If it weren’t for her personality, He Jiao wouldn’t be so uncooperative.

The moment she thought that Yu Huo was likely sent over by some organization, Liu Changyou felt a wave of fear. Thankfully, she never asked Old He about his work at home, otherwise—

The consequences would be unimaginable!

"Don’t worry, it’s not as serious as you think. Her target now probably isn’t marrying Yihan, but finding Xie Changning," He Liuzhang said, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

The question was, after finding Xie Changning, did she plan to recruit her or move against her?

Either way, it wasn’t good news for them.

"Dad, Mom, are you talking about Yu Huo?"

He Jiao was determined to become a soldier, so she held herself to Yue Yihan’s standards in her training.

Especially with her father being a brigade commander, she had some understanding of military training, which made her very perceptive.

Just a moment ago, when she was answering Yu Huo, she’d keenly sensed something was off, so she hadn’t played along with the conversation.

To her surprise, her instincts had been correct!

"Jiaojiao, go inside. Your mother, your older brother, and I have something to discuss."

"Dad, you’re treating me like a child. Anything you’re willing to discuss at home must be unimportant. You’d never talk about it here otherwise. You’re far too tight-lipped for that!"

Called out by his own daughter, He Liuzhang let out a laugh. "Isn’t it because I’m afraid you’ll give the game away in front of Yu Huo?"

"How can you question the qualities of a girl who’s about to become a soldier!? That’s so damaging to my fragile, young heart!"

He Jiao refused, insisting on staying seated.

With her there, He Liuzhang could only mention the least important details. "Yu Huo will be back tomorrow. What’s more, she’ll be watching the entrances to all the guesthouses, looking for beautiful women."

"Isn’t she afraid of getting caught doing that?"

"If she’s found out, she can just say she’s jealous. That she wants to see who stole Yue Yihan away."

Listening to the adults’ conversation from the side, He Jiao couldn’t help but gasp.

’It seems Dad was right not to let me listen. If I slip up tomorrow and something happens to my sister-in-law, I’ll be a sinner for all eternity!’

And so, He Jiao tactfully turned and left.

"I’d better head back. This future soldier’s qualities aren’t up to standard yet. I’ll just be a liability."

...

While the He Family was holding their meeting, Xie Changning was already in bed, drifting off to dreamland.

What she didn’t know was that a woman was lingering outside her guesthouse, repeatedly looking around as if trying to confirm whether Xie Changning was truly staying there.

She didn’t finally turn and leave until late at night.

Soldiers were staying in the rooms on either side of Xie Changning’s, assigned to protect her.

That night, Xie Changning slept exceptionally well, without even a single dream.

She couldn’t have been more pleased. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

When she woke up, she stretched languidly, quickly washed up, and went to eat breakfast. Then, as planned, she arranged for a car to take her to First Automobile Works.

Yu Huo had been staking out the area since early morning. When she saw a pregnant woman appear, she immediately went over to speak with her, only to be told, "I’m not who you’re looking for. You have the wrong person."

Unwilling to give up, Yu Huo pressed with a couple more questions. When the woman’s answers remained negative, she finally, slowly, realized.

’She had likely missed her chance to catch her on her way out.’

Xie Changning was oblivious to all of this. She was currently on her way to First Automobile Works.

This time, the director of the First Automobile Works’ revolutionary committee was waiting for her at the entrance. As soon as he saw her, he stepped forward and shook her hand. "Hello, Comrade Xie Changning. I’m the director of the revolutionary committee here at First Automobile Works. You can also call me Wang Qiang."

The director of the revolutionary committee spoke with great modesty.

Xie Changning quickly shook her head. "You’re my elder and my superior. I couldn’t possibly address you so informally. Director Wang, you can call me Xiao Xie."

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the director of the revolutionary committee led Xie Changning inside.

As soon as she entered the director’s office, she saw several familiar leaders already there. They all smiled warmly at Xie Changning.

"Greetings, leaders. This is the translator I hired. The documents you’ve all reviewed were translated by Comrade Xiao Xie."

After a brief introduction, Xie Changning was seated before the assembled leaders.

Most people in such a position would surely become flustered and make translation errors.

But Xie Changning did not. Her pen moved quickly and steadily, without a single mistake.

It wasn’t that Xie Changning was incapable of making mistakes, but ever since she came to this world, she had few distractions. She went to bed very early, and as a result, her memory was astonishingly sharp.

The leaders sitting before her also wanted to test her ability to perform under pressure.

Unexpectedly, her ability to handle pressure was even better than they had anticipated.

In Xie Changning’s eyes, as long as she had a clear conscience, there wouldn’t be a problem.

So, she regarded the leaders before her as nothing more than wooden posts. Imagining them as such, her handwriting remained perfectly steady.

When she finished, Xie Changning handed the documents to the leaders.

The leaders were very pleased that she had finished the translation so quickly.

"Excellent, excellent. Wang Qiang, you really must thank Comrade Xiao Xie. Otherwise, who knows how much money your factory would have lost."

The leaders had heard rumors about the patent issue early on.

They just weren’t sure of the specifics yet.

Now that it was certain the patent monopoly was primarily targeting China, the leaders began to deliberate on how to respond.

Director Zhao, who was sitting in a corner, couldn’t help but propose, "Comrade Xiao Xie is a talent in the field of aviation. Perhaps the other leaders might want to ask if she has any thoughts on the matter."

"Young people who study mechanical engineering always have fresh ideas."

At his words, all eyes turned to Xie Changning in unison, awaiting her response.

Xie Changning: "..."

’Do they think I’m omnipotent?’

With so many people staring at her, Xie Changning had no way to refuse, even if she wanted to. In the end, she had to bite the bullet and say, "This patent monopoly is primarily aimed at engines. As long as we modify our engines so their technology is different from theirs, they won’t have a monopoly over us."

We could even continue to earn foreign currency.

The leaders had considered this possibility, but—

"Even if we achieve a breakthrough, we’ll need time, and their monopoly only gives us one month." They didn’t have confidence that their workers could modify a car’s engine to be better and sufficiently different from the foreign version within that timeframe.

"They are only monopolizing the current technology. As long as we can produce a different engine by the Autumn Trade Fair, we’ll be fine."

Xie Changning smiled faintly. "As long as we don’t export these engines, there shouldn’t be a problem, right?"

If they’re used domestically, and word still gets out to foreign countries, it would just mean we have a mole.

The leaders’ eyes lit up.