I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

The letters Luo Tianyou wrote to his parents contained nothing more than his situation over the past few years, his longing for his parents, and his guilt for not being able to serve them.

After reading the letter to his uncle, Li Jing'an finally nodded. This kid's alright; he can get things done. The letter instructed his uncle to prepare some money as a token of gratitude to Li Jing'an.

Li Jing'an's eyebrows twitched as he looked at the number—5 Hong Kong dollars. This Luo Tianyou, having lived in China for so long, has practically lost his sense of money. You, a capitalist of such stature, only give me 5? Do you think this is China?

What he didn't know was that Luo Tianyou had almost no concept of money anymore, since he only earned about a hundred yuan a month. Even if his parents sent him money, they knew his situation and wouldn't send him more than that.

Most importantly, after all these years, he had no idea what the family situation of his parents and uncles was like. He had thought long and hard before writing down the amount of money he wrote, and he was still feeling uneasy. He also said in the letter that if he didn't have that much money, he should try his best. If he couldn't come up with that much money, he should just do his best and not force himself on them.

Li Jing'an found some glue and reattached it, then stuffed the letter into his briefcase.

……

Time flies, and the day for the inspection team to depart is fast approaching.

The inspection team from the Ministry of Metallurgy was led by Li Jing'an and consisted of more than a dozen members, with the remainder being mostly technicians and experts. After all, Li Jing'an knew nothing about machinery, so experts from various fields were needed. Two translators were also provided, one in French and one in German, as Switzerland is a German-speaking region. Additionally, a staff member from the Ministry of Metallurgy's External Relations Department was present; he was responsible for the finances and passports, and they had just completed a week-long confidential training program.

At this moment, Li Jing'an was sitting on a plane flying from Beijing to Guangdong Province. Sitting in first class, Li Jing'an crossed his legs, smoking and sipping a bottle of Wuliangye liquor served with his meal. He thought to himself, "Airplanes these days are truly wonderful, so people-oriented. Unlike in the future, with so many rules and regulations, flying will be such a hassle. Now, I can have a little drink, take a nap, and the journey is over in no time. How wonderful!" Li Jing'an sighed as he downed his glass of liquor in one gulp.

By the next day, Li Jing'an and his party had already set foot on Hong Kong soil.

Inside the guesthouse of the China Travel Service, Li Jing'an looked at the surroundings with great dissatisfaction. He hadn't expected to be staying in a guesthouse after escaping here, and one even worse than those back home—it was far too shabby. He'd finally arrived in the capitalist world, and couldn't even afford a hotel; it was truly frustrating.

Just as he was getting angry, the liaison officer from the Ministry of Metallurgy knocked and came in: "Minister, we just received a notification that our flight is scheduled for early tomorrow morning. What are your plans for tomorrow? Should we all stay at the guesthouse for intensive training, or should we let everyone go out and have some fun?"

Li Jing'an glanced at the clerk. Since he asked that question, he clearly didn't want to study here; he probably wanted to go out and explore, and was asking on behalf of everyone. Li Jing'an looked at him, not wanting to be the bad guy, and waved his hand, saying, "What's the point of studying here? We've been studying at home for a week already, and we've finally come out. What's the point of studying? Let's all go out for a walk tomorrow; I won't go."

Li Jing'an definitely wouldn't go. If they wanted to go out, they'd need someone from the Xinhua News Agency's Hong Kong branch to send a car and escort them the whole way. Li Jing'an wasn't used to being watched. Right, he still had things to do; he still had Luo Tianyou's matter to attend to.

After seeing off the liaison officer, Li Jing'an went straight to the guesthouse leader's office and borrowed a phone to make a call.

Not long after, in a tea restaurant near the Overseas Chinese Building, Li Jing'an looked at the old man in front of him. The thin, frail old man was Luo Tianyou's uncle, whom Li Jing'an had just contacted by phone.

Li Jing'an still enjoys considerable freedom and can go out on his own, while his group members don't have this opportunity. They are constantly being watched and must monitor each other during group activities. Li Jing'an doesn't play by that rule.

After explaining the situation to the old man, his uncle opened the letter Luo Tianyou had written to him, read it carefully, nodded, and said very sincerely, "Thank you for taking care of Tianyou."

"Hey, don't say that. Tianyou is also my subordinate. This is what I should do."

"The letter said that Tianyou hoped I could thank you on his behalf. As you can see, all I have on me right now is a check, and I know your situation. Even if I gave you a check, you wouldn't be able to cash it. How about this, please wait a moment, and I'll have the driver go to the bank next door to get some cash for you to take with you."

"Oh, is that what Tianyou said? No, no, please don't give me any money! It's only right that I take care of him. He's my subordinate. How can I take your money? What kind of person do you take me for?" Li Jing'an immediately refused seriously.

Seeing Li Jing'an's upright demeanor, Luo Tianyou's uncle couldn't help but sigh: "Officials in the mainland truly have principles and beliefs."

"You can't refuse. If you don't accept it, how can I explain it to Tianyou? You have to accept it no matter what."

"No, no, you absolutely can't do that." Li Jing'an saw the old man get up and try to walk out to instruct the driver, so he quickly reached out to stop him, but the old man didn't even leave his seat, only refusing verbally.

When the old man returned, Li Jing'an said helplessly, "What are you doing? If I accept your things or money, that's breaking the rules! Aren't you just getting me into trouble?"

"We really can't think of any other way to thank you."

"Well, forget it. Since you've put it that way, I'll accept it. But I want to make it clear: I'll take the money, but I won't use it myself. I'm only in Hong Kong for a layover; we're going to Switzerland to inspect equipment. I'll hand this money over to the government as part of the tour expenses when I get back. Consider it your way of supporting our country's cause. How about that?"

"You truly make me ashamed!" Luo Tianyou's uncle looked at Li Jing'an with admiration. "You are such a noble person, I feel utterly ashamed. I am nothing but a money-grubber, it is my greatest honor to sit with you. Well then, since you've said so, in addition to the 5 that Tianyou mentioned in his letter, I will personally donate another 5 to you for your expenses during your trip to Switzerland."

The old man went to the tea restaurant to borrow a phone from a waiter to call the bank and ask the driver to withdraw an extra 5 yuan. Li Jing'an tried to refuse again, but he couldn't. He was weak from the flight and hadn't rested well, so he couldn't argue with the old man. Li Jing'an sighed repeatedly behind him.

Not long after parting ways with Luo Tianyou's uncle, Li Jing'an appeared at the HSBC Bank in Hong Kong. He handed over his passport and opened a bank account. He had already inquired and confirmed that anyone with a passport could open a bank account. Then, he took out the HK$10 that Luo Tianyou's uncle had given him and deposited it directly into his newly opened account.

Then, he rolled his eyes and asked the clerk, and learned that safes could indeed be rented here, and the fee was based on the size of the safe and the duration of the rental.

Li Jing'an thought that if possible, he would like to transport some of the precious metals he had collected in China to this location as soon as possible. After all, it's always better to have them in hand than to leave them in China, as there is always a risk involved. As for the other antiques, he would leave them for now, since they are difficult to move compared to the precious metals.