Reborn in 1950: Shorting the Federal Reserve at the Start

Lin Qinghan's fingers were slender, yet very strong.

Instead of shyly shrinking back like a little girl, she turned her hand around and interlocked her fingers with Shen Jinghong's, tightly holding his ten fingers together.

Palm to palm.

It was a trust without any gaps.

"Director Shen, your story is very well-crafted."

Lin Qinghan looked at him, and in his eyes, hidden behind his glasses, shone a clear understanding of the world:

"Time travel? A future warehouse? If someone else had told me this, I would have called a mental hospital already. After all, even science fiction wouldn't dare to write something that violates the law of causality."

Just as Shen Jinghong was about to explain, she felt a warmth on the back of her hand.

Lin Qinghan gently patted the back of his hand with her other hand, interrupting him.

"But if you said it, I'll believe you."

Her voice was soft, yet every word carried immense weight, like a vow crashing to the ground:

"Whether you're from the future, possessed by some alien high technology, or even... you're a magician."

"As long as it's for this country, as long as it's for the Chinese people."

She paused, her gaze hardening with unwavering resolve, like a dragon guarding a treasure:

"I'll keep this secret for you. I'll keep it even if it kills me."

Shen Jinghong felt as if something was blocking her throat, and her eyes burned.

The rarest thing in this world is not having someone to share happiness with, but having someone who knows you have a secret that could lead to your death, yet still stands by your side without hesitation, protecting you from the wind and rain.

"Qinghan, actually I..."

"Shhh."

Lin Qinghan raised her index finger and placed it against his lips.

"No need to explain the details. I'm a mathematician, and I know that for some equations, the process isn't important; as long as the result is correct, that's enough."

She let go of his hand, turned around and walked to the desk piled with drawings, picked up a red and blue pencil, and twirled it nimbly between her fingers.

At that moment, the aloof female scientist returned, only this time, her wisdom was imbued with a tacit understanding of "fighting side by side."

"The most urgent task right now is not to discuss the principles behind your 'future warehouse'."

Lin Qinghan adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping over the supply list, his tone becoming professional and efficient:

"It's not about how to 'rationalize' these things."

"Rationalize?" Shen Jinghong was taken aback.

"Yes, rationalize it."

Lin Qinghan picked up his pen and circled the line "[Special Rhenium-Nickel-Based High-Temperature Alloy]", his brows furrowing slightly.

"While future technologies may be advanced, they will be technologically outdated. It's like giving a smartphone to a primitive person; they'll only use it to crack walnuts, they'll never be able to build anything from it."

"If we were to use these materials and equipment directly, those veteran experts would definitely be skeptical. They would ask where the formula came from? How did the process suddenly become so mature? Our industrial base clearly doesn't support it, so how did we achieve a Great Leap Forward overnight?"

She looked at Shen Jinghong, her eyes conveying a sense of "you're still too green":

"Results without theoretical support are just castles in the air. Do you want to be captured and dissected like an alien?"

Shen Jinghong felt a chill run down her spine.

This is indeed a big problem. He was only focused on having fun and giving away all the good stuff, but he overlooked the fact that it's like giving an elementary school student a perfect score on a college calculus exam.

No wonder the teacher suspects you of cheating.

"Then... what should we do?"

Shen Jinghong humbly sought advice, and now, in front of this highly intelligent woman, he was as obedient as a primary school student.

"That's where I come in."

Lin Qinghan's lips curled up slightly, revealing a confident smile.

"I will help you 'complete' these technologies."

"For example, this high-temperature alloy formula."

She scribbled down a few chemical formulas on the paper. "We can fabricate a series of experimental data, deliberately leave a few incorrect failure records in the middle, and then write an experimental report of 'accidental discovery'."

"Break down that perfect recipe into dozens of trial-and-error processes that were 'difficult but incredibly lucky'."

"Take machine tools, for example."

Lin Qinghan's thoughts became increasingly clear, and her speech became faster and faster:

"We can say that we salvaged the blueprints from the Soviet experts' wastebasket, and then made our own improvements using 'homemade methods.' Although the appearance looks sophisticated, the core control system was 'independently developed' by us."

She looked up at Shen Jinghong, her eyes shining brightly:

"In short, all you have to do is go to the future to 'stock up' and bring back the good stuff."

