, it wasn’t a holiday or a weekend, so there were even fewer people.
"I think this place became famous because of a song."
Gu’er leaned back on the sand, feeling the gentle breeze and the warm sun on her face. It was quite pleasant.
"What song?"
Sun Jiaming hadn’t heard about a song.
"In the bright summer days, the sky is so clear, beautiful Sun Island, so enchanting. With our fishing rods and our camping tents, we’ve come to Sun Island..."
Gu’er began to sing in a low, gentle voice. It truly had a unique charm to it.
Sun Jiaming watched Gu’er quietly. The beach, the willows, the gentle breeze, the sunlight, the woman, the song—it was like a painting that captivated him completely.
"Who sings that? It’s so beautiful."
Sun Jiaming praised her after she finished singing.
"Lin Gu’er sings it."
Gu’er replied, then gave Sun Jiaming a playful wink.
In truth, she had no idea who the original singer was. People didn’t follow celebrities back then the way they did later, and stars weren’t as idolized. When a song came out, you might remember the lyrics, but not necessarily who sang it. Gu’er was one of those people who didn’t remember the singer’s name.
"Haha, yes, you’re right. It was Gu’er who sang it."
Sun Jiaming laughed along. He felt very happy; it had been a long time since he’d seen Gu’er so lively.
"See? Next time, let’s bring fishing rods, a tent, and some food and drinks, and we’ll have Lin Gu’er sing again."
Gu’er laughed too. She couldn’t remember who the singer was, but since she was the one singing it right now, that meant Lin Gu’er sang it.
Sun Jiaming and Gu’er chuckled happily. They seemed incredibly cheerful, as if they hadn’t been this relaxed in ages.
"Says who! That song, ’Beautiful Sun Island,’ is obviously sung by Zheng Xulan! Who the heck is Lin Gu’er? If you don’t know, don’t just make things up. Where did this Lin Gu’er even come from? I’ve never heard of her."
Sun Jiaming and Gu’er were just joking around, but someone took offense. A middle-aged man sitting not far behind them spoke up, his voice full of displeasure.
Gu’er and Sun Jiaming were both stunned. They hadn’t realized someone had overheard them. They were only joking; who knew this person would be so serious?
Gu’er turned to look. The man, who was in his forties, had a typically rugged Northeast appearance.
"Uncle, we were just kidding."
Although Gu’er didn’t know the man, she figured he didn’t realize they were joking, so there was no harm in explaining.
"Kidding about what? You two clearly got it wrong, so how can you say you were kidding? You’re being dishonest."
The man looked at Gu’er and Sun Jiaming with dissatisfaction.
"Uncle, my wife and I really were joking," Sun Jiaming interjected. "My wife was the one who just sang the song, so when she said she sang it, she wasn’t wrong."
"But you didn’t say your wife sang it just now. You clearly said that... uh... Lin Gu’er sang it. And this song is definitely not sung by Lin Gu’er. Let me tell you, it’s sung by Zheng Xulan."
The man said this very seriously, his brow slightly furrowed. He thought this young couple was out of line. They were good-looking, but they refused to admit when they were wrong. ’Bad character.’
Gu’er and Sun Jiaming glanced at each other, both feeling a bit helpless. This uncle was very literal-minded; he didn’t get it.
"Yes, Zheng Xulan sang it. We’ll remember that."
Sun Jiaming didn’t want to engage with the man any further.
"Let’s go for another walk."
Sun Jiaming took Gu’er’s hand. They couldn’t just keep sitting there. Having an uncle like that listening in on their conversation was unnerving.
Gu’er let him pull her to her feet. She didn’t want someone eavesdropping on her and Sun Jiaming either. ’Good thing we didn’t say any... mushy stuff. It would feel awful to have someone overhear that.’
"You two, stop!"
But the man wouldn’t let them go, shouting after them.
’What? He’s not even letting us leave? This guy is big and burly. Could he be a robber?’
Gu’er and Sun Jiaming raised their eyebrows, looking at the uncle.
