Chapter Eighteen I Only Wish to Face the Sea, Spring Warmth and Blooming Flowers

  "With a hint of admiration in his eyes, Ye Haodong said: 'With justice in the jianghu, Pan An and Deng Xia are renowned, yet they hide in plain sight among the bustling streets of the capital, their wealth rivaling that of Tao Zhu's millions; when they encounter injustice on the road, they draw their swords to help, their influence surpassing that of Yue Xuan and Jin Rong.'"

  Song Shicai let out a long sigh: "I had originally planned to use my own experience and the few books I've read to influence you as much as possible in this limited time, and lead you back onto the right path. But who would have thought that you little scamp had already found your own thorny but upright path in life."

  After class, Song Shicai formally submitted his resignation to the juvenile detention center. Firstly, his volunteer period had expired, and secondly, because his article on "Modern People's View of Water Margin" published in the provincial newspaper was seen by the director of the Municipal Bureau of Culture, who thought he was a talented person with views that conformed to the needs of the times, so he was converted to a formal employee and transferred to the Cultural Bureau as a researcher of literature and history.

  Soon, Qi Zhen Dong also knew about Ye Hao Dong's astonishing words that afternoon. He didn't take Ye Hao Dong's words seriously, but the effect of those few sentences had already caught his attention. To consolidate the results, he quickly reacted and after consulting with Political Commissar Qian Jin, decided to have Qian Jin personally talk to Song Chao Du once, hinting to him that as long as he behaved himself from now on, two years later Qi Zhen Dong and himself would give him a relatively favorable evaluation for parole.

  The "Four Heavenly Kings" who were once invincible in the entertainment industry have now officially become history.

  Another month later, the head of the superior administrative department, the director of the Provincial Prison Administration Bureau, and the deputy director of the Public Security Department, Song, accompanied by several leaders of the Municipal Politics and Law Committee, inspected the East District Juvenile Reformatory. Under the command of the instructors, the juvenile delinquents cleaned up the inside and outside of the reformatory, and during the inspection by Deputy Director Song, they also performed a program compiled by themselves, including a sketch "Return" performed by Song Chaodu, He Lin, and Zhang Shaowei, which received warm applause from the leaders. Before leaving, Deputy Director Song praised the effective work of the reformatory. It is worth mentioning that this deputy director has another identity as Song Chaodu's uncle.

  The scriptwriter of that sketch was Ye Haodong. From receiving the leader's message to preparing the program, and then rehearsing it until it was ready for performance, only took a week. After this week, the four people in the program team were exhausted, but the result was very encouraging. Because after the first few days of the show, the provincial government issued a written request that the performers of the sketch "Return" should further improve the sketch and perform it in juvenile correctional facilities throughout the province.

  Zi Zhendong was almost excited when he heard the news. No one understood the significance of this matter more than him. With the attention of the higher authorities, this matter would be infinitely magnified, and it would become a landmark case for the successful reform of juvenile offenders in the entire province. Although the credit for this achievement might not go to the few people involved in the operation at the juvenile detention center, being able to leave a deep impression on their superiors as capable individuals would undoubtedly have a profound impact on their future prospects. Wasn't this enough to make this old police officer, who had been stuck at the section level for five years after turning 40, excited?

  This matter is not only a great benefit for Zhen Dong, but also a great joy for Hao Dong, because of his performance in this matter, Zhen Dong and Qian Jin have jointly guaranteed to propose a reduction in sentence to their superiors, promising that he can be released on bail after the tour starts.

  Ten days later, the tour began. Ye Haodong didn't have to follow because he wasn't playing any role in the play, and his parole document was also sent to the Dongqu Xiao Guan Suo with the performance order.

  The day I left was a rainy day, with light rain drizzling down, carrying a hint of melancholy.

  Under Qizhendong's special permission, the four heavenly kings all came to see him off. Huangmao'er was also looking from afar at the window, and He Lin cried so much that he couldn't speak. Fortunately, this group of soft-hearted brothers had already seen it all before, only Chen Hong looked at him with a bit of annoyance.