"And me."

She patted her chest, a gesture that surprisingly carried a touch of the heroic spirit of a chivalrous heroine:

"I'll help you cover up your lie."

"I will use tedious formulas, complicated derivation processes, and dazzling data models to give each of your 'future products' a legal, scientific, and sound veneer."

"Let everyone think that this is the result of our Chinese scientists working day and night, pouring their hearts and souls into it."

Shen Jinghong was stunned.

The logic and the execution are absolutely flawless!

He provides the answers, and she completes the process.

Isn't this a perfect closed loop?

"Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

Shen Jinghong couldn't help but give a thumbs up, sincerely praising, "Qinghan, you're more than just a confidential secretary, you're my...research partner!"

"A partner?"

Lin Qinghan was taken aback, clearly unfamiliar with this term from later generations.

"It's... closer than comrades-in-arms, more in sync than lovers, a partner you can completely entrust your back to, a partner to accomplish great things together."

Shen Jinghong explained with a smile, then walked up to her again and extended his hand.

"Comrade Lin Qinghan, let's get to know each other again."

"I am Shen Jinghong, your... future mover."

Lin Qinghan looked at his outstretched hand and chuckled.

That smile was like ice and snow melting away, like spring flowers blooming.

She reached out and gripped it tightly.

"Hello, mover. I am your...theoretical completer, Lin Qinghan."

Their hands clasped together tightly once again.

In the dead of night, amidst the howling wind, in the office where only the two of them were present, a subtle emotion known as "accomplice" quietly began to fester in the air.

This is a secret world that belongs only to the two of them.

In this world, there is no need for pretense or explanation. There is only one person responsible for creating miracles, and another responsible for bringing miracles to earth.

Looking at the pretty face so close to his, Shen Jinghong felt a sharp pang in his heart.

He couldn't help but move forward.

The atmosphere was just right, the lighting was soft and ambiguous.

Lin Qinghan seemed to have sensed something as well. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, but she did not back down. Her breathing just became a little rapid.

Just as the distance between the two shrank to only a few centimeters, and Shen Jinghong could even count the tiny freckles on her upturned nose.

"Sizzle—sizzle—"

The old-fashioned radio in the corner, which had always been just for decoration, suddenly emitted a piercing electrical sound.

Immediately afterwards, a serious, anxious, and even somewhat tragic announcer's voice suddenly rang out in the small space.

Like a thunderclap.

"Breaking news! Breaking news!"

Xinhua News Agency, authorized to release: US imperialism, ignoring repeated stern warnings from the Chinese government, brazenly crossed the 38th parallel and launched a large-scale northward invasion!

Shen Jinghong and Lin Qinghan separated abruptly, as if struck by lightning.

Their gazes shifted from tenderness to horror in an instant, and they both turned to look at the radio.

The announcer's voice continued, each word like a bloodstained knife:

"US warplanes have repeatedly violated our airspace in Northeast China, bombing and strafing the Dandong area, causing heavy casualties among our border troops and civilians!"

"The flames of war... have already reached the banks of the Yalu River!"

"To all officers and soldiers of the army! To all people of the nation! Our motherland is facing its most perilous moment!"

boom!

Shen Jinghong felt a buzzing in her head.

That date.

The date etched in history books, forged with blood and fire, has finally arrived.

1950, October.

What was bound to happen has finally happened.

"Sparse and cold".

Shen Jinghong's voice instantly turned cold, losing all its previous tenderness and becoming as hard as iron.

He released Lin Qinghan's hand, strode to the battle map on the wall, and stared intently at the long, narrow peninsula.

"It seems our 'good stuff' can't be kept secret any longer."

Lin Qinghan also quickly adjusted her state.

She pushed up her glasses, her eyes filled with a chilling intensity, devoid of any trace of sentimentality.

"Are we going to fight?"

"We must fight."

Shen Jinghong turned around, her eyes burning with two raging flames—a deep-seated hatred for the invaders.

"And we must fight them to the death."

"Notify Chen Weiguo to prepare the car! I'm going to Zhongnanhai!"

He grabbed the military overcoat hanging on the hanger, put it on, and the gentle and refined bureau chief disappeared, replaced by a soldier about to go to the battlefield.

"It's time for our 'token of love' to see some blood!"