  At the moment before leaving, Ye Haodong waved his hand to everyone, and Hai Zi's poem echoed in the fine rain: "From tomorrow on, be a happy person, feed horses, chop firewood, travel around the world. From tomorrow on, care about food and vegetables, I have a house facing the sea, warm spring flowers open. From tomorrow on, communicate with every loved one, tell them my happiness, that happy lightning tells me, I will tell everyone. Give each river and mountain a warm name. Stranger, I also wish you well, may you have a brilliant future. May you have a lover who becomes your partner, may you gain happiness in the world, I only wish to face the sea, warm spring flowers open."

  "Wishing you a smooth career and a smile on your face all the time!"

  "In the Song Dynasty style, you should exercise your body, learn more philosophy to cultivate your temperament, have taste, remember your ideals, and be a noble dandy who is detached from lowly pleasures."

  "Chen Hong, you mustn't read philosophy. Your path is destined to be a martial one. You should go find the Great Furnace of the Supreme Old Lord and refine yourself through it. After experiencing 81 hardships, your body and mind will be tempered like steel. I wish that one day you'll be famous throughout the land!"

  "Little Tiger, hey, you can just forget about it. From now on, whenever you come out, just hang out with me, and I'll definitely help take care of your sister when I go out. Sooner or later, she'll wake up, and I'll return her to you as a good sister."

  "Zhang Shaowei, your talent is unmatched, and you'll become a big star in the future. When I need your help someday, don't pretend to be grand with me."

  "He Lin, it's been four months since we last saw you take a bath with us. If I hadn't seen that thing of yours when you were urinating, I would have thought you were a girl like Hua Mulan. Don't cry, whether you like it or not, no matter what choices you make in the future, you can only live strongly, tears won't help you."

  "Goodbye, Eastern District Police Station."

  Li Weidong, Bao Ligang and Ding Dawei stood together in the drizzle. The gate of the detention center opened from inside, and Ye Haodong walked out calmly, followed by the voice of a People's Armed Police soldier: "Once you're out, don't come back!"

  The pomelo leaves were wet, and Li Weidong held them in his hand, excitedly brushing away the bad luck. Bao Li was about to say something, but after a long time, he only said: "Dongzi, you've lost weight."

  Ye Haodong burst out laughing: "Let's go, brothers! This time we're going to make a big move!"

  He went back home to see his mother, and due to the good job of keeping secrets, Wang Lin didn't suspect anything. Seeing her son return ahead of time, she was especially happy and suggested making dumplings for Li Weidong and others to stay and eat together. Ye Haodong thought about going to the purchasing station and couldn't wait to see if Li Weidong and others had mistakenly collected any treasures. So he proposed taking them out to eat and told his mother it was to thank Li Weidong for sending him his salary while he was away from home. After Ye Haodong said this, Wang Lin naturally didn't insist on keeping them, so Ye Haodong and his group went to the ore selection factory's purchasing station in high spirits.

  For three consecutive days, Ye Haodong stayed in the warehouse where old books, newspapers and envelopes were stored for over a dozen hours each day. It is said that hard work pays off, and this saying seems to be true. On the third day, just when Ye Haodong was about to lose all hope, a stamp on an envelope gave him a huge surprise.

  "Li Weidong, do you know why I don't let you sell these useless papers?"

  "I know, you said there's treasure here." Bao Li smiled foolishly. Ye Haodong saw a sly glint in this guy's eyes and cursed silently, damn it, always pretending to be stupid.

  "What's wrong? Dongzi, have you found the treasure?"

  Ye Haodong smiled mysteriously and asked, "How much did we start this business with?"

  Li Weidong: "Sixty thousand, what's wrong?"

  Ye Haodong: "From the opening to now, I haven't given you guys a single cent. Today, I'm giving each of you 10,000 yuan! Not only that, we're also going to buy a set of equipment for making pulp from waste paper. We'll start by doing big things with this recycling and utilization."

  Li Weidong was shocked: "Brother, are you crazy? What treasure have you found? I saw you holding that old envelope for half a day, could it be a stamp? How much more valuable can that thing be?"

  "Hehe, how much is it worth? I'm afraid to say it out loud, you might get scared. Have you ever heard of the whole country being red from mountains to rivers?"

  Li Weidong nodded: "I've heard of it, one of my uncles was a stamp dealer, he told me about it before, and said that now they're very valuable, worth around 350,000. His tone suddenly became excited: Did we get one? Then immediately disappointed again: Even if we got one, it's not enough to do all the things you mentioned."

  Ye Haodong sneered: "You're just a foolish old man, you only know one side of the story but not the other. Do you even know that a red leaf can be divided into big and small?"

  Li Weidong was surprised: "Ah, is this also divided into big and small?"

  Ye Haodong pretended to be profound: "Alas, the consequences of not reading books are severe, the lesson is deep. Look at this kid, he almost took the Lingzhi grass for dog urine moss. Fortunately, I'm well-read and know a thing or two about this."

  Baoli couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Look at him, he's still a bit awkward, if you didn't know better, you'd think he was some kind of professor from a foreign country."

  Ye Haodong's face turned stern: "Don't swear at people, you're the beast."

  Li Weidong smiled and said: "Alright, stop interrupting. You tell us, what's the story with this big red patch?"

  "In September 1968, during the 'Great Cultural Revolution', revolutionary committees were established in all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across the country except Taiwan. To commemorate this event, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications decided to issue a postage stamp called 'The Whole Country is Red' on November 25, 1968. The face value was 8 fen, and the design featured workers, peasants and soldiers holding the Quotations from Chairman Mao, with a background of red flags gathering into a sea of red and crowds cheering enthusiastically. Above this was a map of China, with all provinces except Taiwan colored in bright red. At the top were the golden words 'The Whole Country is Red'. The stamp measured 30mm x 40mm, with perforations of 11.5° x 11°, and there were 50 stamps per sheet (10 x 5). It was printed by the Beijing Stamp Factory using a photogravure process. Collectors call this stamp 'One Piece of Red'. On November 25, 1968, the stamp was first issued in Beijing, but it was only on sale for less than half a day. An editor from the China Map Publishing House discovered that the map of China on the stamp was inaccurate, as it did not include the Xisha and Nansha Islands. He reported this to the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications through his organization. After discovering the problem, the ministry ordered all post offices across the country to stop selling the stamp and recall all unsold copies. However, a few post offices had already sold some stamps before the order was issued, resulting in a small number of stamps entering circulation. Due to its rarity, 'One Piece of Red' has become one of the most famous rare stamps in China and is listed among the world's rarest stamps."

  "Oh, so that's the origin of the small red one. What about the big one?" Ye Haodong nodded: The "big red" stamp is relatively larger than the same-name stamp "The Whole Country is Red" issued on November 25th of the same year. In September 1968, revolutionary committees were established in all 29 provinces, cities, and autonomous regions (except Taiwan Province). To celebrate the complete victory of the "Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution", the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications decided to issue a set of commemorative stamps. The stamp features a red map of China with the words "The Whole Country is Red" printed on it, below which are workers, peasants, and soldiers holding up the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, with a red flag waving above them, and the words "Long live the complete victory of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" printed in a horizontal frame at the bottom. On the left side of the stamp is the inscription "People's Post of China", and below it is the face value "8 fen". The size of the stamp is 60mm x 40mm. After being printed, the stamps were not issued as planned but a small quantity was leaked out. Due to its rarity, it has been regarded by philatelists as a rare stamp. In 1987, Hong Kong-based Hung Lok Philatelic Co., Ltd. auctioned off one used "big red" stamp with a starting price of HK$80,000, which is ten times the price of the "small red" stamp at that time, and this kind of stamp has not appeared in the market since then."